Tag Archives: digital photography

Business and Legal Forms For Photographers

Freelance writers who branch out into photography make themselves much more marketable. It’s one thing to make a pitch to an editor with the story, but another altogether to say “I can provide pictures of the balloon race, too!” Your photos lend an immediacy to any article that the plain text might not be able to provide.

Tad Crawford’s Business and Legal Forms for Photographers is an important volume to own if you want to get paid for your pics. This book and CD-ROM combo has the right forms you need for just about any situation where you and your camera need a piece of paper making the gig official. Do you need a contract or agreement to shoot a wedding, news assignment or simple head shots? If you shoot images for any story and your pic have recognizable faces in them, you’ll need a copy of the model release found in this book. Do NOT publish those people’s faces without the legal protection that a model release gives! Continue reading Business and Legal Forms For Photographers

Nikon D700: My Next Equipment Purchase

I have been looking at a new digital SLR camera for some time now. Since 2004, I’ve been enhancing my freelance writing with the Nikon D70, a 6 megapixel SLR that has served me well. I’ve gotten my photo work in everything from The Pentagon Channel to Chicago-area art galleries using the D70, but it’s time to step up.

Basically the differences between the D70 and the D700 won’t mean anything to you unless you’re already a photographer, but I can say that the Nikon D700 being capable of 12 megapixels and being much more sensitive to existing light than the D70 make it an attractive investment regardless of your experience level. It also features 51-point autofocus, a great fallback solution when you just don’t trust your eyes in that little viewfinder.

All that aside, if you are a complete photo noob, consider buying a D70 (or another comparable brand/model) first and learning your chops before moving up to the roughly $3000 D700. One thing new photographers won’t like about the D700–the 3K asking price is for the camera body ONLY. The D70 comes with a factory lens, the D700 does not. If you are looking to increase your freelance potential with photographs, the Nikon D70 is an affordable way to do it, but be warned–the D70 isn’t as forgiving in low light and you might be better off with a comparable Canon product in the same price range (around $800).

I am definitely investing in the D700 for many reasons, thanks to some informed advice and my own experience with the D70. Spend your money wisely, don’t just take my word for it, do your homework on web forums for photogs such as the incredible DPreview.com. That website is worth its weight in photo gold.

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