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Mastering Nature Photography: Shooting and Selling in the Digital Age PDF

289 Pages·2004·2.66 MB·English
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Nature Photography Title Page 10/5/04 3:44 PM Page 1 Mastering Nature Photography Shooting and Selling in the Digital Age John Kieffer ALLWORTH PRESS NEW YORK (00)FM, 1-4 MNP 9/24/04 1:28 PM Page ii © 2004 John Kieffer All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Copyright Convention, Universal Copyright Convention, and Pan-American Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. 08 07 06 05 04 5 4 3 2 1 Published by Allworth Press An imprint of Allworth Communications, Inc. 10 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010 Cover design by Derek Bacchus Cover photograph by John Kieffer Page composition/typography by SR Desktop Services, Ridge, NY ISBN: 1-58115-389-9 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kieffer, John. Mastering nature photography : shooting and selling in the digital age / John Kieffer. p. cm. Includes index. 1. Nature photography. 2. Photography—Business methods. I. Title. TR721.K52 2004 778.9'3—dc22 2004018473 Printed in Canada (00)FM, 1-4 MNP 9/24/04 1:28 PM Page iii Contents Acknowledgments ix About the CD-ROM x PART ONE: A Solid Foundation Chapter 1 So You Want to be a Nature Photographer 3 Be a Naturalist • Be an Athletic and Adventurous Outdoorsperson • Be a Businessperson • What about Equipment? Chapter 2 Good Photography: A Deliberate Approach 9 Preparation • A Common Thread in Good Photography • Where and What to Photograph • Who’s Your Audience Chapter 3 Elements of an Image 13 Symbols and Icons: The Star of Your Picture • General Rules of Composition • Lighting Chapter 4 A Day in the Life of a Nature Photographer 21 The Maroon Bells PART TWO: Photographic Equipment Chapter 5 Cameras 31 35mm SLR Camera Systems • 35mm SLR Lenses • Why Use a Larger Format Camera? • Medium Format Cameras • The View Camera • Panoramic Cameras • Digital Cameras • General Photographic Equipment Checklist Chapter 6 Lenses and the Creative Process 45 Focal Length, Aperture • Depth of Field • Shutter Speed Chapter 7 Filters 51 Exposure Compensation • Filter Frames and Holders • Ultraviolet (UV), Skylight (1A), and Haze Filters • Polarizing Filters • Enhancing and Warming Filters • Graduated Filters • Digital Filters • Neutral Density (ND) Filters • Wratten Gels or Color Compensating (CC) Filters • Specialty Filters (00)FM, 1-4 MNP 9/24/04 1:28 PM Page iv Chapter 8 Film 55 Keeping Track of Your Film • Kinds of Film • Film Speed • Color and Saturation • Pushing and Pulling Film Chapter 9 Exposure and Contrast Range 59 Light Meters and Measuring Light • Successful Metering and Exposures • Contrast Range • Sunny 16 Rule Chapter 10 Tripods, Supports, and Cases 63 Tripod Features • Tripod Heads • Using a Tripod • Specialized Camera Supports • Camera Cases and Photo Vests PART THREE: Photographing Nature Chapter 11 Planning a Successful Photo Trip 71 Resources for Finding Locations • Public Lands • Be a Naturalist • Can Preparation Verge on Stealing? Chapter 12 Location Scouting Basics 77 Before You Set Out • Capturing the Grand Vista • Transportation • Trails: Exploring the Backcountry • Private Property and Location Scouting • Basecamp: Trips as Family Vacations • Location Scouting Checklist Chapter 13 Photographing in Canyons, Deserts, and Dunes 97 Photographing Canyons • Location Scouting: Canyons • Slot Canyons • Photographing Buttes • Stock Value: Canyon Country • Photographing Deserts • Location Scouting: Deserts • Two Classic Desert Landscapes • Cacti and Flowers • Stock Value: Deserts • Photographing Sand Dunes • Location Scouting: Sand Dunes • Sand Dunes: Two Compositions • Stock Value: Sand Dunes Chapter 14 Photographing Mountains 113 Location Scouting: Mountains • Early Summer • Middle Summer: The Peak Season • Late Summer • Autumn Mountains • Winter Mountains • Stock Value: Mountains (00)FM, 1-4 MNP 9/24/04 1:28 PM Page v Chapter 15 Photographing Snow and Cold 123 Condensation • Cold • Exposures and Snow • Tips for Better Winter Compositions • Stock Value: Snow Chapter 16 Photographing Flowers, Forests, and Still-Lifes 127 Three Basic Flower Compositions • Stock Value: Flowers • Photographing Forests • Two Forest Compositions • Stock Value: Forests • Photographing Still-Lifes, Patterns, and Backgrounds Chapter 17 Photographing Water 137 Photographing Reflections, Lakes, and Calm Waters • Two Compositions • Stock Value: Reflections and Lakes • Photographing Seascapes and Coastlines • Location Scouting: Coastlines • Four Ocean Compositions • Stock Value: Seascapes and Coastlines • Photographing Streams • Photographing Waterfalls • Stock Value: Streams and Waterfalls Chapter 18 Photographing the Sky 155 Photographing