Photos: Makeup Shoot

Hey,

So I just posted the other photos from the shoot on my site @ www.tomhoustonphotography.ca and they are at the start of my gallery for my portraits.  I will post one of the photos below here but make sure you check out my site for the rest of the photos.

Makeup Shoot - Portrait - 105mm

Thanks for reading and here is a direct link to my portrait gallery to see the other photos from the shoot!

Photos: Makeup Shoot Sneak Peek

Hey,

Just did a shoot recently with a lovely model and my very talented makeup artist.  Shoot turned out really well and I am very happy with the photos.  I decided to post the photos of the sneak peek on my website to try to get some of my blog audience to take a peek at my site.  So I uploaded the two sneak peek photos as the first two photos of my portrait gallery.  Please go check them out!

After a week or so I will sort the new photos into the gallery however for now I will leave them at the front of the gallery.

Hope you enjoy the photos.

Also one of those photos is on my Twitter @TomHoustonPhoto

Tom

THP Tip #5: Getting Yourself Out There (Internet)

THP Tip #5: Getting Known (Web)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

So to bring you up to speed thus far:          

THP Tip #1: Portrait Photography and the topic was Bokeh.

THP Tip #2: Portrait Photography and the topic was on making your model/subject/client comfortable.

THP Tip #3: Portrait Photography and the topic was on communication.  

THP Tip #4: Portrait Photography and the topic was on being professional.

My fifth tip will be on how to get yourself out there via the internet.  I decided to limit it to the internet since I might make one on how to get yourself known without the internet.  So I will go through the progression of how I slowly used the internet more and more to get my work and my name out there.  Again, this is what I did, and by no means is the best way, just happened to have worked for me. 

First I will just briefly talk about why you should do all this because by the end of this post, it might seem a little crazy to do all of the below.  The more you have your name out there with your photos/blog/tweets, the more likely it is people will see your work.  This is almost always never a bad thing.  You won't become known if you only show your friends your photos on your computer every once and a while.  You have to do more than that to get noticed by others.

Flickr:

So, what I did first was create a Flickr Account.  It is an amazing way to showcase your photos to fellow photographers and anyone who is searching the words you tagged your photos with.  Flickr is made up of people who also are photographers who are also sharing their photos.  Therefore this makes Flickr a great community where you can share and learn almost everything.  You can join groups based on nearly anything from a certain lens (e.g. a 50mm group), to a place (e.g. a town or city or park) to many many other things.  This is great to share and view photos taken by a certain lens, or camera or in a certain place or of certain content.  This helps you see what others are doing and helps you see potential.  Now what I love about Flickr is that firstly, the photos are (hopefully) tagged with the keywords of the photos so if you search "D700" you will see all the photos on Flickr taken by the D700.  So I can day dream how nice it would be to have such a camera.  Haha but this is great for researching.  I use Flickr as my research tool for everything photography related.  Lets say I am looking for a new lens, let's say a 85mm f/1.4.  I can search "85mm f/1.4" and see all the best images with that lens.  I can see what the subject matter is usually with the lens, what the lens does well and what it doesn't do well.  I can search discussion forums on specific groups relating to this lens.  This can be very helpful sometimes.  Sometimes the discussions are way to lengthy however you learn how to sift through it all.  So Flickr can be a great way to find out how good a lens is roughly be seeing what photos people have taken with it.  It is a good rough start to figuring out what you want to buy.  I always research things meticulously before I buy them since most photography gear ain't cheap.  Secondly, I have a "pro account" so I pay a annual fee to have extra perks.  The best in my opinion is tracking all your views and such.  Not so much to know "yes people are looking at my photos!" but more so to know what photos they are looking at.  Knowing what photos people like to look at is helpful to know what photos people like seeing of yours.  Sometimes people gravitate to certain things more than others.  It is usually a little biased however.  My female portraits get a copious amount more views than anything else on my Flickr.  Thirdly what I like is you can send messages to specific members on Flickr.  I did this once where I asked a member about the 17-55mm lens and if he enjoyed using it when he owned it.  The really great thing is he lived in England so I would have no had the ability to know he existed or ask him about the lens if it wasn't for Flickr.  

