How to Add Images to a Discussion thread?

A very special hello from a not so snowy New England anymore. Yippee!!

This week I wanted to spend some time on something that has always been of particular interest to me and I am sure, so many more of you out there. This is applicable to almost every single class that I have taken here at The Art Institute.

That is; How to admires to a discussion thread?  How often are we asked to please post images to the discussion post showing something we captured or in reference to a photograph that we need to discuss. It is definitely part of the first assignment W1A1 autobiography.

Well today I am going to show you a very easy way to ensure that all the photographs that you find and place into your document can be copied and pasted into your discussion post without any problems. No, we will not be copying and pasting from Word.

Here are the steps that you need to follow to make sure you have no problems going forward.

Step 1:

Make sure that you have a google account. It is very easy to get. Just go to google where you can sign-up for a new account.Once you have registered and updated your profile and security settings you are ready to get going. Once you have signed in you now have your account active, you have access to a host of different Google products.

Step 2:

To create a Google doc all you have to do is click on the grid in the top right hand corner of your web browser.

If you click the more button you can locate the Docs app. and this will take you to the Google doc application. You will also be able to create a shortcut to this application by adding it this grid button for easier access at a later stage. Here I located the Docs app and clicked on it to take me to the create a document page.

I m now ready to create my first document. On this page you can click on the + (plus) sign in the bottom right hand corner of the page to create your document. A Google document allows you to compose and write your assignments here just like any other word processor. The Microsoft Word processor is the required application so many of us start there. You can create your document in Word and copy the entire document and paste it into the Google doc area. I normally use this method because I like the spelling and Grammar checking capabilities of Word. (Why would I want to copy and paste into Google docs if I can just create it in Word, you may ask?)

Well, the downside to this using the copy and paste from Microsoft Word method and pasting it into into your discussion thread; it will not carry the images over.

By copying the assignment from Word into Google Docs. all you have to do is reconnect the locations of the images. Google will ask you to reconnect the locations of the photographs. That is easily done by clicking on the placement holder for the image located on your page and then selecting the insert menu option at the top of the document and clicking insert image option, finding the photograph located on your computer.

This will add the photograph to the document and you can continue with your work.

If you do decide to use only Google then you can add your images directly your post. The best thing about using Google Docs as your word processor is that you can now make a select all option and then copy and paste the entire document directly into your discussion post.

You will not lose any of the images and everything will be pasted there. Now you can make some style adjustments if it appears incorrect. It does not copy any heading settings, special fonts or customizations to the discussion post.

Finally, if you still need to save your document, you can do this by selecting download as option and making the appropriate selection. You can download them to your computer as Word.docx, PDF, Txt and a few other options which makes it a really great tool to use.

So, now you have no excuse for not being able to post images to your discussion posts. There are some great tools out there and they make your life so much easier. Next week I will show you how to reduce the size of your PDF files so that they are not too large, (no more 100MB files) especially when they ask you to create a slideshow from Lightroom. I can reduce a 100MB file down to approximately 3.2MB if you know which options to use and you can keep the resolution and detail to all your images.

Have a great week everyone. I am preparing to shoot a photo story later today with a new musician that I found so I am looking forward to that. 

If you have any questions or would like further information about the processes that I discussed here today then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Have a super week.

Kind regards,

Denzil

Let's Shoot

Greetings fellow shooters! Tuesday Ambassador Stanley, here welcoming you to another Tuesday. Unfortunately, this post will be rather short due to some troubling times of a corrupt Lightroom catalog in which I have been dealing with the repairs for the past couple of days. So in the troubling times of photography is where I will delve quickly into the side of me that is not in school.

©2014 Stanley/Demand Media

Yes, this post is one that rather “toots my own horn” so to speak, but I will also tell you that my time working for this editorial company is a rather pleasant one. As some of you may know I have been hired by Demand Media Studios, an online editorial, work from home job based out of the state of Washington. While the pay is not great by any means, it does take very little time to complete an assignment on a two week deadline. Once accepted it’s just another thing to tack on to my list of publications. However, I would like to note that approximately 99.8% of the assignments listed will not apply to you as it can be very specific, or there is no return on investment to even warrant creating the assignment.

©2014 Stanley/Demand Media

Well this would be a perfect time to mention a future publication happening in late June of this year with one of “your’s truly” photos making the finals in the “Photographer’s Forum” “Best of College and High School Photography” contest. I sure hope someone reading this could say the same. However, isn't the field of photography putting yourself out there to the world? Perhaps many of you reading this have not made it that far in your studies to warrant a right or wrong answer. I will just put it to you plain and simple. You need to get yourself out there and known to the world with whatever it is that interests you. How you go about doing is completely up to you but I warn you that your reviewer is looking for something different! I just hope that you have a portfolio to back up what you say about your work.

