Mason Jar Manifesto and Thoughts

Jonas Peterson recently re-posted his Mason Jar Manifesto blog post, and so I recently re-read it.

So many thoughts, here.

I think it extremely hypocritical to poo-poo on the industry that feeds you. That not only literally feeds you, but feeds your soul, and gives you room to perform a potentially amazing job like photographing weddings.

And yet, the more I think about it, the more I find myself in utter agreement. That's because this: the wedding industry does not cater to brides, grooms, and families who just want to get married. If you're recently engaged and dive headfirst into wedding planning, you're quickly ovewhelmed by people telling what you should do, what you need, what's trending, and perhaps more stressfully, what you should never do because people will think you're a terrible person, or worse, that you have no style. 

If you've decided you're going to have guests, you probably want them to feel like they're at a wedding (whoa, no way). So you turn to the wedding industry experts. Guys, what makes a wedding feel like a wedding? And they hear: Guys, what does a wedding feel like, and how can I convey that feeling with decor, favors, and cake? And suddenly you're avalanched in so much information that goes off in so many different directions, and you don't even know where to start.

That is the problem, or at least a problem. The brides and grooms or whoever is planning the wedding have every right to be concerned with the atmosphere of the party they're throwing. It's not that I have something against mason jars. But it is such a fine line we walk between running our businesses and advising the engaged couples about making their wedding day work, and then throwing everyone into hyper-wedding-planning overdrive. 

It can be frustrating for us on the inside to witness the transformation our own industry inflicts on some of these innocent people, most typically the brides, and that, I believe is where we can all take a lesson from Jonas' thoughts.


Somewhat related, I also recently read this article by Matt Mendelsohn, and it hit home really hard. If you want the short version, he contrasts a wedding day with an elderly friend receiving news of the death of his wife of 50+ years, and how the latter is what marriage is truly about (as depressing as that sounds!). 

My Gear: Lenses

This is what the gear bag is looking like at the moment! Don't they just look like a family or something?

Lined up in focal length order, of course. 70-200mm, 50mm 1.2, 50mm 1.4, 17-24mm. Why the two 50mms? Well, as you may observe, one has a nice red ring around the top. That means it's nicer. I just opened the box this week and I'm SO EXCITED to have upgraded. But of course, one can always use backups.

Above: the new 50mm vs old 50mm. I didn't know it would be so BIG.

Below: Old 50mm vs 40mm pancake lens. I adore the portability of the pancake lens and it's what I use most of the time for personal things.

 Below is the pancake lens, shot with the new 50mm at f 1.2 and f 2.8, respectively. Such depth of field.

Next in line will be a 35mm, and then I finally think I can justify a 40mm tilt-shift! But before either of those things comes a new camera body....

The Heartsick Maid, the Curious Explorer, the Determined Warrior, and Fairy Lights

Ever wonder how you can get awesome pictures for free (or cheap) from a professional photographer? You know, besides just being lucky enough to be best buds or family with one (as the two ladies below happen to be)?

One way is to volunteer to be in pictures that the photographer wants to take, where the end product is personally for the photographer instead of a client. 

Well, how do you know what the photographer wants to shoot? How do you volunteer for something like that if you wanted to? The short answer is to research/know your area photographers. I've seen a couple photographers in the area put out a call for volunteers, something like "Hey I want to practice new techniques for posing/lighting/exposure, does anyone want to come model for me for a bit?" Or, just know the kinds of things they like to shoot, and ask if they'd be interested in shooting XYZ with you as the model.

So, I want to let you know, dear reader, that the shoots I want to do for me are like the one posted in this blog. Let's get prettied up and play in nature, just for kicks. 

Tip: This concept applies for weddings as well. Is your wedding really off the beaten trail? Is there some crazy unique element about it? Let your photographer know, and they may be willing to bump their price down a smidge so that they can fill their portfolio with awesome images of unique things. Doesn't hurt to ask!

