This is Part 2 of 2 of a guest blog post by Phil Mackenzie, a photographer based in Pennsylvania. You can find Part 1 here.

Lessons learned. (Stuff you should remember from the first part)

We examined the two of the most obvious features of music and images last time. There’s one more feature that sometimes even eclipses the first two. And we’ll also look at two more subtle, yet decidedly distinctive, elements of music that also have counterparts in photography. Let the beat go on!

Rhythm. (The Stuff That Drives the Universe)

Rhythm defines life. Your heart, your breath, the engine of a car, the turn of the earth, the orbit of the planets; they all exist and perpetuate their own rhythms. The world is a colossal mess of rhythm. As I write this, you can watch the legendary aerial photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s film Home on YouTube. It’s also airing on the National Geographic Channel in all of its HD glory. Try watching it without the sound. You’ll see rhythm with your eyes. Almost two hours of it. It’s amazing just how much rhythm life on its own. If you want an even more in-your-face film, there’s also the incredibly provocative collaboration called Koyaanisqatsi between filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and composer Philip Glass. Regardless of any artistic judgment of the music (Glass, like bagpipes, doesn’t have many indifferent listeners), the combination of the constant pulsing music against the rhythm of the visual imagery that merely depicts everyday events such as traffic patterns in a city or highway is enough to entrance you for quite some time.

Those examples, of course, are motion pictures. Their inherent rhythm comes from the differences between still each of the 24 still images that fly past you every second. By contrast, a photograph’s rhythm can only be based on one image and the patterns and light within the frame. So how can it possibly achieve the same effect?

In a song, if you took away the rhythm, the melody becomes merely an organized pattern of pitches. If you have any doubt about the power of a rhythm, just tell someone to tap out just the rhythm to the melody of a song without telling you what it is, and try to guess what it is, just from the rhythm. It’s easier than you might think. Try it a few times and you’ll see that rhythm is almost, if not equally, as distinctive and as identifiable as melody.

In a photograph, the visual rhythm is what makes your eye move around the image. Your composition, framing, whatever you want to call it. It’s all about controlling the path the eyes take around the photograph. This is easy to see in images of either abstract subject or repeating subjects, such as these:

Notice how your eye follows a fairly predictable pattern around the images. For instance, in this more abstract image, the human eye is generally drawn to the lighter areas of an image first. Your eye probably starts in the top third of the image, and then it’s easy to follow the line of the main object down to the bottom, then come back up around in a big circle, exploring the blurry background along the way.

The same patterns can be true of images involving people as well. As humans, we’re generally drawn to another face initially, then your eye moves around the image. For instance:

Your exact eye pattern might vary, but it probably started on her face, continued down her nicely lit hands and her right arm, back up to her shoulder, and back to her face. Instinctively darker areas tend to be given less visual priority. Certainly you might continue to examine those, but not until after your eyes have made the “light loop” from her face, down in a clockwise motion, and back up to her face again.

You have have also noticed that some images seem to make your eyes feel like they’re stuck in molasses, whereas others make your eyes dart around as if there’s no tomorrow. Both elements that we’ve discussed before (i.e. melody and harmony) have a great deal to do with the speed at which your eyes move through an image. A black-and-white, grainy image with a solitary gaze might make your eyes more considerate and willing to spend the extra time to examine every detail. This image by Seshu is a wonderful example of an image that will slow down your eyes:

Notice how he has evened up the contrast as well. Both areas of highly saturated color or sharp contrast can increase the visual rhythm. Scarlett Lillian’s work is highly color-rhythmic, as is a great deal of fashion photography. Just pick up an issue of Vogue or Marie Claire, or even Brides magazine. Those images are designed to excite you, and what better way than to make your eyes dart around areas of super-saturated color, bright highlight and dark shadows? More contrast, faster rhythm. Less contrast, slower rhythm. Neither one is better than the other, they all depend upon the mood you wish to convey in the image. Wedding photographers might not be able to consciously compose each image due to the mere volume of shots taken (I know I average well over 2500 images for a wedding), but you can begin to see what your natural visual rhythm is by examining your portfolio. Find the images you love and feel their rhythm with your eyes. Make sure they complement each other. Variety is the spice of life, but it’s important that your portfolio’s visual rhythm not contradict itself; a bright, snappy color-saturated image might seem out of place in the middle of an ocean of brooding black-and-white images.

