Professional Photography : archive

What's Your Backup Plan?

Eileen Fritsch — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:14:00 GMT

Everyone knows that backing up data is important, yet many either put it off, or worse, put blind faith into the integrity and durability of their drives and don’t even consider backups. As pro or serious photographers in the digital age, backing up our images isn’t just smart, it’s critical.

But, we’re all busy, and finding the time to do this isn’t always easy. So we let it slip by for a little longer until that day arrives that the computer can’t read the disc containing thousands of images.

New operating systems,such as OS X 10.5 on the Mac,and Vista for PC users offer backup systems. I do most of my work on a Mac and appreciate the automatic backups provided by Time Machine. I have a 2TB OWC Guardian Maximus external drive dedicated to backups that is handled by Time Machine, and a second 2TB drive, this one a Western Digital My Studio II, which is used to backup the backup.

Why two backups? Call me paranoid, but it’s my feeling that having one copy isn’t good enough. Keeping my data in three places seems much more disaster proof and allows me to keep a copy offsite if I wish. Most of the drives come with bundled backup software, and for the Vista or XP user, I would recommend using something like Retrospect or NTI Shadow over the program included with Windows since you have more options such as scheduling, and better recovery options.

While you can make a full backup of your system, I only backup my data files and images. I also have these on a separate drive from my applications to further compartmentalize my system and make organizing a bit easier.Time Machine runs every hour and also does a daily and weekly backup. However, one problem that I’ve found is that it will fail to backup any file that is open when the process runs. So, if you have Adobe Photoshop Lightroom or Bridge running, the files in use will not be backed up. So I still need to remember to shut down applications at the end of the day. Other programs may not have this problem, but I don’t have firsthand experience to verify this.

For the second backup, I run NTI Shadow and do a full backup of my OWC drive onto the Western Digital drive. This is also scheduled, so I don’t have to rely on my increasingly faulty memory.

To be completely safe, I probably should be using yet a third drive, and storing one drive offsite to keep my files safe in the event of theft or fire.

Regardless of what configuration works for you, the critical point is that you have some sort of regular backup plan. The more automated it is, the more likely you will be to actually use it, and be safe when the bad day arrives. Nothing is worse than seeing a “Disc can’t be read” message when you have no backup!

Your Back Library Contains Gold

BlogArchive — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:24:00 GMT

By Wayne Cosshall

It is easy to get taken away by our latest images and forget to revisit our library of previous work.

All of life contains cycles and change. We read a new photography book, attend an exhibition, or go to a workshop and suddenly we are a bit different than we were before. Sometimes more than a bit. Over time we change substantially. And this is what we want, because if we are standing still we have either given in to ego or to stagnation and repetition.

An extremely interesting exercise is to revisit images we shot some time ago. And I don’t just mean the ones we have printed or exhibited. It’s also worth re-examining the great, unwashed mass of images that we never did anything with, at the time.

Suppose you look at images you shot five years ago. When you examine these in the light of five years of growth as an artist you will likely make different decisions. You may no longer like the direction you took some images during processing. Or, you may now see potential in some of the images you previously rejected, perhaps by using some new processing technique you have learned or with a changed aesthetic. And, you may find work that now fits perfectly into a new series you are working on.

Another great value in examining your back library is to reflect on your abilities. Sometimes it is easy to forget just how far we have come as artists, how much our tastes have changed, and how much our shooting and processing techniques have improved. When I look back at my body of work I find some images I still adore and others that I no longer value, no longer consider good enough to exhibit.

Sometimes we discover that we have gone backwards. Perhaps a line of work we started then dropped held huge potential. Or maybe a previous way of working (before we adopted a workflow recommended by someone else) was in fact better fitted to our personalities and aesthetics.

Digging through your back images is not easy. Most of us have large libraries of film and/or digital images. The sheer volume can seem overwhelming.

So part of your organizational skill should be devoted to making it easy (or at least reasonably possible) to re-examine images taken long ago. This might involve storing your trannies and negatives in film sheets that allow you to quickly examine a whole lot of images in one hit.

Or, it could mean storing your digital files on a large file server or cataloging your CDs and DVDs of backup images in a program that generates and stores decent- sized previews so you can examine a lot of digital images while the original files remain offline.

However you do it, make it happen.

Your back library can be like striking a huge vein of gold in your own backyard, something you can mine at your leisure. Cast your new eyes over the work and see what you can extract. Can you use a cropped section? Can you extract a component and montage it into another image? Can you improve an image using localized enhancements that you didn’t know how to do last time you examined the image?

