:: Daniel Zihlmann Photography :: BLOG

Last Post On This Blog

2008-05-07T15:01:00.015+02:00

After one year of blogging it's time to say goodbye to my old blog. In this time it had nearly 7000 visitors. Some of the readers I not only stay in contact with, but also met them personally and they became new friends.

My new and awesome blog is online now and I hope you like it!
Big is beautiful :)

Please update your bookmarks to the new address:
http://www.danielzihlmann.com/blog/

Thanks for your visit. See you there!

Best,
Daniel

Andrea & Gerhard (Engagement Session)

2008-05-02T11:53:00.038+02:00

I think I don't have to tell how funny Andrea and Gerhard are. Gets even better if you know the story about how Gerhard proposed for here :) Read the full story on their wedding website.

Thanks for sharing your time with me and showing me the Emmental. What a great day to explore it! Even if it was sometimes still a bit wet where Andrea had to sit down ;) It was great to open the barbecue season and end a hard working day with new friends! Can't wait for your wedding!

CLICK on the images to view them BIG. Enjoy!

Stefan

2008-04-27T12:30:00.009+02:00

One month old and very patient to take photographs :)
Welcome to the world, Stefan!

Ursina & Mark (Engagement Session)

2008-04-20T19:15:00.019+02:00

Ursina and Mark are so funny, that it is difficult to photograph them without wide smiles. Even when they are kissing they can't stop it! I think they have to practice more. Kissing :)

They both LOVE to be photographed and especially Ursina is so excited when I take pictures, that before every single picture I take, she says "Cheese!" If she wants to go on like this on her wedding, I guess she will loose her voice (I will take some thousand photographs).

Thanks to share your time with me, Ursina and Mark. I can't wait for your wedding! I heard the whole family is so funny :)

Tülhan & Haldun (Engagement Session)

2008-04-07T14:45:00.021+02:00

We were lucky when we shot the engagement session of Tülhan & Haldun. It was just not raining. The session was photographed in the little swiss city of Baden where they also will be married later this year. Even if I had preferred to shoot it in Istanbul ;) Maybe next time. It's said that they both have some unmarried brothers and sisters :)

We had a great time and afterwards I shared some technical secrets in the restaurant with Haldun. For Adobe Lightroom stuff, check the blog of Matt Kloskowski: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips. Very helpful and every Monday is 'Preset Day' and Matt shares some of his Lightroom presets for free!

EDIT: I completely reworked the images and applied some different sharpening (another secret ;) Click on the images to view them large. Enjoy!

We Love KISSes!

2008-03-15T12:40:00.034+01:00

Wedding photographer Kevin Swan, one of the founders of the famous US album company KISS Wedding Books, has just launched the new KISS website. Right before the WPPI Convention in Las Vegas. It looks awesome! And the design reminds me something...

But the best part of it: On the design page they feature some sample designs. Including one of the albums that Raya from pink penny designed for me :) Have a look!

KISS albums are really a great product! The quality is outstanding and the customer service Kevin is providing is just the best I ever experienced. To make it even better, they partnered with pink penny for the design of the albums. And it's really a joy to work with Raya!

Thanks, Kevin and Raya, to give me the possibility to deliver these awesome wedding books to my clients. You rock the album world!

Nice To Meet You :)

2008-03-14T14:22:00.005+01:00

Yesterday we started sharing :)

It was great to make new friends and meet other photographers. It's kind of different if you talk with your no-photog friends and they always say: "Wow, that are great images you do!" And then you meet other professional photographers and they have a different point of view than you have. They know more about the subject so the discussions will be more profound. They do things in a different way and you notice how you can do it in another way too. It's not about better or worse, just different. For one photographer Jessica Claire's Shootsac meets perfectly his shooting style. But the other photographer is shooting differently and for that has another perfect fit in camera bag. You just have to try it out and see what works best for you. That's it.

Check the work of these awesome photographers:
Jeanine Linder, www.jeaninelinderphotography.com
Philippe Wiget, www.photophil.ch
Christoph Ris, www.christophris.ch

About something else. I recently started to use more flash in my photography. Not my big studio lights, but just my strobes (Canon 580EX II). If you are looking for a great flash bracket that holds two strobes and even an umbrella, go visit Brewer Bracket. Todd Brewer developed it himself. It's well built, very sturdy. And Todd is a great guy, providing you an awesome customer service. Congratulations, Todd!

Joe McNally: Da Grip

2008-03-13T07:40:00.012+01:00

Famous US photographer Joe McNally doesn't only have a website. He recently published a new book ("The Moment It Clicks"), started a blog and even a channel on YouTube. Did you think you knew how to hold a camera rock steady? Let Joe explain you what's his trick. Learn the basics. Watch 'Da Grip'.

Blog: www.joemcnally.com/blog
Videos: Joe McNally on YouTube
Website: www.joemcnally.com
Book: The Moment It Clicks

Worth to have a look at!

Slave To The Rhythm

2008-03-12T16:22:00.009+01:00

If you do post production and work the whole day at the computer , it's easy to be disturbed every some minutes. Of course your computer is online and the emails keep coming in. You just want to have a quick look and...

So I tried a new email policy. I check emails only 3 times a day (10 am, 2 pm, 4 pm). That will do nicely. If it's urgent, use the oldfashioned phone instead. It's anyway better to connect with people by voice. Try to use your phone instead of email and you will see how better your communication will be and how your business is going to improve!

Try it. Don't be a slave to the rhythm!

And yes, I ordered an iPhone :) So my iPod Touch 16GB is on sale now. It's a great device, perfect as a PDA. You have always your calendar, contacts, email and internet with you. Its display is so big and brilliant, that it's fun to show prospective clients your portfolio on the iPod Touch. You will never regret this investment! Send me an email if you are interested in my iPod Touch 16GB.

Customer Experience

2008-03-05T18:35:00.010+01:00

While I'm waiting for the iPhone to be released in Switzerland I still have to use my "old" SonyEricsson K800i. It's a very nice phone though, has an awesome camera and a great display. But recently it broke down and I had to take it to the repair service. That's always bad because in the meantime you have to use your "even older mobile phone" that you keep just for this kind of backup purpose.

Now imagine that you managed to survive this uncomfortable time with a mobile phone right out of stone age. And it's the day you get your regular mobile phone back. They didn't only change more parts than necessary and refurbished the whole phone. There's even more.

The mobile phone was handed out to me in an "iPod Sock" saying "Home Sweet Home".

You take it out of the sock and on the display is a sticker with a text like a SMS, saying: "It's great to be back in your hands. I've missed you! If you need any more help at all, feel free to call 0848 82 40 40."

Sweet! :) What a customer experience!

What do you do to make your clients happy? How do you handle complaints? What's your outstanding service to give your customers a great experience and differentiate your business from the competition?

It's Just Photography

2008-03-04T08:39:00.005+01:00

MediaStorm produces awesome multimedia photography projects. Have a look at this one about Cuba! **CLICK HERE** to watch the movie!

You can also subscribe to their video podcast on iTunes.

Did I ever tell you...

2008-03-03T20:54:00.005+01:00

Did I ever tell you that I love my job? I meet the nicest people, party with them and they even pay me for the favor I do them! :)

Doris and Lorenz are another couple that is going to tie the knot this summer. They are awesome. Spontaneous and very funny! And a bit loud (that was your word, Lorenz, not mine! ;) They both work in the IT business and as computer geeks they are the perfect match to chat about Windows problems :) At the moment Lorenz is working on their wedding website too. I love that.

Thank you, Doris and Lorenz, I'm so happy that I met you and can call you friends!

Open your Mind

2008-02-29T13:30:00.018+01:00

I reworked the "concept" of Share your Power a bit. From now on I will host it every first Thursday a month. To be invited please send a request by email to get the details.

AND: It will be open to everybody who wants to connect and share. So, it's not just for photographers. If you are an art director, project manager for a NGO, a social student, a chef or run your own business. It doesn't matter. Open your mind, connect with new people and share your power and your vision!

Date: Every first Thursday a month
Location: Details on request
Kind: Open Mind Event

To find out more about Share your Power **read this post**

Andrea & Gerhard

2008-02-18T13:45:00.010+01:00

It's great to be a wedding photojournalist. You always meet the nicest people and share a wonderful and very special day with them. My work is to capture all these emotions and happy moments. What a blessing if you can call that your "work". It's my passion. And as a side note, you can party all the weekends. For free ;)

My clients are honestly always the most special persons. I enjoy to spend their wedding day with them and their family. Even if I don't know anyone at the beginning of the day, I always feel home and part of the family when I leave early in the morning after a long, long day.

It's also great to see that my clients like to share too! Read the story of Andrea & Gerhard on their own wedding website! **CLICK HERE**

I love the header with the sunflower field, just looks awesome! And the story about Gerhard proposing for Andrea is so funny! Worth to read ;)

If the bridal couples have their own wedding website, it's also a big help for the photographer. As they can read my blog to know more about me as a person, I can also read their story, know their family etc. before I meet them. So you get more personal when you actually meet to talk about the details of the wedding and can talk just about other stuff. Like life in general. Your vision. Or your passion.

Thanks, Andrea & Gerhard, it's great to be part of your special day!

Join (Us)

2008-02-16T15:38:00.002+01:00

Lately I received more and more emails from fellow photographers that were seeking some advice, help or just a personal contact to share some thoughts, ideas or the vision of our business in the future.

I enjoyed every single contact and thought it would be a good thing to meet all those nice people in person and let them connect with each other too. Best to be done while having dinner and a cold beer or a non-alcoholic drink at hand. I personally prefer a drink called "Hurricane". Don't expect it to be non-alcoholic :)

The date is set to March 13, 2008. The first host city will be downtown Bern aka "La Capital". If you need a place to stay over night, we will find you one. I expect several people coming from the Zurich area, so there will also be the possibility to share a car and have a warm-up chat on the way.

Just send me an email if you want to Share Your Power and I will let you know the details.

Hope to see you soon!

Drobo, transfer speed and backup workflow

2008-02-15T11:47:00.008+01:00

Some photographers were commenting on my post about the Drobo I did some time ago. They were mainly pointing out that its transfer speed is to slow and the lack of Firewire 800 or an ethernet interface. So I updated the post with my own experience. Read it **HERE**.

If you are interested in a really bullet-proof backup workflow you should read these posts on the blog of famous sport and lifestyle photographer Chase Jarvis:

How To Back Up Your Photography: The Basics
Storage And Backup Solutions For Your Photography

That's the best I ever read about backing up your valuable images and I implemented the ideas in my own workflow. Of course it has to be customized to your own needs, but the basic ideas behind are the important thing.

Is YOUR valuable data safe?

Do I mind?

