Photographers Near Me
It was just a few days before my wedding and something happened. The photographer I had hired to take pictures had to cancel and I was left without a photographer. You can imagine my panic, being a photographer myself, at the possibility of not getting good images on this very important day. So I did what roughly 135,000 people do every year...I pulled up Google and typed in Photographers near me. Want to know what popped up? Two Boudoir studios, a picture framing business, and two "family photography" businesses.
This was NOT a good sign and I was concerned, VERY concerned. Eventually I gave up on Google and decided to try Instagram. Going to the search feature on IG I tried "Orlando Photographer" and "Florida Photographer" and guess what?
If you guessed that I got nothing you would be correct.
See the problem I was facing here is a problem that I don't think is talked about enough when photographers decide to strike out on their own and become a freelance photographer. Being a freelance photographer means RUNNING YOUR OWN BUISNESS, and running a business requires skills outside of photography.
When you run your own business you need to learn how to...
- Find and retain customers - This means sales, marketing, Google AdWords, and picking up the phone and cold calling potential clients.
- Organization - Running a calendar, keeping appointments, doing the edits, etc.
- Presentation - Delivering a quality experience to the customer from start to finish.
- Finances - Invoicing, billing, taxes, ect.
- Social Media - Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and more.
Now why do I bring this all up? Because if the local photographers in the Orlando area had all set up a Google Business Profile I would have seen more options on my "Photographers Near Me" google search then I did. I would have been able to secure and find a photographer more easily, and I certainly would have had less stress in the days leading up to my wedding.
So to all my fellow photographers near me and far far away from me...If I have but one tip for you it is this...Go set up a business profile on Google. You can thank me later.
Unsupportive Photographers
I want to share a story with all of you about an experience I had over ten years ago with a group of unsupportive photographers. It's an experience that has stayed with me, and even now, 10 years later, when I think back on it the memory remains clear.
When I started learning the art of photography I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. At the suggestion of a friend of mine I bought a couple of Scott Kelby books on photography and learned enough to try my hand at aperture photography. What I mean by that is I shot in aperture priority mode, because at the time shooting in manual scared the hell out of me.
I knew I wanted to shoot people, and thankfully I had two friends who agreed to do a shoot in a hollowed-out abandoned building. I took the shots and I knew they needed work, so I posted a few of the shots to a Facebook photography group I was a member of. I probably should have known better, but the feedback I got from literally hundreds of unsupportive photographers was overwhelming. I was called amateur, newb, pathetic, childish, and more. The number of negative comments from unsupportive photographers was enough for me to pull the post down, and NEVER comment or share in that group again.
Now keep in mind...The photos I posted I knew needed work, and I said in my post that I was looking for feedback and advice on how I could improve. The post received 203 comments and not one single person offered me any kind of advice. No one talked to me about lighting, posing techniques, or editing suggestions. Not one.
Fast-forward 10 years later. I am an accomplished photographer. I've worked with a variety of clients, businesses, and settings. I am in no way perfect and continue to learn, but I am certainly none of the things those unsupportive photographers called me 10 years ago. How did I do it? How did I improve? By following the advice of supportive photographers like Peter Mckinnon, Sorelle Amore, Jeremy Siers, Denny Den and so many more. Denny as a matter of record owes me nothing yet has always found the time to answer any questions I have ever sent his way on IG. That level of encouragement and support is the kind of photographer I think we should all try to emulate.
Being a supportive photographer is remembering we all start somewhere. Everyone starts at the beginning, and everyone has to learn. So the next time you see a photo from a photographer asking for advice, help, or support...choose to be kind.
Is Instagram Dead
So if you have been paying attention to social media news recently you have probably seen a lot of people asking "Is Instagram Dead?" Or at least that is what everyone using the platform is predicting. For those of you not paying attention to social media news, let me catch you up...no, no, there is too much...let me sum up.
Instagram is dead because Instagram is trying to copy/be like TikTok. Therefore it is giving more priority to video content than it is to still images.
It is not the first time something like this has happened. In 2017 Instagram copied Snapchat by introducing "stories" which I will admit I think Instagram did better than Snapchat. Then in 2018 Facebook tried to turn Instagram into another version of Facebook and started prioritizing ad spending over natural account growth. This meant if you were not willing to spend ad money with Instagram your account was not going to grow or get engagement. Now in 2022 with the rise in popularity of Tiktok, Instagram is once again trying to copy the cool kid, instead of having its own unique style and presence.
