Author: Ada Raelyn

by Ada Raelyn

In the Eyes of an In-Game Photographer

Video game photography

 

Actually, it should be a simple mission. With a unit of rebels, Leonardo Sang lands on the planet Endor. The team is supposed to disable a hidden shield generator in the forests. But Imperial stormtroopers discover the saboteurs and open fire. Of course, all this only takes place in a virtual world, in the online shooter “Star Wars Battlefront”, which is a feature that game developers like Junubgames PC Games can add to their games.

Nevertheless, Sang takes cover when laser beams hit the woods next to him, thermal detonators explode and AT-ATs break through the undergrowth with their huge steel feet. The attack fails, and imperial troops surround the rebels.

But they let Sang go because Sang is not a soldier in this computer game, but a photographer, a war correspondent in a virtual battle. For a photo project, the 26-year-old mingled in the virtual battle of online games. He dropped the gun and instead took unusually aesthetic screenshots of what was happening.

“Of course, I died quite often,” says Leonardo Sang in an interview. But it was interesting to play the role of the war reporter, which is not actually provided for in the games. “Surviving the fight to take pictures was a whole new challenge for me.”

 

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“It’s like a parallel world”

Sang lives in São Paulo and works as a designer in an agency. In his spare time, he likes to photograph, but not only everyday motifs in reality. He uses his knowledge to capture the aesthetics of video games. In “Assassin’s Creed” he snaps church towers that glow in the midday sun, in “Watch Dogs” lonely street canyons, and in “GTA” flickering neon signs. Some screenshots look so realistic that they are almost indistinguishable from real-world snapshots.

In-game photography is the name of the art form that Sang has chosen as his hobby. He behaves in video games just as he does with his SLR camera in reality: walking around, looking for interesting motifs, and selecting image sections. “It’s like a parallel world in which you take photos, but a virtual one,” says the Brazilian.

Even during post-processing, he treats the screenshots like real photos, turns out the saturation, screws on the contrast, and places filters over the images.

For in-game photographers like Leonardo Sang, open-world games like “GTA V” and “Fallout 4” offer a huge treasure trove of subjects. The worlds are huge, and faster processors and graphics cards ensure that surfaces and light reflections are getting closer and closer to a photorealistic representation.

The graphics are now so good that some players are no longer interested in the story. It is enough for them to enjoy the virtual landscapes – or to capture the beautiful moments in a photo.

by Ada Raelyn

11 Photography Tips for Taking Stunning RV Shots

RV under the night sky with stars

 

Whether it’s a VW, a Renault, or a Mercedes: they are all wonderful! But do you know that you see the photo of a camper and think to yourself, part, but why such a bad photo? The first impression decides! If you want to put your camper in the limelight, it’s not that difficult, you just have to pay attention to a few small things. I guarantee you, you yourself will be amazed how your camper suddenly shines from all corners and presents itself from a completely different side.

Get your camper cover off your vehicle because here, I’ll show you 11 tips to keep in mind the next time you photograph your beloved camper.

Tip 1: Find the right moment for the camper photo

It’s certainly fun to just snap on it and hope that afterward there will be a great photo of your beloved camper. But wait for a moment, take a deep breath and think. Wouldn’t it be much better to take 5 photos and 3 of them are perfect!? This is exactly what is possible. You just have to take a quick look at what’s going on around you. If, for example, you are standing on a pass in Croatia, the island landscapes and the sea in the background, then it would be brilliant to get everything in the picture. So look around and climb up the rocks 20 meters behind you, so you get the breathtaking landscape and your camper as the main actor in the picture.

Tip 2: Rule of thirds

Haven’t heard of the “Rule of thirds” yet? Then I’ll explain it to you briefly. You can divide each image into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. These are the lines in your display, two horizontally and two vertically.

Let’s start again with our example: The scene on the pass in Croatia. For example, if you see that your camper is at the bottom right, almost at the intersection of the far right and bottom third line, then I guarantee that your picture will be perfect! So your bus is the special in the picture and the fascinating landscape nestles around your dream vehicle.
fototipps-paulcamper-wohnmobil-photography

Tip 3: Photograph horizontally

You want to have your camper as a whole in one picture, without many frills around it, then shoot in horizontal (landscape) format. Pictures simply look a thousand times more beautiful in landscape mode. But beware, there are of course also situations in which you can use the portrait format quite well.

Tip 4: Change of perspective

Looking at life from just one perspective quickly becomes boring. So it is with pictures of your camper. Imagine what your camper looks like from a bird’s or frog’s eye view. Cool right? So nothing like off to the floor or a roof with you. But no daring experiments, not that I am the culprit afterward when you fall off the roof.

 

ALSO READ: How to Market Yourself on the Internet as a Photographer

 

Tip 5: Detailed view

Your camper isn’t just a big picture, it’s made up of so many great details. Put them in the spotlight. For example, you can photograph your bike rack as a detail or the boxes on the roof. What do you find particularly beautiful?