2008-02-13T18:35:00.007+01:00

Yesterday I received an email from Beth. She's a photographer from Australia and currently based in London. She asked if I mind if she asked me for some help. Beth will be shooting a destination wedding in Switzerland for an Australian couple and needed some advice about the wedding photography market here in Switzerland.

Of course I do mind! I definitely wanted to help her and provided all advices I could :)

Beth, I hope you will have a great time shooting this destination wedding here in Switzerland!

By the way, Beth Jennings is an awesome wedding, portrait and travel photographer! Check out her website at www.bethjennings.com.au

Take Off

2008-01-30T00:52:00.000+01:00

It starts working! Seems that I hit the nail right on the head. There really ARE more photographers in Switzerland that want to share!

Wedding and event photographer Philippe Wiget was the first one to contact me after I posted about my new little project "Dinner for One". Check out his website at www.photophil.ch

Welcome to the community, Philippe!

And because Philippe couldn't wait: Yes, I will organize a monthly photographer meeting in a host city in Switzerland. We will share our meal and share our vision.

Stay tuned for more details!

Join (Me)

2008-01-29T21:55:00.000+01:00

Maybe you already noticed this new orange button on my blog and were wondering what this 'Dinner for One' thing is about. Here comes the truth.

Lately I get more and more requests from people that read my blog or enjoy my website. May be aspiring amateurs or pro photographers or just people that enjoy photography. They ask about what equipment I use, how I do post production, where I get my albums done, how to do online proofing and more.

I remember very well how difficult it was to find out all these things by myself when I started. It took me a long time for research and I had to go through some bad experience. Sharing is not really a common practice in Switzerland. At least not yet.

For my part I really like to share (read in this post why) and also enjoy to connect with new people. I think to have lunch or dinner together is the perfect occasion to socialise and network. Just have some good food and chat. Ever read Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi? If not, start now!

So, here comes my offer: Invite me for a 'Dinner for One'. You can ask me whatever question you like and I will tell you all the secrets (just business secrets of course, not my personal ones ;-)

It doesn't have to be an expensive restaurant. Just feed me! Once in a while I might even accept fast food. But it would be worth to take some more time, so you can ask all the questions you have. You can choose the location or invite me to your house if you are a good chef in the kitchen (please send some referrals before :-)

To share with me a 'Dinner for One' just write me an email or give me a phone call. I'm excited to meet you!

Best,
Daniel

Sophia

2008-01-29T10:57:00.000+01:00

Now it's getting complicated

2008-01-03T15:00:00.001+01:00

Effective January 1, 2008, the Department of Transportation (DOT) through the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will no longer allow loose lithium batteries in checked baggage.

These new rules affect nearly anybody traveling by plane because lithium batteries are used in laptops, digital cameras, video cameras, cellphones etc. So make sure you know the rules before you fly if you don't want to let your lithium batteries at the airport.

What it exactly means you can find out on the website of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and on the website of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

Have a safe trip!

Before & After

2008-01-02T14:10:00.000+01:00

If you are looking to hire a photographer it's not everything just about the price. Especially in wedding photography it is very important that you are in love with the (photographic) style of the photographer and that his personality fits yours. As the saying goes for a wedding photographer it is more important to be personable, than professional. Even if I think professionalism is very important if a photographer wants to be successful, his personality is the key.

Besides style and personality the price is the third important part. To be able to compare the different offers you get when looking for a wedding photographer, you have to see what is included in the price. You don't pay a photographer primarily for the hours he is working. You pay him for his experience, his vision and the (professional) services he delivers. And especially post production is an important part of it. Low-priced "Shoot-to-Burn" photographers (they shoot the wedding and burn the images from the camera/card directly to a CD/DVD without and post processing) can only work for such a low price, because they don't deliver any service.

A vital part of a professional service is also that the photographer has a backup plan. Ask for it! What if his camera breaks down in the middle of the ceremony or the whole photo equipment is stolen? How can he handle these situations? Do you really want to rely on your most important day on a photographer that has no answers for these questions? Just because you save some money? Then you can save even more money if you ask a family member to take the photographs...

Anyway, the final product of wedding photography is a wedding album. Not some images on a CD you can watch on your computer. An exclusive album with leather cover you can take in your hands, watch it and remember the emotions and feelings of this wonderful day. "Shoot-to-Burn" photographers don't do wedding albums. And I never saw a bridal couple that did it themselves. Even if they were telling the photographer that they will do the album on their own. It will never happen... That's just the experience.

So, the bottom line is, that it doesn't make too much sense to spend money on a good photographer and not order a wedding album. But that's the bridal couple's decision. I don't push anybody to order an album. I just give them something to think about and find their own decision.

Here just a simple example of a picture without and with post production, a before & after comparison:

Before

After

That's bad!

2008-01-01T22:32:00.000+01:00

Did I mention before how important it is to backup your valuable data?
Yes, I did write about it last year in more than one post:

But it really hit me when I read recently this message (image above) on the website of the Swiss National Broadcasting Corporation. It says that our national TV station lost a video server with all archives from the year 2005 and before and that they are currently not sure if they can recover the lost data!

How bad is that!? I can't believe it...

So, if you are a professional photographer or run any other business: Do it better than they did!

PS: I'm happy with my Drobo. Highly recommended!

New Year's Resolutions

2007-12-31T09:36:00.001+01:00

For the next year I found a new project to support: the Schweizer Foundation in Switzerland. It's a small private foundation (founded in 2004 by my good friend and famous Swiss photographer Peter Schweizer) that supports projects for poor children in Tanzania/Africa. At the moment they concentrate on helping the street children of Dar es Salaam.

When you choose your New Year's resolutions for 2008, think about how you can not only make your life better, but also somebody else's.

Have a happy New Year!

Make a gift, Join (RED)

2007-12-21T13:16:00.000+01:00

Annie Leibovitz shot the Queen!

2007-12-20T18:36:00.000+01:00

For photographers this is an interesting video about Annie Leibovitz photographing Queen Elizabeth II.

Annie Leibovitz is one of the most famous portrait and celebrity photographers of the world. She took the last portrait of John Lennon on the day he was killed and also the famous cover of Vanity Fair, showing pregnant Demi Moore.

Get you a robot!

2007-12-17T10:54:00.005+01:00

[See the UPDATE at the end of this post!]

In a recent post I was writing about why it is important that you regularly back up your valuable data. Now I found a new great device to do so: Drobo, your personal storage robot!

Watch the video on Drobo's website that explains why this device is so awesome!

To make it short: Drobo has 4 drive bays. You slide in any SATA drive (no screwdriver needed), any make, any model, any size. Even when your Drobo is running! The data is stored redundantly, means your data is spread over different drives. If one drive fails you can access it on another drive. You don't even notice. Just that Drobo gives you a red light to tell you there is a problem with a certain drive. You buy a new SATA drive and replace the broken one. Drobo re-arranges the data. You don't have to do anything else than replacing the broken drive, Drobo does the rest automatically. And the best: your data is NOT lost!

If you need more space: You just slide in another SATA drive in an empty bay. Or if you already installed 4 drives in your Drobo, it tells you which drive to replace. Go to a shop, buy a (bigger) SATA drive and just replace the recommended drive in your Drobo. That's it. You don't have to copy around data from one drive to another. Drobo cares about that automatically.

To make it shorter: You don't have to care about your data anymore. Drobo does.

To make it shortest: Great! Highly recommended :)

UPDATE:
Meanwhile there is a ethernet solution for the drobo. You can get a "DroboShare" accessory that will let you connect Drobo to your network. Read more about it **HERE**

Because Philippe was commenting his concerns about the Drobo speed, let me shortly point out my workflow. I had the same concerns before I bought my Drobo. But infact Drobo's speed doesn't slow down my work in any way. It just makes it a whole safer.

Drobo is a backup solution. It holds my image archive. That's it.

When I'm back in my office after a shooting I first transfer all my CF cards directly to the drobo. This is the backup of the original RAW files. I never touch them again. Then as second step I transfer the CF cards once again directly to the internal SATA drives of my computer and import the images into Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. The images on the internal SATA drives are the ones I work with. I do my post production, Photoshop work etc. When the job is done, the CD burnt and shipped with the invoice to the client, I archive the job. On the Drobo. This is a background process and I don't care if it will take 20 minutes or 35 minutes to transfer the folder from the internal SATA drive to the Drobo. Later I have to access my image archive on the Drobo only very seldom. And even if I have to re-open and re-work an archived PSD file on the Drobo, I never had a problem with the time it took to access it.

In my workflow Drobo works great. With its redundant storage it gives me the best security and the least worry and maintaining. I will soon be buying another one.

I did myself a Firewire 800 test. I bought the fastest card reader (Sandisk Extreme Reader with Firewire 800 interface) in the meaning that I would save on valuable time while importing. Yes, and that was really proved in my test! As long as I just imported one image folder from the CF card to the internal SATA drive on my computer (just a plain copy-paste process done with normal OS capability). The transfer speed was between 20 and 30 MB/s! Wow! But then I did the test again. Not just copying the files onto the internal SATA drives, but at the same time also importing them directly into Lightroom. And the transfer speed dropped down to 10 MB/s. The same I normally got with my old USB 2.0 cardreader...

This test gave me another point of view of the transfer speed.

About the Firewire 800 speed, you may be interested to read this test and do your own test. Post your results in the comments, I'm interested to hear what you found out!

Let me dance for you

2007-12-16T11:45:00.001+01:00

Christmas is coming, let me dance for you!
Click this link and enjoy :)

Deutschland kapituliert vor der Schweiz!

2007-12-14T16:15:00.000+01:00

Aber nicht die Schweiz vor Blocher!

Update von der Website der Ärzte:

"Danke an alle Schweizer, die Christoph Blocher nicht gewählt haben.

Aus aktuellem Anlass: Wir kapitulieren! (Vorerst.)

Leider habt ihr es im Handumdrehen geschafft, unseren Server genauso lahmzulegen, wie euren Blocher. Deshalb müssen wir euch noch um ein wenig Geduld bitten, bis wir eine technisch massenkompatible Lösung gefunden haben. Schaut bitte ab Mittwoch, den 19. Dezember, gegen Mittag nochmal rein, dannn haben wir das (hoffentlich) alles so hinbekommen, dass ihr auch eine reale Chance auf euren wohlverdieneten Gratis-Download habt. Sorry!"

Wenn 30% der Schweizer Bevölkerung die SVP wählen, heisst das eben auch, dass 70% der Schweizerinnen und Schweizer Blocher NICHT unterstützen :)

Die Schweiz ist anders - 'Die Ärzte' verschenken ihr aktuelles Album!

2007-12-13T16:12:00.000+01:00

Die Schweiz ist anders!

Am 5. Dezember spielten die Ärzte ein Konzert in der Schweiz. Damals verkündeten sie: "Wir verschenken unsere CD - wenn weniger Leute in der Schweiz Blocher wählen!"

