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Showing posts from July, 2022

Could NFTs be used for online identity verification?

Right now, you can buy an NFT of your favorite photograph, buy land in a metaverse like Decentraland or Cryptovoxels, and build a virtual gallery exhibition from scratch. In 2021, metaverse real estate sales hit $500 million. Experts say that number could double this year. The way we interact online is changing, and it’s happening at lightning speed. The increasingly online nature of our everyday lives has opened countless (virtual) doors, but it’s also presented a complicated problem: online identity theft, wherein someone steals someone else’s information—email addresses, home addresses, bank numbers, social security numbers, and so on. Often, they do this in hopes of financial gain, which constitutes identity fraud. Non-fungible tokens are unique digital assets that live on the blockchain, a kind of public, decentralized ledger. Unfortunately, the NFT space is not immune to bad actors . Phishing, for instance, where scammers pose as legitimate players (e.g., a marketplace, an

What is ISO (and how to use it) in photography

In recent weeks, we’ve covered two of the three basic elements of creating a proper exposure in-camera— aperture and shutter speed —so let’s take a closer look at the third and final corner of the “exposure triangle,” known as ISO. While your aperture and shutter speed settings will determine how much light enters your camera, ISO refers instead to the sensitivity of your film or your digital camera’s ability to capture light. In some ways, this is an oversimplification, but it works well for conceptualizing this term, especially in the beginning. For most of photo history, ISO, and formerly ASA, served as a measure of “film speed.” Popular films frequently have their ISO values in their names. Kodak Ektar 100 has an ISO of 100, while Kodak Portra 400 has an ISO of 400, and so on. On film cameras, there’s usually a wheel that you can use to set your ISO to match the film you’re using.   Higher film speeds require less light to get the same exposure as a slower film. The high

7 Photography Jobs You Wish You Had

The global digital photography market is expected to reach $149.98 billion by 2026, growing from $79.12 in 2017. Cameras are getting better, and editing software is getting smarter. The technology is more accessible than it’s ever been, and interest in the medium—and the profession—is on the rise. According to a 2018 survey by PDN, the highest-earning photography specialties include commercial/advertising, architecture/real estate, corporate, editorial, and multimedia/video, but there are dozens of avenues and niche subjects for the emerging photographer to explore. From the mainstream to the unexpected, here are just seven of the photography jobs available to newcomers and veterans alike—and some tips for getting started. Wedding photography Wedding photography has come a long way since it first gained popularity in the Victorian era; a recent survey from WeddingWire indicates that photographers are among the top vendors hired for today’s weddings, outranking everyone from DJs

A guide to get your creative juices flowing

Julia Margaret Cameron taught herself how to use a sliding-box camera. Edward Steichen famously photographed the same cup and saucer more than a thousand times. For fifteen years, Edward Weston wrote in a diary—about his personal life and creative struggles. More recently, Stephen Shore challenged himself to share a daily iPhone photo on social media. In photography, an artist’s creative process, no matter how unconventional, can be just as inspiring as the final result. Most great artists have two things in common: they occasionally fall into creative ruts, and they adapt. They do this by trying new things, looking at old things from a different angle, or reflecting on their innermost thoughts. In the end, they come out the other side with a renewed focus, a willingness to take risks, and, if they’re lucky, a stronger sense of self. In this guide, we’ll share a few quick tips for overcoming creative block and getting back into the flow. Tip #1: Take a day trip A simple change in en

How to boost your searchability and ultimately your sales potential

According to researchers, 75% of search engine users never scroll past the first page of results. But it can be tough to get onto that first page—a recent study from Ahrefs revealed that a whopping 90.63% of web pages get no traffic from Google search results. There are a few reasons why this might happen, but it all boils down to search engine optimization or SEO: the more you optimize your photos and metadata, the better your chances of being discovered. The best-selling commercial stock photos are often the easiest to find; when Licensing Contributors take the time to craft titles and keywords that speak to buyers, they show up in more searches, resulting in more potential sales and downloads.   Commercial clients can find images to license through 500px, Getty Images, and major search engines like Google. Showing up near the top of those searches is essential, as research suggests that the first five organic results on Google account for a whopping 67.60% of clicks. L