Apps to Use While on Vacation

Picture App

Most phones typically come with a picture taking app preloaded, and in many cases this is the only photo tool you need.  Before you depart, clear out any existing pictures you have saved to make room for new pictures.  There's nothing worse than discovering you have no space left and no way to remove the old pictures on your camera. Do you delete old pictures to take new ones or forego taking new pictures? Avoid the a hassle completely and upload your pictures to your web photo album before leaving home. Some phones have the ability to have additional storage space via a removeable SD card. Invest in one if you plan to use your phone to store a lot of media.

Word Lens

If your travel includes an international visit, download the Word Lens app and set it up with with the language of your destination.  When you open the app and place text in front of the camera it will translate the text on screen from the selected language to the desired language. The app is still somewhat new and not all languages are available yet. The all works offline so you don’t need an internet connection for it to work.

Skype or Google Hangouts

Staying in touch on the road can be difficult and expensive.  If you're traveling domestically this may not be a problem. For international travelers, find a wifi connection and open up one of these apps. Be sure to take the time before departure to register and set up your account. When youre on the road you can simply dial another users web account or phone number and be connected.

Tripadvisor

Almost all travelers today consult Tripadvisor when in someplace new and looking for a place to stay, something to eat, or to find something to do.  Locations are peer reviewed and rated. You may not want to plan your entire trip around the site but if you're stuck it can be a good spot to see what's popular or may not be in the guidebooks.

Weather App

This Is another app that comes preloaded on most phones but there are dozens of others available for free download or a small fee. The other apps have a variety of different features that can be customized based on your needs.

Maps App

There are plenty of good mapping apps on the market. Some cater to those driving, while others focus on public transportation, and still others on walking routes.  Depending on your needs while traveling find an app or apps that best fit your specific needs. If you plan to do  a lot of walking having driving directions won't be very useful.

Your phone is a powerful tool that can help take your trip from good to great. Take lots of pictures to remember this special time and take time afterwards to download your images and add them to your favorite online photo galleries. You'll be ready for the next time wanderlust strikes!

Things to Consider When Starting a Home Based Business

Starting a business from your home can sound very appealing. Making use of things like selling stock images from your online photo galleries or starting a service based online business can be as easy as firing up your laptop and putting up a website. It can be incredibly inexpensive as well. However there are still considerations to keep in mind as you launch your new business.

There are considerations before beginning any type of business even a home-based one.

1. Check Out the Local Laws for Registering and Zoning a Home Business. There are still regulations that you’ll need to follow depending on the local community and state you live in. In most cases you won’t find any problems unless you’re meeting clients at home or posting business advertising in your yard.

2. Tax Laws. When you decide to move from hobby to business you’re subject to different tax exemptions, deductions and payments. Sites like www.irs.gov can give you the information you need. There are often small business bureaus in communities that can be helpful too.

3. Have an Independent Work Space. This could be as simple as using a spare bedroom or den with a door to keep your work separate. If a workshop is needed, consider using a garage or purchasing a large outbuilding. You may want to create independent accounts online (separate from your personal accounts) for things like email, web photo albums, and bookmarking sites.

4. Use Multiple Methods to Find Clients. Some ideas include: viral marketing, flyers and direct mailings, email marketing, or setting up a website.

A home-based business is an alternative for people who want to create something of their own without spending a lot in upfront costs. By spending some time to make sure that everything is set up correctly you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches and potentially a lot of money down the road.

Starting a Blog for Profit

You may have heard of bloggers making a full time income online. While this is possible, it takes a lot of work and time to see these kinds of results. If you are looking for a way to show off your expertise and also make a little money while doing it, consider starting a blog. While you might not be able to quit your day job tomorrow you can make some extra spending money.

There are many types of blogs. Some are more like journals. Others show off the online photo galleries of photographers. A third type are business blogs. This is a blog that you begin to attract traffic in order to sell products or services. Sure you can sell products on any website but business based websites exist with the idea that they will just be means to make money. To be interesting to others, your blog will need to:

• Have regularly updated content for visitors

• Be marketed in a way that draws traffic

• Register with search engines so it can be found in the rankings

If you are new to blogging, use a free blogging platform to get your feet wet. Depending on the site you choose, the themes and plug-ins (added features) will vary. Most will walk you through the process step by step so that you can be up and running in no time.

Before you start posting, decide what will be the theme, or niche of your blog. If you like photography that can be your niche. Create posts that talk about how to take great pictures, great poses, new techniques, or how to sell images from your web photo albums.

In order to make money with your blog, you need to have people visiting it. Any money-making venture will take place once you have an audience. Once this is done you can put into play a number of options like Google AdSense ads, affiliate marketing, or ebook marketing.

Sell Your Digital Photography at Stock Photo Sites

Many of your hobbies can be turned into business ideas that can make you money. Digitally photography is a great way to make an easy profit on doing the thing that you love. Digital photography allows you to capture a variety of images in a variety of formats. With tools like online photo galleries and web photo albums you can easily save, sort and display your images for pennies.

Wondering what kind of images people want to buy? Remember when you used to visit the fair or take a family vacation to a theme park? Those family pictures might seem like something only your family would want to have but for companies who want to pair an image with an article or are looking for the perfect image for an ad campaign they are willing to pay for your images.

