Last week I wrote extensively about pricing strategies for your business. That series generated a lot of great discussion and follow up comments and emails. One person asked if I would write about hiring subcontractors. I already did three years ago. But, I think there’s a good follow up to that post worth addressing. Specifically […]
Why Every Pro Filmmaker or Photographer Should Start Out with Weddings
When I started in this business nine years ago, I started doing weddings because it was the easisest aspect of the business to start. I figured I would just do weddings until I could do “real” videos. Admittedly, going into it, I had the low view of wedding videography that many people do. But it […]
Should Young Artists Study the Masters? A Classic Case of “No, but…”
Wow! I love my blog readers. One of the reasons I’m so passionate about writing this blog are YOU guys. The amazing dialog I get to be a part of every week with passionate artists. Even when we don’t always agree on a topic, I love the fact that you all can bring it on […]
Joe Buissink – An Intimate Portrait Video
Joe Buissink has had quite a life. Born in Indonesia. Abandoned by his biological mother (literally left on a doorstep). Verbally and physically abused as a child by his step mom. Moved to Holland at 7, then later to L.A. after his family had enough of the racial persecution they got in Holland (Joe didn’t […]
What is Your Digital Strategy?
A couple of years ago I blogged about a “not so distant future” where the portrait photographer Debra has an all-digital operation and a camera that makes it brain-dead easy for her to get beautiful images. A lot of people labeled it “doom and gloom.” I found that very interesting since nothing in that post […]
Creating Work That Honors Both Your Style and Your Client’s Brand
Yesterday I wrote about the challenge of balancing a unique, signature style as a visual artist with authentically communicating the brand of your client. B2C studios (e.g. wedding filmmakers/photographers, etc.) will tend to benefit greatly from putting their style first. B2B studios (e.g. commercial photogs and video producers) have a more complicated task at hand. […]
Whose Brand Does Your Work Project? Yours or Your Clients?
I recently put the finishing touches on the promotional film for Shawn Reeder Photography. Shawn is an amazing photographer specializing in the Yosemite and Sierra mountain region. Shawn is one of those people who exudes this amazing sense of peace and generosity. He is Zen personified. It’s an undeniable and 100% sincere aspect of his […]
Effective Use of Photographs in Video – Beyond the Ken Burns Effect
With the advent of “Fusion,” many photographers are adding video to their repertoire of services. There are few definitions for this term fusion. One of the primary ones is “the combination of stills and video.” (The irony is, filmmakers have been doing this for decades, but ever since HD DSLRs hit the scene, people are […]
Top 5 April Fool’s Videos of 2011
Okay, here are my top five April Fool’s videos from 2011.
Photographers Need to Take Audio More Seriously
In just the past few days I’ve seen some videos created by photographers that, as a filmmaker, caused me to cringe. It’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest issue photographers-turned-filmmakers have. Crappy audio. This is an issue I’ve addressed a number of times before. So I sorta feel like a broken record. But […]