Live the Dream | Joe Markiewicz

Live the Dream | Joe Markiewicz

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.comCheck out my about.me profile!

Live the Dream | Joe Markiewicz

http://vimeo.com/12865835

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.comCheck out my about.me profile!

Breaking The Rules Of Photography — Before You Break The Rules

                  Sunset in Scottsdale Arizona by Cincinnati, Ohio Photographer Vincent Rush

I was having a casual conversation with a renowned photographer. And he proudly said that it was all about breaking the rules – he never follows any rules. He said he does that because if he followed the rules he would never have grown beyond those rules.

Though breaking the rules is creative, lately I’m getting the feeling as if it’s becoming a fashion statement – such statements seem to be lacking depth and knowledge and irresponsible. I have a more conservative approach to “breaking the rule” rule. It is this attitude that prepares you for a long haul at photography. So go ahead and break those rules; but here’s a checklist before you set out to break them.

1. Know the rules

   You can’t break something you don’t know about. You need to understand what the rule is, why is it practiced and what is the barrier it poses to your creativity. Certainly there must be a drawback else why would you bother to invest time in breaking the rule.

2. Perfect the rules

   Understanding the rule is not good enough. You should be perfect at following them. If you are not, you are already neglecting them. That’s breaking the rules in a sense – but it also implies what level of control you have on your art and equipment. Practice till you set some of the best examples for yourself. You will realize, at some level the rule gets in the way of your creativity and results. Now you know you can explore further.

3. Don’t reinvent the wheel

   Most of the times people just end up reinventing the wheel. I asked this photographer “Do you make use of the rule of thirds?” He answered that he never followed any rules. The rule of thirds is a rule of composition that helps you frame shots which are aesthetically more pleasing. This and similar rules are tested by specialists and through big surveys. When you make such a statement saying that you don’t follow the rule of thirds, you are saying you don’t invest efforts in making your composition more aesthetically pleasing. You may make some great compositions and then you may make some other – but in this context they are more of exceptions than rules. At the end of the day after shooting a few hundred shots you realize all the best shots follow some or the other rule of composition.

4. Work to get better results

   Breaking the rules is a great idea provided you get better results than you’d have got following the rules. What’s the point in breaking the rules when you end up with something which doesn’t make sense? Get better results – that’s the way creativity is rewarded.

5. Experiment

   Breaking the rules doesn’t work by itself. You have to spend hours experimenting with light, composition and several other parameters, get creative, visualize and try again. Explore your talent and get creative. Getting creative is the way to breaking the rules. It is when rules get in the way of your visualization and creativity that you have to chose not to follow them. Creativity is what makes a photograph stand out of the thousands. Creativity gives you the edge and you realize the individuality of the photographer within. The more you experiment, the more you get experienced and the better your work becomes.

So go ahead and break the rules. But tick off this list first.


Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com Check out my about.me profile!

11 Tips for Photographing Pets And Children

 Photo by Cincinnati Photographer Vincent Rush of Cincinnati Sports Photography

Photographing children can be fun. They have entirely different reactions to the camera, are very unpredictable yet lovely in their own ways. And most of this is true for pets too. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of it.

1. Be Patient: In photography patience can be ultimately rewarding (or frustrating on a bad day). Children and pets are unpredictable so it may take quite some time to get the shots you want. Things are mostly out of control and waiting it out is the key to success. So, don’t be irritated,try to be cool and get familiar with child
2.  Be Ready: Don’t let your patience get the better of you. Be alert and prepared. Keep your eye on the viewfinder and don’t hesitate to shoot. In the days of the digital you can always delete the unwanted shots. Set your camera to continuous-auto-focus (or the sports mode) so that activity and movement doesn’t throw the subject out of focus. This setting is present on almost all consumer and DSLRs nowadays.
3. Maintain Distance: If you are not family and not a friend it’s advisable to maintain a distance to avoid distracting your subject. Also there’s a technical angle to this reasoning. Shooting pics from too close may induce unwanted geometrical artifacts and distortions. Thus rely on a zoom lens.
4. Come Close: Against the exact opposite of the above, sometimes you may intentionally want to get close to get some geometrical distortion to get a funny look to the shots and the faces of you pet(s).
5. Capture Natural Poses: While kids can be directed to pose, try to freeze some natural moments to eternity. You’ll cherish these for the times to come.
6. Keep Friends and Family Close: When shooting pets or kids it’s good to have one of theirs close ones to assist you. When you are holding the camera it can become quite difficult to make the child smile or pose. This also can induce reassurance to kids who are not comfortable with a stranger following them around with an scary something.
7. Use Props: Children either love to pose or hate it. In such a situation you can use props and toys to engage them.
8. Expression: Most important feature of the photograph, keep the expression natural and original.
9. Multiple Shots: Children and pets are always moody, unpredictable and very active. Thus it becomes quite a task to get it in a single shot. Always shoot in continuous mode and if your camera doesn’t come with this feature, be prepared to hit the shutter-release every few seconds. Later when you sort them on your computer you can pick and choose to keep the best.
10. Color: Lively and energetic as children are peppy, vibrant or soft colors compliment them and the entire scene. Try to avoid dark and dull colors unless you know what you are doing.
11. Angle and Perspective: It’s important to get your camera to the level of your subject for a vast majority of the shots and normally means being on your knees at the very least. But feel free to break the rules and try some crazy angles to portray the madness in the scene.