Tip 6: The background

Of course, we spend a lot of time on the road, but often we are also standing in a forest or by the sea. Find a nice background for your photos, but it is not too intrusive, because your camper should be the center of the photo. Be creative in your choice of background and get inspiration from others.

Camper sharp – background blurred

If you have found a suitable background for your photo, try not to leave it in the focus of the image. You can achieve this, for example, by blurring the background a bit and sharpening the foreground, i.e. your beloved camper. You will be surprised how great your camper is as a model.

Tip 7: Clean but not sterile

It makes a difference if you have just experienced a wild adventure with your camper and he is totally dirty from top to bottom. That’s certainly worth a photo, no question. But basically, in order to put your camper in perfect light, you should make sure that it is clean. Of course, this also applies if you take pictures of the interior. Only in this way can it shine in full splendor.

Tip 8: The inner workings

Not only from the outside your camper is a gem, also the interior is interesting and different for each individual camper. Especially when you live in your camper, be it for a long or short, an individual touch develops that makes your camper so unique. That should be noted. Take your time and look at the inner workings of your camper from different corners. Which details are interesting, or what do you find exciting about other campers, for example?

Tip 9: Pay attention to the light

Whether you’re taking pictures inside or out, always pay attention to the light. There is nothing worse than a beautiful photo of a camper, which is much too dark, or details disappear because the picture was not illuminated or photographed in the right format. There are several options here: Use the sun (including the sunset) to put your camper in the perfect light, but also pay attention to the angle of incidence. If you don’t, you can quickly have disturbing shadows in the picture. Another option is flashlights or lamps that you can use to illuminate details. But be careful: the light of the flashlight can often be too bright.

Tip 10: Night shot

Taking a photo in the dark is not easy. First, you need a good camera that is capable of taking long exposures. If this is the case, then use special features to present your camper correctly. For example, you can turn on the lights or use the interior light as an effect. This creates creative images that represent your camper in an interesting way.

Tip 11: Quality of the images

Very important: Make sure that the pictures you take have a high resolution (min. 1024 px). Because there is nothing worse than having a beautiful picture, which is pixelated. Another important tool to put your camper in the limelight is a tripod. It allows you to banish the last little wobbles from the picture and is especially essential for night pictures.

I hope these 11 tips have been helpful for you and will make your camper appear in new splendor. What is missing now is only your profile for your camper.

by Ada Raelyn

How to Market Yourself on the Internet as a Photographer

Photographer uploading his work on social media

 

Anyone who works independently as a photographer and is not employed in a photo studio needs good and far-reaching marketing strategies in order to always win new customers and retain existing customers.

A meaningful portfolio is the be-all and end-all here and has a positive effect on acquisition. Which tips self-employed photographers should still consider and with which marketing strategies they reach many potential customers, explain in the following article.

The basics: website and social media presence

A dedicated website is part of every industry these days. Anyone who becomes self-employed as a photographer naturally relies on a professionally designed Internet presence. In addition to information about contact details and yourself, you should also provide high-quality photos of your own here – of course only if the people photographed agree to this.

Because image rights are an important topic in photography and must be treated carefully! In any case, a gallery looks very professional and directly shows the work of the creator. And that’s exactly what customers are looking for when they look at a photographer’s website. They don’t want to buy the cat in a poke.

The imprint and the data protection declaration should not be underestimated in times of GDPR. Many self-employed people place the planning and creation of their company website in professional hands and only make contributions to the content design.

The advantage is that a professional web designer is familiar with search engine optimization. In this way, he or she can ensure that your website appears particularly far ahead in the major search engines and is clicked on more often.

In any case, the homepage is an important place to summarize all information about the company. In addition, it offers customers fast contact options with a contact form, an e-mail address, and a telephone number.

Presences on social media are also a good way for photographers to present themselves. That is where services become crucial. Here they can regularly post photos and “behind the scenes” material of their shootings and thus practically take the community into their everyday lives. This also shows how you work and what future customers can expect from you.

Facebook

This classic network offers users the opportunity to create company pages. Here, too, you can store contact options and publish postings described above. Facebook also offers the option to schedule images and other postings so that they go online at a pre-selected time. With Facebook, companies achieve a particularly high reach when they place ads that are then passed on to a specific target group.

Instagram

In addition to Facebook, the Instagram portal is particularly interesting for photographers. It only allows postings with photos – the pictures are the focus here. On Instagram, you can reach a younger target group than on Facebook and thus attract and retain even more customers.

In addition to the normal pictures with captions and hashtags, they can also post small films and further pictures in their “story”. This is perfect for behind-the-scenes shots. The “story” postings disappear after 24 hours unless they are saved as a so-called highlight.

Twitter

The third major network is Twitter. The users post small texts with a maximum length of 280 characters, preferably garnished with a photo. This portal is therefore also suitable for “behind the scenes” material. Short statements about the current day or job are well received by the young target group, of course also garnished with a few hashtags.

No matter which social networks you choose with your company, the important thing is that you have a plan. A good social media strategy goes a long way towards not getting bogged down and reaching just the right people.