Dynamics. (More Stuff That Sizzles)

Comparing aural dynamics to visual dynamics is an obvious one. In music, dynamics are simply the “loud” factor. A song can be either loud, soft, or optimally a mix of the two. If a piece of music doesn’t have much dynamic range, it’s usually because it’s serving a specific purpose. A trumpet fanfare, for instance, is loud and stately. And usually short, because it serves only to introduce royalty or some other dignitary. Whereas a softer more introspective dynamic is wonderful for a few minutes to lull our ears in, but after a while of static dynamics, it’s just too much of one thing.

High-key and low-key images are probably already leaping to mind in comparison to musical dynamics. Both high-key and low-key images are ones that are thus named precisely because of their distinct lack of visual dynamic. A high-key image only has one “visual volume”: loud. The opposite for a low-key image. The two below are typical, though not over-the-top, versions of high-key and low-key images.

Generally speaking, the most visually appealing photographs have as wide a dynamic range as possible. Though simplified, this is the basic premise of the zone system that was propagated by Ansel Adams. Almost every one of his images was exposed and developed in order to use the fullest possible dynamic range. None of these exposure methods is better than the other; it’s simply a matter of the photographer’s intent in making the image. Be warned, though, that whether you tend to shoot high-key, low-key, or for the fullest dynamic possible, that the eye has a saturation point with the same style of image. Imagine only listening to one singer for the rest of your life. Variety is the spice of life, and of photos, my friends.

Timbre’s Signature. (Photography DNA)

The traditional symphony orchestra has four different “families” of instruments: strings, winds, brass, and percussion. Those, in turn, are each divided into more instruments that vary in their range, from low bass up to very high treble. Each instrument has its own unique sound; this is how your ears differentiate an oboe from a violin or a flute from a trumpet. It’s the timbre (if you’re reading along out loud, you say it tam•ber or tim•ber), the quality of a sound as distinct from its pitch or intensity. So all other things being equal, how can you tell it’s a woman’s voice as opposed to a man’s voice? The timbre.

In a larger sense, when you are able to identify a composer or songwriter by their work, it’s a form of timbre. Usually it’s called their “style.” A Mozart symphony sounds much different than Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”; a John Williams film score (Harry Potter) is different than a Hans Zimmer score (Pirates of the Caribbean); Carrie Underwood’s songs are different than those by Sara Bareilles. You get the idea.

Close your eyes and think of a black-and-white image of Yosemite. Who’s the photographer? An Ansel Adams print might be one of the easiest photographs in the world to identify. It’s also relatively easy to distinguish a Richard Avedon photograph from an Annie Leibovitz image. Their own style, their “photographic timbre” is present in every one of their photos. Just as the masters of musical composition and songwriting use characteristic aural nuances in their work, photographers also have formulas they have developed over years or decades, and they tend to follow them religiously. It is not only advisable to develop your own style of shooting and working with light, it’s a necessity.

What’s interesting about the current state of the wedding photography industry is that a photographer’s “timbre” or “style” seems to come equally as much from his or her personality and business skills than his or her portfolio. As better camera technology continues to obliterate the line between professional and amateur, and the same sets of Photoshop actions are used across the entire globe, it’s becoming harder and harder to visually distinguish yourself.

It is now, quite possibly more than ever, crucial for both you and your photos to have a distinctive personality. Strive to cultivate and develop your own style (see David duChemin’s insightful new book “Within the Frame”) so that your clients can tell your work from someone else’s. Don’t lose the personality. But combine a sparkling personality and a killer photographic style? You could rule the world. Or at least your own corner of it.

Coda: Putting the pieces back together.

