Understanding Stops in Photography - an Easy Beginner's Guide

Photography is a very passionate hobby that millions of people enjoy. It gives you the opportunity to capture some amazing moments in life. Additionally, this hobby can become so much more, as there are plenty of career opportunities that come with photography. Therefore, understanding the basics is essential for properly building up your knowledge, skill, and experience.
One of the terms that confuse numerous photography beginners is “Stops.” It is a very important expression in the photography world, as it is directly connected with the amount of light that reaches the camera’s sensor. “Light stops” means that, by using three essential camera tools, ISO, shutter speed and aperture, you double or halve the amount of light in the taken photo. A “stop up” is going to double the amount of light in your photo, whereas, going a “stop down” is going to halve the amount of light present in the image. Let’s take a look at how you should use the three crucial elements to take complete control over your light exposure.
Before we start, keep in mind that exposure and stops are two different things. Exposure is the amount of light the sensor is exposed to, whereas the term stop was invented to directly refer to doubling or halving the amount of light in images.

Understanding Stops in Photography - an Easy Beginner's Guide

Shutter speed and stop correlation

One of the determining factors that impact the amount of light that reaches the camera’s sensor is shutter speed. Also, it plays an important role in freezing motion, which is important for sports photographers

The general rule is: the higher the shutter speed, the less light is going to reach the sensor. Contrarily, the slower the shutter speed, not only is there going to be more light in the photo, but the object that is moving is also going to become blurry in the whole process.

To understand how shutter speed is affecting the stop value, we can start off with an example of a shutter speed of 1 second. To move a stop lower, in terms of reducing the amount of light reaching the sensor, one needs to increase the shutter speed to a 15th of a second. If you want to half the amount of light from 1/15th of a second, you need to up the shutter speed to a 30th of a second. The rest of the stop values are logical: 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000, and 1/4000 of a second are considered stops.

Some cameras can go even higher with shutter speeds, but simply remember that doubling numbers is going to make the time that it takes for the light to reach your sensor into the half. For example, a difference between a 1-second exposure and 1/125 of a second is five stops down, meaning that a photo will have five times more light with a 1-second exposure.

Aperture and stop correlation 

Aperture is an important part of photography, because the more it opens, the more light is going to reach the sensor. For example, lenses with a f/1.4 aperture are wide lenses. Aperture also affects the depth of field, which gives a special look to the images. The wider the aperture, the more focus you can put on your subject.

But, unlike ISO and Shutter speeds, stop differences with f numbers are differently calculated. For example, a stop down from f/2.8 is f/4. Meaning that the f-number is multiplied by 1.41 (the square root of 2). So, if you want to go a stop down with your aperture, it is necessary to multiply the current f value you are using by 1.41.

To make the whole process easier, you can memorize the following values: f/1, f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22 and f/32, or you can simply carry a calculator to your photo shoot!

The higher the f/ value, the lower the amount of light that will reach the sensor. But also, the focus is going to be higher as well.

ISO and stop correlation

ISO value represents how sensitive your camera sensor is to light. A side effect with increasing ISO is image grain, which makes it less sharp, resulting in loss of quality. However, professional cameras can shoot with high ISO values without any image quality loss.

By increasing ISO values, you are going stops up with your images. For example, ISO 200 has twice as much light as the image shot with ISO 100. Like with shutter speeds, doubling the ISO values leads to higher stops, providing more light to the image.

Combining the three elements

By playing with these three elements, a photographer can create perfect images, as long as he or she understands what each of the elements does to the photo. For example, if you are shooting an evening event with 1/60 of a second, f/2 and ISO 400, and you have hit the right exposure, but the subjects are moving, then you can increase the shutter speed to 1/125 of a second. This means that you have gone a stop down, so you now have to bump the ISO to 800 or open aperture f/1.4 to compensate and achieve the same exposure. 

The result will be no blurred subjects in the photo, while the exposure will remain the same. As you can see that stops play a major role in photography, as they directly affect the quality of the images you take.

To better understand each of these elements, you need to get out and start experimenting with your camera. This is going to lead to the best results over time, as you are going to acquire much more experience. With some practice, and by following the above-mentioned tips, you are going to be able to take control over the manual setting of your camera completely. Get out and start shooting, your future self is going to be very grateful.

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How to Choose a Photography Niche and Start Your Own Business

If you are becoming progressively more interested in photography as a hobby, no one can blame you. After all, it is really interesting, and it can be quite lucrative. Sure, it might require a little bit of investment of both time and money, but it is going to be worth your while.

Photography is fairly popular and necessary nowadays, considering just how many different types of business rely on it. In other words, if you play your cards right, you can really make it in this world if you have a knack for photography.

The important thing to remember is that it would be impossible to get good at every type of photography there is, so you should pick one genre to specialize in, becoming more proficient and making a name for yourself over time.