Flickr is a great place to start out.  It can be free and this helps you learn and grow as a photographer if you take advantage of it.  Ask questions, post on discussion boards, continually try to learn.  It is also good because you can share your photos now with links to your Flickr account.  I did that for years.  It is great because then you can share your photos with people who are not photographers by sending people links to your photos.  So all and all a very smart first move by any new photographer or by any amateur.  Flickr for me however is not the best thing in terms of looking "professional" since it isn't your own site and it isn't made to showcase your work for a client very formally.  But I will discuss this later, so lets move on.

Facebook Page:

Next I made a Facebook page after I started doing more portrait work. I wanted to tag/share the portraits I did to the subjects/models and have their friends see the photos as well.  A Facebook page is a great way to connect with potential clients as well as other people in the business.  Facebook is almost ubiquitous these days for everyone nearly has it.  The ability to post and share photos or albums with people is a great way to advertise your photography.  Taking portraits of a friend, tagging them and then sharing it with them on their profile almost guarantees someone else will look at the photo and hopefully your other work.  The connectivity between everyone and everything on Facebook is a little scary but you might as well use it to your advantage.  I use my Facebook page mostly for keeping friends up to loop with my photos.  I also use it when I do events so I can post the photos and easily have people see them instead of trying to get a Flickr link to everyone which can be a pain.  I don't try to do anything fancy with trying to get people to like my page.  I know lots of photographers who do and it is a good idea however I like knowing most of the people on Facebook that are following my page are friends and therefore it is less formal and such.  I don't need formal on my Facebook page so this works for me however it you might not want that.  I will probably grow my Facebook page however right now I like it being low-key.  People can have contests where you have to vote on a photo by liking it to win something.  This way people have to like your page to like your photo which all gets uploaded on their profile and all their friends' home pages.  Anything to get people to advertise for you like that is a great idea.  So Facebook is a great way to almost virally spread if you do it right and want a large Facebook fan base.  

My Blog:

Well I won't link you to my blog since you are already here.  So this (My blog) was my third photography advancement on the internet.  I created this for one main reason and it wasn't to really spread my name/photos.  That happens anyways but I really wanted to give back to other photographers.  I have had many helping photographers in my life to help guide me and give advice with gear and techniques and wanted to do the same for other photographers.  I personally have read and watched countless things on photography.  Some things were very helpful and some things weren't.  Some things I read or watched were less personal and a little too much to the point that something was missing.  It is nice to have someone just give you the run down on something however for me it is nice to almost read or watch someone giving photography information that is more like a dialogue.  I think it is easier to learn if it is more of a conversation so that the information is all there from their personal thoughts and stories about it, to the tech specs or basic fundamentals.  So for me, all of my english teachers have always said I am a very informal essay writer because I write essays like I would a speech. So that is how I write my blog.  I write it as if I am just talking to you since that is how I communicate best.  I think it is the best way to go however I will bet money on the fact I have grammar and spelling mistakes riddled through this blog I am sure.  But I am human so c'est la vie.

Now, what does a blog do for you?  It allows you to help people like I hope mine is doing.  This allows people to follow not only your photographs, but you as a photographer.  This is a great thing and is a little more personal.  You can explain your photos or tell behind the scene stories.  All this engages viewers with your photography much more than just your photographs.  A photo says a thousand words yes, but it is also nice to hear a little about the experience.  I guess I think of it as if you were showing your work in a gallery and talking to viewers in the gallery about your work.  But most importantly I think a blog allows you to connect yourself by more than just photographs, but with ideas and thoughts with the photography community.  Photographs are great to share, but if you share knowledge, you'll hopefully be helping all the photographers out there.  And if other photographers do that as well, win win. And for the other things I use my blog for, well you can go and look at it all since you are here.  However I advise you finish this post first. 

Lastly, about blogging, is that the site I do it though, Blogger.com, is great with keeping stats on your blog.  Views are nice however I really really enjoy seeing where people view my blog from.  I think it is amazing.  So if you are reading this from outside Canada, I really appreciate it!  And to all those Canadains reading this I appreciate it as well, but its neat to see that someone from Iceland or Tunisia is reading my blog.  I currently have 82 countries that have viewed my blog.  Anywho, that's just me but I think it is neat seeing all these countries reading my blog.  

Model Mayhem:

I started to do more and more portraits as I was attending university since I had more people to photograph than stunning landscapes.  So I created a Model Mayhem (MM) account so that I could have a profile up to showcase my portraits as well as find other people in the area to work with.  MM is a website that is kind of like a simplified Facebook for portrait photography.  You can find models, makeup artists, photographers, retouchers... and the list goes on.  It is a good place to showcase your work specifically to the people that can be your cliental.  It is a great way to find models.  You can search by many requirements like experience or height or age etc.  