From Advanced Photography 8/23/2010

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com Check out my about.me profile!

The A List:: Super Sports

 Little League Sports Action Photograph of Eaton Ohio Little Leaguer, by Vincent Rush of Cincinnati Sports Photography

Robert Beck is a Sports Illustrated contract photographer with over 25 years experience shooting all manner of sports events. He's as comfortable applying his skills to his son's flag football game as he is to prowling the sidelines at the Super Bowl. We recently asked him to share some tips from his A-list of sports shooting advice.

• The first thing I look at is the background. Whatever the action is, the background will complete the picture. I don't want a busy background—a lot of fences or light glaring off a fence. A lot of people in the stands are okay, but I don't want one person walking by or just standing around. Some sports are good with the bench as background, like lacrosse or football, with coaches and players behind the action. Shooting Little League is trickier. The field is an odd shape, and I try to crop out distractions. I shoot the batter so the bench is in the background as opposed to two parents and otherwise empty aluminum stands reflecting light. The rule of thumb: real clean or real real.

• The first lens in my kit is the 70-200mm zoom lens [AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED]. Very sharp, very fast, and if I have to shoot through a fence, I shoot wide open and the fence won't even show. It also offers me a lot of flexibility in composing; too tight, I zoom out, too loose, zoom in. My next lens is the 200-400mm [AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED]; fabulous for any sport, just perfect.

• I'm shooting D3 right now almost exclusively. I also have a D700 and a D300. Focusing is quick on all, but the D3 is a little faster in its burst. But I suggest you don't get caught up in shooting sequences. In reality the high point of action is really one or two frames, especially in sports where a ball is struck. The ball is only going to be in there for one frame, and if a kid is fielding the ball, the ball's only there for three frames. Generally, five frames per second is fast enough.

• The truth is that professional sports are almost easier to shoot. The younger the kids, the less you can anticipate—they don't have a sense of timing like the pros or older kids; the young kids are all a little bit off the timing. Be prepared.

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com Check out my about.me profile!

The Difference Between Bokeh And Depth Of Field

       Joe Markiewicz autographed Home Run baseball presented to Vincent Rush. Photo by Vincent Rush

Bokeh and depth of field, both the techniques help the photographers in creating beautiful photographs. In the approach of photographing at lower f-numbers, the distinction between depth of field and bokeh vanishes and the hobbyists and enthusiasts often end up using the terms bokeh and DOF interchangeably. To photograph the aesthetics of the subject and the background, one should be clear about what DOF and bokeh stand for. To effectively use the two techniques, let’s have a quick view at depth of field, bokeh and the differences between the two.

What Is Depth Of Field

The depth of field refers to the area of sharp focus in a photograph. When taking a photograph, sometimes it may be desirable to have the entire image sharp and at other times you may be interested in focusing only a small portion of the scene. You can easily achieve the desired effect by tuning the camera to aperture priority mode for either high depth of field or small depth of field.

A high depth of field is the scenario where everything in the plane of focus is in sharp focus. The shallow depth of field on the other hand is the technique of focusing only a small portion of the plane of focus resulting in effectively focused subject amidst defocused background and foreground. The shallow depth of field helps in profoundly separating the subject by beautifully blurring the background clutter.

What Is Bokeh

Bokeh is the aesthetic quality of blur in out of focus areas of the image. Bokeh is the terminology used for defining the quality of blur achieved at shallow depth of field. Bokeh thus refers to the quality of blurred imagery rendered by the lens for out-of-focus points of light.

The bokeh refers to the circular discs formed as the result of blurring the background. The pronounced  bokeh effect is created when the camera is tuned for shallow depth of field. The effective brightness in the background of the subject renders  beautiful imagery to the out-of-focus areas, thus, resulting in smooth, soft circular discs in the background.

The Difference Between Bokeh And Depth Of Field

The above definitions clarify the fact that the depth of field and the bokeh are not same. While depth of field is the technique of presenting the area of sharp focus, bokeh is the craft of artistically presenting the out-of-focus area of an image. Bokeh is more of a qualitative aspect of the photograph. You can eventually identify the bokeh as good or bad, but there is no way to adjudge the depth of field in terms of qualitative adjectives. The DOF is determined by the camera-to-subject distance, the lens focal length, the lens f-number, and the format size or circle of confusion criterion. The bokeh on the other hand is influenced by influence the phenomena outside the focal plane like foreground / background brightness, lens aberration, speed of the lens, color and shapes & patterns of the subject, etc.

Thus we can say that bokeh is dependent on depth of field but depth of field is in no way dependent on the bokeh. The bokeh and the depth of field are two different techniques used for specific purposes. The sole purpose of depth of field is to represent the area of sharp focus in the photograph, whereas bokeh is artistic quality of out-of-focus area. The two techniques (shallow depth of field and beautiful bokeh effect) when used together produce stunningly beautiful and creative results.

From Advanced Photography

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of http://mainstreetmonroe.com and Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com Check out my about.me profile!