So, in this guide, we will provide you with some suggestions on how to find your niche and how to start your business as a photographer. 

How to Choose a Photography Niche and Start Your Own Business

Find your calling 

First thing’s first, you need to decide in which field of photography you want to advance, and there are many areas to choose from. There is wildlife photography, wedding photography, real-estate photography, and more recently, people have started creating new fields like photos made by using drones, etc.
Basically, ask yourself what it is that you really like, what is it that you want to be a part of. Do you like animals, sports, entertainment, weddings, architecture or anything else? When you find an answer to that question see what the photos of professional photographers look like.
Once you find your field of interest, then you can look up some of the photographers online, and ask them what they think. You need to know how you should start, what is the initial equipment you will need, and where you can get it, etc. When you know how to start, then you should move on to the next step.

Check for additional costs
Regardless of the niche you pick, you must bear in mind that each of them requires a different type of sacrifice. Some of these hobbies are exhaustive, and some others might require expensive equipment and these are the things you should find out. For example, wildlife photography might require you to get a tent and to learn how to camouflage, how to track animals, and how to be patient.
Wedding photographers work hard for the entire day so that they can capture every part of the ceremony, and then they need to edit thousands of shots in order to satisfy your clients. Sports photographers can experience a lot of pressure because they need to capture the perfect moment during the game if they are to sell their photos. So, make sure you look these things up and ask yourself if you are really up for it.

Get the equipment
The next thing you need to do is get all of the equipment that is necessary for the niche you have selected. You will always need a camera and a tripod, but there are specific lenses with different features that you should look up since some are specially tailored for capturing objects in motion at high speed.
You might also need to get additional lights or a drone, or you might simply need to purchase a lot of tickets for traveling to different places.

Research how it is done

After you have covered all of the previous steps, you need to find a mentor, or research online to see how it’s done. You need to know what shutter speed to use; you need to know the best time of day to make photos, the best angles, etc. You can also learn a lot from your peers, simply going over the professional photos online and reading the descriptions.
In the description, you can usually find useful details on which equipment was used to take the shot, the shutter speed, and even which filter or tool was used to enhance it. These descriptions can be really insightful, and you as a future photographer can really benefit from them.


Edit your shots
Photo editing is a crucial part of any line of photography; in fact, some of the products are basically more about editing than taking the perfect shot. Book covers, movie posters, and other images we see in the entertainment industry require heavy editing; after all, we all know super models on magazine covers don’t exactly look that way. In other words, you need to master photo editing tools, for the sake of enhancing the quality of your pictures.
It is advised that you also find a mentor, or spend some time going over online tutorials on how to edit photos. It will be a lot more time-consuming in the beginning until you master all the shortcuts and where every tool is located within the software.
Another thing you should investigate is action packs for tools like Photoshop. Using action pack you can significantly reduce the time needed to create awesome photos, but it limits your creativity since every pack is designed to change the photo in a specific way. These filters can be really good at the beginning, but in order to truly become a professional and earn more, you will eventually have to master photo editing.
Lastly, you can work around this problem if you have some funds on the side, and simply outsource the whole photo editing process. You can find freelancers or companies that offer these services and negotiate the price for editing with them. You can probably find editing tutors this way as well, so give it some thought.

 
Create your profiles

To make a living from this hobby, you’ll need to create your profiles on freelancing platforms, social networks, websites that sell images and perhaps your own website afterward. Make sure the profile is filled completely so that it looks more professional and to increase your chances of getting hired.
Your profiles should also contain some of your best work, to serve as a portfolio and reassure potential clients you are competent enough to the task. In other words, make some albums you can upload before you create your profiles.

Share your works to get noticed
Finally, you need to make the necessary steps to get noticed, and social networks are a great place to start. You should create profiles on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and sites like Deviantart.
When you upload your work, it is important you use the right hashtag, but not too many of them. Additionally, you need to include Meta titles and Meta description for each image so that that search engines can categorize them with the corresponding keyword.
Another way to get noticed is to allow some of your works to be used free of charge; provided people use the right attribution. This way, more of your work will get shared, and there is a better chance of getting noticed online.

To sum up, it is not impossible to make it as a photographer, even if you start now, all you need to do is get good and use the right approach. It is vital that you use the suggestions provided in the guide above and to master the skills you need to succeed. Afterward, all you need to do is be persistent and keep going until you are noticed, and more people start hiring you.

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Do Photographers really need Photoshop?

If you've ever thought your SOOC image was perfect then looked back at it again 6 months later you'd probably laugh at yourself. Many photographers start out editing their own images, after all when you're building a small business cheap is all you've got. The problem is that once you want to step up into the pro level you need to offer proper Photoshop services. There's lots of reasons you need to have your images edited properly and here's a few:

Do Photographers really need Photoshop?

