The new studio is "box city".
It was easy to find links for this week’s around the ‘net, there’s a lot of great posting going on. Here are my favorite six for this week, ranging from pretty photos to the business of photography to some info for the tech junkies. Hopefully something for everyone:
National Geographic Photo Contest
Looking for inspiration? The results from National Geographic’s 2008 International Photography Contest have been posted. The winners and honorable mentions appear, most with judges comments below them. If you haven’t been to National Geographic’s online …

It’s no secret that consumer spending has slowed dramatically in America, right on the cusp of the holiday shopping season. Consumers are being more conservative with purchases and credit is tightening. This Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) is known as Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year and expectations are always high, despite the conditions.
While I would enjoy seeing a brand new DSLR in the hands of every prophotolife reader this season that seems pretty unlikely. Just for the sake of discussion, I set a photo gift target …

It’s been awhile in the making but we’re getting there. The production work is caught up (pretty much), the boxes are packed and heaps and heaps of items are getting downsized. Daylight Photo is getting ready for our next incarnation, instituting changes we’ve long thought about. Monday and Tuesday we’re moving the boxes and the following week we’ll be up and running at the new address.
It’s a dramatically different photo studio layout and design, going from a 4,000 square foot facility down to 1,000 square feet. We won’t have all …

Though we all enjoy discussing photography, I admit there’s something I do like better: actually taking photographs. That’s why I’m pleased to be a part of DIYPhotography.net’s latest project titled “Something New – A Photography Project“.
Udi at DIYPhotography.net is always sharing great DIY tips and ideas to bring photographers together and he has a wonderful concept here. There are many aspects to the project and they all have to do with sharing and learning, both photo equipment and ideas. Photographers worldwide are encouraged to pair up with another local photographer …

Not every photo shoot is created equal. Even when you’re a professional shooting for a familiar client you may be greeted with unexpected twists and turns. This is one of those stories. So, the next time you’re having a rough day at work and think “there has to be something better than this”, well, I just want you to know that I can relate.
My studio has a wonderful client that imports printing presses and we’ve worked together many times on various projects. Last year we flew to another Midwestern city …

As a professional photographer I’ve specialized in different areas over the course of my career. From food to motorsports to people (and beyond), I’ve felt fortunate to be granted many different opportunities. In case you’ve missed the discussion on any of these specialties, here are a few links to past articles on prophotolife:
Food photography: how to think like a food photographer part 1 – part 2 – part 3
People photography: one actor, one weekend, seventeen characters
Motorsports photography: my story, magazine / editorial photography
Sometimes I do feel like the old …

Two inspirational videos from TED
Every so often I come across an online video that is truly exceptional. This TED presentation by David Griffin called “Photography connects us with the world” is one those videos. Griffin is the director of National Geographic magazine and, as such, he’s extremely qualified to discuss the storytelling power of photographs. It’s definitely worth a watch for anyone interested in photo stories.
The next vid is also from TED, this one from well-known nature photographer Frans Lanting (National Geographic, Audobon, Time). He takes nature photo stories one …

I’ve been receiving a number of questions lately about pricing photography. Pricing photography is a difficult and confusing process and, I’ll be honest, it’s getting more difficult all the time. There are novice portrait and wedding photographers with great websites, experienced photographers with outdated websites, moms with a camera that aren’t preoccupied with profitability and established professionals offering the complete package. After looking around I understand why many of you are overwhelmed when it comes to establishing price value for portraits and weddings…at the moment I am, too. What will …

Subscribers view basic photo montage technique video here. Try the full screen option on the video control bar.

Here’s something a little different for prophotolife, an eight minute video on basic photo montage technique. As you may know, I like to do most of my work during exposure and usually don’t spend a whole lot of time in post-production. Just a little knowledge can go a long way, though, when experimenting and having fun putting together simple compositions like the one in this video. Luckily, my business partner, Bob, is …

Aaron at What the Duck brought the strip below to my attention and I had to share it. Creative ruts are a recurring theme, one we looked at back in July. We failed to consider how a shovel might be used, though!

Staying out of ruts means keeping the wheels turning, so today and tomorrow I’m attending a Photoshop workshop here in Cincinnati, organized by the Ohio Valley Chapter of the ASMP. The guest instructor is Atlanta-based commercial shooter Jim DiVitale. There’s always something to learn from such seminars and DiVitale …