Newsletter April 2010

Photography courses, photographic software, articles and more…

Hi All and welcome to the April 2010 Newsletter from ATP!

It really feels like Spring is here in the south of England. What with the sunshine beaming through the office window that I have been stuck in for the past few days. Still, I am out and about photographing with the kids tomorrow which I am looking forward to. It looks like the good weather is here to stay for a while!

The past few weeks have been a blur as a whole host of unexpected work came in. Work from album amendments/orders from a wedding I shot two years ago…that quite frankly I had forgotten about. Then I ws actually videoing a wedding last weekend as opposed to photographing it. I needed to see for myself how it feels to be a videographer playing second fiddle to the photographer ; )

Stock photography has been a huge issue recently but in a nice way.

I have been doing a fair bit of shooting and uploading to all agencies over the past few weeks. Whether it was this extra activity or just a popular time for image sales I don’t know, but my sales went through the roof again. I had a 60% increase in earnings! Great stuff and I can't think of a better excuse to get out and about with your DSLR than shooting stock.

Anyway, here are the April 2010 newsletter topics

I hope that wherever you are you are getting some good weather and are able to get out and about shooting great images.

1. Photoshop CS5

Just when you were considering upgrading from CS3 to CS4, along comes CS5. I sometimes get annoyed and frustrated by these constant software upgrades (seeing that I own so many programs). However, now and again one comes around that is so worthwhile. I think CS5 is one of them.

Adobe is promising some ground-breaking new features and have released a bunch of teasers to get us all excited! One such feature is Content Aware Fill, check this out...

Amazing huh! This will save many of us countless hours of boring, monotonous work…unbelievable! Also check out this video (especially at around 3 mins)…

Adobe CS5 will be launched on April 12th. For more information, go to Adobe CS5.

2. Stock Photography Course

We had a lot of success at our recent stock photography courses. There were people attending from London, the North of England and even Ireland. Because of this, we have added another date for this 2 day, hands on, intensive introduction to stock photography.

In previous courses, we have taken images that were shot for fun in both a studio environment (making a huge mess at the same time). We also headed out and about, and uploaded our images during the course. This was to show everything from inception of the idea right through to the upload process.

All images taken so far have been accepted by all agencies with some already making regular sales. This is great for students as you get to see the entire workflow from start to finish. Many of our students are also seeing some fantastic results already as they start on this addictive journey to residual income.

If you are interested in attending our next course, you can find out more and get in touch using the link below. You can include 1 or 2 nights bed and breakfast so you can start the first day totally refreshed. I can't guarantee that you will be totally refreshed for the second day. We normally head out to the local Italian restaurant on the Saturday night for a nice meal (just kidding, we don't stay out too late)!

Stock Photography Course

3. Wedding Photography Course for Beginners

We have now decided to expand the wedding photography course over two days instead of one for a trial period. This will give us more time to really get stuck into the ins and outs of shooting a wedding successfully. We aim to use models, churches, set ups and great locations for those special portraits.

The price will be around £345 for the two days (£395 including 2 nights B and B accommodation). Dates have yet to be confirmed but will most likely be around September/October. So if you are interested in attending, please let us know by getting in touch.

4. Stop 43

Stop43 is an organisation set up to try and overturn a possible clause in the Digital Economy Bill. This is a bill that will allow anyone to use your images for whatever they like if they cannot trace the original owner.

Think about the implications of that.

Let's say I find an image floating around cyberspace or elsewhere that I would like to use. After however long I decide to look though, I couldn't find nor trace the copyright owner. I would then have the right to use it as I wish after paying the government licensing body a small fee.

Many photographic associations and bodies are supporting Stop43 in a bid to try to protect our images. After all, if you have images anywhere online, this could affect you.

Update

The day I wrote this entry, Stop43 achieved their goal and stopped this clause from becoming reality. I decided to keep this in because it is important for us to always be aware of what is happening in the ever-changing digital world. It is good to know there are fantastic organisations and people out there who are protecting our interests. Great news and well done Stop43!

To read more go to: http://www.stop43.org.uk

5. Canon EOS 5D Mark II Firmware Update 2.0.4

Canon finally released their latest firmware update for the 5D Mark II. This update allows, amongst other updates, the ability to shoot video at:

This is a great boost for any videographers out there as these frame rates go a long way to achieving that elusive "film look".

To download this firmware, go to: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Firmware Update

6. Lightroom 3

Lightroom 3 Beta is now available for download with some hefty improvements. I am an avid user of Lightroom and personally love this software so will look to upgrade as soon as I can. If you want to download the Beta version, you can whilst it is still up but be sure to backup any images that you play with. This is still in Beta and could have bug issues.

Update 2018/2019: Obviously this is now obsolete but feel free to visit Adobe for information on the latest Lightroom release.

7. Wedding Videography/Comfort Zone

Every now and again I need a reality check! I need to do something radical and scary that gets me out of my comfort zone. I guess I do this to make me appreciate what I have and do for a living as sometimes, working mostly alone and from home can take its toll. You can become quite complacent.

In the past, every year, like clockwork, I will suddenly get the urge to do something completely outside of my normal life or working day. Without a second thought, I'll just do it. This month I decided to film a wedding as opposed to photographing it, something I had never done before.

My reasons for doing this were:

You can read more about this in our latest article over at ATP Members, getting out of your comfort zone.

8. Special Spring Promotion

For the remainder of April 2010 I am giving away our two latest eBooks with every copy of the Wedding Photography Blueprint DVD's bought. These books are:

On top of that, you will also receive the option to join ATP Members, the online private membership section to All Things Photography, for free ($10 monthly membership fee still applies) worth a further $65!

Please note (2018/2019): Our private members section is currently free but may change in the future.

The reason for this is that I want to put a new package together. Something for photographers wanting to not only get into wedding photography, but also learn about stock photography and running your own business. The two books cover a wealth of information. Knowledge that will help to get you started in building a lucrative photography business from many different angles and the membership site will allow you to continue forward with all the help you need.

If you want to earn some extra cash from this promotion, just head over to the affiliate section of the Wedding Photography Blueprint. Sign up as an affiliate to get your own, personal affiliate code and start earning some summer spending money today. Current commission rates are 30%!

So, that is just about it for this edition, I hope you found it useful. Be safe and until next time, keep clicking!

Nick - All Things Photography