Music is constructed in a more-or-less consistent manner. Generally either a melody or a rhythm is composed first, followed by some basic harmony and then highlighting the climax or dramatic moments with some dynamic variation. Timbre is usually an ongoing consciousness, especially relating to the medium of composition. A composer always knows the instruments for which he or she is writing, and keeps their different timbres in mind while always staying true to his or her style, whether consciously or subconsciously.

As photographers, we work in much the same way whether we’re aware of it or not. We generally start with the subject, or at least the mood of the image we want to create. After considering the primary purpose of the image, we focus on the secondary elements to the subject; the visual harmony, rhythm, and dynamic. All the while, staying consistent to our own personal style, or timbre.

It has always been fascinating to me to read the thought processes of some of the great photographers while making an image. Annie Leibovitz has a new book called “At Work” that describes her experiences while capturing some of her most iconic images. Admittedly, not every photographer thinks about every element of an image while composing a frame. Sometimes it’s a oh-wow-grab-the-camera-and-hope-you-get-it shot, but more often than not we have more than a split second to think about how to compose the frame. The most important part of shooting might just be in the editing session. Look at the shots you’ve taken that catch your attention, that grab you, that sing to your eyes. Figure out what it is about them that grabs your eye. Is it the rhythm? Is it the visually interesting harmonic palette with which the image’s background is composed? Is it just that the subject (i.e. the melody) of the image is so powerful it trumps everything else and lets you get away with some technical imperfections?

Just as there are songs and concert music that have stood the test of time, and countless others that have had their time and faded into the background of culture, there are thousands of images taken for every one remembered and treasured. Your goal should be to tilt that balance in your own favor. See what your own magic formula is. How do you compose your visual melody? How do you capture the rhythm of the scene? If you don’t like the way you create harmony in an image, recognize that before the next time you press the shutter and change it. Try something new. Composers like Mozart, who could transcribe music already composed in his head, are rare. Most artists are much more like Beethoven: decided unsatisfiable, he would often scratch out entire pages of music that represented hours or days of work with berating notes to himself about how this page of music was garbage, and how he ever could have written such a horrid and elementary chunk of music.

As photographers we don’t deal in the same time frames as composers. Our decisions occur at a fraction of a second. Composers have as much time as they need to deliberately write every note, every rhythm, every harmony. We don’t have that luxury as the bride is walking back down the aisle toward us, or we see an incredible shot starting to materialize in front of our faces. More often than not, we grab the camera, raise it, and click the shutter in one swift motion without much thought. I would argue, however, that those photographers who take the extra second to think, to edit, and to be aware of their own visual composition abilities will only become the next generation of famous image-makers.

Know your images. Know your tendencies. Know what abilities you have to create an image that entrances and sings to your client’s eyes. If the elements all work in harmony, your song will be one from the heart. And your clients will love you for it.

As always, your comments below are welcome. Tell us how you inject elements of music into your photography.

This is a guest post by Hemant Naidu, an emerging photographer based in Saskatoon, Canada.

About six months ago I had a thought of entering the professional photography scene. Call me stupid, but that idea started to blossom into something more than just something in my head. The thought of shooting professionally has been a dream of mine for sometime, but I just never could get over that hump to make it a reality. Did I really want to run a business, something I didn't really know much about despite having a business degree? And being thirty-five with a wife, a mortgage, two dogs, and a baby on the way, did it really make sense to think about starting a business?

Diving In

After answering “yes” to those questions there was still a few other questions that kept running through my mind. The first was whether I was even good enough. I think this is a question that all photographers struggle with throughout their career and I'm pretty sure that it's an impossible questions to ask. It wasn't that I didn't have confidence in my work, but I would always find myself trying to compare my shots to other photographers in the area. I had to make a conscious effort to stop doing this and to just trust that I was in fact “good enough”.

Is It Just A Job?

The second question that worried me slightly was whether I would lose my passion for photography if it became a job. Just because you love something as a hobby doesn't necessarily mean that it is a going to be a good career fit for you. It took me a while to realize that if I let this fear stop me from giving it a try I may end up robbing myself of a career that I have dreamed about.