We assigned 'characters' to Bethany and Nadia to help with their expressions and posing. Then I'd say really helpful things like, "Now look to your left. You see something you're unsure of. Maybe it's a wild animal. Or maybe it's a wild animal that wants to eat you. Maybe you should think about running."

So I had a whole lot of fun with this shoot, and if anyone wants pretty pictures of themselves in 'garb,' please contact me and we can work something out!

On Being a Nerd

Yes, I'm a little bit of a nerd, or hipster maybe, whatever that really means. I:

Read sci-fi/fantasy books
Obsessively correct other people's spelling and grammar
Play a foam-fighting sport
Am more or less socially awkward (stereotypical, I know)
Volunteer with a cat rescue agency
Don't own a television
Subsequently, don't watch TV
Don't have a smartphone or even a texting plan

Anyway. I've seen a bunch of photographers write things in their blogs posts, when they begin to talk about the technical aspects of photography, as a small sort of disclaimer. Something along the lines of, "Okay, it's about to get nerdy up in here," or "Sorry for the nerdy jargon stuff, don't worry, we'll get back to your regularly-scheduled fluff in a moment."

I take issue with this. It confounds me as to why someone would apologize in that way for briefly showing how awesome, knowledgeable, or savvy they are underneath the generic, sugar-coated exterior they've fabricated.

I really think that each and every one of us is a 'nerd' about something, and I want to encourage you all to embrace whatever side of you that is. Don't shy away from it, don't say things like, 'oh god, I'm such a nerd,' but live it up, and love it, and let everyone else know you love it, too. I mean, you don't need to wear a sign taped to your forehead or only ever talk about your nerd-passions (unless you want to, I guess), but when the relevant subject comes up, don't hide away and don't be ashamed! Be loud and proud, or failing that, be cool and matter-of-fact... It mystifies the mundanes.

Stay nerdy, my friends.

Copyrights and Printing

There's a situation going on right now that caught my attention; a situation of alleged copyright theft. Basically, it's a huge, hairy mess and my brain hurts a little from thinking about it.

Kind of want to clear the air on something, since it can be confusing.

I've been asked recently, "Do you allow your clients to print their own photos from the weddings you shoot?" Right now, the answer to that is "Yes." If they so choose, I pretty much just give permission (as well as advice) for my wedding/portrait clients to print the images from their sessions wherever they choose, whether it's from me or somewhere else... as long as it's only for personal use- say, to frame and display in the living room, print on a T-shirt, throw darts at, whatever. They just cannot use any of the images for profit (unless it's an actor headshot- I mean, they can't directly sell the images, but they are technically using them to get work, and that's okay since that's the whole point of the photo... see, this can get really tricky really fast!).

My point: Allowing clients to create prints for personal use does not mean they have the copyright to the images.

People sometimes don't know what copyright means, which is totally fine- I was/am a bit hazy on the subject as well! It's complicated. The copyright.gov site has an amazingly comprehensive FAQ list that is worth bookmarking, if you're interested in this sort of thing.

Basically, once I press my shutter button, I have created a work that I hold the copyright to. Unless I have signed a contract stating otherwise, I inherently hold the sole rights to make copies of this work, and to give permission for others to do the same- which is what I do for my clients. And by the way, permission is given in the form of a written and signed contract to cut down on any potential confusion.

I choose to allow my clients to print their images because it opens their options, and, in my opinion, is customer-friendly. I give the option to purchase the prints through my online gallery if they so desire, but if they don't so desire, that's fine with me too- I don't want to limit my clients' choices right now. The actual physical products that I offer will be morphing throughout the next year or so, so it's possible that this may change- but for now, it is what it is.

This is why buying copyrights can be expensive- because the purchaser is now the high king or queen of the relevant work of art who may either graciously bestow copy-rights to others, or guard them jealously. If I sell a copyright to an image I made, and then want to use that image again, I have to now get permission, which is a pain and which may be denied.

So... that's copyright, in a little tiny nutshell, as it relates to what I do. As usual, follow-up questions are welcome. :)

"Don't Do's" for Building Your Website

Can I just take this opportunity to let you know a few things that really grind my gears?
I recently visited some websites of various amazing photographers I am interested in following. Unfortunately, it inspired me to write the following blog post.

