Blog Posts

Cleaning Out My Closet

Like most photographers I sit with a huge “closet” full of pictures.  Every time I do a shoot, I end up using less than 10% of my images.  These images are edited and given to clients, the rest stay on my computer for maybe one day when someone asks me to look back for a picture.  For normal shoots I usually delete the images that I cannot use, but for the surfing shoots that I do voluntarily at the beach, I keep. Well, needless to say I run out of storage space very quickly so I decided today is the day that I am cleaning out my closet. If you as me if I shoot in RAW or Jpeg, some people might be surprised that I shoot 99% of the times in jpeg.  And the reason for this is exactly what I have described above.  I just cannot store so many pictures anymore and RAW files are even worse.  It does occasionally happen that people ask me to go back and find images for them, which I normally do.  Usually they don’t buy any of the images and that made me wonder. What is the most economical way to approach […]

Blog Posts

Shadowban

Very recently I wrote a piece on my facebook page about the manipulation of our followers on Instagram.  I noticed a steep drop in my follower growth which I first attributed to maybe reaching my limit in followers. This however had me wondering when someone offered me a  service to break this trend. I realized that I was not imagining this and that IG does actually have a way of manipulating what happens to your posts, your hashtags that you use and subsequently the engagement that you have with other users on the platform.  My first suspicion was that it is another way of making money because according to other sources as well, Instagram wants you to pay for people to see your posts. Especially if you have a business account. Today I stumbled across a website that actually gave it a name.  Shadowbanning.  It is obviously implemented by what the clever people call algorithms.   IG has the means of “blocking” your posts from appearing in the normal feeds and hashtags searches. It also means that new people might never see your posts at all making it impossible for you to gain more followers.  Today I am totally convinced that […]

Blog Posts

An i or and iPhone?

Just like Video killed the radio star we all know that digital killed film. Shooting with film was a skill not mastered by many.  I cannot even explain how hard it was because the closest I got to film was the 24 Kodak films from our point-and-shoot which we gave in to be developed after holiday seasons.  I didn’t know anything about film, I just knew that we should not open the film because then all the photos would be ruined, or that was what someone told me. Later I learned it had something to do with exposure, but that is basically where my knowledge on “shooting with film” ended. Then came digital photography and suddenly everyone could take pictures if you could afford a digital camera.  What was even worse was the day every cell phone manufacturer decided a phone should do more than one thing. Adding a camera seemed like the obvious thing a phone should be able to do. I cannot say that cell phones killed digital because they are also digital, but it definitely killed most photographers’ dreams of making a living out of photography. Now everyone was staking pictures and it got so bad that […]

Blog Posts

So(cial) Confused

Let’s face it, after simplifying my life two years ago I feel much better as a person, mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually, etc. I have however something that I still need to sort out.  I call it “social confusion” and often say that “I am so(cial) confused that I don’t know where is up or down anymore”.  I have have too many social media accounts. Period.  I created a blog for my travels, then created an Instagram account for my pictures, then a webpage for my business and another webpage for my other business. Then I created a facebook page for the one business and another one for the other business. After that I created two more IG profiles for other types of pics and as if that was not enough I created another blog for the wisdom I have accumulated over the years.  So after having a chat the other day with a friend over a glass of beer, he mentioned something about effective blogging and marketing.  I realized there and then that I have to sort out my own sh*t otherwise I am going to kill myself with the only thing I have not completely thrown out of my […]

Specials

September Surfing Photo Shoot Special

Cool, I have drastically reduced my surfing shoot prices for September to still get some good waves before the winter swells disappear. You don’t have to be a good surfer, but it would be good if you can catch a wave, so any level welcome. If you really suck then we just take a nice shot of you walking away like a real surfer in the sunset! Shoots are payable upfront for 90 min sessions at Big Bay or any other local beach here on the West Coast side, from Milnerton up to Melkbos. If you want to go further then you will have to cover travel costs and buy me lunch. Hope to catch you soon on some decent waves…

TFCD Shoot

TFCD Shoots – Ongoing!

Hi.  I am looking for non-professional models between the ages of 18 and 35.  I am offering a FREE (TFCD) photo shoot in order to expand my portrait portfolio, as well as capturing surfing lifestyle images for my @justasurferdude IG account.  My IG account is where I do most of my marketing and I need new faces to keep it alive.  I also need non-surfing images for my model portraits portfolio. Requirements: Any model between 18-35, male or female No modeling experience required, just a sense of humor and a smile. Any shape or size. Clothes of your own choice, beach, bohemian, anything creative, large hats, umbrella, etc. For IG shoot preferably a bikini, surfboards will be provided if you don’t have your own. Visit my IG account or Portraits to see kinds of photos I take. Where: Shoots are normally done at any beach between Dolphin Beach and Derdesteen, depending on weather. We will arrange beforehand. Time: Early morning or late afternoon, just before sunset, any day of the week. What’s in it for you? 20-25 professional hi-res watermarked images for you to use wherever you like. What’s in it for me? Another opportunity to practice and improve my […]