Now, why is this a problem you might ask...Well for one thing Instagram was founded on the idea of posting photos. Photographers of every kind made Instagram popular for what it is today. Ignoring where you came from, and worse ignoring the people who helped make you is a terrible thing for any person, business, or social media platform. It alienates your core base user group in favor of a new, younger, hip user. But here is some harsh truth to anyone reading this...Companies have been doing this for years. Think back to internet providers, cell phone companies, insurance companies ect. They are ALWAYS having promos for NEW clients. "Sign up now and get 50% off your first order!" or "Switch today and your first two months are on us!" or "Buy this month and get this nifty service absolutely free!" Every single one of us has heard these kinds of sales pitches before because companies don't usually care about you after you've signed up.
When was the last time you heard of a company offering a promo, special, or offer to customers who have been with them for 10 years? How often has a company called you up and said something like "Hey we see in our records that you have been doing business with us for 5 years so we would like to say thank you by paying for your next month of service?" It does not happen because business owners focus WAY too much on new business rather than existing business.
I recently worked for a company where the CEO was a perfect example of this mentality. He would sign any contract, make any deal, and say anything to anyone (including lying) if it meant closing a new business deal. Meanwhile, he largely ignored and neglected his main base customers.
Instagram is dead because they are doing this exact same thing.
Now, that being said what can be done about it?
Nothing! Natta! Zippo!
Harsh I know, but the reality is there really isn't anything we can do. We the people do not own Instagram or Facebook, and therefore we can beat our chest and scream our opinions and they will mean absolutely nothing. We have to accept that Instagram is changing because we don't pay for Instagram. Perhaps it would be different if we all paid some sort of subscription fee to the platform, and Instagram's profit was tied into those subscriptions, but that is not the case.
So how do we get our content out there? What app do we go to? Is there an Instagram alternative?
As long as you share your content on FREE platforms you will always be subject to the changes that platform makes. However, if you choose to share your content on your own website you will ALWAYS have control over how your content is shared. Now let me be clear I am not advocating for you to leave Instagram. I still have an Instagram and plan to continue to share content there, but I don't count on Instagram's FREE model to EVER work in my favor or interest. Even its paid options are not very reliable. But I do count on my website to always have the content I want because I created it and shared it the way I wanted to.
That being said if you would like to follow my social media platforms check out My Patreon, Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube.
Creative Photography
Have you noticed that Photographers have lost their creativity on Tiktok, Instagram, and Twitter? Creative photography used to be all about artistic expression, now it's just about copying everyone else.
So it has been a hot second since I have created any Tiktoks. Considering just over a year ago I ran a very successful Tiktok channel, had thousands of followers, and that following eventually led to me starting a YouTube channel with over 10k subscribers, you would think I would still be making Tiktoks right?
Not so much.
Why? Well, the biggest reason was that Tiktok didn't want me. My first account went from 0 followers to over 500k followers in only a few months, and then I got my first Tiktok ban. So I started a second account, grew that one to 250k followers in less than a month, and got a second ban. Now I am on my third account, but by this point, I was tired and wanted to focus on other things, like my photography.
Now, many months later I decided I wanted to start making Tiktoks that focus on photography, and today I decided to hop onto Tiktok and scan around some videos to see what other photographers were posting. After only 10-15 minutes of scrolling, I was utterly disappointed. Going onto Tiktok I was literally able to find hundreds of photographers, but every single one of them was doing different variations of the same video.
- Complaining about clients asking for RAW files - Not creative photography
- Complaining about shooting weddings - Not creative photography
- Complaining about clients - Not creative photography
- The "I am a photographer and I took this picture" trend - Sort of Creative Photography
- Complaining about "having" to always take pictures at family events - Not creative photography
- Complaining about Instagram and having to make Tiktoks or Reels now - Not creative photography
- Complaining about not getting likes and/or comments - Not creative photography
Now there is A LOT to unpack here, but here are a few of my thoughts upfront.
- Why are we complaining about our industry and job? Many photographers went freelance/full-time to escape working the 9-5. To be our own boss, and to have both financial and personal freedom. So maybe we should stop complaining about all the things that bring us the very things we wanted before we became photographers.
- Why are we just copying what others are doing? As photographers we are artists. Each one of us has our own style and creative expressions, and we SHOULD bring those talents and skills to our videos. Stop copying everyone else and let's find a way to tell our own personal stories through video.