Das Parlament hat gestern entschieden. Christoph Blocher wurde als Bundesrat abgewählt!

Und die Ärzte lösen ihr versprechen ein: Schweizer - welche bestätigen, dass sie Christoph Blocher nicht unterstützen - können das neue Album der Ärzte "Jazz ist anders (Economy)" bis morgen, 12 Uhr kostenlos auf der Website der Ärzte herunterladen!

**Direkt zum Download**

Wahrlich ein doppelter Freudentag für die Schweiz! Vielen Dank für die Unterstützung, Deutschland!

UPDATE von der Ärzte-Website:
"Aus aktuellem Anlass: Offensichtlich stürmt mindestens die halbe Schweiz gerade unseren Server. Deshalb kann es zu Problemen kommen. Keine Panik, der Download steht im Zweifelsfalle länger als ursprünglich geplant zur Verfügung."

SlideShowPro Plugin for Lightroom released

2007-12-06T23:40:00.000+01:00

SlideShowPro is a great software for producing slideshows for your website. The latest version of Adobe Lightroom 1.3 has now the ability to use plugins and a plugin for SlideShowPro was recently released.

I think it's worth mentioning, even if I don't use SlideShowPro so far, I know that a lot of professional photographers do so. Maybe I will give it a try somewhen. At the moment I use Showit Web, developed by famous wedding photographer David Jay. Highly recommended!

Happy together

2007-12-05T14:26:00.000+01:00

Ouch!

2007-12-04T21:12:00.000+01:00

When I take photos, the kids have fun :-)

JOIN (RED)

2007-11-27T18:04:00.000+01:00

Maybe you noticed that I added recently a BLOG (RED) logo on the right side of this blog. What's this for, may you ask?

PRODUCT (RED) is a business model and was founded by Bono (U2) and Bobby Shriver. I better let them explain what (RED) is about:

"(RED) was created [...] to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund by teaming up with the world's most iconic brands to produce (PRODUCT) RED branded products. A percentage of each (PRODUCT) RED product sold is given to The Global Fund. The money helps women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa."

At the moment only big companies like Apple, Motorola, GAP, Armani and some others are allowed to sell official (PRODUCT) RED products. Otherwise I would think about creating a (PRODUCT) RED product for Daniel Zihlmann Photography.

But it's also possible that you directly donate to The Global Fund. Just follow ***this link*** and you can make a donation to fight "AIDS in Africa, inspired by (RED)" and your money will help the same as if you did buy a (PRODUCT) RED!

I'm not rich but I know that I still live a great life with a lot of opportunities. I live in a nice country without war, have a good education, a flat to stay, good health insurance, enough to eat and can follow my dreams.

In 1999 I worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and traveled to Congo-Brazzaville in Africa to portrait victims of the civil war. You can view the portraits on my website www.danielzihlmann.com in the GALLERIES section.

I portrayed children that lost their parents while they tried to escape the fights between the rebels and the soldiers. While my friend Till Mayer interviewed the children and I did my portraits the guns were screaming close to the refugee camp. The paralyzed children talked about their escape, their parents they lost and didn't know where they are and if they still were alive. They talked about their future, what profession they wanted to take up. They talked about their dreams in life.

Today I often find myself thinking about these children. What happened to them in the past years?

So I decided to make my blog a (BLOG) RED. For every assignment I do I donate money to The Global Fund. To help with my work not only to pay my life, but to also make somebody else's life a little bit better.

That's my commitment. What's yours? Please write a comment.

My Books - My Music - My Gear

2007-11-26T19:13:00.000+01:00

This blog is about my personal life and my work. It gives you the possibility to find out more about me. If you are interested to know what books I read or what music I listen to, check out the new link at the right side: My Books - My Music - My Gear

Adobe Lightroom 1.3 out and language trick

2007-11-19T14:32:00.001+01:00

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom version 1.3 is out. It fixes some bugs and supports besides new cameras also the latest Apple Mac OS X Leopard.

One new feature I really like is that it is now possible to run the application either in Englisch, German or French. There's a new field in the preferences dialog to choose the language. The workaround I described in this post is not necessary anymore.

Well done, thanks, Adobe!

In the storeroom

2007-11-11T13:40:00.000+01:00

Last Friday night I was shooting some portraits in the storeroom of a restaurant. Dominique celebrated his 40th birthday and wanted to have a memory of his best friends. Great idea!

There was not a lot of space in the storeroom, but it was possible to work. The guests had a great time in my studio and there was plenty to drink ;-)

There's a rumour going around that Dominique will portrait his friends again at his 50th birthday. I've already marked the date in my calendar :-)

Dominique in some relaxed poses before the party (from the test shots):

Happy Birthday, Dominique!

He's a very nice guy, check out his business and visit the website of the confident gmbh.

Wise Guy

2007-11-08T15:00:00.000+01:00

If you are a blog stalker and always want to know what gear other photographers use, remember what a wise guy once said:

‘A typewriter never wrote a great novel any more than a camera took a great picture.’
by Someone Smart

Have a great day! :)

Annakin

2007-11-05T09:45:00.000+01:00

If you are interested in great music and you like the label Swiss Made, check out my friend Annakin's website! You can even download the dance remix of her song «Storm» for free! It's now being played in clubs in the UK! To download the song **CLICK HERE**

Annakin's concert last Saturday in Berne was awesome and it was great to meet her and her husband, famous fashion photographer Christian Ammann (who also shot the great cover of course). They are very nice people and deserve all the success they have with their work!

Richard Overtoom Photography blogging now!

2007-11-03T20:13:00.000+01:00

My good friend and famous Wedding and Wildlife Photographer Richard Overtoom just started his blog! Go, visit and leave a comment to give some love!

Pricelist in English available

2007-10-29T12:33:00.000+01:00

My pricelist is now also available in English. Download it from my website www.danielzihlmann.com as PDF file. You find it in the section INFORMATION.

If we can be of any further help please let us know!

Hi

2007-10-27T11:29:00.000+02:00

Hi Mickey, Jordan and Sandy

No, thanks, I'm happy with my size. I don't need your help.
Please don't send me your offers anymore.

Thanks!

Cheers,
Daniel

Backing up

2007-10-26T15:06:00.000+02:00

Today I'm doing some backups of my image archive, back to year 2001. That means copying around hundreds of gigabytes of data, from one external harddisk to another. Then verifying the copied data that it didn't get corrupted during the transfer and so on. That takes hours...

Recently I bought some BUFFALO DriveStation 500GB external harddisks for my image archive and I think I like them way more than my consumer Lacie ones. The Porsche design looks nice at the Lacies, but they get really hot because they don't have a fan built in and they also don't really have vent slots.

The Buffalo drive on the contrary has a fanless design and shouldn't get that hot than my Lacies. They have a built in Samsung harddrive that is one of the best harddisks available, from the point of view of speed, heat and reliability. I was told. Will see...

If you are interested in knowing more about backup strategies, recommended software etc. read this post.

Don't forget to backup your data regularly!

And have a look at Leopard. Apple will release it today! In 2 hours, 31 minutes and 16 seconds exactly. Watch the countdown on the Apple website :)

One Step Ahead

2007-10-23T16:00:00.000+02:00

Now that I finished reading Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi (it's really great!), I started to read another famous book: Love Is The Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends by Tim Sanders.

That's what it is about. Another great book about business, networking and marketing. And how to become a person that will have a deep impact on other people's life. It was recommended to me by several US photographers and because I've already read The Likeability Factor: How to Boost Your L-Factor and Achieve Your Life's Dreams by Tim Sanders it was no question that I will buy this book too.

In short: Tim Sanders believes love is the crucial element in the search for personal and professional success. His definition of love business is: the act of intelligently and sensibly sharing your intangibles with your bizpartners. While our intangibles are our knowledge, our network and our compassion. Tim Sanders believes that these are the keys to true bizlove.

Read it and you will understand how right he is!

If you are interested to explore more go to stalk Tim Sanders' blog about business, culture and spirit: Sanders Says

Also watch Tim Sanders' videos on YouTube. I especially like The XBox Story he uses to illustrate the power of compassion. Watch it here:

Great story

2007-10-21T23:47:00.000+02:00

Today I read a great story on the blog of famous wedding photographer Joe Photo (yes, that's his name!)

I think it's worth to share it here. Enjoy and take a moment to think about it.

The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, "Only a little while." The American then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" The Mexican said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs." The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life." The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you will run your ever- expanding enterprise." The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?" To which the American replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then?" asked the Mexican. The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions." "Millions?...Then what?" The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos." - Author Unknown

Shnit!

2007-10-18T16:30:00.000+02:00

If you are interested in movies, go to see the shnit shortfilmfestival, taking place now in Berne, Switzerland (October 17-23, 2007).

We went yesterday to see the pre-event Slam-Movie-Night and I feel so sorry for all the young (and old) directors that couldn't show their films to the end. There were a lot of interesting shortfilms, but if you are not able to attract the audience's interest within the first 10 seconds, you are OUT! Without any excuses... Life is hard.

One of my favorite movies was Claude, made by Andreas Gantenbein, Angela Hüsser and Claude Ebert. It's the story about a poor guy. I found it somewhere in the internet, to watch it **CLICK HERE**

Veil

2007-10-12T16:02:00.000+02:00

Homework

2007-10-08T12:21:00.000+02:00

What's on my bookshelf:

Quite some homework to do... I nearly finished reading Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi (see this post). It's great, I only can recommend it again!

Man in the middle

2007-10-07T18:46:00.001+02:00

DJ Battle

2007-10-06T14:23:00.000+02:00

The Round Table Knights from Berne

See all pictures on the Bacardi B-Live website.

Have a short rest and breathe. Think.

2007-10-05T10:51:00.000+02:00

We all are running. Our whole life. In business life. In our private life. We are stressed, loose control about our time, forget about our wishes. Forget about our goals in life, forget about why we are running and in which direction. Forget about the things we should care the most. About people we love. Our family. Friends. Our love.

Don't forget to slow down from time to time. Have a short rest. Breathe. Think.

It's Friday, weekend is coming. Take some minutes for yourself. Take a walk. Go to a place where it's calm and peaceful. And listen to your heart.

Enjoy your life. It's wonderful.

Hack your life

2007-10-04T11:20:00.000+02:00

Wanna know how to reboot your brain with a caffeine nap? Or how you can save a life with your computer? Do you need clothing recommendations? Why are skinny, single girls always less productive?

Check out Lifehacker! The website's daily posts are about technical and computer related tips and tricks and everything else you could ever need to know in your life. Be prepared!

Find your way

2007-10-03T11:58:00.000+02:00

One of the most important tools besides my photo equipment is my mobile navigator Garmin Streetpilot c510. I couldn't live without it! It's handy, easy to use and you can install it with its suction cup mount in every car within seconds. No tools needed.

