We scrapped our Flash website and rebuilt using WordPress for a consistent look across all platforms including Flash-loathing iDevices – all without giving up the photo slideshows than many of you loved…

Showcasing a wide-array of out favorite portrait shoots of athletes, celebrities and the rich and fabulous.

Along with some of out favorite projects like Nude Golf photographed for Sports Illustrated.

We added better navigation than ever before with a round-up of photo galleries on our home page.

We added a section about our books ‘Secrets of Great Portrait Photography’ and ‘Art & Soul’.

And included some of the best interviews that we’ve done over the years…

Thanks for the L-O-V-E, PDN!

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Photography & Social Media Strategic Licensing in the Internet Age

with Jeff Sedlik and James Lorin Silverberg, Esq.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
at Seattle Central Community College’s room BE5112
7:00 to 9:00 PM
Social Half-hour at 6:30
RSVP required – RSVP Here

Social Media sounds like a great set of tools for your business, but just what are you signing up for? Turns out there’s a lot more to social media than just getting re-tweets, likes, and +1s. Can we keep our images from escaping our control? How can we use it to our benefit?

Often focusing only on the rewards of social media exposure, many photographers fail to recognize the sometimes shocking and potentially irreversible consequences that come with the use of these platforms. Would you click on that “Terms Of Use Agreement” if you really knew what it said? Maybe not!

Next, hear Jeff Sedlik, President of the PLUS Coalition, past National President of the Advertising Photographers of America, and a Professor at the Art Center College of Design, as he shares advances in PLUS, the Picture Licensing Universal System, and how that might impact social media.

Join I.P. attorney Silverberg and PLUS Coalition CEO and licensing guru Sedlik as we uncover some hidden pitfalls of social media sites, what we can do about them, and how we might maximize their advantages. Learn the best ways to get your work seen without losing complete control!

Full details, including directions and parking info are here.

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The Zeiss Touit 12mm f2.8 lens has a 99 degree angle of view and makes a perfect lens for landscapes, architecture and those that love wide angle shots. In order to create a lightweight lens, Zeiss has used a combination of materials including a durable plastic, yet the bayonet and parts that require accuracy are made of a rigid metal. The lens is constructed of 11 elements in 8 groups. When the angle of view becomes extreme, the retrofocus design of the Distagon lens can also be the ideal choice when the camera is not an SLR.

The Zeiss Touit 32mm f1.8 lens has a 48 degree angle of view making it a perfect ‘normal’ lens for Sony NEX shooters especially portrait and street shooters. The lens is constructed with the same materials as the 12mm lens making is lightweight. The lens has 8 elements in 5 groups. The lens has a 9 blade iris creating a near perfect circular aperture. The lens is constructed of 11 elements in 8 groups. The Planar lens type is the most successful – and the most frequently copied – lens design of all time. It offers lens calculators numerous opportunities for almost complete correction of all optical aberrations, and is therefore even today the basis for the design and construction of modern, high-performance lenses. Modification of this proven, six-lens, basic design can achieve significantly improved performance for use with today’s image sensors.

Zeiss Touit lenses are designed and constructed specifically for use on Sony NEX and Fuji X Series cameras with APS-C sensors. The lenses are fully-compatible and support all camera functions, including autofocus.

The lenses will be available in June

The 12mm f/2.8 lens can be pre-ordered for $1,250
The 32mm f/1.8 lens can be pre-ordered for $900

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Location: Orange Studio: 1121 North Mills Ave, Orlando 32803
Date: Sunday May 5, 2013
Time: 12-3PM

Description: Sony Artisan of Imagery/Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Smith will share his use of lighting modifiers to create bold iconic portrait photography of Hollywood’s A-list. You’ll learn how to work quickly under pressure, on productions both small and large.

Register here

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More speaking appearances by Brian Smith.

The post Snap Orlando: Secrets of Great Portrait Photography Lighting Workshop 05.05.13 appeared first on Portrait Photographers Miami Florida Celebrity Portrait Photography.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013 | 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
B&H Photo, 420 9th Ave, New York, NY 10001
sponsored by Sony

Celebrity portrait photographer Brian Smith shares the lessons he’s learned over the past 30 years capturing the faces of the famous and infamous as a top magazine portrait photographer. Brian will discuss his approach to editorial and commercial assignments from concept to final images, and detailing his approach to lighting and problem solving on productions both small and large. Smith will also share secrets about how to quickly capture the personality of the people you photograph and he will also discuss how personal projects can be used to generate editorial and commercial assignments, and allow your personal style to evolve and grow while generating assignments you love to shoot. Smith will share celebrity portraits of from his new book ‘Secrets of Great Portrait Photography’ to show ways that you can make everyone you photograph look and feel like a star.

