An Interview with Photographer Pat Stevens
by Bonnie Caton in Arlington, Virginia

BONNIE: Pat, I understand you're a self-taught photographer.  How did you get into photography?

PAT:  I've loved taking pictures ever since I was a kid. And I'm a bit of a technology geek - so I've always purchased nice equipment. I was never one for reading the instruction books and manuals, though.

I learned much of what I know through trial-and-error, but I was also fortunate enough to be able to attend a couple of AWAI Ultimate Photographer's Workshops.  Hearing advice from real professionals -- as well as commiserating with other amateurs like me -- was extremely helpful. 

And, now that I've been published, photography has morphed into a full-on addiction. Of course the cash is nice too, although much of it has been funneled back into more gear. It's a vicious cycle, but a fun one.

BONNIE: Do you mind if I ask how much money you make for your photos when they're published in an in-flight magazine, cover included?

PAT: The pay rate varies by publication, and also by how many photos are used. Most publications use a sliding scale based on image size. For example, a quarter-page image will bring in about one quarter the money a full-page image does.

I make between $1,200 and $1,500 for a two- to four-page article, including the cover shot.

BONNIE: Had you ever sold any photos before you started taking photos for Jen's in-flight magazine articles?

PAT: No - and I didn't have the foggiest idea how to even go about trying. But getting that first one published was motivating and certainly made getting published again much easier.

BONNIE: So how did you get from having never sold a picture to getting on an editor's good side?

PAT: The key thing I learned was to start thinking like an editor. Or at least to try to make the editor happy. Since my wife has experience as both an editor and a publisher, this was not a new experience for me.

Reading publications' photo guidelines helps, but the important thing is to focus on what types of photos a magazine used in past issues. I also searched publication archives for layouts that won industry awards. Looking at the best is always a great way to learn. Once I developed a feel for what the editors like to see, life got much easier.

BONNIE: How many photo assignments have you had now?

PAT: In July I get to marry two of my loves - golf and photography - by shooting at the Broadmoor Country Club and the men's US Senior Open. Then, Jen and I fly to Arizona to do a cover story on Tucson. That will be my seventh assignment.

Past assignments include stories on Colorado Springs, Omaha, Mueller State Park, Old Colorado City, and the Garden of the Gods.

BONNIE: What would you say are the top few things you've learned that make your photos desirable to editors?

PAT: Well, first, I've learned to provide a wide variety of shots. It's difficult to know exactly what angle the editor and art director are going for - so you want to give them a good variety to choose from. A mix of horizontal and vertical shots is important - even of the same subject - so the art director has the freedom to use the shots in different layouts.

Second, take both landscape shots and macro shots. An entire article with landscape shots can be very boring, so mix it up with close-ups. A flower arrangement, an apple, a hand... even something as mundane as a fork. Macro shots can provide a feeling of intimacy, and, paired together with a more informative landscape shot, the result is a more interesting story. 

Here are a couple examples – one provides a nice vista of Pike Peak but the other makes you want to sit down and have a bite to eat:   



Third, don't forget to add people. Adding people to your shots humanizes a place and makes it feel more inviting. Readers are able to envision themselves in a place if they see other people there. 

Photographing strangers can be one of the hardest aspects of magazine photography, but it’s well worth the effort.

Take a look at this example on the left.

I love the clutter surrounding a good meal and take lots of shots like this.

And finally, tell a story. The AWAI photo course, Turn Your Pictures into Cash, emphasizes that every picture should tell a story. And that's certainly true, but the thing to keep in mind here is that you're sending in eight or 10 pictures bundled together.

It’s important that the pictures support each other and collectively tell a story, rather than each one individually standing on its own. See the example from an article on Colorado Springs, below.

It’s a simple photo of some chairs, but together with the written story about dining possibilities, as well as the other photos, you get a real feel for the place.

BONNIE:  Have you met with any surprises or difficulties along the way?

PAT:  Shooting on assignment has its pressures. In the past I could walk the streets of Paris and casually look for good shots, which is great fun. But arriving in a new city and knowing that I need to produce 10 publishable shots plus a cover shot - and in only two days - is a daunting task.

You need to capture that cover image in a way that tells the story. When you find an interesting shot, you have to make darn sure you got everything right. There is no coming back tomorrow to correct the exposure or to move the piece of trash you didn’t notice the first time.

