Here’s a few I recommend and why they’re on my bookshelf.

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson - In my opinion, every first time camera purchase should automatically come with a copy of this book. It’s the quintessential read (other than the manual that came with your camera – go read it if you haven’t!) to understanding the principles of aperture, shutter speed and ISO in achieving an exposure. No other book illustrates it all quite as well. This newer version incorporates techniques for both digital and film. I first purchased the film only version of this book when I was 16 and took a semester of high school photography. When I picked up a camera again seven years later it was invaluable in acquainting me with the principles of photography once again. Peterson put out another companion book solely focused on Understanding Digital Photography. I’d recommend grabbing it as well.

Photo Trekking by Nick Onken – Nick is one of my favorite photographers so its probably no surprise this book is up there on my recommended reading list. His book focuses on travel photography, from photo tips to pre and post production to personal branding and inserts on little stories from his own travels. What I’ve found great about it is that it has a little something in there for both beginners and more advanced photographers. An entire section is devoted to tips for taking great travel photographs that beginners will love (and more advanced photogs that need a reminder). If you’re into lifestyle or travel photography it’s a great read on tips to streamline your trip from what to pack to considerations of production.

The Photographer’s Survival Guide and How to Succeed in Commercial Photography – Both of these books are written by leading commercial photo reps and consultants and contain a wealth of advice on common business practices of the commercial photographer. If this world of photography appeals to you, these are two must read books. However, there’s some great common themes that easily translate into retail photography (weddings, families, etc). In the Photographer’s Survival Guide, Amanda Sosa Stone and Suzanne Sease review such critical elements of commercial photography as establishing a unique visual style, marketing, website and portfolio presentation, bidding jobs and production. I’d consider it THE basic primer on successful business practices. The bonus is that it’s filled with photos, diagrams and remarkably easy to read and follow text. In addition, the book contains a CD with 21 essential forms such as model releases, invoice forms and call sheets.

Selina Maitreya is thought of as one of the original photography consultants, and she’s helped hundreds of photographers find their voice and improve their business practices. In How to Succeed in Commercial Photography she speaks to many of the same principles found in Stone’s and Sease’s book, but from a bit more of a general perspective that is both motivational and enlightening. The two authors differ on a few things, but mostly agree. There’s a better look in this book at what goes into a good team and specific examples on building a vision from photographer profiles. What I found really great were the last two chapters. Packed full of inspirational stories and thoughts. They leave you with a real go-getter attitude. I actually found myself working much harder toward my goals after reading the book, even the dismally boring ones like accounting.

These last three books really hone down more on professional practices, profit and workflow. If you’re really still struggling with your technical skills, I’d recommend holding off on these few books. They are an in depth look at what it takes to create a sustainable business as a commercial photographer. The first is what might be called the manuscript on photography for profit – Focus on Profit by Tom Zimberhoff. I’m not sure if it’s regularly printed much anymore and I’ll admit I have yet to dive into this one, but it’s reputation is big. The other two, Professional Business Practices in Photography and Digital Photography Best Practices and Workflow Handbook come free with membership to the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). It’s a great organization where you can meet and network with many experienced professional photographers. Membership also includes a lot of really great benefits such as discounts on gear, Adobe software, computers, insurance, business services, websites, car rentals and more. I’ve easily made back what I spent on membership and more. The ability to network and learn from other local photographers is a huge boon. Consider it once you’ve gained a bit more proficiency and want to start learning the business side of this craft.

Lastly, if the commercial world really isn’t your goal, there’s a great packet put together by Stacy Reeves and a few other retail photographers on how to price weddings and portrait work. It’ll give you a great look into all the calculations that really go into a wedding and why charging $500 for one is ridiculously unsustainable. Hope this was helpful. If you have any other books that you really enjoy and would recommend, feel free to let me know on Facebook about them.

My own workflow and post production is very much still a work in progress. It’s something I’m constantly refining and I don’t profess to have it where I want it yet. In fact it’s likely my biggest weakness. However, since a few people have asked me to share I thought I’d put together this post on what I’m doing now. Because I consider my style clean and natural, all of it is geared toward simple touch-ups.

