At some point, every photographer creates images featuring light trails and it’s easy to see why. Beautiful and always a hit online, light trail photography is a well-trodden path in photography, as the vast majority of aspiring photographers live near roads or in built-up urban areas. While lights trails are a great subject in themselves, they’re a particularly nice way to introduce a budding photographer to the manual mode on their camera and will also provide some good training in low-light photography.

What Is Light Trail Photography?

Light trail photography is a type of long exposure photography that highlights the movement of light over time. While this sounds like something from a physics textbook, it is actually quite simple in reality.

By keeping the camera shutter open for a long period of time, you can collect more ambient light and show how that light moves across the frame, hence creating light trails on your photos.

Light trail photography creates a beautiful image from the simple movement of lights seen in everyday life, like car headlights and taillights, headlamps, streetlamps, streetlights, and even bike lights. While you can move a flashlight or laser to create lines in the air, known as light painting, the most common depiction of light trail photography is on a roadway.

Car light trail images capture the paths of illumination created by the headlights or taillights of a vehicle and create well known and widely adored images of traffic and light moving over time.

What Gear Is Needed to Photograph Light Trails

As camera technology has developed over the years, the capabilities of the everyday consumer camera has gotten more and more impressive, to the point where you can capture light trail photos on any camera, even your smartphone’s! However, there is one prerequisite for capturing light trails, and that is the ability and knowledge to control exposure settings, particularly those that allow you to choose longer shutter speeds, in the area of 10 seconds to 1 minute.

 

What this means is that in order to capture light trails, you must have a camera or a camera application that can shoot in either full manual mode and/or shutter priority mode.

All DSLRs and interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras should offer this functionality, though certain compact cameras, film cameras, and native smartphone camera apps do not.

 

However, if you’re desperate to shoot light trail photography on your smartphone, there are specific apps that should allow you to adjust shutter speed and other camera settings.

“You must have a camera or a camera application that can shoot in either full manual mode or shutter priority mode.”

 

The one other prerequisite for light trail photography is a tripod or some means to rest your camera in a locked off position for a period of time. As such you can perch your camera on a concrete railing, the ground, or even a car in a pinch but it’s really best to work with a sturdy tripod if you have access to one. This is because any form of camera shake can ruin light trails due to the extremely long exposure time required for this specific type of photography.

Another beneficial piece of gear is a lens hood as these block flare from ambient lights, creating clearer light trail photos with less ambient light bleeding in. Another good investment would be a remote shutter release, which allows you to trigger your camera without pressing the shutter button and causing camera shake.

While the two-second or ten-second self-timer is an adequate substitute for a remote release, it can be inconvenient to wait for the shutter to fire while shooting, not to mention it can throw off your light trail photography timing. 

One last item to consider is a natural density filter, also known as an ND filter.

ND filters block light to allow for longer shutter speeds, and usually aren’t necessary if you’re shooting in complete darkness.

However, if you plan to elongate your shutter speeds around sunset and at dusk and shoot light trails during the golden hours, then an ND filter might be a smart investment to help you have complete control of lighting and exposure.

What Are The Best Shutter Speed Settings For Light Trail Photography?

Whether you shoot with a film, digital or phone camera, understanding how each setting functions together and knowing how to adjust the standard camera settings of ISO, aperture, and shutter speed are essential to capture light trail photography. Below is a basic rundown of all the settings that you need to understand for light trail photography:

ISO

ISO is a measure of the light sensitivity on the digital sensor of DSLR, mirrorless and compact cameras. The way ISO functions is relatively simple – the higher the ISO, the more light a camera captures.

Most standard DSLR cameras have ISO settings that range from ISO 100 to ISO 1600 while other cameras may have even higher ISO options.

The trick with ISO is to try and keep it as low as possible, which helps reduce visual noise, a very unappealing look on digital and film photos. Instead, you should be using the long shutter speed used for light trails to gather more light, compensating for the lower ISO.

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is arguably the most important setting when it comes to light trail photography and essentially represents the amount of time a camera’s shutter remains open to let light pass through the lens to the camera sensor. Shutter speeds range from thousandths of a second to many seconds or minutes. Light trail photography favors longer shutter speeds, between 5 and 60 seconds, so you can capture the full motion of light across the frame, creating interesting and visually appealing light trail photography.

Aperture

The aperture controls how much light your lens lets in the camera, different to shutter speed in that aperture directly related to lens’ diameter instead of sensor exposure time.

On both film and digital cameras, the aperture is also called a f-stop and is labeled on cameras with measurements like f/8 or f/22.

A favorable aperture setting for light trails is typically about an f/16, which is a relatively deep focal length, meaning that most items in your frame will be easy to see.

Self Timer

Self-timer functions are available on most DSLR cameras and are incredibly useful when it comes to light trail photography.

Since shutter speed and aperture settings for light trail photography let light enter the camera for longer periods of time, any bump or shake of the camera will cause blurry images. As such, using the self-timer function to avoid this is high recommended.

Even better would be to use a shutter release as discussed earlier, which takes out the need for difficult timing or potential bumps.

“Any bump or shake of the camera will cause blurry images, which can be avoided with a self timer.”

Bulb Mode

Bulb mode on a camera is when the shutter button is pressed down for an extended period of time, keeping the shutter open for as long as the button is pressed down. Photographers can try this method of capturing light trails if they have very stable hands or are using a tripod that won’t move when the shutter button is pressed. The benefit of this technique is that when moving objects with light are consistently passing past the camera’s vantage point, this method allows for easy capture of light trails that require specific manual timing.

How These Settings Work Together

When you better understand the relationship and interaction between ISO, shutter speed, and aperture, you can play around with each function to get the best shot from your chosen vantage point. The most important thing to remember with light trail photography is that the darker the environment, the more light you want to pick up.

As such, shooting on a higher ISO with longer shutter speeds and wider aperture settings will let an appropriate amount of light pass through your lens to create a visible light trail. A good place to start would be around ISO 800, with a shutter speed of five seconds or longer, and an f/8 aperture.

What To Do After Shooting Light Trails

Once you have gone out and taken some excellent light trail photography, the next thing to do is publish your work for all to see! However, before you do, there’s one final step to take to ensure that your work is safe, secure, and easily recognizable online. As a digital content creator who publishes any form of work online, you should know the importance of watermarking your work.

“Watermarking can’t be beat, allowing you to safeguard your work from any potential content thieves.”

 

Watermarking is highly regarded as one of the best ways to establish an easily identifiable brand online.

Much like how a painter adds their signature to a painting, watermarking with a custom watermark can help potential clients identify your work, helping your photography stand out in the sea of content on the internet.

But that’s not all! In terms of security, watermarking can’t be beaten, allowing you to safeguard your work from any potential content thieves and protect your copyright on all work you publish online.

While there are a few tools online that allow watermarking, no tool can match the free bulk watermarking offered by WaterMarquee.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there, take some amazing photos and protect your light trail photography with WaterMarquee today!

There’s rarely a more cherished memory than a family beach day, with fun, relaxation and the beautiful ocean at the forefront, what more could anyone want? In fact, family beach days are such a cherished occasion for so many families that they have spawned their own photography niche – the Beach Family Photos.  Perfect family beach photos are the cream of the crop when it comes to the family photoshoot, as no studio set up can ever compare to the natural beauty of the beach at sunset.

As such, beach family photography is a great niche to get into for budding photographers who want to boost their portfolio with beautiful and enjoyable work outdoors. To get into the family beach portrait session market however, a photographer will need to have a camera that can handle whatever the beach can throw at it, and know a few key tricks to make their photos stand out.

The Best Cameras That Can Survive Family Beach Pictures

Olympus Tough TG-6

The Olympus TG series has a solid reputation among the tough camera market, not only for being able to handle tough conditions, but also for being equipped with impressive imaging and video tech.

The Olympus Tough TG-6 has the ability for Raw-shooting, 4K-shooting, and even has some nifty new features like improved LCD resolution and an Underwater Microscope mode for getting in close. The TG-6 also has a generous 25-100mm optical zoom lens that lets you get closer and closer to the action, making the camera overall a straightforward but sophisticated option, and one of the best beach ready cameras around.

 

“Beach family photos are simple on the surface, but due to uncontrolled nature of the set, it can be very difficult to get the results your desire right off the bat.”

Panasonic Lumix TS30

The Panasonic Lumix TS30 has aged over the years and as such it doesn’t quite offer any best-in-class specs, but what it does offer is a very reasonable asking price. The TS30 is a solid and versatile waterproof camera that should prove well-suited to recording your aquatic adventures, and its slim enough to fit in a snug jeans pocket or similar. If you’re looking for a cheap and easy point and shoot to whip out whenever you need a bit of rugged durability, then look no further than the Panasonic Lumix TS30.

Ricoh WG-70

The Ricoh WG series has a reputation of being the Swiss army knives of tough cameras. Like its predecessors, the WG-70 is equipped with ring lights around its lens that function as a torch as well as a macro light, allowing you to see what you’re doing while keeping your subjects illuminated. This is only further benefited by the cameras, the Handheld Night Snap mode which captures several images of a low-light scene in quick succession and blends them together to create a blur-free composite image. All these features are housed in a body with serious protections, able to stay submerged in 14m of water for up to 2 hours. If you’re after a tough little number that can work in less than bright conditions, then this is the camera for you.

Once you’ve got your camera, the next step is to learn how to use it. Beach family photos are simple on the surface, but due to uncontrolled nature of the set, it can be very difficult to get the results your desire right off the bat. Luckily, with a few tips you can make any family picture ideas into reality and help your photos stand out from the crowd.

How To Make Your Family Beach Photos Stand Out

Shoot in RAW

The two main photo formats available on a digital camera are JPG and RAW. RAW is an uncompressed version of an image file, which keeps all the image’s data from the get-go. This means you can more easily edit your photos in post-processing, which is great flexibility for any photographer as shooting water and sunshine takes a tremendous amount of skill. Shooting in RAW will allow you to fix the over and underexposure that results in poor photographs.

