Who Had The Better Brushes Leonardo or Michelangel

Who Had The Better Brushes Leonardo or Michelangelo?

by: Robert Hartness

Ordinary photos of dull subjects do actually sell, but the dramatic shots generally have an unusual element that makes them stand out from the crowd. They are wellcomposed and they carry no excess baggage.

One of the best photos Iกve seen was taken many years ago in New York Central Station (1928) Itกs quite famous and youกve probably seen it. Sunlight streams in through the windows dominating the scene, while people mill about the expansive floor in a hustlebustle atmosphere.

Photographers of yesteryear were past masters of judging the best exposure for a dramatic shot, without the benefit of modern gadgetry. I just wonder about that when I hear the death knell being tolled on the use of film.

We’re told that 60% of the income of Kodak UK came from digital cameras last year, as Kodak announced big job cuts. Immediately, the media produced a kneejerk reaction that claimed film is dead. True the public are totally won over by the shortterm gains of the digital camera, but what about the professionals?

Many studio photographers may well switch to fitting a digital back on to their Mamiyas, but what about fieldwork? Big shots with view cameras and 6ก9กs, not to mention the use of long lenses for wildlife and sport, will still be dominated by film rather than digital.

Digital cameras are great for the mass market, where shots are generally taken with the subject a close range. Some of the photos of flowers that Iกve seen for example, are quite exceptional. In many cases, using film for these shots would be beyond most average users because judging the best exposure would be too difficult.

The public are happiest when they can they can just point and shoot. The modern digital camera allows them to do this and produce exceptional pictures of family events, so they’re happy. However, put these same cameras to a stiffer test and film wins hands down. Even the latest, best and most expensive cameras still fall short of the best that film can produce, especially where the subject is at a fair distance e.g. most landscapes.

Coming back to oldtime photographers, I just can’t see anyone producing, or rather reproducing the same quality shots of say, Ansell Adams, using a digital camera instead of film. For Ansell Adams, substitute Man Ray, or a host of other cult photographers and youกll soon catch my drift.

Regarding photos that sell, the type of camera used is irrelevant when the client looks at the final result. Iกm sure that Michelangelo never crossed swords with Leonardo about who had the better brushes. Itกs the masterpiece that counts, not the tools used to produce it.

And yet this epic battle between digital and film cameras is important, because a lot of time and effort can be wasted, trying to produce shots that sell with equipment that just isn’t up to the job.

Without being prescriptive or dogmatic, it seems to me that any prospective Freelance photographer must weigh up the pros and cons of digital versus film carefully. It is the nature of the photograph being attempted that should decide the matter rather than personal prejudice.

Another key factor is, of course, the preference of the client. Where the customer is happy with small digital images then convenience may suggest using digital. So, for someone who shoots a range of photos it seems sensible to become conversant with both. Digital and film cameras are totally different beasts, especially with regard to exposure ก rules of thumbก.

After excellent composition, shots that sell need perfect lighting so the modern freelance photographer should use the best tools, digital or film to achieve the perfect shot of his chosen subject. Thatกs the kernel of truth Iกve yanked out of the splinters of this hoary old chestnut for you.

About The Author

Robert Hartness

One of a series of articles by Robert Hartness, successful freelance and author of an hotlinked, flipover, ebook, published on the web in October 2004. It offers a stepbystep guide to those on the threshold of freelance photography and is illustrated with 40+ published photographs. Acclaimed as a great reference source for serious freelancers. More information and order link http://www.cashfromyourcamera.com

This article was posted on October 19, 2004

by Robert Hartness

How to Effectively Hire a Ghost Writer

How to Effectively Hire a Ghost Writer

by: Matt Bacak

In todayกs busy world, whether your business is large or small, it is easy to become over whelmed with daytoday tasks. Suddenly you realize that you need to update your web presence content or you need to have a processes and procedures manual onhand in case of key personnel being out. It just becomes too much to handle! Or perhaps you need to produce articles to promote your business, but writing simply isn’t your forte. What do you do? Itกs simple; hire a ghost writer to assist you in performing your writing tasks.

Professional, wellqualified ghost writers can be contacted via any number of freelance project posting sites such as www.guru.com or www.elance.com, and others. These freelance project posting sites permit a buyer who needs writing projects completed, while maintaining all rights to the material upon payment, to post a project description and allow ขWork for Hireข freelance writers to bid on your project. You can set the time length during which bidding is permitted and even request samples of the writersก work for review.

When posting a freelance writing project for bid on any project posting site, you should strive to communicate facts clearly so that service providers can bid accurately on your project.

Establish exactly what length, in number of words or pages, you are requesting to be written for you.

Define exactly the content and purpose of your requested project. Some examples of content types are web content, search engine optimized web content, magazine article, resume, processes and procedures manual, howto report, ebook, or white paper. The type of writer that will bid on one type of job may not be well suited to another type of project.

Define format requirement. These requirements include exactly what format you want the data should be delivered to you as a final product such as MS Word, plain text, or rich text format.