Money
Good images sell. If you're not using professional Photoshop services even if you're familiar with Photoshop you might not be doing your pictures justice. Good images get shared and they get referrals so you owe it to your business to give the best images possible. Sellable images, graphics, and making your own marketing images are all possible using Photoshop, so you don't even need to hire a graphic designer for that holiday banner, or that mini-shoot promotion flier.

But what about free services? There are a lot of free editing services out there and many don't want to have to pay the subscription to CC. The key here is that free doesn't always equal professional, and Photoshop is the undisputed professional standard when it comes to editing.

Good isn't Great

It's almost impossible to get perfect SOOC, and even then it's likely there are still a few tweaks to make it perfect – smoothing hair, cleaning blemishes, fixing a busy area. By using Photoshop services like  you can make your images pop and make them better than they could be without editing. You'll also be able to fix other issues which you might have like chromatic aberration or bigger problems like lighting and save images you thought lost. 

Why Not?

Most Photoshop services are cheap so there's a certain element of “what do you lose” by using it. In fact, one of the biggest complaints of editing is that it takes so much time. Photoshop is extremely time consuming and editing images until they are perfect can take days and even weeks. As a photographer your time is precious so having to sit and edit when you could be taking pictures and making money isn't appealing. It's a business, so if you don't have to spend the money why would you? A good photographer should be able to get SOOC images that are practically perfect so it seems unnecessary at times to bother editing at all.

But I Have Lightroom

This is a common thing for photographers. Many people don't see the need to pay for both software but there are distinct differences between the two image editing programs. For one, Photoshop allows for manipulation which goes beyond Lightroom. Second, it allows you to split your editing into layers and do more complex things like swapping out backgrounds, sky overlays, and replacing faces. Lightroom can fix and adjust a lot but many of the same features are also available in Photoshop so in fact, it's often better to have Photoshop without Lightroom. Photoshop isn't totally intuitive though and it requires more tools and more learning which is what keeps people away. Since both programs are very compatible there's actually no reason why you can't simply work with both in tandem. 

Give it to Someone Else

If all that's holding you back is having to learn an extra tool then you may want to simply outsource. There are plenty of professional Photoshop services out there which cost very little and you won't have to learn anything. Most companies have both and they will use whichever program and process gives your images the best outcome. 

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Beyond Instagram Filters: How to Get that Perfect Shot

Nowadays, it seems like anyone can become a photographer, but can they? It’s true that a new age smartphone can capture a decent photo, but still, without Instagram filters and some knowledge on how to apply them correctly, chances are that you will be stuck with an average image.

However, one shouldn’t rely so much on filters when they have an opportunity to capture something real and beautiful easily. There are several tricks and simple photography techniques to take your imagery to the next level and create stunning photos that stand out from all the rest.

Consider Switching Your Apparatus 

Although smartphones are great, there is nothing quite like a DSLR cameras. Apart from their affordability, these cameras provide an abundance of shooting features. Due to their built-in sensors, the DSLR allows for larger pixel sizes. In addition, their aptitude to exchange lenses, as well as the multiple add-ons and accessories, according to requirements of shooting, make them very adaptable to every situation.

Always be ready to Shoot

The most mesmerizing photos happen spontaneously. Therefore, always have your shooting tool with you. Be prepared to seize the moment like many professionals, in order to capture natural photos and people in their most relaxed state of mind.

Use Natural Light

To enhance the beauty of the photo, one must know how to use natural lighting. The light of a bright day is the photographer’s best friend, hence, before you even consider shooting, think about where the light is coming from.

What is the most beneficial way to use it? How it reflects on the subject? By following the light, you can discover new angles for shooting and improve your photography skills.

Get Closer

The further away you are from the subject, the lower the image quality will be. So, take advantage of the zoom option. Emphasize on action, especially regarding human subjects. When people know someone is shooting them, they can get nervous and start to pose.

Avoid insecurities and stay back while zooming the perfect opportunity to press the switch and capture unaware subjects up close.

Experiment with Perspectives

According to most photographers, the number one rule of photography is shooting from the hip. Apart from the wider angle it provides, this type of shooting is mostly used for street photography in order to hide the camera from unsuspecting subjects.

On the other hand, mastering this type of art means mastering shooting on the go while getting quality photos along the way.

Apply the Rules

Considering the rules of photography, there is one as old as the Bible and it’s called the rule of thirds. What this means is to never center the image on the subject, yet place it on the focal point along the grid’s vertical and horizontal points of intersection.

If you have ever noticed the grid option on your device, well this is what it serves for. The use of the grid improves the composition and directly affects the overall look of the image.

Editing to the Rescue

Let’s get something straight - Instagram is an editing tool. Though it can’t compare to a professional image editing service, it can enhance the beauty of the photo. After applying all of the little tricks and photography tips, you can now go on and practice editing with Instagram. However, for the greatest image appeal, try some of the editing software used by many such as Photoshop to make the image pop.

