My next workshop is Marketing 101 and is going to be packed with real world info as well as a full BTS of what I do on my marketing Monday's www.tinhouse-studio.com/product/photography-marketing-101/
1. Test Shoot (Gather a good team) 2. Tripod/Stand (Invest in the best) 3. Continuing Education (Improving your knowledge/skills for better performance) 3.1 Get duplicates for some of your equipment (saves time/money/backup) 4. Buy a label-maker (Systematic organisation)
I think the greatest investment that I've made was taking the time to teach someone what I know about photography and making sure they understood it. It forces you to think about the basics in new ways. Teaching someone has made me a better photographer. The other best investment was the time I've spent thinking about what is my style of photography and lighting and why do I like it. I've saved myself an eternity of chasing after trends that make me blend into the crowd versus stand out.
My biggest time saver was when I started to label my memory cards. I always load images from a card reader onto the computer, and knowing exactly which card goes into which camera has saved me so much time. Also, cutting down on the number of different cameras and instead having several versions of the same camera is a big time saver, and if you can afford a well used pro level camera with proper protection against moist and dust, I promise you that you'll clean the sensor a lot less often than with an enthusiast level camera. Finally, if you do your own editing and have completed the first image in a series with similar subject and camera settings, LR enables you to copy settings from one image to another - it can really speed up your editing work.
In addition to that "label everything" tip, one of the best buys I made was an 8 pack of different colored painters tape rolls. All my power cables get their own color wrapped around either side so if I need to know what power cord to unplug I don't have to trace it back from my light to the wall, and any cable connected to my computer gets color coded with a matching color. It's come in handy so many times to know for a fact that I'm not about to unplug my computer in the middle of a render.
Hey there, Discovered your channel today after following you on instagram for a while. Great content - LABEL MAKER!!!! I had an epiphany when you said that 😂
I shoot mostly on location lately, so having everything on wheels is huge back and time saver. Rolling cases, rocknroller cart and wheeled stands make the job much easier!
+1 I’m a filmmaker and shoot mainly on location. Recently purchased an Inovativ Voyager gear cart. And it so good I can’t believe it. Rolling it in/out my van, saving so much time and keeping my body more fresh and energized for the actual work. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The bit about test shooting is so critical to growth. I like this perspective of actually getting a pro team for this. Huge investment in to making strong portfolio work, and you learn so much in the process.
Excellent Video. My top three investments in photography other then the camera it self are: 1) 85mm lens 2) Lighting modifiers for my strobes 3) Learning different lighting setups to achieve the look I'm going for.
I completely agree with your suggestions. One of the investments I appreciate at the moment is a PELI case (with wheels!). It isn't fun buying protective gear like cases. It does not improve your images obviously. But it gives you peace of mind when throwing your gear in the back of a van.
I believe my best investments were education indeed, a Nikon D800, a display model broncolor move kit, and manfrotto autopoles. I can shoot with consistent light in studio and on location.
Best Investments: Good and various TAPE. Neon paper tape for labels and markers, both white and black gaff tape, matte and gloss scotch tape, aluminum aircraft tape for use as tiny reflectors, etc
Colorchecker Passport because I’m slightly colourblind. Absolutely critical for me. Yes it’s £100 for a piece of plastic, but it saves me hours and hours of work / uncertainty.
The Rock’n’Roller Cart was definitely the best investment! It’s an investment in my own physical health and just looks so much more professional for Clients than carrying a bunch of bags and cases by hand
Best investment I’ve ever made is no doubt a Foba saloon stand bought second hand. Cost me a grand, weighs 175kg and is rock f******* solid. Paired with a really right stuff focus plate and you have the most solid focus stacking rig ever
This is kind of tough to answer, but I would have to include as one of the best investments I have made in my photography, as my Manfrotto 058 tripod with horizontal attachment. This thing as you know is a beast and with the horizontal rail gives me so much more stability and flexibility in shooting all kinds of table mounted product. And yes, I did buy the tripod 2nd hand. Around here it retails for about $800 and I grabbed it for $400. Coupled with a sturdy ballhead this is perfect for my needs.
Agree on the studio stand. I was lucky enough to obtain an Inka 2m stand with 2 heads (one a geared head and the other a Foba 3-way) for an obscenely low amount from a commercial photographer who was emigrating and couldn't take it with him. For overhead work this thing is unbeatable. I will never part with it!