Don’t get sucked into believing that since you have improved as a photographer that all your past work will be rubbish. Even if your work has taken a quantum leap in quality, such change is rarely an instantaneous event. Rather it is a process over time in which there will be hints of what is to come. Most likely, you’ll find the odd image or two that hinted at your future talent. It would be a shame to lose these images.

The best image you will ever take might be sitting in your back image library, untouched and unloved.

Being Organized: Part 2

BlogArchive — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:41:00 GMT

By Wayne Cosshall

In part 1 of this article, we looked at how photographers could free themselves to be more creative by becoming better organized. In that post, we talked about organizing equipment, shoot planning, and contact lists. Let’s continue getting organized.

Tracking payments, debts and invoices. Tracking and managing all these business details is critical if photography is your business, either full or part time. You have compliance and tax obligations to meet, and must stay in control of your costs and income.

Here you have three choices: (1) do it all yourself; (2) do some of it yourself; or (3) hand it all off to a bookkeeper or accountant. The last is a great option, because most of us creative types find anything like bookkeeping to be instant death. However, an accountant costs money, so it may not be an option.

Alternatively, you can invest in some appropriate accounting software, learn it, and then use it either to do the whole job or just parts of it, with an accountant or bookkeeper doing the rest. This gives you more control and reduces costs. Accounting software such as QuickBooks or MYOB, can do the job for you.

Whatever solution you use, get an accountant to set it all up for you, including choosing the software. Then go to a training course or send the person who will be tracking your payments, debts and invoices. This is important, as even the simplest program of this type is quite complex. You need to get it right.

Planning image manipulations. In the old days of working in the darkroom I would do straight proof prints in 8x10 size and then, much later, sit with a chinagraph pencil and mark up areas of the print for burning in or holding back, dropping in another negative with masking, etc. I didn’t do this in the darkroom, but only after the print was completely dry and in the sort of lighting in which I would eventually be hanging the finished print. Free from the darkroom, I had my choice of lighting and could consider the image in comfort and over an extended period of time. I could even put the print on the fridge door so I could consider it over days.

Today, I do all my manipulation work on the computer. There is a great temptation to do all the work at the computer. I believe this is a mistake.

It is far better to mirror the darkroom approach and make a proof print in a smaller size. Then, consider it carefully and mark it up only after you’ve allowed yourself time with the image. It doesn’t all have to be a rush.

Getting things done on time. In today’s fast-moving 24/7 world, there is so much to keep track of. You need to keep track of deadlines, research, contacts, trips, websites, models, locations, timelines, client appointments and more. All of these can be tracked on paper. But as a computer nerd, I look for computer solutions.

Keeping track of everything you have to do is important. You can use a diary or calendar program but not all tasks are best kept that way.

I like to-do lists and I’ve tried a variety of programs to manage them. Most calendar programs have basic to-do capabilities, but these are very limited.

I’ve started using a program called iGTD. This is a Mac-only program, but it suits me because I work mainly on a Mac. The name comes from a book by David Allen called Getting Things Done, which describes a methodology for managing all the things we have to do. There are many other programs that implement these ideas for both Macs and Windows PCs.

iGTD lets me create tasks, and assign end dates, priorities and level of difficulty. I can also write notes about tasks, and set up tasks to repeat on a set schedule. When I complete such a task, it automatically reschedules to the next date.

iGTD is donationware software and works amazingly well. I love it, though I am still exploring all it can do for me. For example, it can also synchronize with a calendar program and generate alarms or reminder messages.

Tasks can be assigned to Contexts and Projects. Contexts divide tasks into those that need to take place in certain locations. Projects are particular activities. Both Contexts and Projects can be hierarchical, giving you further organization options.

Getting organized is not a burden. In fact, it frees you from worrying about all the things that must be done. Getting all that out of your head and off your shoulders frees you to create, and to enjoy the creating.

It can take time to turn something of little interest into something of beauty. This is especially true of creativity, which you can't do in a rush or with millions of other things on your mind. Get better organized and you are free to play.

Being Organized: Part 1

BlogArchive — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:03:00 GMT

By Wayne Cosshall

Photography is a business for many of us and a hobby for many more. Whether business or hobby, photography can become one of those all-consuming avocations that give us a reason to get up in the morning. Yet, because of the seemingly endless array of equipment, digital files, shoot logistics, and daily business requirements, many of us are often not as organized as we could be.

And that’s a shame. Although you can’t force creativity, disorganization can definitely put a damper on it. Lack of organization can make us feel adrift or as if we're drowning in sea of unrealized possibilities.

Getting organized empties our brains of needless distractions. The more organized we become, the fewer worries we have interfering with the creative process.