The perfect shot comes with a trained set of eyes to notice the little details and capture them in their natural environment. Although Instagram can help with image appeal, it can’t create amazing photographs for you. It is only a simple editing tool while the shooting process relies entirely on your ability to use devices, lighting, camera features, and to make your subjects work for you, which really is a lot of work. 

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4 Best Tools to Get the Most out of Your Blogging Efforts

Starting a blog is now a simple thing to do and everyone can do it. If you are creative and you have good writing skills, you can very quickly start to create content and publish blog posts online. No matter what you plan to do with your blog, you can start doing it relatively easily with just a bit of effort.

However, if you really want to be good at it and become productive, you will have to get some tools that will make the whole job a lot easier. On top of that, you can improve quality and your productivity as well, which are all important things when it comes to blogging. If you want to create a good blog that grows steadily, you will need great content, quality hosting, well-structured blog posts, exposure, and many other things.

Luckily, there are tools that can help you achieve all of these things and here are some of them.

4 Best Tools to Get the Most out of Your Blogging Efforts 

1. Hootsuite

One of the most important things with blogging is to get exposed through social media. Sharing posts on social media is vital and these networks have a lot of people who might be interested in what your blog has to offer. This means that you will need to show regular activity on social media ny sharing, tweeting, liking, commenting etc.

This means using multiple social networks, which can be difficult. Hootsuite is a social media management tool that has a single board where you have Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. From this board, you can quickly switch from one network to another and manage your profiles easily, with various analytic and automated actions.

2. WordPress

WordPress is probably one of the most known blogging platforms out there and chances are that you have already heard about it. The reason why so many bloggers choose WordPress is because it’s intuitive and easy to use. On the other hand, it doesn’t limit you in any way, and if you are up for learning advanced things, it allows you to do those as well. 

 

It has a large community which means great support and you can always find answers for something in case you get stuck. It also has countless plugins that allow you to customize your blog and mix them with the quality images By smartphotoeditors you put into your blog posts. Additionally, all WordPress sites are optimized for browsing and people will always be able to enter your blog without any problems.

3. Google Analytics

If you want to adjust your blogging strategy and constantly improve, you will have to track vital statistics such as how many people are paying you a visit and what they do while they are on your blog.

This is a tool that allows you to find out where your visitors are coming from, what they do on your blog, and the average time they spend on your blog before they leave. A very reliable tool that accurately gives insights which can help you fix mistakes and learn why something is performing well and how.

4. BuzzSumo

When you choose keywords, you want to use whatever you’ve got to figure out blog titles and topics that are related to these keywords. Sometimes this can be quite difficult. One of the best indicators of the topics that have worked well with certain keywords is to see other posts that worked well on social media.

BuzzSumo helps you find posts which were shared on social networks. You just have to do searches for your keywords and BuzzSumo will find blog posts that were shared the most on social media with those keywords in them. You can even use it to spy on your competition and see how they achieve their results.

Create your own blog and rely on these tools to get things going. Once you’ve gotten more experience and learned how to use them, you can even find more tools that can help you improve your work, as there are hundreds of them out there.

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Blogging Tips: Creating a Visual Approach That Will Draw Attention

Are you planning to start a blog? Are you already blogging? The first thing you should keep in mind is that the value of every blog is in its content. However, many tend to forget what people actually care about and this results in creating a blog that is not quite good. Content is important, but picking the right visual approach that will make the content pop is equally important. Let’s take a look at a couple of approaches you should incorporate to make your blog visually rich.

Creating a Visual Approach That Will Draw Attention

Use a minimalistic design

First off, making a website with a complicated and colorful design is not an effective way to run a blog. All the buttons, colors, and other unnecessary elements will distract the visitors from your content. This is why a minimalistic design provides more; it allows your content to shine, as the whole design is lightweight, allowing what is in the center to come to life.

Pick a blog design that is going be dominated with two colors and that has a clean layout; it will be beautiful, yet it will allow people to focus on your content.

Add the right type of images

Every piece of written text requires a set of images that will enrich it. Picking photos might sound easy, but you need to do your research carefully and always add images that go well with the piece of content you are preparing.

On the other hand, think about the share ability of your content. Adding different types of images can lead to a higher number of shares, allowing you to reach out to a higher number of people. This is why creating infographics is popular; people come, see it, and can easily share it across different social media channels.

It might seem complicated to build an infographic, but with a set of various photo editing tools by Image editing company Smartphotophotoeditors out there, making one is fairly easy. Invest your time, collect great data, and see how much your infographic gets shared. Make a plan to make an infographic once per month; it will greatly pay off in the long run.