 Eaton Eagles 6th Grade Football vs Valley View Spartans of Germantown, Ohio by Vincent Rush

By Nancy Hill
Everybody has a camera, so why should you bother taking pictures? Let someone else worry about shooting the family reunion, the kids, the sports. You can always ask them for prints. Right?
Maybe not. You could be missing out on a lot if you settle for someone else’s photos instead of learning to take good pictures yourself. Here are 10 reasons why it’s well worth the effort to learn to take good photographs yourself.

1. Photographs are personal. Only you know how you see the world.
Everyone views the world differently. Your perspective is unique. Your sister will not capture your family reunion like you would. She will focus on the kids, while you like how many generations are in your family. Your best friend with her fancy camera does sweeping landscapes. You were with her on the shoot. While she was fussing with her tripod, you were fascinated by the kids fishing with their mother. She never even thought to look. Only you can capture the world you live in. Leaving it up to anyone else will mean your vision is lost.

2. Photographs provide an historical record.
Maybe all those Little League games you go to seem tedious after a while, but 20 years from now, your kids will love looking at those pictures, recalling their glory moments (and they will remember some), the kids on their teams, and the coach who kept believing in them. Same goes for other things in your life. Taking photos of your house will remind you of what you once valued, and what your tastes were. Cars change, woods give way to roads, property is sub-divided, old homes are torn down. Having photos of how things are now will give you a record when things “ain’t what they used to be.”

3. Taking photographs will kick your brain into a creative mode.
Simply by looking through the camera and deciding what part of the scene in front of you belongs in the picture will kick your creative side into action. The more you shoot, the more your creativity will come out. It’s a wonderful part of you. Let it play.

4. Photography is great therapy.
This is close to number 3, but it goes beyond creativity. Photography can help you see the world differently. If you’re upset, grab your camera and go out looking for beauty. You’ll find it. If you’re down, spend an hour shooting photographs – of anything – your house, your yard, your city, flowers, animals. Life through a camera lens is full of wonder. Focusing on how the world around you looks can also help break through your negative thoughts.

5. Photography is a great way to make new friends.
Photographers – amateurs, hobbyists, and pros alike – love to talk about photography. You’ll never lack for company if you join a photography club. You’ll also learn a lot more about photography by someone who takes good photographs than you’ll ever learn in a book.

6. Photography is a way to share your life with others.
Sometimes it’s hard to talk to family members. Just because you share relatives doesn’t mean you have much in common. Sharing your photographs with them is a good way to break through barriers, to show someone what’s important in your life. You can also share travel photographs with groups interested in the area you visited. The photos you took of soil eroded around a river might be just what a environmental group needs to get a grant to save the area. The possibilities are endless.

7. Photography is a gift you can give others.
Cards with your photographs on them make great gifts, and a calendar of family photos is a perfect present for your parents who have everything they could possibly want or need. Getting cards and calendars made has never been easier; you can even have it done online. You can also use your photographs on mouse pads, shirts, mugs, and even postage stamps. What could be more personal?

8. Photography will improve your web site and/or blog.
Your words alone aren’t likely to keep people on your web site for very long, so you need to include graphics. You can always use someone else’s work, but your own will be easier, more personal, and say a lot about you. Don’t overlook the power of a good photograph. It can take your web site to a new level.

9. Photography brings accolades.
Your images might not make you famous, but being known as someone who takes good pictures is a real self-esteem builder. It’s great to hear, “Wow! That’s beautiful! Can I get a copy?” Even a simple, “You take such good photographs. How do you do it?” makes the effort worth while. Praise is good. None of us can get enough of it.

10. Photography can bring in money.
Yep, it’s true. Take good photographs, and chances are you can pick up some extra cash. Whether it’s taking your neighbor’s kid’s high school senior pictures, winning a little cash in a photo contest, or selling your cards on a web site, photography can bring in some extra cash. Maybe someone backs into your neighbor’s fence and they need a photo for court. Who knows, maybe you’ll get so good your work will be published in newspapers or magazines some day. You could start small. Lots of magazines, especially women’s magazines, pay $25-50 for cute kid shots. There are lots of possibilities.
The more you learn about photography, the better your photographs will be. The better they are, the more confidence you’ll have – not just in your photographs, but in yourself. Don’t waste another minute — Grab your camera and start shooting!

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com Check out my about.me profile!

Steelers vs. Packers, Bart Starr and Super Bowl 45

Sitting on the couch with my Dad, watching my very first NFL football game I can still hear him cursing the day that the Steelers had drafted “The dumbest quarterback in history….”Bleepin” Terry Bradshaw! I remember more colorful language as he proclaimed that they Steelers should fire Chuck Noll, That Terry Hanratty or Joe Gilliam should be in a QB and on and on and on
.
Dad was from an area just outside of Pittsburgh, in a town called Washington, Pennsylvania.

2 minutes later…all was right with the world, as Franco Harris scooped up a deflected pass off of Frenchie Fuqua and ran into football history with the immaculate reception.

From that day on, I was a Steelers fan.

Growing up in the Cincinnati and Dayton region, I used to win a lot of lunch money on Steelers vs. Bengal’s week. I had a Steelers lunch box, rain coat, note book and a whole host of Steelers swag. On the rare occasions that the Bengals would win and my classmates would hit me with “Score Board, Rush!”, I could always retort with “Trophy Case!”

