Fred Levy - Photography

My Instagram process saves files

Fred — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:10:36 +0000

Instagram is now the billion dollar tool of Facebook. That's a world I'll never fully understand but I do know and love to use Instagram. I'm wasn't an early adopter of it because I didn't want to be limited to the square format. But, I'm a long time (old school medium format) fan of the square though for many years so once I tried it out, played with the filters and connected it to my whole social networked world, it became my primary iPhone tool.

But I'm not giving up any of my photos by using Instagram. That is because I don't shoot with Instagram. I shoot with my iphone camera app to be able to shoot both in standard and HDR format to give me the most flexibility in my choices. Then I'll open up the instagram app and pick one of the photos out of my picture library. That way, every image that I edit in instagram and upload, end up in my photo library the same time it uploads to the instagram network and to all my social networks.

The important thing to note is because I don't always upload my photos where I shoot them so if I'm going to geo-tag the image, I have to set that myself. The geo-tag happens at the upload time so if I'm not uploading at the time I took the photo, it might be way off.

This gives me the best option for any future work with these images. I have the full res file I can use to promote or edit once I get them back to my main computer. To see what I've been shooting, you can fallow my Tumbr account here.

Family outing

Fred — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 02:12:55 +0000

The past few weekends have been all about family outings. Between Easter and Patriots day, we've had some good options to go out and have family days. I love it because it's the few times durring the week where I can spend some quality time with my boys. It's amazing how fast they grow. Everyday seems like a new moment and trying to capture all of them sometimes feels like a full time job. This is something I so wish I could do. Well, some dogs and other animals every once in a while to keep it interesting too. I always love being behind the camera so really, any chance I get is great for me. If it's an opportunity to spend time with my family, then bring it on.

Welcome back Red Sox to Fenway Park

Fred — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:07:14 +0000

About a month ago, I worked with the Marketing department at Lesley University to promote The Art Institute of Boston (AIB). It all started with an idea of doing something for a billboard campaign that will be on the local highways. Well, this opportunity to do an add in a 100 year commemorative program for Fenway Park and the Red Sox that will be available all season at Fenway Park dropped into our laps with only 3 days to come up with an idea, shoot and design it. The good thing is that we had a weekend to pull all the resources and get it to the studio at AIB. It was also spring break so the building was empty of students and we could take over the room for 2 days. Between me and four other people, we pulled off building this object and creating a pretty cool shot of it. The design for the ad was completed by a student, Colton Barber. I'm really happy how it turned out but just don't know where to put it in my portfolio. No dogs or people were photographed and I've got no big plans to do more like this. I am working on more promotion for AIB because they have a image problem they are hoping to change. Many people think of that other for-profit art school when people hear about AIB so Lesley is working hard to change that. The core of what I'm really doing with this group though isn't so much photography but branding. The AIB Logo is easy to place into many different forms as a square, so I've been designing shots like this one where the logo is built out of other objects. The billboard ideas are heading down that same line.

Since today is the home opener, I figured I'd post this. Go Red Sox! Happy Birthday to Fenway Park.

Sony, You’ve been thrown a softball, now hit it out of the park.

Fred — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:47:40 +0000

I’m a canon shooter and have been since my first A-1 camera. When Canon announced the new 5D Mark iii, I was super excited and didn’t (at first) even mind too much about the HUGE price increase for the new camera. I’m currently shooting with the first 5D and still get amazing photos but know that for the work I want to do, the bigger file, faster focus and even the video options will be very important to my growth as a photographer and add value to my business.

But in the back of my mind, bumping the price up by almost 1/3 of the Mark ii seems like a big jump. Nikon has the new D800 and I’m sure it is great but I’d have to upgrade my computer and storage drives to be able to deal with that giant file it creates, so jumping ship over to Nikon is a much bigger investment beyond just the great new camera and lenses.

So where is Sony in all of this? They have been trying to make inroads in the camera world and to their credit, they have created some really smart cameras. Both DSLR and 4/3 camera body have been getting a lot of praise but as Sony may have noticed, brand loyalty is really strong in the camera worlds. What I’m seeing, (as I am waiting for my Canon 5D Mark iii to arrive) is there is a huge opportunity for Sony to fit themselves in to those Canon and Nikon shooters who want to upgrade to a better shooting system. Based on B&H’s website, the a900 is discontinued and they don’t have any other full frame cameras available right now (though from Sony.com, they say they are in stock).

For me, having access to a full frame sensor and good glass is what many professional photographers really need. Fast focus, shooting video, high ISO and all the other bells and whistles we’ve come to expect in cameras, Sony can do and has really pushed the envelope on what is possible. They work with Zeiss lenses which have a history of being the top lens makers in the world. Sony has been given a easy pitch from both Canon and Nikon to bring out a really amazing professional level DSLR at a price point that could make people (like myself) sell off all my gear and move over to Sony. Bring out a full frame DSLR with the really smart focusing system, fast frame rate and video capability Sony is already known for, and I bet there will be more then a few converts to Sony.

There is a narrow window for me though. I need to work and want the better gear so if Sony doesn’t announce something soon, I’ll get my Mark iii and put my loyalty blinders back on for the next 3 years.

