Mike Kelley (Page 4) | Architectural Photography Almanac

The Emotional Rollercoaster of Professional Photography

by Mike Kelley

For the last four or five years, I have tried to produce one annual workshop for aspiring architecture and interior photographers. While I hope that they are technically helpful and the students come away with new skills and knowledge, one thing that I’ve noticed is that every year each workshop inevitably transforms into a session of group therapy for all involved.It’s

Leofoto Announces G2 Geared Head; Sets Sights Squarely on Arca Swiss

by Mike Kelley

I never thought I’d type the words “competition heats up in tiny geared head market” but alas, competition is heating up in the tiny geared head market. In a space that has been dominated by Manfrotto and Arca Swiss for, as far as I can tell, decades, new competitors are beginning to pop up – one of which is Chinese company LeoFoto, who recently announced their G2 geared head which seems to be a direct shot across the bow of Arca Swiss.The

How to Raise Your Rates While Mitigating Risk as a Photographer

by Mike Kelley

In order to grow your photography business, you must constantly be re-assessing and re-evaluating how you are doing business. One integral part of your business is how you price your services and capabilities; doing this incorrectly and undervaluing or overvaluing what you provide can be your downfall as a professional.

Arca Swiss Announces Core 75 Leveler; Perhaps The Perfect Mid-Sized Geared Head

by Mike Kelley

Anybody who photographs buildings knows about geared heads; they are simply the foundation upon which we build our images. For as long as I’ve been a photographer, Arca Swiss has set the gold standard in high quality geared heads and they recently announced an addition to their lineup: The Core 75 Leveler, which appears to slot nicely between the C1 Cube and Core 60 Leveler.Until

How To Report And Remove Intellectual Property Theft on Instagram – 2019 Edition

by Mike Kelley

You’re having a great day, birds are chirping, sun is shining, life is good… Until you come across someone, or something, using one of your images without even the courtesy of credit. I’ve had enough, and I’m sure if you’re reading this, you’ve also had enough, so I’m going to show you how to get stolen and uncredited content removed from instagram.Before

Ask Appy: Now I Am Become Death, the Destroyer of Drones

by Mike Kelley

MM Asks: What does your “typical” day look like?MK: There is not really any ‘typical’ day. I shoot probably 1-4 local gigs a month (LA) and then usually do one bigger travel job every month. I divide my life into two kinds of days…days where I set an alarm (flights or shooting) and days when I don’t, hah!

A Simple $3.99 Fix To Help Improve Your Styling Prowess

by Mike Kelley

Styling and propping is important for every architectural photo, and as anyone who’s photographed on location knows, some things are out of our control – such as the weather, the wind, the quality of construction, and the angle at which doors are installed.

How to Make More Money with Cost-Sharing

by Mike Kelley

Cost-sharing is a common business practice in architecture and interiors photography that allows the photographer to make more money by providing more clients access to project images for less money. It may sound counterintuitive at first, but can be a simple way to create happier clients while significantly improving profit margins with little additional overhead.Why

Photo Credit: The Eternal Struggle Of Credit Where It’s Due

by Mike Kelley

The photo credit is an important, yet sometimes elusive, piece of the professional architecture photographer pie. With the speed at which the photography landscape is changing, there are varying standards for getting photo credit in almost every situation.

Landing That One ‘Dream Job’ Won’t Change Your Career

by Mike Kelley

I’ve lost count of how many times I thought that one dream job that I finally landed would steer my career in some lofty direction. This, finally, would show those top designers/architects/hotel marketing people that I can handle photographing a museum, church, multi-million dollar mansion, design icon skyscraper, or whatever shiny object was the object of my affection that day.I’ve

RSS Feed Now Available On APAlmanac

by Mike Kelley

We have received dozens of emails requesting this feature and I am happy to report that it has been enabled on our website. Check out the footer (scroll all the way down) to subscribe to the RSS feed and add APA to your Feedly, Inoreader, or other RSS news app of your choice.

Dear Overseas Retouchers: Stop The Email Nonsense, I Will Help You Get Hired

by Mike Kelley

I get multiple emails every day from retouchers looking to work with me; most of them are based in Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, etc. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and they serve a need in the market for inexpensive high-volume retouching.

Dear Appy: Nightmare Clients, Taking Control, and Simple Billing

by Mike Kelley

MW asks: Have you ever had a client that micromanages to the point where they say “take the photo from exactly right here and make sure you get everything I took in this iPhone picture for reference”? If so, how have you dealt with working in that situation?

One Of The Fastest Ways To Become a Better Photographer

by Mike Kelley

Sorry, I'm clickbaiting you here. There are a few oft-repeated phrases that will help you to "become a better photographer." These platitudes include things such as placing yourself in more interesting situations, concerning yourself (a true master, of course) with the qualities of light rather than gear, slowing down to make better photographs, speeding up to make better photographs, and on and on. I'm here to tell you that the single most important thing is...

Rendered Images Disqualify Project From Final Stage of Dezeen Awards

by Mike Kelley

In the ongoing discussion of renders vs. reality, a very keen-eyed Dezeen viewer noticed that a shortlisted project for the 2019 Dezeen Awards was actually a render, not a photo. As renders improve more and more every day, is this something that will begin to permeate architecture awards and photography contests?The

What’s Your Excuse for Not Mastering the Pen Tool?

by Mike Kelley

It’s 2019, y’all. There is no excuse for not knowing how to use the pen tool in Photoshop. It’s an absolutely essential part of any retouching workflow for architecture photographers and I still know lots of people who struggle with it, even though it’s as easy as pie.

The Best Time of Day, Protecting Your Intellectual Property, Purposefully Not Shooting The View

by Mike Kelley

NC Asks: If a company never paid me and is using my image, how can I prove that I took the image and how do I decide how much to charge them for each image that they illegally used?The easiest way to do this (in the United States, at least) is to register your images with the US Copyright Office as soon as is reasonably feasible.

Which Tilt-Shift Lens Should I Buy?

by Mike Kelley

This is one of the most frequently asked questions I receive and the answer is rather simple. Yes, you should buy them. All of them. No, it doesn’t matter which one you start with. You’ll see soon enough that you need them all.

In-Depth Critique Of Professional Architecture Photography

by Mike Kelley

A few weeks ago I met up with the guys from Fstoppers and we released a ‘Critique The Community‘ video focusing on real estate and some architecture photography. For that video, Fstoppers readers submitted images and Patrick Hall and myself sat down and rated them.

Staying On Top of Current Architectural Photography Trends with Rob van Esch

by Mike Kelley

What do clothing, music, cars, houses, and architectural photography have in common? They all go through trends; many of them arguably cyclical in nature. Rob van Esch is an experienced architectural photographer based in Amsterdam who recently created the e-book “Trends in Architectural Photography” which focuses on the recent shifts in the way architecture is photographed.In