Calm Photos

I’m happy to announce the addition of a second, full-day photography workshop for spring 2010, to be held on Saturday, May 29 at Cox Arboretum. Class is limited to the first 25 people who call (937-432-6711) or email me to register. As is the case with all of my past workshops, the cost is $89 per person which does include a box lunch.

Summer Garden Photography will be an entry-level workshop program for those who are just starting out in digital photography and wish to take their picture taking capabilities to the next level by capturing the natural beauty of gardens and nearby parks. The emphasis of the workshop will be upon basic photography of flowers, insects and wildlife, particularly birds. Jim will discuss the importance of understanding both the craft and the art of fine art nature photography, including choosing the right lens for particular subjects, use of filters, lighting for creative effects, aperture, shutter speed, film speed, time exposures and more. There will also be an overview of basic digital editing and enhancements on the computer using both Apple Aperture and Adobe Photoshop.

Part of the workshop instruction will be held within the MeadWestvaco Theater room in the main building facility at Cox Arboretum. This facility allows for comfortable seating with optimal viewing of speakers and presentations. Jim will be using a laptop computer with LCD projector throughout the workshop to clearly demonstrate the photography techniques discussed as well as slideshows of various nature and landscape images from his award-winning and often published stock library of his most popular photographs.

During the day Jim will also guide the group out to the gardens and outside areas of Cox Arboretum to demonstrate the photography techniques discussed within the classroom. More information . . .

Previously I was using kind of a “third party administrator” for sales of stock image licensing to most of my images. The monthly fee just simply wasn’t worth it. Hence I’ve returned to directly managing all of my stock image estimates and sales, and like the page on my web site that describes my commercial photography services, I don’t provide a standard rate. That’s too restricting, especially for the photographer. Each project and client situation is unique given the intended usage, distribution, print run, medium, etc., therefor estimates are provided only after I’ve had an opportunity to speak with the potential customer and ask him or her a series of questions.

My new page regarding stock image licensing includes several of what I call ’stock strips’ – samples grouped according to my most popular stock subjects, including Dayton skyline and cityscapes, wildlife, avian, Ohio landscapes and holiday images. These are also designed to be printed as 4″x8″ direct mail or leave-behind prints.

Also, I’m discovering that more and more publishers and agencies are fishing the waters over on flickr. Nine out 10 times they will contact the photographer of an image they are interested in using without mention of their stock fees or offer of compensation. They simply throw-out the usual “we’ll give you a credit listing” in attempt to take advantage of a photographer’s desire for “the big break.”

I strongly encourage photographer’s everywhere, whether amateur or professional, to stick to their guns when it comes to being paid for usage versus a simple credit listing, or less. Even in the case of most so-called “non-profits.” If the organization has a payroll and they pay for utilities, advertising, etc., then they can – and should – pay for image licensing. A photographer’s time, skill and knowledge go into the crafting of each image.