Increase your usage of videos

An increasing number of people is starting to use videos. It is simply easier for your audience to look at this type of content, plus the information retention rate is much higher when the information is coming from a video. Also, it will make your blog more versatile. It will become a place where people will be able to read, see, and hear your content. That will allow you to attract different types of audiences.

Additionally, videos carry viral potential, therefore, make sure to include them in your content creation strategy. In the end, some things are easier to explain verbally than by having to write a long piece of content. It is just more time efficient.

Use a clear format for your content

The visual approach does not only include the design of your website and the images you use alongside your text; it is also the text itself and how it is structured. Avoid using italics or bold parts unless it is really unnecessary. It makes the content look strange when looked at as a whole.

Also, avoid writing huge chunks of text. Keep it simple, structure your paragraphs to count 5-7 sentences and start then a new one. This will make the text more appealing and easier to read. These are the little mistakes that inexperienced content creators make, therefore, invest some time in using a clear font and a clear structure that will let the reader easily skim through the content.

Following these tips will make it easier for you to create a blog that is going to be visually appealing while also being rich with valuable information. Pay attention to every single step of the way and the certain result is going to be the continuous growth of your blog.

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The 4 Latest Tech Trends in Photography

With so many advances and breakthroughs in the world of technology, it becomes very hard to follow the latest trends and to be able to identify the tech that’s worth your time and money. In the waters of photography there is always one or two tech items dictating the trends.

Whether it is something that helps us always stay ready to shoot a perfect photo or a gadget allowing us to shoot photos from bird’s eye view, there are plenty of trends in photography enabled by technological advancements. So, let’s see what those trends are.

The 4 Latest Tech Trends in Photography

1. Cloud Services 
Cloud technology is slowly but steadily conquering the world of photography. The goal is to replace the old model where cameras have to store images in local storage, such as an SD card. A few months ago, Relonch introduced a new camera that looks completely the same as a standard DSLR cam, however, the photos taken by this camera are uploaded to the cloud storage via built-in SIM card.

The cloud server has automated software for image post-processing that returns you the edited photo after you are done with the upload. The idea behind this is a great one and it will most definitely shape the photography industry. The only question that remains to be answered is: “Can automated image editing software provide the same results as an experienced professional does?”

2. Photo Editing Outsourcing

Another trend in photography dictated by both tech and circumstances is photo editing outsourcing. Professional photographers have a full plate every day with next to no time for photo editing. There are also the ones who don’t want to be bothered with learning about new photo editing tools, their features and how to apply them to their photos.

These two pressures, one from the tech side and another from the side of pressing deadlines and clients, have created a nourishing climate for companies specializing in photo editing. These companies have teams of smart, highly trained and experienced photo editors who are well-versed in image editing and restoration. Their photo editing services and smart photo editors are always looking forward to meet customer deadlines while providing a quality service.

3. Smartphone Cameras Are Becoming Viable

Wouldn’t it be handy to have everything in one device as a photographer? This would mean no more struggle with a large DSLR in your hands. Well, this might be possible thanks to Johan Godfroid, a tech designer from Belgium. He has created a system that significantly improves cameras found in smartphones.

Johan’s revolutionary operational system is mountable to a smartphone device and it allows a user to capture 120 degree wide-angle images. Furthermore, this new system can capture infrared images. This way, photographers can capture photos with more depth and accuracy. Especially when taking photos of scenes including surfaces with high contrast.

4. Drone Tech

Drones are massively being used in photography and videography these days. They allow professionals to take astonishing bird's-eye view photos. And the drone technology is currently setting new boundaries. It seems that developers are trying to make drones that can move very fast and stay up in the air for longer than ever before.

There are two drone models out there that deserve our attention. First one is the Hobbico C-Me. This one is the smallest photography drone out there. It’s size and price are adjusted to those photographers who don’t want to commit to larger and more expensive models. Hobbico C-Me weighs only five ounces and belongs to the ultra-small drone category, but it packs a full HD 8 MP camera.

Another drone that deserves attention is Yi Erida. Made entirely of carbon fibre, Yi Erida is a drone that can reach up to 75mph and stay airborne for 40 minutes. It features tricopter design and can withstand temperatures as low as -15 degrees C. With the ability to reach maximum altitude of 6 km, this drone is capable of capturing the most beautiful photos.

These are the latest tech trends in photography. However, since the tech is rapidly progressing, we can expect to see even more interesting achievements on the next CES in January of 2018. Until then, we can reap the benefits of all the cool gadgets that are already on the market.

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How to Produce an Explainer Video with High-conversion Rate

Do you want to catch the attention of potential customers, leading them down the path to conversion and sales? The video is one of the best ways to create this dynamic pathway to growing sales and your business. But not all videos are created equal. When considering video animation for business, take a long, hard look at explainer videos. As the name suggests, an explainer video dives into the who, what, and why aspects of your business; this means that the information on who you are, what you offer, and why potential customers should give you a look when beginning the decision path towards a purchase.
Making the decision to utilize an explainer video as the video animation for a business model that will work for you is a great start. Now let’s examine seven keys to producing high-converting explainer videos that’ll work for you.

