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What Not to do in Portrait Photography

1) Never shoot your subject head on! Did you know when you photograph a person with both of their shoulders and toes pointing at you, you are creating a very unflattering image? The body position creates a block to the flow of light. The broad shoulders add at least 10 pounds to your subject. If you are photographing a quarterback or linebacker, then go for it, but if not don’t do it! Instead, turn your subject at an angle away from the camera. If the head angle is correct, you should not be able to see the subject’s far ear.

2) Never have your subjects face into the sun! Why…squinting!  Putting the sun behind your subjects provides a nice hair light and gives depth to your portrait.

3) Do not shoot up the subjects nose! You usually want the camera to be slightly above looking down on your subject. It is also ok to be the same height. Watch closely when framing your image.

4) Avoid large whites of the eyes! You want the subjects iris to be in the middle of their eye. Look at your subject. Ask them to keep their face toward you but look to the right with their eyes. Now all you see is white. That creates a very poor image. If you need to move your subjects head in off camera direction, have them focus on a mid point in front of them or gaze back at you with the eyes.

5) Never pose a subject so close to a background you get a hard black shadow. Most people think if they are not using flash, that shadows upon backdrops are not an issue. That is not true. Our own bodies will cast a shadow from the sun. It is important to let that light wrap around your subject to create a softer light. When you can, pull your subject 6 feet or more away from the backdrop.

6) Do not put your subjects in weird uncomfortable poses! Chances are if it doesn’t really “look” natural it’s not!

7) Avoid objects in the background that ruin your image! You framed your portrait, took the time to get the body angles right and the expression, then you take the shot. If you are only focused on the subject, you might miss the tree or flagpole that is growing out of the top of their head! You may or not be able to photo shop it, so get it right the first time and notice your background space. Is it ok?

8) Avoid glass glare! First, kindly ask your subject if they feel ok taking some shots without the glasses. If the do not where them all the time, it will work. If they wear them all the time or if their eye focus or squinting happens without them keep them on! If you have control over the lighting, take them outside in the shade and use a reflector. If you are indoors, bounce your flash from the ceiling or nearby wall to avoid the glare. If you are not able to bounce. Shoot from a bit more of a higher angle and ask the subject to sit or stand up straight, lean forward slightly, and maybe lower the chin a tiny bit. Do not lose the neck; if you do you are shooting too high.

Best Photography Tip

There are many composition tips recommended by photographers, books, courses, workshops, blogs, etc. Everyone talks about them and they are certainly important and basic to create images that are not boring and that have a WOW factor.

Composition rules are basic guides that tell you how an image will go from dull to exciting. Rules are also meant to be broken, but you have to learn why and when to do so. Some of the composition rules are even difficult to understand, you need a scientific mind to do so and I will not go into those. Photography is an art so why complicate it even more.

Photographers already have to deal with color, light, contrast, detail, depth-of-field, modes and many other technicalities. At the end of the day you might be able to learn and apply all the tips and techniques but your images might still not be the ones that win photo contests, that get published, that get exhibited or that simply make you sigh.

The most important tip that hardly anyone talks about is ‘Train Your Eye‘. The eye of a photographer is his or her most important tool. Train your eyes to see light and you are on your way to creating awesome images. Train your eyes to differentiate 2D from 3D and your pictures will suddenly have volume. Teach them what is contrast and they will identify detail. You will create amazing images as long as your eyes make decisions on what to include in your photograph and what to eliminate, the choice of angles and light.

First tip to training your eyes – look at a scene, close your eyes and open them again. Does the scene cause the same effect as when you first saw it, in other words, did you sigh after re-opening your eyes. If you did maybe you have a great shot in hand. Go for walks and practice framing in your mind different scenes, open and close your eyes. When you are able to look at a scene and continue to be amazed you will have trained your eyes to actually see great shots.

Our eyes see the world in 3-D, photos are a piece of paper in 2-D. What sometimes feels like an excellent shot when printed it turns out to be a photo without interest. Train your eye, go for walks, frame your scene and then close one of your eyes. If the composition looses spark and now looks chaotic, then you do not have a good image, if you still sigh, see detail and perspective then you have a great shot.