Frame With a Focal Point

“Try focusing on a focal point in some of your nature shots and notice the difference instantly.”

 

Although you might enjoy watching the waves crashing onto the shore, it may not make the best photograph because you’ll be lacking a focal point.

A focal point is photography concept that can really help elevate an image, and can be something as simple as a chair or a shell. The goal of a focal point is to draw the viewer’s attention and provides context for the shot, helping tell a visual story and give the viewer an anchor point. Try focusing on a focal point in some of your beach shots and notice the difference as your photos go from amateur to professional in no time.

Shoot During Golden Hour

You probably love watching the sunrise or sunset at the beach, and that’s for good reason as those “golden hours” are the best times for taking photos. “Golden hour” is the time shortly after sunrise and shortly before sunset when the sky is redder and softer than when the sun is up. At this time of day, photos are less likely to come out overexposed, so photographers consider it the most desirable time of day for nature photography.

Experiment with Polarized Filters

Polarizing filters enhance blues, darken shadows, and suppress glare from reflective surfaces, excellent features for beach photo shoot. As such, if you’re serious about beach photography then a polarized lens can be a worthwhile investment, especially if you’re doing middle-of-the-day shoots. If you’re not taking photos during the “golden hour,” consider using a polarizing filter to prevent overexposure and enhance colours.

Use a Wide Lens

“If you follow the wide-angle lens rule of “low and close”, you can find success”

 

Professional landscape photographers use wide-angle lenses to make their foreground seem bigger, drawing the viewer in and creating a sense of depth. The wide focal range emphasizes objects in the foreground and creates a sense of depth that other lenses cannot match. Learning how to use this lens for family beach photos can be difficult due to subject warping in the foreground, however, if you follow the wide-angle lens rule of “low and close”, you can find some success by capturing the focal point in the foreground as close and as low as possible.

Consider Your Exposure

Modern cameras are brilliant devices, but beaches are tricky subjects. There’s a lot of complicated lighting going on, especially if you’re photographing during the golden hour. A camera might automatically underexpose your beach photo if the sun, sky, and sand appear to be too bright. This would render your focal point far too dark — no good!

Instead of letting the camera decide, try utilizing your Exposure Value (EV) dial. Think of the EV dial as an override for your camera’s meter. Upping the EV (say, to +1) will brighten the image. Lowering it (-1, -2, and so on) will darken the photograph. If you’re shooting in RAW, manual mode, check the dial on the camera’s right side for the Exposure Compensation feature. Every modern camera has this and the benefits are hard to top.

Setup Your Shots

You may have already chosen the perfect beach location, but you can still take your photos to the next level with simple setup. Bring along several beach supplies that match well with the aesthetic you’re aiming for, whether it be towels, sandals, beach balls, sunglasses, or a gorgeous printed beach umbrella, they’ll add a stylish finishing touch to your photos. Plus, you can even use the beach umbrella to get some shade in between taking shots!

 

“Watermarking protects the copyright of your work”

 

Watermark Your Work

Everyone wants to show off their family beach photos, but no one wants their family beach photos to be stolen and used for some obscure online advertising campaign! This is where watermarking comes in – an important part of the process for all photography niches, watermarking protects the copyright of your work and ensures that it cannot be reused or altered without your permission.

This is perfect in the online photography world as it allows you to publish your work without the threat of theft. In fact, watermarking can also double as a branding tactic. Much like a painter that mark their work with a signature, digital watermarking is a great way to get your name out there and heighten brand awareness.

The best thing about watermarking however, is that it is simple and free when using WaterMarquee!

WaterMarquee is a free online watermarking service where you simply upload your photos and get them back with a custom watermark in no time at all. WaterMarquee also offers premium services that will help elevate any work you produce and mark you as a true photography professional. So what’re you waiting for? If you want to protect your beach family photos, look no further than WaterMarquee.

Companion piece: Maternity Photo Shoot With Family.

As a professional photographer, some of the most memorable images can come from a family photo session, and there’s no better family session than one with the whole family featured behind a glorious golden sunset. Sunset beach family photos are a very popular photography niche thanks to this, with some photography companies even charging a sitting fee just to be on the waiting list for a sunset beach family photoshoot!

This is understandable however, as showing off a great group of parents and kids and creating a beautiful moment for a family, can be a lot more difficult than it seems. As such, if you’re looking to break into this amazing niche then you’ll need to hone your skills and try out a few of our tips on how to get your sunset beach family photos to stand out from the crowd.

How To Get the Most Out Of Your Whole Family Photo Session at Sunset

When it comes to sunset photography, settings and technique are far more important than owning specialized gear which is great news for beginners and budget-oriented shooters. Camera settings for sunsets generally involve maximizing depth of field and accounting for the bright light of the sun shining into the camera, with other concerns like shutter speed taking a back seat.

Aperture

A good place to start is to use your camera’s aperture priority mode, particularly if you’re just getting started taking sunset photos, usually found by turning your camera’s settings dial to “A” or “Av”. In basic terms, aperture priority lets you set the aperture while the camera automatically changes the shutter speed for you to compensate.

Setting the aperture number. between f/11 and f/16, will help you get the largest possible depth of field and keep as much of the scene in focus as possible. Shooting at a high f-stop can also create an interesting starburst effect in your sunset photo, really raising it to the next level.

ISO

Keeping your ISO as low as possible is the best option for most photography in general as this helps avoid graininess in your final images. Keep in mind however though, that you might have to crank the ISO higher as the sun goes down and the scene becomes dimmer in order to keep your f-stop number high, so be aware of possible grain.

White Balance

The auto white balance setting generally works fine for sunset beach family photos, though you may want to experiment with the daylight, cloudy, or even shade settings to bring out more yellow, purple, pinkish, or red tones in your sunset pictures.

“Watermarking IS Easier Than a Copyright release and still protects your images”

Watermark Your Work

Everyone wants to show off their beautiful sunset family beach photos, but no one wants their family photos to be stolen and used for some obscure online advertising campaign! This is where watermarking comes in – an important part of the process for all photography niches, watermarking protects the copyright of your work and ensures that it cannot be reused or altered without your permission.

This is perfect in the online photography world as it allows you to publish your work without the threat of theft. In fact, watermarking can also double as a branding tactic. Much like a painter that mark their work with a signature, digital watermarking is a great way to get your name out there and heighten brand awareness.

The best thing about watermarking however, is that it is simple and free when using WaterMarquee! WaterMarquee is a free online watermarking service where you simply upload your photos and get them back with a custom watermark in no time at all. WaterMarquee also offers premium services that will help elevate any work you produce and mark you as a true photography professional. So what’re you waiting for? If you want to protect your sunset beach family photos, look no further than WaterMarquee.

A body building photo shoot is one of the most fun sets a photographer can work on – you get to meet top athletes, play around with lighting and photography techniques, all the while showcasing the peak physical condition of the human body. In fact, fitness photography is also becoming a very lucrative niche, with body building photo shoots and other fitness related visual content creation coming in high demand thanks to the rise in popularity of fitness influencing on social media.

This is all excellent news for any photographer looking to expand their skills and break into the body building photography market. However, before diving in, its important to be aware of what equipment you’ll need, the etiquette around body building photography as well as some of the best tricks to get the most out of your shoots.

What Equipment Is Needed For A Body Building Photo Shoot

Camera

If you’re planning on shooting body building professionally, you’ll come to find that the majority of work is done in a photography studio due to the flexibility they offer a photographer regarding lighting, backdrop and general photo set up. As such, the best cameras for body building are usually cameras that react well to staged lighting and are regarded as studio workhorse cameras, such as:

The Canon EOS R3

The Canon EOS R3 is a top-tier tool of choice for working professionals. With a new dynamic range that sets a benchmark for pro-level cameras, and a lower pixel count enabling it to generate significantly less noise than the higher resolution rivals from Sony and Nikon, this camera is an absolute dream for any photographer. It is also a perfect camera for capturing the intricate muscle definition and small details needed in body building photography, and thanks to it’s next generation internal hardware, it wont need replacing for a significant period longer than any other option.

The Canon EOD 5D IV

Mirrorless cameras might have taken over but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a place for the humble DSLR, and the Canon EOD 5D IV is the best of the best, despite being released in 2016. Combining a reasonably high-resolution 30.2MP sensor with decent continuous burst speeds and fast auto focus, this camera is an excellent studio work horse. Robust, reliable, and weather resistant, this camera can take anything you could throw at it, and more, so make sure to consider it a solid contender in your camera search.

“The best cameras for body building are studio workhorses that react well to staged lighting.”

Lighting

Unlike glamour shoots, and regular portraiture shoots, where you aim to use one key light, one rim light and a fill light, body building photography requires an entirely non traditional lighting set up. To begin with, the first major difference is the level of light diffusion required. In normal photography, soft light is often viewed as more flattering and a much nicer way to light a subject, however, body building photography is the opposite, requiring hard and harsh lights in order to cast shadows allowing for musculature contrast.

In terms of lighting placement, you’ll have to adapt on the fly according to which muscle structure you’d like emphasized. For example, if you want to emphasize the abs, then you’ll need to light your subject from the top down and use quite harsh light in order to create crisp shadows which will accentuate the muscles. If you want all the frontal muscles emphasized on your model wise then the strategy would be to put you key light at 45-degree angle from the model’s side without too much diffusion to create harsh shadows that will stretch across the body.

The main goal with lighting a bodybuilding shoot is to create local contrast around the muscles in order to highlight the size, shape and texture of the muscle. This can be difficult as some of the muscles you’re hoping to show case can be very small, needing harsh light to highlight them. If you were to use a soft light source it wouldn’t provide enough definition to them. Often, you’ll have to incorporate more complex light setups to increase the contrasts and emphasize certain muscles which will be covered in shadow from other muscles.