7 Keys to Producing High-converting Explainer Videos

 

1. Start with the script
One common mistake made by those eager to create a dazzling video animation for business is to forget the importance of the script. It doesn’t matter how many cool animated effects you load up your video with if there’s not a coherent and compelling story underlying it. Don’t skimp on the attention this deserves – ensure that your script describes what you’re offering, and explain to your potential customers why your product is something that they need.

2. Create situations and characters that your customers can identify with
The best video animation for business will present a human side or interesting personal angle to the story that you want to tell. Your potential customers are much more likely to engage with your explainer video and become customers if they see people or situations that resonate on a personal level. As you develop your script and the subsequent visual imagery for your explainer video, always keep in mind who is the audience of your video, and work to relate to their situations and desires.

3. Capture your customers with visual imagery

Now we’ve reached the point where many less experienced video producers start – the visuals. But as we’ve discussed, when you’re creating a video animation for business use, the visuals take a back seat to the essential tasks of creating a script based on situations and people that relate to the people you want to convert. Now that you’re here concentrate on creating a compelling visual flow that moves smoothly from one topic to the next. It’s your goal to engage, entertain, and convert those potential customers in the 60 to 90 seconds you’ll have their attention.

4. Set the tone with an energetic voiceover recording

You’ve spent time creating a great script and putting together a dazzling set of graphics for your video. Don’t ruin the effect with a sub-standard voiceover performance. Take your time choosing voice talent and work to get the tone you’re looking for. Attention to this essential element can add a lot to the overall polish and professionalism of your explainer video. 

 

5. Don’t skimp on the music bed 

Think about some of your favorite movies, and consider how much work the music does in setting the tone and driving the action forward. While you’re probably not going to hire a film composer to score your explainer video, a video animation for business needs to have music that matches the mood you’re trying to create. Take the time to listen to a variety of music beds and try out some different ones as you go through the editing process in creating your explainer video. 

And don’t forget sound effects. It’s easy to add too many sound effects to your video animation for business, but some well-chosen effects can really up to the entertainment and engagement factor of your video. 

6. Always be closing
The role of a video animation for business is to sell your product or service. Be sure to include distinct calls to action in your video. Spread them throughout the video and don’t be afraid to repeat them!

7. Don’t be afraid of revision
Take a page from Hollywood. Even the best movies can have major changes from the first edits. Try out your video on people whose opinions you trust, and solicit honest feedback. Don’t be afraid to cut sections that don’t work. In the video, as in writing, brevity is usually a virtue. Get to the point and don’t be afraid to try different versions of your video.

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4 Annoying Issues That Travel Photographers Have to Deal With

Capturing a beautiful image at just the right time and under the right conditions can speaks volumes about a particular moment, which is why many people choose to take up photography and spread their artistic vision across the world. It is also a potentially lucrative hobby.
In the past couple of years numerous travel blogs have become incredibly popular. If you are thinking about becoming one yourself, you should know what are some of the basic problems that travel photographers have to deal with.

4 Annoying Issues That Travel Photographers Have to Deal With

1. Time efficiency
Time is of essence when it comes to traveling. You are not always going to have the chance to take that perfect photo because you have limited time to take it. This is something that photographers mentally prepare for but they also take some steps to avoid these types of situations.
The best solution is to evaluate your traveling schedule and fine tune it to allow yourself to take the best photos of these locations. Simply let the people you are traveling with know of your plans so that they can organize their schedule to fit your timing.

2. Packing
Bringing all of your lenses will make your traveling plans much harder. Many travel photographers are dealing with these issues as you always want to make sure that you have everything for different photography types. The solution is actually very simple; all you have to do is think about types of surroundings that you are going to face. This will make it easier for you to decide which lenses you should have on you at all times.
Another usual problem are the batteries. Avoid taking 10 batteries with you, it is completely unnecessary. You know what your day is going to look like and chances are that two or three batteries are going to have you covered.
Calculate how many photos you can take per battery and decide how many you are going to need. Following these tips is going to allow you to have all the necessary gear on you during your shooting session without feeling overburdened, which can really wear you out towards the end of the day.

3. Unexpected weather conditions

Different weather conditions create two main types of problems that photographers face. However, dealing with this problem is something that you can deal with easily.

• Skillset – You have to know how to take photos in different weather conditions. This will make it irrelevant for you what the weather conditions are.

• Gear protection – You should always have the right equipment that is going to keep your photography gear safe.

If you simply didn’t want to take a photo of a particular location in current weather conditions, you can always rearrange your traveling schedule and visit the location when the weather is better.

