Casey Templeton Photography

Every photographer has a website these days, but very few are utilizing their website to its full ability.  A website consist of multiple files that are “hosted” online in a directory. To access your directory, contact your website hosting company and ask for your FTP information.

What FTP information looks like:

• FTP Server: ftp.yoursite.com
• FTP Username: exampleusername
• Password: samplepassword

Once you have this information, you can use FTP programs such as Fetch, FileZilla, Ubermind for Aperture, even some browsers have built in FTP such as Firefox FTP, to organize, store, deliver files, create web galleries, etc.

Basic way folders/directories work on your FTP:

Inside your directory, you have multiple folders and they are split up by the “/” and you can have various folders and images on your FTP site that you can access from anywhere you can jump online.  This can also be a great spot to store files you need while on the road and you can access them from any computer.  Notice below how the URL shows the path to the files.

Click on this link to see what the main directory of “ftpexample” looks like online: http://www.caseytempleton.com/ftpexample/ Here you can see that the other files on your website are safe because when you click on “Parent Directory” it takes the viewer to your main website.

Send large files to clients:

Sending large files is made extremely easy when using your FTP rather than emailing or using other file sharing programs. I believe this is also much more professional and keeps your client inside your brand. All you have to do is send them a single link and when they click on it, a window pops up and ask where you want to save the file. Try it below.

• Select a file, folder, or multiple files
• Right click and select “compress”
• Drop it on your FTP
• Send complete link to client ( ex. www.casytempleton.com/ftpexample/bigfile.tif.zip )

Post Web Galleries

You can set up folders for your clients and create web galleries showing your work or takes from a shoot. Programs such as Aperture, Lightroom, and Photo Mechanic are great programs to create web galleries. When you export a gallery using these programs, it produces a folder and inside has an index file, folders to hold your images and other files the site requires.  You can rename only the main folder and simply drag this into your main FTP folder. See below how this example gallery created in Aperture will look in your directory: http://www.caseytempleton.com/ftpexample/clientA/

I take a lot of bad photos and sometimes that is exactly what it takes to get the image that works.  Too many photographers look at bad photos as failures, not opportunities to learn.  These are the photos that take me a step towards the ideal image. The following video shows all 1579 images I took while working a recent fashion shoot.

I had the pleasure of working on this fashion shoot with art director Justin Vaughan, of Richmond Magazine, who gave me extreme freedom to pour my style into the project.  I also worked with stylist Molly Todd and models Mendy St. Ours and Nick Vitale, who were provided by Modelogic Wilhelmina.  You can view this project in print on Richmond Magazine’s Issuu.

A year in the making, I was excited to ship my official introduction to nearly 300 of the top creative folks in the photo industry last month. After a successful 2008 and beginning of 2009, I realized my commercial work came mostly through word of mouth and that I had made no marketing efforts. I knew in order to take my business to the next level, I needed to start marketing myself on a national level and more importantly, I had only one chance to make an awesome first impression.

“As an art buyer, I get a lot of little promotional pieces. I am spoiled. BUT, yours was so well put together and well done that I stopped everything I was doing and went to your website. NOT to my surprise your work is just as thoughtful, innovative and touching as your promotional piece. I officially have a work crush on you. Please come and see us so we can put you to work ASAP.:)”

This promo would be the first time the agencies and art buyers would hear about me so I wanted to fill it with items that told something about who I was. The challenge was how to fill a box with multiple items and not make it feel like a junk box. I worked closely with Suzanne Sease and Rob Jefferson to find items that were relevant to the audience of art buyers and creative directors and compiled my mailing list with Suzanne using Agency Access.  I needed every piece of this promo to have a wow-factor so I worked exclusively with the most talented Robb Major to design everything from the screen printing of the shipping box to the design on the matchboxes.  To tie it all together, I included my “to-do list” which is below.

“Cool promotional box! So much so in fact that I feel compelled to use you for our next photo shoot. I have a client in ————.  Are you available and interested? Wow, this just goes to prove the power of good advertising.”

“This is the most amazing promo I’ve ever received in my 12 years of art buying! I truly hope to work with you soon and I hope this gets you a ton of work! Its genius!”

“I just received your magic lunchbox and I gotta say it’s quite the spread. The San Cristobal just made my drive to NY tomorrow night that much better. If you’re ever in ——– for a job let me know and I’ll set you up with a portfolio review with my art producer colleagues so they can get to know you. Thank you and stay in touch.”

It took two snowy days and a dozen awesome friends to put all of these boxes together and shipped in early February. The response has been outstanding and I have received an amazing amount of free T-shirt cards back full of comments request for portfolios as well as phone calls. The big task now is follow through….. and thinking about a 2011 promo!

Want a retro (empty, sorry) lunch tin of your own? Leave a convincing comment below and I may just feel compelled to mail you one.

I am thrilled to announce two 1-month internship opportunities with Casey Templeton Photography for Summer-Fall 2010.

Position Summary:

This is an opportunity to work in a broad range of environments and with a broader range of clients. Photographers who wish to gain experience in on-location commercial photography will find this opportunity particularly beneficial. This position will also give the participant unique insight into the challenges and strategies involved in maintaining a photography business.

The first 1-month internship will take place between May and August, while the second will run between September and December. The participant must be available for six days a week during their assigned four week block. $1,000 will be provided to help cover living expenses during the internship.

Skills:

The best candidate is a driven individual with experience, either through education, work, or both, in photography or video and a desire to advance in the field.
An understanding of basic functions and principles of the camera and photography is a must.
Proficiency with Apple computers is preferred.
Proficiency in basic web design and Video and Audio capture is a plus but not required.
Firm grasp of social media management preferred.

To Apply:

• Download Application Form and submit with a resume
• Write a short essay (feel free to be creative in both writing and presentation) explaining why you would be the best candidate
• Find/take a creative self portrait
• Submit a portfolio of 10 images (longest side 1024px) or a video (posted on YouTube)