When I'm on assignment it is important that I am on time. My navigator tells me exactly at what time I will arrive. It will save me time, because I will not be lost anywhere. It will save me money, because I always know the shortest way and don't drive extra miles. It will help me not to be stressed and arrive relaxed. And if I'm relaxed, I will do a better work. And with better work you will be more successful!

For as little as USD 200.- it's a no-brainer. Think about how much money it will help you to save and how much it will help you for your business.

Where's Heidi?

2007-10-02T13:26:00.000+02:00

When I walked through Thun this morning I saw this beautiful garden with scale models of typical Bernese Oberland houses and I couldn't resist to take a snapshot with my iPhone.

Ok, just kidding, I don't own an iPhone. Yet :)

Scent of a Woman

2007-10-01T09:56:00.001+02:00

Mozhgan & Reza (Wedding)

2007-09-30T12:14:00.001+02:00

Iranian Beauty

2007-09-29T22:01:00.001+02:00

Today I had the honor to take the wedding photographs of Mozhgan and Reza from Iran. Mozhgan knew very well what kind of pictures she wanted, but to find some "jungle" in downtown Zurich was not that easy... Finally we found in the park some bamboo that could fit as the matching background. The light was great in the late afternoon, with the soft sunlight shining through the clouds. Nevertheless I used some fill flash to bring out the bamboo in the background. But just keep your eye on the beauty in the foreground! You're a lucky guy, Reza :)

My voice was heared!

2007-09-29T08:57:00.000+02:00

Katie Melua's new album Pictures will be released on October 1, 2007. That's next Monday! :)

Check out her website on www.katiemelua.com and hear her new songs. Great!

Can I fly you home, Baby?

2007-09-28T07:17:00.000+02:00

No joke, John Bakker from Netherlands is developing a flying car:

Read more about the Personal Air and Land Vehicle PAL-V on this press release or on the website of Spark Design www.sparkdesign.nl or on www.pal-v.com

What you can do with your photos in the not so far future

2007-09-27T22:40:00.000+02:00

Watch this awesome video if you haven't seen it yet:

To find out more about Photosynth ***CLICK HERE***

Sweet! Kelly Sweet!

2007-09-25T14:55:00.000+02:00

Today it's not time to share business stuff. It's time to enjoy life. It's time to share some sweet music :)

I'm a big fan of Katie Melua and desperately waiting for her next album. It's way too long now that she didn't release a new album. In the meantime I discovered 18-year old US singer Kelly Sweet. What a name. And what sweet music!

Check out her website Kelly Sweet | The Official Site.
And Kelly Sweet on her MySpace site.

Buy her great debut album We Are One and enjoy life! :)

Write a comment below and let me know how you like her music. And what your favorite music is today. What great new music did you discover lately?

Safe your life! Or your business. Or better both!

2007-09-24T08:31:00.001+02:00

Backing up your valuable data is vital if you run a business. John Harrington writes in his great book Best Business Practices for Photographers in chapter 20: "A University of Texas study reports that 43 percent of companies experiencing a catastrophic data loss never recover, and half of them go out of business within two years." Think about it.

Backing up your data correctly is important! The basics for a backup you can trust and will safe your business are:

1. You need duplicative storage. Your vital data has to be stored redundant. That means that you have always two identical copies of every single file. Should one storage fail, you have another one to restore the file.

2. You have to verify your backups. Just copying your files to an external harddrive doesn't mean that you are safe. Are the two copies of your data identical? Or were the files corrupted during the backup process?

3. Backups have to be up-to-date. If you are able to restore your lost files with a version that is one month old, it's better than nothing. But nevertheless you maybe will lose the work of one month (depending on the kind of data). Which can cost you a lot of money.

4. You have to store your backup off site, away from your office. What's the use of a backup if it will be destroyed in the same fire as the original files on your computer?

There are more professional backup strategies. Like backing up every day to another folder/drive to be able to have different versions from the last 7 days accessible. After 7 days the files will be overwritten. But the above points 1-4 are the basics you MUST meet with your own backup strategy.

For data verification I use zsCompare. This software gives me peace in mind and lets me sleep well. And it will cost you as little as USD 35.00 (there are 3 versions of zsCompare available, but you are OK with the Lite Edition). You can use it for data verification and backing up your data by synchronizing two folders (the local folder with your original files and the backup folder on the external harddrive). And the best is that it is a Java application, so it runs equally on Windows and Mac computers. I highly recommend it! But you can use any other reliable data verification software, if you like. But USE one, and BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP!

Don't hurry!

2007-09-21T22:59:00.000+02:00

I'm not used to drink coffee. I don't drink a lot, just every now and then. That's why standing in front of a self-service coffee machine in a restaurant or cafeteria, I'm usually a bit confused about all the buttons and wonder which button I have to press and where exactly I have to put my glass. But that's OK I think, I'm getting older :)

Worse is that I normally drink a latte macchiato. And it happens to me that I forget that coffee comes last, first comes the milk. I watch the glass being filled up with milk and then it stops for several seconds. I take the glass and leave. If I would watch the people in the queue now, I had to notice that something must be wrong with my "latte macchiato"...

That experience remembers me not to hurry too much in life. Relax and enjoy!

Gratis, kostenpflichtig oder doch wieder gratis?

2007-09-20T21:21:00.000+02:00

Am Anfang war im Internet alles gratis. Zeitungen veröffentlichten die Artikel ihrer Printausgabe zeitgleich auf ihren Websites im Internet. Auch das Archiv konnte man kostenlos nutzen, was für Recherchen sehr praktisch war.

Dann kam eine Phase, in der die Zeitungsverlage auch Geld mit dem Internet verdienen wollten. Erst wurden die Archive nur noch Abonnenten der Printausgabe kostenlos zur Verfügung gestellt, dann auch die aktuellen Zeitungsartikel. Im Internet gab es nur noch Kurznews, nicht mehr die kompletten Artikel der gedruckten Ausgabe.

Interessant zu sehen, dass nun offenbar wieder mal Ernüchterung im Internet eingekehrt ist. Zeitungsverlage gehen dazu über, ihr Online-Angebot wieder gratis zugänglich zu machen. Geld soll mit Werbung verdient werden, nicht mit zahlenden Nutzern der Website. So beendete die New York Times kürzlich ihre kostenpflichtigen Online-Angebote. Sogar das Archiv ist bis ins Jahr 1987 kostenlos zugänglich. Mehr dazu in diesem Artikel auf heise online.

Read this! Never Eat Alone, by Keith Ferrazzi

2007-09-19T12:27:00.001+02:00

Recently I noticed how important it is to read books. Not just novels for entertainment (currently I'm reading Harry Potter before falling asleep :) but also books about running a business. You can learn so much by reading a good book. A lot of great authors share their knowledge, their wisdom with you. Knowledge they elaborated over years and years of work. Profit from them! And start sharing too! (remember my post about sharing? **CLICK HERE** or for another post about the importance of sharing **CLICK HERE**)

If you run your own business you will notice how important networking is. Keith Ferrazzi is like the guru in this field. He teaches you that networking doesn't just mean exchange of business cards. But more importantly networking means connecting with people, making new friends and keep the connection with people you already know alive. Connect with people, share things with them and care about them. Truly. It is a skill you can learn. And you should do so.

I'm just reading Keith Ferrazzi's famous book Never Eat Alon e. I recommend this book, it will open your eyes. Especially if you always refused networking because you thought it's a bad habit to use connections. It's not. It's vital.

Check also Keith Ferrazzi's Never Eat Alone Blog if you are interested in some more information about networking and how it can help you to grow your business.

The book is also available in German: Geh nie alleine essen!

Organize your life with Joe's Goals!

2007-09-18T18:04:00.000+02:00

If you find it hard sometimes to be consequent, to do the work you should have done today, let Joe help you! Joe's Goals is a website that lets you define your goals and gives you a statistic how good you are in accomplishing them.

You can add positive or negative goals to your list and define if you want to accomplish them daily, just weekdays or at the weekend. Check it out, it could help you to make more of your life!

Welcome, Dylan Andrea!

2007-09-17T09:56:00.001+02:00

I just received this awesome card from my good friends Renee & Jeff! :)

Renee called me one day because she was looking for a photographer to take her maternity images. She was very happy with the results and it was a honor for me that I also have been chosen to take the baby photographs of Dylan later in July this year.

I wish you all the best, happy young family! Thank you to let me be part of your luck, it was great to meet you and keep this special moments for your memories.

An American in Switzerland: Spencer Tunick

2007-09-16T08:01:00.001+02:00

US photographer Spencer Tunick from New York is famous for his images of nudes in urban landscapes or in the nature. Installations of naked human bodies he started to photograph 1992 in the streets of New York. Since then he did 65 installations worldwide.

He was already working several times in Switzerland. Recently he did an installation on the Aletschgletscher (Glacier of Aletsch) in the Swiss Alps, in cooperation with Greenpeace. It is the artist's statement against global warming.

As I live in Switzerland I wanted to share this cool video with you. Enjoy!

The great music in the video is from the Swiss duo stimmhorn. They work with traditional swiss instruments like the alpenhorn and do a great modern sound that can't be categorized. Check them out!

Workflow: Adobe Lightroom

2007-09-15T23:47:00.000+02:00

Als Fotograf werde ich immer wieder gefragt, womit ich arbeite. Sei es mit welcher Kamera, welchen Objektiven, Computer oder Software. Bei der Software denkt jeder sogleich an Photoshop. Das stimmt natürlich auch.

Aber das Programm Lightroom von Adobe (offizieller Name: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom) stellt für Digitalfotografen zweifellos eine der grössten Innovationen im Software-Bereich in den letzten Jahren dar. Kaufen kann man das Programm seit Ende Januar 2007. Davor war eine Test-Version gratis erhältlich. Mit dem Feedback der Test-Benutzer und dem Input vieler Fotografen wurde schliesslich das fertige Produkt entwickelt. Nach der ersten Version 1.0 erschien im Juni 2007 ein Update auf die Version 1.1, die nicht wie üblich nur Fehlerkorrekturen, sondern auch viele wesentliche Verbesserungen und neue Funktionen (z.B. neue Werkzeuge) enthielt.

Tipp: Wenn man sich ein Buch zu Lightroom kauft, sollte man deshalb unbedingt darauf achten, dass es für Lightroom 1.1 geschrieben wurde und nicht auf Lightroom 1.0 basiert!