Corporate identity or: Making yourself a brand

Whether a website, business card or social media, it is important to have a recognition value. Marketing is often synonymously called “self-marketing”. Freelancers and photographers in particular have to establish themselves as a brand in order to be noticed.

Not least on the Internet, there is a wide range of the same services – all the more valuable it is to stand out. An important point of the corporate identity is the corporate design, i.e. the uniform design with which the company presents itself online and offline. These include:

  • A uniform font that can be found everywhere.
  • A company logo that is as memorable as possible. Here, founders clarify in advance whether it makes sense to have the company logo protected.
  • A recurring color scheme that attracts people’s attention.
  • A uniform tonality in texts. This also applies to the approach: Do you dozen or seize your customers? The sound makes the music!

All these points should run constantly through the appearances of the company. This includes printed matter as well as the website, advertisements, social media, or promotional gifts. A corporate identity ensures that customers always recognize the company. Unique selling points compared to other companies in the same industry can also be highlighted here and help to gain more visibility.

YouTube and blogging – (almost) free advertising

Online, it is immensely important to position yourself broadly. The more channels you use to market, the more people you engage. The number of potential new customers is also increasing accordingly. That’s why many freelancers run a YouTube channel or their own blog. These two methods belong to free advertising, which only requires a time commitment. This has two advantages for you:

Videos and blog posts are used to address new customers who subsequently visit the website. This allows you to generate new orders and increase your reach.

Ads both on the blog and before and during videos on YouTube will generate additional revenue. You can then use this “advertising revenue” as a second pillar.

However, it is essential to regularly feed a blog or YouTube channel with new content. This costs time, which is not immediately remunerated. Above all, the algorithm of YouTube, the largest German portal for web videos, plays videos better when they appear regularly. A precise plan of when which post or video should go online is very helpful in scheduling these tools. For the choice of the right content, even as a photographer a lot comes into question:

Behind-the-scenes material that shows you your assignments. Attention: For this, you need someone who leads the camera!

  • Short videos or postings that explain the technical terms of photography.
  • Tutorials on programs you work with.
  • Insights into the photographer’s work: How do you photograph? How do you edit your images? How do you develop the photos?
  • Videos or postings that show and present the equipment.

In addition, insights into your private life, if you want to give them, are very good as a means to more reach. They make the video producer or blogger look authentic and approachable and bring you closer to the viewers or readers on a personal level. This leads to sympathy and consequently to possible orders.

 

ALSO READ: Pro-Tips for Graphic Photography

 

Run online ads

In addition to the free possibilities of marketing, photographers can of course also place advertisements with which they market themselves. Various platforms that give companies the opportunity to present themselves are suitable here. Some ads are free, others charge a fee for running ads.

Google

Of course, the world’s largest search engine offers your users the opportunity to run ads. When searching for “Photographer in City X”, your company will then appear at the top. The entry is of course provided with the word “display”.

It is important to inform yourself in advance where the website would appear in a natural search without advertising. If your company website is the first search result anyway, the paid ad on Google is not financially worthwhile.

Classifieds

Not only in local newspapers but also online there are still many classified ads. There are portals that specialize in different areas as well as general websites for ad placement. With most of these portals, the placement of a classified ad is free of charge.

However, there are often additional services that are subject to a fee. These are used to place the ad far ahead in the search results or to highlight it specifically with a colored frame.

Blogs and third-party websites

You can also place advertisements on the blogs of other companies and individuals. Bloggers who post particularly beautiful photos themselves are the first point of contact here. Depending on the provider, there are different costs for placing the advertisement.

It makes sense to conclude a detailed contract for the services: Where should the advertisement appear and how big is it? Does it appear for every visitor or only for some? These questions must always be clarified in advance.

5 Marketing Tips for Photographers

Regardless of which advertising strategy you choose, there are a few things you should keep in mind if you want to attract customers online:

  1. Be authentic. It is not very expedient to acquire a “new personality” on the Internet. This will not withstand the first personal contact and in the worst case, it will therefore not come to order. This makes it all the more important to remain authentic on the Internet.
  2. Be approachable. Let your potential new customers approach you! In this way, people can directly gain a first, personal impression of you. Sympathy also determines who gets an order.
  3. Reply to the news! If you give your target group the opportunity to reach you in a variety of ways online, then you also need to be reachable. Does someone ask a question about your achievements? Answer! Does someone have a price demand? Answer! This makes an extremely positive impression.
  4. Be confident. Anyone who reveals things about themselves online also gets negative reactions in almost all cases. This is normal and not a cause for concern. So stay relaxed with harsh criticism and take only constructive comments to heart. You know what you can do and why you chose this marketing strategy.
  5. Have a plan. A plan, a strategy for your marketing, is immensely important in order not to lose track. Too many accounts, websites, and the like making your life unnecessarily difficult. Instead, stick to some well-functioning techniques to attract new customers. You can always try something new – but please not everything at the same time.