I’m also a fan of Bart Starr.

In 1993, as I was getting my Amway business started, I became good friends with an Amway Diamond by the name of Larry Winters. Larry was one of my business mentors. At the time I probably only had about 50 people on my team and wasn’t really on the radar as a future success story.

Larry’s team was about 3-4000 people strong at the time, and as a result, he was running his own “Major Functions”.

In January of 1993, Larry brought legendary Green Bay Packer quarterback Bart Starr in as a guest speaker for the weekend.

I had the honor of being asked to host Bart while he was in town.

As a result I got to drive Bart around, take him to dinner and spend about 5 hours with him. It was one of my most memorable events I ever participated in. Bart was a truly genuine, down to earth human being and one of the nicest guys I ever met. He taught me a few valuable lessons about leadership, compassion and people skills that I still hold tight to today. And he also signed a football and a helmet for me.

As a result I became a semi-Packer’s fan as well as a Steelers  fan.

So today on Super Bowl Sunday, while I root for the Steelers, I remain a Bart Starr fan. And no matter the outcome of Super Bowl 45, I can always find comfort in the trophy case.

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com Check out my about.me profile!

Making Money With Photography

              Mount St. Joseph College Football photo by Cincinnati Sports Photographer Vincent Rush

From Advanced Photography

Here are 10 ways to make a good start at making money with photography. Some pursue photography as a hobby or interest. However as any other field of art, photography is a good way to make money while you are at it. It may not be one of the most promising and money making stream to choose as a career, done wisely it can prove to be a stable and reliable income stream . In the days of film, the number of people pursuing photography as a career was limited to few gifted people, but in the days of digital photography, the art of photography has reached its zenith. It has become a promising income stream with some effort involving internet marketing and creativity to blow-off the common man’s expectations with outstanding photographs.

Make Money With Event Coverage Events are a huge source of making money with photography. Be it weddings, sporting events, company meetings, graduation ceremony, school activities, etc all require to be documented in forms of photographs. The organizations hire the professional photographer for covering the events and pay them like anything. On an average basis, a wedding photographer charges $2000 to $5000 per wedding. Similarly, sports photography is also a huge market of making money. 

Make Money Online One of the best ways to make money with photography is to establish online presence as the photographer. Internet is the easiest source of reaching to large masses and gaining popularity (and eventually gaining the benefits of “word of mouth”). Become the part of the viral internet marketing through:

Stock Photography: Stock photography provides an excellent platform to the buyers and the sellers of the photographs. The stock photography sites encourage the photographers to submit their best works (and maintain the online portfolio) and provides the best deals to the buyers.

Building A Web Gallery: The other smart way to showcase your work to the world is to create a web gallery. You can either build your own website or a photo-blog to display your photographs or can choose from Picsengine or Wix.com which help in building the online portfolios without the hassles of maintaining the website. Social Networking And

Sharing Sites: Social networking sites are an effective way of gaining popularity. Upload your photographs to the social networking sites and offer the photo-services to attract the potential customers. Apart from the social sharing sites, there are some sites like Demotix.com which pays you for submitting the newsworthy images. 

Specialize In “What Sells” To make money with photography, you need to look at the commercial aspect of photography. Get an overview of the market stats to know what sells the most. You have to be thorough with this one. Find out what sells the most not only in terms of the subject, but in terms of image quality, concept and license (royalty-free, rights-managed or copyrighted images). Once you are done with the ground work, you gain an insight into what is favored by the audience and likewise you can start working in that direction for providing the photographs which  are liked by the masses.

4)     Creativity Is The Key To Making Money Your creativity, vision, imagination and the presentation skills provide you an edge over the other photographers. The stock photography sites, the web designers, entrepreneurs, advertisers, etc mostly avoid picking up the common photographs. The photographs they pick and choose reflect the brand and convey some specific message and thus, each of them is looking for something unusual, different and striking. If you can offer the creative photographs which convey the message or highlight the concept, nothing like it. So, even though you specialize in what sells the most, the one thing which gives you an edge over the others and of course help you draw money is your creativity

   Post-processing As A Medium For Making Money In the course of learning photography, the photographers eventually turn out to be the masters of the post-processing skills. Right from making some crucial post-processing adjustments for correcting the color cast, contrast, saturation, sharpness, etc to introducing some special effects in the photographs, the photographers can make a good income by utilizing their post-processing skills (also termed as the photo-finishing skills). You can easily make money by offering post-processing services like creating a realistic torn photo-frame effect, converting the colored photographs to black and white, restoring the old pictures (and resurrect the faded color in Photoshop), etc. 

  Photo-Journalism Is A Great Source Of Making Money Photography is as diverse as its applications. Ranging fromstreet photography to conceptual / story telling photographs, you can make good money by offering your photographs for editorial purposes to magazines and newspapers. This gives you an opportunity to make money as a freelancer (as a hobbyists or an enthusiast). Instead of just offering the photographs to the magazines, you can earn a good income by selling the stories with the photographs shot by you. All you need to do is to invest in some creative effort to wrap the photographs around the content like photographing streets, customs, traditions, buildings, people, etc when traveling to some distant city / state with the intent of presenting it as a documentation sells well with the magazines

    

  Shoot For The Advertisement Campaigns Marketing is the evergreen stream of income and shooting for an advertisement campaign alone can help you make good money. But getting the offer for an advertising campaign requires a lot of effort on your part; where the major role is played by the contacts at your disposal and the richness of your portfolio. It requires you to be a technical expert (having sound knowledge of the basic concepts of photography and command over the equipment) to produce the sharp, creative and impressive photographs required by the advertising agencies.

