Please browse our site for many more digital photography courses. We host many photography online courses for free. Regular webinars are hosted with top photographers from around the world to help you with portrait photography tips, how to be a wedding photographer and many other subjects.

Welcome to ‘ The Art & Business of Portrait Photography’ Webinar Series . A unique & intriguing 4 hours online portrait photography course where Ray shares all his experience & secrets on how he has managed to stay on top of his game for such a long time. This unmissable webinar series will educate & entertain you like never before. Ray is famous for speaking his mind and he says what he believes in!

ABOUT
Ray has mentored hundreds, probably thousands of photographers to improve their photography and their business (including myself). He has judged photographic competitions all over the world, won many awards & fellowships from all major photographic associations.
He has run his studio for over 37 years and is one of UK’s oldest studios running at present.

– Hon FBIPP – Hon FMPA (the only person EVER to be awarded both Hons) FRPS – Master & Craftsman of PPA…
– Past President of BIPP
– Past President of MPA
– Past Chairman of BIPP qualification panel
– Past Chairman of FEP (Federation of European Photographers) qualifications panel
– Past Chairman of Kodak European Gold award Panels
– Winner of 9 European Gold Awards
– Current member of MPA qualifications panel
– International judge
 
Ray’s studio photographers have just won 4 prestigious MPA portrait awards (never been achieved before by a single studio)… 

WHEN
15 Feb 2000 – 2100 hrs
22 Feb 2000 – 2100 hrs
24 Feb 2000 – 2100 hrs
29 Feb 2000 – 2100 hrs.

BONUSES WORTH $54
How to run a Portrait Photography Business
A 46 page e-book written by Ray Lowe worth $27

How to run a Wedding Photography Business
A 46 page e-book written by Ray Lowe worth $27

FAQs

Q. Can I log in from outside the UK ?
A. You can log in from anywhere in the world.

Q. Do I need any special software to join the webinar ?
A. No, all you need is broadband and your device (computer, laptop, tablet) with speakers

Q. Can I use my iPhone or iPad to join in the webinar ?
A. Currently you can log in using an iPad, iPhone & iPod Touch. Download the free app ‘GotoMeeting’ from the App Store.

Q. What if I miss any session ?
A. You will receive recordings of each of the session once all 4 have been recorded.

Q. Can I ask questions during the live webinar ?
A. We endeavor to answer each and every question sent so you get the most out of this webinar series.

Free to join.

Title: Introducing Nikon D4
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012
Time: 1400 hrs UK time

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar Seat Now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/474127130

 Here is one of the cool features on how to control the D4 with iPhone

This is ‘Search, plus Your World’, which makes Google’s robots to incorporate data from its social network as well as the internet when delivering search results.

“But clearly, that isn’t enough. You should also be able to find your own stuff on the Web, the people you know and things they’ve shared with you, as well as the people you don’t know but might want to … all from one search box.” The company added: “Search is simply better with your world in it.”

Here is CNN’s headline leading story .

I’m sure that Google’s competitors are going to complain that Google gives preferential treatment to content from its own products i.e Google+ to You Tube. To this I would say, good luck to Google. They produce some amazing products & services and I for one won’t be complaining one bit!

If you don’t like the way ‘Search, plus Your World’ displays search results, you can switch it off.

Here is the link to Google’s Official Blog

SF Photo School are proud to present another fantastic 1 day Wedding Photography course with multi-award winning photographers Kevin Wilson & Uzair Kharawala. You will get some of the best wedding photography training  on subjects like posing, composition, lighting, off-camera flash, work flow, editing, simple post-processing and much much more….

This event is kindly sponsored by the following companies. Attendees will receive money saving offers worth over £120.00

Special Offer for Perfect Photo 6 will be available

   Save 20% off any product

Save 30% Off the award-winning photo studio software

Previous sell out ‘Masters of Light Workshops’.