There have been a couple of models I have been in contact with via MM however I have found it is easier for me to plan and work with people I know rather than someone I don't.  A lot of the models that I have been in contact with don't always follow through.  Not sure if I am asking the wrong models or the wrong models are coming to me but it happens.  I will be moving to another city soon and will use MM if I have time to maybe setup some shoots and see how that goes.  It might just be the area I am in does not always have the most invested models.  Who knows.  

I would say MM is very worth it and is a great tool however I might not be in the right area or finding the right people.  So right now I only slightly use MM however that is by no means MM's fault.  MM is a good idea if you are into portrait photography and need to find models or MUA etc.

About.me:

I was advised to make and About.Me account because I had so many websites and things like that to manage.  So I made one and it has been interesting to have.  I am not exactly sure how helpful it is but it is nice to have a website with a big photo of yours on it.  About.Me is a site which is basically an online business card.  You have have a photo on it, your e-mail, links to your sites like your blog or flickr or whatever.  It is just another way people can find your photography.

The main reason I use it now is if there is a photo I took from a recent shoot that I really like I will post it on there.  If it is a portrait then I can send the link to the model and they always like seeing their photo nice and big on a website.  You don't need to really do much other than rotate the photo once and a while and keep it up-to-date so it has your most recent contact information etc.  

Twitter:

Hahaha so I actually had to make a Twitter account for another reason and when that commitment was over I decided to change it over to a photography.  It is a great way to have people follow you and you follow other people you are interested in, be it other photographers or models.  Twitter is a pretty simple thing and it doesn't take much to do it.  I don't tweet too too often because I keep it related to my photography.  I only tweet something new like a blog post, or flickr upload or exciting news with my photography.

It is a good way to stay in the loop with technology as well only if you are following the right people of course.  Currently I don't have tons of time to really devote myself to Twitter but it is a good tool to advertise and connect with people.  So if you want to connect with me on Twitter you can follow the link above or @TomHoustonPhoto.  

A Website:

The last thing I have made is my photography website.  I bought the domain name and used Pixpa to create the site.  So it is my own website with my own domain name and I love it.  First, I got it so that I can actually look professional instead of using MM or Flickr to show people my photos if I didn't have my iPad with me.  I made my site clean and simple which is great to showcase your work.  I like MM and Flickr however they are not there to solely showcase your work, and therefore the site is more complicated than I want to just show someone my photos.  I can design the site with a good amount of flexibility however Pixpa won't let you do everything. I find the amount you can customize works for me.  It is a great way to advertise your photos and your name by having your own website.  Also the site allows you to have private galleries which I think is amazing.  I can put up riskier photos or put up photos for a client to show them without everyone else seeing them.  

In terms of how easy it was to set this all up... I would say it was fairly difficult.  I do know my tech however I don't know my website stuff.  I tried to attach my domain name and all that jazz and I don't think it worked.  I just had a search bar for the web as my website.  That was all.  So I tried e-mailing the Pixpa support people and I didn't get a response and still haven't to this day haha.  So I didn't really want to wait for a reply because I was paying for all this and there isn't much of a point to pay for nothing.  I posted on the Facebook page for Pixpa stating my issue and my account name and they resolved the problem in about 3 hours of my posting.  This was great.  Much better than e-mailing them since I never heard back from them.  I also wanted to get the stats of my site sent to my google analytics.  I e-mailed them however nothing was returned so I wrote on the Facebook page again since that seemed to have worked the first time and it worked again.  However this time they told me to e-mail them next time.  I didn't raise the issue I already had with both of my previous issues with my e-mails not being responded to with Pixpa on the Facebook page so I just left it at that.  So my dealings with them have been par.  I would say their e-mail help thing doesn't do anything however going directly to them via Facebook did work.  So they fixed my issues so therefore I have no issues with it.  I am happy since my website works haha. 

I really like having my own site because it is clean and crisp and branded by only my brand except for a little pixpa thing at the bottom of my page.  You can pay more a year/month to get them not to have their logo on the bottom of your site however I don't need to spend more money on that.  So all and all I really like knowing that it is my own site and not just my photos uploaded to Flickr or MM.  

