How often you format your memory cards is personal choice.  Personally, I tend to do this when preparing my kit before each assignment.  If I’m simply taking photos for myself then I tend not to bother doing it each time, but what I don’t want to happen when working with clients is for my card to slow down, become full way before it should because of the amount of unseen storage space being occupied or worse, failing altogether. 

Assignments can be stressful enough, it doesn’t matter whether it’s your first one or your one hundredth, your reputation is everything, so don’t let something as basic as not formatting your memory cards damage that. 

 Be Creative. Be Inspired. Be You.

@GaryFernon

Why should you be documenting your day.

Because we’ve been doing it for years.

Because without photography, there is no history.

Showcasing your working environment forms that unconscious attachment with a client.  The moment they step through your door, they already feel familiar with their surroundings, because they recognise it, even if it’s the first time they've stepped foot through the door, they already feel comfortable. 

If you’re a creative who works from home, showing your work environment may not fit this narrative.  This is ok, there are still aspects of what you do that you should showcase.  Possibly a time-lapse of you editing a video or a photograph.  An insight of the process you go through to achieve the end result.  Behind the scenes photos or short videos can be really impactive.

This, is the power, of documenting your day.

BE CREATIVE. BE INSPIRED. BE YOU.

LINKS:

https://linktr.ee/garyfernon

@GaryFernon

Like a lot of people, at the beginning of the New Year I set out what I would like to achieve during 2023, not resolutions, as lets be honest, how many of us actually stick to the resolutions we set ourselves? No, I set goals.

I only have to look at the content list I created at the beginning of the year to see the reality of just how distracted I’ve become during the first three months of 2023.  

So it’s time to reset, realign my focus, and push myself to my limits, after all, it is through constantly pushing our own boundaries that we develop our skills and become better at what we do.

Listen to the episode to discover what you can expect from this podcast moving forward.

LINKS:

e: [email protected]

Twitter - @GaryFernon

Creative Community on FB

When starting out upon your creative journey it’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to try everything and buying the best equipment before you identify the niche that you will focus on. We all do it, so don’t think you’re alone in this.

If you’re just starting out, my advice would be to restrain yourself from doing so. There are some great deals out there for starter packs that you can get your teeth into and hone your skill set.

However, if you’re producing video content, the one thing I would suggest that goes against this grain is invest in a good microphone.

LINK

https://rode.com/en/microphones/studio-condenser/nt1a

Be Creative. Be Inspired. Be You.

@GaryFernon

E: [email protected]

https://linktr.ee/garyfernon

Everything you are. In one simple link. Join over 30M people and share everything you create, curate and sell online. All from the one link in bio.

Recently I’ve been introduced to Linktree, a one stop shop if you will, to navigate your viewers to all of your links, be that your website, social media pages of merchandise stores. But what is Linktree, and what does it cost?

Listen to this episode to find out.

LINKS

https://linktr.ee/s/pricing/

https://linktr.ee/garyfernon

Be Creative. Be Inspired. Be You.

@GaryFernon

E: [email protected]

From photographer to model to photojournalist, Lee Miller will be played by Kate Winslet on the big screen. But who is Lee Miller?

You can check out the Lee Miller Archives account on Instagram that pays homage to the late photographers' incredibly important work.

So why am I talking to you about this?

My reason for bringing this to you is not only to celebrate women in a predominantly male dominated profession, but also to bring awareness of my project, “Breaking Stereotypes”.

Breaking Stereotypes is a project I began in order to celebrate women who are working within what are stereotypically perceived to be male dominated professions.

The project looks to expose that woman are equally as capable as their male counterpart, and I’m always looking for those who would be happy to share their experiences. You can always get in touch with me by leaving a comment, or tweet me @GaryFernon

Until next time my friends, Be Creative. Be Inspired. Be You.

@GaryFernon

Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Miller

Lee Miller Archives

https://www.leemiller.co.uk

BE CREATIVE. BE INSPIRED. BE YOU.

I recently discovered MidJourneyAi, an independent research lab exploring new mediums of thought and expanding the imaginative powers of the human species. They are a small self-funded team focused on design, human infrastructure, and AI.

And quite frankly I’ve been having a lot of fun messing about with it.

Despite the outrage by some, I believe that AI is most definitely going to be a part of our future, how it is going to be best used remains to be seen, however from the brief time I’ve been playing with it I can see it already has the potential to have a broad landscape. How we use it is really up to us, but to dismiss it, I think is naive. For those who believe this is something that is fake and feel threatened by it taking your livelihood, I would say this. In order to remain current you must adapt and evolve to the changes around you. Don’t simply ignore this advancement, instead embrace it to enhance your skillset, it is after all just another tool available to us, enabling us to take a vision and produce something tangible.

There are however other systems available such as,

I’d love to hear your experiences of having used this technology, which you can do by either leaving a comment or tweeting me @GaryFernon

Until next time, Be Creative. Be Inspired. Be You.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midjourney

https://www.midjourney.com/home/?callbackUrl=%2Fapp%2F

With the cold weather you would have noticed that your batteries probably aren’t holding their charge as long as they do during the other three seasons.

What if I told you there is a way to keep powered up in cold conditions.

This is exactly what the ProCube2 from Hahnel offers.

In this episode I take a look at the features of this extreme battery from Hahnel.

I’d be interested to know if this is a product you’d consider adding to your kit bag, so let me know in the comments, or tweet me @GaryFernon.

Until the next time, Be Creative. Be Inspired. Be You.

LINKS:

https://www.hahnel.ie

https://www.hahnel.ie/li-ion-battery-chargers

In November’s main headlines.

HOW TO WORK OUT YOUR HOURLY RATE in 3 STEPS:

Join like minded creative’s at the Creative Community

The best photo-editing laptops for photographers in 2022

What are the top 5 free and paid video / photo apps

LINKS

Creative Community

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/260853604466712

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8833844/

The best photo-editing laptops for photographers in 2022, as compiled by Digital Camera World, from 1 to 12,

Competitions

The CEWE Photo Award - https://www.cewe.co.uk/cewe-photo-award.html

International Portrait Photographer Of The Year www.internationalportraitphotographer.com

Sony World Photography Awards 2023, meet the judges https://www.worldphoto.org/2023-judges

Be Creative. Be Inspired. Be You.

Before we look at the list we have to ask ourselves 2 questions.

Here are 5 things to consider before making that decision.

1. Screen quality matters

Choose a screen that has IPS display tech. IPS monitors or “In-Plane Switching” monitors, leverage liquid crystals aligned in parallel to produce rich colors.

2. Speedy storage

An SSD (solid state drive) is a must in any new laptop. 512GB is a minimum if you’re working with 4K video.

3. Graphic novelty

Dedicated graphics cards are great for gaming, but they’re not a necessity for photo editing. Today’s processors can more than adequately deliver for photo editing. However, if you edit video as well, then you may wish to consider a graphics card as this will only improve the experience.

4. Which processor (CPU)?

Typically, laptop and desktop chips have two or four cores (known as dual-core and quad-core). Some newer models have six and even eight. The more cores, the better, because it allows your computer to run multiple tasks at the same time without slowing down.

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/laptops/article/intel-processors-explained-what-is-core-i3-i5-i7-and-pentium-av6235O66IQP

5. Mac or PC?

This is very much a marmite subject. You’re either a Mac or a PC.

What laptop do you use or recommend, and why? Let me know in the comments or you can tweet me @GaryFernon.

Until next time, Be Creative, Be Inspired, Be You.