Other Items You May Need

One of the lesser known but equally as important aspects of a bodybuilding photography shoot is prepping your model for the shoot. The classic bodybuilding look involves a sweat glistened body and tight, striated musculature. The reality of this look however, is less glamorous and will involve discussion with your model about how they want their pictures to look, and what they’re willing to do in order to achieve that look.

In order to get your model to have the sweat-glistening look of a body builder, you’ll need to provide them with baby oil to rub over their whole body, which will help it look as expected, and is much easier than asking them to get sweaty before every click of your camera. A less easy step to get the body building photo look, involves dehydration.

Many body builders are aware of this process, however it is important to discuss it with your clients just so you’re both on the same page. Typically, a body builder will go the gym, avoid bloating foods and limit their water intake ahead of a photo session or competition so their body is in the most aesthetic form it can be in. If your client takes part in this process, make sure you provide water for after the shoot, letting them drink small sips throughout just to be safe.

Overlooked Parts of a Bodybuilding Photo Shoot

Post Processing Your Images

Post processing body building photos is a necessity as it allows you to really fine tune the final product you put out. However, the process is much more difficult when it comes to body building than most other photography niches. This is due to many factors, the first of which is that you are unable to use filters to smooth out skin since they will do harm to muscle structure and definition that has already been captured in your image. What this means is that you will need to go through and soften skin manually where needed, a tedious process but one that will guarantee a good result in the long run.

Additionally, you’ll also have to correct for the light around small and large muscle groups in order to achieve the proper form and structure, and increase the contrast around the impressions of the muscles themselves. However, be careful not to overdo it, since it can turn out quite unnatural if you don’t understand the body structure and if you aren’t consistent with the your editing process.

“You’ll need to provide your model with baby oil to rub over their whole body to get the sweaty look expected.”

Watermark Your Images

Watermarking is an important part of the process for all photography niches as it protects the copyright of your work and ensures that it cannot be reused or altered without your permission. This is perfect in the online photography world as it allows you to publish your work without the threat of theft. Watermarking can also double as a branding tactic. Much like a painter that mark their work with a signature, digital watermarking is a great way to get your name out there and heighten brand awareness.

The best thing about watermarking however, is that it is simple and free when using WaterMarquee! WaterMarquee is a free online watermarking service where you simply upload your photos and get them back with a custom watermark in no time at all. WaterMarquee also offers premium services that will help elevate any work you produce and mark you as a true photography professional. So what’re you waiting for? If you want to make your body building photos, safe, professional and stylish, look no further than WaterMarquee.

 

A growing photography niche, fitness photoshoots have become more and more popular as social media has developed and become such a large part of the photography business. With countless fitness models hoping to make the transition into fitness influencing, there has never been a higher demand for fitness pictures and fitness content.

With such impressive growth, there’s no better time than the present to learn the tricks of the trade, seek out professional athletes or professional fitness models, and start to establish yourself as a professional fitness photographer.

The Best Tips For Starting Fitness Photography Before The Shoot

Decide On A Location

The majority of the time you spend shooting fitness photography, you will need to organise a location for the shoot to take place.

Unless you’re lucky enough to be shooting a fitness photoshoot for a gym or a promo for a piece of specific equipment, you’ll need to organise a location to take your photos. While this offers you the freedom to take photos wherever you want, you will need to be proactive in finding and securing a location ahead of time that works for you and your client.

When choosing a location you should ensure that you consider the atmosphere you want to create and the message that you want to communicate through your photography. For example, if the fitness photo sessions are for fitness magazines that revolve around healthy living, you might consider doing them outdoors. On the other hand, a professional bodybuilder may benefit from a session in the studio since you want to highlight their body while they perform specific poses and routines that make sense in the context of the studio.

Experiment With Shots

As with learning any photography style, practicing your shots will always be beneficial experience. So before your shoot, you should try to see if there is any opportunity to practice the type of shots you’re planning on taking on the day, testing out the lighting of the photoshoot location and different model poses. This is especially important with fitness photoshoots as gyms rarely the best lighting for photos.

So, if you get the chance to enter your location early, make sure to take a few test shots in different locations around the gym to find which spot is best for the photoshoot. This also allows you to select the right tools for the job, as if you discover in your test shoots that your lens in simply too long for an intimate gym shoot, then you’ll have a better chance to swap it out before the actual shoot, making your final product that much better.

Prepare A Shot List

A key part of fitness photoshoot preparation is planning out what you want, ahead of time.

Photographers need to think ahead to avoid wasting time while getting the best fitness photos, as you cant just enter a shoot with only a few ideas about what you want. As such, the best thing fitness photographers can do to prepare is write down the shots they need. This shot list should describe in detail, the angle, focus and style of shot required, as well as how to obtain them.

During a photoshoot, it is easy to get overwhelmed with all the activities, but luckily writing down the shots needed in a shot list ensures that nothing is forgotten. So, whether you’re shooting for a fitness coach or an amateur bodybuilder, thinking about how to approach shots ahead of time will always be the right choice, and will ensure that as soon as you step foot onto a fitness photoshoot, you will know exactly what to do and not waste time thinking about how to approach it.

“Thinking ahead about how to approach shots ahead of time will always be the right choice”

 

What To Do On The Day Of The Shoot

Communicate with the Model

Even with the best camera and lighting, a good photoshoot depends on the collaboration of the model and photographer. As such, communication between the photographer and the model is one of the key elements that will guarantee the best results.

Tell the model what style you want in the photos, bring some sample photos of good fitness poses, do whatever you need to incorporate your model into the creative decision making. This is very important as it will help the model feel more confident and allow the photographer to capture the desired photos in less time.

If the model is an athlete or a fitness expert, or even if they’re just starting out, make sure to listen to their advice. Photographers know how to take a good photo, but the models knows what appeals to their target audience, so make sure to ask them for feedback on ways to improve your fitness photos.

Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For What You Want

In order to have a successful fitness photoshoot, be aware that your main role is to capture an aesthetically appealing snapshot of a certain activity or pose, even when that activity or pose isn’t as photogenic as it could be. To put it simply, sometimes athletes perform tasks in ways that are not very appealing to the camera. For example, a marathon runner may run in a way that saves energy but does not look good on camera. In cases like this, its important to remember that as a photographer, you can control every aspect of your frame, and if you need a shot that is a little outside the reality of the activity, you’re well within your rights to ask for it.

This means a fitness photographer can have their model athlete do the basic activity, but they can also request some tweaks to create a better frame, angle, or overall shot. of course, these tweaks should maintain authenticity but will definitely result in a more powerful image.

“As a photographer, you can control every aspect of your frame”

Experiment With Natural Light

The natural light from a window is well known to be some of the best sources of light, loved by all photographers. A large window provides an opportunity to create direct light, side light, or backlight, allowing for a large variety in pictures. What’s even better is that this light can be controlled through the use of netting or reflectors to diffuse light and create gentle and soft tones.

 

As such, if you’re shooting inside, try and utilise as much natural light as possible to ensure your photos really pop.

However, if a photoshoot is outside, the photographer will need to play with the natural light to get the right look, but be more aware of the harshness of this unadulterated light source. During the middle of the day, the sun can be too harsh to for many cameras without the use of some sort of diffusion, which involves a complicated set up that may be beyond an amateur photographer’s skills.

As such, the best time for an outdoor photoshoot is about an hour before the sun goes down, known as golden hour. The light during this golden hour is softer and well loved by photographers as it does not create sharp shadows, and looks extremely aesthetically pleasing when shot.

Get Every Angle

One of the best things about photography is the chance to shoot any angle you feel like, with a the ability to sort through your images after the shoot and decide which ones are the best. This is especially useful in fitness photography as the the angle of the light hitting the subject and the pose angle determines what is emphasized in the photo, with straight-on light flattening out muscles.

 

To highlight muscles, angle the light so that shadows cross over the muscle and give it dimension. To create this effect, turn the model away from the light source, whether the sun, a window, or a light fixture. This is simple experimentation, but it works wonders at really fine tuning the photography you can put out, so make sure that on your shoot day you never stop clicking away, trying out every angle and pose that comes to your mind.

 

“Place models so that the curves of their muscles are prominent”

 

What Camera Is Best For A Fitness Photoshoot

Image quality is probably the first and foremost thing to consider when looking for a camera that can handle fitness photography. As fitness photos are often taken in low light, and action photography requires a fast shutter speed, a large sensor size with a high megapixel count will ensure that your photos are clear and sharp.

The next factor to consider is the lenses that are available for the camera. A wide-angle lens is important for capturing group shots or landscape photographs while a telephoto lens could come in handy for focusing on specific details or individuals within a large crowd. Once you decide on a lens type, also consider its waterproofing and durability standard as fitness cameras as will often have to be used in harsh conditions.

Watermark Your Images

Once you’ve selected your camera, lens, location and completed your shoot, you job still isnt done. The final step for any good photographer is watermarking their work.

Watermarking is an important part of the process as it protects the copyright of your work and ensures that it cannot be reused or altered without your permission. This is perfect in the online photography world as it allowed you to publish your work without the threat of theft, letting people still preview your portfolio of work without the risk of thieves coming along and misappropriating your images.

 

The best thing about watermarking however, is that it is simple and free when using WaterMarquee! WaterMarquee offers free online watermarking where you simply upload your photos and get them back with a custom watermark in no time at all. WaterMarquee also offers premium services that will really help elevate any work you produce and mark you as a true photography professional.

So what’re you waiting for, elevate your game as a fitness photographer and start watermarking your work today with Watermarquee.

Bringing a child into the world is one of the most beautiful parts of anyone’s life, and can really define what it means.