Summary:

So Flickr is a great start for anyone since it is a good community to be apart of and great to show your work on the internet.  A Facebook page is a great way to get known and stay connect with people.  Also a great way to get people to advertise for you.  A blog is a great way to share ideas and advice and such.  It is also good to connect on another level to people who follow your photography.  Model Mayhem is an amazing way to connect with people and showcase your work with people in the same field of photography. About.me is fun and it is cool to have a big photo on the web to show off your work and links to all your sites.  Twitter is a great way to connect and update people who follow your photography.  And Lastly creating your own website is an amazing way to be professional when showing your work in a clean and simple site.  

One disclaimer I will say is that the more places you have your photos the more risk you have of someone trying to steal your photos.  You can limit this with watermarking and uploading low res photos.  I do upload low res sometimes however I do not water mark.  I find watermarking takes away from the viewing experience of photos and I don't need to have my name on all my photos.  I find it is a little too much.  

Hope this helps!

Photo: Composite

Hey,

Thought I would show this photo I did recently that made me laugh a little.  I was bored and it was very fun to plan/do.  I hope you like it.

Self Portrait(s)? - 17-55mm - Composite

Edited it together in Gimp.  It isn't perfect however I think it is good considering it is my third composite.

Hope you enjoy this!

THP Tip #4: Portrait Photography

THP Tip #4: Portrait Photography                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
So to bring you up to speed thus far:                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
THP Tip #1: Portrait Photography and the topic was Bokeh.
THP Tip #2: Portrait Photography and the topic was on making your model/subject/client comfortable.
THP Tip #3: Portrait Photography and the topic was on communication.                                                                                                             
My fourth tip is another tip for portrait photography which will be on being professional.  I am not saying only be professional if you are doing portrait photography but that is what I do so that is what I will discuss.  I also do macro, landscape and other kinds of photography but I decided to just group it under portraiture since I deal with people more one on one with my portraits.                                                                                                               
Being Professional:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
Personally I think being professional is definitely something you should focus on if you don't think you have it mastered already.  If you are not professional, you can lose clients and business which can only have a cascading effect and get worse.  If you are known as someone who is unprofessional, that is bad news.  I guess parts of this section is also very important to models too.  So if you are reading this and you are a model as well... then get your pen and paper out.                                                                                                                                                            
If you are doing photography as more than a hobby, and want to make money off of it, you have to look and act like a professional.  What I mean by this is, is people won't feel as inclined to pay you if this is just something you do for fun.  So if you make a meeting with a potential model and show up looking too casual, you won't inspire confidence.  This is very important for clients who are hiring you for a job.  If someone meets with you to see your portfolio and you show up with a couple unbound 4x6 prints and you are wearing sweatpants... you might end up not getting a lot of work.  Also this is the same with the actual shoots.  You want to show up looking like you didn't just roll out of bed.  It is also how you act and the things you say.  I don't think I could actually go through and tell you what to say or how to act but I think that is common sense.  Be polite, respectful and kind.  Don't ever act like you are in a rush or not give your client 100% of your attention.  People are sometimes very observant and will definitely know if you are only giving them 50% of your attention or time.  Just all and all act the part or don't wonder why no one wants to pay you/hire you for your photography.                                                                                                                                                                                           
Personally I think being professional elicits comfort in your subjects.  I have started doing nude shoots and you need to act very professional and this, I find, allows the model to be comfortable.  How you go about the shoot, how you act and even how you contacted the model about the shoot matters a lot.  During the shoot they can act like they are comfortable but you don't want to find out after the shoot they didn't like the experience.  So far I have done two of these shoots, the first, the model said she would come back and do more if I needed more shots.  The second said she would refer me to her other friends.  So before the shoot matters with how professional you are, during the shoot definitely matters, and if you do that right, you will get positive outcomes after your shoots hopefully.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
There are many many many points I could go over here.  I picked these ones and if you want me to post more on this subject just send me an e-mail at tomhoustonphotography@gmail.com.                                                                                                                                                                      
Hope you enjoyed it and I will be discussing all the different ways to get you and your photos seen in my next THP Tip.                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
Thanks for reading!

Photos: Update: Flower Series!

Yes that is right folks.  I am posting my Flower Series!

It has been a long time in the making since they were harder to organize than I thought.  Also I was super busy with everything else in my life while I was taking these.  I have a total of seven Flower Series shots and will probably get more later however I decided to post them now.  I did this because I have now moved onto another series.  I have done more than seven Flower Series shoots however some were not quite up to either the standard I wanted, or they didn't turn out exactly the way I had planned.  Therefore I am just posting my top ones.