- As photographers we want our pictures to mean something. We want our clients to like what we create, and more importantly, we ourselves should like the art we produce. Basing your self-worth on how many likes you get is akin to being in grade school and being upset because you didn't get enough valentines. The internet is fickle and the opinions of the internet en mass should never matter to you. As long as both you and your client like what you've created you should be grateful.
- I will admit I do get a little irritated when family members assume you will do the photographs for a family event, but also I love being able to take photos of my family and create a piece of art that will make my whole family smile. For example, the photo below is of a recent beach trip with my WHOLE family. The photo was a quick accident, but I loved it, and edited it because it captured what and who my family really is. I see everyone's personalities and senses of humor in it. When I see that photo I do not see a staged fake photo of my family...I see the real family that I grew up with. That is worth a lot to me.
- Finally, there are a lot of complaints about Instagram changing its algorithm. There is one constant in this world...Change. The world is very different today than it was 10 years ago, 20 years ago, or 30. Every time the world changes people will complain. But, the people who can adapt, improvise, and overcome will be the ones who are successful in this world. So instead of spending energy complaining, figure out how to succeed in this new world where video matters.
Playalinda Beach
This Friday I have a booked family photography session on the beach. So, like any good photographer I headed out to the beach to play around with some "test shots" on the beach. My wife and I decided to go to Playalinda Beach here in FL, and let me tell you...Playalinda Beach is now our favorite east coast beach in Florida.
For those of you like us who do not like packed and over crowded beaches Playalinda Beach is the beach for you. We parked at parking lot 11 and had 400 yards of beach in either direction pretty much to ourselves.
Now it is worth mentioning that at and around parking lot 13 nude sunbathing is allowed. This probably is why there are so few people and specifically children around this beach. Now while we did not venture down to lot 13 we did see 2 nude male sunbathers and 1 female. To be honest it was what it was and it really did not detract from our experience.
Playalinda Beach is also known to be the best beach to watch rocket launches from the Kennedy Space Center, and from our vantage point at lot 11 we could see the launch tower, and plan to go back for a launch in the future.
The waves were awesome, the water...warm, and overall was an absolute delight to visit. 10 out of 10 recommend.
Planned Parenthood - Bans Off Our Bodies Rally/March - Orlando Florida
Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend, support, and photograph the Planned Parenthood - Bans Off Our Bodies Rally/March here in Orlando, Florida.
This is the first protest I have ever attended in my life and I was fortunate enough to attend with my wife Leslie and our friend Carrie.
Now I am not one who usually speaks up about politics. I have found that most political conversations don't usually involve people being willing to listen and/or understand. They have their point of view, often a continuation of how they were raised, or they are regurgitating their religious point of view, and they are unwilling to see the other side, or reason that they could be wrong. This kind of thought process often leads to intense feelings of anger and hate, with each side vehemently defending their side and point of view, neither side being willing to listen and/or budge, and often ending in name-calling, threats, and sometimes violence.
It is a symptom of the indoctrination we impose upon our children. I believe the phrase goes something like "When I was born I was given a name, political party, and religion, and I spent the rest of my life trying to escape." What is even worse is within the indoctrination we impose on children we also imprint upon them a fear that anyone who thinks, behaves, acts, or does differently than us is inherently dangerous, and therefore must be crushed into submission.
This is what our political system has become. Two sides feel the other side is wrong, and so each side takes up arms against the other, trying to force each side to live and act in accordance with their beliefs.
Now I am not a political scientist, nor am I a politician or lawyer, so I am no expert when it comes to speaking on matters of law. However much has been written about the subject of Roe v Wade by people much smarter and much more informed than I, and I encourage you to read all you can.
What I can say is this. Yesterday's rally/march was a community of people standing up for what they believed. They did so without violence, and walked side by side, together, in solidarity. As I watched my wife take a stand and walk for what she knew was right I was incredibly proud of her.
The issue of Roe v Wade is an important issue to be sure, and I encourage all of you to listen to those more knowledgeable than I and be willing to see things from their point of view. Forcing people to act, behave, or live as you have never in the history of the world gone well for anyone, and I hope that we do not try to do such things to the women of our country in the future.
Museum of Art
When I was younger I must confess I didn't understand art very well. The passion, complexity, and heart that many artists pour into their work were lost on me.
