Facebook has been an amazing way for me, and other photographers alike to share their passion to the rest of their network. The only problem is, Facebook’s compression process destroys the quality of each photograph. Colors look dull, sharpness turns into weird jagged edges and yet it all looks out of focus. Why?!

Well, without getting into the WHY part of it all, I’d like to share with you how I go about getting better (if not, best) quality photos on our favorite social network. This will not by any means compare to the quality dedicated photo sharing sites like Flickr have been able to demonstrate, but it gets you closer!

Side note: According to Facebook’s Terms of Service Agreement:

you retain full ownership of all of your User Content and any intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights associated with your User Content.

Everything that they say before that line merely protects them to do all the things they do to make sure your stuff gets up on Facebook okay, and enables you to do things like share, crop (for your profile), etc.

Now, onto better photo uploads!

Step 1: Editing Photos

Edit photos as you normally would, whether it is cropping them, boosting saturation, or turning it into sepia using your favorite editor of choice.

Step 2: Organizing Your Favorite 60 (at a time)

Figure out which photos you wish to upload in groups of 60. Facebook limits albums to 60 photos, so for new albums, that’s your magic number. If you’re uploading to an existing album, start counting.

Step 3: Exporting

This is the meat of it.

You want to export (or save duplicates) your photos with the following settings:

• JPEG
• Minimal Metadata (no titles or tags)
• DPI of 200+
• Longest Edge of 604 pixels
• Maximum Quality (90-100)

Step 4: Uploading to Facebook

Whether you do or do not have a plug-in for uploading directly to Facebook, I like keep quality control high by doing everything by hand. Go to your homepage on Facebook and select the “Photos” link on your right. Select “Create A New Album” and proceed as normal. Using their interface, navigate to your exported folder and upload!

If anything, I trust Lightroom’s plug-in the most since it essentially follows the same exact steps that I normally take. Since I would imagine most people don’t have Lightroom, the former steps will work fine.

Step 5: Additional Resources

Lightroom Facebook Plug-in [Adobe Photoshop Lightroom]

Aperture Facebook Exporter [Apple Aperture]

iPhoto Facebook Uploader [Apple iPhoto]

Hopefully you have found this useful. If you have any questions about any part of this, feel free to contact me at studio [at] kvwong [dot] com. I’d be happy to help you however I can.

Thanks!

I’ve taken the next logical step in starting a business: setting my rates.

It has been a challenging process figuring out what I’m really worth and answer the question of “how much is reasonable? While not undervaluing myself as someone who really cares about this stuff, I didn’t want to make it a process about making money, but one where I respect the market and the value of photography as a whole.

So with some feedback (thank you!) from friends, reading a bunch of Flickr comments, and crafting a spreadsheet comparing the various studios/photographers in the area, I feel comfortable in what I’ve set out for you today. There may be some minor tweaks along the way, and that all comes with starting off. I look forward to the questions you may have and the opportunities that will come if you decide to accept.

Pricing and packages are for off site portraits (children, couples and individuals) and weddings. For inquiries, shoot me and email at studio [at] kvwong [dot] com.

Pricing and Packages

Still Motion isn’t the only house in town that does photography and videography for weddings, but they sure are amazing at what they do. My friend Billy, who is currently growing his video skills shared this with me as he prepares for his sister’s own wedding.  Below was the first of many that simply made me jump up in excitement!

Cheryl + Andrew’s SDE - Vancouver from StillMotion on Vimeo.

This sort of offering was not on my mind, but it really opened me up to think about how photography and videography play their role in telling a story about two individual’s coming together.  Whether you agree or not with their visual style and cinematographic approach, it’s definitely not something you get from your uncle’s latest technology purchase. Until I fully realize that relationship, I will continue watching these onVimeo in HD and drooling all over my keyboard.

Enjoy!

I just recently attended my first wedding where the couple getting married were friends of mine. This wasn’t your mother’s friend’s coworker’s daughter kind of thing either. All I have to say is that pizza, ice cream and Franzia make the perfect wedding combination.