Among other things, being organized as a photographer requires:

Image organization and tracking
Organizing equipment
Planning shoots
Maintaining contact lists
Tracking payments, debts and invoices
Planning image manipulations before getting on the computer
Getting work done on time

In November, I wrote about using software to help organize images. Over the next couple of months, let’s look at some of the other areas that need to be organized.

Organizing equipment. Most photographers have collected a lot of equipment: cameras, lenses, bags, filters, step-up and step-down rings, cable or electronic releases, flash guns, tripods, and so on. Personally, I don’t have huge amounts of gear but the other day I counted five tripods, for example.

What system you choose to organize your gear isn’t as important as just making the effort to do so. I’ve always liked drawers of various heights for storing camera gear, so when I pull them out everything is all laid out in front of me. I place a non-slip rubber material in the bottom of the drawer and the gear mostly stays in place, too.

Other photographers love cabinets, filing cabinets, shelves, storage bins or whatever. Tripods can be hung from little wire brackets, as can camera bags, straps and USB, FireWire and flash sync leads.

Having all of your gear where you can easily find it definitely helps when it’s time to plan your next shoot.

Planning a shoot. This can involve looking at maps of the location, noting sunrise and sunset directions and times, figuring out what gear you will need, and determining the best way to carry it. You may even choose to make a preliminary list of subjects you might want to capture.

Shoot planning can seem like a task more suited for people with anal-retentive personalities than us creative types. But the fewer logistical glitches you have to hassle with on location, the more you can focus on getting the best shots.

Maintaining contact lists. To build a steady stream of assignments and photo sales, it’s wise to maintain lists of previous clients as well as people who have inquired about your services, attended your exhibitions, or subscribed to your newsletter. You also want to maintain a list of all of the other people and businesses you work with.

Mailing lists are a great tool, because they make it easy to send out invitations, special offers, or that newsletter you always meant to write.

The simplest and most effective way to keep a mailing list is in Microsoft Excel. Setting up separate columns for names, street addresses, cities, states, and zip codes is just a starting point. You can add extra columns for date of last sale or lists of images they have bought from you in the past.

Microsoft Word can draw the info from the Excel spreadsheet to print out address labels or print directly on your envelopes if your printer can handle it. If you use labels supported by Word, such as the wide range of labels available from Avery, and it can all work flawlessly.

That’s it for part 1. More next month.

The Wonderful World of Flickr

BlogArchive — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:53:00 GMT

By Marc Aguilera

Flickr is a great place for the new amateur, the accelerated semi-pro photographer, and working professional photographer. The flickr community is vast and amazing and I never get bored of looking at images from my contacts in the community.

I have had a flickr account since July 14, 2004. The first shot I posted was from my Samsung cameraphone of two wonderfully charming young girls named Branwen and Rhianon who are the children of my good friend Alan. I now have over 1200 images (which is not that many compared to other flickr users) and over 250 contacts. I belong to a few hundred groups and administer five, including a color management group and a group devoted to digital printing. Images are put into sets and collections of sets to make it easier to organize. I currently have 40 sets. I also have a Pro Account which gives me unlimited storage, uploads, bandwidth, and sets, as well as permanent archiving, and ad-free browsing and sharing. Amazingly, it only costs $24.95/year.

I often just love to explore and see if I can find an image of something abstract or seemingly rare. For instance, the other day I entered “Babirusa” and found dozens of images of the wonderful pig-like animal native to Sulawesi. I also looked for images of Latvia (a country I have always wanted to visit and came across some amazing landscapes by marika_te).

Because my wife and I own a 1965 classic 122s model Volvo, I recently looked to see if there were any images of that particular model on the site. Amazingly, I found over 100 images and several groups devoted to vintage Volvos.

One of the most popular groups is the Shooting to Learn Group, which is devoted to learning and exploring the photographic craft. The group is moderated by Dawn Perry and hosts assignments ranging from specific techniques to monthly photo contests. It’s an excellent resource for developing your photographic skills.

I also really enjoy looking at my favorite images from other flickr members. Images range from the very simple to the extraordinarily complex and are a constant source of inspiration. It’s amazing what we all photograph.

If you are worried about copyright, the default setting for all uploads is All Rights Reserved. If you wish you can attribute a Creative Commons license to protect and authorize the usage of your images.

I continue to be amazed by flickr, and I have only begun to scratch the surface. There is always something new and interesting being developed. The latest feature is called Places where you can browse images which have been Geotagged for a particular city. I searched for Riga, the capital of Latvia and found some amazing images from architecture to urban landscapes.

In my opinion, Flickr represents the future of the digital imaging community. It is a wonderful world for photographers, and if you haven’t yet visited, I would encourage you to do so.

