BeckerBiz — Larry's business blog

Some professional photographers who have migrated to digital from film, somehow think that Photoshop modifications are “cheating” or make things “too easy.” These are the same people who really don’t have a big problem with shooters who spent a lot of time in the old chemical darkrooms. For the record, Ansel Adams spent quite a [...]

This is another in a series on looking like a pro. Today’s focus is on the gear you use, especially in front of clients and applies to both photographers and designers. You’ve heard lots of pros suggest that ‘it’s not the gear that makes a great photographer (or designer), it’s the vision and the skills.’ [...]

Adobe (and other software companies) have research that suggests a large number of customers usually skip an upgrade option now and then. In fact, just about every time there has been an upgrade available for Photoshop, I’ve personally received emails asking NAPP to please keep teaching stuff that will work on the previous version. Truth [...]

There’s no question that Photoshop CS5 is an absolutely huge release and with more than 100 improvements to the software, it will have an enormous impact on the photographic community! Last Monday was Adobe’s official announcement and at the office we spent all week producing 2, 1-hour long, live webcasts each day! Now, these weren’t [...]

I’ve always known that having a model release was necessary if I planned to sell a photo to a magazine, but lots of people just have a verbal agreement with their models for all kinds of things like company pictures (where the company plans to use the images for publicity), stock photography, or even pictures [...]

One of the things that keeps people from selling their (design/photography/freelance) services, is a lack of confidence. If you think you have a reason to lack confidence as a photographer, try working at my office. I’m surrounded by people who teach the pros how to be better photographers. Our designers set the bar for designers [...]

Adobe Photoshop turns 20 Thursday and Adobe’s throwing a party. The tickets are all sold but you can watch it online as it happens. Scott covered it pretty completely on his blog here, complete with links to the official webcast page. It’s sure to be a blast, complete with entertainment and Photoshop training from the [...]

Sales opportunities come out of thin air sometimes and if you’re ready for it, you might just get the sale. You run into people all the time, and if you’re instantly ready with a strong portfolio, you might just get a job or two you would otherwise never hear about. In Business, There’s No Such [...]

One of the things I regularly encourage small business people and freelancers to do is to look for partners in their marketing efforts who are in a parallel business and who would benefit from a partnership. For example, if you have a restaurant with some low calorie, low carb items on your menu, it might [...]

One of the things people tell me they like about this blog is my tips for “street-smart” small business marketing (my friends call it guerrilla marketing but that term is trademarked) and the way I see potential markets. In fact, one of the readers of my blog works where I do at Kelby Media Group [...]