Aside from the shenanigans and countryside fun, this was also my first wedding that I had the opportunity to shoot as an aspiring professional. I was not the hired photographer, nor the assistant - it was just me pressing the shutter button every time something interesting happened. Every time something special happened really meant all the time. After burning out my memory card twice, I began to realize the intricacies in weddings more so than previously imagined.

The thing about this momentous occasion is how much emotion goes into the event. This is not just speaking about the bride and groom. They are the family members, the close friends, and those who are just plain emotional. The results are photos and memories of not people, but what they represent. It’s happiness, love, kindness, trust - hope. So next time you’re at a wedding, pay attention to the others around because those photos will express the joy they feel for the couple’s marriage.

There’s a story to be told and thankfully, we’re equipped with the right tools that let us do so.  Check out the gallery for shots from the wedding and share your blessings for Liz and Jody’s new beginnings.

Liz and Jody’s Gallery

I wanted to share a recent experience of mine (hehe) that was shared with some pretty wonderful people. Over the weekend on Saturday, we gathered over to my place for a photo shoot inspired by the 1930’s and 40’s. It was a wonderful chance for many of us to flex our creative muscles like never before.  It was a very involved six hours, but the end result so far has been incredibly rewarding.

Facebook Album | Flickr Set

Let me introduce the cast and characters:

• Linda Pham (Photographer)
• John Taing (Photographer)
• Caroline Dang (Photographer + Model)
• Billy Shih (Videographer)
• Jane (Photographer)
• Yaddi Ty (Hairstylist + Model)
• Diana Sunwoo (Makeup + Model)
• Bao-Uyen Nguyen (Model)
• Chandler Kempton (Model)
• Vira Dahn (Makeup + Model)
• Chad Chambers (Model)
• Jesse Dunagan (Model)
• Carina Carter (Wardrobe + Model)
• and Myself (Photographer)

Yes, that’s a lot of people, and we were in a tiny room! There were many lessons learned that day, and much of it realized fairly quickly early on.

Personal Takeaways

Spend more time with the model on a 1:1 basis. Having been in the model’s position during the shoot, you immediately empathize with them on how stressful it is to try and pose for six different people. The flashes, “over here’s” and more is overwhelming for the uninitiated. Hopefully next time, we will have more room to do concurrent shoots and rotate throughout the day.

Take charge of the model. As a photographer, we have a vision in mind that is composed with the right amount of bokeh, light and angle of view. It’s up to us to ensure that this vision is fully realized by working with the model to illustrate that frame (see above).  I did not take as much charge as I would have liked, nor did I get an opportunity to sketch out a vision beforehand. However, I also question when sketching out comps prior to would have had any benefit since there was no way I would have known what the outfits were going to be.

Keeping positive and focused.  This is one area that is critical to the success of any shoot. Regardless of the circumstances you are presented with, making it the best possible situation is key to a positive outcome. How can I say that? Well that’s sort of the reason why I called this part of the site, Experience. It’s all about learning, no matter what level of photography, or artistry one has achieved. If someone else is always going to be better than you at something, then there’s something left to improve on.  

More importantly, when you are working with friends, keeping it positive is important to the health of everyone’s experience. Pushing through the shortcomings of what I mentioned above, I was soon left with nothing but smiling faces feeling more joy than your typical Saturday would bring. As a photographer, I believe my job is not only in capturing the moment, but to also share that back with them. Giving people reasons to feel good about their experiences is what makes this activity so exciting!

In Short…

I had an amazing time learning about the softer sides of photography. The next event is still up in the air, but suggestions are always welcome! To close, I wanted to share a teaser video Billy produced for us hungry dogs who want to see things in motion:

30’s and 40’s Teaser from Billy is my real name on Vimeo.

Fairly exciting news! On June 4th, I was contacted via Flickr that one of my photos from the Olympic Sculpture Park grand opening will be used in the Schamp Northwest Guide this year. While it’s not my most famed comps, the visibility is great! Thank you Flickr and the people at Schmap.com!