Let's say you're a photographer who wants to create a website showcasing your work. Or maybe you want to re-do your current website. Great! Fantastic! I'm really happy for you!
Moving on, whatever you do, DON'T DO THE FOLLOWING THINGS:

1. Give your website a splash screen. This really grinds my gears because I think splash screens are only appropriate as a sort of gate for sites with NSFW content. Otherwise they are pretentious and unfriendly. I mean, you want me to click my mouse one more time than I would have otherwise? Really? You're that special??!
Now the case may be that, yes, in fact, you are that special. There are tons of really super amazing photographers that have splash screens on their sites. And the extra click is worth it. That still doesn't make it right.

2. Make your navigation all awesomely artsy and forget that your users aren't going to automatically know where to click in order to get to certain pages. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Unfortunately this is the BIGGEST problem I come across in photographer websites, and other websites in general. Head over to websitesthatsuck.com for examples of mystery navigation, where instead of a nice nav bar with text links, sometimes there is no text (can you even imagine?? why would anyone think that is a good idea?!), or there is only text on hover (ugh), or, in some of my favorite scenarios, the links are animated to move around on hover or just randomly. Yes, people have actually designed websites with navigation this way. Crazy, right?
If you find yourself making a choice where you're saying, 'Gosh this would be so cool and artistic and really express my inner chi which is so important as a photographer and artist, but on the other hand it may give my visitors a tiny bit of a hard time,' then don't do it. If the visitors to your website find themselves lost and confused, they're not going to think too kindly on you anyway.

3. Automatically play music OR VIDEO on your website. If you want any music or video/animation to happen, you have to give your users the choice whether to play it- do not have it play by default. I can't even tell you with words how aggravating I find this.

4. Not consider contrast. I use this tool to determine my contrast for everything I design, ever. To be fair, until I'd started really dabbling in professional website building, this is not something I knew was a thing. But it is.
Look, I know yellow is a really trendy color right now. It's bright, colorful, sunny, and just screams 'I am fun and different!!' But when you have yellow text on a white background it's really freaking difficult to read, especially for people with vision problems like colorblindness.
Example- I first visited this one photographer's site a few years ago, and I noticed at the bottom of their blog that the link for older entries actually read "older entires." I debated with myself: should I send in one of those pedantic emails (they always seem pedantic, don't they, no matter how self-effacing and humble you try to come off as) saying "I found a typo on your website"? I decided not to, assuming that someone had to notice it. I mean, I thought it was pretty obvious, but then, I'm conditioned for testing and proofreading websites and technical documents.
It still says "older entires." And you know what? It's probably because the text is so hard to read at #F2C902 on a white background. Maybe it's time to send that email.

As photographers and artists, we seem to feel it is our job to create a unique and beautiful experience for people visiting our website. That's great, but this should never happen at the expense of accessibility or usability. Ever. There is no excuse.

There are some amazing, talented photographers out there that I absolutely revere. I watch the images appear on their blogs and cry myself to sleep at night because they're so beautiful (disclaimer: this may be a slight dramatization). If I were put in the same room as any of these people I would listen with the raptest attention you can imagine to anything they said on the matter of photography. I may even be too nervous to speak words in front of some of them and have to go throw up in a corner instead.

However, if any of those awesome photographers ever said anything along the lines of 'splash screens are okay,' or 'playing music automatically on your website is great,' etc, we would have to fight.
I mean, I like to think that while my website is not perfect (oh the things I want to change if only the CMS would let me), I have managed to create a simple, user-friendly site that showcases my work and a bit of my personality without a ton of bells and whistles. So success!

If there's anything about other people's websites that grinds your gears, please post it in the comments!

TL;DR: take note, anyone designing a website: usability first, artsy experience second.

Side note: feel free to email me if you ever see a typo on my site. I may or may not think you're pedantic, but I'll still appreciate it. :)