Tag Archives: photography

Photography For Writers: Which Camera?

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One of the best tools a freelance writer can own is a good digital camera. Supplying your own images for an article can make you more marketable, and any steady reader of this blog knows we are digital camera evangelists here. Writers who don’t take their own photos wind up cheating themselves out of the extra cash you often get for supplying images together with the story.

“Which camera should I buy?” Naturally this is the first question non-photographers always ask. There are two basic kinds of cameras; the point-and-shoot (P&S) variety and digital SLRs. SLR stands for “single lens reflex” and this basically means that what you see what you look in the viewfinder is the exact image the lens sees.

I strongly advise writers not to buy the cheap P&S model. For professional use, even as a beginner, P&S cameras are too limited and you will grow out of them as soon as you learn the difference between what an indoor shot with no flash looks like at 100 ISO vs. 800 ISO. What does THAT mean? We’ll save that for another article.

Continue reading Photography For Writers: Which Camera?

Photographer’s Market

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The 2008 Photographer’s Market may not initially seem like a great resource for writers, but it is! Many writers don’t have any idea how much they should charge for photography and this book can really be a help in that department. It lists many magazines that accept freelance photography and gives information such as: price range, format they prefer and what type of photos they are looking for. If you supply your own photos and want some help with pricing, get this book.

Buy now for $17.81

Retro Pay Phone

retro-pay-phone.jpgBecause I’m a photographer as well as a writer, I’m always on the lookout for things I can pick up along the way that can jazz up a photo shoot in the background, as props, or as a still life all by itself. This Crosley 1950s style Retro Pay Phone fits the bill nicely.

I would place this on an otherwise section of blank brick wall and shoot a series featuring a girl in a black leather jacket using it. Or maybe a sort of James Dean grease monkey thing. 

A set like that would make a good collection as part of a showing, or a great album cover, even just another section of the portfolio. This phone isn’t a pay-to-call model, but the coin op does work (complete with the little jingle sound when you insert the money) and makes a great change saver.

No, it’s not completely authentic–the ringer sound is modern–but if you’re not a complete purist, as a prop or functioning telephone this one’s a lot of fun.

Buy the Crosley Retro 1950s-Style Pay Phone for $65.60

Digital Photography For The Writer

by Catherine L. Tully 

Finding new ways to make money in the writing game can be difficult, but with a little creativity and a fresh idea, you can add more than a couple of dollars to your work output. Being able to supply photographs for pieces you have written can endear you to an editor, make you extra cash and even has the possibly of turning into another side job for you down the line. Here are some basics to help get you started… Continue reading Digital Photography For The Writer

Quantaray Pro Photo/Laptop Backpack

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When you’re writing for a living, diversity is the name of the game. If you can add photography to the mix, you’re instantly more marketable in more ways than one. Since one of my main strengths is music and culture writing, I’d be a fool NOT to be a writer/photographer.

When I first started taking pictures for my pieces, I used any old bag for the gear, but after getting the Quantaray Pro as a gift, I am completely sold on a dedicated bag for all my gear. I carry my Zoom H4 recorder, mics, camera and lenses, plus my laptop in the Quantaray Pro and have used the same one for years without so much as a broken zipper. We do a lot of different types of gear reviews at Freelance-Zone, but this one ain’t based on specs alone–I am a huge fan of this backpack and will definitely buy another one just like it when I finally kill it years from now after one location shoot too many.

Buy the Quantaray Pro camera/laptop backpack for $79.00