Im Gegensatz zu Adobes Photoshop, das ursprünglich für Grafiker gedacht war und dann über die Jahre auch zum Standard für Fotografen weiterentwickelt wurde, hat Adobe mit Lightroom bei Null begonnen und eine Software entwickelt, die erstmals den gesamten digitalen Workflow eines Fotografen abdeckt. Vom Import der Bilder von der Speicherkarte auf den Computer, über den Bildbrowser für die Bildauswahl, Tools zur Bildkorrektur, Konvertierung der RAW-Daten, Slideshows zur Präsentation der Bilder für Kunden, Erstellen von Galerien für die Website bis hin zum Ausdruck der Fotos auf Papier. Für weitergehende Bildretuschen wechselt man zwischendurch zu Adobe Photoshop und danach wieder zurück zu Lightroom. Das Programm ist besonders gut geeignet für Fotografen, die mit sehr grossen Bildmengen arbeiten müssen, z.B. in der Sport oder Event-Fotografie.

Verglichen mit Photoshop CS3 (ab CHF 1400.-) ist Lightroom richtig billig (ab CHF 260.-). Jeder anspruchsvolle Amateur-Fotograf, der etwas mehr aus seinen Digitalfotos machen will, kann es sich leisten. Und sollte es auch. Denn es ist ein absolut unverzichtbares, professionelles Programm für Digitalfotografen. Photoshop braucht man als Digitalfotograf wirklich nur noch zwingend, wenn man Bildretuschen machen muss, wie z.B. Falten abschwächen, störende Objekte entfernen u.a. Je nach Arbeitsbereich und Arbeitsweise wird Photoshop sogar verzichtbar. Es gibt schon Fotografen, die nur noch mit Lightroom arbeiten.

Tipp: Software kaufe ich meist in Englisch und nicht in Deutsch. Dies aus zwei einfachen Gründen:

1. Die englische Version einer Software ist die "Original-Version". Sie musste also nicht noch extra in eine andere Sprache übersetzt werden. Deshalb ist sie a) billiger und b) kommt sie oft früher heraus als die anderen Sprachversionen. Auch die Updates sind meist für die englischen Versionen zuerst erhältlich und erst Wochen oder gar Monate später für weitere Sprachen. Dies kann in der professionellen Arbeit ein entscheidender Vorteil sein!

2. Das Internet ist eine unendliche Informationsquelle, hier kann man sich gratis weiterbilden. Weil sich in den letzten Jahren Breitband-Internetanschlüsse so stark verbreitet haben, sind die besten Anleitungen nicht mehr geschriebene Tutorials, sondern Videos, die dem Benutzer die Anwendung eines Programmes 1:1 erklären. Besser geht's nicht. Vieles ist hier natürlich in Englisch: Tutorials auf Websites, Video-Podcasts, Bücher. Also ist es für mich einfacher, das Programm auch gleich in Englisch zu kaufen und zu benutzen, so muss ich nicht immer umdenken.

Mit den Büchern ist es übrigens dasselbe. Oft wird die deutsche Übersetzung erst Monate nach der englischen Originalausgabe veröffentlicht. Solange kann man nicht warten, wenn man eine neue Software lernen will. Also lese ich das Buch lieber gleich auf Englisch.

Hier ein paar Quellen, wenn man sich näher mit Lightroom beschäftigen will:

Website und Video-Podcast:
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips (von Matt Kloskowski)

Blogs:
Lightroom News
Lightroom Journal

Bücher:
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers (von Martin Evening)
The Adobe Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers (von Scott Kelby)

HINWEIS: Will man Lightroom in Englisch auf einem deutschen Windows Computer installieren, muss man folgendes beachten. Die Installationsdatei enthält Lightroom in drei Sprachen (Englisch, Deutsch, Französisch). Während der Installation kann man zwar Englisch, Deutsch oder Französisch auswählen, aber das wirkt sich nur auf die Sprache des Installations-Assistenten aus und hat nichts damit zu tun, in welcher Sprache das Programm später läuft. Je nach den Spracheinstellungen auf dem Computer läuft Lightroom in der entsprechenden Sprache. Dies lässt sich nicht durch Einstellungen im Programm ändern.

Einen Workaround für dieses Problem findet man auf dem Blog von Adobe im Lightroom Journal: Fine Tuning Language

Ich habe lange eine Lösung für dieses Problem gesucht und heute obigen Beitrag gefunden.

Seit Mitte September ist übrigens die Version 1.2 von Lightroom erhältlich. Sie enthält einige Fehlerkorrekturen und unterstützt neue Kameras.

*****

The installer for Adobe Lightroom is the same for English, German and French, it's all included in one file. But there's no possibility to choose which language you want to install (actually there is a language choice but it is only for the language of the installation wizard, it doesn't affect the language of the program itself when it's running after you installed it).

Great tip: If you are working on a computer (Windows or Mac) with german or french operating system, but nevertheless want to use Adobe Lightroom in English, check this post on Adobe's blog Lightroom Journal about a workaround to achieve this: Fine Tuning Language

Gina & Marcel (Wedding)

2007-09-05T11:41:00.000+02:00

Es ist toll, Hochzeiten im Ausland fotografieren zu können (sog. Destination Weddings), aber in der Heimat ist es genauso schön. Am letzten Wochenende durfte ich Gina und Marcel an diesem aussergewöhnlichen Tag begleiten. Eigentlich sollte mein Freund Richard Overtoom ihr persönlicher Fotograf sein. Aber weil Richard gerade in Afrika auf Safari unterwegs ist und lieber wilde Tiere fotografiert, bin ich zu dieser Ehre gekommen.

Die Hochzeit in der Kirche war einfach die Aussergewöhnlichste, die ich bisher erlebt habe! Spannend, lustig, interessant, herzlich. Die Zeit verging wie im Fluge und niemandem war bewusst, dass der Pfarrer die Zeit überzogen hatte. Schliesslich dauerte die Messe zwei volle Stunden! Statt wie vorgesehen nur eine Stunde... Niemand hat es ihm übel genommen, es war einfach toll! Nur mussten wir uns danach etwas beeilen, um den Zeitplan wieder einhalten zu können :)

Selten kommt es ausserdem vor, dass der Pfarrer für den Fotografen auf dem Altar ein Stillleben arrangiert, mit Brautstrauss, Kelch, Urkunde und Kugelschreiber. Und dann auch gleich noch die Seiten umblättert. Besser kann man als Fotograf wirklich nicht unterstützt werden. Besten Dank!

Danke, Gina und Marcel, dass ich diesen wundervollen Tag mit Euch, Eurer Familie und Euren Freunden erleben durfte. Es ist toll, wenn man als einziger Aussenstehender an einem so persönlichen Tag so herzlich aufgenommen wird und sich einfach wohl fühlt. Ich wünsche Euch alles Gute für Eure gemeinsame Zukunft und nehmt Euch ruhig Zeit für die Kinder. Auch wenn die ganze Familie und Freunde nicht warten können :)

Die Slideshow der Hochzeit ist auf meiner Website www.danielzihlmann.com in der Rubrik SLIDESHOWS zu finden oder mit diesem direkten Link: Slideshow Gina & Marcel. Viel Spass!

Herbert & Nina (Destination Wedding, Germany)

2007-08-23T13:45:00.000+02:00

It was another great destination wedding, this time in Germany. After some days of rain the sun was shining just for the right day. The wedding was celebrated at the most awesome locations in my favorite german city, Bamberg. And the ceremony was held in the old cathedral of Bamberg. Great? Awesome!

Herbert & Nina are such a wonderful couple, look how happy and relaxed they enjoy their great day and how beautiful the bride looks in this awesome dress!

Congratulations, thank you to let me be a part of your wonderful day!

Old but still great: This Land!

2007-08-20T16:30:00.000+02:00

Have fun today and enjoy the past. Who knows what the future will bring :)
If you don't already know it, discover JibJab. Watch one of their greatest flash movies, This Land!

One day of summer. And some portraits.

2007-08-16T00:06:00.000+02:00

It was said to be maybe one of the last days of summer. With really hot weather up to 30° Celsius, great to go to the lake, swim, relax and meet some friends.

We took the chance and visited some good friends that live near the lake of Lucerne, Markus and Gisela. It was really time to go because I never met their youngest family member Loris till today. He's one year old now and super cute. As I am a photographer and specialize not only in wedding photojournalism but also in portraiture and family photography, I was honored to shoot some relaxed portraits :) OK, maybe he's not that convinced about what I'm doing... I hope later in his life he will love this shot nevertheless.

Actually I was first asked to shoot some new portraits for the passport of his elderly brother Silvan, turning 4 years old in 2 weeks. But as Silvan didn't like the idea to have pictures taken of him - even when he was explained that without passport he would not be able to join the family for holidays - I started with some classical shots from the back :)

But finally we found the smile we were looking for. With a little bit of mum's help :)

Of course he was able to do it better all on his own:

OK, I think Silvan is ready for holidays :)

Post production

2007-08-13T08:32:00.000+02:00

Clients often don't understand what "post production" means, why it is necessary and why they have to pay for it. That's why they negotiate to have the job done without. Normally just for the sake of saving some money. But would they be happy with the final result if they got the images without allowing the photographer to finish his work? I don't think so. They will say he's a bad photographer - while comparing his work with other photographers that certainly DO post production, of course! And they will neither book him again nor recommend him to other prospective clients.

So let's dive into the subject. Why does it need post production and what is it? Compare the two pictures below. The difference is called post production :)

This is the untouched photo straight out of the camera:

It's a nice, acceptable shot. Exposure, focus and colors are OK. But not more. That's what you get (or maybe less) if you hire just the cheapest photographer to cover your wedding or another high end event. Often they work the "shoot to burn" style: shoot the wedding and just burn the photos right from camera to a CD and hand them over to the couple, without any post production or retouching. It's obvious why "shoot to burn" photographers can offer their services for a very low price. They don't need expensive tools, not years of learning and acquire skills, no time at all after the wedding for finishing the pictures and no backup strategies. The photos are ready to deliver to the client at the moment they are shot. That's where their workflow ends.

And that's where the workflow starts for the "other" photographers.

This is what the picture looks like after some work in Photoshop, called "post production" (click to view it big):

The image has been lightened, converted to black & white, added some sepia toning and the texture of an old paper to give it the taste of an old photo. To make the picture something unique and special.

[Working with "textures" like this is very modern at the moment in photography, check out the website of the master of FineArtTextures, Jesh de Rox!]

In the previous post (open the link in a new window to compare the pictures "side by side") I used the same photo to announce the slideshow of Sibylle & Jan. The picture is in color but nevertheless did get some post production: lighten, color correction, contrast bump, a little vignette and sharpening.

Post production needs time, knowhow and sometimes special tools and software. That's what you pay the photographer for. Not just for showing up with his fancy camera for 10 hours at your wedding. Also cheap photographers can afford an expensive camera. That's not what makes the difference. It's the photographer's eye and creativity, his knowhow and professionalism and what the final result looks like. After post production (And that's also the reason why photographers are not payed for the amount of hours they are "on location").

If you're fine just getting average (or below) images of your wedding, go ahead to hire the cheapest photographer you can grab. But don't expect wonders and don't be disappointed afterwards.

