How to Make Money

What kind of questions is that? What do you mean, "How can I make money?" There are a million ways to make money. If you want to know the easiest way to make money on your own, I'll tell you. It takes hustling a bit and some hard work online, but you'll wind up making enough to survive on after a few months.

Basically, pick something you're really good at. Remember, the key is to get people to want what you have to offer... And to get a lot people to want it. So don't pick something stupid because no one will want it.

Now, try offering your service for free to a bunch of people and get their opinion on it. If they really like it, ask them to tell their friends and offer a reward to them for doing so. Add them to your mailing list and then start building your list. Then start charging. If people like the product or service enough, they will be willing to pay!

And there you go, you are making money.

Okay, so I know I'm making it a lot easier than it is. But in reality, the truth is that you really can make money off of anything you like, because there are always people who are willing to buy what you have to offer, as long as you seem to be an expert on the subject. this is why the internet is such a gold mine for starting a business. You have instant access to the entire world.

Blogging about a subject means that Google will start seeing your pages and you will start to rank higher and higher in Google for the topic that you blog about. This will mean that more people will start seeing your blog. As soon as they do, you can start advertising your services or consultations or products to the readers you have, and since you have put so much information out there already on the topic, they will trust that you have more.

It's so simple a caveman could do it.

Buy this book for less than $20. It's a great book by Robert Allen, called "Multiple Streams of Internet Income." I highly recommend it, as it goes into all the details about how to make easy money online.

Student Filmmakers: Buy the Nikon D7000 ASAP!

As a student filmmaker who only has access to an HDR-FX1 camera and a depth of field adapter, along with solely Nikon equipment for photography, I have to recommend the new Nikon D7000.

What's so great about this camera is that it is the perfect camera to do almost anything in regards to video (and of course photography too). I have been getting great results when shooting films because of the shallow depth of field it provides. Additionally, it has one of the highest signal-to-noise ratios of any Digital-SLR cameras.

All you have to do is light a scene with a candle and you can still get great low-noise shots, which is absolutely stunning.

Check out this footage:

Both shot with Nikon af-d 50mm 1.4 lens, at f1.8

In Candlelight - Very Little Noise. Watch in HD on YouTube to see.

In Regular Light... Notice the Depth of Field?
Watch in HD on YouTube  for more detail.

If you are a photographer who owns Nikon equipment and you are planning on upgrading to get a camera that can do HD video, this is it. It's quality rivals that of the Canon 7D and 5D because of it's new sensor technology. As soon as I got this camera and started using it with my Nikkor Lenses, it became my absolute favorite. Plus the shutter is very quiet, as opposed to my older Nikon D90.

So I would definitely recommend this camera to anyone looking to spend under $1,500 on a great Nikon camera that can shoot video. It definitely rivals the Canon's and is finally bringing a competitive edge against Canon on the video side.

Student Filmmakers: If you want a great camera and have a great film to shoot, buy the D7000, as it will bring you great results and really keep your film budget down.

Reply with a comment if you have any questions.

How to Become Rich and Famous Within 5 Years

Wow. If you are reading this right now, you are not on the right track. You have to ask yourself, "Why do I want to be famous?" Do you want money and fame for it's own sake? If so, that's a problem. You should want to be the best at something and let that take you to the top... But whatever, I'm going to assume you just want to be rich and famous for glory.

First off, let's look at statistics... Who are the richest and most famous people? Well, rich people tend to own companies. Famous people tend to be actors or in show biz or sports. Of course they often are interchangeable, but you have to keep in mind that the likelihood of you being discovered by someone is probably smaller than winning the lottery. And the only reason you would be discovered is if you are extremely talented in something.

Now I think you should know that becoming famous and rich takes a lot of work. By a lot of work I mean almost non stop work, whenever you get free time. All you do is keep working and working.

Remember this tip: the only level playing field these days that you don't need money to be successful in is the Internet. All you need is a brain and an idea. Build a website or a blog and figure out some service to offer people. It can be anything, but you need to be decent at it. And you have to be willing to work non stop at it for about 5 years straight.

Buy a domain name. Start writing content and building a blog. Anytime you get a new idea for something or have free time, write it down. Build your blog and start getting readers. As you get followers, contact them and ask them to send more people to you. Become a teacher and get people to want your information. Or become a service professional and get people to want your services. As you build your base of followers and the word spreads, keep track and keep everyone telling their friends (there are many ways to do this, which I will discuss in future posts). It's basically fail safe, and will take about 5 years. You don't have to trust me if you don't want, but try to deny it first. Remember, the lazy ones come in last. If you want anything bad enough you'll get it eventually unless you give up.

As you continue getting followers, you will be able to start offering other things to them, and they will likely buy. You can start getting rich and using the money to promote yourself in other ways. Soon enough after about 5 years, I guarantee you'll be rich and famous if you have continued,  non-stop, building your followers.

