To read about this journey from the beginning, start here. [Note: I have not yet photographed the cover of Rolling Stone! But by the time this blog series is finished, I will have photographed the cover] Year three was the year I finally moved to Manhattan. I moved from my apartment with three roommates in Brooklyn to […]
Organizing Your Photos
Organizing Your Photos Brandon (QUESTION): I really want to know how you are organizing your photos. I just got a Mac Pro tower w / 4.5TB, and up until now my photos have been across a few external drives. I’ve played with iPhoto (hate it because it duplicates everything), Picasa (which lays out every media file […]
How I Shot the Cover of Rolling Stone: Year Two
Read the first post from this series here My second year in New York I was still living in deep in Bushwick, one of the last subway stops in Brooklyn. I would pack a backpack almost every day, take the train into the city, and end up staying out there all day until I came […]
How I Shot The Cover of Rolling Stone: Year One
I had told my friends for a few years that I wanted to move to New York. At the time, I was working as a photographer in Santa Barbara and was doing well photographing weddings, shooting head shots, family photos, and students around town. I started visiting New York a couple times a year and […]
Installing Presets in Lightroom 5
Installing Presets in Lightroom 5 Mayra (QUESTION): [A photographer] gave me his presets but I don’t know how to install presets. Phillip Van Nostrand (ANSWER): I can tell you how to install presets: 1) Click on Lightroom>Preferences>Presets 2) In the middle of the screen it should say “Show Lightroom Presets Folder.” Click on that. Phillip Van Nostrand […]
Two ways to charge for your services
Terra (QUESTION): Can we discuss a price list and what I should charge for services like family sessions, family parties, individual portraits, and a friend’s underground band wants me to do a shoot for them as well? Phillip Van Nostrand (ANSWER): For all of those things, you have two options: one is easier to do and the […]
The Biggest Photography Mistakes You Can Make
Lauren (QUESTION): What are some of the biggest photography mistakes you see photographers making, both business-wise and skill-wise? Phillip Van Nostrand (ANSWER): I think a big waste of time that I see people doing is playing around with edits a lot, trying vignetting, or vintage edits, playing with contrast, etc. I kinda wish someone had told me to […]
Shooting Runway Fashion
Shooting Runway Fashion SARAH (QUESTION): Do you have any tips for shooting runway events outside? Should the images be tack sharp? Should I use a flash? I am shooting Aspen fashion week. PHILLIP VAN NOSTRAND (ANSWER): Runway shows should be incredibly lit, so you don’t really have to do anything but pull the trigger. You should also […]
Shooting for Fashion Bloggers
Shooting for Fashion Bloggers KATIE (QUESTION): With these fashion blog shoots, are they paying you? If so, how do the bloggers make money? Is it from people wanting to advertise on their blog? PHILLIP VAN NOSTRAND (ANSWER): No, I’m not getting paid. It’s all for the connections for me from the exposure on their blogs. […]
Wedding Vendor Relationships
Wedding Vendor Relationships DENISE (QUESTIONS): Do you provide all your vendors with images? Do they refer you out? PHILLIP VAN NOSTRAND (ANSWER): I do usually provide my vendors with images, but in the past my main source of referrals has been from brides and grooms (and sometimes their mothers). I think this is due to my personality type and […]