4. Problems with local population

There are various cultures around the world that photographers should become familiar with before traveling. Taking photos in some parts of the world can be very dangerous, making it incredibly important to always ask for permission before taking a photo. 

Or, if you do take a photo and do photo editing service, immediately show it to the person and pay attention to their reaction. Always make sure to evaluate the situation and learn as much as possible about the country you are visiting, it is the best way to avoid any of the problems that might occur.

These are the most common issues that travel photographers have to face. Taking appropriate action is going to ensure that you avoid these types of problems easily. Always keep one thing on your mind, take the camera down and enjoy some moment to experience the amazing places you are visiting; this will help you make the most out of your traveling experiences.

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4 Ways Photo Editing Can Boost Your Social Media Efforts

Social media presence plays an important role in running an effective marketing strategy. Owing to the fact that billions of people use social media networks, it is necessary to establish a strong presence.
This is something that the majority of businesses are aware of; therefore, the amount of competition is pretty high. All this means that you as a marketer have to go the extra mile and offer something that the competition is not offering.
This is where photo editing services are necessary, or even an in-house photo editor. A lot can be achieved with smart photo marketing. Therefore, let’s get into the interesting details of how images and photo editing can help you create a better social media marketing strategy.

4 Ways Photo Editing Can Boost Your Social Media Efforts

Overall impact of images on people 

The average consumer’s attention span is fairly short nowadays, as millions of people are continuously bombarded with marketing materials wherever they turn.

For example, you go outside and you see a billboard advertisement, or you turn on TV to watch a movie, and advertisements pop up, or you go online, there are ads everywhere, starting from search engine results to the pages of your favorite websites.

Ads have even penetrated the mobile market applications which pop up every couple of minutes. All this has led to a great reduction in customer’s attention spans, making it necessary to actually offer something extremely eye catching to successfully grab the visitor’s attention.

Adding images to your posts is an effective way of not only attracting visitors and potential customers, but also a great way to engage people. The higher the engagement on the post, the more people are going to see it.

According to the MIT report, the underlying reasons for this kind of behavior lies in the fact that people tend to create emotional, mental or social connection to the image displayed to their eyes. This is the main reason why their Facebook posts with images receive 37% more engagement.

But how can photo editing help in the whole process? Let’s take a look:

1. Telling a story to your audience

Images are a perfect medium because they can be added on any social media network and are a perfect way to tell a story. For example, if you are running a tourist agency that sells accommodations in various places across the globe, making posts on Facebook or Instagram without images is quite pointless.

You want to show to the visitors what they are going to experience, it will make them wish to visit a location you are talking about, as they can see and imagine the feeling of being in the actual room. On the other hand, branding in all lines of work is essential for successfully achieving long-term growth. Images serve to create a great follow-up to the story you are trying to convey.

Take Coca-Cola, for example; every single image this company uses on social media networks portrays people with broad smiles. It makes you subconsciously connect drinking this drink with good family times, or fun times spent with friends.

Photo editing comes in pretty handy, because it lets you create your signature across all posts. For example, Schweppes always creates black and white images for their marketing campaigns, but keeps only the yellow color to emphasize their brand. Also, there are always great captions which make people think about drinking their product. This is their signature which is achieved exclusively with great photo editing.

It all comes down to how creative your social media marketing team is, and what story and signature they can think off.

2. Shifting image styles for different target audiences 

There are different social media networks out there. As each of them counts millions of customers and it is clear that there are those who prefer different social networks due to different reasons. The conclusion is that there are different target audiences you are appealing too.

For example, images on Tumblr greatly differ from images on Instagram or Pinterest. This implies that it is necessary to create specific image materials for different online locations. This is where photo editing plays an important role, especially when you take into consideration that you’ll need images of different sizes for different social media networks.

3. Brand consistency 

Brand consistency is something that many businesses fail to respect. You cannot advertise your business without telling a single story, without creating a style and using consistent design elements across all your marketing channels.

For example, imagine that the color you want to use on your website is completely different from the colors which dominate images created for marketing. This can cause a lot of confusion for the customers and will make it harder to establish a memorable brand. People need to see the same things appear on different channels to more easily memorize your brand. 

4. Higher customer engagement 

Achieving higher engagement is necessary for making “trending” posts which show up in feeds of a higher number of people. Images play an important role in achieving higher engagement across company’s social media channels.

According to Hubspot’s infographic, great looking images generate 94% more views on your social media posts. One of the main benefits that also come with great looking photos is the potential for the post to become more viral. Additionally, using visual content generates a 65% increase in engagement only after a month.

All this shows how effective eye catching images are for a marketing strategy, making photo editing quite important as well.

The only question remains, whether it is better to hire an in-house photo editor or outsource the job to a company which offers photo editing services. If you are planning to hire an in-house editor, make sure that he or she is skilled with various types of photo editing software tools, as it can help you greatly reduce costs in the long run.