Steady Progress and New Possibilities in Image Organization

BlogArchive — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 20:30:00 GMT

By Wayne Cosshall

When I started in photography over 45 years ago, it was a major pain to organize my slides and filmstrips so I could find what I wanted. Originally I used index books with film and frame number codes to keep track of my images. Later I progressed to a computer program that ran on my Apple IIe. It would print labels to put on slides and could do basic keyword searches.

Some ten years ago, when I started scanning the film I shot, the issue became keeping track of the digital files. At that point I was introduced to a digital-asset management program called Portfolio, which could catalog files (whether they were on CD or hard disk). It allowed me to assign keywords and other data to each record.

Since switching from film to digital cameras I am still using Extensis Portfolio (although other similar programs exist both for Mac and PC). Portfolio files are cross platform and the software can handle lots of files, generating thumbnails to the sizes I need, etc.

Now, when I return from a shoot, I use this workflow: I transfer the images from the memory cards onto my hard drive, duplicate these files onto another network drive, and then burn the files onto DVD, which get unique serial numbers. I use Extensis Portfolio to catalog the DVD and then put the disc away in an archival storage unit. This works well for me. The files on local and network disks allow me ready access to work on them, while the DVD backups provide extra security.

Cataloging images has always been a pain because of the need to enter keywords. One way to address this task is to organize files into sub-folders or directories with meaningful names. So starting within a folder for each shooting date, I may have subfolders labeled “flower macro”, “rural landscape,” or “insect macro.” I can then set Portfolio (or similar software) to extract keywords from the file path.

The image-cataloging process has been greatly assisted by the ability of digital cameras to record EXIF data. This saves all that recording of exposure and lens details that many of us used to do.

Technology now allows possibilities that can go much further. Cameras can be fitted with GPS systems to record location information. You could conceivably link your catalogs of images with a mappying system, even Google Earth. If the GPS recording device also extracts direction information, you could work with your images in some interesting new ways. For example, you could build three-dimensional scenes or make more detailed and accurate plans for future trips to the same locations. Landscape photographers could explore their image libraries geographically, examining viewpoints and perspectives with map and other information overlays. You might even be able to check viewpoints and plan the best locations from which to shoot at particular times of the day.

I’m not sure if anyone has tied together all the pieces yet, at least for the general photographer, but I know someone will soon. Some exciting possibilities do exist for photographers willing to experiment.

Looking back at how far we’ve come in terms of image organization, don’t you love the way technology sometimes makes your life easier and your profession or hobby better?

The Importance of Keywording

BlogArchive — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:33:00 GMT

By Jon Canfield

As professional (or aspiring professional) photographers, we produce hundreds of images at a time. It’s not uncommon for me to return from a shoot with 1,000 or more photos. I’m sure many of you are in the same boat.

One of the greatest challenges in working with large numbers of images is determining how to catalog your photographs in a way that not only makes sense to you, but also to anyone else who may be searching for specific content.

If you maintain all your own images you have more freedom in how to go about tagging these photos for future reference. However, if you submit to stock agencies, it’s critical to tag your images in such a way that potential clients will find them sooner than they find similar images that may be available. If stock photo buyers are under tight deadlines, they may never bother browsing through the hundreds of choices that may be returned to them. They are more likely to choose from the batches of images they see first.

Keywording is supported by every DAM (Digital Asset Manager) application in one form or another. If you use Adobe Bridge, Adobe Lightroom, or Apple Aperture, you can add keywords and other metadata to your images when you import them. (From experience, I know that images tagged on import are more likely to have more accurate and relevant tags than those images I put off tagging until later.)

One problem that arises is knowing which specific keywords to use. For example, the photo shown here is from Nyhavn Harbor in Copenhagen Denmark. Logical keywords would include Nyhavn Harbor, Copenhagen, Denmark, boats, tourism. But, let’s assume that the potential buyer doesn’t use boats in his search and can’t recall the name of the area. If he searches for ships, Denmark, he will see a number of images before finding this one and this image will be lumped with every other image tagged with Denmark, regardless of the subject matter.

Luckily, there’s a great tool to help standardize keyword selection. The Controlled Vocabulary is a project started by David Riecks. The full catalog contains about 11,000 terms organized by hierarchical structure, making it easy to select the best possible set of keywords for your images.

The catalog is available in various formats to support popular DAMs. You’ll also find enough information on metalogging and IPTC standards to either make your head spin or put you to sleep depending on your interest level. What The Controlled Vocabulary will do for you though is help you maximize how often your image is viewed by prospective buyers and increase the number of sales.

After all, if clients aren’t finding your images, they aren’t buying them!