Yanik's Photo School » Optimizing Workflow

How to Create Actions in Photoshop – Video Tutorial

Yanik — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 07:01:05 +0000

This video tutorial will be part of a of new Category I created on YPS called “Optimizing Workflow“. This category will include tutorials to make your photography workflow more efficient and less time-consuming. This could be in post processing, lighting, pre-shoot….

First up are Photoshop actions. What’s an action, you might ask? Simply put, it’s a series of commands that are made and recorded. The complete list of commands between “record” and “stop” is your action. Photoshop comes with some default actions but what’s most important is that you can create your own. This is what I’ll be showing you in this Photoshop video tutorial.

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MicroStock Photography Part 3 – My Workflow from A to Z (Part 2)

Yanik — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:03:38 +0000

It’s time for part 2 of my microstock workflow. If you missed part 1 that covered steps 1 through 7, you can read it here.

Part 1 focused more on my workflow before the actual photo shoot and the photo shoot itself. In part 2, I’ll focus mainly on what I do after the shoot is done. This will cover steps 8 through 17. Without further ado, let’s get right to it.

Step 8: Backup, backup, backup. Did I say Backup? As soon as you fill up a card, back it up right away while you continue shooting. If you have a big memory card and can put a full day’s shoot on it, I suggest you do a mid-shoot backup. I back everything up on my Epson P-3000. Then, when the shoot is over and I’m sipping my victory drink (usually some Bailey’s), I backup my P-3000 on my laptop.

Step 9: Model Release. This might sound basic enough, but I have left a shoot before and forgot to ask the models to sign the model release! Doh! I shot in Connecticut and I live 9 hours away! It was a pain doing this after the fact with a model that didn’t have a computer or access to a fax. My trick to avoid this now… have them out and ask them to fill them out BEFORE you start shooting.

Step 10: Thank you. Be grateful. Thank your models and pay them right away (if you’re paying them). If you’re doing TFP or TFCD, give them a time line of when they’ll receive the images. This can be difficult to determine but if I do a full day shoot and have over 500 image to post process, I give myself 2 months. But in the mean time you can send them a small selection of low res stuff by email as you get them done. They’ll thank you for it.

Step 11: Archiving. Or filing. What I do here is transfer my files to my computer using Adobe Lightroom 2. Since Lightroom 2 is a powerful database, I can easily tag my images and store them on many drives. Finding them is then very easy.

Step 12: Image selection. Using the various tagging options in Lightroom 2 such as flags, stars and colors, I select my images accordingly before post processing. I start by selecting the crap less stock-worthy ones and delete from my hard drive. This is very important because if you don’t do this, you’ll clog up your hard disk for nothing. Then I flag my top shots. Once the top shots are selected, I go through the rest and select “secondary” shots that I might process and upload later on if I have a down period.

Step 13: Post Processing. I use the powerful, non destructive post processing features in Lightroom 2 to retouch my images. You can see some of my Lightroom 2 video tutorials to get you going. If you don’t have it yet, CLICK HERE to download your free 30 trial straight from the Adobe Website. Some images will need extra post processing work that can only be done in Photoshop CS3 like using layers and certain filters.

Step 14: Keywording. OK, upto step 13 I was having fun. Now comes the tedious task of keywording. Luckily in Lightroom, I can add keywords, titles and descripions on multiple images at once. Just this Lightroom function saves me many hours per week compared to the copy/paste I used to do in Photoshop.

Finding the right keywords is so important so if I lack inspiration, I’ll go on the stock sites and search similar images then look at their keywords to complete my list. Do this! It’s a great learning experience.

Step 15: Exporting. I just export my images in maximum quality jpgs in my Upload folder. I don’t resize images for subscription sites like ShutterStock. I don’t have the time for that.

Step 16: Uploading. I currently upload to the top 7 income generating microstock sites (and soon to be 8 with the recent invitation to join PurestockX). At one point I was uploading to 12 sites but I cut 5 of them out and it was the best business decision I made for stock. I now have more time to concentrate on the sites that actually make me money. Here are the sites I upload to in order of income generation:

IstockPhoto
Fotolia
Shutterstock
Dreamstime
StockXpert
123 Royality Free
BigStock

You can find a brief description of the top 4 here.

To upload my photos, I use ProstockMaster. It’s quick and easy. It has many features but I only use it for uploading to many agencies at once. There’s also another software that came out after ProstockMaster called Cushy Stock. It’s getting great reviews from peers so this could also be another great option for you. Using software made for the microstocker is a must to save you some time.

Step 17: Finalizing. Once the images are uploaded, I then go to each site and finalize the images by adding model releases, categories, etc…

So there you have it! My complete workflow from A to Z. I hope this small window into my professional life can help you out in your microstock journey.

