The Importance of Color - Pt. 2

Thanks for coming back and checking out Part 2 of my "The Importance of Color" entry. If you are finding this and haven't yet read Part 1, then follow this link to get caught up to speed.

Last time we looked at how color is used in the corporate world to direct your attention or send a subliminal message, and this time I want to show some of my own work and either explain how I've used color in a deliberate way, or how the color available suits a setting or message, especially in terms of live music performances. This entry will be a little less methodical than Part 1, so let's just get right into some examples, shall we?

The Importance of Color - Pt. 1

Having grown up in the printing industry prior to my experience as a photographer, it's safe to say I'm pretty well-versed in colors and their usage. For any kind of visual artist, knowledge of color is an absolute must, even if you're just a black and white sketch artist, you've got color in mind when you shade your gray tones. There is lots of info out there about color, and there are lots of different categories. For instance, you've got primary colors, secondary colors, tertiary colors complementary colors, analogous colors, neutral colors, warm colors, cool colors, calming colors, exciting colors, and tints and shades of all of them to hit everything in between. That's a LOT of color!

Under The Bridge

When it comes to architectural photography, I've always been a fan of bridge photographs. Last week I decided to get out for a hike, and when venturing into the Palisades Interstate Park, I went a little too far down the road and ended up near a pathway that takes you right up to and under the George Washington Bridge. Originally I was there to find the hiking path to a waterfall I'd heard about, so talk about getting your destination mixed up! Either way, the scenery was nice and made for a few good photo ops.

Website Tune-Up: Portraits

As I've been gradually working on things around here, I'm actually working in 2 different realities. I'm working virtually with regards to trying to blog more frequently, grow my social media presence, and revamp my website, and I'm working physically with the actual renovation of my basement into a functional photo studio.

Summer!

Ah, my favorite time of the year, Summer.

Since today is the first day of Summer, I figured it deserved a post of its own.

The photo above was taken years ago at Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. We took the hour+ drive in the pre-dawn darkness to be on the sand when the sun came up. It's amazing how cold it is on the beach before dawn, even in late August. We brought some food for ourselves because we knew it would be a long, early morning, but when the sun came up we noticed the seagulls flocking to our box of crackers.

Website Tune-Up

So, it's been a while since I've written a blog, despite constantly saying how I need to update this thing more frequently. I've begun to change the way I use social media to promote my work, and part of that will require me to post more regular blog updates, as well as revamp my website. All of this, mind you, while in the middle of a massive studio renovation. It's a lot of work but good things don't come easy.

Will Work For Money

I know it's been a long time since I've updated this blog. I've been pretty busy and keeping up with Facebook and Twitter has been a lot easier than sitting and writing entries on a regular basis. However, this time I've got something to talk about that requires more words than would fit on your typical social media update.

A few years ago I was using a freelancing site to find some extra work. I had gotten a few decent jobs from there, but shortly after I started making some money, the site changed the way it worked and it became difficult to use. They were trying to make money off of the freelancers and expected us to pay for our bids. This was a big turn off, so I stopped using it. Recently, I decided to revisit the site and I was pleased to find that they not only did away with the offending changes, but actually gave you more to work with now. This morning I was checking through some of the jobs on there to see if there was anything I'd be qualified to bid on, and I came across this gem:

"I am going to need someone that can take pictures of people, things, and activities. Examples would include something like a request for a picture of a person eating a hamburger. I will need multiple shots of each request. I need someone that can take pictures of people from all countries.

I will pay $1 for original photo taken per request with touch ups completed as needed.

I will request about 20-25 different photos for a total payout of $20-$25 People in the photos will need to be of different countries so you must have access to lots of different people.

Again, if I need someone eating a hamburger I need a few angles and photos of that person eating a hamburger. Requests will be similar to this and I will most likely not need more than 3-5 angles of each photo. You will then gloss the photo and correct shadows and submit for use on a public website."

So, anybody who understands anything about how this kind of business works, will understand that this is an unrealistic request. Only a moron would do all of the things this guy is asking for, for $1 per photo. I used one of my "bids" (you get a limited number per monthly cycle) just to leave this comment on the job:

"If you want someone to go out, find models, get releases signed, set up scenes and lighting, edit, and deliver, for $1 per photo you'd might as well just hit up iStockPhoto.com. Essentially, what you're asking, is for someone to do a whole lot of work for free."

Needless to say, I got no response... People need to understand that this is a business for most of us, not a hobby. If we're on a site like this looking for work, it's quite possible that it's because we have bills to pay and this is what we know how to do best. $1 per photo is a ridiculous request for the kind of work that would go into producing even marginal-quality photos, let alone professional quality.

The process of getting cheap results for cheap pay, only cheapens your brand image. When your brand image is cheap and weak, so is your business. When your business is weak, it doesn't last long, and that takes a toll on the economy. We can't continue allowing people to rip us off, regardless of what you do for a living. We all suffer for it in the end.

More soon,

-Rob