Rasmus Rasmussen dot com

Okay, so this is the official re-launch of rasmusrasmussen.com, even though I’m not technically re-launching anything. Taking the blog out of hiatus, is what I’m doing. Here is the post, where I explain why it died down in the first place, and what you can expect from the future.

First up, I have been posting regularly over on zoom-in.com, which has been great (and still is). As much fun as that is though, some of the photography related posts that might have ended up here, have been posted there. And while this was all still very new, I was also in the process finishing up a novel in Danish. Needless to say, that’s a lot of work.

I am not going to bore you too much with the distractions of my life. Except to say, that a recent roadtrip from Seattle to Jacksonville and back (image above), has served to revitalize and inspire. And that is something I will be bringing here.

The Microstock Photographer’s Guide has two more articles to go, before the planned series is complete, and I am very open to questions and suggestions (hint) that go beyond these articles. I have some ideas on how to flesh it out and tie it together, to better fit the book form, I eventually want is to take. Adding a few how-to examples and using other sources and material is part of that. But for now, the final two articles are waiting for be posted here and will be, within the next few weeks.

Don’t expect a daily posts here, though. One or two a week is more my style. Also, I may drift away from the topic of photography from time to time. There have been several occasions, where I’ve been wanting to post about other things, though most other topics are still related in some way, at least to creativity, productivity and culture.

I am excited to be back, and hope new readers will consider subscribing to the RSS feed or drop back in some time.

Do you brainstorm before going on a photoshoot? Do you mind-map and plan your sessions? If you’re going to sell your photos, doing these things is a must.

I freely admit it; sometimes I go the easy route. I improvise and wing it, and even like to think that doing so makes me smarter. That it somehow trains my brain, that I am forced to think on my feet. What it does is stimulate my imagination, and when I shoot pictures with no map, it almost becomes a game to me, a fight to be as creative as possible, using what I have. Most of the time, however, it is not necessarily the best way to get good photos. So after having learned this lesson (many times over), I now tend to do at least some preparation before attempting any kind of photography.

At the very least, I have the results of a simple brainstorm in the back of my mind. A simple creative exercise, where you make a list of free flowing ideas on a piece of paper, during which you will doubtlessly make new associations, form more ideas and discover new possibilities. Technically, you could probably do it on a computer, but I recommend using the old school method. The fact that it takes a little longer to write in hand, gives you an extra pause to let the thoughtprocess work its magic.

You may say this is beyond basic, and wonder why I am even wasting your time with this. If so, good for you and I do apologize. All I mean for, is to encourage all kinds of mental exercises to improve your work. From mind-maps to coaching. And I do so, because of what I see every day. In my work as an image inspector, I look at probably a thousand photographs every week, and especially among people who are just starting new microstock portfolios, there is a tendency to upload snapshots; photos that were shot without any pre-existing plan. A spur of the moment shot of a bee on a flower, a photo of that dinner that looked particularly delicious, the sunset, a tree-top, a dog or a toddler. I will see at least see ten or so of these on any given day, when I inspect photos for iStockphoto.

There is nothing wrong with good snapshots. If the result is as beautiful or cool, as you imagined it would be in the moment, when you clicked the button, that’s fantastic. But if you want to create a selling microstock portfolio, you have to go beyond this point. That’s why I suggest brainstorming and mind-mapping from day one, because only when you start to nurture your ideas, can you begin to establish your own style and brand. And when you have that, then you’ll begin to attract more attention from designers, looking for that particular style of photography.