Stock photography is one of the best ways to take these images and start making money in the online digital photography market. Sell your photos to others who need pictures for websites, newsletters, magazines and e-zines and other media. Your photos can add a new flavor to what is currently being offered.

Working in this way is not without risk. You want to make sure you have the permission of any people in the images before you place them up for sale. You also need to understand how the stock photography business works. Customers can purchase pictures or lease them for a certain amount of time. On some sites, photos are free to use when signing an agreement of use and including a link back to the site. Make sure all of this is clear before you start to put your work out for purchase. You may also want to keep track of the places you’ve listed your pictures in case someone decides to purchase the image outright.

Organizing Your Photos

Most people dislike housework, it is a chore we take on, it’s simply something that must be done. Once it is done though there is nothing better then walking into a beautiful clean home. It may of taken some work but it was well worth the effort. Now when it comes to all our online files and photos it is just the same we want to have it all organized but sometimes it remains in a heap kind of like that one load of laundry that is waiting to be done, that you never seem to have time to get to, so how do you organize your photos?

Pictures used to be something very tangible. In fact many of us have photographic prints still in boxes in our homes that have never gotten into a single photo album. Is that the story in your house? So today many of us have photos that are stored away on our phones, and we are gathering even more photos on a daily basis.

With the onslaught of how easy it is to take a photo with our phones todays many of us have accumulated thousands of photos. But good are they if they sit there?  Are your vacation photos sitting on your phone, how about the photos of that last party you attended? Or your day at the beach? Its easy to have a jumbled mess of photos, just as easy as it is to mess up your home.

The best solution is to organize your photos, an online website photo album offers you the chance to organize your photos. By using an online photo gallery you have a simple place now to organize your photos so they can be shared with those you love, or simply for your own enjoyment.

Six months, a year down the road, or five years you may not remember who was with you at that event you attended so as you upload your photos to your favorite online photo album make sure you are labelling your photos.

Another thing to make sure you do as you organize your photos is delete the excess. How many shots of those toes in the sand or of that sunset do you need? How many would you really want to share?  Get rid of those bad shots and save the best. By deleting photos along the way it makes this process easier and you are not wasting time later. Remember not all those shots deserve to be saved. Be brutal as you begin to organize, you will thank yourself later.

Some people have larger albums and then even sub albums to keep themselves organized. I recommend labelling each album differently. Since it is the summer of 2014 I may have a label: Summer 2014 or Trip to Spain. Remember to keep your titles simple because you will be sharing these hopefully with family and friends.

Once you have your online photo albums organized they are now easy to share in many ways. You can  share them through many social sites, such as Facebook. You can also email them to family members or if you simply want to you can always upload them to a digital photo frame for your viewing pleasure.

Making Money on Stock Image Sites

Selling stock images is a great way to make use of unused images in your online photo galleries that are just taking up space. You can make a nice chunk of money if you get your work out into the marketplace.

As a photographer, you will make more money if your photos are leased as opposed to being sold. A one-time sale can be really tempting, especially if it’s a big sum but the lease will provide a continuous source of income off of that one photograph. It can make sense to diversify your income by leasing some images and selling others through a lease arrangement. Both arrangements have positives and negatives and it will really depend on your goals and needs.

To begin making money in stock images, start researching current stock photography sites. Find one that offers the leasing option to customers and also has an easy-to-navigate site. This is an easy way to start testing the waters with your work. Don’t empty all of your web photo album images immediately. Start small, learn the ropes, and then work your way up.

To figure out what will sell, look at other stock photographs that are selling. What do they have in common? Are the pictures clear? Can you make out all of the features of the photo? What qualities are people looking for? This can be difficult because every buyer is looking for something different.

Don’t forget stock photography companies are out to make money too. Don’t be afraid to try some new ideas for pictures. You’ll receive feedback on what does or doesn’t sell either from the company you’re selling through or through your sales figures.

To better market your work create a website with links to the stock photography sites featuring your work. This will send more people to your work.

Tips for Setting up Your New Website

You’ve taken the big step to create your own website. Maybe it’s for professional reasons, you want an online space to share your thoughts, or you’re starting a small business. Whatever the reason here are three tips to make sure you start off on the right foot.

Think it Through

Before you start adding loads of content, think through what you want your page to be about. Sit down and create a statement that sums up your page. Then brainstorm as many potential topics as you can. All of the information you add should relate to this overarching goal and theme. It’s easy to stray off path but you’ll end up with a website that is a mess and readers who are confused. You may want to implement a content calendar to make sure you’re staying on track, keeping users informed about sales, or other pertinent information that relates to your business or topic you are writing about.

Appearance

You want to make sure your website looks nice and is easy to read. Avoid dark colors and styles that include too much to look at. Your readers want to be able to find and read the information you are posting and if there’s too much clutter they won’t be able to find it – and the won’t come back. You may want to hire a graphic designer to help you with the layout and appearance of your site.

Visual Aids

In today’s online world images and video are important. Create online photo galleries to house the images that you plan to use. You might have one dedicated web photo album that shows up on your actual website. Incorporate video if it adds to your site but be careful with any video that automatically plays. It’s better to let the user decide if they want to click play or not.

With web photo albums and online photo galleries you can even separate them into special folders to house important information for your customer base.