One thing that really helps me is that, just like Turn Your Pictures into Cash recommends, I shoot everything in the RAW format.  Even shots of my own kids playing in the backyard. RAW produces big data files that are a bit more trouble to work with, but with Photoshop or Lightroom you can recover from a multitude of sins with all that data. It’s simply invaluable. 

BONNIE: What do you like most about getting your photos published along with Jen’s articles in in-flight magazines?

PAT: The thing I like most is the feedback from the editor and art director. I might submit 35 photos for a story, and they will choose eight to 10 photos from that group. 

The same goes for a cover shot. I might submit 10 photos, and they will mock up two or three into sample covers to test them out. Seeing what images they choose and responding to their follow-up questions has been invaluable to me in improving my eye for taking future shots.

Every time I go through the process I get a tiny bit smarter, and I get a better appreciation for how much more there is to learn. It is a fun journey.

[Ed. Note: Tomorrow, Jen Stevens (author of our Ultimate Travel Writer's Program and, as it happens, Pat's wife) will offer up her hard-won advice for getting more articles published in in-flights year-round.  In the meantime, you can get all of the resources that helped Pat go from amateur photographer to pro -- and learn how you, too, could make up to $1,500 on your family trips with nothing but your own snapshots -- here.

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Know a friend or two who'd enjoy the freedom and independence of a writer's or photographer's life? They, too, can sign up to receive this free e-letter here: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/eletter

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The Right Way to Travel is a FREE newsletter from the American Writers & Artists Inc., available to AWAI members and friends.



(c) 2008 American Writers & Artists Inc.
245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929
memberservices@awaionline.com

To LEARN MORE, visit:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com
http://www.thephotographerslife.com

Posted by The Photographers Life at 12:45 PM | Permalink

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June 25, 2008
The Right Way to Travel, Weekly Photo Tip
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USING PERSPECTIVE TO CREATE HUMOR
By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR.

This month's photo challenge theme Laughable Photographable has brought in a lot of funny pictures.

Several of them, I noticed, have one thing in common.  And that one thing is actually the element that makes the photograph funny.

It's the photographer's unusual perspective.

What I mean by "perspective" is the photographer's vantage point... or where he/she is standing in relation to the subject.

I've written about perspective before (see "Superman vs. the Frog," here.)

But let's take a look at a few examples from this month's photo challenge and see how the photographer's perspective made the image funny...

 

Is that baby goat really riding on its momma's back?

From this angle, it looks like he could be.  But, of course, he's not.  It's the perspective and the way the subjects line up together that make you wonder what's really going on here.

Here's another one...



It looks like this camel is about to chew the other camel's tail.  Obviously, it's not -- the other camel is several feet away -- but with this composition and the perspective, it has that appearance.

This is an important concept to grasp because, in some cases, it can add to the humor of your photo.  And in others, it can be distracting.

You, then, need to be on constant watch for the placement of objects in the background in relationship to your subject.

This shot is not exactly the same as the others, but it still works with perspective:

 

The photographer had to be in the exact right place to get the right angle here. Too much to the left or the right and it would have been a missed opportunity.

And finally ...

 

I wanted to point this shot out for one very simple reason... the grass in the corner.

Now normally, I'd say the shot would be better with a little more grass or none at all.  But in this case, that little bit of grass, especially combined with the wires overhead (which the photographer could not have avoided) adds perspective to this shot. 

It gives it place, scale and size.  We know, for instance, that it's the side of a building, not a billboard, and that it is a large sign.

Here are two more examples of funny perspective stock shots:

This first one is by Lise Gagne... notice how the megaphone looks so big compared to his tiny shoes?

And here's another one:

Perspective is what gives this horse such a big nose and funny expression.

Every shot is different, and variables are constantly changing... perspective is one more thing to toss into your little bag of tricks.

You have till Monday to make us laugh.  That's when this month's photo challenge theme ends.  So go out and get silly this weekend.

ENTER TO WIN!

This month's photo challenge theme is Laughable Photographable.  If you have a picture to submit, log on to our website and click on the Enter to Win tab.  (Note: First-time users need to register on the "register" link on the right sidebar first. Once you have a username and password, click "Enter to Win" to upload your photo. Only one photo per applicant will be considered. No purchase necessary to register.)