Keeping creative every day

Fred — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 01:37:36 +0000

The beauty of today’s technology though, the iPhone has become my go-to camera. The first cell phone I got was because it had a camera in it and even though the quality was really low, I found ways to make fun photos that I shared on flickr. Now with that I’ve immersed myself in this new technology with smart phones that have better cameras I’ve been able to take some great photos that are even worthy of hanging on the wall. But it isn’t because of the camera alone. The software is a key part of the process. The MANY different apps available for editing and sharing photos have exploded and many are great. My first photos I took with my iphone were okay but needed some real post processing. When Adobe came out with PS Express App, that really opened up my creative process to make photos I didn’t just share but built a whole blog around. Using the Tumblr app, I can take those edited photos and upload them right to my tumblr page and share them with all the other cool Tumblr users out their. I use to just use the Flickr app but I wanted to make something unique out of those photos. I ended up taking all those photos and creating a myPublisher book out of them that turned our better then I expected. The App though that has gotten the biggest following is probably instagram. This app limits the image to be square but gives you all kinds of “film style” looks to your photos in the same way plastic cameras are still so popular today with photographers. I was slow to get into that but because it also offers a option to share images with other creatives, and I’ve been able to follow some really interesting people, I started using instagram to edit much of my photos. The new app from Smugmug, Awesome Camera, has been getting lots of buzz in the photo world too and it does have a ton of features that I would use if I wasn’t so set on what I do. It works really well as both a image capture and editing program in one. I don’t work like that though and even though I could use it to just edit, I’m content for now to edit the way I’ve been.

Ginger and Stella

Fred — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:48:13 +0000

Talk about having the life. These two dogs have the life of love and comfort. Like many rescue dogs, their lives didn’t start out like that but they survived. Ginger is only about a year old and the bulldog who was found on the streets after having a litter of puppies. Stella is 6 years old and blind with aggression issues though you’d never know it. Their owners have the biggest heart and are very involved in may different rescues. Part of the reason they ended up in my studio was because they won a raffle at the Cocker Spaniel Rescue over a year ago. They did contact me soon after that but because of one reason or another, she never got back in touch with me. A year later, I ended up going though some old emails and found that she never turned in her gift card so I sent her one more email letting her know I’m still available. Since then, their previous dog passed away but they adopted Ginger since. We talked about ideas of what kind of photos would work and since Stella is blind and Ginger is new, a in studio shot was the best option. I’m really happy with the photos and so where they. Both dogs were great in front of the camera but I think Ginger really loved hamming it up in front of the camera.

Ginger and Stella

View photos at SmugMug

Byron the Great

Fred — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:09:56 +0000

I had the honor of photographing Byron, a 14 year old Beagle. He’s a handsome little man who’s mom just loves him. We decided that we were going to try a few different photo ideas and we took photos both in studio and out at the park. Byron was a real trouper. He’s on kemo right now so he’s not the spunky pup he use to be but with treats and a little encouragement, he’d stay on the studio platform for a short time. He was a little tired and in a strange place with this strange guy putting a camera in his face and flash bulbs going off. In the end though, I think we got some really nice photos of him. Some are very portrait like and others are more artsy (which I love). Some I formatted to be square because I know that once printed and framed it will look great on the wall. I feel I captured his youth as well as his age in the photos. I’m sure Byron’s mom will be very happy with them. I know I am.

Byron Gallery

Byron the Beagle photo shoot

View photos at SmugMug

Isaac makes the cover of the video

Fred — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:44:07 +0000

Let the Promotions Begin

Fred — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:29:17 +0000

I'm working on continued promotions for the new year. I've been working with Agency Access to create a great promotional package for me and send out to their HUGE database. This image is the first one to go out. I'm really happy with it. I've also started trying other options to get my name out to the masses. I'm trying a Facebook ad for the month of January. I like how it can target just the people who are interested in what I do; photography and pets. My next goal is to work on an add through Buddy Dog Humane Society. They've got a news letter that goes out to about 8000 people. It is a good direction for me and targeted right to the people I'm most interested in. If nothing pans out from that, well, at least I'm supporting a great location. I'm also thinking of doing a small "ad" with a podcast I follow called Digital Photography Cafe. This past year I've listened to a few different podcasts about photography. Some are about how to shoot and others are about the business. Many touch on both. I've just started listening to Digital Photography Cafe and have found their information very helpful. They go into some details without being preachy or worse, CORNY. For a small fee, I could get a shout out from them. One of my goals for the year is getting in touch with more photographers and that is the main audience for them. Plus, I like what they do so supporting them is never a bad thing. I just hope that all that money that goes out causes some to come back in. I really want to be getting paid for what I love to do.

Setting goals for the new year

Fred — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:44:06 +0000

I've got some lofty goals for the next year. I hope that I can reach them but I know that I've got the support that I need to make them happen. Last year was all about learning what I need to know to successfully run a business. This year is all about putting them into action. I've got some serious marketing campaigns starting this month that I'm super excited about. I'm thinking about promotions that I can do that will both support me plus support the people and companies that I work with. I also have more plans for my dog park book project that I dream about but still haven't gotten beyond the blog world. All that, plus teaching, tech stuff and spending as much time with the family is going to make for one great year.

A few things I hope to do this year are:

Spend more time with other photographers
blog every week. (Multiple times if possible but at least once a week)
start interviewing people for my book project.
Get professional help for the business where it's needed.
help others as much as I can.

If all these things come together, I know I can start working on better projects and create some even greater work.