2012 iPhoneography

2012 as seen by my iPhone: Traveling around the United States

   

 B. Farnum Photography

 

2 New Motivational Books for Photographers..

In my endless quest for business knowledge and love for reading, I search for books that not only are pleasurable to read, but also innovative and game changing. It's my belief that if you can use or gain at least one concept or an idea that can navigate your business to the path to success, than it's worth it. I love that I can now buy digital copies of books, I don't have to carry around 6 books, just my iPad or iPhone. Convenience is the king in my world of books.

Worth Every Penny: Build a Business That Thrills Your Customers and Still Charge What You're Worth:
Sarah Petty & Erin Verbeck have information that will take your photography business to the next level, you will learn why a boutique business is so much different from the big box chains, and the shoot and burn photographers.
Plus you gain insight on why you can charge more for your photography! It's not just for photographers, if you are running a boutique style business of any kind. You will be missing a key component to your business knowledge, without the knowledge on these pages.




Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
This a quick and easy read about how you can change your perspective on how creativity is really something of a mixed bag of tricks that one acquires through the art of subtraction and a simple concept that no one actually thinks about "Do good work and share it with people." (p.79 Austin Kleon)

B. Farnum Photography

Rutland Senior Ball 2012

Photography is more than talk.

So many photographers today think just because they have a high end camera or better yet a smart phone they are anointed with creativity. What they never realize is that without forethought and vision they are nothing more than puppet to a technology they don't even understand.

They lack the process, never considering that composition, exposure and lighting have anything to do with
making an image, that they will be proud of.

Wake up! Decide to be a better photographer, turn in your cookie cutter attitudes in and make art.

No one likes a quitter, embrace the challenge of photography. Don't take the easy way out.

Thank You.

Thoughts? please comment.

Alexis: 7 Months

B. Farnum Photography

Salvador Dali- The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg

Going to The Dali museum in St. Petersburg Florida is my absolute favorite place to go while in Florida besides South Beach, Miami. This was the first time that I had visited the museum at its new location. The stairwell inside and the glass triangles that cover most of the side and some of the top was an amazing site to see.

Using bracketed exposures and converting those into HDR (High Dynamic Range) photographs like those you see below. I thought making these photos look surreal was a way to show my love for Salvador Dali's +artwork.

Each of the panes of triangular glass offers a different perspective. Taken with Canon 5D

Newborn Photography: Ryland

Newborn Photography by: B. Farnum Photography West Rutland Vermont 

Twitter: @brianfarnum

Google+ Page

Pricing Your Photography

Many times a photographer who is starting out, or has never booked a paying photo job before. They have no idea where to start from. Here is a link from the National Press Photographers Association that will help you calculate the cost of booking the job and maintaining your business.If you are going to run a successful business you need to know how to make a profit, not just breakeven.
This is the least favorite part of what I do for my business, but it is the most important aspect of what I do. If you do not know what you need to make to stay a float you are going to fail.

Film vs. Digital Photography

Shot with Ilford XP-2 Film

Will Kodak's demise mean that the Analog world is coming to an end? Film was the way of life for many photographers, and in my opinion can still out preform digital cameras and software.  Analog photography has taught many photographers how to frame a shot before they click the shutter. I always take more time when shooting film. If you don't like a photo on a digital camera, you can view it on the back of the camera via LCD screen if you don't like it simply press delete. Many photographers who have only shoot Digital do not understand what an F/Stop, Shutter Speed and ISO have to do with the exposure of an image. 

Many photos that are taken these days are just merely snapshots in time, only having meaning to the photographer who is snap, snap, snapping.

The expense of shooting film is no longer cost effective way to run your business, with cheaper options like Compact Flash Cards and SD Cards higher profits can be reached by the photographer. You either had to get what you needed to get within 24-36 exposures or load another roll of film. I would than pay for developing and the files to be placed in high resolution on a DVD. The cost of doing 3 rolls of film and putting them on a disk was around $65.00.

The major benefit of being able to reformat, reuse, and re-shoot with a compact flash card is nothing more than amazing.

I still will shoot all of my images that I want in black and white with either Kodak,Fuji, or Ilford films. Many of the local photo developers here in Vermont have stopped processing TRI-X films so I am forced to shoot with C41 films.

I still love the look and feel of black and white films, It's not because of nostalgia. I just believe black and white film always has more definition, contrast and tonal range. But from a business stand point, you cannot beat the price of digital.

My Favorite Films to Shoot:
Ilford XP-2 Super 135-36 B&W (Chromogenic C-41) Print Film (ISO-400)
Kodak 35mm Professional Portra Color Film (ISO 160)
Fujifilm Pro 400H 120 Professional Color Negative (Print) Film (ISO 400)
Ilford HP5 Plus 120 Black & White Print Film (ISO-400)

B. Farnum Photography Portrait & Wedding Photographer