To be a family, coming together over a shared joy. That’s why the maternity photo shoot with family is such a popular service offered by photographers, as well as such a joy to shoot for all involved. So, if you’re looking to break into the photography industry with one of the most special niches around, then taking maternity pictures might be your calling.

 

What You Need To Start A Maternity Photoshoot Business

As with all photography businesses, the first place to start if you’re hoping to get into maternity photography, is of course, your camera. Luckily, maternity photo ideas never get too out of this world because of the simple nature of cute maternity pictures. What this means is, your camera doesn’t have to get too out of this world either, with a simple entry level photography camera being more than adequate if used correctly.

The Best Cameras For a Maternity Photo Shoot With Family

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV

With a new 20MP sensor, incrementally improved in-body image stabilization, and a new flip-down and tilt-able monitor, the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV has plenty to shout about. Retaining the 4K video and attractive styling that made the Mark III so attractive to consumers, the Mark IV is a great choice for anyone looking for an entry-level camera that can do pretty much everything. This is one of our favourite pint-sized cameras ever: it’s small enough to carry around anywhere and much more powerful than it looks. The OM-D E-M10 Mark IV is a camera that could be with you for a long time and really help you maternity photography career flourish.

Nikon Z fc

The Nikon Z fc is a retro-styled mirrorless machine with dial-based controls, and is an absolute joy to handle, use, and be seen using.

Internally, it uses an APS-C sensor and processor with a few extra features like a built-in flash, useful for less formal maternity shoots, and candid style photos. While it’s not the cheapest camera for beginners, you get a lot of features for your money, and its looks alone could inspire you to take up photography seriously.

 

“A simple entry level photography camera being more than adequate if used correctly.”

 

Nikon D3500

One of the easiest grab and go DSLRs the Nikon D3500 has a brilliant ‘Guide’ shooting mode that acts as a fully interactive guide to photography and camera settings, delivered via the rear LCD screen.

The D3500’s controls are straightforward and easy to get to grips with, and perfect for beginners. Additionally, the Nikon D3500’s image quality and performance are extremely good for the price, and the 5fps burst rate is quite impressive for an entry-level DSLR, making this a good choice for anyone looking to get into photography, and doubles as a great work horse for any of your maternity photo shoot ideas.

How To Take The Best Maternity Photos

Once you have a camera and you’re familiar with the basics of photography, its time to start exploring all the other factors that can help your final product, and then, once you’re satisfied with your setup, you can finally dive in and start taking your first maternity photos! But first, the top tips for getting the best out of your shoot:

Prepare For The Shoot Beforehand

The best maternity photographers know to be ready for anything, and this means ensuring you’ve done proper preparation for the shoot. To start with, make sure you bring all the gear a professional photographer relies on, such as diffusion rigs, gels, bounce boards and gaffer tape. Once the photography side is covered, try thinking about what you can prepare ahead of time to make your client and their entire family happy.

If you know the client has other children, maybe have some toys ready to keep them happy and entertained in between shots. You could also start your own collection of costumes, with baby shoes, hats and whatever else you feel could elevate your photos that you could quickly loan to your clients for the shoot.

If you’re also taking maternity portraits on top of the family maternity session, consider having some select refreshments for the family while they wait for you and the lucky mother to finish up. This will ensure you keep your clients happy, have great results, and maybe even get new clients through recommendations.

Make Your Clients Comfortable

“Creating a relaxed environment should always be your top priority.”

As pregnancies progress they can be uncomfortable at times, both physically and emotionally. As women approach their due date, they may feel self-conscious about their bodies and uncomfortable being photographed, while also being physically in pain due to the burden that pregnancy has on their bodies.

As such, your first job as a photographer for a maternity shoot should be put your client at ease. This can range from having a comfortable place for them to rest in-between set-ups, having food and water on hand ready for them, or even just simply allowing them a few seconds to rest as you go. If you want to help your client be even more comfortable, physically and mentally then putting on some music and doing whatever you can to create a relaxed environment should always be your top priority.

Give Directions Where Needed

Telling your client how to pose throughout the shoot will help them to feel more comfortable for the whole process.

As you wont be shooting professional models, guidance as to posing will be greatly appreciated by any client, and it will also ensure that you get every shot your want from the session. In terms of what to actually shoot however, coverage is key. Get wide, medium and close-up shots and include partners and older children in some of them to ensure you capture the whole family aspect of the maternity shoot.

Once you have your basic shots, feel free to shoot from different angles and keep in mind that people often look their best if the camera is slightly above them.

As such, try posing the lucky mother at a 45-degree angle to the camera to show off the baby bump, paying close attention to how every part of the subject looks. Don’t hesitate to rearrange wardrobe or hand placement for the best look, as this will ensure that you have a great product after the session is complete.

Adjust Your Camera As You Go

As with all photography, its very important to be aware of and on top of your camera’s settings. The worst thing a photographer can do is frame up some beautiful shots, only to realise that they’ve been rendered useless later once you review your footage thanks to an incorrect ISO figure or shutter speed. As such, when doing a maternity shoot, make sure to look at your camera settings throughout the shoot to ensure that you’re capturing as much detail as possible. If you’re shooting outside at sunset, check your histograms and keep adjusting your settings as you lose light. You don’t want to get home and find that half of your photos are dark and grainy.

Watermark Your Maternity Shoot

“If you want to make your maternity photos, safe, professional and stylish, look no further than WaterMarquee.”

The best thing to do for you photography, no matter the niche you decide to work in, is to watermark your portfolio every step of the way.

Watermarking is an important part of the process as it protects the copyright of your work and ensures that it cannot be reused or altered without your permission. This is perfect in the online photography world as it allowed you to publish your work without the threat of theft, letting people still preview your portfolio of work without the risk of thieves coming along and misappropriating your images.

 

On the other end, watermarking can simply be used as a branding tactic. Much like a painter that marks their work with a signature, digital watermarking is a way to get your name out there and heighten brand awareness, so you know that any time your work is shared, say on Instagram for example, your name or brand is always attached to it.

The best thing about watermarking however, is that it is simple and free when using WaterMarquee! WaterMarquee offers a free online watermarking service where you can simply upload your photos and get them back with a custom watermark in no time at all. WaterMarquee also offers premium services that will really help elevate any work you produce, and mark you as a true photography professional. So what’re you waiting for? If you want to make your maternity photos, safe, professional and stylish, look no further than WaterMarquee.

If you’re looking to expand your skills beyond the occasional landscape or portrait, then a good addition to your portfolio would be photography for models. Photography for models can act as a great creative outlet, can lead to networking opportunities within the photography industry and can even become a source of income if you become involved with modelling agencies.

Fashion photography is a burgeoning niche within photography that is always in high demand. With a surplus of amateur models and experienced models and only a small number of local photographers focusing on photography for models, finding people to shoot is always an easy process.

In fact, fashion photography for models is also made even more attractive as photo sessions are as simple to organise as any other photo shoot, requiring some very basic gear if you’re shooting inexperienced models, and only some higher cost gear if you’re shooting for modelling agencies. So, if photography for models is sounding like a niche that you might be interested in getting into, then dive on and see our top tips and tricks to help you get your start in photography for models.

How To Find Models and Build Experience

The simple truth for many fashion photographers breaking into the industry is that, until you have a collection of modelling or fashion pieces in your portfolio, no model or agency is going to hire you for professional jobs. Luckily, building up your portfolio is the first, easy step in the model photography journey.

To build your portfolio you have to begin by looking away from modelling agencies, and instead aim to book models who are

 just starting out on their own modelling career, and are looking for photography services to help them build their skills or even their own portfolio.

You can find these models relatively easily through some simple internet sleuthing, whether it be posting call outs in Facebook groups or asking other local photographers whether they know of any previous clients who would like some free work done.

Of course, that is the one caveat with this beginning stage of work – free.

While every artist knows all too well that exposure doesn’t pay the bills, there are situations where working for free may be your only option if you’re hoping to advance your career. As such, when you’re just starting out you’ll most likely do a lot of photography for models shoots for free, but if you focus on getting in as much good work as possible across several models, it is guaranteed to pay off down the road.

If you pursue this path of free work in exchange for content to build your portfolio up with, then before you know it the models you shot will be recommending you to other models and finding models would no longer be an issue. This is the stage where you could then start to introduce paid shoots in exchange for more photos, as your final product becomes more professional and you find yourself in higher demand.

Whether through networking with other photographers, recommendations from models through this process or simple social media advertisement of your skill levels, this would also be the stage where you begin to get in contact with modelling agencies and begin professional work.

Photographing for Modelling Agencies

Photography for Models tips

Contacting modelling agencies can be intimidating, but by understanding their needs and speaking their language, they will see you as a peer and ally to their business, which is essential, especially in big markets like Los Angeles. After all, much of the photography industry is all about relationships and all kind of model types.

“You have to begin by looking away from modelling agencies, and instead aim to book models who are just starting out on their own modelling career”

 

Approaching agencies courteously, professionally, and with good intentions is the key to starting a relationship and creating opportunities for future collaborations. This will allow you to lay the ground work to eventually start doing your own successful open call types of shoots once you have a good footing. But what’s the best way to contact a modelling agency?

Contacting A Modelling Agency

A well-crafted email usually works best. In fact, it’s the industry standard. An email to a modelling agency should be concise and to the point. Be courteous of their time. Introduce yourself, your work, and your goals. Be open and honest if you’ve never worked with models or shot beauty or fashion photography. Talk about what you have done and what you want to do. Provide a link to your portfolio or website. If you have a specific idea or direction for photo shoot, include it, but be sure to use a collaborative tone in your language and express open-mindedness.

If your email was successful then you’ll most likely be invited to a meeting to discuss how to move forward. A first meeting with the agency is pretty much a job interview so treat it as such. Dress nice, arrive around 10 minutes early but be prepared to wait 20 minutes and don’t forget to bring your portfolio and some business cards to ensure they take you seriously.