Photos are due by 8:00 a.m. EST, Monday, June 30, 2008. 

[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shelly Perry from Portland, Oregon, specializes in people photography, what she calls documentary or lifestyle portraits. She is known especially for her imaging of children. Shelly's concern for people is reflected both in her sense of purpose and the images she produces.  Her images have been seen all over the globe on music CD covers, books, magazines, catalogues, web sites, ad campaigns and even on TV. Her work has also appeared in several local exhibits and gallery shows.

Shelly authored chapters in our popular Turn Your Pictures into Cash Program.  To get a copy of that program, click here.

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245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929
memberservices@awaionline.com

To LEARN MORE, visit:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com
http://www.thephotographerslife.com

Posted by The Photographers Life at 5:37 PM | Permalink

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June 18, 2008
The Right Way to Travel, Weekly Photo Tip
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THREE-MINUTE PROCESSING FOR STOCK
By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR.

Every image needs some processing before you can sell it as stock. Think of it like taking photos with film. When you shoot film, it doesn't come out of the camera as a finished print. What you have is the negative, which needs to be processed.

Digital files straight out of your camera are like digital negatives. To give them pop and make them ready for stock sites, they still need to be processed.

Here are a few basic Adobe Lightroom maneuvers you can use to quickly and simply process your photos to sell them as stock...

Note: If you don't know how to import your photos into Adobe Lightroom, you'll find more details about that here: http://tinyurl.com/6n6bka

With your photos in Lightroom, in the "Develop" mode, start at the top of the editing options and work your way down.  

QUICK FIX #1: Look at the histogram. (30 seconds)

When you get used to working with it, the histogram can tell you a lot about an image right off the bat. But, for now, you basically want to take a look and see where the exposure lies in the image.

If your image is over- or under-exposed, the colors inside the histogram will be "clipped" on either end, looking as though they extend beyond either side. "Clipped" means that there are areas of total black or total white. If that's the case, stock sites won't take your image.

You can see exactly where there is too much white or black by hovering your mouse over the little triangle at the top left (black) or the top right (white).  When you do this, any areas that are totally black will show up as blue, while any areas that are totally white will show up as red on your screen.

Here you can also see whether you need to increase your light and/or dark areas. Each histogram, generally speaking, should be stretched from side to side without too much clipping, like this one:

As you start to make adjustments to your photo, you can refer back to the histogram to see how the exposure has changed and whether or not it needs further tweaking.

QUICK FIX #2: Adjust the tone. (45 seconds)

Next, move on down to the tone section, shown below, where you can make slight adjustments to the exposure of your photo, use the Recovery slider, bump up the fill light, darken the blacks, and/or play with brightness and contrast.

Recovery works with the highlight areas and can bring back spots that are blown out or appear too bright. (You'll see the result on your histogram.)

Fill Light adds a little more brightness to the mid-tone areas and the Blacks slider will darken your dark areas, sometimes giving your image a little more definition.

Usually a bump in brightness and contrast is nice, also.

** TIP: With all sliders, gentle, easy adjustments are recommended when it comes to processing your images for stock. Too much fiddling and you risk introducing other issues.

QUICK FIX #3: Adjust your Tone Curve. (25 seconds)

At this point, I would recommend skipping the next little section and moving on down to the "Tone Curve." It's another tool for giving your image more pop and I use it with EVERY image I process.

Slightly bump up the lights and down the darks by grabbing the parts of the line that I circled below -- dragging the upper part up a little more and the lower part down.  This stretches out the contrast a bit more and helps eliminate any flat dullness to the overall image.

Again, notice how the histogram is changing.

QUICK FIX #4: Remove the sharpening. (10 seconds)

The "Noise Reduction" and "Sharpening" area, while sometimes useful for print, is a section that should always be left at zero for stock. Lightroom defaults for sharpening though, so you will have to go in and manually slide it to zero.

Here's an example of a photo from this month's challenge, before quick fixes 1-4 and after:

See how there's a little haze in front of the "air guitar" playing monkey? 

Now look at it after the quick fixes:

In this second version, the colors are brighter and the haze is mostly gone. 