Determine precisely the deadline for delivery of your final products. If you have an exact need date for your material, state that date in your project description. Those writers who can not meet your deadline will simply not waste your time reading their bids.

Communicate any other requirements. You may want content to have bulleted points, or to have margins of 1.5 inches on every side. Any requirements that you desire in your final product should be stated in your project description. Most freelance writers, upon accepting your project award, copy your exact project description into their information files to ensure they are working to your specifications.

The online freelance project posting systems allow you to review the portfolios of the writers who are members of that system. You can select based on criteria such as previous feedback, length of time on the system and other factors to view a selection of service providersก information. You can then select a few service providers which appear to fit your needs and invite them to bid on your project, if you wish.

Keep in mind when reviewing service providersก feedback reports that no one makes everyone happy all of the time. If a 5.0 is a perfect rating, and a writer has over 20 projects on which they have received feedback, you can expect at least one client to have not given even an exceptional writer a perfect score. Be realistic and look for service providers with a feedback rating near the top as well as those at the top of the ratings.

Once bids have been placed on your project, review those bids. It is wise to identify which service providers bidding on the project included in their response your exact project requirements. If you stated that you desire 30 articles written and the bid stated the provider will write 15 articles for you, it is clear that they did not read the project description. That kind of inattention to detail when bidding can indicate a general lack of attention and your project deserves to be treated with care. A good service provider will tell you in their bid exactly what services they will provide for how much money and within what timeframe. If those key items are not contained in the bid, move on and review the ones that have clearly responded to your request.

If you request samples of work from the service providers bidding on your project, you can expect to receive anywhere from one to two articles per bid to as many as ten articles attached to bids. Read at least one sample from each bid to learn about that writerกs style and tone. If the sample style fits with what you have in mind and their bid reflected care and precision in bidding, you should add that writer to your ขshort listข.

As soon as you have honed the respondents down to three or four bids that are from reliable providers, choose based on price and turnaround time that best suits your personal needs. There are many, many wonderful freelance writers working in the global marketplace of the Internet today. Let them relieve you from some of your job stress by writing documentation and content for you!

About The Author

Matt Bacak became ก#1 Best Selling Authorก in just a few short hours.

Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s eBiz radio show host is

turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories.

Discover The Secrets. www.PromotingTips.com

This article was posted on September 06

by Matt Bacak

How to Effectively Hire a Ghost Writer

How to Effectively Hire a Ghost Writer

by: Matt Bacak

In todayกs busy world, whether your business is large or small, it is easy to become over whelmed with daytoday tasks. Suddenly you realize that you need to update your web presence content or you need to have a processes and procedures manual onhand in case of key personnel being out. It just becomes too much to handle! Or perhaps you need to produce articles to promote your business, but writing simply isn’t your forte. What do you do? Itกs simple; hire a ghost writer to assist you in performing your writing tasks.

Professional, wellqualified ghost writers can be contacted via any number of freelance project posting sites such as www.guru.com or www.elance.com, and others. These freelance project posting sites permit a buyer who needs writing projects completed, while maintaining all rights to the material upon payment, to post a project description and allow ขWork for Hireข freelance writers to bid on your project. You can set the time length during which bidding is permitted and even request samples of the writersก work for review.

When posting a freelance writing project for bid on any project posting site, you should strive to communicate facts clearly so that service providers can bid accurately on your project.

Establish exactly what length, in number of words or pages, you are requesting to be written for you.

Define exactly the content and purpose of your requested project. Some examples of content types are web content, search engine optimized web content, magazine article, resume, processes and procedures manual, howto report, ebook, or white paper. The type of writer that will bid on one type of job may not be well suited to another type of project.

Define format requirement. These requirements include exactly what format you want the data should be delivered to you as a final product such as MS Word, plain text, or rich text format.

Determine precisely the deadline for delivery of your final products. If you have an exact need date for your material, state that date in your project description. Those writers who can not meet your deadline will simply not waste your time reading their bids.

Communicate any other requirements. You may want content to have bulleted points, or to have margins of 1.5 inches on every side. Any requirements that you desire in your final product should be stated in your project description. Most freelance writers, upon accepting your project award, copy your exact project description into their information files to ensure they are working to your specifications.

The online freelance project posting systems allow you to review the portfolios of the writers who are members of that system. You can select based on criteria such as previous feedback, length of time on the system and other factors to view a selection of service providersก information. You can then select a few service providers which appear to fit your needs and invite them to bid on your project, if you wish.

Keep in mind when reviewing service providersก feedback reports that no one makes everyone happy all of the time. If a 5.0 is a perfect rating, and a writer has over 20 projects on which they have received feedback, you can expect at least one client to have not given even an exceptional writer a perfect score. Be realistic and look for service providers with a feedback rating near the top as well as those at the top of the ratings.