First I will have them only on my website since one is fairly revealing and is for +18 eyes.  I may post them on my Flick however I will stick to my website right now for the Flower Series.  They will also be posted on my Model Mayhem account soon just so I can "show off" my creative side there.

Here is a link to my website @ www.tomhoustonphotography.ca and you will find the series in my galleries.  Or you can click here to bring you directly to the gallery.

I  came up with all the series ideas as well as planned and organized all the shoots.  Some of the shoots I used my lovely and talented Makeup Artist, Leslie Emmerson.  The concept of the series was from my access to free flowers from a local florist in my city.  I decided I wanted to do a series of photos where I incorporated flowers into the portraits.  It was overall a very fun experience doing the shoots and very tedious at times.  Flower petals do not have much friction on skin.  I had to get creative and a little crafty with my ideas to pull this series off.

I hope to do more however I am very happy this this set so far.  I hope you are as well and thank you again for the support!

THP Tip #3: Portrait Photography

Hey,                                                                                                                                
So my first tip, THP Tip #1, was on Bokeh and my second tip, THP Tip #2, was on making your model/subject/client comfortable.                                                                                             
Here is my third THP Tip on portrait photography which will be on communication.                              
Communication:                                                                                                                                                   
So my last two tips have been simple however there are so many different ways communication plays a vital role into a shoot.  For this reason I will make more of a novel than a post.  I will break it into sections of a shoot since I don't usually communicate with my landscapes or flowers often.  Also I know most, in my opinion, on portraiture than my other types of photography of people(events etc).  I hope this helps!                                                                                                                 
First, I would say the most important communication when you are contacting a subject/model or replying to someone's request for you to photograph them.  You don't want to sound unprofessional since you probably won't get anyones attention that way.  You want to be friendly and easy going however still give off the impression you are serious.  You want to be confident however not cocky.  Your confidence can rub off on your client and if you are doing a shoot together.  This might boost their confidence in the shoot which is never bad.  Also, I personally explain everything about the shoot to the client when contacting them.  I do this maybe too much however I want to be as transparent as possible asking someone to model for me.  I will usually tell them what photography I do, why I like it, what I want to do, and then I ask them if they would be interested in doing what it was I was planning.  This might be intricate for some things however I will use the extreme example, in my mind.  If you want to ask someone to do fine-art nudes, you definitely want to cross your t's and dot your i's.  I am actually getting into that genre of photography now that I have the confidence in my own abilities not to mess a fine-art nude shoot up.  So I used this train of thought when asking people if they were interested and I found people were very receptive.  If you just say "Hey, I want to photograph you." Then you can get things like "why?" or people just saying no because it is too blunt.  Also be very clear and upfront about what you want to do in the shoot so there are no surprises for you or the model/subject.  If in your mind you want to do nudes, don't let the model know that once you/they arrive to the shoot.  Also you want to be clear on the theme(s)/idea(s) of the shoot so they don't show up wearing or thinking of doing something that you don't want to photograph.  So to sum that up and include everything else that might need to be said here is be transparent as possible and communicate everything... and then some.  Additionally you want to respond professionally if the client contacts you since it is your first impression on the client as a person instead of your personality in your photos (assuming they have seen your work before).  You make take the most stunning photos, however if you can't interact with people professionally, it will definitely slow your photography opportunities down.  Another thing is be prompt with your responses.  Shows interest and that you devoted to your photography.  The last main point of this section, that I saved for last so hopefully it sinks in the most, is the model release.  Say that you will ask them to sign one so that everything is kosher (legal and protects you (and sometimes them)).  That isn't something you want to surprise someone with at the start of a shoot.  This can let you outline how many photos you plan to give them, what they can and cannot do with your photos.  This is very important since I have see people want to edit your photos after which is a huge no.  I did a shoot where a model wanted the unedited photos for educational reasons (so they know what looks good/bad).  This was a justified reason however I stipulated in the model release that they cannot edit or post them just incase.  All these agreements are best to get done and in the contract/agreement before you take the photos so everyone knows what to expect after the shoot and that it's in writing.  Also a disagreement right before a shoot might spoil the shoot.
After the initial communication before the shoot is vital.  This includes if you have to cancel a shoot, or if there is a change in timing or anything like that.  You want to be prompt and professional with this.  I once had a cancelation because a model was ill.  Unfortunately I found out later that the subject cancelled because they were too hungover that morning.  Being professional might be THP Tip #4 haha.  You want to double check the ideas/times/location so that everyone is on the same page.                                                                                                                 
Next section I would say is at the start of the shoot.  Get the client to sign the model release or contract.  But before you do that, go over it.  This is very important, I think, since if you just hand them a legal paper and pen (or iPad with a app) it will most likely be a little scary.  I know my release is all fancy dancy law lingo which can be confusing however is needed to cover all the bases.  So explain it all since each paragraph of my release I made can be explained in a sentence usually.  Also make the model comfortable which kind of overlaps with my second tip.  Ask them if they need anything, don't bother them if they are getting ready.  I usually go over the shoot ideas before the shoot myself so I can easily communicate what I want since it is fresh in my mind.  I have made small talk pre-shoot before which was nice.  This is sometimes a good idea but depends on time and if you/client are on the clock.  Getting to know your subject or model is a get idea if you have the time.  Also that will set them more at ease hopefully if you don't know each other.  However I guess that depends on how good of a conversationalist you are.  If you create a "bond" with the person, or in other words, build a rapport or break the ice, the shoot will go smoother in my experience.                                                                                                                 
