concentrate

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Awesome Giveaway By Photography Concentrate

November 26, 2013 by Seshu

My friends Lauren & Rob Lim of Photography Concentrate are Canadians. And, they celebrated Thanksgiving back on October 14.

But for the US Thanksgiving holiday and for Black Friday and Cyber Monday especially, they wanted to do something special. They have gone ahead and offered all of you a 40% discount on ALL their tutorials and ebooks. This is huge and it isn't something they will likely repeat for another year.

Look, we all want to be better at photography than we were last year. At least, I would hope those of you who read Tiffinbox feel that way. From several of you who have privately emailed me and thanked me for introducing you to resource, a website or a tool that has elevated your craft or business, I know I am pretty good at curating the very best offers out there for you.

The tutorials and ebooks that Photography Concentrate has offered in the past have always been mentioned here because Lauren and Rob Lim consistently produce useful, actionable resources for photographers. Every ebook I receive from them is so full of incredible examples that are not only expressed succinctly but also illustrated beautifully.

These are books you will use over and over again. I promise. How do I know? Because I use them again and again all the time.

The sale starts on Black Friday (that's this Friday) and ends on December 2nd, Cyber Monday. Buy the e-book or tutorial you really need for yourself or your business.

And Lauren and Rob are sweetening the deal even more, giving you a chance at winning a $1000 shopping spree at B&H. Bookmark this post and come back here between Black Friday and Cyber Monday to buy your favorite Photography Concentrate e-book or tutorial. You won't regret it!

Learn more about this special, time-sensitive offer here.

The Creativity Field Guide By Photography Concentrate

November 14, 2013 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

So there I was wedged in between my two kids at the very back of a mini-van. You know those seats really only meant for munchkins and not adults. I got there because the other seats were already occupied. We were returning back home from a trip when we got stuck in rush hour traffic. Not able to move inside the car or outside. What fun, right? When that happens I usually get antsy. And so do my kids. So to keep them entertained, I took my camera out and we started playing with light.

Yes, all three of us took turns making images. I set the ISO, a slow shutter speed and an aperture of f/8 or so. Then as the car moved, we each took turns swinging the camera wildly around. Kept us busy, entertained and for the kids, definitely intrigued. Here's what we came up with:

This is one of the tips the folks at Photography Concentrate (that's Rob & Lauren Lim) suggest in their new ebook, The Creativity Field Guide.

I was sent a copy to review and I immediately fell in love with it. I think it's absolutely fantastic for those who are starting out in photography or even seasoned pros who just need a little jolt of inspiration to get going again.

Look, we all get stuck. When it comes to writing, I've suggested you dive into Irresistible Words. Many of you took my advice and love the course.

But what do you do when you are in a photographic rut? We've all been there haven't we? We end up photographing a wedding from the same perspective or it's a portrait of a family that doesn't personally inspire you. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to get out and start making images again. But what do you photograph, how do you photograph it or where do you go to photograph? Right?

That's where the helpful Creativity Field Guide comes in to rescue you. Flip the pages around to an exercise or a quote and let that process in turn inspire you to pick up your camera and make images you love again.

True to their brand, Rob and Lauren Lim have a gorgeously designed PDF. Colorful pages, tons of images and examples, wonderful pull quotes from master photographers and lots of practical advice make this a guide you will want to refer to again and again. I know it will be something I use every day.

The Creativity Field Guide will normally sell for $15.95 (which in itself is a bargain), but you can get it at a 40% discount for $9.57, now through Thursday, November 21st. Buy it now, be inspired. You even get a 60-day money back guarantee. Such a sweet deal!

How To Concentrate On Your Photography

August 2, 2012 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

We've all been there. At the beginning. Where we didn't know anything, or we knew a few things about photography but were awfully rough at the edges.

Sure, we were proud of those first images but didn't know an f/stop from a door stop, didn't know our way around Lightroom or Photoshop, our wedding photography business was complicated and our album designs looked more like a quilt, a hodgepodge of images thrown onto a page.

Look, even I'll admit I have been there.

We all had to start somewhere. With practice and the right tools things just came together for me. One more thing helped – having the right mentors walk with me on this journey. I am sure you've felt this way as well – you wanted, no needed, somebody to hold your hand.

