Darnell, owner of Darnell Isaacs Photography, has been a very active EasyDigitals.com customer. He is always willing to help out with new ideas and advice. Darnell is a full time photographer and just an all around super enthusiastic and inspirational sports shooter. Lets learn a little bit about what makes him so successful now…
How did you get started?
I got started in sports photography as a favor for a friend about 20 plus years ago. I was only doing weddings at that time, and a friend of mine asked if I would take some pictures of his son playing soccer. I actually told him no at first because I had no serious experience taking action photos. He eventually talked me into it, and the shots came out great. I also had a few other parents ask me if they could buy some of the shots, and a sports photographer was born.
What type of photography do you shoot?
I shoot all types of photography. Portraits, weddings, team and individual, dance, events, sports action, still life, scenic, but mostly sports.
How have the EasyDigitals.com products benefited your business?
EasyDigitals.com products have added another dimension to my product line. I use the templates not only for posters, but I offer them to parents for father/son shots or mother/daughter shots. The unique design and totally customizable features of the templates also make them perfect for multi-team events.
How do you promote your photos while you’re out shooting on location?
The way I promote my photos and posters is through hand-outs and postcards at the events I attend or shoot. I have a tent set up with a banner, and sample posters available. I also have a web-site that we use to post the pictures for the parents and kids to see what they look like in action. Word of mouth is still the best.
Can you briefly explain your workflow? IE. Do you use bridge, lightroom and/or photoshop or other programs?
I use Bridge, CS3, Elements 7.0, and Lightroom. It depends what I am working on. I think Bridge is the best tool in the box, it allows me to go from one app to the other without having to close, save, re-open and work again.
Any favorite actions or vendors (besides EasyDigitals.com)?
I have a few favorite vendors for different things. EasyDigitals.com is definitely at the top of my list. And I am not saying that because you have me featured. You always have something new out, great ideas, and the tutorials work great for me and my staff that create. My other favorites are ThePosterplace.com. They print and ship all my large sized custom prints for a super reasonable price, and the turnaround time is awesome. They also guarantee their work. Another favorite is Pictage.com, great wedding albums good site for weddings. Printroom.com hosts my online site, and they do my action photo printing and shipping. Those are just a few, but the ones I use the most.
What product seems to be the most popular that you offer?
My 16×20″ Custom Posters, 24×36″ Wall Stars, and my 8×10″ Photo Sculptures.
What is your Favorite Lens?
That is a tough one… for action outdoors, I would say my 70-200mm VR 2.8. Very versatile if you are able to move around a lot. For team portraits I use a 24-70mm Wide Angle. Lets you cover large teams as well as the small ones fairly easy. For indoor sports… depends on the sport, the 70-200 works great for volleyball and basketball, for swimming I use a 300mm 2.8.
What’s your favorite or most satisfying part of your photography business?
I love seeing the facial expressions when the parents and kids see the final product. It makes all the hard work worth it.
Any advice you can give to other photographers?
The best advice I can offer is keep your product fresh, don’t just show the same stuff all the time. Let your customers know that you are working for them, and stand behind your work. The absolute biggest thing is….. have a smile when you talk and listen. Works for me 🙂
Below are a couple of Darnell’s exceptional sports photos in EasyDigitals.com templates:
