If Only I Had A Better Camera...

If Only I Had A Better Camera...
"If only I had a better camera, I could take great photos
like these!" That is something I hear every day in my
gallery, and I am sure many photographers hear the same
thing. People walk around a display of professional
photography, and think that it is the camera, not the
photographer, who is responsible for the great photos.

Pride makes it hard to admit that we are just not very good
at something. Photography is no exception: much easier to
blame the camera. The trouble is, if we want to take better
photos, will buying a better camera make that happen?

Of course not.

The truth is, you can take better photos no matter what
sort of camera you have. Digital cameras have become so
advanced that almost all cameras now have aperture and
shutter speed settings, not to mention amazingly powerful
optical zoom lenses. These are features that, until very
recently, were only available on SLR cameras. So if you
want to take better photos, the features are right there in
front of you. All you have to do is take the time to learn
how to use them.

To take better photos, start with the manual that came with
your camera. It will tell you how to operate the major
settings, although it may not be so good at explaining what
they are for. Then find the information you need to
understand how those settings will help you take better
photos. There are courses, workshops, books and ebooks that
will tell you what you need to know.

Make sure the course or ebook you choose is about how to
take better photos. These days, a lot of the information
out there is about fixing your photos on a computer, and
not about taking better photos.

A lot of what you can learn has nothing to do with the
camera. That's right; you can improve your photography
without changing one thing about your camera. My experience
in nature photography has taught me that the way you use
the light to capture your subject makes a huge difference.
The weather and the time of day can affect the light, so
your timing and patience can be the difference between a
snapshot and a great photo.

Developing a good eye for visual balance and composition is
another aspect to taking better photos that has nothing to
do with what sort of camera you have. You can go a long way
towards better photography by learning to think like an
artist, not like a tourist. A good guide to photography
should teach you this important element of photography as
well.

Here are a few simple examples. If you are photographing a
waterfall, try looking at the scene creatively. Perhaps you
can stand back and take a photo that follows the flow of
water upstream, with the waterfall in the background. Or
you could try looking through the branches of a tree, to
frame the subject, rather than just snapping the first and
most obvious angle.

When photographing people and animals, think about the best
way to position them to make a stronger composition.
Instead of putting them in the middle of the photo looking
straight at the camera, try positioning them to one side,
looking in towards the centre of the picture.

These are just a couple of simple ideas to get you
thinking. The point is this: you can take great strides to
becoming a better photographer by concentrating on the
artistic aspects of the craft, rather than just the
technical.

Of course, many things you can do with a compact camera,
you can do even better if you have an SLR camera. However,
buying a better camera is not going to help you take better
photos if you just switch it to automatic and keep taking
snapshots. So here's my tip. Buy the camera you can afford,
then learn how to use it. It's as simple as that. No matter
which camera you have, you can take better photos with a
bit of knowledge, and a bit of practice. If you decide to
upgrade later, so be it, but learning the basics of good
photography will get you a lot further than succumbing to
the "If only I had a better camera" mindset.

Now, if only I had better golf clubs...

----------------------------------------------------
Andrew Goodall has made his living from nature photography
for over 20 years. See his images at
http://www.naturesimage.com.au Andrew's ebooks "Photography
in Plain English" and "Every Picture Tells A Story" have
helped thousands of beginners learn the art and skills of
nature photography. Find them at
http://www.naturesimage.com.au/page/25/default.asp

Strategies to increase your income as a Private Music Teacher

Strategies to increase your income as a Private Music Teacher
Private Music teachers are teachers who teach one
instrument, usually one on one with a student, or in small
groups of students. Often these lessons are in the teachers
or the students homes, or sometimes they are held within a
school situation, often with the student coming out of a
larger class to spend the time with the teacher.

Whether in a private studio or in a school, the financial
arrangement for this kind of teaching involves the parents
paying the teacher directly "per lesson", and it is this
kind of teaching that this article aims to help teachers
increase their income with.

In this article are four strategies for increasing income
as a private music teacher - some of them may not be
suitable for every teacher, but hopefully they will give
you some insights on how private music teachers can improve
their income.

Strategy #1 - Never refund or credit a lesson because its
in the clients best interest

Students miss lessons. It's a fact. People get sick, there
are special sporting events that happen, there are times
when for whatever reason students are going to miss their
music lesson. The fact is that this is unavoidable. What
you can do as a music teacher is have a policy that says
that "lessons are always made-up, they are never refunded
or credited to your account", however the important thing
that is often missed in this is the WHY of that
statement... it should be because it is necessary for the
student's progress on their instrument.

