I was recently asked to create a Powerpoint template for someone and soon realised that with a few Photoshop techniques creating, editing and creating individual assets was a breeze. To keep the whole thing as flexible as I could I used Artboards, Smart Objects and Create Assets.

In this video I show you how to make three slide template, a main slide, a ‘blank slide’ and a slide for an image. Should you wish to create more then this technique allows you to do it in seconds. I hope you find it helpful!

Source: Photofocus | Create Keynote or Powerpoint Templates with Ease in Photoshop

Instagram’s Direct feature just got more generally useful as a messaging option, with support added for external web links, and the ability to send photos and video in their original portrait or landscape aspect ratios without cropping. The first is really far more important than the second, mainly because it means users have less reason to go seeking other messaging options outside of Instagram.The links feature also includes inline previews for websites you paste the URL for, and the new photo and video treatment is much more in keeping with how people actually capture and view media on mobile these days. The updates are rolling out now to iOS users, and will arrive on Android soon. Links are supported on both platforms as of version 10.22.

Instagram Direct is a popular feature among the social network’s user base – there are 375 million monthly active users on Direct alone as of last count, a fresh number shared publicly in April. It’s a far cry from Facebook Messenger’s 1.2 billion monthly actives, but that’s still one of the biggest messaging apps in the world, and a product worth iterating on in order to help it capture even more market share.

Source: Instagram direct messages now support web links and different photo orientations | TechCrunch

Contracting for Creative Pros with Seth Polansky

This course is free until 7/1/17In this course—specifically designed for creatives—professor, contract attorney, indie film producer, and musician Seth Polansky explains how to protect yourself when presented with an industry contract. Media and entertainment companies spend billions of dollars every year on creative talent. Get an overview of the types of contracts that you can expect to see, the situations in which a particular type is used, and the specific red flags inherent in each. Seth discusses NDA, work-for-hire and contractor agreements, and proposals, quotes, and SOWs.

Topics include:

Why do you need a contract?

Types of contractsAsking for an NDA

Work-for-hire and contractor agreements

Proposals, quotes, and statements of work

Licensing agreements

Delivery and payment terms..

Source: Photofocus | Don’t Miss this Free Business Course for Photographers

Instagram is a constantly evolving tool, and one that has changed drastically over the past year. Now, more than ever, it’s important to follow some simple rules when posting to the social networking platform that can help you engage with not only your fans, but potential clients.

Tag Businesses and Locations

This might sound obvious, but oftentimes, it’s overlooked. Mention your clients or potential clients by tagging their Instagram accounts in images that feature them or their products.

On my recent trip to North Carolina, I stopped at several bars and restaurants, as I have a passion for shooting food and drink. Once I processed these images, and prepped them for Instagram, I made sure to mention the official Instagram account for the business. This made them not only aware of the image, but also made them look at my photograph. Doing so can create the potential for them looking at more of your photos, and potentially hiring you for an upcoming job.

Likewise, it’s important to tag locations. Even if you’re at your home, tag the neighborhood or district you live in. Doing so will make it so your photo is seen by people who are searching for location-specific images. And sometimes, these could get the attention of potential clients.

Use Applicable Hashtags

Just like tagging businesses and locations, be sure to use appropriate hashtags in the caption or comment of your image. This spreads your image across anyone looking for a specific type of image.

In my experience, it’s better to use hashtags that are more specific. When using a generalized hashtag with thousands (or millions) of photos tagged to it, your image is bound to get lost in the shuffle.

More is not always better here. Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags in a post, but if you put hashtag after hashtag, you might annoy your followers, as it seems spammy. Instead, pick relevant hashtags that will draw an audience to your post

.Consider Creating a Series of ImagesSomething I’ve recently discovered is the advantage of creating a series of images. For me, I typically post three images over the course of one or two days. This helps my audience not only know what to expect, but it lets my account be more known for a certain type of photography, instead of a hodgepodge of images.Use a SchedulerIt’s helped me tremendously to use a schedule website like Buffer or Later.com. These tools allow you to upload your images, apply appropriate captions and hashtags, and schedule them for publication. When your image is set to be posted, you get an alert on your phone, and then your post is copied over to the Instagram app.Why do this instead of just post directly on your phone? It allows you to think more in-depth about what you’re posting, and come up with a plan.

Keep Up On Your Comments

When you get a comment from a follower on Instagram, be sure to thank them and reply back. Likewise, if you get a direct message (that little envelope in the upper right hand corner), answer it! Being responsive with your audience and engaging with them shows that you care about your photography.

That’s not to say you have to say “thank you” to all those spammy comments though. Instead, remove those and report the profile to Instagram.

Source: Photofocus | Photography Marketing: Creating Brand Engagement Through Instagram

It’s Snapchat’s turn to copy Instagram while also staying one step ahead of its competitor. Today Snapchat launched a slew of new creative tools, several of which mimic Instagram’s features, including the option to remove the 10-second time limit on viewing photos that still disappear once closed. But Snapchat’s new option to let users erase real-world objects from their photos shows it’s still pioneering the visual communication format.As Snap adds more creative tools, it’s now organizing them all down the right side of the screen for easy access.

Here’s a breakdown of each of the new Snapchat creative features:

Limitless Snaps – Now you can select the infinity icon in the Snap photo timer so friends can look at the Snap as long as they want. It will still disappear once closed, though. This could be useful for sharing important information like an address via photo. Instagram already allows limitless viewing of ephemeral Stories and Direct Messages.

Looping Videos – You can tap the looping icon on the right side of the Snap composer to make your videos loop over and over, which is great for short videos or highlighting a particular moment. This gives Snap an animated GIF-style feature to compete with Instagram’s Boomerang.

Draw with Emoji – You can now use an emoji as a drawing brush. Select one from the creative tools on the right, and instead of a pen tip’s color, you’ll see a trail of that emoji as you draw. This takes the pain out of drawing with emojis by sticking them on one by one. Instagram actually tried something similar back in December with its Candy Cane holiday brush, but currently only offers more traditional marker, highlighter and neon brushes.

Magic Eraser – You can now select and remove objects from your Snaps, blurring their surrounding to cover the empty spot. Just select the Magic Eraser icon, paint over the object you want removed, and Snap will “Photoshop” it out automatically.Now the question is how long til Instagram offers a Magic Eraser and emoji brush of its own……

Source: Snapchat’s new eraser lets you ‘Photoshop’ stuff out of photos | TechCrunch