I think it's fair to say we are living in more challenging times than we were five years ago. The biggest world recession in our life time. Decreased global demand and the relentless media working 24/7 to scare the hell out of everyone everywhere. But as my cliched one-liner says, that’s the time us tough guys get going. If there’s reduced demand it's got to be about us thinking, working, and living smarter than our competition. If there’s less money going round I/you/we need to make certain we still get our fair share. And in a crazy sort of way this makes me feel that, despite the doom To View More >>

I have read so many photographer interviews that started out, "I was given my first camera when I was ten". Hands up those who can say that? Certainly I can. I was given a beaten up old Yashica by my father for my tenth birthday. Pity it isn't that easy these days because, let's face it, when film was king an image taken on a 50 year old twin reflex could still create a beautiful neg. So why did we start taking photos? I bet it wasn't for money. It was the love of capturing the image. This is where every photographer starts leaving the crowd behind. The passion and the excitement of taking the To View More >>

Every now and then I see an "About" page that I particularly like, such as Amanda's at Orchard Cove Photography. It features this photograph, which she says "captures me and my brother running up the hill at my Grandma’s house when I was two years old. When my Grandma passed away, I found the photo framed in her bathroom. It now hangs in my bedroom." Amanda says that one image calls back countless memories of her grandmother, "playing with her dogs, exploring her movie collection, leafing through her scrapbooks, eating her famous tuna salad, feeding the birds, jumping on her bed, and trying To View More >>

Many years ago I headed to an up-market department store to buy a gift. When I asked the person behind the counter to show me what I wanted, she replied, “It’s expensive you know”. Was she suggesting that I couldn’t afford it, or was she reflecting on her own economic situation? She should have known better. Her job was to show me the product, work with my enthusiasm and make the business she worked for better off. As a business person I’ve reflected on this incident often. I’m always reminded of it at trade shows when people look at our albums and say things like, “They're so beautiful, To View More >>

I know the word "networking" gets bandied about a lot. I used to roll my eyes and put in the same category as "politically correct" and "multi-tasking" but in reality it's where business is today. Once upon a time a photographer could rely on the quality of his images and word of mouth. Maybe a bit of advertising in the Yellow Pages and the odd display in the local mall. Next minute, along comes the internet and screws it all up. Suddenly you have to be on Facebook, Twitter and this that and the other. As a photographer you have a major head start at this. First, you have cool images to show To View More >>