AR-Graphics

Your Photographic Helper Photographers are always looking for accessories to help their photography. However there is one item that most already have, but possibly overlook. I'm talking about the smartphones and tablets that have become part of our everyday life. Most of these have built in cameras some of which are of a high spec, but in this case we are not looking at the photographic capabilities, or the dozens of apps connected with taking and editing those photos, instead I will look at apps that can help you with your general photography. There are a wealth of apps that are specifically produced with a photographer in mind, or which can be used to help with photography. Every persons requirements are going to be different so I'd encourage you to see what apps are available, will suit you best and be most helpful. For example there are numerous apps that help calculating exposures, depth of field, flash compensation etc. Aft...

Looking for a Model?   Some time ago I was involved in a discussion in a group. It revolved primarily around the apparent lack of models and problems getting to work with them, especially on a TFP basis. I personally felt that many of the difficulties were down to the way the approaches to models are made. In particular where and how.   With a number of new personal projects I plan to undertake, I recently decided to seek out some extra new people to work with. Although there were a number I wanted to contact directly, I also decided to put out a general casting in order to get an idea of the interest there may be. I also thought it would be interesting to see where might be the most productive places to do such a casting. Therefore I posted the same casting on 6 Facebook groups (all location specific) and 8 model directory web sites.   Although the original post is now about a month old, I am still receiving new contacts, and so far have well over a dozen ...

Finding your images Once we let our creations loose onto the wilds of the internet there is no telling where they will roam and who will entice them onto their domain. Keeping track of our images is an almost impossible task. The likes of Google image search and Tineye are fine for the occasional search but hardly solves the overall problem. However a relatively new company by the name of Pixsy aims to help address the problem somewhat. I believe they have been somewhat surprised by the interest in there service as I had to wait a few months whilst they upgraded before they sent through my invitation to join . https://www.pixsy.com/   So how does it work? Once you set up your account, you supply it with a list of URLs where your images are stored. This can be places such as your web site, Flickr, 500px accounts etc. It will then go and catalogue all the images it finds at those sites and once done off it goes searching the internet for copies. Up to 5000 pictures can be ...

Is everything as it seems? I have been asked by a number of people to give some tips on what to look out for with regards to photographers etc that may not be quite what they appear. Today's cameras allow even the most inexperienced user to produce a technically good image, which has lead to a huge increase of people taking on the mantle of "photographer". Whilst the majority of these are legitimate, and content with developing their craft or offering a good service, there are unfortunately a few who possibly have more dubious intentions. It's a sad fact that I regularly seem to find social media posts and web sites where things just don't add up and not everything is what it seems! After 40 odd years of doing, and studying photography it can often seem very obvious to me when something is not right. However it is mostly a case of common sense and here are some things that you may want to look for... Are the images consistent and "right"? It...

Getting & Giving Photograph Critiques For what it's worth, some of my thoughts on critiques beyond the usual stuff, along with some real life examples I have experienced.   To The Receiver.... Please remember that especially on FaceBook comments can be made from people with a wide range of experience and expertise. Anyone from seasoned professional to new camera phone user can feel empowered to comment on your work. Before taking anything to heart, try and work out how much value you place on their view.  Not all critiques are really applicable. I once had a comment of "I don't like this the aspect ratio looks old fashioned"! Such seemingly off the wall remarks are probably best ignored. However if they are made by someone you know and respect, or are agreed and echoed by others then it's probably something you should look at. Critiques can and often are influenced by personal opinion. Someone once commented on one of my images "I don...