IMPROVE YOUR PHOTOS. MAKE THE CUT.

GOALS

• ACCURATELY REPRESENT YOUR WORK
• COMPLY WITH SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Advantages

• YOUR SUBJECTS DON'T MOVE
• YOU CAN KEEP TRYING 'TIL YOU SUCCEED
• IF YOU DON'T SUCCEED, YOU CAN OUTSOURCE IT

ISSUES

• PHOTOS ARE TOO DARK / TOO LIGHT
• COLOR ISN'T REPRESENTED ACCURATELY
• TOO MUCH NOISE/GRAIN/PIXELATION
• PHOTOS ARE BLURRY
• CAN'T SEE ENOUGH DETAIL

ACCURATELY REPRESENTING YOUR WORK

• EXPOSING PROPERLY
• COLOR ACCURACY
• MAXIMIZING DEPTH/DETAIL
• MINIMIZING NOISE
• ELIMINATING BLUR

TECHNIQUES

• BEFORE: PREPARATION, BACKGROUND, LIGHTING
• DURING: STABILIZATION, EXPOSURE, WHITE BALANCE
• AFTER: EDITING, POSTING, SENDING, PRINTING

PREPARATION, BACKGROUND, LIGHTING

• CLEAN YOUR WORK (DUST, FINGERPRINTS, ETC.)
• USE A PLAIN WHITE OR BLACK BACKDROP
• LIGHT WITH DIFFUSE LIGHT; MODIFY/FLAG AS NEEDED  
• WINDOW LIGHT/DAYLIGHT BALANCED (5000 - 5500 K)
• USE PHOTO TENT FOR SCULPTURE/CERAMICS/3D ART

STABILIZATION, EXPOSURE, WHITE BALANCE

• SHOOT FASTER THAN 1/100 SHUTTER SPEED HANDHELD 
• USE A TRIPOD IF YOU NEED TO
• TOO DARK/BRIGHT? USE EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
• COLOR TEMPERATURE OFF? ADJUST WHITE BALANCE
• SHOOT AT LOWEST ISO POSSIBLE (1000 ISO OR LESS)

EDITING, POSTING, SENDING, PRINTING

• PHOTOSHOP, ACR, LIGHTROOM, SNAPSEED
• ADJUST EXPOSURE, DEPTH, COLOR
• REMOVE GLARE, MAKE LOCAL FIXES
• CROP, RESIZE, SAVE & SEND PER GUIDELINES
• NEED TO PRINT A PORTFOLIO? USE A PRO

EDITING on your TABLET

• IMPORT YOUR PHOTOS: WIRED, WIRELESS, EMAIL
• EDIT WITH PS EXPRESS, LIGHTROOM, OR SNAPSEED
• RESIZE WITH iRESIZE
• RENAME & SAVE TO GOOGLE DRIVE
• SEND WITH GMAIL

CAMERA CHOICE: WHAT TO LOOK FOR

• WIDE DYNAMIC RANGE (8-14 STOPS)
• LARGE SENSOR
• GOOD LENS
• NEWER MODELS ARE USUALLY BETTER
• USE SNAPSORT; TRY BEFORE YOU BUY

STUCK? DO THIS:

• PUT YOUR CAMERA ON "AUTO" OR "P" MODE
• IF IT'S TOO BLURRY, THROW MORE LIGHT AT IT
• IF IT'S TOO GRAINY, THROW MORE LIGHT AT IT
• IF THE COLOR LOOKS WEIRD, SHOOT OUTSIDE
• IF YOU NEED TO RESIZE YOUR IMAGE, ASK A KID

SOFTWARE & APPS

• EDITING ON COMPUTER: Photoshop CC, Lightroom, ACR
• EDITING ON TABLET: PS Express, Lightroom, Snapseed, iResize
• WI-FI SHOOTING/IMPORTING: EOS Remote, Wireless Mobile Utility
• SAVING/RENAMING/EMAILING ON TABLET: Google Drive, Gmail
• PORTFOLIO & E-COMMERCE WEBSITES: Squarespace

resources

• CAMERAS: snapsort.com
• LIGHTING: strobist.com
• TECHNIQUE: fstoppers.com
• PRINTS: mpix.com
• READ: Photography (10th Ed.): London, Upton, & Stone

ME

• PORTFOLIO: brianadamsphoto.com
• CONNECT: linkedin.com/in/brianadamsphoto
• FOLLOW: instagram.com/realbrianadams
• SLIDES: brianadamsphoto.com/presentations