11 Feb 2012
0930 – 1730 hrs (Registration starts at 0830 hrs)
NEC, Birmingham

– Your camera kit
– Laptop

– 4 x 90 minutes sessions
– Lunch
– Tea & Coffee throughout the day
– Car Parking
– Usage of images for own portfolio

This workshop is now SOLD OUT . Please enter your details below on the waiting list in case of any cancellations at the last minute and you’ll be notified of any tickets being available.

Nikon today announces the launch of the D4, its new flagship D-SLR for photographers who are looking for the ultimate digital SLR camera to revolutionize photography.
 
Designed to push the limits and realize every shooting opportunity, this new professional FX-format camera brings new levels of image quality, speed and precision to both still photography and video.

Equipped with a 16.2-megapixel FX-format sensor, phenomenally high ISO and Nikon’s powerful EXPEED3 image processing engine, the new model offers uncompromised performance and unrivalled versatility in extreme lighting and environmental conditions.

 
“The introduction of the Nikon D4 sets a new benchmark for photography,” says Kentaro Kusakari, Product Planning Manager, Nikon UK. “We’re proud to be launching a new flagship model that exceeds the capabilities of its world renowned predecessor, the Nikon D3. This new camera has been designed for class leading professionals looking to push the limits of photography and improve their workflow. We’re confident that the Nikon D4 will help take them to the next level.”
 
Uncompromised Image quality—Exceptional speed
Engineered to deliver remarkable image integrity in the most diverse lighting conditions, the D4 offers blisteringly fast fps performance and sets a new benchmark in low-noise performance. The 16.2 megapixel FX-format (full-frame) CMOS sensor with fast channel readout delivers up to 11 fps—faster than any other Nikon DSLR camera.
 
Images of remarkable quality with low noise and wide dynamic range can be realized even at high ISO sensitivities thanks to the optimized noise reduction design and 14-bit A/D signal processing built into the sensor. The phenomenal ISO range sets a new benchmark of ISO12800 and extends the range one EV further to make ISO 100 a standard. For more challenging conditions, equivalent ISO 50 and ISO 204,800 sensitivities make the D4 the camera of choice for photographers who typically face extreme lighting challenges.
 

Super-charged EXPEED3 image processing engine
Thanks to Nikon’s next-generation EXPEED 3 image-processing engine, the D4 makes light work of multiple data-rich tasks without sacrificing the speed and quality that pros are accustomed to. High-speed 16-bit image processing follows the 14-bit A/D conversion to deliver submission-ready JPEGs straight out of the camera. Performance is never compromised, even when undertaking the most data-intensive tasks. Images boast faithful, well-saturated colour and natural depth. Even when shooting in dim lighting at high ISO sensitivities, the camera’s intelligent, performance-proven noise reduction lowers noise without degrading image sharpness.

Faster total workflow speed
The D4’s speed runs across its entire workflow.

Newly developed Kevlar/carbon fiber-composite shutter unit: the new, highly durable shutter unit offers a standard life cycle rating of 400,000 releases, with a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000 to 30s and flash synchronization at up to 1/250 sec. An intelligent self-diagnostic shutter monitor and a drive unit reduce the demand on power when the shutter is raised for extended periods during movie shooting.

Fast response: start-up is approx. 0.12 seconds*, release time lag is minimised to approx. 0.042 seconds** (equivalent to that of the D3S), with approx. up to 11 fps capability in FX-format and all crop modes.

Storage media: the D4 offers two card slots. One for high-speed CF (UDMA 7) cards and one for high-speed, high-capacity XQD card slot.

Connectivity: a powerful data communication and control system makes both wired and wireless LAN file transfer faster and easier than ever. Wireless LAN support is available via the compact, newly designed WT-5 Wireless Transmitter, which features HTTP and FTP connection modes and also allows for the simultaneous release of several cameras equipped with WT-5. HTTP mode has also been designed to work with iPhone screen resolutions. For the first time in a Nikon camera, a wired LAN connection is integrated into the camera body.

Broadcast quality video
For professionals whose workflow demands video, the D4 offers all the flexibility required for a wide variety of movie applications. It’s large format movie shooting at its best, with a comprehensive variety of frame rates.
 