Now communication during the shoot is paramount and can make or break your shoot regardless of every other factor involved.  A lot of this comes back to the comfort level of the subject.  So first, I talk as much as I can (unless I sense the model wants silence) since usually it is the best bet.  Silences can be awkward and this can be for many reasons.  The main one, in my opinion, is communicating how they are doing and posing.  If you just take 300 photos and tell the model nothing about them or show the photos, they won't have a clue if they are doing is what you want/what they want.  This only hurts both of you.  If you don't tell them they are doing well, they won't know.  This might make them feel more self-conscious which could lead to them being awkward without you feedback.  If they are not doing well, not telling them only fills up your camera with images that could be better.  Lose lose.  However, don't be harsh or bark too many orders at the subject.  Also use you discretion on what to comment on.  Obviously don't comment on things they can't change.  And if you see they have a bad habit or bad tendencies, it can sometimes be hard to say something.  Personally I have shot a subject once who did something highly awkward with a facial thing.  I won't go into specifics however it was something that was in at least 60% of the photos and because of this I kept my mouth shut since it was obvious that was something they were trying to do.  Personally I thought it looked not as good as the other 40% but it is something this subjects still does.  So that means they wanted that look and a good thing I kept my mouth shut.  If you are going to comment, be positive and explain why you are saying what you are saying.  For example, if they raise their arm that is on the same side as your flash up by their face/head and it blocks the light hitting their face, then just politely say "hey, I am just going to ask you to raise your ___ arm instead of your ___ arm because it is blocking the flash's light."  I do this as I show them the photo because you as the photographer can see the photos, the model cannot.  Then I sometimes show the photo with their other arm up just to show the difference so they understand why you asked them to switch arms.  This increases the chance that they remember your guidance since they remember why the did what they did instead of just what they did.  During the shoot communication, as I said, is very important which is why this tip is getting quite lengthy.  So to continue, during shoots I also explain all my actions.  I don't want my model wondering what I am doing or why I am doing it.  So if I am changing my flash powers, I say so.  If I  stand on a stool for a higher angle, I say so.  If I am cranking my aperture wide open I say why so that they know what I am doing and what the photos will look like.  If I switch lenses I let them know why.  Why do I do this?  Well first, if I stand there tinkering with my flash powers, the model usually is just waiting silently and patiently.  So I talk while I do all these things so the awkward silence doesn't make it seem like it taking longer than it is.  Also if I swap my 35mm for my 105mm, I let them know since I am then usually doing head shots or have to move much further back.  If I just switched lenses and then started walking away from them, they might not know whats going on.  And personally I always want my model/subject on the same page as me for a shoot.  Also if I am doing head shots I tell the model so that they know they don't have to focus on what the rest of their body is doing.  This takes some pressure off since some people really focus on hand position and posing.  If they don't have to anymore, let them know since there's no point for them to pose their body if it isn't in the photo.  I am sure there are other tips I could give here however there are other sections so I will move on.  Just remember to always fill silences unless if you feel they are awkward, and to keep the model on the same page as you with what you are doing and why.  I just find things go better that way.                                                                                                                 
After the shoot, go over any agreements you made pre-shoot.  For example, reiterate how many photos they are getting and how.  Things like this are good to state again because people forget.  I find that it is better to have your client thinking "yup, I remembered that" instead of "oh, I thought you were sending me more photos" after you sent them their photos.  Good communication avoids some situations you don't want to get in.                                                                                                                 
I keep my models/subjects posted on my editing process and when they should expect the photos.  I read a sneaky trick somewhere, where the photographer(s) purposely stated a longer amount of time than they needed to edit the photos.  This was so that they could always deliver sooner than expected to make clients happy.   This is almost what I do, however I usually just work harder than I planned and get the photos out sooner.  Both work however my way I know is not as perfected.                                                                                                                 
After you deliver the photos try to keep in contact someway or another with your client.  I like to show that it was more than just a simple business transaction.  Once you hand over the photos or whatever, that shouldn't be the end of your communication.  This, I think, will give you a better chance that the client will want to work with you again.  I know wedding photographers always recommend sending cards on christmas and such.  It's a personal touch that for some photography businesses is the difference between a photography business just getting by and one that has to turn people away due to having too many bookings.  Personally I usually keep the model posted for a while on the response of their photos with my usual suspects who follow my work.  This includes saying if a photo has a lot of views on my Flickr, or if my friends and other clients really like the photo and why.  I also usually share the links where they can find their photos on my various sites incase they want to see the number of views increase on their photos on Flickr or share the link with their friends and family.  It is probably cool to show friends and family photos of yourself on a nice looking site.  Personally I don't know cause I don't model however I love to see my photos credited on other sites or my links on peoples blogs etc.                                                                                                                 
So with that, I think, that is a good addition/start/different perspective for you on communication for your photography.  It might have turned into a novel but oh well.  I hope you enjoyed reading and I hope it helps!  If there isn't something in there for you then I hope my first two tips helped if not there is more coming so stay posted.  Also if you want me to share my thoughts on anything or if you have any questions for me, please don't hesitate to ask me at tomhoustonphotography@gmail.com.  Lastly I know you all want to see my lovely new website for my photography at www.tomhoustonphotography.ca.                                                                                                                 
Also I would like to thank all of you who read my blog.  Recently the number of views has increased as well as the number of different countries from which you have viewed my blog.  Very happy to see this since it means you might actually care about what I have to say so for that I would like to thank you.