I remember once when I was around 14 years old, my family took a trip to Washington D.C.. I was very excited about the trip because we planned to go to the Air and Space Museum, and the Natural History Museum. What could be better for a young 14-year-old boy than fighter jets and Dinosaures? The museums were wonderful, and I even walked away with my own set of dog tags that I wore well into my 20s if you can believe that.
As our time in Washington came to a close conclusion my Father offered for us to go see either the Modern Art Museum or the Classical Art Museum. Knowing next to nothing about art I remember our family deciding to go to the Modern Art Museum.
We walked around looking at the various sculptures and paintings, but I didn't really understand what I was looking at. To me, they were just pictures and statues. I actually remember my father and me poking fun at a particular painting which was a large white canvas with a single black stroke of paint down the middle. To us, it was just a canvas for a single brush stroke. Something so simple that a child could do it. Why all the fuss? Why was it on display? More important why was it sold for several thousands of dollars? We didn't get it.
As I have gotten older I have come to appreciate art more and more. Perhaps it is my own efforts to create art, or maybe it is just the wisdom of age and the collection of a lifetime of different experiences. Regardless, now when I see a work of art, be it a painting, a photograph, a sculpture, etc. I see the artist behind the work. Their life and experiences shape their creative mind and push them to express themselves. What is even more impressive, to me, is when an artist chooses to display their work for the world to see.
Many artists, myself included, use art as a way to express the pain and hardships that they carry within themselves. The artistic craft they choose to practice offers a path to a stiller and more quiet mind. A mind that is often very loud and filled with doubt. Yet, despite their demons screaming at them that they are no good, these brave artists choose to not only create art but share it. If that isn't an example of bravery then I don't know what is.
So the next time you are looking at someone's art, don't just see the thing itself but look deeper. See the artist, see the passion, see the struggle, and applaud the bravery.
Just a reminder that if you would like to see more of my photography you can support me on PATREON or follow me on Instagram.
Adventures in Scouting - Part 1
I am, and was fortunate enough, to have grown up with a father who enjoyed the outdoors. Around the time I was 8 years old my father started taking me on campouts with the local Boy Scout troop, of which he was the Scout Master. To be honest those early years of camping were difficult for me due to my age. Being a young child I was still in Cub Scouts which included boys up to the ages of 11. Once you turned 12 you could join the Boy Scouts. But that didn't stop my Dad from taking me on all the campouts with the older boys.
As you can probably imagine I was picked on and teased a little, being the youngest, and weakest, but I loved being in the outdoors, surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature. Sitting by a warm fire, far away from any city lights, I could look up into the sky and see too many stars to count. Being outside brought me peace. Being in nature I felt safe.
Being around humans, specifically older boys was another matter entirely. Being the youngest and smallest I was an easy target. One campout I remember I was picked up into the air by an older scout who was probably 16 or 17 and literally body slammed down onto a protruding stump. I was lucky that I wasn't seriously hurt, and the scout that had picked me up soon saw the fury my Father could wield as he came out of no where, and "calmly" explained to the young man what he thought about him body slamming his son. I wish I could say that experiences like this "toughened me up" but they didn't. I was just a naïve little kid who just wanted to be left alone, and allowed to enjoy going on campouts with his Dad.
Thankfully not every campout that I tagged along on was bad. For a few years my family lived in Hollywood City FL, and the church we attended had an annual father and son canoe trip. This was one of my favorite annual activities, and I always looked forward to it. One year, after we had made it to our campsite for the night, me and some of the younger boys were sitting near the edge of the water listening to what we thought were frogs. We were talking about how big these frogs must be because the night air was filled with their sounds. That was when one of the fathers of the group came over and shined a flashlight out onto the water, and suddenly we could see all the glowing eyes of many alligators floating in the water. As you can imagine, me and the other boys decided not to sit so close to the water after that.
A few years after that my family and I moved to Plano TX, and eventually I was old enough to join the Boy Scouts. This meant that I could now earn merit badges, and go to summer camps. Now I am not really sure why, but at this time in my life I had decided scouting was not for me. Maybe it was the endless and never ending bullying I had received, or maybe I just wanted to stay home and read more comic books. Who knows, but I wanted out. Now you can imagine, my Father was not a fan of this new found desire to leave scouting, and he made it very clear that I was not allowed to leave scouting until I had earned the highest rank scouting offered its members, the Eagle Scout Award.
To obtain your Eagle Scout Award at the time there was a long list of requirements that a scout had to meet. This included earning many many different kinds of merit badges, going on a certain number of campouts, doing a certain amount of community service, and completing an Eagle Scout Service Project.