Clouds • Stock Value: Fog • Photographing Moonrises and Moonsets • Stock Value: Moonrises and Moonsets • Photographing Rainbows • Stock Value: Rainbows • Photographing Sunrays and Sunbursts • Stock Value: Sunrays • Photographing Sunrise and Sunset • Stock Value: Sunrises and Sunsets Chapter 19 Photographing Agriculture 169 Agricultural Compositions • Using Agricultural Icons • Wheat: A Case Study • Stock Value: Agriculture Chapter 20 Photographing City Skylines and Roads 175 Skyline Location Scouting • Filters and Lighting • Photographing Roads • Safety • Three Road Compositions • Stock Value: Roads Chapter 21 Photographing Wildlife 181 Gain Your Skills Locally • Animal Portraiture • Shoot the Stars • Visit National Parks and Refuges • Stock Value: Wildlife (00)FM, 1-4 MNP 9/24/04 1:28 PM Page vi Chapter 22 Photographing People 185 Pictures for Family and Friends • Basic Compositions • Images for the Professional Photo Buyer • Models • Wardrobe and Props • Model Releases • Photo Equipment • Stock Value: People PART FOUR: The Business of Selling Your Photography Chapter 23 Photography Business Basics 195 Be Your Own Stock Photo Agency • Organize Your Photography and Your Stock Business • Image Fulfillment: Film and Digital • Bookkeeping • Getting Paid: Invoices and Credit Cards • Know the End User • Theft or Copyright Infringement • Rights: Managed and Royalty Free Photography • Professional Organizations and Partnerships • Be a Photographic Assistant Chapter 24 Digital Files 211 File Size • File Formats • Resolution • Resizing a File • RGB and CMYK Modes • Scanning Film • General Scanning Considerations • Using CD-ROMs • Stock Photo Catalogs • Royalty-Free Photo CD-ROMs • Recording to CD-ROM • CD-ROM Design Considerations Chapter 25 Marketing Approaches: Old and New 221 Logos and Identity • Printed Material • Press Releases • The Yellow Pages • Your Web Site as a Marketing Tool • General Considerations for Web Sites • Preliminary Decisions • Organizing Your Web Site • Parts of Your Web Site • Showing Your Photography • Subject List or Index • Protecting Your Photography • E-mail • FTP, or File Transfer Protocol Chapter 26 The Stock Photography Industry 237 Stock Photo Agencies • Finding a Compatible Stock Agency • Submission Guidelines • Working with Your Stock Agency • Stock Agency Contracts (00)FM, 1-4 MNP 9/24/04 1:28 PM Page vii Chapter 27 Advertising and Commercial Usage 247 The Advertising Industry • Finding Ad Agencies and Graphic Designers • Larger Companies and Corporations • Web Designers and Multimedia Developers • Miscellaneous Commercial Contacts • Commercial Calendars • Mailing Lists and Direct Mail • Pricing • Calculating a Usage Fee • Quoting a Price and Closing a Deal Chapter 28 Calendars and Book Publishers 253 Calendars • Finding Calendar Companies and Publishers • Usage Fees Chapter 29 Magazines and Trade Publications 257 Trade Publications • Consumer Magazines • How Magazines Work • Contacting Magazines • Offer More than Photography • Pricing Chapter 30 Photographic Prints 261 The Marketplace • Business Considerations • The Scan and Print Making Process • Four Print Markets • Pricing Index 273 (00)FM, 1-4 MNP 9/24/04 1:28 PM Page viii (00)FM, 1-4 MNP 9/24/04 1:28 PM Page ix Acknowledgments I’d like to thank my wife, Beth, for her expertise with many computer-related endeavors, including this CD-ROM and to my entire family for their patience and support of my photographic career. Finally, to the people at Allworth Press, particularly Tad Crawford for his support of this book project; Nicole Potter’s help with making sure things make sense and are well organized; Monica Rodriguez for a thorough editorial review; photographer David Weintraub for his catching photographic insight; and Derek Bacchus for a great cover design. About the Author John Kieffer is a leading authority on nature photography. A professional outdoors photographer for nearly twenty years, he has traveled throughout the American West, regularly spent up to eighty days per year living in a camper, and risked his life more than once while capturing the natural landscape. In 1997, he established Kieffer Nature Stock, one of the first stock photo agencies to fully integrate digital media in CD-ROMs, Web sites, and image fulfillment. He has a master’s degree in entomology and is the author of The Photographer’s Assistant (Allworth Press). He lives in Boulder, Colorado. ix

Description:
A one-stop resource to shooting and selling nature photography, this guide provides a comprehensive real-life account of the field's working conditions along with the artistic, business, and technical skills needed to succeed in it. The information is presented in a practical field-guide format, for
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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.