Lifestyle Photography Or A Studio Session

When many of us think about booking a photography session, we automatically imagine ourselves in a photographic studio with bright lights, reflectors, and a whole host of technical looking equipment. Whether we have chosen to book a couple’s photography session, or family photography, the default is the studio session, but there is an alternative option. Lifestyle photography is shot on location and offers an opportunity to take much more relaxed, natural photographs.

Studio session photography is something I am sure we are all familiar with; often featuring a white background these days, the photographer usually encourages you to bring fun props and wear brightly coloured clothes. During the shoot you may be encouraged to do all sorts of silly things to make you all laugh and act comfortable and natural. You can certainly get some fabulous images with this method, and a major benefit is that it is usually cheaper, however lifestyle photography offers a different style for you to choose from when booking a photography session.

There is a completely different emphasis when you book a lifestyle photography session. The location acts almost like another character in the photos. Ideally you would choose somewhere that means something to you or your family; somewhere that has a certain significance for you is perfect. The aim is to capture a moment in time, un-posed, just you in surroundings you feel like yourself in. Imagine stunning family shots that you could have taken yourself, if only you had the skills of a professional photographer!

Lifestyle photography works for most subjects. An engagement photography shoot at the place where your fiance proposed will be something you can treasure forever, while a family photo session in a location that your children love exploring and playing in can deliver some absolutely amazing images.

Many young children can feel uncomfortable in a studio, with so much complicated looking equipment, and bright lights shining directly on them. A lifestyle photography session eliminates this as you can choose to be in a place where they feel comfortable and can be themselves. Most parents know that if you ask a young child to smile for the camera they can pull the oddest faces; sure they think they are smiling, but you know it’s not the same as the smile you get when they are having fun and are absorbed in the moment.

Most people choosing a lifestyle photography session pick an outside area that means something to them, whether it is a local park or your own allotment, a good photographer will be able to find a way to make both the location and yourself shine. Whether you choose lifestyle or studio photography, the important thing is to enjoy yourselves and you will end up with some fantastic pictures that will last a lifetime.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

How to Make a Viral Web Video

When creating a potential viral video, there are a few items that you need to be aware to ensure you are giving yourself the best chance for video stardom. If anything is true, it’s that no video is guaranteed to go viral on the web. Many companies have tried, using massive advertising budgets, only to get a few hundred views from all their efforts. So even though there is no guarantee, if you follow the advice below, you are increasing your odds that you’ll have a web phenomenon on your hands.

Content

The content of the video is the most important part. In order to motivate someone to share your video with friends and family, the video must elicit an emotional response. Be it a belly laugh or complete bewilderment from seeing something amazing happen, creating an emotion in your viewers will cause them to want to show this video to their connections to share the emotion they felt. A few items to keep in mind are be original, be yourself, you have something to offer that’s unique to you. Don’t try to copy other viral content as it is never as good as the original.

You should also be entertaining, don’t just pitch your product. People want to see the human in the videos. For example, if it’s a video resume, talk about some of your hobbies or things that you are passionate about outside of the office and perhaps capture some video of it. If you are just getting started and plan to make a series of videos, plan on being more entertaining in the beginning to capture more of an audience early. Once you have earned their trust and comfort, you can begin to focus more on the purpose of the videos.

Title and Screen Shot

Almost as important as the content are the title and screen shot of the video. The title and the screen shot are what people are going to see first when presented with the possibility to watch your video. The title is also what the search engines will use when determining which videos to display in a search. Most people are unaware that YouTube is the second largest search engine service after Google. Google will also return videos for some searches completed on Google itself. So you must balance between having your video be discovered from the search engines for a popular keyword while also creating a title that compels people to click to watch the video. Think about what titles create the desire for you to click and watch in your specific industry. You can also browse videos on YouTube or other video sites and see what type of titles are receiving the most clicks and views, then mimic that type of title for your video.