As much as I wanted to pursue a career in photography I did want to minimize my risk as much as possible. I currently work as an Agile Team Lead for a software development company which involves me managing a group of programmers. I enjoy the job greatly and welcome its challenges so keeping my day job for now is not a problem. The thing is that if I start to see a significant increase in my photography contracts I am going to become incredibly busy very fast. I often think about the logistics of managing a full time job, a part-time photography gig, and a family life.

The “2 Year Plan”

Despite all of these fears I decided to take the plunge, and got the ball rolling on setting up a small business. Who would have thought that after all of the complicated paperwork that would be the easy part? With the business now set up I had to devise a way to get my name out there. Even though Saskatoon, Canada isn't a massive city it still has a fairly competitive photography industry with a huge range of talent. It was at this point that I really started to think about my “2 year plan” and how I was going to set myself apart from other photographers in the area.

It's All About WOM

It seemed to make most sense for me to rely on word of mouth marketing. If I could leverage the people I already knew to get the word out I was sure that opportunities would start to materialize. I found the book “Word of Mouth Marketing” by Andy Sernovitz to be an invaluable source in planning a word of mouth marketing campaign. If I wanted people to talk about me I would need to give them interesting things to talk about, meaning that I needed something unique to set me apart from the rest of the crowd.

Something I noticed in my market was the relatively low use of social media outside of Facebook. Twitter is very popular in Saskatoon, but seems to have been adopted by only a small amount of the photographers. I was already an avid Twitter user from a personal perspective, but I thought it was important to also manage an account for my business. I put a lot of importance in using Twitter as a marketing tool and have been slowly creating a group of followers, while also trying to connect with local photographers, and some heavy hitters in the industry. Because my network is still relatively small, Twitter gives me a unique opportunity to reach far more people, in a shorter amount of time, and with much less effort than traditional networking.

Going Fusion

I also see an opportunity to be one of the first photography studios in the area to take advantage of the convergence of photography and video with the new DSLRs. From what I can tell the fusion of these two formats is few and far between in my market. I understand that utilizing and producing quality video with these cameras is not trivial, but I am definitely up to the challenge. It is still breaking in here and I would love to be the one that leads the way.

Other Challenges

Despite moving past my three main fears I mentioned earlier (or at least learning to cope with them) there is another topic that I continue to struggle with. I understand that there is a lot of discussion about so-called “Uncle Henry's” and “weekend warriors” coming into the scene, undercutting professionals, and devaluing the profession. This is the last thing I want to do and I certainly do not want to be viewed this way by established pros in Saskatoon. My desire is to have them view me as a colleague as opposed to an enemy, and I am doing all that I can to ensure that I go about establishing my business in the proper manner.

Pricing Strategy

I think like many new photographers in the industry finding a reasonable pricing strategy is a source for many headaches. I know it has been difficult for me, and has caused me to constantly evaluate and compare it to others. It's hard to measure one's skills and put a price on it, but it still needs to be done. I have found resources online such as goingpro2010.com and photofocus.com to be invaluable in helping me in this area. For now I am comfortable with my pricing structure based on what I see other new “responsible” photographers in the area charging. Despite this I can't help but always have that idea in the back of my mind that someone out there is cursing me as that darned weekend warrior. All I can do ensure that I am putting out quality work and providing a pleasant experience for my clients. Hopefully that will speak for itself.

Chugging Along

It has been about five months since Naidu Photography was officially registered as a legal business and I've spent the majority of my time networking, building and tweaking a concrete business plan, trying to facilitate a word of mouth marketing campaign, and getting my head around the accounting nuances that come with the territory. Sure I've had shoots which have been fabulous, but now I am really starting to see what I've heard so much about running a photography business – it's twenty percent photography, and eighty percent business management. Fortunately this hasn't stopped me from driving forward, but has only made me hungrier to get this business off of the ground and flying.

I welcome your comments below! Tell us what challenges you have faced when starting your business. What would you like to learn from other emerging professional photographers?