 Join A Professional Photographer As An Assistant Joining a professional photographer as an assistant serves a dual purpose. Firstly, it enables you to make a living with the salary offered by the photographer and secondly, it helps in gaining experience and exposure. Working on various projects with a professional / freelancer photographer comes in handy for understanding the issues between clients & photographers and helps you in exploring the opportunities as a beginner.

 Make Money With A Home Studio Economically speaking, the best of way of earning money is to cut down the costs. Instead of investing in a full-fledged studio, its better to maintain a simple home-based studio with bare necessities. It just takes a DSLR, a tripod and the artificial lights to get started with a decent business with home studios. This kind of set-up comes in handy for photographing the table-top products ranging from a pencil or pen to the textured walls (and balls, fruits, etc) which help in contributing to your online portfolio with stock photography sites (or can make way to owned website galleries). A home studio set-up opens up the opportunities for experimenting with various subjects at your disposal 

 

Every business needs photos for various purposes —for brochures, websites, company events and meetings, advertisements, etc. These photographs reflect the brand of the company and gives recognition to the products and the services they offer. Owing to the above said facts, the companies tend to hire the photographers permanently and pay them huge sums for the photographs which speak about the company at large. Apart from this, the businesses dealing in real estates also offer good deals to the photographers for photographing the property and portraying the houses and flats as attractive as possible

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com Check out my about.me profile!

Play Within Your Game

Stephen Strasburg of The Washington Nationals vs. The Cincinnati Reds by Cincinnati Photographer Vince Rush

Playing within your game could also be interpreted as staying within your niche. When I was playing men's softball and traveling with a team every weekend, I never tried to be more than I was.

Out of 12 guys on the regular roster, I was probably the 8th or 9th, maybe 10th or 11th (depending on who you asked), best on the team. I was not a home run hitter and I didn't have a cannon for an arm.

What I was however was a .650 right handed hitter that made my living by hitting the ball to right center and painting the right field line, I was fast and I wouldn't embarrass myself in the field. I was also willing to be the ultimate support player for the team by playing some catcher and riding the pine without throwing a fit or pouting.
All of those qualities had earned me a spot on an A level team that played about 200 games a year, so when I got to that team, I never tried to be anything other than that.What's that detective Harry Callahan said, "A man's got to know his limitations"?..Well I knew mine.

to the contrary, occasionally we would see some talented, young, up and coming ball player and invite him to play a tournament with the team. Inevitably, that player would, more times than not, forget what his game was and why we wanted him in the first place, and try to play outside of his game by swinging for the fences and attempting to do things he was not equipped for. The end result was, that he would be with us for a brief time and then we'd never call him again.

In photography, if you want to succeed and make a decent side income or one day a living, you've got to know your niche and play within you game.

My niche is sports photography. I can shoot wedding photography, portrait photography and industrial or landscapes, but I know that in CINCINNATI or DAYTON, OHIO, when it comes to that type of photography, I'm very good at it. In fact I feel I'm the very best at it. I'm also good at marketing and promoting what I do as well as  learning more every day.

I have many friends in photography who are skilled at various disciplines and do quite well in say PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY, SENIOR PORTRAITS, WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY and then I have friend's that are highly skilled at PHOTOSHOP and various forms of post photo processing. They tend to make a nice living at it.

In fact, I know a guy in West Chester by the name of Russ McLaughlin, who is one of the very best family and portrait photographers in the world. The guy has become extremely prosperous at taking family and senior portraits. He demands the highest price and always gets it.

As a photographer, you have to know you game and stay within that game to succeed. When you have mastered that discipline and own that niche, then broaden your horizons and master another one.

To be financially successful in photography it is my opinion that you can not afford to be a "jack of all trades and a master of none". When I started Cincinnati Sports Photography I was on a mission to establish myself as one of the premiere sports photographers in Ohio. I knew that other work would come from establishing my reputation in that field.

Most people that try to scratch out an income as photographers, are never quite sure what kind of photographer they want to be.

In one of my next posts, I'll talk about branding and being selective on what pictures you choose to post on your online portfolio. Every picture you post in a gallery or on a web site is part of your resume and also represents the quality of your work and your attention to detail.

I believe that I get the jobs I do, from exotic sports car photos to senior and family portraits because of my sports photography.

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://cincinnatisportsphotography.com/

Photographic Mistakes — 10 Most Common Mistakes In Photography

 

 Lake Norman, North Carolina by Cincinnati Photographer Vincent Rush of Ohio Sports Photography

1) Not Knowing The Camera In And Out

The excitement of owning the camera makes you overconfident. Time to step back. Its time to know your camera — read the user manual, familiarize yourself with the dials, controls & modes of the camera and get ready for the test shots. After doing well at warm-up, now you are in a good position to explore the possibilities and the opportunities for photographs that makes sense. Photography is not just releasing the shutter; it is far more than that. It follows the entire procedure (as any other form of art).