If your main concern is the quality of your wedding images and the album, examine the photographers' work well and ask them the right questions before you sign the contract.

Every couple should choose the photographer that fits its needs, style and budget. And it feels comfortable with. It's OK to hire a "shoot to burn" photographer. If you know the difference and are aware of the limitations this might bring. But don't expect wonders. As everywhere else in business, what you pay is what you get! The choice is up to you.

Enjoy your wedding day! It will be an unforgettable moment in your life. Hopefully you picked a good photographer and will enjoy his work for a lifetime.

(If you are more interested in the photography business read John Harrington's great book Best Business Practices for Photographers or his blog Photo Business News & Forum.)

Did it! Slideshow Sibylle & Jan (Wedding)

2007-08-12T13:03:00.000+02:00

Brand new hot stuff! :) Another great couple that tied the knot! Watch the slideshow of Sibylle & Jan on my website www.danielzihlmann.com or **CLICK HERE ** to jump directly to the slideshow. Enjoy! :)

Alive and kickin' :)

2007-08-10T18:24:00.000+02:00

I had quite a busy July with two great destination weddings (France and Germany) and another wedding in Switzerland. That means also a lot of post production work to do. But now I'm catching up :)

What is in the works right now:

Sybille & Jan (Wedding): Slideshow
Herbert & Nina (Wedding): Gallery

Stay tuned!

Sibylle & Jan (Wedding, Switzerland)

2007-08-01T17:35:00.000+02:00

More pictures and slideshow of Sibylle & Jan coming soon!

In the meantime please check my latest slideshow of Claudia & Timo (wedding) on my website www.danielzihlmann.com

Finally: Slideshows on DVD available!

2007-07-23T18:06:00.000+02:00

Die beliebten Online-Slideshows auf meiner Website www.danielzihlmann.com (Rubrik SLIDESHOWS) können seit einiger Zeit auf DVD bestellt und so am TV abgespielt werden. NEU ist jetzt endlich auch der Versand in die Schweiz, nach Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien, Grossbritannien, USA und einige andere Länder möglich. Ein Klick in der Navigation unterhalb der Slideshow auf den Knopf "Purchase Show on DVD" führt zum Bestellformular. Die DVD wird in einem schönen schwarzen Lederetui geliefert.

Finally the online slideshows on my website www.danielzihlmann.com can be purchased on DVD to play them on TV. The DVDs will be shipped to Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, United States and some other countries. To buy a DVD just click in the navigation beneath the slideshow the button "Purchase Show on DVD" and you will be forwarded to the order form. The DVD will be delivered in a nice black leather cover. Enjoy! :)

Claudia & Timo (Destination Wedding, France)

2007-07-16T10:51:00.000+02:00

Endlich war es am Samstag so weit, Claudia & Timo aus Deutschland, wohnhaft in der Schweiz, haben in Frankreich geheiratet! Die Gäste waren ebenso international, die Location (Chartreuse de Pomier) war wunderbar und das Wetter grossartig. Wie bestellt für eine Trauungszeremonie unter freiem Himmel :) Im Ausland zu arbeiten und erst noch open-air ist für mich als Fotograf natürlich das Schönste!

Hier eine erste schnelle Auswahl mit wenig Bearbeitung. Die Slideshow und Galerie mit allen Bildern folgen in ein paar Tagen!

Herzliche Gratulation, Claudia & Timo! Es war toll, dass ich dabei sein durfte! Ich wünsche Euch alles Gute für Eure Zukunft in der Schweiz :)

Timo wartet auf die Braut. Die Spannung steigt, das Auto mit Claudia fährt vor.

Claudia wird von ihrem Vater zur Trauung geführt.

Die Chartreuse de Pomier, ein toller Ort für eine Zeremonie unter freiem Himmel! Auf einer Anhöhe gelegen, hat man einen schönen Ausblick über Frankreich, und das am französischen Nationalfeiertag (quatorze juillet)!

Das Ja-Wort gegeben, die Ringe getauscht. Verheiratet!

Fehlt nur noch der Kuss :)

Die Party kann beginnen!

Ein Tänzchen mit dem Vater...

... und dem Ehemann.

Introducing: Dylan

2007-07-10T15:24:00.000+02:00

I was not only invited to take Renee's maternity pictures, but later also honoured to document some moments of a new life: Dylan was born on the 20th of May 2007, with 8 pounds 6 ounces (3.8 kilos) and 20.5 inches (52 cm) long (pictures made on 1st of July).

Congratulations to the happy parents, Renee and Jeff! Enjoy the new family life, your daughter is so cute :)

Sibylle & Jan (Slideshow)

2007-07-08T20:08:00.000+02:00

Finally the slideshow is on my website www.danielzihlmann.com! Enjoy it in the SLIDESHOWS section :) **CLICK HERE** to jump directly to the slideshow.

Engagement Session: Sibylle & Jan & Jonas

2007-07-01T08:01:00.001+02:00

Jonas was not very convinced about me taking pictures, I hope Sibylle & Jan like them anyway :) The slideshow should be online tonight. Check back soon!

Event: Gala-Diner

2007-06-15T18:46:00.000+02:00

Enjoy the latest slideshow of a gala diner for 800 guests on my website www.danielzihlmann.com in the SLIDESHOWS section. If you want to jump directly to the slideshow **CLICK HERE**.

Slideshow: Gina & Marcel

2007-06-15T00:40:00.001+02:00

Endlich sind die Fotos von Gina & Marcel online! Die ganze Slideshow gibt's auf meiner Website www.danielzihlmann.com in der Rubrik SLIDESHOWS zu sehen. Oder **HIER KLICKEN** um direkt zur Slideshow zu springen.

Finally the slideshow of the engagement session of Gina & Marcel is online! The complete show with all pictures can be found on my Website www.danielzihlmann.com in the section SLIDESHOWS. Or **CLICK HERE** to jump directly to the slideshow. Enjoy!

Engagement Session: Gina & Marcel

2007-06-09T14:22:00.000+02:00

... and Gioia!
More pictures coming soon...

Wenn die Chemie stimmt...

2007-05-23T21:47:00.000+02:00

Bei 33 Grad Innentemperatur hat Stefan (links) heute in Basel Aufnahmen für eine Chemiefirma gemacht. Ich (rechts) durfte bei diesem denkwürdigen Anlass dabei sein. Mit Schutzmantel und -brille. Morgen schwitzen wir weiter...

At 33 degrees Celsius indoors my friend Stefan (at left) was shooting for the chemical industry in Basel. I (at right) was honoured to be part of this memorable event. With protection coat and safety goggles. Tomorrow we will continue sweating...

Engagement Session: Claudia & Timo

2007-05-09T19:56:00.000+02:00

Erst regnete es am Samstag den ganzen Tag in Strömen, aber am Sonntag konnten wir doch noch die Engagement Session von Claudia und Timo fotografieren. Weil sie am Samstag auch Ihre Ringe in Bern abgeholt haben (noch 66 Tage bis zur Hochzeit!), konnte ich auch davon ein paar Fotos machen. Die zwei kommen aus Deutschland und werden in Frankreich heiraten, darauf freue ich mich schon sehr! Ich hab Ihnen gleich Bern gezeigt und wir haben auch die echte Berner Röschti nicht ausgelassen :)

Die Slideshow gibt's auf meiner Website in der Rubrik SLIDESHOWS zu sehen. Oder mit diesem Link hier direkt zur Slideshow.

On Saturday it was raining the whole day, but on Sunday it was possible to shoot the engagement session of Claudia and Timo from Germany. Take a look at the slideshow!

Improvise, save money and start sharing :)

2007-05-02T12:31:00.000+02:00

Zubehör fürs Fotostudio ist oft ziemlich teuer, weil es ein sehr spezialisierter, beschränkter Markt ist. Mit etwas Improvisationstalent kann man jedoch Alternativen finden, die den Job praktisch genauso gut erledigen, aber nur einen Bruchteil kosten.

Vorgestern habe ich Schwangerschafts-Aufnahmen in Basel fotografiert. Nicht im Studio, sondern in der Wohnung der Kunden. Für den schwarzen Hintergrund (schwarzer Samt ist dafür am besten geeignet, weil er am meisten Licht "schluckt" und keinerlei Reflexionen oder Falten im Bild sichtbar sind) brauchte ich ein Befestigungssystem. Im Studio verwendet man dafür zwei sog. Autopoles von Manfrotto (Stützen, die man zwischen Decke und Fussboden einspannt) und je eine Klammer mit Haltevorrichtung für die Rolle Hintergrundpapier oder die Stange mit dem Stoff. Das kostet schnell einmal ein paar Hundert Franken. Nur um den Hintergrund zweckmässig befestigen zu können.

Man kann aber dafür auch Montage-Stützen (CHF 36.-) und zwei Richa-Klammern (wenige Franken) aus dem Baumarkt nehmen. Darauf kommt horizontal eine grüne "Bohnenstange" (CHF 6.90), die mit einem Gummiband oder Gaffertape fixiert wird. Die Stange hat feine Kerben, damit sich die Pflanzen besser hochranken können :) Daran halten die Richa-Klammern, mit denen man den Stoff an der Stange befestigt, sogar noch besser! Sie drehen sich nicht oder rutschen ab. Perfekt!

Beim Improvisieren sollte man jedoch aufpassen, denn das System muss trotzdem absolut sicher sein. Man will beim Kunden ja keinen Sachschaden anrichten... Ausserdem muss man es schnell aufbauen und den Verhältnissen anpassen können. Dies erfüllt das oben beschriebene System. Für unter 100 Franken... Von dem gesparten Geld habe ich mir einen neuen Hintergrund-Stoff gekauft :)

Equipment for studio photography is normally very expensive. But if you look around and are ready to improvise a bit, you will find alternatives that save you some hundred bucks :)

The day before yesterday I was shooting maternity pictures in Basel. On location, not in the studio. For the background I needed to put up black velvet (that's the best to make the background completely black, this fabric won't give you any reflections). Instead of buying 2 Autopoles by Manfrotto, I found something very similar in a DIY superstore. For a fractional amount of the price... I also found some Richa clamps (big and small) to hold the green "bean-pole" where I attached the black velvet. Perfect!

If you improvise you just have to be careful that the system is nevertheless completely safe (you don't want to damage the clients appartment) and the system is fast to set up and move around if you need to adjust for the shooting. My setup fulfilled these requirements. And that for less than CHF 100.- With the saved money I bought a new background fabric I needed :)

What cool improvisations do YOU use? Share it with other photographers by leaving a comment :)

Michael Grecco: Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait

2007-05-01T07:10:00.000+02:00

Wer sich für Beleuchtungstechnik und Portrait-Fotografie interessiert, der sollte sich mal das Buch Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait des bekannten Celebrity-Fotografen Michael Grecco ansehen. Es enthält nicht nur tolle Bilder und beschreibt deren Entstehung, sondern erklärt genau wie diese technisch realisiert wurden, inkl. Skizzen des Location-Setup (Position der Kamera und Lampen, verwendete Wabenfilter etc.) Lesenswert!