 

Once you are in, you will likely be meeting with one of the bookers, an employee of the agency that is usually assigned a group of models to focus on. When it comes to bookers, just talk to them like a peer as that ultimately what they are. Most bookers you will meet will be genuinely nice people that understand where you are coming from, and will try to help you create something together. Occasionally, you’ll run into one that likes to throw their weight around but in those cases, just roll with the punches, and indulge their ego.

If on the off chance you are denied the use of their models; you will undoubtedly be told why. This where the booker will likely explain what you are missing in your portfolio, experience, or knowledge. Instead of taking that criticism to heart, try and take the input, build on it, and move on, to guarantee that next time you come in for an interview, you’ll almost be guaranteed the job.

Things To Keep In Mind When Photographing Amateur and Professional Models

Photography for Models and levels of experience 

Models of all experience levels want to feel comfortable in a photoshoot environment, so making a conscious effort to make them feel comfortable and safe is important and will result in better photographs for your portfolio. Many of your first photography for models photo shoots will be with newer models so ensuring they feel comfortable should be your top priority as they will lack the confidence of a model who has been on site hundreds of times.

A good way to make sure everyone is comfortable is to create a physically comfortable environment for your models on the day of your shoot. This is important to the overall results of your session. If you plan to have the model in more revealing clothes, make sure that the air temperature is comfortable and that there are precautions taken for privacy.

Also be aware that not everyone will be comfortable to be photographed in certain types of clothes, to in your search for models, ensure you have a conversation regarding their boundaries ahead of time.

“Always remember, the more communication we have, the more comfortable the environment can be.”

Unless you initially connected with a particular model over social media, another good rule of thumb is to not follow them until after you work together is done. Of course, it’s normal to follow models on social media as a photographer, especially if they’re models who have worked with fashion designers you respect or other photographers you admire. But if you are anticipating working with a model in an upcoming photography for models photo shoot, don’t head over to their Instagram account and start leaving a bunch of comments ahead of the shoot, as it might make them feel like you are watching them a bit too closely, and is a good thing to avoid for the comfort of all parties.

When you actually get to the photography for models, make sure you offer your model encouragement and enthusiasm, as being silent when it comes to taking photos is the bane of many model photographers. Make sure that you your models direction and that you are letting them know what they are doing well. If something isn’t working, be careful about how you address it and work to get them into a different pose. Always remember, the more communication we have, the more comfortable the environment can be.

How To Keep Your Work Safe

No matter what stage of the model photography process you’re in, a top priority for you should be to always keep your work protected from anyone who could be looking to steal, or misappropriate your work. This is where water marking comes in. Watermarking helps protect the copyright of your work and ensures that it cannot be reused or altered without your permission, making it one of the most sure-fire methods for a photographer to protect their work.

WaterMarquee is a powerful online tool, that allows you to add custom watermarks with your text and logo. You can also make multi-part watermarks and adjust the opacity and transparency of your watermarks, all in the one place. So if you want to protect your photos, do it with WaterMarquee today!

A Boudoir photoshoot is a very intimate form of photography that treads a fine line between fashion portraits and typical glamour photography. The word boudoir derives itself from a French word meaning private salon, and is used in this photography niche sine boudoir sessions are usually very intimate, offering a safe space for men and women to explore a different side to their personality. 

These shoots are meant to exude sensuality and are intimate in nature and usually involves the subject of the shoot wearing lingerie and posing seductively to profess ownership over their sexuality. Unlike other genres, boudoir’s subjects are often not professional models—anyone can do a boudoir shoot. As such, many clients that are on a journey of self-discovery, in need of a confidence boost, or just want to express themselves unabashedly, will come to a boudoir photographer to have this experience.

As a photographer, this can be a very rewarding niche to get into as not only are you given the opportunity to shoot very sensual and beautiful images, but you’re also able to help your clients discover parts of themselves that they may not have been aware of, and find beauty in their own bodies. If this sounds like your kind of niche, then maybe its time to try out a few boudoir shoots to see how you like them. Of course, before you begin, its important to ensure that you have all the necessary information and tools you need for the shoot, starting with the practical gear required.

The Best Lens Choice For Boudoir Photoshoot

Having a good quality lens will ensure your boudoir photographs come out beautifully, and wow your clients by allowing you to control the light, exposure, and depth of field of your boudoir photos. A 35mm f/2 lens is a great option, as it allows you to capture your subject quickly and effectively. The f/2 feature means the lens will adapt well to low light conditions without creating too much sharpness or contrast, which is perfect for the soft edge you want in a boudoir photography shoot. This style of lens is also great for tighter shots of the face or body and even has a quieter click, which will help to keep the mood intimate and distraction-free for the boudoir session.

Another option that will create great images is a 50mm lens, which is considered a solid standard lens thanks to its versatility in a variety of areas. A 50mm lens is easy to adjust based on the lighting and composition of your boudoir portraits, with little to no image distortion, meaning that its a great lens for shooting your subject in a setting, rather than close up.

Some clients might prefer boudoir photos that show their body and face in a larger environment, rather than just close-ups, particularly if it’s their first time posing for boudoir photography, so if this is the case with your client, then the 50mm lens is a solid choice.

Regardless of the lens type you go for, it is also best to opt for lenses with zoom features as this will increase the versatility of your boudoir images and allow you to capture a variety of shots during the boudoir photo shoot. After all, many boudoir photographers can tell you that nothing will ruin an intimate mood like pausing a shoot to clumsily switch prime lenses will.

The Best Location For A Boudoir Shoot

“Shooting at sunset can create a beautiful, golden look.”

 

The setting for a boudoir photo shoot will help to create the right mood and tone for the images while also making your subject feel comfortable and sexy so the boudoir photos turn out well. The first thing to consider when choosing a location is lighting. Good lighting can make or break a boudoir photo shoot, especially if you don’t want to worry about a complicated lighting set up.

 

To keep things simple and flattering, look for a location with lots of natural light, preferably diffused behind light-coloured curtains or blinds, although you can do this diffusion yourself on the day if you have the appropriate materials. Avoid locations with harsh top light or fluorescent lighting, as this style of lighting tends to be unflattering. Shooting at sunset can also create a beautiful look with great golden light adding an extra accent of natural beauty to the boudoir photo shoot.

Make Sure Your Location Is Visually Interesting

Once you have selected a location based on the available lighting to ensure your shots look good in that regard, the next aspect of the shoot to consider is the physical set. The location of a boudoir photo shoot should have just enough visual interest to fill the frame, but not too much to overcrowd your subject. If you, try and opt for a location with a lot of space so have the ability to move around furniture and pose your client in a variety of locations. Above all, the location should complement your boudoir clients and make them feel like they have room to move around.

Consider Asking Your Subject About a Preferred Location

If you dont have a consistent studio or if your client is looking for some more homely-styled sexy photos then consider discussing possible locations with your subject before shoot day. This helps both you and your client feel satisfied with the end product and may even help your client feel more comfortable, as some boudoir client would prefer to take boudoir photos at home, where they feel most at ease. Finding out what location is best for the client is always a key part of the process as it allows you to have a fun, comfortable shoot day no matter what.

How Boudoir Photographers Make Their Clients Comfortable

“Have a consultation with your client before the shoot to ensure they feel comfortable and sexy in front of the camera”

 

The key to a good boudoir shoot is to have a consultation with your client before the shoot to ensure they feel comfortable and sexy in front of the camera. This is the perfect time to discuss their ideas for the shoot and create a shot list so the client will have a sense of what the boudoir photo shoot will be like, and are comfortable with everything you ask them to do.

 

You can also suggest that your client try on a few outfits before the shoot to determine what they feel most comfortable and sexy wearing. Advise them to pose in front of a mirror in different outfits to ensure they can move around and can achieve the look they want. Ask them to bring a few different looks for the shoot so you have options to work with, and also make sure to ask your client to wear loose clothing ahead of the shoot so their skin is free of any marks, impressions, or lines.

Discuss Styling and Appearance Beforehand

Your client may arrange for a makeup artist to come in for the shoot or you may offer to provide this service as part of the boudoir photography package. The way in which your client is made up will depends on the shoot as a whole so make sure to have a discussion with them regarding this.

If the boudoir photos are going to reveal a lot of skin, your client might get certain areas groomed or waxed. Determine what your clients would like to highlight during the shoot and ensure they are well prepared on shoot day. Also make sure to suggest to your client that they drink lots of water before the shoot and get some rest to ensure they look their best in the boudoir photos.

Don’t Be Afraid To Give Posing Direction

Perhaps one of the more challenging aspects of a boudoir photo shoot is posing your subject in a way that makes them look and feel beautiful. Every person’s body and comfort level is different, so maintaining strong communication with your client is key. Discuss each pose with your client head of time to make the shoot feel collaborative, and create strong boudoir photos.

 

If you’re stuck thinking of poses, a good idea would be to consult other boudoir galleries and pick poses from them. For example, a typical starter pose for boudoir photography is on the knees, with their feet tucked underneath them. Have your client place their hands on their body in a natural, relaxed way. If they have bra straps or jewellery on, instruct them to play casually with them for a fun and cheeky look.

Discuss Publishing And Protecting Your Images

“If you intend to publish any of photography work online, you have to ensure that you protect it however you can.”

 

If your client wants to use their boudoir shoot as more than a simple personal collection, and agrees to publish the work online then feel free to ask them if you could use their work in your photography portfolio.

Of course, if you intend to publish any of photography work online, you have to ensure that you protect it however you can. The best way to this, no matter the niche you decide to work in, is to watermark your portfolio every step of the way. Watermarking is an important part of the process as it protects the copyright of your work and ensures that it cannot be reused or altered without your permission.

Water marking is also an excellent marketing tool as it can act as digital signature, by which potential clients can recognise and attribute you work to your personality as a professional photographer.