• Visualize: Carefully observe and spot an interesting subject or scene to shoot.
• The Strategy: Adjust the camera settings for achieving the desired effect like attaining DOF or freezing the motion or capturing the motion & movement.
• The Effort: Hold the camera firmly and press the shutter release.
• The essence of the photography lies in framing the imaginations to your expectations which requires you to be thorough with the camera features, settings and limitations (as to what you can do with the camera you own). If the camera you own does not provide the aperture priority mode, photographing the depth of field is out of question.
  
  2) Overlooking The Camera Settings
  This mistake counts from my personal experience. As soon as I spot a beautiful scene / subject, I just pick my camera, zoom-into the scene and click. And in one instance, after looking at the result on the LCD, I realized something had gone wrong. The camera was set up for bracketing instead of the normal exposure. Having learned from my own mistakes, here is a quick piece of advice. Always check out the camera settings prior to going out for a shoot. Even though mistakes result in great results (sometimes), but overlooking the camera settings often result in missing the perfect shot and attributed as carelessness.
  
  3) Not Having The Camera Handy
  You have the best camera, perhaps a Nikon D7000 or Canon EOS 5D Mark II or a Sony Cybershot and the time you spot an interesting subject, perhaps a playful kid or a pet pass by, how would you feel when you miss that perfect shot. It hurts to miss the shot more than not finding an interesting subject when ready with the camera in hand. So, the best thing to do is to realize the importance of timing in photography and keep your camera handy for shooting surprise shots nature has planned for you. No I’m not asking you to keep the camera handy in the kitchen. But you get the point
  
  4) Overlooking A Strong Point Of Interest 
• Having the camera in hand doesn’t mean that you are free to shoot. If you are there to make a mark with your photographs and want to create a masterpiece, look around to spot something that interests you, attracts you & lures you and then freeze that moment to make an outstanding photograph. If there is a particular person in the crowd or a specific flower in the garden which took you by a surprise, then separate that object from the rest of the clutter to put forth your point of view (and your way of expressing things visually).
  
  5) Including Conflicting Subjects
  When photographing, it is really difficult to draw a line as to what should be included and what be excluded of the frame. Be very thorough and particular about the composition of the frame. The composition techniques teach a lot about how & where to place the subject, how including lines, patterns, textures, perspective add in making a good photograph. But one thing which I have learned by observing the photographs is that you should never portray the competing subjects onto the same frame. It would be something like offering apples and oranges; and the interest of the viewer remains divided of the ambiguity.
  
  6) Using Flash Inefficiently 
• The best camera mode for shooting is the auto-mode. Let the camera decide when to use the flash and when to slow down the shutter speed to compensate for low-light. That was my approach when I started off with my camera until I realized that flash fired by the camera in the auto-mode spoils the entire frame. I also believed the the flash was only to compensate for low-ambient light. This was my second mistake. The fact is that the in-built camera flash is a good source of light not only for low-ambient light, but also when shooting against other sources of light. The trick lies in using the flash efficiently. Experiment with bouncing the flash off the wall or try using it as the complimentary source of light or learn to use rear sync flash mode; all these activities will contribute in realizing the importance of flash in photography. Learn to use flash effectively.
  
  7) Misinterpretation Of Lights
• Light is the second most important element in photography (next to right time). It can either make the photograph or break the photograph. Lights play an important role not only in illuminating the subject, it affects the overall presentation of the photograph. For some subjects / scenes the direct sunlight acts as the perfect source of illumination (for textures), while sometimes angular light helps in portraying the depth in the scene. Consider to soften & diffuse the light when photographing the portraits. Learning to interpret the lights and its properties comes in handy for making the most from the available lights. 
•  
• 8) “Photo-shopping”: The Digital Attitude
• With digital camera in the hand comes the digital attitude. The attitude of correcting the images during post processing. At the beginning you may just love to release the shutter without actually taking care of the basic elements of a good photograph. Photography is not the art of correcting the things off-camera. Photography is not about “photoshopping”. While post-processing is required for making some crucial adjustments, you can never get the natural colors, lights and expression with any amount of editing. It is a huge waste of time if you rely on photo-editors to get great colors and proper exposure. 
•  
• 9) Always Shooting At Same Level
• Always shooting at the same angle and same level makes the photographs portray the subject as it normally appears to the human eye. It lacks expression and fails to convey the dynamics of the subject or the scene. Whereas photographing at various levels help in portraying strength, superiority, authority or negligibility of the subject. For example looking at the photograph of a building shot from the ground level makes you feel the enormity of the huge structure and portraying the same structure from a higher vantage point enable you to express inferiority of the structure. Put an extra thought into building a perspective.
   
• 10) No Concern For Zooming-In
• The professional photographers use the camera zoom to get tight crops and to fill the frame with only the desired elements in the scene. Zooming in the subject and scene clearly helps in expressing the interest and delivering a strong focus on the subject or the scene. It adds a new meaning to the perspective. Zooming out to include unwanted objects results in clutter and induces distracting elements thereby killing the interest in a photograph.

