Professional Business Practice and Standards

[sophiamf]

Greetings All,

I'll soon begin working in a professional photography studio and would like to go in as prepared as possible. I'm new to the photography business, I have a background in Architecture, and wonder what fundaments/standards would be good to have down.
Everything from software standards (architecture file management/settings tends to vary drastically from person to person); file formats and handling; digitizing analog; metadata and copyright standards, and anything else you can think of that would ease my transition into the business.

Thanks!

[Dave Humphries]

Hi ??? - is it Sophia?

Could you do me a favour please?
Could you Edit your Profile and put your first name in the Real Name field and where you are (roughly) in the Location field? - thanks.

Knowing where you are might help with the relevance of any advice provided.

It would also help to know how much you know about digital photography - we could waste a lot of time explaining things you already know, or conversely; use terminology that'll confuse you - if we guess wrong.

I'm not a pro, but I would suggest you research the studios' website, they may already have some of that information available for prospective clients.

What sort of job is it you've got there?

Welcome to the CiC forums from ...

[sophiamf]

Hi Dave,

Thank you for your quick response!
OK. Here's a list of more specific questions. They're quite varied.

For one: I'm essentially curious as to what your step by step process might be for a photo from slide to final print.

For this example I'm given 35mm color film
First lightly dust the film,
Then scan for both web and print at what settings and format if the intent is for book publication, fine art prints, or web/blog
Bring into photoshop as a smart object and immediately change what primary settings to optimize for the different intents (theoretically working with 3 separate files here),
>Convert to CMYK
>Set image size, dpi/ppi, bit-depth, color profiles (separate settings that might be for publication, fine art, web)
>Duplicate layer and use healing tool to remove dust on the 'working' layer
>Touch up whatever else.
>Save a copy as...
Can you use batch to ease this process or have the 3 versions associated with one main file (outside of using layers) then export the appropriate format for the appropriate application when sending off the final.

Are there any BIG no-no's or musts when...
When handling slides and film.
When sending final photos to the printers (what are the settings--gamut and proof--that you typically check).
When reducing files for web publication.

Top 10 hidden tools in photoshop for finishing and printing____?
Top 5 tips for working in the professional photography business and copyrighting?

Thank you!
Sophia

[BJ Denning]

Here is an excellant resource Photographer's Survival Manual: A Legal Guide for Artists in the Digital Age. "Everything is covered, from contracts, subcontracts, releases, and permissions to the copyright laws and all the steps artists should take to register and protect their work. Find out how to use copyright to protect your work from infringement, insure you are properly paid for your work, and how to proceed if your rights are infringed upon"

It won't help with the workflow, but will address some of the business and lay aspects.

[GrahamS]

You need this: http://www.outbackphoto.com/CONTENT_..._03/index.html