Food Photography Workshop

Attended a really great food photography workshop yesterday and met some wonderful people. Sponsored by Adorama and facilitated by the amazing Lou Manna. They limit it to 10 participants so there is a great deal of one on one work. He's probably the number 1 food photog in the country. He reviewed my portfolio, gave me excellent tips for my workflow, and provided some great ideas for future gear purchases. Check out his site at: www.loumanna.com

Sharpening Images

Here's a great short article from Photocritic about Sharpening Images.  It discusses some basics and then goes into more detail and contains links to more information about why it's important in digital photography.  I always sharpen my images in Lightroom, usually the last thing I do before exporting them.  Lightroom 2.6 and the 3.0 beta both have a great sharpening tool with a zoom feature that allows one to see the results up close.

Why Sharpen Your Images - Photocritic.org

Lance Madson Photography Website Live

The new website is live and in living color. visit and connect and revisit.  It's so exciting.

Enjoy.
Lance

www.LanceMadson.com

Recent Food Photo Shoot

Here are a couple of shots I like from my recent shoot at Lure Fishbar in NYC (SOHO).  They're creating a new website and needed updated shots of items on their menu and also their dining rooms and bar.  Got some very good shots.

Remaining Photo Shoots

So after spending the last week looking through all my shots (mostly Food Photography), and also shooting more over the weekend, I've created another list of food that I want to shoot before finalizing the galleries of my new website.  I think I can have them all shot and processed by early next week so I can get the website up and running by the middle of the month.
In addition to this work, I've been coordinating and linking this blog (ahead of the website launch) to the website along with Lance Madson Photography (LMP) Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts. I'll be representing on all fronts.  Here we go.

L

Food Photography Website Fun!

Had lunch today with a former colleague and we had a good discussion about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for websites and blogs.  This is something I've been thinking about quite a bit lately as I finalize my new website.  It's good to know that others are going through the same thing and having to wade through the same flood of information as me.  Sometimes the Internet can provide more problems than solutions.  So much junk to look through before finding a few pieces of gold.  We also discussed another issue I've been dealing with...when to pay someone else to do something that's not my core competency - Photography.  I want control, I'm starting out with limited means, and I like knowing how all these things work, but at some point I have to let an expert do what they do...for me.  I know this is a traditional small/new business dilemma, but I didn't realize how difficult it would be for me to handle.

I have another food photo shoot this weekend for a restaurant and then I think I'll have enough food shots for galleries on the new website.  I keep looking through my photos over and over and over again trying to decide what to use.  Then I choose a different set and process them a little, and then I decide to start over again.  It's a mad house...a mad house!
Oh well.  Enough for now.
Later, L

2010 Photography

It feels great to be getting the new blog and website off the ground this year, and I'm so excited about the work and projects that are coming up.  One thing I read on another photo blog (MostlyLisa.com) at the beginning of the year has really stuck with me.  Lisa, who is a wonderful photographer and huge techie among other things, posted "10 New Years Resolutions Every Photographer Should Make". Number 4 really hit home for me: "I will not be hindered by the gear I do not have".  I've always been a gadget and gear guy, but over the last year I've realized that even though the photography business is not cheap and it's hard to do it on the cheap - I can still take great photos without having every piece of top-of-the-line gear.  It's also reassuring to know that others are dealing with this issue too. (Thanks Lisa!)