QUICK FIX #5: Rotate and crop. (70 seconds)

If you want to sell your image for stock, it needs to have a straight horizon line, which is easy to do in Lightroom.

Under your photo, you'll see these tools:

 

Click on the crop tool circled here.  Then, when you click around your photo, you'll see a grid over the image. To straighten your horizon, click on the little slider over to the right and move it around. You will see your image adjusting. You can achieve the same thing by placing your cursor near the corner of your image. When it changes into a little arrow arch, click and drag it and you can turn the image.



If you want to crop your image, go to the area that says crop, click on the tool and you can draw a box over the image. Make adjustments by dragging on the edge of the crop frame.  With the hand, you can move the image around for an exact fit.

But what if you want something other then the original size? Say, for instance, you want a square image.  Go to the "aspect" area and click on the drop-down list. There you will see a list of dimension options. For a square, click 1x1. When you do that, the only thing your crop tool will draw out is an exact square, like this:



You'll want to give yourself plenty of time to get used to all of the tools, of course. But once you've got it down, you can apply these basic changes to every photo you plan to sell as stock in about three minutes.  

Your time may vary according to how much you want to change the photo and play around with it. As you get more comfortable with Lightroom, you can get deeper into the more detailed changes.

More about those in another issue.  For now, play around all you want in Lightroom. Remember, no matter how many changes you make to an image, you can always go back to the original.


[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shelly Perry from Portland, Oregon, specializes in people photography, what she calls documentary or lifestyle portraits. She is known especially for her imaging of children. Shelly's concern for people is reflected both in her sense of purpose and the images she produces.  Her images have been seen all over the globe on music CD covers, books, magazines, catalogues, web sites, ad campaigns and even on TV. Her work has also appeared in several local exhibits and gallery shows.]

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(c) 2008 American Writers & Artists Inc.
245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929
memberservices@awaionline.com

To LEARN MORE, visit:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com
http://www.thephotographerslife.com

Posted by The Photographers Life at 4:43 PM | Permalink

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June 11, 2008
The Right Way to Travel, Weekly Photo Tip
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CAN YOU SPOT THE PHOTO THAT NEEDS A MODEL RELEASE?
By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR.

Have you been paying attention to the weekly photo tips?  Let's find out with the following pop quiz... 

Which of these three photos from this month's Photo Challenge needs a model release?

The answer: None of them.  Not if you're going to use them in an article or as fine art.

Remember -- the determining factor in whether or not you need a model release is less about whether or not the person is distinguishable in the photo and more about what you plan to do with the photo after you take it.

Stock photos need a model release.

Magazine and fine art shots don't.

Actually, it's a little bit more complicated than that -- just because you're using photos of a person in your article doesn't mean you're free to say whatever you want about them.  You can't, for instance, write an article about local bars, imply the whole town is a drinking mess, and then include pictures of people stumbling around looking drunk.  Just like you can't sell a fine art piece of someone sleeping on a bench and caption it "The town drunk."

We've written about all this before. 

Here (model releases in editorial vs. stock).

And here (selling people photos without a release).

But today's lesson is simply: Shoot first, ask questions later.

Don't abandon a photo opportunity just because you can't get a model release.  Get the shot and figure out what you can do with it later.

We'll be talking about taking photos for editorial use - photos that you can sell with your travel articles - at AWAI's upcoming Ultimate Travel Writer's Workshop in San Francisco.

I'll be there to answer any questions you have about photography during the breaks and/or over cocktails.  There's a cocktail party pretty much every night at this event -- so plenty of time to catch me for a chat.

Sign up now and save!  Click here.

[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shelly Perry from Portland, Oregon, specializes in people photography, what she calls documentary or lifestyle portraits. She is known especially for her imaging of children. Shelly's concern for people is reflected both in her sense of purpose and the images she produces.  Her images have been seen all over the globe on music CD covers, books, magazines, catalogues, web sites, ad campaigns and even on TV. Her work has also appeared in several local exhibits and gallery shows.]