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

In Youth Sports Photography; It’s Pros Vs. Parents

In Youth Sports Photography, It’s Pros Vs. Parents

A link to an article that I was interviewed for by PDN (Photo District News)

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

What They Don't Teach you in Photography School

Cincinnati Reds Photo by Cincinnati Sports Photography and Ohio Sports Photographer Vincent Rush



What they DON"T teach you in photography school is how to become a successful photographer. Technique is only a small percentage of what it takes to succeed today. A book I read a few years ago and about 12 times since, "The Magic of Thinking Big" said that "Success is 2% mechanics and 98% attitude.

As an Ohio sports photographer who has been having good success in the Cincinnati Photographers market, I get asked quite a bit by the guys at the local camera store where I do business, "How do you keep getting so many cool jobs?"

First of all, let me say, that with the exception of sports photography, that I know that there are better photographers than me.There are better much, much better Photoshop specialists than me and there are also those who have more expensive gear, fancy studios, slick websites and even those that belong to "professional membership, dues paying clubs"

However, with all of that said, there are not a lot of photographers getting paid or at least paid what they're worth.

Part of that is naturally due to the supply and demand of today.

Demand is down because of the economy.

Supply is off the charts because everyone that has a digital camera now is a "photographer". You also have the large number of people that give away everything and collectively drive the market down.

I know of one such company that will shoot an entire year of high school football action and sell a DVD of a gazillion images, 20% of which are quality action shots and 80% garbage pics lumped in together, for $40.00. In a desire to be "liked" in their community they not only devalue the quality of service of a professional photographer, but in the long run, devalue themselves.

In today's world, marketing and networking is everything. A young photographer has to know how to self promote, network and make connections, along with providing outstanding customer service that goes above and beyond a 10% discount.

I recommend every photographer pick up a copy of Jeffery Gitomer's book, "Customer Satisfaction is WORTHLESS, Customer Loyalty is Priceless.

It seems to me that the one thing that many aspiring young photographers lack is self promoting skills, people skills, self image and confidence and the ability to create a brand.

Another pet peeve of mine is appearance. If you're on the sidelines and you look like a bum or if you show up to a consultation looking like a slob, you don't inspire confidence. You should treat every interaction like a professional job interview, because as a photographer, every job is an audition...for your next one.

Most of the photographers (Not all of course) in Cincinnati, that I meet, are either social wall flowers, arrogant and lacking people skills and have no real world business sales experience.

When young or struggling photographers ask me for advice, I recommend books such as , "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "Think and Grow Rich", any Jeffery Gitomer book and a series of other sales experts.

At the end of the day, no matter how good you are with PS5 or HDR techniques, it all comes down to personal marketing and personal branding.

When I began shooting sports photography a few years ago, I'll admit, I gave away a lot of 4 x 6 glossy action photos, to get my name out and introduce my brand to people.

The second year, I set up a site through SmugMug and started selling the pictures at the minimum prices to continue to establish my brand.

The 3rd year, I doubled the price of everything and the 4th year I doubled again.

Now that my brand and style are established, and making decent money and getting a lot of calls for family photos, senior portraits and team photos.

I have also read a half a dozen books on social media marketing, SEO, Search Engine Optimization and hundreds of books on sales and business leadership skills.

It's not enough to have a nice camera a couple of lenses and friends and family telling you that you are great. You have to earn the respect of your profession with diligence, ethics and talent along with dynamic people skills.

On a closing note for all young photographers coming out of school and hitting the streets; Your generation, while the most technically connected generation in history, is the most socially disconnected generation in history as well. If you want to succeed in any business, there is a wide open market for the young professionals that master the art of interpersonal interaction. You know, weird stuff, like eye contact, hand shakes, verbal communication and the art of making people feel better after they leave you than they did before they got with you.

The average social weakling believes that they will be able to Twitter, Facebook, Text and email their way to success. That mentality is creating a void in our society, that if you learn how to differentiate yourselves in this new so called "connected" world you will raise your value in it as well...and that when you start getting PAID!

In sports photography, people pay me what they pay me, because I can do what other cant, in a way that other don't. And for now that remains my secret.

Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography, Monroe Ohio.


Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Balance Beam

A casual portrait by a member of the Top Flight Gymnastics Team in Northern Kentucky

Photo by Cincinnati Photographer Vincent Rush

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

How to Photograph Winter Landscapes by Moose Peterson

 

West Yellowstone by Cincinnati Photographer Vincent Rush

When Moose Peterson starts talking about photographing winter landscapes, you tend to pay attention. In fact, if you're like us, you take notes. As a renowned nature and wildlife photographer, Moose brings experience and expertise to the subject. He also brings an appreciation of the beauty of the winter world and a realization of its challenges.

Because we were taking notes, we can share his tips with you.

White Out
What was once the bane of winter photos is now past tense. You guessed it: blue or gray snow. Here's what used to happen: the camera's meter would read the vast white world as a vast overexposure, and to compensate the camera's autoexposure system would set faster shutter speeds or smaller apertures; either would effectively cut down the amount of light reaching the film or the sensor. Simply, the meter didn't know that all that white was what you really wanted. Moose remembers those days, and how he'd use +1/3 or +2/3 or more exposure compensation to let in more light and bring white back to white.

