TFP what is it – the ultimate guide

TFP stands for Time for Prints (sometimes also referred to as Trade for Prints or Time for portfolio). In the world of photography, TFP represents a collaborative arrangement between a photographer and a model. Here’s what it entails: Definition TFP involves a mutual exchange where the photographer agrees to provide the model with a specified number of selected photographs from […]

Watermarking your photos

A question I often get is how to protect your work as a photographer. Just like with everything, there are a million opinions, and most are uninformed or just flat out wrong. Perhaps the most common misconception about protecting your work is that if you say something is copyrighted, then you are safe if someone steals your work. Likewise, many […]

Preparing for your first photo exhibition

After spending some time in the photography journey, many shooters find themselves with a number of good to great quality images in their portfolio. Around this time, the aspiring photographer will seek out opportunities to exhibit and sell their work. How long should one wait before showing their work or approaching galleries for inclusion into group exhibitions? How much should […]

Are cheap photographers ruining the market?

Before we go further, I should present a warning that some opinions in this article may be triggering for many professional-level photographers. Today’s topic is: do cheap/budget photographers hurt the market as a whole? I know a ton of pro and non-pro photographers and I have spent many hours pondering and debating this question. Every market has them Whether you […]

Ten things you want to say when critiquing a photo

I hang around in a lot of the online photography forums and often find myself wanting to say things that would be considered inflammatory or just in bad taste. This is a short list of some of the things I ask my monitor when I see “those” shots.   Cool job on the HDR, let me guess, are you a […]

Loading RAW files into an older version of Lightroom

I have done a ton of research and sorted out the best way to open RAW files on your computer. I have also figured out the best way to resolve the issues with opening RAW images from a newer camera on an older version of Lightroom. As a bonus, I have also discovered the best way to catalog and keep […]

Please stop using my culture incorrectly.

I often call out cliché photography styles on this blog. A simple search will yield articles on overused HDR, selective color and shooting on train tracks and roads. I totally get it, these styles are the go-to when you are just starting out as a photographer, and often portraits clients want to shoot on train tracks. We as photographers need […]

Focus Fail

Teaching yourself to be critical of your work can improve the quality of your work immensely. I often use a failed attempt at an image here to illustrate my workflow and mindset when choosing images for social media or an exhibition. Let’s talk about it..   I often see photographers using the “machine gun” approach when taking a photo, they […]

Making the case for robust image descriptions on social media

I have noticed a trend with many photographers when sharing their images on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Depending on the forum you are posting to, you may include some technical information on the image or maybe just a catchy title. All too often however, photographers just post the image and move on – leaving the viewer to […]