The best thing about watermarking, however, is that it is simple and free when using WaterMarquee!

WaterMarquee offers a free online watermarking service where you can simply upload your photos and get them back with a custom watermark in no time at all. WaterMarquee also offers premium services that will really help elevate any work you produce and mark you as a true photography professional. So, what’re you waiting for? If you want to make your publish your boudoir photoshoot online in a safe, professional and stylish manner, look no further than WaterMarquee.

A common struggle among nearly all creative professionals, finding photography customers can often make the difference between photography being a side hustle and being your career. Whether your photography business is just starting out or whether you’re well established within your own niche, those finding potential clients, legitimate photography customers will always be an important part of the job.

Luckily, the best way to use marketing strategies to promote your photography services to past clients and potential clients isn’t as hard as you might first think. So lets dive in and learn how to maximise your photography marketing to create as many paying photography customers as possible.

How To Find Photography Customers For Your Photography Business

Create Your Online Website or Portfolio

The first step to generating photography customers is giving them something to see. Now, while man photographers take their online portfolio for granted, it is in fact a very helpful marketing tool that should be your first priority when trying to gain new clients. After all, it doesn’t matter how many clients you manage to bring to your website – if they cant see anything of value there, then you’re only gathering visitors, not clients.

As a photographer, your online website or portfolio is your virtual storefront where clients form their first impression and decide whether they’ll hire you or someone else. You need to be intentional about how your website is structured so that it turns more visitors into inquiries.

If you only blog client sessions, show your portfolio, and have a contact page on your site, you’re losing inquiries you could be getting otherwise. Luckily, many website builders available today are affordable and easy to use, and they include multiple features that will allow you to build a formidable online presence. With a strong website, you can almost guarantee that any visitors to your site will lead to more photography customers.

Identify Your Target Audience

An important part of business’ development towards success is their identification of their target market. When you start your photography business, you will get mixed clients with most of your work coming from photographing family, friends and anyone who chooses you, which is acceptable as everyone needs to start somewhere. However, as you move forward and become more successful, you will want to focus your marketing efforts on a specific target group.

To identify that target group in the first place can be difficult however, so you could employ a common marketing tactic, such as creating personas. Creating personas is a great way to drill down into the specific segments that make up your target audience. This is especially helpful if you have a product that appeals to a wide swath of consumers. Personas allow you to determine the general demographics, personalities and needs of your target consumers. It is recommended that marketers develop between three and five personas.

Once you have a thorough understanding of who exactly you’re trying to draw in, then the next step is to tailor your work towards them.

For this, you need to make sure that you have a strong and consistent photography brand. This is the best way to communicate who you are as a photography business and attract those who fit your brand. For example, if you are a wedding photographer, you should focus on brides, grooms, wedding planners or other people from the wedding industry.

 

Research Your Target Audience’s Media Consumption

Once you have your target clients and have specialised your content towards them, the next step is to begin to draw them in through specialised marketing. The best way to attract clients of any kind is to find out where they consumer their media. While having a website and being present on social media platforms are essential for a photography business, you don’t actually need to be present on every social media platform if your target audience is not present on them either.

As such, you should do thorough research about the media consumption habits of your target audience. Does your target audience use Facebook and Instagram? Do they prefer email updates? Are they interested in reading a blog written by you? The more you know about your target’s media behaviour, the easier it will be to focus your marketing efforts. If this seems like too much information to gather all on your own, you could also outsource this to a marketing research agency or use available statistics.

Once you know who your target market is, you can start using platforms that are relevant to them.

For example, people who are getting married often use Pinterest to find inspiration for planning so having an up-to-date Pinterest profile and focusing your effort there, would be a great plan for wedding photographers. Or if you are specialising in food photography, you could focus more on Instagram as this is the platform where lots of foodie content appears and where your target audience might be the most active.

In general, Facebook and Instagram are safe bets when it comes to having an active social media presence, but they aren’t sure-fire ways of gaining photography customers. Another just as effective method could be to join freelancing websites so you can take inspiration from what other photographers in your niche are doing. Regardless of the method, the key is to get to know your audience so you can make sure you are using the best possible channels. You shouldn’t stretch your budget and time to be active on every single platform. Focus on those that are most relevant for your target audience.

Give Potential Customers A Reason To Become A Present Client

“The final step is to give your clients something to bite onto, so you can reel them in, hook, line and sinker.”

Once you have identified your target audience, tailored your portfolio to appeal to them, and have focused your marketing efforts on the platform they most frequent, the final step is to give your clients something to bite onto, so you can reel them in, hook line and sinker.

One of the best ways to get new clients is to give people some sort of incentive to try out your services and see what you can do for them. An incentive can be simple, maybe an offer for your current portrait clients to get a free mini-shoot for a successful referral, or even a discount for new clients who want to try out your services.

Sometimes the reason photographers struggle to get clients is not because of the marketing tools they use. It’s because their offer becomes too monotone. You need to spice things up every now and then! Create special promotions to get more clients. Offer mini-sessions that are less expensive and are more likely to attract new photography customers. Plus, they take less of your time and you can offer more of them.

Give a discount to clients who choose you again and again.

Loyalty programs are a great way to keep existing clients. They also seem attractive for new photography customers as they see that you value your existing clients.

However, no matter what you decide to offer, it is important to keep in mind that discounts or deals that seem ‘too good to be true’ can be a cue that cheapens your brand, so tread with care. It’s better to provide an incentive that is aligned with your niche and how you want to be perceived, as whether you’re offering photo editing jobs or full shoot sessions, you want your services to be perceived to be premium. Chanel never goes on sale, right?

Invest in Your Business

“No matter what stage of the model photography process you’re in, a top priority for you should be to always keep your work protected.”

Once you see an increase in clients brought on through your successful marketing efforts, then you will need to take your photography career and business to the next level, by investing more money, time, and effort in it to help with its success. The first thing to develop once your business grows is security.

No matter what stage of the model photography process you’re in, a top priority for you should be to always keep your work protected from anyone who could be looking to steal, or misappropriate your work. This is where water marking comes in. Watermarking helps protect the copyright of your work and ensures that it cannot be reused or altered without your permission, making it one of the most sure-fire methods for a photographer to protect their work.

WaterMarquee is a free online tool, that allows you to add custom watermarks with your text and logo. You can also make multi-part watermarks and adjust the opacity and transparency of your watermarks, all in the one place. So if you want to protect your photos, do it with WaterMarquee today!

Taking a child’s photo can be a difficult, but very rewarding photography niche to get into for those want a lot of room to have fun and let their creativity run free, whilst still delivering a product to happy customers at the end of the day. A high-demand niche, taking children’s photos can also be very financially rewarding, with stock photos and royalty free photo websites paying a premium for well made photos or videos of children.

If you feel like your photography career could do with a bit of heart-warming content that can develop your portrait photography skills and could also result in a chance to make a decent income, then maybe its time to start considering specialising in children photos.

What Style Should I Be Shooting In?

A majority of photographers are more familiar with traditional-style posed shots, as opposed to candid shots. Posed photos are where the photographer makes the subject sit in a particular way, facing the camera, and will more often than not ask you to say “Cheese”. In this style of posed photograph, the subject is very aware that their photograph is being taken.

This style is useful because the photographer is completely in control of most aspects of the shot and may direct the subject to get the shot they want. In a lot of cases, this way of taking photographs works perfectly well, especially if it is for a styled shoot like glamour or fashion. A lot of people quite like this style of photography in weddings too, although a lot are now turning towards a more candid style of shooting, which is more common in children’s photos.

With candid photography, the photographer has much less control over the shoot and will have to move around a lot to capture a subject that may not even be aware that they are being photographed. The pay-off for candid photography however, is that you end up with much more natural moments and expressions – moments that you would never capture if you were going down the traditional, posed route.

If you’re given a chance to choose between these two styles, ask yourself the question; what are the best children’s photos that I’ve seen? Are they posed or are they immersed in play and captured in moments that are natural to them. The majority of the best children’s photos might look like mud kitchen chaos, Lego building, making dens, or having a quiet cuddle with Daddy before bedtime – they’re all candid captures of the moment.

How To Shoot Candid

Look For The Right Moments

The beauty of shooting children is capturing them as they are, and the best shots are often impromptu. Children differ from adults, as they lack an inner projection of themselves. When children are in front of the camera, they wont try and act in the way that they want to be perceived, and will instead just be their own genuine selves.

Capturing these genuine moments makes a huge difference when trying to improve your children’s photography skills. Instead of aiming for a certain shot, let the subject act however they please, and instead aim to capture every sweet little moment on that child’s face.

“Capturing these genuine moments makes a huge difference when trying to improve your children’s photography skills”

Embrace Your Inner Child

Children are constantly on the search for a moment of fun, and as a children’s photographer, you should aim to search for those moments of fun with them. This means engaging with the child, asking for and using their ideas – and talking to them, which can be more difficult than it sounds. The majority of new children’s photographers make the common mistake of try and failing to communicate with their subjects effectively. The rule of thumb when talking to children is to never talk at them or down to them. Talk about real things – don’t fall into the ‘so how is school?’ trap. Ask what they like to do, learn about them, and you’re guaranteed to have a good shoot!

Don’t Forget About Angles

While it might sound obvious, it is important to remember that you’re likely to be much taller than your subjects as a children’s photographer. When photographing adults you have to be very careful about how you pose them, and this is even more so with children, as shooting from your own eye level can create a shoot that is full of photos which distance the viewer from the subject.

With children you’re aiming to photograph a genuine expression or a warm moment, so you can get as low to the ground as possible to create an image that feels more connected with the child. 

“Keep your photography safe from theft using WaterMarquee’s free watermarking services”

Watermark Your Work

As all professional photographers know, once a photo is online, it will be there forever. If you or your clients are not made eager by the idea of someone using your children’s photos for a commercial website, or other purposes, then its best to protect your work with a water mark. Luckily there, water marking your photos online has never been easier, with new sites offering the ability to watermark every single one of your images, with even needing you to upload them a photo-sharing website.