Have just spent lock down pretty much doing all of the things you just sighted, except I went for a a cambo. But not the label maker, think that he brilliant thank you. The only piece of advice I could give back, would be to invest in learning active listening. The act of actually really listening to a customer and actively working towards finding out what they actually want and not necessarily what they think they want has changed my business beyond measure, But then I am a portrait photographer. But in the small amount of commercial work I do for fun it has been a massive improvement too.
Totally agree regarding the label, having several different cameras results in different batteries and the labels make it easier to pick up the right ones.....
I concur on labeling things, although I prefer the P-Touch type. They're flat, not embossed, the plastic is much thinner so they cling on uneven surfaces, and you get get tape in various background/type color combinations. A good investment (sort of) of mine: I have the same number of chargers as I do camera batteries. if needed I can be charging all of them at the same time, and I usually carry a charger in my bag too. Related to this, I have an aluminum plate that I attached a label to that reads "Batteries, dumb ass." Whenever I have my batteries charging that plate sits inside my bag on top of everything else, although I generally always keep some charged batteries in the bag despite having enough chargers.
The two biggest revolutions in my work have been when I started shooting tethered and when I started using a colour checker, so a proper tethertools cable and the xrite colour checker passport are my nominations!
I have 2 Cambo’s and a Foba in our studio - all came in just below the grand mark each, could not do our work without them. We had a Manfrotto Super Salon, found the locking mechanism very clumsy. If you’re prepared to play the waitiy game - you can pick up a bargain on eBay though. Look out for slightly left field options - I recently picked up a Fatif 9ft stand for 90 quid.
Hell $200 is $200!!! I'd love to make $200 extra a month right now. I love how you're down to earth and not about the latest and greatest gear. As you asked in the video my greatest investments so far have been education and learning and upgrading from crop sensor to full frame. I saved and got a 6D mark 2 and I love it.
This is such a great video! I really relate to the investing in test shooting. Especially if it contains a new method or lighting set up! The when I'm on an actual shoot, I'm practiced and confident! In terms of my best investment...... my best cheapest investment is a diffuser... about £15 and the difference in how a shot can look..... I don't think you can get more bang for your buck!! Keep up the awesome content!
Great video. I agree with all of your notes. Education is so much more important than gear. In person seminars and online education are both worthwhile. Self assignments and passion projects also huge opportunities for growth. Gear that saves your back is worth the money. Think tank with wheels. Rock'n'Roller cart. Hold Fast double camera strap. I like buying gear that pays for itself. My 24-70 mm f2.8 is a good little soldier. So is the 70-200 mm f2.8. I got some Profoto D1 strobes used that have been good earners. Right now, shifting from 5D mark iv and 1DX mark ii to mirrorless is NOT a good investment. I'm shooting a Feisol tripod that is great. Recently I needed more height. I looked at what was for sale then built a rig for my stepladder. It works perfectly and was built from materials on hand. Thank you for your videos, I enjoy them.
Enjoying your content Scott. What about your flashes? I haven't taken the jump yet, but scary to think how much Ive paid to the gear rental houses over the years hiring lights each time I shoot or test.
Best investment would be my lights, bought them second hand years ago and the freedom they give Instead of waiting to have the right sort of light available (I live in Scotland 😂 we don’t have much light available often) means being able to shoot whenever I want. I couldn’t get half as much work done without them. It may seem like an obvious thing but it’s something a lot of people don’t bother investing in. I am looking to upgrade my lighting though 🤭 finally.
Absolutely best investment are my EIZO CG range Monitors. Saved me so much time and money because of being able to see details invisible on other screens.
My next workshop is Marketing 101 and is going to be packed with real world info as well as a full BTS of what I do on my marketing Monday's www.tinhouse-studio.com/product/photography-marketing-101/
1. Test Shoot (Gather a good team)
2. Tripod/Stand (Invest in the best)
3. Continuing Education (Improving your knowledge/skills for better performance)
3.1 Get duplicates for some of your equipment (saves time/money/backup)
4. Buy a label-maker (Systematic organisation)
I think the greatest investment that I've made was taking the time to teach someone what I know about photography and making sure they understood it. It forces you to think about the basics in new ways. Teaching someone has made me a better photographer.
The other best investment was the time I've spent thinking about what is my style of photography and lighting and why do I like it. I've saved myself an eternity of chasing after trends that make me blend into the crowd versus stand out.