If you're interested in lighting and portrait photography you should check out this book by celebrity photographer Michael Grecco: Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait He's telling all he's secrets, philosophy behind his lighting and includes even drawings of the location setup showing the position of camera and strobes, grids he used etc. Highly recommended!

True color

2007-04-28T20:03:00.000+02:00

Farbmanagement ist ein ständiges Thema, wenn man digital fotografiert. Alles zu erklären, würde hier zu weit führen. Wer sich dafür interessiert, kann eines der unzähligen Bücher zum Thema studieren. Kurz gesagt geht es beim Farbmanagement darum, dass ein Bild von der Aufnahme (Kamera), über die Bearbeitung am Computer (Monitor) bis zur Ausgabe (Drucker, Druckmaschine) immer konstant die gleichen, "richtigen" Farben zeigt. Wobei auch das subjektive Empfinden des Fotografen entscheidet, welches für ihn in dieser Situation bei diesem Bild die "richtigen" Farben sind. Aber auf jeden Fall sollen die Farben dann beim gedruckten Bild genau so aussehen, wie sie bei der Bildbearbeitung am Monitor ausgesehen haben.

Um dies zu erreichen, muss der Monitor kalibiert sein, d.h. Farbe, Helligkeit und Kontrast werden auf einen einheitlichen Standard gebracht. Dies kann man versuchen von Hand am Monitor mit den Knöpfen und Menüs einzustellen, was jedoch nicht wirklich gut gelingen wird. Einfacher und v.a. zuverlässiger wird ein Monitor mit einem speziellen Gerät kalibriert, einem sog. Monitor-Kalibrator. Ich benutze dafür wie viele andere Fotografen auch das Eye-One Display 2 von Gretag Macbeth. Das Gerät wird auf das Display aufgesetzt und die Software gestartet. Nach ein paar Minuten ist der Monitor perfekt eingestellt. Besser als es von Hand je möglich wäre, weil gar nicht alle Einstellungen von Hand anpassbar sind.

Was ich kürzlich auf der Website der European Color Initiative entdeckt habe, ist ein Monitor-Hintergrundbild, mit dem sich auf einen Blick sagen lässt, ob ein Monitor richtig eingestellt ist oder nicht. Es steht auf der Website gratis als Download unter dem Titel "Monitor" für die verschiedensten Monitor-Auflösungen zur Verfügung. Man muss darauf achten, dass man das Bild mit der richtigen Auflösung für seinen Monitor benützt! Denn einige Testelemente funktionieren nur richtig, wenn das Bild unskaliert eingesetzt wird. Im Download ist ein PDF enthalten, das die richtige Verwendung des Hintergrundbildes erläutert.

Selbst wenn man seinen Bildschirm mit einem Monitor-Kalibrator eingestellt hat, ist die Verwendung des Testbildes nützlich. Denn es zeigt sofort, wenn mit der Einstellung des Monitors etwas nicht mehr stimmen sollte. Mich hat es kürzlich davor gewarnt, dass nach dem Standby-Betrieb des Computers das Monitor-Profil nicht mehr richtig geladen wurde.

Ebenfalls in der Download-Rubrik der ECI-Website findet man einen "Leitfaden Digitale Fotografie" (Digipix3, unter dem Titel "Digitalfotografie"), der Farbmanagement so verständlich erklärt, wie ich es bisher in keinem der teuren Bücher gelesen habe. Sehr zu empfehlen, wenn man sich etwas genauer mit dem Thema beschäftigen will!

Color management is an ongoing subject (I tried to avoid the word hassle ;) if you work with digital photography. Expecting that you already read articles about this subject and tried to make color management work for yourself, I'm not going to explain everything from the beginning. I think in the meantime you also decided to buy a display calibrator like the Eye-One Display 2 by Gretag Macbeth that use a lot of photographers with good results.

Recently I found on the website of the European Color Initiave a set of display wallpapers for free download (under the title "Monitor"). If you use it on your monitor, you will immediately be aware of any problem with the calibration of your monitor. Even if you use a display calibrator like the Eye-One Display 2, there can be problems sometimes, e.g. if the monitor profile is not loaded correctly after a suspend to RAM of your computer. The download contains wallpapers for different display resolutions and it is very important to use the right resolution that fits your monitor. Otherwise some of the test tools will not work correctly! There's an instructional PDF in the download included, but it is written in German (although the whole website of the ECI is in English available too). I think as long as you use the wallpaper in the right resolution, the rest is more or less self explaining. If you have questions about it, just drop me a line and I will explain you how to use the wallpapers correctly.

On the same download page of the ECI you will find a PDF called "Digipix3" under the title "Digital Photography". It's a guide for digital photography that explains color management better than all the expensive books I already read about the subject. The guide is in English. Highly recommended!

Just one word...

2007-04-26T13:46:00.000+02:00

Heute nicht viel Neues. Ich sag nur ein Wort: Steuern...

Today nothing great. Just one word: taxes...

Package and Pricelist for 2007

2007-04-24T09:29:00.000+02:00

Auf meiner Website Daniel Zihlmann Photography findet man neu in der Rubrik INFORMATION die Preisliste 2007 für das Komplett-Paket PLATINUM (auch als PDF). Und JA, es ist tatsächlich der komplette Preis für das komplette Paket, da kommt nichts mehr dazu! Nur weil ich immer wieder gefragt werde ;)

Daniel Zihlmann Photography fotografiert Hochzeiten weltweit. Für Destination Weddings fragen Sie bitte nach einer Offerte für das Paket PLATINUM EXTENDED!

On my website Daniel Zihlmann Photography you'll find in the INFORMATION section the package and pricelist for 2007 (also as PDF available). And YES, it's the complete price for the complete package, there are no hidden costs! Just because I'm always asked ;) We'll be happy to send you an offer in English. Please drop us a line or just give us a call!

You can also book Daniel Zihlmann Photography for Destination Weddings. Just ask for the package PLATINUM EXTENDED!

Sharing, part 2

2007-04-23T13:19:00.000+02:00

Die Idee, dass man durch das Teilen von Wissen und gegenseitige Hilfe - selbst wenn man in der gleichen Branche arbeitet - nicht etwas verliert, sondern im Gegenteil etwas gewinnt und ALLE weiterbringt, vertritt nicht nur David Jay oder Gary Fong, sondern z.B. auch Paul Arden in seinem Buch "Es kommt nicht darauf an, wer du bist, sondern wer du sein willst." Er schreibt darin: "Wenn du sagst, was du weisst, wirst du noch mehr zurückbekommen. [...] Je mehr du weggibst, desto mehr kommt zurück."

Paul Arden arbeitete viele Jahre in der Werbe-Branche und man könnte den Titel des Buches auch missverstehen (der englische Titel ist präziser: "It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be"). In dem Buch geht es um Erfolg und Strategien zur Selbstvermarktung. Es geht darum, dass man das, was man sich vorstellt, als sein Ziel definiert, auch erreichen kann und wird. Im Vorwort schreibt Paul Arden: "Nur wenige reiche und mächtige Menschen sind besonders begabt, gebildet, charmant oder gut aussehend - Sie sind reich und mächtig, weil sie reich und mächtig sein wollen. [...] Zu wissen, wo oder wer du sein willst, ist die wichtigste Voraussetzung für Deinen Erfolg. Wer kein Ziel hat, wird kaum etwas erreichen."

Ähnliches hat Gary Fong wiederholt in seinem Blog beschrieben: In all seinen Unternehmungen oder Projekten hat er nie an seinem Erfolg gezweifelt. Er hat sich das positive Resultat, den Erfolg immer derart stark verinnerlicht und visualisiert, dass es schon fast real war. Und schliesslich auch tatsächlich Wirklichkeit geworden ist.

Das Buch ist kurzweilig und nicht nur für Werber interessant. Es enthält auch viele allgemein gültige Weisheiten von Paul Arden und Zitate von Beckett, über Konfuzius bis zu Churchill. Lesenswert!

Und der Blog von Gary Fong ist einerseits für Fotografen interessant, enthält aber immer wieder Wissenswertes zum Thema Business und Erfolg. Oder einfach nur Quatsch :) Gehört zu meiner täglichen Blog-Kost.

Not only David Jay or Gary Fong are talking about how sharing helped them to help others and improved their own business at the same time and even the whole industry. If you read the book "It's Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want to Be" by Paul Arden, you will find the same ideas. He writes: " If you tell/share what you know, you will get even more back."

It's a short book that is easy and fun to read. Enjoy!

Gary's blog is not just interesting for photographers. He also talks a lot about business and success. Or just about his daily life. One of the blogs I read daily.

Slideshow DVDs shipping to Switzerland soon!

2007-04-21T11:26:00.000+02:00

Und noch eine erfreuliche Nachricht nach meinem Treffen mit David Jay in Genf: Er hat mir versichert, dass es schon in Kürze möglich sein werde, die DVDs der beliebten Slideshows auch in die Schweiz zu liefern! Dies wird sicher für alle in diesem Jahr noch stattfindenden Hochzeiten möglich sein :)

And another great news to announce after I met David Jay in Switzerland: He confirmed that shortly they will start shipping the DVDs of the very popular slideshows also to Switzerland! For sure this will be possible for all coming weddings this year :)

About blogging and sharing

2007-04-20T15:30:00.000+02:00

Ich werde immer wieder gefragt (und belächelt), weshalb ich einen Blog habe. Ganz einfach!

Ein Blog (der Begriff ist eine Verkürzung des Begriffes "weB log", also etwa "Internet-Tagebuch") kann einfach nur unterhaltend sein. Blogs sind aber viel mehr. Blogs sind auch eine sehr gute Informationsquelle, die dem Austausch von Wissen dient. Und ein Marketing-Instrument.

Als Fotograf informiere ich mich in Blogs nicht nur darüber, was andere befreundete Fotografen privat machen, sondern v.a. auch woran sie beruflich gerade arbeiten oder wie sie die Entwicklung des Photobusiness einschätzen und es selber weiterentwickeln. Über Blogs wird Knowhow ausgetauscht. Und wer Wissen teilt bringt nicht nur die anderen weiter, die vom eigenen Wissen profitieren, sondern auch sich selber. Denn was man gibt, kommt auch wieder zurück. In den USA ist diese Erkenntnis weit verbreitet, in der Schweiz braucht es diesbezüglich noch Entwicklungsarbeit. Man hat Angst anderen einen Vorteil zu verschaffen und selber etwas zu verlieren. Wie kurzsichtig, solches Denken! Schliesslich nützt es allen, wenn man das Photobusiness weiterentwickelt. Auch in den USA hat es jahrelange Aufbauarbeit gebraucht. Als Lohn gibt es heute einen gut entwickelten Markt für Hochzeitsfotografie und Fotografen, die sich untereinander austauschen statt Angst vor der Konkurrenz zu haben. Es gibt diverse Magazine zum Thema Hochzeit, einen Markt für High End Hochzeitsfotografie und Kunden, die wissen, was es gibt und was sie wollen. All dies existierte in den USA vor einigen Jahren auch noch nicht. Mit vereinten Kräften haben die Fotografen dies erreicht. Und profitieren nun alle von einem Markt, der heute viel mehr Arbeit für alle ermöglicht.