One advantage of photo watermarking is that it helps prevent potential thieves from stealing your pictures. Images without a watermark can easily be stolen by anyone who has an internet connection, but if your company name or logo is watermarked across your images, theft becomes impractical as it will be clear that they are misappropriating someone else’s hard work. As such, watermarking your photos will help protect you and your clients, giving them peace of mind that their photos are secure in the digital world.

So, if you want to keep your photography safe from theft, then consider using WaterMarquee’s free watermarking services, where you can create and upload your own custom watermark that will keep your work safe, and even double as an easily recognisable digital signature to really make your work pop. WaterMarquee even has a pro plan, that gives you unlimited access to all features and unlimited watermarking for all your photos for only $19.99.

 

 

So what are you waiting for? Protect your photography portfolio today with the great watermarking for free service from WaterMarquee!

Professional model headshots are arguably the most important photo a model needs for castings and jobs and is also the main shot in modelling digitals an aspiring model needs to submit to agencies. This makes it a highly sought after product that an amateur or professional photographer can provide. If you’re a photographer looking to venture out into modelling, or are simply looking to expand your skills and possibly make a bit of money on the side by taking model headshots, then you first have to understand the basic of what a headshot is, and what separates the good from the bad.

What Is A Model Headshot?

“Model headshots concentrate on the face, the body and the connection between the two.”

Model headshots differ significantly from the what most people associate with headshots – the acting headshot. Acting headshots are designed to emphasize expressions on the actor’s face and role type, where as model headshots on the other hand concentrate on the face, the body and the connection between the two.
In order to take good headshots, its important to understand exactly what a model needs out of the photograph.

Professional models, or those looking to develop their modelling career, are always in the business of expanding their modelling portfolio,  known as a model composite card. The composite card serves as the model’s portfolio and displays her latest and best pictures, including a full-body shot, a 3/4 image, and a close-up headshot.

When viewing model portfolio images, model agencies look to see a model in the most natural way and at all angles. This means that the majority of comp cards and model headshots will be taken with the model wearing outfits that highlight their figure, as well as light makeup that enhances their natural beauty. This is important to remember for photographers when shooting model headshots, as it is a reminder that the key to taking a good headshot is to ensure that the photos put the model in the best light.

Alongside this, it is also important for models to be themselves and not try to copy or be like someone else, which then also applies to photography.

A photographer must understand that modelling agencies don’t want to have another model who is just like someone else in their clothing style or acts a certain way to fit in. They are looking for models who are individual in their looks and character, and so this individualism is what you should hope to be highlighting in any model photoshoot or headshot session.

What Makes A Good Model Headshot

In acting it’s often thought too many shots in a headshot package can cause confusion on the character types an actor might be ideal for, but this is the opposite for modelling. Modelling portfolios often showcase many more shots in them than actor profiles do, and as such, the first step taking good headshots for models is to ensure that you’re taking as many as possible. Despite this difference, it’s more important to keep the idea of quality over quantity in mind.

As major commercial modelling campaigns are shot using high-end camera gear and lighting, it is important to ensure that your headshot’s are up to scratch in terms of lighting and visual fidelity so that your clients are taken seriously and your work is held in high regard. So, while it is important to take a large number of photos so your client has options when assembling their portfolio, it is even more important to ensure that every photo your provide your client with, is the best model headshot it could be.

How To Direct A Model

One thing that a lot of photographers overlook when taking headshots however, is posing, as this can seriously impact the success of a model headshot. A lot of times when models are just starting out, they don’t have many skills in posing or being in front of the camera, which is a shame as posing is key in a modelling career, since it shows that the model knows how to act in front of a camera.

Luckily, even if you’re working with aspiring models, you as the photographer have the power to direct them in order to ensure that you’re producing the best headshots you can capture. Luckily, the key to directing posing models is quite simple – Turn the model’s head and body toward the light so the intricacies of their face are captured and the photo looks as aesthetically pleasing as possible.

As all photographers should know, flat lighting will make even the most pretty subject look unappealing, so ensure that your model is posing in a way that creates shadow, while also highlighting their best features.

Of course, be careful not to over step your boundaries.

During a model photoshoot, it’s the model’s responsibility to know how to turn their body and pose for the shot, so don’t get too involved with directing, try to let the model do their thing. However, it is the photographer’s job is to capture the best shots they can, so if you see that some guidance is needed in order to improve a shot, then politely direct the model as best you can so you can get the best shot for both you and your model.

How A Professional Photographer Gets The Most Out Of A Headshot Session

“Make sure the eyes are crisp, sharp and dynamic in every shot you take.”

The first thing a professional photographer does when booking a professional model’s headshots, is to meet their subject in person, or at least talk to them on the phone, before the session. As most people dislike having their photograph taken and feel nervous about getting professional head shots, even professional models, this is a good way of making your client feel more at home with you. It will also give give you the chance to find out exactly what kind of portrait they’re after, be it super professional, fun or quirky.

The next thing to consider is the background you’re planning on shooting against.

Although the focal point of any good headshot is obviously the face, don’t neglect the background when setting up. Plain or highly bokeh backgrounds usually work best, and be sure to watch for shadows if your subject is standing close to a wall or a screen, as this will make the photo look less professional, which can really detract from a professional model and their looks showcase in the shot. 

Once your background is sorted, the next thing to focus on is the eyes. Arguably the most important part of all professional model headshots is making sure the eyes are crisp, sharp and dynamic in every shot you take. Capturing eyes well will establish a strong connection between the photograph and the viewer, so a good way to get “fresh eyes” is to ask a subject to look away and then back into the lens right as you take the shot. 

Finally, expression is everything when it comes to taking great professional model headshots. As the photographer, it is your job to find the most natural expressions of your subject and capture a look that’s unique to them, and the easiest way to do this is just to talk to them a lot. Ask your subject serious questions, crack jokes, give them direction, but most importantly constantly reassure them that they’re doing great. If someone feels they’re looking good and you’re getting the results you want, they’ll naturally relax and be themselves.

How To Keep Your Work Safe

No matter what stage of the model photography process you’re in, a top priority for you should be to always keep your work protected from anyone who could be looking to steal, or misappropriate your work. This is where water marking comes in. Watermarking helps protect the copyright of your work and ensures that it cannot be reused or altered without your permission, making it one of the most sure-fire methods for a photographer to protect their work.

WaterMarquee is a powerful online tool, that allows you to add custom watermarks with your text and logo. You can also make multi-part watermarks and adjust the opacity and transparency of your watermarks, all in the one place. So if you want to protect your photos, do it with WaterMarquee today!

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you grew up, the odds are that at some point in your life you’ll have been part of painfully awkward family photos. All too common on holiday cards, Facebook posts and framed on bookshelves and walls, awkward family photos haunt us all – so much so that there’s even a website that has these cringeworthy photos carefully curated – the awkwardfamilyphotos website, which also has its own hit card game.

So how do you avoid being an internet sensation in one of the most embarrassing ways possible? Well with these simple tips anyone, from a professional photographer to a parent with an iPhone camera, can make sure that their family photos are unforgettable images for all the right reasons.

How To Avoid Awkward Family Photos

Posing Is Useful But Poses Are Not

To start with, the most important tip to avoid shooting awkward family photos, is to avoid silly poses – no wacky faces, no recreations of the last supper, no back to back super hero poses. Poses like these are guaranteed to make any photo awkward, so if you ensure that you don’t include any in your photo then you’re already on your way to non-awkward family photos. 

However, while poses aren’t a good idea, posing your photo is a good idea if you want to stage the image to be more aesthetically pleasing. Posing the photo allows you to play a bit with the composition and the arrangement of people, for example you could put grandparents or elders sitting in the front, (as they are the core of the family), with parents and their children around or behind and maybe all at the same distance apart.

This will give the photo a visual balance and will take it even farther away from the awkward side of the spectrum. It is important to remember that, for family shots, the position of the subject in frame portrays the importance of the person, therefore it’s important to position the middle well as it is the strong spot of the image.

 

Avoid Unnecessary Touching

While seeing a physical bond between family member is a heart warming idea, more often than not a big group hug tends to look more like a football team huddle than a happy family when put on camera. So, to avoid awkward family photos, you want to limit any unnecessary group contact, except for a few simple exceptions, like a hand on the shoulder or even holding hands. 

In fact, holding hands is a popular choice as it creates a bond between the people in psychological terms but also in photo composition. The hands have to be visible. Holding them too tight will make two people look like a single object in the frame, while having some distance between the people, while holding hands, gives one the impression of a connection.  

However, shots like these have to feel genuine, so if you’ve taken a few and they are looking more like candidates for the awkward family photos hall of fame, then feel free to do away with the hand holding. 

Think About Expressions

If you like natural expressions and non-staged poses, then the key word for your photo should be expression-expressiveness. Of course, rules for composition and lighting are still very important but without a genuine expression the image will be less powerful.

What this means is, don’t worry if your children don’t smile or aren’t necessarily looking at the camera. Some of the best photographs are often the ones you didn’t realise were being taken. Leave the directing to the professional and trust them to capture and create in the best ways they know how.

Just Because You Have a Nice Camera Doesn’t Mean You Should Use It

A good oven doesn’t make a great chef, and as such, owning a good camera and camera equipment doesn’t mean that you can take a great photo. The problem with many family photos is that they’re taken by people who aren’t professionals and can barely operate a self-timer.

So, if you want to ensure your family photo isn’t part of the next award-winning game night sensation, then it might be best to go with a professional photographer.

If you do end up going down the professional photographer route, then you should be completely open to trusting your photographer. A photographer will always want you to look good, so be assured that they are always thinking about the best light and the best background whilst also trying to engage with your family. Photographers do this all the time and by helping them make it all flow as smoothly as possible, it will help you to get the most creative potential from your session.