©2014 Stanley/Demand Media

So what are you waiting for?! Do some Google searching on photography contests and maybe even some jobs in your area. If you cannot seem to find any jobs in your area then I suggest the next time you log into school take a look at the “Career Resources” under the “Student Services” drop down menu and go the “Job Search Guide,” right now though. If you have not already done so I would recommend creating and fully updating a LinkedIn account as you will be using it in Business of Photography not just for assignments, but maybe for some serious job hunting. Seriously if you have downtime from school and are seriously getting bored why not take a look at your options. Trust me, I did not get where I am today by thinking about what I want to do. Otherwise you wouldn't be reading this. And as always, thanks for reading.

- Tues. Amb. Stanley

All photos courtesy of me and Demand Media. But mostly me given that I re-uploaded them. Yes, the contract says I can do this.

Links to publications:

Difference Router Single/Dual-Band

Soften Carhartt Jackets

Connect 12 Volt Marine Batteries

Testing 1, 2, 3?

Greetings fellow shooters! Tuesday Ambassador Stanley, here welcoming you to another... testing… can anybody read this, Tuesday? And no, this is not going to be like my last week’s post on Rantom. What I am going to write about is why every student, or anyone for that matter, should test their equipment, regardless of ever having worked with the equipment before. However, I have seen a good majority of students doing just that and it is an excellent thing to do because it makes you more familiar with your equipment before tackling those shooting assignments. So if you think that you may be the only person that pulls your equipment out of the box, puts it together and starts tinkering with it, just know that you’re not the only one. Although, be mindful of the equipment you are working with in order to prevent injuries to beings or damage to equipment whether they are big or small.

Now if you are not one who typically dives into unfamiliar territory, I am sure you are not alone. That is okay though because you are going to school for photography after all. For some people though, school is not enough. One thing that you could do is READ through your manual after breaking into the package and laying out all of your equipment to be assembled later. This should be done on day one of receiving your package because you want to make sure that you have everything and that nothing is broken. If you do not understand something, reach out! There is a plethora of resources available at your disposal like PSPN on Google+, your upcoming or present instructors and if you want fast answers then you better resort to your most favored search engine like Google. Once you have everything all squared away it’s time to setup and test out your equipment. Make sure everything works! Test the highs and test the lows. Make sure your equipment is in flawless working order because I’m sure there is nothing like returning your faulty equipment and having to switch, stop or drop out of your class because you did not meet the deadline. I assure you that I’m not talking from experience.

One thing I learned through my curiosities in life about things I had no prior knowledge of, yet having full access to whatever it is that interested me, was in order to dig deeper about your subject, you have to break it. No, I’m not telling you to go break your equipment because that would be foolish and by no means is that what I meant! What I mean is I was always one who would get a toy, get bored with it, take it apart, study it and put it back together just to play with it again. Maybe that’s the reason why computers had been a hobby of mine for so long because of how quickly it advanced over the years. Now you don’t necessarily have to apply my experience to a specific subject, however, if you apply it to your life you may find yourself subconsciously applying it to subjects that interest you as well. Sure, I know that is a lot to ask but I do not think you would regret making the change.

Was this informative or inspirational? Let me know in the comments below. Have you felt this before? Do you think you are the only one? Are you getting a little freaked out because I am getting into your head and I may possibly know what you are thinking right now at this exact moment?  Ha! Who am I kidding? I cannot read your mind. Stay tuned next week to catch a glimpse of my studio studies as well as my recently published work, and as always, thanks for reading.

-Tues. Amb. Stanley

Long link goes to the image above by a no name photographer: http://static.videomaker.com/sites/videomaker.com/files/styles/vm_image_token_lightbox/public/articles/15346/306-F21-microphone-close-up.jpg?itok=k3IAaLWJ

Google+ for Photographers Part 2: It's Good for Business

Last week's post focused on getting to know Google+ (G+).  Now that you have a feel for the interface, let's talk about how it can help your photography business.

The single most valuable aspect of bringing your business to G+ is the fact that Google is one of the most-used search engines out there.  With the backing of Google's SEO analytics and various tools and apps, you can be in control of how your business appears when people search for your type of photographic services.  By adding your business address to Google Maps and completing a sleek profile on G+ with high quality images, your brand will look better than those that do not take the time to set up a profile.  Remember, anyone can post anything about your business at any time, and you can take control of your brand identity by making sure your social media profiles are complete and relevant.

Once you have the basics set up, you can search for communities that interest you.  These can help you with networking, continuing education, or even connecting with potential clients.  Try a search for local communities for more specific networking, but these offer a good starting point:

• General photography community: Google+ Photographers
• Wedding photography community: Wedding Photographers
• Fine art photography community: Fine Art Photography
• Photography education community: School of Digital Photography

Using social media to connect with other service providers and vendors is a wonderful way to get some free publicity.  G+ allows you to create circles to connect with others and be specific with what you share with whom.  Connecting a post to another business's G+ page gives you exposure to potential clients.  This is especially relevant to the wedding industry, in which word of mouth plays a huge role in booking clients.  Vendors love seeing professional photos of their product or service in action and will be excited to share it with their current and potential customers.  If I post this ring image on my G+ business page, I will want to be sure that the venue (a golf club, hence the tee and grass used to showcase the ring) and the jeweler both see it.  It is also an appropriate image to share with current, former, and potential clients.  If I wanted to post a discounted print offer to current clients, I would share it only with my "client" circle so as not to clutter the G+ feeds of the vendors to whom the post is irrelevant.  By creating circles, I can select any post to share with clients only, vendors and clients, all my friends, everyone on G+... the possibilities are endless!