Genau dies hat mir auch David Jay in unseren Gesprächen bestätigt: "If you don't share, you won't be successful!" Und: "You have to educate the brides." Man muss erklären, überzeugen, die Kunden "schulen". Und damit einen Markt aufbauen und ein Bedürfnis schaffen.

Und der Blog als Marketing-Tool? Das Führen eines eigenen Blogs kann Kunden einen persönlichen Bezug zu einem Fotografen geben. Man lernt den Fotografen näher kennen. Und wen man kennt, dem vertraut man auch. Und Vertrauen ist die Grundlage für eine erfolgreiche Geschäftsbeziehung. Durch die tägliche Aktualisierung der Blogs wird es für die Leser ausserdem interessant, immer wieder zurückzukommen. Ein sich ständig ändernder Blog ist interessant, eine statische Website dagegen nicht.

Und nicht zuletzt werden auch Blogs, nicht nur Websites, von Suchmaschinen indexiert. Man wird als Fotograf also auch über Blogs gefunden. Und dies führt irgendwann zu neuen, zufriedenen Kunden.

Ein Blog, den ich täglich lese, ist derjenige des US-Fotografen John Harrington, Photo Business News & Forum. John hat auch ein Buch zum Thema Photobusiness geschrieben und alles offen gelegt. Preise, Verträge, Verhandlungsstrategien, Kommunikation mit Kunden. Der Blog ist wie eine Ergänzung dazu. Das Buch ist statisch, wie eine Website. Es wurde mal gedruckt, das ist der Stand vor ein paar Monaten. Der Blog ist dynamisch und zeigt nun die Weiterentwicklung auf, den heutigen Zustand des Photobusiness. Ich empfehle beides zu lesen, das Buch (Best Business Practices for Photographers, Englisch) und den Blog. Viel Vergnügen!

I'm often asked why I write a blog. Very simple!

Writing and reading a blog can be just for fun. But more often they are a place to share. Share ideas, opinions, knowhow. And they are a marketing tool.

In the US a lot of photographers share not only their private life in a blog, they especially share business knowhow. Something you can't imagine in Switzerland...

But as David Jay told me, also in the US it was not always like this. It needed a lot of work to come to the point where the business of wedding photography is now in the US. He told me: "You have to educate the brides." To build up a growing market and a need for high end wedding photography. And you have to share your knowhow with other photographers, if you want to be successful.

Not only websites are indexed by Google and other search engines, blogs are searched too. That means that you will be found more often, if you write a blog and that drives traffic to your website too. Because blogs are updated daily, they are more interesting to readers than just static, never changing websites. And the readers come regularly back. They start to know more and more about the photographer and feel like they know him as a person. With knowing the person they also build up trusting this person. And trust is the basis for a successful business relation. Marketing tool.

One of the blogs I read every day is Photo Business News & Forum by US photographer John Harrington. He also wrote a book about photography: Best Business Practices for Photographers. Check them out and start sharing too!

Trippin' with David Jay

2007-04-19T11:56:00.000+02:00

Letzte Woche hat David Jay (kurz "DJ" genannt) in seinem Blog geschrieben, dass er anlässlich seines Workshops in Lyon/Frankreich ein paar Tage Ferien in der Schweiz machen wolle. Einfach ein bisschen ausspannen. Den Beitrag bebilderte er mit einem Foto von Château de Chillon. Was lag also näher, als dass ich ihm das Schloss mal in Natura zeige? Das Schloss ist schliesslich auch eine meiner liebsten Sehenswürdigkeiten der Schweiz, die ich bei jeder Gelegenheit ausländischen Freunden gerne zeige.

Fürs Abendessen habe ich statt des mondänen Montreux ein kleines Bergrestaurant in Sonchaux vorgeschlagen. Mit typisch schweizerischer Kost und einem herrlichen Blick über den Lac Léman. Einer meiner Geheimtipps. Im Sommer kann man wunderbar draussen essen und den Sonnenuntergang über dem See verfolgen. Oder die Gleitschirmflieger, die vor der Sonne in der letzten Thermik kreisen.

DJ hat sich dann allerdings nicht für ein typisch schweizerisches Menü entschieden. Als er auf der Karte "Cheval" entdeckt hatte ("You eat horses, really?!"), musste er das als amerikanischer Fleisch-Liebhaber einfach probieren! Und es hat ihm offenbar geschmeckt :)

Als wir kurz vor Mitternacht wieder in Genf angekommen sind, galt es nur noch ein Problem zu lösen. DJ hatte kein Hotelzimmer für seine letzte Nacht in der Schweiz und sein Flug nach Santa Barbara ging am nächsten Morgen früh. DJ plant seine Reisen nicht gerne im Voraus und bucht deshalb die Hotels erst bei seiner Ankunft. Das funktioniert normalerweise auch ganz gut, aber nicht wenn man in der Schweiz ist und in der Stadt gerade eine Uhrenmesse stattfindet! Genf war restlos ausgebucht, das letzte verfügbare Bett in einer Jugendherberge. So entschied sich DJ die Nacht in der Bar des Hotels President Wilson "abzusitzen", wo er schon bei seiner Ankunft in der Schweiz gewohnt hatte (im Hotel, nicht in der Bar natürlich :) Scherzhaft meinte er bei unserem Abschied: "Wenn Sie die Bar schliessen, muss ich mich halt irgendwo verstecken." "Wo willst Du Dich denn hier verstecken?", fragte ich. - "Vielleicht auf der Toilette!", entgegnete er lachend.

Ich bin nach Hause gefahren, hab schnell die Fotos vom Handy runter geladen und den Beitrag im Blog geschrieben. Um halb vier Uhr früh erhielt ich eine E-Mail von DJ's Handy: "Haha...i'm in the bathroom! I even got a shower!" Den Rest könnt Ihr Euch auf DJ's Blog als Video ansehen: DJ besetzt das President Wilson

Gute Unterhaltung! :)

PS: Sorry, Claudia und Timo, es war leider zu kurzfristig und zu wenig Zeit um mich bei Euch zu melden.

When David Jay aka DJ posted last week a picture of Château de Chillon on his blog, I found it would be a good idea to show him the castle in real life. After our visit and taking some self timer shots I proposed to go for dinner not to the expensive Montreux, but to drive to a little restaurant in the mountains with a great view over Lake Geneva, the sunset and paragliders taking advantage of the last thermals of the day. One of my favourit secret spots in this area (now no more :)

In the restaurant he couldn't believe that there was "horse" on the menu card and he preferred to order it instead of a real typical swiss menu like cheese fondue or "röschti". And he liked it :)

We arrived back in Geneva about half past eleven in the night and there was only one problem: DJ didn't have a bed for the night. Normally he books the hotel when he arrives because he doesn't like to plan his trip too much in advance. While this often works well it doesn't if you are in Switzerland and there's a big watch show in the city and the whole city is booked out. There was only one bed available. In a youth hostel :) I live in Berne which is a one and a half hour trip away from Geneva what didn't help because DJ's flight for Santa Barbara was leaving early in the morning the next day. So he preferred to wait in the bar of the Hotel President Wilson where he already stayed (in the hotel, not the bar of course :) when he arrived in Switzerland some days before. He was joking that he would hide in the bathroom when they close the bar. What happened afterwards you can see in this video on DJ's blog: DJ squatting the President Wilson

Enjoy! :)

... and the day I met DAVID JAY!

2007-04-19T03:11:00.000+02:00

Ich bin gerade von Genf zurück gekommen, wo ich mich heute mit David Jay getroffen habe, einem der bekanntesten amerikanischen Hochzeitsfotografen bzw. Wedding Photojournalists, wie man diese Fotografen in den USA nennt. Der englische Ausdruck macht den Stellenwert und Respekt deutlich, den man dieser Art von Fotografie in den USA beimisst. In dieser Beziehung steht die Schweiz noch am Anfang einer Entwicklung. David hat mir jedoch versichert, dass es nur eine Frage der Zeit ist und man als Fotograf daran arbeiten muss, den Hochzeitspaaren dieses neue Bild von Hochzeitsfotografie zu vermitteln. Vor fünf Jahren wurde man offenbar auch in den USA als Hochzeitsfotograf noch belächelt. Heute nicht mehr. Die Fotografen arbeiten auf einem Top-Niveau, haben sich in einem eigenen Berufsverband zusammengeschlossen (WPPI, Wedding and Portrait Photographers International, in dem auch ich Mitglied bin), der Markt hat sich sehr entwickelt und ist riesig gewachsen. In ein paar Jahren werden wir wohl auch hierzulande soweit sein :)

Mehr zu David Jay und unserem "trip around Switzerland in one day" gibt's morgen bzw. heute :) Nachdem ich etwas geschlafen habe... Stay tuned!

I just returned from Geneva where I met David Jay, one of the most famous wedding photojournalists in the USA. The english term "wedding photojournalist" expresses very nicely what respect this kind of photography gets paid in the US. And it really deserves it as you will notice when you study the work of these top class photographers! David asserted me that it's only a question of time and that the photographers have to work at helping the bridal couples to discover this new image of wedding photography. So I think in some years we will get to this point in Switzerland too :) It's said that all the things work a bit slower in Switzerland ;) That's at least what the Germans say about us :)

Read more about David Jay and our "trip around Switzerland in one day" tomorrow respectively today :) After I slept a bit... Stay tuned!

The day I met Britney at H&M

2007-04-11T08:45:00.000+02:00

Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen / General Terms and Conditions

2007-04-10T15:06:00.000+02:00

Auf meiner Website www.danielzihlmann.com findet man neu in der Rubrik INFORMATION die Allgemeinen Geschäftsbedingungen (AGB) von Daniel Zihlmann Photography als PDF-Datei. Die Datei ist auch hier im Blog in der rechten Seitenspalte unter dem Titel PDF zu finden.

On my website www.danielzihlmann.com you can find now the General Terms and Conditions (GTC) of Daniel Zihlmann Photography as PDF-file (section INFORMATION). If you're interested in the english version, please request it by email.

Frohe Ostern! Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T10:20:00.000+02:00

Dieses Jahr essen wir Wachtel-Eier. Auch die kann man färben :)

This year we're eating eggs from quails. They can be decorated with nice colours as well :)