Where We Began For most of us we began our photography journey as a hobby, a side job, or just for love of it. Many of us decided to turn this love into a real job. Some of the first advice we may have received was to figure out what our market and area call for and to really specialize in one aspect of photography. We may even get to the point where we turn down jobs that are not our “specialty”. I do agree that as a business you do have to carve out your spot and really show potential clients a...
The team at PRETTY wanted to make this giveaway unforgettable with the latest and greatest camera! We know your busy season is ahead, and what better way to enjoy it, than with the BRAND NEW Canon 5D Mark IV. That's right, enjoy all 30.4 megapixels on this full-frame camera with 4K video recording. Not to mention, this Canon 5D MARK IV is worth $3500! Check out some of the AMAZING features on the 5D Mark IV: 30.4MP Full-Frame CMOS Sensor DIGIC 6+ Image Processor 3.2" 1.62m-Dot Touchscreen LCD Monitor DCI 4K Video at 30 fps; 8.8MP Still Grab 61-Point High Density Reticular AF...
When I first starting using Lightroom several years ago, the main mistake I made was not understanding how important the import was. One of my missions at Pretty Presets, through the live webinars, the Lightroom Lab workshop, and the blog tutorials, is to educate new Lightroom users on the awesomeness of the Library and of file management, which includes the import process. All that said, here are three simple settings you should change (or check to make sure you have selected) today and why they will make importing and accessing your images easier the next time you import. Import Options in...
PET PHOTO WINNERS ANNOUNCED When we posted our latest challenge, I don't think we had any idea how many beautiful pets we would have the pleasure of meeting. For many of us, our beloved pets are just as much a part of our family as our humans. Pets have an innate ability to comfort the human soul, which only allows us to become even closer to them. Thank you for taking the time to share these special members of your family with us. Below are our 2 winners and 8 honorable mentions that we fell in love with, too. If...
When I started my own business, trying to find the right print labs, lens rental options, website templates and business forms took more time and energy than I would have liked to give. We thought of 20 popular questions that you might want answered as you navigate your photography business. We hope the answers will help save you lots of time, so you can focus on editing those beautiful sessions! Thanks for being a part of the PRETTY community. We're so grateful to have you here! Here's what is covered in your download ($39 value): 1. Print Labs (can be used...
Lightroom was designed to easily manage thousands of images, but should we be housing thousands of images on our computer hard drives? Most users do not have the space and eventually must move images from their internal drive to an external drive. Some users, like me, cannot even temporarily house the images on their internal drive because they simply don't have the space. Almost every single image I import has to go to an external drive rather than only my internal drive. What is the point to all this? Well, why it matters is because where the images are housed...
I recently wrote about a session where I lost all of the SOOC files. Then it got worse. The day of the in-person ordering session came and as I was getting the gallery ready, the files that I had exported from Lightroom were too small. They were the size of your thumbnail. I don’t know what I did wrong, but it was a nightmare. Everything was falling apart minutes before my clients were to be at the meeting. We met and I told them the truth. I lost the files and I saved the edits in the wrong size. All...
PHOTO CHALLENGE: SHARE YOUR FAVORITE "CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT" PHOTOS WITH US Whether your Can't Live Without item was your family, coffee, nature or your beloved pet, we enjoyed getting to know you a little bit better and seeing what you hold close to your heart. Congratulations to Sara and Carol for captivating us all this week with your beautiful images! Please email Laura at support@prettypresets.com to redeem your $50 gift card to Pretty Presets or Pretty Actions. WINNERS ANNOUNCED There is just something about your last baby. All of your children are so very special and hold a unique and...
Overwhelmed? Have you ever felt overwhelmed by a new job? How about starting your own photography business? Trying to juggle and balance it all, and then BAM! … Life steps in and says, “Well hi there! Remember me?” And, you're back at square one, just like that. Can you relate? Well, you're not alone. The good news is that you've found a community that can relate with these same struggles as entrepreneurs and fellow photographers. And, a solution we wished we would have been offered as new photographers. And, the even better news is that is is NOW AVAILABLE FOR...
We’ve all been on a first date, right? It’s a pretty big deal. You want things to go smooth and hope that you make a good impression. Especially if it’s with someone that you have had your eye on for awhile. Let’s compare how you prepare for that first date to how you prepare for the beginning of a relationship with your clients. We all want to win over our potential clients by giving them a great first impression, but how do we do that? Make an Impression In the early stages of a relationship, you work very hard to...
PHOTO CHALLENGE: SHARE YOUR FAVORITE FAMILY TIME PHOTOS WITH US I was thrilled when I was asked to choose the theme for this challenge. I knew right away what I wanted to see. Pictures of families. My family is the most important group of people in my life. I thought this would be a great chance to pull out a family photo to edit or get in front of the camera for a new photo! But I have to say, choosing the winners was hard! I had to bring in reinforcement to help. :) Congratulations to Karissa and Tiffany for...
Silhouettes are beautiful photos to create with clients. A dark subject set against a beautiful sky is a stunning image! (If you need to know how to photograph a silhouette, click over to this post!) But what happens when the sky isn't as exciting as you want? Can that be helped in Lightroom? It certainly can. Watch this video to learn how to enhance a silhouette sky in Lightroom or follow the steps below the video. Disclaimer: This isn't going to work if your sky is totally blown out and there is no information to work with and add color...