The integration of Google's many apps, its keyword optimization, and the power of its name in the search engine business make G+ an important tool for your business.  For G+ tips straight from the experts, follow +GoogleBusiness.  If you already use G+ for your business, do you have any tips or techniques to share that have been successful in promoting your work or connecting with clients?  Please tell us in the comments!

Good luck getting started with your business page!

-Friday Ambassador

Google+ for Photographers Part 1: Getting Started and Learning from the Pros

Social media is a convenient, free way to share your images with friends, family, other professionals, and potential clients.  One relatively new social media platform is Google+ (G+).  It has become a rather big hit with photographers because of the high image quality when sharing photographs.  With the changes to Flickr in the last year, many professionals flocked to G+ as an alternative for photo sharing and connecting with other photographers.  In today's post, I will go through the basics of setting up your G+ account, share helpful resources about navigating it, and tell you about a few photographers who really have a knack for making the most of the platform.  Next week I will share Part 2, which will focus on using G+ in a professional manner.

How to set up an account:

If you already have a Gmail account, this part is really easy!  Just click the grid on the top right side of your browser window when you are logged in, then click the red "g+" icon (see screen shot of grid and icons).  Google will guide you through this, encouraging you to add information to your profile and connect with others.  To create a brand new account complete with a new Gmail address, simply go to Google's account signup page and follow the steps.  There is also an option to sign up with an existing email account if you want to use an established, non-Gmail email address.

Why choose G+?

Colby Brown, author of Google+ for Photographers, succinctly describes what makes G+ unique: "Facebook is a closed network.  By that I mean that all of the information, content and interactions are kept inside Facebook.  This means that your absolute maximum reach on Facebook is limited to the network itself.  Google on the other hand is all about publicly indexing that content so that it is searchable on the Internet" (Colby Brown Photography).  G+ integrates Google's many features, from Gmail and Google Maps to the blog service used to create this post!  With the power of Google behind you, you can reach a wider audience through searches for the type of content you choose to post.  Remember this when you set up your profile with keywords appropriate to your target audience.  The profile page starts off with tiles that allow you to introduce yourself, which is what people will normally see when they click on your avatar:

Your home page will show content based on the people you follow and circles you create.  While you will see familiar features like the use of hashtags and the ability to give props to a post (here, you will click the "+1" button instead of a "like" button), the interface does take a little getting used to.  Following are resources that will help with just that!

Resources

Constant Contact provides a brief overview of terms, some of which will be familiar and others that Google created for G+.  This is a great place to start.

The Colby Brown blog post mentioned above is extremely helpful in providing an orientation to G+.  Learn about creating content and sharing with Circles, the benefits of Google's trusted content, and how you can use G+ hangouts here.

This post on Digital Photography School (DPS) details why G+ is so much better for posting images and networking with fellow photographers than other social media platforms out there.  It also suggests people to follow from the DPS site.

Photographers to follow

The best way to get started on G+ is to see how others have taken advantage of it.  Check out these photographers for education and inspiration, and take a look at the people they follow to see what inspires them.

Scott Kelby is an experienced photographer who you can spot on the sidelines at Super Bowls and learn from at workshops worldwide.  He posts regularly and shares tutorials, recent projects, and fun anecdotes that can help aspiring photographers stay motivated.

Darren Rowse is the man behind Digital Photography School, so you can bet his G+ content is instructive!

David LaSpina's travel photographs encompass so many genres: architecture, landscapes, street photography, and more!  His G+ posts are a great example of how you can seamlessly integrate mobile, film, and DSLR images while maintaining a recognizable style and brand.

Finally, of course, check out the PSPN G+ community and see the work of your current and former teachers, connect with other students, and view informative content shared by the faculty.

Do you have a favorite photographer or group to follow on G+?  If you have used the platform and enjoy it, what are some tips you have to help newbies dive in?  I would love to hear from you in the comments!  If you are new to G+, I hope this gives you a place to start.  Getting used to the interface and to posting content now will greatly help you when you want to start using it professionally.  Check back next week to see how G+ can help you market your business and connect with other professionals!

-Friday Ambassador

Works Cited:

Brandon, James. "Why Photographers Should Love Google." Digital Photography School RSS. Digital Photography School, 2013. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.

Brown, Colby. "Social Media for Photographers: Google."  Colby Brown Photography. Colby Brown Photography, 1 Nov. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

Curtiss, Kristen. "Why Use Google Plus? A Quick Guide and Glossary to Google." Constant Contact Blogs. Constant Contact, 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.