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MicroStock Photography Part 3 – My Workflow from A to Z (Part 1)

Yanik — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:48:44 +0000

It’s been a while since I wrote about Microstock Photography. In part 1, I gave you an insight on what it was all about and in part 2 we looked at the major payers in the industry. And here I go with a long title to introduce part 3: MicroStock Photography Part 3 – My Workflow from A to Z (Part 1). Ok, so that everybody understands, you are now reading part 1 of part 3. That means that we’ll be having a part 2 of part 3 next week. Glad I cleared that up!

Some of you wrote to me asking for my workflow; how I went about my microstock routine. So guess what! I’ll give you my complete workflow from the very beginning to the very end. I’ll bee picking my brains to make sure you get all the details. You don’t need to be a stock photographer to read this. Most of this workflow applies to all the shooting I do. In part 1, I’ll go from Step 1 to Step 7. Next week, in part 2, I’ll cover steps 8 through 17

Step 1: Choosing my subject. The first thing I do is decide on what I want to shoot. Maybe I saw a cool concept in a magazine or something is moving in the news or I just feel like shooting a particular theme.

Step 2: Research. Ok, so now I know what I want to shoot. The next thing I do is research. I usually go to Shutterstock and Istock Photo (because of exclusive content) and type in keywords related to my theme. I already have a folder on my desktop called “Stock Ideas” and in the folder I have many theme-related sub folders. I go through the agencies’ images and download comps of concepts and ideas that I like. Depending on the theme, it could be from 20 to 100ish images. Those images are ideas or concepts that I find inspiring and that I would like to shoot using my style. I don’t want to reproduce the same image but instead use it as a starting point for my creativity. I then go to GettyImages and do the same thing. Why Getty? Because the image there, for the most part, are shot differently and can give me fresh ideas.

Step 3: Making a shot list. When going on a shoot, you need to be prepared. Just like a movie director needs a story board, I need a shot list. The shot list does 3 things. 1) You don’t forget all the great ideas. 2) You shoot more efficiently with less pauses. 3) You look more professional (if you’re shooting with people ). I usually have roughly 35 thumbnails per page grouped in similar scenarios. If I couldn’t fin images fitting certain concepts or angles, I’ll sketch them on. Stick men can do wonders!

Step 4: Finding a location. Depending on what/who you’re shooting you may already know where you’ll be shooting. It could ven be in your basement! But if you need to find a location, let’s say a boardroom with big windows, you’ll have to start scouting. If you’re lucky, you’ll know someone who has access to one that you can use after business hours. If you’re not so lucky, the challenge begins.

What I found worked the best was to look at the outside architecture of the buildings in your area. If you find one that’s promising, go into the lobby and note own the company names and the floor they’re on (the high the better the light is usually). Find their numbers in the yellow pages or Google and give them a call. Ask to speak to someone responsible for human resources (I found them to be the most personable ). Once you get someone who can make decisions, tell them your story. Make sure you offer them something in return. It could be staff photos or even an RF license to use the images you’ll take there. Use you imagination!

Step 5: Props. Do you need props for your shoot? Clothes, phones, laptops, pads of paper, a polka dot bikini? If you have models (see step 6), ask them if they have appropriate clothing and some props relevant to the shoot. It’s free! After shooting stock since 2004 so I have a major huge closet full of props. From an aquarium to dishes of all kinds, from yoga mats (I don’t do yoga) to a bag full of cell phones and a laptop I can throw in the pool if need be. If you’re serious about stock, you’ll end up with tons of crap important props for shoots.

Step 6: Getting models. If your theme involves people, I strongly advise to use real ones. You’ll probably start like everbody else and harrass politely ask your family and friends to play the models. And this will work for a while until they get sick of you politely decline. Use this time as good practice to work with people. This is the toughest part. Getting your vision out into words that poeple will understand.

Ok, so now you need models. Where do you get them once you’ve asked every single aunt and nephew around? You can try a few places. First, look on Facebook if there are local photography/models groups in you area. Then you can go to Model Mayhem. This is a great site for finding models without busting the bank. Usually, it’s a give-ive situation. They need a portfolio, you need models. Usually, you can get the models for free in exchange for a CD or a few prints of the images shot. This is called TFP (time for prints) or TFCD (time for CD).

Step 7: The actual shoot. OK, you’ve got your shot list, your location, your props and your models. Congratulations! It’s time to shoot!

1) Make sure you ask the models to show up 30 minutes before you actually want them there! Trust me on this one!
2) Give them enough time for make-up and dressing up.
3) Try to be as efficient as possible and shoot shoot shoot.
4) Don’t forget to rotated your models so that they get breaks.
5) I always get healthy snacks and lots of water, especially if it’s a full day shoot. My philosophy is: treat your models well and they’ll want to shoot with you again.
6) Give the photographer a break! You need to recharge as well to keep your head in the game.

This ends part one of my microstock workflow. Stay tuned for part 2 next week!

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