Frame rates: Full HD (1080p) movies can be recorded in 30p, 25p and 24p, with 60p, 50p, 30p and 25p options at 720p. Movie clips can be close to 30 minutes long (approx. 29.59 min).
 
Multi-area mode: Full HD (1080p) recording is possible in both FX and DX based formats as well as in native Full HD (1920×1080) crop.
 
High-fidelity audio control: responding to feedback from the industry, the D4 introduces new possibilities for D-SLR audio recording that enable your movies to sound as good as they look. Aside from the external stereo microphone input, an audio out for external headphones lets you fine tune audio in isolation.

Always up to the job
Every millisecond can count, and the D4’s improved operability helps photographers respond quickly to changing situations.

Intuitive horizontal and vertical control: each orientation has identically laid-out controls, conveniently placed so that the camera may quickly become an extension of your hand whether you shoot in landscape or portrait.

Simplified AF and AF-area mode selection: now possible without taking your eye away from the viewfinder.

Precision 8-cm (3.2-in.), approx. 921k-dot, wide-viewing-angle LCD monitor with automatic brightness control. The monitor delivers bright, crisp image playback with a much wider colour reproduction capacity. LCD brightness is automatically adjusted according to the viewing environment and images can be magnified up to 46x during playback, which can be a big help for spot focus confirmation.

Glass prism optical viewfinder: offers approximately 100% frame coverage and 0.7x magnification (50mm f/1.4 lens at infinity, -1.0m-1). The high eyepoint design of Nikon’s viewfinders is renowned for minimizing visual fatigue when using the camera for extended periods of time.

Dual-axis electronic virtual horizon: offers accurate confirmation of level shooting by letting you check the LCD monitor, or the viewfinder, for both the camera’s position in relation to the horizontal plane and its pitch (forward or rear rotation).

Direct access to Picture Controls: via a dedicated button, rather than the menu. Picture Controls let you customize the look of your stills and videos by fine-tuning parameters such as sharpness, saturation, and hue.

Complete control over workflow
The D4 is built for speed, but not for speed alone. Readiness and versatility go hand in hand with control options that can deliver a real advantage when time is of the essence.

Time-lapse movies: the D4 extends the popular time-lapse photography function by saving images as a movie file in the camera. With playback rates from 24 to 36,000 times faster than normal.

HDR (High Dynamic Range): shoots one overexposed and one underexposed frame in a single shutter release. The range can be widened by up to 3 EV for different looks, full of saturation and tonal gradation. The smoothness of the edge where the two exposures meet can be adjusted for a more natural look.

Refined colour temperature control: enables minute control over white balance. The monitor hue of live view and the resulting image’s white balance can be adjusted so that the two are aligned. Colour temperature can be manually set in 10-Kelvin increments, or in mired units.

Four image area options: you can choose from a variety of image crop modes, all visually masked in the viewfinder. 5:4 (30.0 x 24.0 mm), 1.2x (30.0 x 19.9 mm), and DX-format (23.4 x 15.6 mm).

In-camera editing: captured images and movies can be altered and edited in camera and on the fly if required. Retouch menus include an array of useful features such as NEF (RAW) processing, resize, distortion and perspective control just to name some of them. On top of that it has the ability to designate the start and end point of movie clips all at once, in order to save them more efficiently.

Accessories
Compact WT-5 Wireless Transmitter (optional): attaches to the camera’s designated interface connector and is powered by the camera body. It features HTTP and FTP connection modes and allows for the simultaneous release of several cameras equipped with WT-5.

GP-1 GPS unit (optional): records location information such as latitude, longitude, altitude and time (UTC) as ‘geotags’ in the image data (Exif) and allows simultaneous operation together with the WT-5.

Compact Stereo Microphone ME-1 (optional): records clear sound while significantly reducing mechanical noise.

Nikon SB-910 (optional)—Unparalleled lighting performance: offers versatile i-TTL for on-camera or wireless flash control, refined operability and a powerful guide number of 34/112 (ISO 100, m/ft, STD, FX format, zoom 35mm). Menus and controls have been improved for more operational ease. Hard-type incandescent and fluorescent color filters are included, which can adjust your D4’s white balance instantly.