The merit badges were not a problem. Much to the irritation of my fellow scouts I sort of collected merit badges with ease, and very little effort. You see, like the Eagle Scout Award, merit badges had lists of requirements you had to do in order to earn the merit badge in question. These requirements, and more were always listed inside the specific topics merit badge book. Now most scouts who were going after a merit badge, say wilderness survival, would obtain the wilderness survival merit badge book and study it. Each book would be filled with helpful information on the specific topic, like how to build a fire with no matches, and how to make a shelter out of sticks, and the information would relate back to whatever the requirements of the badge were. A lot of scouts would spend a lot of time reading and studying these books before they would ever even think about trying to "pass off" the checklist of requirements for the merit badge. I however, had a different approach. I had a reputation within my troop of NEVER reading the merit badge books. Just wasn't my style. When I wanted a merit badge I would just find the list of requirements, and I would just figure out how to "pass off" each and every item on the list on my own. I didn't need a book to tell me how to do something, I would go find someone who knew, watch them do it, and after seeing it once or twice I would inherently know how to do it myself.
An example I remember vividly was during a week long scout camporee. I had decided that I wanted to earn my sailing merit badge, and as one might expect, one of the requirements for the merit badge was to actually show a certain skill for sailing. Easy...There was just one small problem...I had absolutely no idea how to sail and had never done it before. So I went down to the marina, and watched. For hours I watched every kid sailing out on the lake. I watched how they moved, the knots they tired, and how they steered these small little one man sail boats. The requirements for the sailing merit badge were pretty straight forward. You had to show you knew the proper safety procedures in case something went wrong, you had to pass a swim test, show basic understanding and demonstrate skill with tying certain knots, and then you had to sail a boat, on your own, out and around a buoy, and back. Easy right?
So after spending the better part of the day watching all the kids sailing I was pretty sure I knew what I was doing. So the next day I walked down to the marina, found one of the leaders who could sign off on my requirements, and told him I wanted to pass off all the skills for my sailing merit badge. The leader must have been having a slow day because he was willing. I passed the swim test with both hands tied behind my back and my eyes closed. My parents had put me in swim lessons practically the day I was born and I was a natural in the water. Afterwards the leader called out a few basic knots and asked me to tie them, which I did. I do recall getting one of them wrong, but the leader showed me my mistake and allowed me to do it again. Once the knots were out of the way he questioned me on the safety procedures of sailing a boat, and I passed, having memorized the list the night before in my tent. Now came the big check off item. Now I had to actually sail a boat. Something that I had never done before, and for which was the big main requirement of earning your sailing merit badge.
As you can imagine, I was a little nervous, but I had watched carefully the day before and I was confident that I could sail this boat. I pulled the boat down to the water with the aid of the leader, and set about inspecting the boat, the ropes, and the sails as I had seen the scouts do the day before. Finding no damage I jumped into the boat and the leader shoved me off into the water. Copying the movements of what I had observed the day before I got the sail up, and within a couple minutes the wind caught the sail, and I was moving. I remember being REALLY surprised at how much lean there was to the boat, and for a split second I thought how silly I would feel if I tipped the boat over. But I managed to steer the boat straight, and the wind wasn't strong enough to pull the boat over. After a few minutes I reached the designated buoy and steered my boat around it and back towards shore. I had done it.
About 10 minutes later I was back on shore pulling the boat up onto land with the leader, and after it was tucked back into storage properly he signed me off on all my skills for the sailing merit badge. I had accomplished in 2 days what most scouts took all summer to do, and I was pretty proud of myself that I had found a loop hole in the system.
Looking back on that now as an adult I shake my head with a smile. Had I found a loop hole, yes. Had I found a way to use my skill in learning to my advantage, also yes. Had I missed the point of what earning merit badges was all about, you betcha! I was so focused on getting out of scouts, which required me to earn my Eagle Scout Award, that the only thing I was paying attention to was the long list of requirements I needed to accomplish. Had I technically done everything I was supposed to to earn my sailing merit badge...Yes. Did I actually learn how to sail? No. A classic case of being too focused on the destination, not the adventure of the journey.
While I had found a loop hole in the system, my friends spent all summer out on the water. Each time out was a new memory, and a new story to tell. Their summer was filled with learning something cool, while I was busy figuring out how to cross something off a list.