Update: Thank you!

Hey,

I would personally like to thank all of you who have viewed my website, www.tomhoustonphotography.ca.  I would consider it a used success so far since I have gotten over 50 visits and over 1900 page views in the first 24 hours.  And I am not sure if there is a time lag for the analytics for my site or the large amount of traffic on the site but it is not keeping up with everyone's traffic and I take that as a huge compliment.

So thank you for your support, I am very happy with my website and hope it will only get better!

I am debating if I will post my Flower Series Shots of which I have 7.  This is because I am starting in bodyscapes and fine-art nudes potentially so I will only want to focus most of my energy on one series.  Nevertheless I think I will always be interested in doing more FS shots.  Therefore check out my website and stay posted because more is to come!

Also due to the more sensitive/sensual subject material I will be doing I may opt to stick to posting some on my blog for educational purposes and the rest on my website.  It might be the best area for the photos since Flickr and Facebook might not be the best viewing areas for these photos.

Update: Website!

Hey,

With great excitement, I want to announce that I have finally created a website for my photography!

I have been testing out layouts and what website hosting company to go with for a while now.  Then I had to pass it by a couple of friends to see if the site was easy to use and such.  I got the thumbs up by everyone so I got the domain name and all that fancy internet stuff and ta da... I have a website.

So please, check out my website and I hope you enjoy it!

www.tomhoustonphotography.ca

I thought I would do a .ca since I am Canadian so there is my website.  I will be blogging about how I did all this soon so that you can read my thoughts on making a website.  Wasn't the easiest thing however I knew nothing about making a website when I started all this so you can wing it... Kind of.

Hope you enjoy my site!

THP Tip #2: Portrait Photography

My first THP Tip on Bokeh for portrait photography which can be seen here.  So here is my second THP Tip for portrait photography:

Comfort!

One of my top goals of a photo shoot is just making sure the model is comfortable.  It seems intuitive however sometimes people forget some things which you can see it in photos sometimes.  

There are many ways to make a subject comfortable for example, making sure they are not too hot or too cold during a shoot.  Easy things like that.  However I have asked a lot of people who don't model to model for me and I have learned a lot from working with first time models.  Here are some things I have learned in terms of communication.  