Capture NX 2 (optional)—Fast, powerful and creative image processing: to accommodate the imaging power of the D4, Capture NX 2 is faster than before and boasts full 64-bit compatibility.

Camera Control Pro 2 (optional)—Versatile remote camera controls: aside from controlling exposure mode, shutter speed, and aperture, this software now offers numerous improvements to make the D4’s live view operation exceptionally smooth. New creative controls include remote start and stop for movie shooting and the option to switch quickly between stills and movies in live view.

ViewNX 2 (supplied)—Browse, edit, share and more: bundled, all-in-one software implements an easy-to-use interface and an array of editing functions, including basic editing of RAW files and D-Movies. Seamlessly integrates with my Picturetown, Nikon’s photo sharing and storage service

*Based on CIPA Standards
**When used together with batteries other than EN-EL15

Before deciding on which software to invest in, you should consider these options carefully:

Productivity

You need to work smarter rather than harder to streamline your workflow. A good & robust photography studio software should be able to effortlessly handle the day to day of running the business, reminders & things to do, sending quotations, making bookings, keeping track of clients & suppliers, setting up a series of workflow things for various jobs be it weddings, portraits, commercial or sporting events, updating & keeping track of all your events in one place.

Pricing & Support

Pricing & after sales support is extremely important. First decide how much you wish to spend on a photography studio software. Then make a list of 3-4 products and then see what the Support is offered after you purchase the software. Some offer a 30-day support, with some companies you need to go and attend expensive day workshops & seminars just to learn the software and get to grips with it and some offer unlimited free support. Also see on the website whether they have a phone number listed as very few websites offer this. Here is a recorded 1 hour webinar on photo studio management you can watch.

Marketing

You need to turbo charge your marketing efforts in these tough economic climate. One of the best and under-used marketing tools by photographers is Email Marketing. Every marketeer will say this ‘The money is in the list’. So the sooner you start to build an email list, the sooner you can start making money. Email marketing is something

Book Keeping

As a photographer you want a simple photography studio software to help you run your business which gives you a bird’s eye view of your business on a daily basis. What you want is an easy to use book keeping system to help you with your sales & purchases with a powerful enough reporting system to help you see where your business is heading.

I hope this gives you some ideas as to which photography studio software is right for you. I would welcome you to try Foto SF, the award-winning photography studio software , for free and see how it can help you to turbo charge your business.

Oz

– Over half the traffic on the net is video traffic and growing at an astonishing rate
– You Tube is the 2nd biggest search engine in the world
– You Tube is the 3rd biggest website
– Video is changing the internet (Facebook as well)
– You Tube has its own ‘search engine’ just like Google
– Google paid almost a $1 billion to buy You Tube

I’m sure you’ve got the point. Can you see how powerful video is. Every photographer I speak to hates video ! So did I until I learned how powerful this tool is for my business. I can compare this to the time when most photographers refused to go digital and hated it. Now we don’t see many film photographers.

I started putting up videos on You Tube about 2 years ago and started to see gradual & consistent traffic flowing to my website/s. You Tube is now the 3rd biggest referrer of traffic to my website/s after Google & Facebook. The beauty of video marketing is that you do the work only once and then let the traffic flow to your site. The other great thing about video marketing is that since our work is very visual, there is no other better way to put your work in front of an audience.

Let me share with you what we’ve done for our business:

These are just a few examples. What I’m saying here is that I’m putting my work in front of an audience FOR FREE . What I like most about video marketing is that the videos whether they are just a slideshow or a movie, keeps the visitor to a website locked and engaged for more time on your website.

My You Tube Channel has to date attracted over 75,000 views to date. There aren’t many platforms where you can get this kind of exposure so easily and all for free. Please do subscribe to the channel and get regular updates.

I hope you can see the potential of video marketing. Just get started, you don’t need mega budgets, high production, army of crew members to create a simple video. Get started and then keep on improving. Perfect as you go along.

If you have any videos you’ve created, please do share your links / videos in the comment box. Would love to see them.

Oz

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