Cameras have certain advantages and certain disadvantages compared to your eyes. Use them. Cameras can focus and see details that your naked eye will not see, so train your eyes by closing and squinting. Your camera will frame your subject and block the rest, your eyes won’t, train them to do so. Your camera only sees with one eye and your camera cannot read the balance between highlights and shadows. Train your eyes to see changes and different light angles. Walk again early morning and late afternoon and see how light goes through the leafs of the trees, how it reflects on water and on windows, move around, go up, go down and train your eye to see how light changes as you move around

Train your eyes to see color. Walk around pick a color and focus on it. Walk some more and you will see that color popping out. Continue walking and focus on a different color, suddenly you will now see this other color. Practice makes perfect.

Train your eye and capture amazing breathtaking images.

The Best Times to Post to your Facebook Fan Page

We know that users are spending increasing amounts of time online on social networks like Facebook, but when exactly are users the most active? Social media management company Vitrue recently  released a study that identifies the days and hours users are most active on the Facebook channels maintained by companies and brands.

For the study, Vitrue analyzed Facebook post data from August 10, 2007 to October 10, 2010 from more than 1,500 brand streams — more than 1.64 million posts and 7.56 million comments in all. Shares and “likes” were not included in the study.

Here are some of the big takeaways:

  • The three biggest usage spikes tend to occur on weekdays at 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. ET.
  • The biggest spike occurs at 3:00 p.m. ET on weekdays.
  • Weekday usage is pretty steady, however Wednesday at 3:00 pm ET is consistently the busiest period.
  • Fans are less active on Sunday compared to all other days of the week.

Morning Posts Are More Effective

Although most posts and comments appear around 3:00 p.m. ET, posts published in the morning tend to perform better than those published in the afternoon.

Vitrue’s data indicates that morning brand posts are 39.7% more effective in terms of user engagement than those published in the afternoon.

Additionally, the top of the hour (:0 to :15 minutes) tend to see more interaction than other parts of the hour. The second half of the hour (:30 to :45 minutes) is the second most popular time for interaction.

This makes sense if you think about how meetings and breaks are scheduled. A quick check on Facebook before heading into another meeting or task might be more likely to happen at the top of an hour than in the middle or toward the end.

Why This Matters

Ultimately, the goal for brands on Facebook is to be able to engage with their fans, customers or potential customers and to promote a message.

65% of Facebook users only access the site when they’re not at work or school — typically early morning or evening. That means that if you’re making social media only a part of a 9 to 5 work day, you might be missing out on connecting with consumers during the times they’re likely to be online.”

Vitrue’s findings match that sentiment. Knowing when users are engaging and interacting with your page can be crucial to getting the most effective message across.

To be clear, this data is going to continue to shift as usage patterns shift. There is more to knowing when users are active to designating a publishing schedule. After all, if all publishers pushed out content at the same time, users would be overwhelmed and the net gain might disappear.

Still, following these type of usage patterns is an important part of maximizing the way brands and users can communicate.

The meaning of “Yes” in Sales?

One of the most common problems I hear about from sales teams is the problem of traction. They can get into the big companies, but they can’t get that “yes” to turn into dollars. We here….

“We’re getting commitments, but we’re not getting orders…”

“Some of the biggest companies out there are our customers, we just aren’t getting the volume…”

“The decision-maker is saying we’re going to get the business, but then her people order from their old suppliers…”

Sales people are pathologically optimistic, and that’s a good thing. If they weren’t, how could they get out and face the rejection and frustration that accompanies the sales process? But that optimism carries with it some inherent dangers for their companies.

False positives, missed signals and ‘hope’

Sales people receive a variety of “yes” answers during the sales process that create the sense that a deal has occurred. In reality, there is at least one unseen step in the decision spectrum where the “maybe” masquerades as “yes.” You can probably spot it:

1. Curiosity. Buyers are seeking market intelligence, wondering if there is an alternative to what they are doing now and if they can negotiate concessions out of their current provider using your offering as leverage.

2. Interest. Buyers are considering your solution in a head-to-head comparison with what they are doing now or with other options.

3. Commitment. Buyers have agreed you are a qualified vendor that they will use for future purchases. The unstated part of this idea is the “if” factor. That means that their agreement hinges on a series of elements:

  • If there is enough time to do a vendor change out on the project;
  • If you can beat the reduced price that their old vendor has offered them to keep their business;
  • If the specification on the work lines up with your unique capabilities, rather than just your same abilities as their current solution;
  • If the key internal supporters of the current vendor don’t make too much noise.