Just want it bad enough and don't give up. But make sure you know what your next step is after becoming rich and famous. Don't let it be drugs... Maybe start a foundation!

Actors: Do Your Own Self Promotion, Start by Taking Down Bad Samples

No one is going to do this for you, so you need to do it yourself. Even a manager or agent won't do as much for you as you can do for yourself, because agents and managers are really out to help themselves.

Remember this golden rule: the only person who will bring you to the top is yourself. If you're serious about becoming a professional actor, making all of your money just from doing acting jobs, there is no better way to do that than by promoting all of your work.

Be sure to follow my guide on how to get lots of acting jobs, which can be found on www.cityheadshots.com, but at the same time, make sure you are constantly putting your latest works online for people to see. Get rid of the bad stuff and just keep the good stuff. The truth is, no one really cares to see the bad and old stuff you acted in unless they are a really close friend or they were in the project themselves. Therefore, I highly recommend you remove old works from your website and samples page. If you have put them on YouTube, of course you can leave them there, but anywhere else should be taken down because you only want your potential employers (i.e. Casting directors) to see your best stuff. Remove the bad from your website.

It's a harsh world out there, but taking things one step at a time is a sure way towards success. Just think: what if you had a not so good work on there and a casting director saw that one first? They don't have all day to say, "Well maybe that was just one bad performance." Nope, instead you go bye bye. That's a wasted headshot and resume right there, as it's now about to be recycled! So, one very important thing to remember, actors, is to always keep your best orks online, and no other ones.

Good luck.

How to Find and Choose a Wedding Photographer

Is your wedding fast approaching? Does it seem like there are an insurmountable amount of things to be done? Are you worried about choosing a photographer? Do you even know how to start? At least we know one thing, you googled it. Good job! But there's still more to do.

Picking a wedding photographer is like picking one flower seed out of hundreds. They are each different and have something good to offer, but need different attention. Some flowers will be easy to maintain, are beautiful, and are big. But they cost more. Others are smaller, might not look as nice (but maybe you get lucky!) need more care, but cost very little. Well it's a hard choice.

The most important part of choosing a wedding photographer is not the price, but the match factor. This is how well you get along with them (how well you two match).

A photographer who makes you laugh and has a great personality is going to be much easier to get along with than someone who is very serious. Wedding photographers have be like this. Actually anybody who photographs people should have a fun personality. It makes the pictures look a lot better because if the photographer isn't happy, you won't be either. And it will show in the pictures.

The best way to see what a photographer's personality is is to speak with them when meeting for the first time or over the phone. Be sure you like their personality, otherwise no matter how good everything is on your wedding day, your pictures won't come out that great. And those are one of the most important parts!

But where to look? Well, for one, I offer wedding services for between $500 and $1,000. But if you don't want me, google wedding photographer, NYC (or whatever city you reside in). Also, you can try gigmasters.com, as they offer great resources for contacting wedding vendors. Also, ask your friends who they used for their wedding. Typically, your friends will be more reliable for you than googling something and reading reviews.

Good luck and have a great wedding!

What should a wedding photographer charge?

This is a very good question if you are about to get married and are looking for a photographer and want to know if you are being overcharged. Believe me when I say that rates can range from $500 all the way to $50,000. Though some prices kind of get ridiculous, the standard would have to be about $2,000.

When you find yourself hiring a wedding photographer who only charges $500 or lower, you should know you are likely hiring someone who is at the lower end of the spectrum. Be sure to check their samples and you can even ask for references. Charging $500 is a telltale sign of someone who is trying to break into the industry and has likely not photographed many weddings before, so you just really want to make sure they are up to the task and will be able to get you good shots. Also make sure that they are responsible because if they are charging such a low amount, that could mean they are irresponsible and that is why they don't have many clients. Make sure they are timely and professional, and that they respond to your emails right away.

When you hire a photographer for the typical range of $1,000 to $3,000 you should know that these people are the ones that have been doing this for a while and likely really know what they are doing. They will do the job, be professional, and you'll get great images.

Between $4,000 and $10,000 you are really getting into the upperclass photographers. These are the people whose names you might have heard of, have probably had there images used in magazines. These people are sure to blow you away with their amazing pictures if you can afford them.

Above $10,000 and you are either at the super professional industry experts, or the scammers. You have to be careful of who you are hiring here, but if you are able to book one of these pros, you will probably get some of the best pictures in the world, in addition to being able to name drop about which wedding photographer was at your wedding.

Hopefully this info helps, let me know if you have any questions!!!

The 24th St. Loft - The Wedding of Brian and Lindsey

On October 30th, I videotaped Brian and Lindsey's wedding. It was a two-part wedding, and the other half was October 9th. This was just the reception, and I brought my camera with to take some still shots of the event as well. Check them out and let me know what you think!