Profile photos for Facebook

When you are a photographer, you tend to look exhaustively profile photos for Facebook. Sometimes I just can’t understand why anyone would hurt itself  with such a terrible image.

First option: hire a photographer

And it’s really unnecessary. You can have great pictures if you go to a good photographer. But it’s possible you just can afford one. However, think twice. It’s your image and it will appear in your profile thousands of times. It will determine, partially, the impression people gets from you.

Alternatives

So you’re sure you just can’t afford it. Then you just can choose among the pics you have or you can try to make a self-portrait. First option should be the best, because most people simply does not want to work for a while to get themselves a pic. But you need to have some common sense to choose one of that pictures someone did. As long as you won’t pay anyone to do it, please dedicate some time to pay attention to your eyes, your expression, your teeth and about if you really like that pic. If you go to the self-portrait, find your camera settings for auto-shoot.

Self portrait options in camera
Self portrait options in camera

 

Then you can have 2, 10, 12 seconds to pose. Do it all the times you need it. Forget the bathroom pics. Get a well illuminated place, get the camera in a safe place and find an adequate background. I prefer a non distracting one, but it’s your call.

 

Here you have similar counsel with really good fun.

If you want to take a look to my Facebook page, you will find some profile pictures I did for some customers and friends and also other pics. Have fun.
http://www.facebook.com/ArcherphotoinEnglish

Free Facebook Backgrounds by Archerphoto, professional photographer in Spain

Yeah, that’s it. I shoot a lot and some pics are not in my main line of work but some people likes them, so I decided to have them available in my Facebook page for using them. You don’t HAVE to do a single thing, but I would love if you add a Like to my page in Facebook (just in case you liked the pictures) and you can tag ArcherphotoinEnglish in the pic. But it’s not compulsory, of course. So, here you have Free Facebook Backgrounds by Archerphoto, professional photographer in Spain. All of the pictures I uploaded were taken in Spain, and I will be uploading more pictures, so keep an eye on me if you want to have more of them.

The link for Free Facebook Backgrounds

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.271076739660123.44140.263728650394932&type=3

Most of them are just landscapes or details, and you have them in the exact resolution for Facebook. Of course, you can’t sell them or transfer them in any way different to use. If you would like to have some of those pictures in high resolution, please mail me and describe me the use you want and I will send you the fee and the conditions. Just remember I am a professional photographer, a commercial photographer who lives in the same planet that you and need money to buy gear and eat daily.

Some of these pictures were taken while I was doing something else: waiting during a portfolio session, or just taking a walk with my camera, and most of them are not modified, just cropped and resized for Facebook.  Just 851×315 as recommended. Perhaps you are thinking if I am going to do something like that for Twitter. Well, I don’t know yet. Do you think it would be interesting?

Free Facebook Backgrounds by Archerphoto, professional photographer in Spain
Free Facebook Backgrounds by Archerphoto, professional photographer in Spain

Flickr Blog: Selected pictures of Flickr.

Flickr Blog: Flickr best selected photos.
One of the photography blogs I do follow is Flickr Blog. In this Flickr page, which is the most important page photograph in the world, they are conducting thematic selections or focuses attention on a photographer or group of photographers. The result is often spectacularly good.

FLICKR BLOG: WHY IS INTERESTING?

Grace, of course, is in the excellent selection Flickr people do. Flickr also provides a daily “Explore”, which is a complicated selection-by-programming algorithm of the 500 most interesting photos that have been uploaded in the last hours. I’ve been lucky enough to see my photos in Explore on many occasions, but the truth is that I have appeared on the blog. Yes, you can take a look at my photos on http://flickr.com/photos/archerphoto

Screenshot of Flickr Blog. The rights belong to the author of each photograph.
Screenshot of Flickr Blog. The rights belong to the author of each photograph.

In any case, the blog is chosen by direct human intervention using a computer valuing  many factors, and the result of personal touch is much better and more interesting. Whether you’re a professional photographer or just an amateur photographer you love photography, I recommend it.

And one more thing, Free Flickr accounts now have 1 GB of free storage, so if you liked your blog, you might want to join the page and have chances to appear on your blog. It’s not impossible :) This also should join one of their groups, Flickr Friday, where calls for photographs related to the theme each week.

Transcend 16GB Wi-Fi. A bad experience.

Transcend 16GB Wi-Fi

I usually write longer reviews, but in this case, with a brief comment will suffice because this is not a detailed analysis but a simple note discussing a bad experience with a Transcend 16GB Wi-Fi I bought in late July 2013.

Having taken a look at the options available (Sandisk Eye-Fi, Toshiba Transcend AirFlash and Wi-Fi), the best option seemed Transcend, so I decided to get myself one.

Transcend 16GB Wi-Fi. A bad experience.

The first moments were a bit disappointing: the card works as a Wi-Fi server and can connect up to three devices, very intuitive to set up, but a few minutes later I could see the photos shot on my Nexus 7 and mobile, thanks to the Android application. In a few minutes, I could see them on the laptop with Windows 7 but here came the first major problem: not only does not transfer RAW files with ease, but to photos download to the computer has to be ONE by ONE. There is a web interface that connects to the card, but you can not automatically download the pictures to your computer. This would streamline the work flow when we are shooting in the studio. I contacted the technical support team to confirm this software flaw and they did.

Transcend 16GB Wi-Fi by Archerphoto, professional photographer in Valencia, Spain
Transcend 16GB Wi-Fi

However, the card was relatively affordable (about 45 €, shipping included) so the profitability could come by the card capacity to transfer directly photos to the cell phone. I was mistaken. That evening I took my EOS 5D Mark III and the card to a beauty event, and suddenly, the card locked my camera. It could not read the pictures and I couldn’t shoot. I had to restart the camera and remove the SD card. Photos are not lost and did not lose the work done that day, but if it was not because I had a second memory card, I’d had not been able to work. In any case, when I got back home, the SD remained unable to work, so I decided that my new SD Class 10 would be returned.

As a commercial photographer I rule out the use of this card and I do not recommended neither for amateur use. The odds that this is only one point of failure are high, but if a professional photographer can not rely on his memory card and this one not only does not permit significant function  (Wi-Fi transmission) but also did not you allow view photos in the camera, those are determining factors to qualify as a bad product.