Also take some time to decide on the best screen shot to use for your video. Most video upload services will give you the choice of what snapshot of your video to use for display. Pick an image that creates wonder in people who will want to start the video to see what’s happening in the image.

Length and Distribution

In terms of length, keep your video short! Or at least get to the good parts (the hook) as early as possible. The attention span of most people these days makes it hard to keep someone interested when a video stretches beyond two minutes. Shorter is even better. You would be surprised at how much you can squeeze into a two minute video. So when filming, film as much as you can but edit your footage down to below two minutes if possible. Services like YouTube have a maximum of 15 minutes per video but hopefully you video will be well below that time limit.

Other services you may want to consider are Vimeo and Facebook video. The more places you can place your video, the more chances you have of someone seeing it. Aggregate services like TubeMogul allow you to distribute your video to multiple services (including YouTube and Vimeo) with a single upload.

It is also important to remember to place your video on Facebook. Facebook has a massive user base and people can easily share your video with their friends inside the Facebook network. You can upload it to your regular account for your personal connections to begin viewing or place it on your Facebook Page. You can also consider placing the video in both places so that it gets the most exposure, although some of your friends who are also fans of your page will see it posted twice. You can either upload your video directly with Facebook or just use the YouTube link. I would recommend uploading to YouTube first and using the YouTube link to place it on Facebook. This will keep the views recorded on YouTube from each Facebook view. The more views you get on YouTube, the more YouTube and Google will see your video as popular therefore returning it in the search results more often.

So again, there is no guarantee that a video will go viral. Following the practices above to include having unique and emotion causing content, having a compelling title and screen shot, and ensuring the video is easy to find around the web, will give you the best chances at your video becoming the next viral sensation!

Posted in videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Working in $100,000 Jobs Only

Not everybody gets $100,000 job opportunities. Not those qualified for it do. Generally such jobs are for the highly skilled and qualified. Though truck driving can be a $100,000 career opportunities too. But that would require years of training, experience and skill too. But what if you wish to start with working in $100,000 jobs only? It is possible to begin your career with a job that pays you $100K.Usually people rise to the ladder of CEOs, or perfect in their field of work through experience and then reach the level where their income is $100,000. But this entails the need for years of experience and knowledge gathering. For those who want $100,000 jobs only, there is a way too.The ground work needs to be laid perfectly, that’s the secret. Firstly you have to be motivated enough to be determined that you want a job that would pay you this amount or more.Then you need to do an extensive study on the internet or from other books, guides, CDs etc about the fields that offer you such income opportunities. There would be several of them- being engineers, being in various branches of medical practices, psychologists, web masters, lawyers, corporate executives, architects etc. You need to choose a field that is compatible with your interests.Now, list all the companies or organizations within your own interest area which would pay you that amount. Then you need to figure out what kind of qualifications are they looking for. Because you have to be the perfect choice for the $100,000 job opportunity. For this you have to be all that they want and have listed in the qualification criteria.Now geographically locate the jobs that would be feasible for you as well as that would pay you more. Some cities or states pay more than others.Now evaluate your own educational qualification. How suitable is it for the job? If you think you need more, you should join college any take up the course that the job you are aiming at demands. If some job is going to pay $100K then it would demand special training and skills. If you are pre planning while you are still in Grad school or college, it’s even better, then you can finish all the study that you have to do, all the specialization the job requires and then finally when you are ready, apply for it.There are real people who have achieved this status. You could read their blogs and books and articles that they write and post on the websites, to know better about it.Preparing the resume is also very important. It should be very organized highlighting on all that you have achieved in the academics and depicting all your skills. Make sure you emphasize on your unique selling proposition, why they should hire you and only you.With everything it is important to remember that working in $100,000 jobs is not a cake walk. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, perseverance, competency, intellectual capacity, creativity etc to achieve success in and remain with $100,000 jobs.

Posted in Employment Work | Tagged | Comments Off