4. Decision. Purchase order or signed Statement of Work with contract and terms.

Always a step behind

The real false positive is hidden between the steps of Interest and Decision: the Commitment. Most of us think that getting Commitment means that we are getting a decision. We are not.

. To find out where customers really are, we prefer to use behavioral analysis rather than pathologically optimistic impressions.

Here’s how it makes a difference in each of the four steps:

1. Curiosity

– Impressions: Customer asks lots of questions, shows enthusiasm, disparages current solution provider.

– Behaviors: Customer brings other people to the meeting, keeps time and information commitments.

2. Interest

– Impressions: Customer asks “what if we worked together” questions, talks pricing and scenarios.

– Behaviors: Customer accepts Executive Sponsorship Agreement.

3. Commitment

– Impressions: Customer declares “We are going to work with you.”

– Behaviors: Customer outlines specific Purchase Schedule or Project Scopes.

4. Decision

– Impressions: Customer discusses upcoming projects and work in detail.

– Behaviors: Customer purchases Order or Scope of Work.

If you look at the Impressions under each item, you can understand why you get fooled. These are all great signs that we are going to get business, right? Well, sort of. But these indicators are not concrete behaviors that demonstrate real money coming your way.

Sales people often fear pushing too hard, so we are satisfied with impressions and don’t move prospects to behavior. Just remember that the money comes with the behaviors, not the words.

What to do

We encourage the following changes in the sales process:

1. Use the guidelines outlined above and define the four  levels of “yes” by behavior, not impressions.

2. Work through your current pipeline with this model to determine the real status of your accounts.

3. Push your sales organizations and teams to move the accounts out of impression measurement to behavior measurement.

4. Secure behaviors for your “yes” answers from your prospects.

If you are getting the answers you want, but are not getting the traction, maybe the answers are hollow. It is possible that they are really “maybes” all dressed up. Turn them into real “yes” answers by locking in the behaviors that prove it.

Is Email Marketing Worth your TIme?

E-mail marketing can be a viable way to grow and expand your business or fan base if you’re willing to put in the time and effort it will take to maintain templates, a distribution list and regular campaigns (even if you limit yourself to plain text e-mails).

In reality, many of us probably already have sign-up forms on our websites, allowing us to collect addresses from interested parties, but then how often do we actually send out an e-mail blast? And what about your own address book? I know I have hundreds of contacts that would probably be interested in the information I would consider sending out. If this sounds like you, it may be time to take a serious look at the benefits of e-mail marketing and what types of messages to send.

The Benefits

E-mail marketing can have a number of benefits for any type of business, freelancer, or entrepreneur,artist. Your mailing list can include current and past clients, fans, colleagues, unqualified leads, prospective clients, friends, past contacts and even people you don’t know.

The focus should be on developing a method of regular contact because it can:

  • Communicate important news to clients/colleagues/fans that they wouldn’t otherwise know
  • Keep you on the minds of clients, potential clients, or fans
  • Put you in a position to receive regular referrals
  • Make your sales process easier and more productive
  • Help people get to know you (and your Brand) in a light, informal way
  • Start conversations with people you are targeting

What to Share

You may be thinking that you have nothing to share, but an e-mail marketing campaign doesn’t have to be complex. It doesn’t even have to be a formal newsletter; short and to the point can be effective, too.

Information you can send out to your distribution list may include:

  • Site launches
  • New products or services you are offering
  • Special discounts or limited-time subscriber benefits
  • Client testimonials, Critic Reviews,Press Releases
  • Products or services you recommend that may be useful to your audience
  • New partnerships or collaborations
  • Surveys or requests for feedback
  • Articles, blog posts and other informational resources

Remember: Always position your email marketing campaign to drive your clients, customers or fans back to your website!

Not Crossing the Line

There are some important things to keep in mind when launching e-mail marketing campaigns. You’ll want to make sure you are sending messages in moderation, when you have something truly valuable to share and not simply for the sake of sending something out. And please, give people a chance to opt-in before you start sending away, and make sure there is a clear way to unsubscribe. Crossing the line and doing too much too often, or sending unwanted mail will do the opposite of what you want it to do and can hurt business.

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