Once bids have been placed on your project, review those bids. It is wise to identify which service providers bidding on the project included in their response your exact project requirements. If you stated that you desire 30 articles written and the bid stated the provider will write 15 articles for you, it is clear that they did not read the project description. That kind of inattention to detail when bidding can indicate a general lack of attention and your project deserves to be treated with care. A good service provider will tell you in their bid exactly what services they will provide for how much money and within what timeframe. If those key items are not contained in the bid, move on and review the ones that have clearly responded to your request.

If you request samples of work from the service providers bidding on your project, you can expect to receive anywhere from one to two articles per bid to as many as ten articles attached to bids. Read at least one sample from each bid to learn about that writerกs style and tone. If the sample style fits with what you have in mind and their bid reflected care and precision in bidding, you should add that writer to your ขshort listข.

As soon as you have honed the respondents down to three or four bids that are from reliable providers, choose based on price and turnaround time that best suits your personal needs. There are many, many wonderful freelance writers working in the global marketplace of the Internet today. Let them relieve you from some of your job stress by writing documentation and content for you!

About The Author

Matt Bacak became ก#1 Best Selling Authorก in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s eBiz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets http://promotingtips.com.

This article was posted on August 08

by Matt Bacak

Web Marketers Get Some Professional Help!

Web Marketers Get Some Professional Help!

by: Tim Coulter

There is lots of freelance help available on the internet, from writers, editors, proofreaders and other professionals in the writing industry to software developers, graphic designers, web designers and all manner of other technical and business specialists.
Thanks to the increasingly popular outsourcing exchanges, such as Elance.com, SmarterWork.com and ContractedWork.com, it is now very easy to find and hire the right contractor for your project at the right price. If you need help with a technical project, such as software development or web programming, there are even exchanges like RentACoder.com that specialize in these disciplines and organize their participants according to their individual skills.
Using an outsourcing exchange is quick and easy. You simply post a description of your project requirements (in sufficient detail to allow a contractor to estimate its cost) and within hours you will receive proposals from a number of freelance specialists, each one eager to win your business.
You can even use an outsourcing exchange as a research tool, to get an idea of the likely cost of a development project that you may be considering. However, you should beware of posting repeatedly without awarding a contract, as this will earn you the reputation of a timewaster and may adversely affect the response you receive to future postings. As a buyer of freelance services, posting your requirements is usually free. It is the contractor that pays for access to the service, either as a monthly subscription or as a percentage commission on the value of contracts awarded.
If you decide to award a contract in response to a posting, you can protect yourself (and the contractor) using escrow payments. You simply prepay the contract value into an escrow account (an interim bank account provided by the exchange operator) knowing that it will only be released to the contractor when you confirm that the work has been completed to your satisfaction. Likewise, the contractor benefits from the reassurance that funds have been reserved to pay for his services. For complex projects, it is even possible to administer phased payments via the escrow account and, in the event of a dispute, take advantage of an arbitration service.
One of the benefits of online outsourcing exchanges is that they provide access to contractors from all over the world. Several countries (such as India and parts of Eastern Europe) have very low labor rates but a highly skilled and professional workforce, making it possible to buy highquality services very economically. Most of these professionals also speak and write English to a very high standard, making formal communication no more difficult that with a local contractor. The instantaneous nature of internet communication means that it is no longer necessary to collaborate facetoface.
Of course, the use of freelance contractors is not without its risks. To ensure that your project delivers the results you’re expecting, you should follow a few simple guidelines:

Create a budget for your entire project so that you know how much each aspect should cost. This will enable you to assess the overall feasibility before you start spending money on contractors.
Write a detailed specification for each of your freelance requirements.
If appropriate, use a nondisclosure agreement before sending out the specification to bidders. If so, it will be necessary to post a project overview in the freelance exchange and to operate a closed bidding process.
Get a fixed price quotation before assigning work to any freelancer. If a freelancer is unable to provide a fixedprice quotation, it may be an indication that your requirement specification is not sufficiently clear or detailed a warning sign of trouble ahead.
Administer your freelance assignment using a written legal contract that clearly specifies time limits, fees, dispute procedures, confidentiality, ownership and other contractual terms.
If possible, use the exchangeกs escrow payment service to protect yourself and the contractor.

If you take the freelance route, it is important to ensure that all rights to profit from the final product, or any materials produced in its creation, remain yours. If you do not, it is possible that a contractor employed to contribute to your project could claim the result as his own and use or sell it independently when it is completed.
You should keep a paper trail linking yourself to anyone with whom you discuss your project, including emails, letters, faxes, and even written records of telephone conversations. This will establish the relationship between you and your contractors, and will prove the source of any confidential details. Although this paper trail may never be needed, if problems arise youกll be glad you made that little extra effort.

About The Author

Copyright © Tim Coulter. All rights reserved.
Tim Coulter is a consultant and software developer who helps netpreneurs to harness marketing technologies.
He is also the author of กClickBank The Definitive Guideก The Ultimate ClickBank Tutorial & Reference Manual.

http://www.clickbankrevealed.com/

This article was posted on June 29, 2004

by Tim Coulter