Hi ,

 

I know I've said this before, but this is a very exciting time to be a photographer. No matter who, what or where you shoot, or who you shoot it for, the opportunities and technology for creating and getting your work out there are unprecedented. Whereas a few years ago, you had to have a “big camera” if you were a “serious photographer,” these days, our options are wide open. Small cameras have indeed arrived. In fact, often times I’ll leave the house with ONLY my Fujifilm X10 and not take any of my Nikons, which is something that I would have NEVER done in the past. 

 

And what about iPhones? This month, pro photographer Brad Mangin has a six page spread of baseball photos in the current issue of Sports Illustrated. No big deal for a veteran shooter like him, except that all of the photos were made with Instagram on his iPhone 4S. Folks, we’re looking at a whole new world.

 

 

When it comes to the business side, social media allows us to take charge of our business and our photography like never before. Clients and customers can see your images almost immediately, even potential new clients. Social media allows us to expand our reach worldwide, and with all of the different networks, we have so many options for getting our imagery out there into the marketplace.

 

As with anything, the best strategy for building a following, whether it be professional or personal is to make it organic. Slow and steady. Real. Honest. Let me give you an example. This year, I bought a piece of photography gear. Fell in love with it. Approached the manufacturer. Long story short, they’re now licensing some of my imagery for a national campaign. (Stay tuned for details.) Here’s why that’s relevant. I shared my images with them via social media outlets.

 

Here’s another example. I was recently contacted by a brand new client, who found me by searching on Google. She said I came up first. Know why that is? It’s because I have solid SEO that dramatically improves my ranking in the search engines. Where does that come from? Largely from my blog. I’ve worked hard to build it up, and now it’s working for me. If you want to be found, a good blog is an essential piece of the puzzle.

 

I’ll admit, I couldn't’ have done it on my own. I’ve had a great deal of help with the blogging thing, largely from these two excellent and informative resources.

 

 

This incredible eBook by Problogger guru Darren Rowse, 31 Days to Build a Better Blog is the best blogging resource that I’ve ever found. When I started using it, I saw my traffic jump dramatically. It was up over 600% the first year alone, and has been climbing ever since. Put simply, if I had not gotten this book, my blog would still be getting average numbers, which means that clients would be much less likely to find me on the web. If you’re serious about blogging, this is a must have book. It’s paid for itself so many times over that I can’t even begin to calculate my return on investment. Believe me. 31 days with this book works.

 

 

Another great resource, the 55 Smart Web Ideas for Photographers eBook by Zach Prez is geared not just towards blogging, but about web and social media in general. Facebook, Google, email marketing. It teaches you about page rank, how to build traffic and loyalty from your clients and followers. It will teach you how to build your brand, content and social engagement online so that you can get more web traffic across your entire online presence. Highly recommended if you want to increase your overall web footprint and get found my more potential customers.

 

Also, check out David Hobby’s Google+ webcast on building a successful photo blog over on his Strobist website.

 

 

 

B&H Photo is running another Sandisk memory card sale with free shipping. Last time they had one, I picked up a couple of 16GB CF cards for using in my D700. I’ll probably get more, not just because I need more storage space now, but because I will likely need more in the near future as I think about upgrading to the D800, or to whatever Nikon follows with later this year, if indeed they do have another one in the pipeline.

 

 

A few months ago I wrote about the brand new Pocket Wizard Plus III radio triggers. Not only are they even better than the older Plus IIs, they’re actually less expensive. When does that ever happen? Anyway, they’re now in stock at both Amazon and at B&H Photo. If you’re looking to ramp up your lighting or do some remote camera work, you’ll want to check these out. Pocket Wizards are the industry standard for these kinds of applications, and the Plus IIIs have some fantastic new features.

 

 

Dan Bailey Photo is now on Tumblr. Follow me for feature photos and mini photo essays of my favorite, best and newest imagery. 

 

 

Summertime is all about adventure, and I hope that you’ve been having some great ones so far. Here in Alaska, I’ve been exploring some amazing new places with my little yellow Cessna. Be sure and check out my Bush Flying Adventure story from last week. I’d love to see where you’ve been adventuring, consider posting your favorite new images when I have Monday Sharing on my Facebook Page.

 

Finally, I've been reviewing a brand new photo backpack that's not even out yet. Can't tell you who made it, (you can probably guess) or what kind of features it has, but I like it. Great simple, usable design. Can't wait to show you. Keep your eyes peeled this week for an announcement and a review...

 

Thanks for reading. Enjoy the posts below, and be sure to share them with your friends if you find them useful, enjoyable, or at least mildly entertaining.

 

Best,

Dan