My biggest time saver was when I started to label my memory cards. I always load images from a card reader onto the computer, and knowing exactly which card goes into which camera has saved me so much time. Also, cutting down on the number of different cameras and instead having several versions of the same camera is a big time saver, and if you can afford a well used pro level camera with proper protection against moist and dust, I promise you that you'll clean the sensor a lot less often than with an enthusiast level camera. Finally, if you do your own editing and have completed the first image in a series with similar subject and camera settings, LR enables you to copy settings from one image to another - it can really speed up your editing work.
In addition to that "label everything" tip, one of the best buys I made was an 8 pack of different colored painters tape rolls. All my power cables get their own color wrapped around either side so if I need to know what power cord to unplug I don't have to trace it back from my light to the wall, and any cable connected to my computer gets color coded with a matching color. It's come in handy so many times to know for a fact that I'm not about to unplug my computer in the middle of a render.
Hey there,
Discovered your channel today after following you on instagram for a while. Great content - LABEL MAKER!!!! I had an epiphany when you said that 😂
I shoot mostly on location lately, so having everything on wheels is huge back and time saver. Rolling cases, rocknroller cart and wheeled stands make the job much easier!
Wheels for the win
YES. I have been wanting some serious photography luggage! There are cases on wheels that can fit like 5 c stands…
+1 I’m a filmmaker and shoot mainly on location. Recently purchased an Inovativ Voyager gear cart. And it so good I can’t believe it. Rolling it in/out my van, saving so much time and keeping my body more fresh and energized for the actual work. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The bit about test shooting is so critical to growth. I like this perspective of actually getting a pro team for this. Huge investment in to making strong portfolio work, and you learn so much in the process.
I have several heavy 80's vintage Gitzo tripods. Love them.
YOUR CHANNEL IS PURE GOLD!🥇
Excellent Video.
My top three investments in photography other then the camera it self are:
1) 85mm lens
2) Lighting modifiers for my strobes
3) Learning different lighting setups to achieve the look I'm going for.
I completely agree with your suggestions. One of the investments I appreciate at the moment is a PELI case (with wheels!). It isn't fun buying protective gear like cases. It does not improve your images obviously. But it gives you peace of mind when throwing your gear in the back of a van.
I believe my best investments were education indeed, a Nikon D800, a display model broncolor move kit, and manfrotto autopoles. I can shoot with consistent light in studio and on location.
Best Investments: Good and various TAPE.
Neon paper tape for labels and markers, both white and black gaff tape, matte and gloss scotch tape, aluminum aircraft tape for use as tiny reflectors, etc
Colorchecker Passport because I’m slightly colourblind. Absolutely critical for me. Yes it’s £100 for a piece of plastic, but it saves me hours and hours of work / uncertainty.
The Rock’n’Roller Cart was definitely the best investment! It’s an investment in my own physical health and just looks so much more professional for Clients than carrying a bunch of bags and cases by hand
Agreed, looking after your long term health and looking professional in front of your clients are two critical factors!
The best advice type video made. Totally appropriate and relevant to anyone.
Clamps. Big clamps, small clamps, bull clamps, paper clamps, industrial size clamps. Clamps. You will never regret buying a clamp.
Best investment I’ve ever made is no doubt a Foba saloon stand bought second hand. Cost me a grand, weighs 175kg and is rock f******* solid. Paired with a really right stuff focus plate and you have the most solid focus stacking rig ever
Absolutely love my Foba.
I have to agree, the one I use must at least 30 years old, it's built like a tank and is perfectly balanced. I love it.
This is kind of tough to answer, but I would have to include as one of the best investments I have made in my photography, as my Manfrotto 058 tripod with horizontal attachment. This thing as you know is a beast and with the horizontal rail gives me so much more stability and flexibility in shooting all kinds of table mounted product. And yes, I did buy the tripod 2nd hand. Around here it retails for about $800 and I grabbed it for $400. Coupled with a sturdy ballhead this is perfect for my needs.
Agree on the studio stand. I was lucky enough to obtain an Inka 2m stand with 2 heads (one a geared head and the other a Foba 3-way) for an obscenely low amount from a commercial photographer who was emigrating and couldn't take it with him. For overhead work this thing is unbeatable. I will never part with it!
Have just spent lock down pretty much doing all of the things you just sighted, except I went for a a cambo. But not the label maker, think that he brilliant thank you.