This is a guest post by Scott Wyden Kivowitz, a portrait & landscape photographer from New Jersey. He works in the repair industry for the extended warranty company Mack Camera & Video Service.

I love photography.  It is my passion.  But if you're like me then you have a full time job and shooting is on the side. With that said, I don't have the advertising funds to promote photography work.  The money I make from shooting helps pay my bills and that is about it.

So what can a person do to get customers without advertising?  Good question. Social media is one way.  With Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and so many websites growing daily social media websites is the easiest way to get your name out there. But you can over do it. Social media is a learning experience as well as a promotional tool.

If you tweet too much, you could loose followers.  If you share too much on Facebook you will loose fans.  If you post horrible photos on Flickr you will loose viewers.  But if you learn from your mistakes you can get them all back.

So here are some simple tips to help you grow your brand, get your name out there and develop your photography skills.

Talk to people; learn from other photographers.  Don't be afraid to ask questions, meet up and shoot, join conversations, comment on other peoples work and also ask for constructive criticism on your work.

Start a Facebook fan page. Share your work, links and helpful advice for your fans. Be creative and not spammy.

Share new photos on Flickr.  Tag and title them correctly, then spread the word.  If you share them they will come.

So now you're sharing, growing your brand and on your way.  All for free right? There are buyers, models, couples and all types of potential customers checking out your work. You're not over doing it so you don't push anyone away… right?! You're listening to your friends, fans and followers.  If they tell you to stop tweeting so much, or to stop tweeting useless things, make sure you pay attention. As your brand grows you must grow with it.

While you're doing all this social media stuff, you should also be posting on your blog.  BLOG??? If you don't know what a blog is by now you need to learn quick and get moving on it.  Actually, you're currently reading a blog.  How about that! Blogs by nature attract search engines. Wait, isn't that free advertising?  Sure is baby!

On your blog you should be writing and sharing photography. You don't need to write a long winded article like this one, but keep it consistent.  Keep the articles flowing and build your brand.

Potential customers might read your blog and say “Wow this dude posts new photos from each event he shoots and they are awesome!” or maybe even “I want him to shoot our wedding”.  I mean, that's what I thought when I first saw Seshu's documentary wedding photography!

Again, keep the blog posts flowing and be consistent but don't overdue it.  If you post too much useless stuff it will push people away.

Now you're brand is growing still and you haven't spent a dime on advertising. Isn't that something?

So what about getting the gig?

That's where all of your hard work at sharing, writing, etc.. comes in to play.  As long as you do it right and share great work, customers will come.  The past few months have been busy for me shooting paid gigs.  However along the way I needed to shoot many charity gigs or trade for CD gigs.  We have to do what we have to do.  But the key is to keep shooting, keep sharing and keep loving photography.

Do that and the customers will come.  As Gary Vaynerchuk says in his book by the same name, go on and “Crush It“

This is a guest post by Bay Area-based wedding & portrait photographer, Jigar Champaneria.

Those of us in the world of wedding photography have been following a growing controversy about the variety of workshops offered to help photographers with everything. Whether it's marketing materials, technical proficiency, or general “awesome-ness,” there seems to be a workshop for it.

I can't say that I've taken many workshops or attended many seminars. Not because I think they're a waste of money, but because I personally need to experience things and work through them myself. For the most part, I openly rely on the generous sharing of knowledge from friends and colleagues who take the time to honestly share their experience. And after 6 years of photographing weddings, I'm trying to share as much as I can locally and on the web.

So where's the controversy? Well, people like wedding photographer and entrepreneur Gary Fong and Pictage CEO, Jim Collins have blogged about it. For me, it boils down to trying to take that generous sharing of knowledge & experience and monetizing it. Don't get me wrong, I see nothing wrong with charging people for your time and experience, especially if you can teach students well. But as Jim Collins alludes to in his blog post, many of these workshops are ill-conceived for one of two reasons:

1) The workshop leader has great experience to share, but isn't a great teacher so it's difficult to impart the information well.

2) The workshop leader is just full of him or herself and thinks he can teach anyone how to be a great photographer who's radtastic in every sense of that made-up word.