Register here

More speaking appearances by Brian Smith.

The post B&H Event Space Presents Brian Smith: Secrets of Great Portrait Photography 04.30.13 appeared first on Portrait Photographers Miami Florida Celebrity Portrait Photography.

Begun in 2008 as an effort to recognize and support emerging photographers, APA/Editorial Photographers is pleased to announce the winners of the 2013 APA Editorial Photographers’ Education Grants.

Anna Beeke / School of Visual Arts / New York
Kristina Varaksina / Academy of Art University / San Francisco
Michelle Rogers Pritzl / Art Institute of Boston / Boston
Neko Jen Reindl / Academy of Art University / San Francisco
Stacy Kranitz / UC Irvine / Irvine, CA
Sara Lewkowicz / Ohio University / Athens, OH

Anna Beeke
School of Visual Arts
New York

Kristina Varaksina
Academy of Art University
San Francisco, California

Michelle Rogers Pritzl
Art Institute of Boston
Boston

Neko Jen Reindl
Academy of Art University
San Francisco

Stacy Kranitz
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, California

Sara Lewkowicz
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio

What the judges had to say:

David Griffin, Visuals Editor for the Washington Post said, “What I enjoyed about the judging was the diversity of approaches from the studio to the street – with the very best exhibiting high quality and appropriately applied technique.”

Molly Roberts, Chief Photography Editor at Smithsonian magazine noted, “I was extremely impressed by the range of work, from constructed images, to conceptual portraits, to creative still-life, and in depth reportage. It’s clear that the medium is alive and well and providing a very flexible tool for creative expression, as well as serious storytelling. I look forward to continuing to follow the work of these creative young photographers, and I commend the photographic educators for their commitment and for preparing the next generation to carry on our collective passion for photography.”

Brian Smith, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and President of APA Editorial Photographers said, “I was blown-away by the outstanding quality of work entered this year. It was extremely difficult to narrow it down because so many strong and deserving entries. From what we saw, I’d have to say that the future of photography certainly looks extremely bright.”

Each Winner Receives:

$1000 Grant courtesy of APA/EP and Blinkbid.
PhotoShelter Standard Account for one year
ThinkTankPhoto Airport 4-Sight rolling camera bag
Blinkbid Business Software
Cradoc Software’s fotoQuote 6.0
One-year APA student membership with winning entries shown on the APA/EP website

Thanks to all the entrants and congratulations to the recipients!

View the winners of the EP Education Grants

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PDN 30: Strategies for Young Working Photographers

Thursday, April 25, 2013 6:45-9:45pm
Santa Monica College
Room HSS – 165
1900 Pico Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90495

MODERATOR: Holly Hughes/PDN Editor
PANELISTS: PDN 30 2013 Award Winners: Jessica Sample, Michael Friberg, Ian Allen and Sony Artisan of Imagery Brian Smith

sponsored by

More speaking appearances by Brian Smith.

The post PDN 30 Los Angeles: Strategies for Young Working Photographers appeared first on Portrait Photographers Miami Florida Celebrity Portrait Photography.

Date: Wednesday April 24, 2013
Time: 7pm
California State University Long Beach
University Theater (UT 108)
1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, California 90840

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Smith, President of APA Editorial Photographers, will discuss how to maximize the creative and commercial rewards while avoiding bad contracts and stagnant rates. Seminar Topics include: How production value can make your work stand out; How to charge properly for digital processing; The best things you can do in a slow economy; How to maximize re-licensing, syndication and reprint revenue; How the shift to online content will affect rates; What you should know about editorial that nobody told you.

Brian Smith will share insights from his last 30 years as a editorial photographer as he moved from Pulitzer Prize-winning sports photographer to shooting celebrity portraits of Hollywood’s A-List. Smith will speak about both the art and commerce of editorial photography and what every artist needs to know about business of photography to remain in business. In this presentation, Smith will share ways to grab and keep the attention of photo editors and art directors; how shooting personal projects can promote your vision and land the jobs you’ll love to shoot; and ways to keep your portfolio and vision fresher than next year’s winner of The X Factor.

This Event is Free and Open to the Public

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HMI’s are 4-5 times more efficient so 200 watt HMIs offer the equivalent output of 800-1000 watt tungsten bulbs. Also check out K5600 new Zoom Beamer reflector for their 1600 HMI Joker and their new and improved ballasts. I love the versatility of looks you can get out of their really clever design.

Here’s a look at a celebrity portrait shoot using K5600 on The X Factor.

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