The only piece of advice I could give back, would be to invest in learning active listening. The act of actually really listening to a customer and actively working towards finding out what they actually want and not necessarily what they think they want has changed my business beyond measure, But then I am a portrait photographer. But in the small amount of commercial work I do for fun it has been a massive improvement too.
Totally agree regarding the label, having several different cameras results in different batteries and the labels make it easier to pick up the right ones.....
I concur on labeling things, although I prefer the P-Touch type. They're flat, not embossed, the plastic is much thinner so they cling on uneven surfaces, and you get get tape in various background/type color combinations.
A good investment (sort of) of mine: I have the same number of chargers as I do camera batteries. if needed I can be charging all of them at the same time, and I usually carry a charger in my bag too. Related to this, I have an aluminum plate that I attached a label to that reads "Batteries, dumb ass." Whenever I have my batteries charging that plate sits inside my bag on top of everything else, although I generally always keep some charged batteries in the bag despite having enough chargers.
Thats a great idea re battery to charger number! Would have been really useful in my wedding days
The two biggest revolutions in my work have been when I started shooting tethered and when I started using a colour checker, so a proper tethertools cable and the xrite colour checker passport are my nominations!
Yeah these tools are game changers
I have 2 Cambo’s and a Foba in our studio - all came in just below the grand mark each, could not do our work without them. We had a Manfrotto Super Salon, found the locking mechanism very clumsy. If you’re prepared to play the waitiy game - you can pick up a bargain on eBay though. Look out for slightly left field options - I recently picked up a Fatif 9ft stand for 90 quid.
Hell $200 is $200!!! I'd love to make $200 extra a month right now. I love how you're down to earth and not about the latest and greatest gear. As you asked in the video my greatest investments so far have been education and learning and upgrading from crop sensor to full frame. I saved and got a 6D mark 2 and I love it.
This is such a great video! I really relate to the investing in test shooting. Especially if it contains a new method or lighting set up! The when I'm on an actual shoot, I'm practiced and confident! In terms of my best investment...... my best cheapest investment is a diffuser... about £15 and the difference in how a shot can look..... I don't think you can get more bang for your buck!! Keep up the awesome content!
Great video. I agree with all of your notes. Education is so much more important than gear. In person seminars and online education are both worthwhile. Self assignments and passion projects also huge opportunities for growth. Gear that saves your back is worth the money. Think tank with wheels. Rock'n'Roller cart. Hold Fast double camera strap. I like buying gear that pays for itself. My 24-70 mm f2.8 is a good little soldier. So is the 70-200 mm f2.8. I got some Profoto D1 strobes used that have been good earners. Right now, shifting from 5D mark iv and 1DX mark ii to mirrorless is NOT a good investment. I'm shooting a Feisol tripod that is great. Recently I needed more height. I looked at what was for sale then built a rig for my stepladder. It works perfectly and was built from materials on hand. Thank you for your videos, I enjoy them.
Enjoying your content Scott. What about your flashes? I haven't taken the jump yet, but scary to think how much Ive paid to the gear rental houses over the years hiring lights each time I shoot or test.
Didn't see that one coming, i had just sorted out studio mess so I might as well go crazy with label machine :D
Best investment would be my lights, bought them second hand years ago and the freedom they give Instead of waiting to have the right sort of light available (I live in Scotland 😂 we don’t have much light available often) means being able to shoot whenever I want. I couldn’t get half as much work done without them. It may seem like an obvious thing but it’s something a lot of people don’t bother investing in.
I am looking to upgrade my lighting though 🤭 finally.
Dymo is old school, but it works.
Yeah really simple design
USB Two battery charger, best kit ever for a location shooter. Inexpensive and keeps you shooting. I keep one in the car so I can always be charging.
Love the video!!
One quick question,
if you want to do a test shoot you pay the foodstylist or anyone who is involved in the shoot?
Thanks a lot!
Absolutely best investment are my EIZO CG range Monitors. Saved me so much time and money because of being able to see details invisible on other screens.
Off camera Flash
Macro lenses
C stands
I appreciate you.
Has the dymo label machine got a label on it
Cool video :) Your tripods are older than you - well you are not that old really :) my tripods are my age ;)
best investment was my leica got me shooting again , ill health put pay the my photography dream plus its worth 400 more than i paid
I literally clapped at the computer screen
Waiting...
What are those little stands in 0:55 sec?