If you use this philosophy you won't ever have to argue
with parents over it - because its in the students
interest, not yours! If you start the arrangement with this
agreement in place you'll find it much easier to enforce it
- the parents will make the effort to make up the lesson
rather than you having to insist on it. If you have
outcomes for the student (such as an assessment or exam) in
place it makes it even easier to make sure that it happens.

You will need to make time to make the lessons up - it
might be necessary to allow one or two days in the holidays
or during non-contact time to do it, but you'll find that
the ability to do this will be worth it in extra income.
Very often the parents will not bother making it up, and
you'll not have to credit or refund any money!

Strategy #2 - Find your Niche and make yourself exclusive
in that Niche

If you have something special about your teaching you'll
find that you'll attract more and better quality students,
and you'll be able to charge more.

For example, lets say you teach the guitar.

If you teach anyone who comes you'll probably end up with
some young children, some high school children, and maybe
one or two adults and you'll have to teach a variety of
styles depending on the type of music that the students
like.

If however..... you start a niche business, specializing in
only one area you'll eventually find that people will seek
you out because you are a specialist, and you'll be able to
charge more for your services and you'll be able to only
take on the students you want.

Examples of a niche business for guitar might be: - A
business that specializes in guitar for young children - A
business that helps adults fulfill their dreams of playing
guitar in a band - A business that specializes in heavy
metal guitar

These are just examples - there are literally thousands of
possibilities, but the niche must be something that
customers actually want, it cant be something that you
think might be good!

Strategy #3 - Increase your retention rate and don't take
on every student

Increasing your retention rate is vital for all businesses
- but particularly for music teachers - where your income
is determined by the number of students you are teaching
multiplied by the dollars that you charge.

If you can cut down on the number of students you lose,
while you simultaneously increase the quality of those
students you'll have a better income, and a more satisfying
teaching career as well.

You should definitely NOT take on any student that is
offered to you. Not every student is going to be right for
you - they often are looking to learn different things to
what you offer, and they might not be as reliable in terms
of paying their fees and attending lessons as your regular
students, so you should always meet and interview
prospective students before you agree to teach them.

By avoiding "problem" students in the first place you'll be
able to spend your time with more productive activities and
better quality students.. and this will increase your
income in the longer term.

Most of the problems with retention can be traced back to
one thing - the students lack motivation because they don't
practice enough. We have various strategies for increasing
retention rate by encouraging practice at the Fun Music
company teachers blog, which you'll find a link to at the
end of this article.

Strategy #4 - Add passive income streams to your business

Teaching income is active income - if you stop teaching the
income stops. That is ok.. because it is like any earned
income. What you should be looking to do is also add
passive income to your business.

Do you write any of your own teaching materials?

If so you are in the perfect position to add passive income
to your income mix. All you have to do is find a way to
publish your materials so that your students and others can
access them. It can be as simple as getting the materials
printed and bound at a copy shop just for your students
only.

Do you on-sell books and music to your students?

If so you may be able to negotiate bulk discounts from
suppliers and then add the full retail cost of the books to
the students account. Parents will appreciate the
convenience of not having to go into a shop to purchase the
books if you put it through your business.

Can you sell leads to other teachers or businesses?

For example students all need to purchase instruments. It
can be hard to negotiate, but if you can get a system going
with a music store that they will actually give you a
monetary commission (or perhaps credit to use in their
store) if you refer your students to purchase their
instruments from their store. This is certainly possible on
the internet, via the use of affiliate programs.

I hope this article has given you some ideas of ways that
you can improve your income as a private music teacher. I
was a private music teacher for over ten years, and I've
used all of these strategies during that time. Private
music teaching should be fun and rewarding, and it gives
you freedom to practice what you love, which is sharing the
joy of music with others.

----------------------------------------------------
Kevin Tuck has worked as a private music teacher, and now
runs The Fun Music Company, an internet publishing company
helping music teachers and authors publish music and
educational materials on the internet. You can find out
more about the Fun Music Company and download heaps of
useful music teaching and business building ideas at the
Fun Music Company teachers blog:
http://www.musicteachersblog.com