If you haven’t already included great looking photos in your marketing campaigns, it is definitely time to do so. It is one of the best ways to significantly increase engagement, brand awareness and the number of customers.

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6 Photo Editing Do's and Don’ts That Will Make or Break Your Photos

When I was a teenage girl, I had a lot of problems fitting in. Most of the girls in my class wore makeup every day, and my mom was quite traditional, and she didn’t let me do that. This made me feel left out like I was the ugly duckling.

Not only did I feel like I didn’t belong with the rest of the group, but I also didn’t feel pretty and attractive. All the girls at this age wanted to look older, and for me, this was not an option. But what I didn’t realize at the time was that most of those girls put too much makeup on, and they ended up looking worse because of it.
When I started putting makeup on, I was aware of this, and I used only a little bit so that it was barely noticeable, but still getting the effect I wanted. The same principle applies to photo editing as well. I can’t stress how many good photos I see taken by photographers who do their job well, but then somebody comes along and edits it too much and ruins the artistic value of the photo.

Photo editing can either make or break a photo, and you need to learn certain things before you can do this properly.

6 Photo Editing Do's and Don’ts That Will Make or Break Your Photos

1. Edit RAW photos

No matter if you are editing the photos you shot, or you are editing someone else’s photos, it’s important that they are all shot in RAW. All professionals shoot in RAW, end of discussion. The reason for this is quite simple.

All RAW files are not compressed, meaning that they contain a lot more information, so there is more room for editing. With these files, you can fine tune your white balance, exposure, and many other things right there on your camera when shooting photos.

If the images you or somebody else takes are shot in JPG format, this means that you will have a lot fewer options available for finishing the final project. Of course, RAW files take more space, and you will have to make sure you have a big memory card to store all the images.

At the same time, not all photo editing software tools can read these file formats, and this brings us to the next step. Just remember to take photos while thinking about the editing process as well, and get RAW images. 

2. Get the right software

You won’t be able to edit your photos professionally and get great results if you don’t have a professional piece of software to use. If you want to be good, you will need to acquire professional tools that allow you to achieve the specific look and feel you are going for.

The best way to go is to invest in Adobe Photoshop, and I'm not talking about Gimp, Windows Photo Editor, Photoshop Elements or anything like that; you need the real deal. After you get your tool, learn as much as you can about it.

There are people that like to improve their arsenal by using Lightroom as well. Learn all the features, tools, options and take enough time to get some experience and train yourself to use your software. 

3. Don’t use the Blur Tool

Nobody is saying that you should never edit people’s faces or skin when editing images. You should do this when necessary, of course. However, when you are doing this, you must make sure that you don’t go over the top when cleaning skin irregularities or blemishes because you won’t remain true to your photo and the subject in it.

There is a simple recipe to make sure that you don’t go too far - don’t use the Blur tool. What blurring pixels do is that they simply attract attention to the area that has been fixed and they also destroy all the pixel information in the area which has been edited.

Don’t go this way, you will need a lot of time and work to avoid ruining areas, and it’s simply not worth the result. Luckily, there are alternatives for cleaning the skin and a lot of other tools that do the same job much better. 

4. Don’t crop straight away 

A lot of people take it too far with their cropping, and they are in quite a hurry when it comes to cropping. Nobody says you have to crop straight away and that you should remove absolutely everything from the image to make it look good.
You must remember that you can always crop the photo a bit more, but you can’t stretch it when you need to. This is why you should do all of your editings and leave cropping for later, who knows what you might notice and what fresh ideas you might get from your editing. 

5. Leave out cheap tricks

There are a lot of “flashy” options you can use in most photo editing tools. Just because they are there and have a drastic effect, doesn’t mean that you should use them. If you do use them, you should adjust the setting to make the changes minimal and natural.

There are various coloring options, lens flares, fake HDR, sparkles and other filters that might seem attractive to you, but you should avoid them as much as you can. They will only distract you from the photo idea, and you will completely change and ruin the original thought.

One last thing you should make sure to avoid definitively are the frames. These things will only make your photos look trashy and if you want to be taken seriously and make your photos professional, make sure to avoid them. These things are for Instagram. 

6. Shoot with low ISO

Make sure that the images are shot with the lowest ISO possible. The lower the ISO is, the better the dynamic range you can create. Take your time and shoot the best exposure possible, low USO and high F-stop. When you are really in a hurry, you can set your exposure speed t 1/160th to prevent any blurs or vibrations from disrupting your shots. 

Conclusion: These are some of the essentials you should know before you start photo editing services. As you learn more, you will have to constrain yourself more, so you don’t cross the line and make your photos unnatural and tacky. A lot of people have a problem with wanting to do as many edits as possible and they completely destroy the original idea of the photo.

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