First, if you are working with a subject that has not been in front of a camera for portraits a lot, it is a good idea to keep it simple.  I usually let them pick out their favourite outfits.  Normally I add in some ideas so they know what to think of wearing and so they don't pick anything too crazy.  But sometimes it is nice to have a model wear something different that is not the norm.  

Chances are if they are really comfortable with wearing their outfit, they will be more comfortable getting photos taken in it.  I think that if you push someone too far out of their comfort zone, it will show in the photos.  Also I give some edited photos to my friends who model for me for Facebook or what ever personal use they use it for.  If I make them wear a ridiculous outfit they don't like or feel comfortable in, and it shows in the photos... Then you are giving them photos of themselves looking awkward in an outfit they didn't like.  What a great keepsake from a shoot that they will love to showoff...

Another thing is always suggest is if they bring a friend or someone along to the shoot.  I always do that now because it makes for a much better shoot usually.  Also you just got yourself an assistant sometimes out of that deal.  I have done shoots for a friend who does makeup and we usually have a couple of friends to model there.  Having a group at a shoot is always a bonus.  They can help hold light stands, fix hair, help with clothing ideas and such.  Never hurts to have more hands, or at least someone to help keep conversations going while you get stunning photos.  Sometimes they even help guide their friends for poses and help give ideas.  So when a model, or whomever, brings a chaperone is a win-win situation usually.

I could keep writing on this subject however I will call it here.  So there are many ways of making sure the model is comfortable and this tip was just one or two things to do.  So if you just do the things I stated here you might not get a return customer.  However if you add bits of all of this to what you already do (or read if you are just starting) then you will hopefully make you subjects more comfortable.  This will help your photos because keeping the model comfortable is paramount since uncomfortable looking photos don't help you, the model or how people interpret your photos.  I personally think it looks bad for a photographer if a model looks really uncomfortable in the photos.

THP Tip #1: Portrait Photography

Hey,

So I decided since my blog has gotten enough views (+2000, thank you!) that you might actually care to hear my opinion and thoughts on some things.  So I will started doing some Tom Houston Photography Tips for things and Opinion pieces.  Just so that it is easier for me to write the tips in a timely fashion I am going to write them one at a time.  Since they are not my top ten tips since most of them would be the same with all the others you can read, I thought I would do the tips you might no see elsewhere.

There are many sources for finding tips for portraits and I encourage you to read those as well.  I don't know everything about portrait photography so this should just be one of the many resources you read to help you with your portraits.  

So here in no particular order, here is the first tip you might not see elsewhere. 

(As a quick disclaimer, most of the portraits I shoot are female so in some cases it might only apply to working with female subjects)

#1.  Bokeh, Bokeh, and more Bokeh.  

I love having bokeh in my portraits because it just makes your subject the only focus in the photo.  Personally I often, for outdoor portraits, stop my 50mm down to 1.4 or my 105mm to 2.8 and keep it there.  This makes the background into a lovely out of focus blur and makes your subject pop.  Sometimes I even do it in my studio because having such a narrow depth of field really helps focus the viewer on what you want.  

So as seen in the photo below, the background is almost indiscernible which makes the detail of the subject pop out.  It also brings the focus of the photo directly to their eyes.  This is obvious since it is really the main thing in focus, duh.  But that is also another tip mostly all photographers would say, focus on the eyes.  So write that down somewhere too.  Also another note with using wide apertures outside is be careful with blowing out your photo.  It is hard to keep your photos exposed well with using f/1.4 on the bright and lovely sunny day as seen below.  Her cheek bone might actually be blown out just a tad in this photo because of the sun.  On a quick side note I took this photo to just show what effect aperture has on the photo.  I am very glad I did since this is one of my favourite portrait shots I have.  

Portrait - 50mm

This photo below I took in my studio (however you can't really tell) and used my 50mm to get a really shallow depth of field so the eyes and rose were in focus.  I had to stand precariously on a stool to get to the right angle to do that but it was worth it.  

Portrait - 50mm 

Another reason (or amazing bonus) to shoot at a wide aperture is to get as little detail in the skin as possible.  This mostly comes into play for females however it still is a good thing to keep in mind.  Females tend to not want to see all the detail in their skin in photos.  Eye yes, skin no.

So if you have the ability to shoot wide open for portraits, give it a shot.  It is a very pleasing look I think.

I hope you try this and I will have Tip #2 coming on the weekend!