The first step after a photo shoot is to import all my images into Lightroom. I’ve played around a bit with Capture One as well, but Lightroom is my preferred choice for the moment. It’s a particularly easy to use and sort program and I definitely recommend it, even (perhaps especially) before purchasing Photoshop. On import, I keyword all the photos for future sorting, usually with at least the model’s name, agency they’re from, the client and a few project descriptions. I automatically apply an import setting for my camera which includes copyright information and a few settings, pretty much the default camera neutral with a slight bit of higher contrast added in. I like to start from a very basic slate and then adjust where necessary per image.

The first photo below is what an image will generally look like when I first import it into Lightroom. While ok on its own, there’s a few things to correct and I sometimes like to punch it up a bit more. I always check the histogram of each photo to see where blown highlights or black clippings may be. The giant blown hotspot on camera left is generally considered a no-no, but let’s skip that part for now. My first step is to make any minor exposure and white balance corrections that are needed. This is usually quick and can be copied across a set of multiple images if each is off say 1/10th to 1/3rd a stop.

For this photo, I added in a bit of recovery to reclaim some of the blown highlights and boosted the black levels pretty high (I believe around 25) to punch up those colors and take away some of the natural wash in the photo. I then added a bit more fill to take away some of that black while brightening the photo a tad, and uped the exposure just a bit. The black clipping is a bit strong in this photo, but I felt the light justified an extra bit of punch. What I like to do is make sure there are no empty edges on the histogram, bringing the black point up if needed so the bottom of the histogram meets the edge, or the exposure up if its short. These are really things you should be looking out for while taking the photo though to unsure you’re not over or underexposing the photo.

If you’re looking for a simple, “this is what you do to get a good photo,” you’re just not going to find it. Each image will require its own minor adjustments. The key is to trust what the histogram is telling you, and to follow the KISS principle. Learn to get it right in camera and you’ll always spend less time in front of the computer.

After going through a shoot set, deleting the photos I don’t like, applying a color selection to the ones I do for a second look and finally starring my favorites, I send to Photoshop. The only thing I will use Photoshop for is to occasionally remove a distracting background item and to clean up minor skin spots. Then I’ll sharpen and the image is ready to go.

Hope this is helpful. As I mentioned I like to keep my post-production very simple and fast. It’s really about getting it right in camera first and then making any minor adjustments you need.

Occasionally I am asked what kind of equipment I shoot with or what has helped me to develop my eye for an image.  First and foremost, I’m always advocating that the most valuable piece of equipment you will ever own as a photographer is the six inches of real estate in between your ears. Without a creative concept, the drive to be better and the attention to notice everything in the frame, no lens or body will ever make you the photographer you could be.

That being said, I do think there are certain lenses that can help develop an eye. I shoot exclusively with prime lenses – that’s fixed focal length lenses such as the 35mm and 50mm. These light, compact and super fast lenses have without question improved my photography. That’s because they’ve force me to use another piece of equipment most photographers tend to overlook – their feet. Without the ability to zoom, if I want to crop in closer or get extra environment in my photos, I’m forced to move to do it.

While moving back and forth I’ll often move into a frame or perspective I might have otherwise overlooked if all I had to do was zoom to get the crop I was looking for. I’ve found that’s a mistake a lot of photographers make. If they don’t immediately like what’s in front of them, they zoom in or out until they find a frame that’s agreeable, while completely overlooking the fact that if they moved a foot to the right or left they’d create a far more interesting angle. By being forced to move I have to carefully think about how I want to frame every image or sequence of images.

Don’t get me wrong, zoom lenses certainly have their uses, especially within dynamic environments like sports, wedding and event photography. Often times you simply don’t have the option to back up another foot to get the group of four smiling brides’ maids into the frame. But when you have full control over a commercial, editorial or lifestyle session, I believe prime lenses are the way to go.

Added benefits of the prime lenses are their size. Small and light they are easy to carry around for hours and are very unobtrusive. They’re fast focusing for action sequences with the capability to open up to very shallow depths of field for selective focal points. What focal length you choose depends how compressed you want your image. Wide angle lenses like the 35mm are great for lifestyle action, while the 85mm is an ideal portrait lens.

Whether you’re a beginner looking to find new perspectives or a veteran stuck in the same boring angles and crops every session, I highly recommend going out and picking up a prime lens. They’re an affordable way to reinvigorate your photographic eye – or take it to the next level.