Hmm … did that sound sarcastic enough? :)

Well, my sincere belief is that EVERYONE has something significant to share. They may not be able to easily explain themselves, but they've got something to share (heck, we all love to give advice, don't we?!). The leader who falls into “Reason A” above can pretty easily be identified: sincere, always has something helpful to contribute, BUT doesn't seem to plan things well or is unclear on what they're trying to teach someone. So even though this person has something significant to share, it's probably not worthwhile to attend a workshop lead by such a person. How do you know for sure? Well, check out the agenda of the workshop. If there isn't a written agenda, that's your first clue! If the agenda seems vague and the leader is unable to clarify, that's another sign to stay away. If the leader doesn't have many positive reviews of previous workshops he has lead, that's yet one more clue.

A few of these leaders will certainly fall into “Reason B” above. It may actually be pretty easy to tell these people from the rest, but let's try to stay away from the cynicism and just being labeled a “grumpy”. I think the main way to identify such a person is from the sincerity they exude. It's a gut feeling, but if you don't see sincerity coming from such leaders, then you may want to think a few times before signing up for their workshop. Sure, you might learn some great things, but I suspect you'll learn more  from the generous people across the web and in your PPA meetings who share their experiences with sincerity. I won't belabor descriptions of people who fall into “Reason B” since I really don't think we should dwell on it.

Before you click away from this blog post though, I want to mention something Jim Collins noted about “the sheep”. He certainly didn't call us photographers sheep, but in addition to calling out the rockstars, he called out the fanbois and fangirlz. And in many ways, we all fall into this category to some degree. We need to ask ourselves why we attend such workshops? Are we attending to bask in the glow of the rockstar? Are we going to learn how to be rockstars ourselves? Well, if there are enough of such attendees, is it really a surprise that there are workshop leaders who fall into “Reason B” above? So after reading this posting and the others around the web, we really need to look at ourselves and make sure we're attending workshops for the right reasons. And with that, here's a short list of questions that I think everyone should go through before signing up for their next seminar or workshop:

1) What do you want to learn? Portraiture? Off-Camera Lighting? Marketing yourself? If you don't know what you want to learn, well heck, maybe you need to think about things some more before spending hundreds of dollars.
2) Does the workshop you want to attend actually clearly indicate it will be teaching you such things? If not, ask the leader about that. They should be able to clarify what their workshop is about and hopefully they don't just promise you the world.
3) Does the workshop leader have experience teaching in the agenda topics? If not, then why are they charging?

If you don't feel comfortable with the answers to the 3 simple questions above, then I'd strongly suggest staying away from the workshop. Don't worry too much about bad-mouthing such leaders. The marketplace will take care of itself (eventually). And in the meantime, continue to share & learn openly with the wealth of websites, blogs, and twitter users out there. We're all here to help each other, even though we don't all charge for it.

Back in January, I posted about Selina Maitreya‘s audio program for serious photographers: The View From Here.

If you haven't had a chance to read it, I suggest you go there first and then come back here. It's a quick read and it will outline why you may want to buy this MP3 program for your photography business.

Recently, I had a chance to speak and record Selina (who now has an amazing blog called OneView). What you will hear below was my first attempt at recording a podcast (go easy on me will ya?), but the takeaway from it is still very good.

So, hit play, sit back and relax as you listen to Selina Maitreya talk about her background as a photo consultant and why she launched The View From Here for photographers like you and me.

Remember to use the code: FOSSES to get it for only $99 (original price is $199).

Full FTC disclosures: I received a complimentary copy of the entire program from Selina Maitreya. That, however, in no way alters my perception of it being a stellar product that you will find useful. If you use the code supplied above, I do receive a minor affiliate commission (enough to keep this website going every month).

[podcast]http://www.tiffinbox.org/tiffincast/042010/selina-maitreya-the-view-from-here.mp3[/podcast]

Did you like this podcast? Would you like to see/hear more from other photographers? Please let me know in the comments section below. I look forward to hearing from you.