These days it's pretty much a non-issue. "With any Nikon D-SLR, I go with Matrix metering and aperture-priority exposure and that's it," Moose says. "I don't dial in any exposure compensation." And if some of the snow gets blown out—that is, overexposed—it's no problem. "White snow doesn't need to have a whole lot of detail for your mind to know its snow. In the majority of photos you'll take, you don't need to see the individual crystals of the snow."

In addition, it's also likely that the shadow areas of the scene will be filled in by all the light bouncing off the snow. "You won't have a lot of shadow area to deal with," Moose says, "and neither will your meter. The exposure range is mostly in the highlight area."

Things might be different when the sun's not out. "On an overcast or cloudy day, you might get a blue cast to the snow. I don't mind that so much at all—it helps suggest just how cold the scene is. What's the color of cold, after all? Blue."

But if you want the snow to whiten up, an exposure compensation of +1/3 or +2/3 should do the trick. Take a photo, check the LCD, adjust as needed.

Also, keep in mind that when you're shooting in snow, chances are you're not just photographing the snow. There's a person, a tree, an animal, a house...maybe a snowman. "And, once again, the snow in the scene acts like a giant fill card and bounces light around," Moose says, "and bounced light will be softer and more flattering for your picture."


Contrast
The winter landscape doesn't have to be all white to tell its seasonal story. For example, check out the sixth photo, taken on the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park. "What are you doing in a photograph?" Moose asks, and then he answers: "You're telling a story. Well, in the Madison River photo I put the autofocus sensor on the trees in the sun, which insured that they'd be sharp, of course, but which also biased the exposure toward the sun, so the shadows on the left went to black. I framed the shot for that effect, for that contrast. The story I'm telling is that there's a transition taking place: spring is coming."

Color
Winter will almost always provide its share of color—you just have to seek it out. Sometimes chasing the light will do the trick. (And when you catch the light, check its direction. "Look for sidelighting," Moose says. "It'll give you more definition in your subject because the shadows are revealing texture and detail.")


"What you're doing is fine tuning the photo," Moose says. "In effect, you're warming up or cooling down the winter landscape." How much fine tuning will suit the scene you're shooting? That's up to your taste and judgment; take a picture at any setting and check the results.

Moose also remind us that the colder the air, the better the color. "Cold air is clearer," he says, "and there are often ice crystals in the air that cause light to diffract; you get really brilliant, pretty-picture colors. So you want to be photographing at sunrise and sunset—the coldest parts of the day."

Moose calls the tenth photo, taken in the Bridger Mountains of Montana, "one of the top five sunrises of my life." To get it, he had to be there at 4:45 in the morning—in the dark, in the cold and in the storm. "Some of the best photo opportunities happen when winter storms begin and end," he explains. "That's when the drama comes—when the light is trying to burst through. I took this photo as the storm was clearing out." So check weather reports or the weather app on your smart phone.

Comfort Zone
"Snow photography is only fun if you're comfortable," Moose says. "The right boots are essential. Look for high-tech snow boots that are rated to keep you warm down to zero. Next, gloves and hat. I'm a glove fanatic, I admit it. I never go to an outdoor shop without looking at the gloves. For basic snow shooting, when you'll be out for fun for a couple of hours, I recommend gloves that are made for cross-country skiing; they're ideal—very flexible, with good insulation. For hardcore, out-all-day shooting, my choice is ice climbing gloves. They have extra insulation on the top of the glove that keeps your hands warm. Hats? A personal thing—you'll know what works best for you.

Gear Protection
"It's not like the old days when you had to weatherproof your gear," Moose says. "I've taken all the Nikon digital cameras, from COOLPIX to D3X, out in minus 20-degree weather and never had a problem.
"What you should think about, though, is taking your gear from a warm place—a building or a car—out into the cold. Don't breathe on any glass; if you avoid moisture in the beginning, you won't have moisture problems.

"My gear is in the camera bag when I'm not shooting. When I come back at night to my home or to a hotel, the gear's going to be cold, and if I just take it out of the bag I'll get the condensation cycle started, which is exactly what I don't want. So I take the camera gear out, put it on the counter or the bed, pop out the memory cards from the cameras and put a clean white towel over everything and let it all sit there until it comes to room temperature. All the condensation forms on the towel and is absorbed. You don't have to do this in a hurry, there's no rush—but do it. When it's all at room temperature, stow it back in the bag and you're ready for the next day or the next time.

"And if I'm in and out of a vehicle all day when I'm working, I keep a white towel on the gear when it's out of the bag."

Walk Right In (Not!)
"Think of where you're walking," Moose says, "and when you're walking there. You don't want to walk through a scene looking for subjects or vantage points and then realize that the nice virgin field of snow is now covered with your footprints. Think ahead."

Any Way the Wind Blows
 "I always look for places where the wind is blowing. When there's steam or snow or ice crystals in the air, the picture tells the viewer, 'It's cold!' Again, what's the story? What's the message?"

In a word: winter. And though Moose travels to some exotic places—and even conducts a winter workshop in Yellowstone—he also tells winter's story from close-to-home locations. He took the seventh photo practically from his backyard and the second and third images about a block away.
So if you're lucky enough to live in a place where snow visits you, or if you're going to be a visitor to a snowy region of the country, keep your camera close at hand.

Lessons from Behind the Lens of a Legendary Wildlife Photographer, at his website, www.moosepeterson.com.

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com