It is also important to remember to respect that this is your photographer’s job, so please don’t bring out your mobile phone or HDR camera to take your own photos. This is a major distraction for everyone and not why you’ve booked a professional. Besides, you’ll get a lot more value out of the session if you relax into the moment and just let the experts do their job.

However, if a professional photographer is out of your price range and you’re set on taking your own family photos, then make sure to consider all these tips on how to avoid those awkward family photos, and take a great family photo instead. 

How to Take a Great Family Photo

Plan Ahead

As with most things, preparation never goes amiss when you’re taking a family photo. Make sure that before you invite your whole family over for the photo, you charge your camera battery, buy film, know how to use the camera. Making everyone wait while you figure out how to release the shutter or turn on/off the flash, is a way to guarantee that any photo you end up shooting is sure to be amateurish and may even end up being nominated for the awkward family photos award.

Frame Correctly

A common problem with amateur photography is incorrect framing. While art is subjective, there is an objectively correct way to take photos, especially when it comes to things like family photos. Luckily framing is simple enough to do with any photography or movie knowledge. The basics of framing to remember is to avoid cutting off any limbs, get everyone in shot, and try to make the photo fit the rule of thirds if possible.

It is also important to consider your backdrop when shooting, in relation to framing. It’s practically impossible to avoid awkward family photos when you shoot in front of a busy scene with phone poles or trees poking out of their heads. Instead, try to put your subjects in front of a calm, but interesting backdrop, like a brick wall, or a nice patch of natural foliage.

Have Fun!

Now, while you want to add themed inside jokes like ‘grandmother demonstrating safety standards’ or ‘children quoting the most memorable movie lines’, you do want to make sure your photos are fun. Whether it’s a bored panda suit thrown in to spice up the photo or even a simple ‘cheese’ before the photo, make sure to have some fun with your family, after all, that’s what you’re hoping to capture in a family photo; fun!

After the Photo Shoot

Crop It Out

Now that you’ve gone and taken your photos, it’s time to start fixing them in editing. Go ahead and throw them on a big screen so you can see everything that needs to be changed. First off, use your photo editor’s clone tool to edit out that phone pole sticking out of Dad’s head, and feel free to crop out distracting background clutter.

Lose the Color

If the family rebel insists on wearing a clashing color or pattern, eliminate the problem by converting the entire image to black-and-white. Sharpen the contrast, and you may have a better picture than the original color version, as long as you keep in mind that the main goal is to keep all content visible.

Be Happy With Out Takes

 It’s always best to double tap when you take a photo, just so you can miss an accidental blink or a quick nose itch that you might’ve run into if you only took one photo. This is great because, when all else fails, you can forget about the perfect photo and instead use one or two photos that show the spirit of your group, with mom, kids, great grandma, and friends included in all their genuine wonderful ways.

Secure Your Photos (And Make Them Your Own)

As all professional photographers know, once a photo is online, it will be there forever. If you’re not eager to have your family photos, awkward or not, used for a commercial website or put into a comedic compilation, then it’s best to protect your work with a watermark. Luckily, watermarking your photos online has never been easier, with new sites offering the ability to watermark every single one of your images, without even needing you to upload them a photo-sharing website.

At WaterMarquee you can create and upload your own custom watermark that will keep your work safe, and double as an easily recognisable digital signature to really make your family photos even more special.

If you want unlimited watermarking on all your photos, as well as access to all features including a helpful advice on the batch watermarking process, WaterMarquee Pro offers all this and more for the one off low fee of $19.99. That’s right, pay once and watermark forever!  So, why aren’t you already a customer? What are you waiting for? Protect your online photography portfolio today with the great watermarking service from WaterMarquee!

For many budding photographers the thought of creating a professional online photography portfolio can be overwhelming. You might think your work isn’t worthy, have too much work, or just don’t know where to start. Or perhaps you feel your current marketing strategies are working just fine and you don’t need to do anything else?  Regardless of your reasoning, the truth is that every professional photographer has an online portfolio, and you are no exception. An online photography portfolio, or your very own portfolio website is an essential for any photographer who is looking to advertise their work to potential clients. With a professional photography website, a photographer is given the potential to grow their following, their business, and most importantly, highlight the value of their work.

What You Need in a Photography Portfolio Website

An online photography portfolio should be, at its most basic, a place where visitors to your website first see your work, and familiarize themselves with your style, quality, and costing. This means that these websites are super simple to create if you have the right tools, and are even easier to continually keep up to date since all you have to do is upload your latest work to the already existing portfolio site. With an photography website, you have the potential to reach the broadest audience possible thanks to email marketing, organic search results, and social media sharing.

Organization

With that in mind, your photography website should be arranged according to theme or subject, to make it easy for potential clients to understand your work. If your photography is presented in an organized and easy to navigate way, chances are potential clients will appreciate the curation and level of professionalism that went into creating your photography website. It also makes their lives a lot easier when looking through your work.

Clarity

This ties into another common mistake with online photography portfolios; a portfolio site is not your external hard drive. Many photographers fall into the trap of publishing every photo they’ve ever shot onto their online portfolio, forgetting that in photography, like many other art forms, quality always beats quantity. This means that you want to make sure only the best of the best goes up so that your photography website look less like a dumping ground and more like a professional photographer’s website. Clients need to know what you are good at what you do, so make sure to show only those images that truly showcase your talent. You may also want to put your best work at the forefront of your website. Most clients are busy and don’t have the time to scan through every photo in your galleries, so make sure the work that you are most proud of is featured on your website’s home page, and at the beginning of your galleries.

Optimisation

Often photographers create beautiful websites and then wait around hoping that clients will see them. However, they forget that like anything online, their photography business will need search engine optimization (known as SEO), if they hope to reach the eyes of any new viewers. This means that you should consider using a portfolio service that enables you to take control of your SEO, and includes search engine friendly URLs, crawl-able content, and unique meta tags. These features will drive traffic to specific places on your site and build links to your entire website, instead of just your homepage.

Unification

Another key feature that all the best photography portfolio websites share is simple interconnection between the portfolio site and the artist’s social media pages. With this feature, visitors can share your photos on social media platforms with just a click, allowing you to gain more visibility for your brand and letting clients market your work for you without you having to ever lift a finger.  

What If I Want To Sell My Photos?

Online photography portfolio sites can also double as a form of digital marketplace where you can sell prints, or digital copies of your previous works for profit. Depending on your website host provider, creating an online shopping portal within your portfolio can be as easy as a few mouse clicks, and will deliver a smooth checkout process for people buying digital or physical prints from your online store. Of course, not all hosting sites offer digital marketplace options for your site, so the first step before creating an online photography portfolio, is to first decide which website builder or online portfolio site will be the best host for your photos.

How To Create Your Own Page On Photography Portfolio Websites

So what is a website builder and an online portfolio site, and what is best for your portfolio? Well, while you may have good intentions to build your own custom portfolio site, wanting it to be a representation of your own unique brand, many photographers find it much more effective to focus on their work and leave the coding and technicalities to the professionals. This is where online photography portfolio builders come in. A Portfolio builder site will take the guesswork out of the process and will allow you to quickly put together a working, professional site in a short amount of time, so that you can focus on creating and refining your photography. But with so many options for hosting sites, how do you find the one that is best for you? For an aspiring photographer, the number one thing you should want is a site that is easy to use and has a large selection of customizable and flexible templates, so that the site you create truly reflects your personal branding and style. The next factor to consider is cost per upload. As a professional photographer, you may find yourself uploading thousands of files, so you don’t want to be stuck paying for each upload. Stick to a platform that allows you to do this without charging exorbitant fees. However, online photography builders aren’t just about making the photographer’s life easier, making sure your client has a great user experience is an essential step to having a successful online photography portfolio. As such, the platform you decide to go with, should make it easy for clients to navigate your website, whether they’re using a desktop computer, tablet, or smartphone. Using a portfolio website service with responsive design, enables your clients to see your site perfectly formatted to their device. Also, as mentioned previously, if you plan to give your clients the option to purchase certain images directly from your site, then you should look for providers that have a built-in e-commerce function so your clients can use easily choose and purchase the images they love.  

The Downfall Of Online Photography Portfolios

There really is only one downfall to creating a web portfolio and that is that online photography portfolios open photographers up to image misuse. As soon as you publish a photograph online, it is accessible to thieves who wish to steal or misappropriate your work for their own purpose. Luckily, there are numerous ways to combat this and keep your photos safe online. The first and most obvious means to combat theft is to disable the right-click button on the images on your website to prevent illegal downloads. While this won’t discourage image theft in totality, it will reduce it to some level. Determined visitors can still find the source of the image by sifting through your website code or just take a screenshot of the image. This is where the next, and most effective method of safeguarding your work comes in – watermarking!

Safeguard Your Images From Theft

Adding a visible watermark to all your images before you upload them to your online photography portfolio, helps establish copyright and protects your images. By placing your watermark in an obvious and hard to remove location, you can save your image from unauthorized use. With services like Watermarquee, you even create custom watermarks that can range from anything like your name to your photography portfolio’s logo. So, if you want to keep your online photography portfolio safe from theft, then consider using Watermarquee’s watermarking services. You can create and upload your own custom watermark on your images to keep your work safe, and even double as an easily recognizable digital signature to really make your work pop. Watermarquee offers you unlimited access to all features and unlimited watermarking for all your images for only $19.00. Protect your online photography portfolio today with the great watermarking service from Watermarquee!

See also: Wedding Photography Portfolio: 5 Tips for Choosing Your Best Photos.

See also: Protect Your Images Online with Ease Using WaterMarquee.

Related: See our complete watermarking workflow for photographers — brand kit, batch gallery export, and the multi-size pipeline for wedding, portrait, and real-estate work.