Business tips for photographers: A new easier way to update your Google + business page
I am very pleased to hear that Google has announced they are simplifying the way you update your Google + Business page (as let’s be honest it isn’t currently that easy to navigate!).
To try out the new way of adding photos and posts follow the steps below:
Log into your Gmail business account account
Open up Google in your browser
Type in your business name
Voila!!
Now you can much more easily add, or correct, business information, post blog posts and share photos. You can also see how many views your listing is getting.
A pat on the back for Google for making our lives a little easier!
Business tips for photographers: Fetch as Google Tool
It’s well documented that good, interesting, shareable content is a great way to drive your overall SEO position in today’s crowded professional photography market. One tool that can be underutilised is Google Webmasters ‘Fetch as Google’ which gives YOU the power to submit new pages and blog posts and to tell Google to go and read it. Often we publish new web pages and blog posts and wait for them to show up in Google search results, but if your site it still rising up the SEO rankings, this can take weeks or even months to appear. Below is a step by step guide on how to ‘Fetch as Google’
Step 1: Log in to your Google Webmaster Account
If you don’t have a Google Webmaster Account the first thing you need to do is set one up and go through the Verification process. This is to ensure that you are the site owner. You have 5 choices of how to verify your account ranging from an HTML file upload to using your Google Analytics tracking code. I found it easiest to use the first option which includes downloading a verification code which you add to your website. For help with verifying your photography website, you can visit this help page here.
Step 2: Crawl > Fetch as Google
Click on Crawl on the menu on the left-hand side and then click on Fetch as Google. Next, enter your web page or blog link into the input field, (leaving off the www address) and click the FETCH button.
Step 3: Submit to index
Once you have pressed fetch, wait to see if you have a green tick and success message. Once you see this you can then submit your page to be indexed using the Submit to index button.
At this point, you have 2 choices
You can submit just that one page or blog post OR
You can submit that page or blog post plus all of its direct links.
If you have made major changes, or the new page or blog links to other pages on your site, then I would use the second option but please note you can only choose this option 10 times a month.
Step 4: Share, Share, Share!
The final step is now to go and share your lovely new page or blog post across all social media. You want your hard work to reach as many people as possible so consider Facebook, Google +, Instagram, Twitter and any other media where you may reach your target audience.
HELP! I have followed your steps and it’s not working!
If you have followed these steps and the result says “Redirected” and not “complete” here’s what you need to do. Thanks to Andy Dane for his technical support on how to resolve this issue.
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Andy Says “This is a simple fix, and it’s down to the way that Google sees websites. As far as Google is concerned, the HTTP version of your site is different to the HTTPS version of your site. Also, the www.domain.com version of your site is different to domain.com.
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When you get this error, it means that you have redirected traffic from one of these to the other. This is, in fact, the right things to do as you only want one version of your site to be reached! However, when you do this, you also need to change which version of your site you are using in Google Search console.
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As you can see in the screenshots below, it’s showing “redirection” when my site is https://andydanephotography.co.uk because I’ve redirected all traffic to https://www.andydanephotography.co.uk/. So simply head back to your Search Console Dashboard, add the additional version of your site and it’s Sitemaps, and do your fetch from there”
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If you are unable to resolve this yourself, you can contact Andy here.
A number of photographers, who follow my Facebook page, often ask me what cameras and lenses I own, so I thought I would write a blog post which covers all my equipment and shows how I use it.
My Camera
I have always owned Canon cameras and lenses. Whilst learning photography I started with a 500d , then moved to a 7d and I now shoot with a Canon 5d mark iii. The 5d is an outstanding camera and its low light capabilities are second to none. I could not recommend this camera more.
My bag
I have had a number of camera bags over the last 4 years and have finally found the perfect one for me. I did own a Lowepro rucksack but didn’t like carrying my lenses on my back. I wanted an across body bag and I really wanted to be able to access my lenses quickly and easily so purchased the Shootsac. It is made from a very lightweight wetsuit type material and can easily hold 3 lenses plus my memory cards/ car keys etc. When I purchased the bag they were only available in the United States so they kindly arranged to deliver it to a friend of mine who was on holiday in Florida.
My lenses
My lens collection has grown over the last 2 years to a point where I now feel I have a lens to cover every eventuality.
Canon 70-200 2.8L Mark i
I purchased this lens second hand from B&H in New York and it is incredibly versatile for photographing children outdoors. I tend to shoot at the longer end (around 200) as my style is very much about separation between the subject and background. I love the way this looks the ONLY downside is the weight which is why I invested in the lens below.
Canon 70-200 2.8L
Photos taken on the 70-200 2.8L
Canon 135 2.0L
This is probably my favourite lens. It is tac sharp and the bokeh is incredibly creamy. It’s light to carry and being a prime it keeps me moving around on shoots. That is good for the children I am photographing, but also my waistline J. Some of my all-time favourite images have been taken on this.
Canon 135 2.0 L
Photos taken on the Canon 135 2.0L
Canon 50 1.4
For a ‘non L’ lens I think this is incredible value and it never lets me down. It is always incredibly sharp and is very light. I use this mostly indoors for photographing babies and small children. In a perfect world I would invest in the Canon 50 1.2L.
Canon 50 1.4
Photo taken on the Canon 50 1.4
Canon 24-70 2.8 L mark ii
This is what I consider my safety lens – it literally never lets me down. If I want to photograph wide in someone’s home, to draw in as much environment as possible, I use this at its widest end. It never struggles to grab focus and is perfect if you are out on travelling for example and you don’t know what photographic opportunities await you.
Canon 24-70 2.8L
Photo taken on the Canon 24-70 2.8L
Sigma 35 1.4 Art
This is my fun/ bonus lens in my kit bag. The 35 1.4 Sigma has a very distinctive look to it and its fun to use to grab some more quirky images. I take this out with me when I am heading out with my children to a park for example. It is all about including the environment as it is very wide, so I wouldn’t use it for portraits because of the distortion.
Sigma 35 1.4 Art
Photos taken on the Sigma 35 1.4 Art
Extra items
Rapid strap
As with my bag I wanted a cross body holder for my camera and the Rapid strap is a brilliant piece of kit. It distributes the weight and is very strong. I have had mine at least 2 years and it is showing no sign of wear.
Memory card case
I shoot my photo sessions on CF cards ranging from 4-8 GB. I shoot in full size RAW and also back up all my images onto a 32GB SD card in camera. I keep all my cards in a protective card holder which I picked up from the Photography Road Show.
Additional Lighting
When I need to add extra light onto my subject or background I tend to use my Speedlight which I can take off camera. I also own a video light with different colour filters. I am in the process of upgrading my off camera lighting kit so watch this space 🙂
Canon Speedlight 430
I hope this has been a useful read and if you have any questions feel free to post in the comments.
If you would like to know more about how the 7d mark 2 compares with the Canon 5diii then take a look here
My bag