For me, Rob and Lauren of Photography Concentrate have done just that through their photography tutorials.

To celebrate the relaunch of their site they're having a mega sale! For a very limited time you can get any of their four tutorials for 30% off!! The sale is starting right now, so you can grab them today! They have:

• Simple Wedding Photography [affiliate link] (Reg. US$39.95, On Sale for only US$27.97)? An e-book that teaches you everything you need to know about photographing weddings, and the business behind it.
• Extremely Essential Camera Skills [affiliate link] (Reg. US$49.95, On Sale for only US$34.97)? A multi-media tutorial designed to help you get control over your camera, and get creative and confident with your photography.
• Super Photo Editing Skills [affiliate link] (Reg. US$79.95, On Sale for only US$55.97)? A video tutorial that teaches you how to bring the best out of your images using Adobe Lightroom 4.
• Awesome Album Design Skills [affiliate link] (Reg. US$79.95, On Sale for only US$55.97)? A video tutorial that shows you how to quickly design beautiful albums using Adobe InDesign.

All of their tutorials are digital products available for immediate download, so you can start learning right away. The sale prices are automatically applied, so it's nice and easy to save big!

Thankfully, the photography industry has changed over the last 10 years where sharing information has become more of the norm. It's rather rare for Photography Concentrate to hold a sale like this, so, if you have been eyeing their tutorials, this is the time to get it.

Oooh, before I forget, you could win a $200 gift card to Amazon.com if you comment here.

If you buy any of the Photography Concentrate tutorials now through August 9th (when the sale ends), please come back here and let me know in the comments section below what you thought of them.

As always, I will never recommend anything to you unless I have given the products or services a try myself. Please do note that you should safely assume that all links in this post are affiliate links.

Photography Concentrate Offers Special Black Friday Deals For Photographers, Ends Nov. 29

November 24, 2011 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

In the US, you are all just about ready to sit down and have a good meal with your family and friends. Here's wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving, from my family to yours.

What comes next is usually considered the biggest SALE day of the year, or Black Friday. I haven't done that 2 am mall run in ages and have no desire to send you looking for stuff at such a witching hour either. Life isn't a scavenger hunt. Instead of buying “stuff” that will collect dust in no time, how about giving your brain a boost and learning some new techniques or getting your photography fundamentals down?

Full disclosure: Rob & Lauren of Photography Concentrate are friends. I love their products, I have used them myself and have learned a tremendous amount from them. Yes, even professionals need to keep learning. All the time. So the links you will find here are all affiliate links.

If you are just beginning to use your digital camera, consider buying Extremely Essential Camera Skills. Regularly priced at $49.95, if you buy it before November 29 (midnight), you'll save $19.98. I reviewed this gem of an ebook (comes with videos to explain a few necessary fundamental things about your camera) and everybody who has bought it through my affiliate link has thanked me later. With a whole lot of you buying cameras – be they point & shoot or DSLRs, you'll want to get this truly foundational course to get you going.

Once you have your photography skills down pat, you'll need help with editing them. The team at Photography Concentrate have a tutorial called Super Photo Editing Skills. It too is on sale. Instead of paying $79.95, you can buy it for $47.97, saving you $31.98. If you ever wanted to learn how to use Lightroom, this is a great video tutorial. What's awesome is that you can pause it, rewind and watch it again and again until the concepts and the steps make sense to you.

When you are done editing your images, you have a couple of choices. You can save them on hard drives or you can share them with the world. Albums are always a good choice because they have staying power. Awesome Album Design Skills, is another tutorial that Rob and Lauren have produced for portrait and wedding photographers. They show us how they use InDesign to quickly and efficiently create custom albums for their clients. This too will be selling for $47.97 through the end of November 29th, so you'll want to jump on this deal if you are ready to go pro. It's regularly priced at $79.95.

In addition to the sale, Photography Concentrate has a new free eBook – The Camera Buying Guide (do they just think of everything?) and giving away a Fuji Instax camera (brings you back in time to your Polaroid days doesn't it?).

Please remember that the sale starts NOW and ends on November 29th at midnight EST. If you do buy these products, please come back here and let me know what you thought about them. Your feedback is valued greatly.