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(c) 2008 American Writers & Artists Inc.
245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929

memberservices@awaionline.com

To LEARN MORE, visit:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com
http://www.thephotographerslife.com

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The Right Way to Travel, Weekly Photo Tip
June 4, 2008
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GAME ON -- WINNING ENTRIES
By Shelly Perry in Portland, OR

Last month’s photo challenge theme was “Game On.” and the winners are…

**First Place goes to CM for “Hiking South Africa”

**Second Place goes to Staggart for “Aiming High”

**Third Place goes to WhippetGood for “Running at the speed of Hound”

**Honorable Mention goes to Deborah_kolb for “Hip Hop Flyer”

Here is what Treva, last month’s winner, had to say about her pick of “Hiking South Africa” by CM …

FIRST PLACE – HIKING SOUTH AFRICA



“Being a guest judge is not an easy task! I was drawn to a number of entries, but "Hiking South Africa" had immediate wow factor.  The shot is hypnotic and makes me feel like I am right there, behind the lens. So, I’ve chosen it as my number one pick.”

Though Treva had a hard time placing her finger on what exactly makes this shot jump out, I’d imagine it had a lot to do with its remarkable technical qualities.

The placement of the person on the thirds line looking into the picture is great. The opening between the rocks, looking out onto the expansive valley below, and the mirror-like shape of the clouds above lead the eye into the frame. The size of the person in the composition gives us a true perspective of how massive the landscape is…along with a sense of remoteness. And the lighting, low in the sky and possibly diffused by a cloud, gives this shot a really nice glow.

SECOND PLACE – AIMING HIGH



Fantastic shot! The composition is a perfect action shot with the boy on the top third and a bit of the sand pit on the bottom so we (the viewer) have a sense of where he will be landing. I love the action and the expression on the boy’s face. Another commendable aspect of this shot is the depth of field -- it makes the boy “pop.”

The other competitors and spectators are there in the background, which is fine with the depth of field shallow like it is.  Had this same shot been taken at F22, with everything in focus, it would not have the same impact, and the background would be distracting. This boy definitely has his “game on.”
THIRD PLACE – RUNNING AT THE SPEED OF HOUND



With the expressions on the faces of these two (not to mention their body language), I am sure one of them has just said “game on.” This shot also uses good depth of field -- very important here as the car in the background -- which would have otherwise been distracting -- almost disappears, blending into the distance.  

The shallow depth of field puts all the focus and our attention right onto the dogs. Also, the way the light is playing off the dogs not only adds to the playfulness of the shot, it’s another factor that draws our eye to the dogs since they are the area of greatest contrast. Very playful, fun shot.

HONORABLE MENTION – HIP HOP FLYER



Another good action shot, nicely composed, and full of “story.” This photographer employed the use of color, rather than depth of field, to give the subject pop, setting him apart from the rest of the image.

You can find out how to use spot coloring in your own photos in our e-letter archives, here.

Of course, you can’t post-process your photos if you’re unable to get them from your camera to your computer.  If you experience this or any other computer problem, it may be bogging down your writing and photography time.  You should check out Computer Basics for Writers and Photographers.  We made it with you in mind.  It’s for people who just need the nuts and bolts to put professional article/photo packages together... without any complicated computer lingo.



ENTER TO WIN!

Remember, this month's theme is "Laughable Photographable." Submit your photos by 8:00 a.m. EST, Monday, June 30. If you're a first-time user, you'll need to register first on the "register" link on the right sidebar. Once you have a username and password, click "Enter to Win" to upload your photo. Only one photo per applicant will be considered.

[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shelly Perry from Portland, Oregon, specializes in people photography, what she calls documentary or lifestyle portraits. She is known especially for her imaging of children. Shelly’s concern for people is reflected both in her sense of purpose and the images she produces.  Her images have been seen all over the globe on music CD covers, books, magazines, catalogues, web sites, ad campaigns and even on TV. Her work has also appeared in several local exhibits and gallery shows.

Shelly's also doing a one-day photo add-on at the end of our Ultimate Travel Writer's Workshop this July 24-26 in San Francisco.  We have just three seats left... so call Terry today at (866) 415-1425 to reserve your spot -- or register online here.]

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The Right Way to Travel is a FREE newsletter from the American Writers & Artists Inc., available to AWAI members and friends.

(c) 2008 American Writers & Artists Inc.
245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929
memberservices@awaionline.com

To LEARN MORE, visit:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com
http://www.thephotographerslife.com

Posted by The Photographers Life at 6:10 PM | Permalink