Amy Koughan - Improving Swimming Photography

Amy Koughan, a professional freelance photographer and competitive swimmer, enjoys the inherent challenges found in taking shots of an athletic event that exists in two main mediums: in water and out. Professionally shooting swimming events presents difficulties in sight lines, perspective, and motion, aside from the underwater trials.

Taking successful professional photographs of competitive swimming events allows the photographer to take unique pictures of athletes in unusual surroundings. Although all athletic photographers need to prepare before an event, swimming requires the photographer to commit to extra preparation. The photographer needs to know the environment she will be shooting in before the event begins: is it an outdoor pool? Indoor pool? Where will photographers be able to take pictures? Are there any restrictions placed on photographers and where they can shoot? Additionally, equipment must be chosen in advance, from using scuba-gear to get crucial underwater shots to exposing a camera to a high-humidity indoor arena so it defogs in time.

 

Professional photographers like Amy Koughan, who specialize in athletic event photos, know the importance of getting to the meet location as early as possible to scout the area out, determine important vantage points, and to acclimate to the weather conditions. It is also crucial for the photographer to seek out the photo marshal for the event and get clear answers to questions about photo assignments or special requests. The photographer then needs to find an efficient workspace that is not hampered by advertisements, officials, or spectators, but that still grants her quick access to key locations for shooting excellent photographs of competitive swimmers.

Source: http://www.imaginginfo.com/print/Studio-Photography/How-to-Shoot-World-Class-Swimming-Events/3$3271
​

Amy Koughan - Entrepreneurship and the Photography Business

Many successful freelance photographers, such as Amy Koughan, became profitable in their careers by planning and managing their small businesses efficiently and effectively. There are some essential points that all photographers who are planning on running their own business need to contemplate before getting started.

When starting a small business, the freelance photographer should familiarize herself with all legal recourses necessary, such as state, federal, and local tax filings. Small business should be set up as such, and the photographer would be wise to learn about limited liability partnerships and incorporation to determine which process is best for her situation. The photographer then needs to get the word outabout her business and offerings; this can be done through social media and through meeting and networking with other small business owners and local venues.

There are also challenges that must be overcome in regards to customer contracts and relationships. Many professional photographers struggle to deal with the legal aspects of contracts that many clients may not fully understand upon signing. Extra efforts may be needed to help walk clients through the contract step by step, which can be time consuming and frustrating. Finding the right computer and automated programs for small business can often help alleviate these issues.

Amy Koughan and other freelance photographers who have grown their own small business have found great satisfaction in what they accomplish on a daily basis. Their creativity and final works of art allow them to take pride in their skills and talents, and what they have offered to the community at large.

Source: http://femaleentrepreneurassociation.com/2014/04/building-a-photography-business-2/
​

Amy Koughan - What to Know Before Becoming a Freelance Photographer

Successful freelance photographers, like Amy Koughan, quickly learned what was required to become a professional photographer, and adapted their skill set to achieve that goal. Although the idea of being a freelance artist, beholden to no one, is an attractive concept, the reality is that it requires dedication, hard work, confidence, and little luck to make it a profitable career.

 The number of individuals who have become freelance artists was estimated in 2005 by the U.S. Department of Labor as around 10.3 million. That amount increased over the last decade, with more than four million freelancers in 2013, according to a group from Economic Modeling Specialists. Many freelancers have risen above these numbers by employing smart approaches to their business. Finding a specialty rather than trying to be or do too much in photography is more likely to bring in business, and thereby create success. It’s also important for photographers to be aware of the competition in their market and also the demand that market clamors for. 

Amy Koughan and other profitable and prominent freelance photographers know that talent is only one aspect of success; many talented photographers never see commercial success because they do not develop the necessary business acumen to promote and sell their work. Marketing one’s work is vital, as is stating costs clearly and upfront, and getting all contracts in writing and signed. This means that photographers need to learn how to bid and price jobs so that they don’t price themselves out of the market, but do make a profit for their talents and skills.

Source: http://blog.photoshelter.com/2013/07/11-things-photographers-wish-they-knew-before-going-freelance/

Amy Koughan - Photography with Confidence

Experienced freelance photographers like Amy Koughan have developed a key skill in their careers that has led to beautiful photographs: confidence in their art. Koughan and other photographers state confidence as an often overlooked or overwhelming concept that may elude those new to the craft, but which is essential to creating style and success.

Amy Koughan

 The old adage “practice makes perfect” is as true in photography as in any other skilled ability. The photographer who wants more confidence in his or her work needs to get out there and shoot pictures regularly, whether it’s on weekends, in between jobs, or on a lunch break. It also benefits the photographer to not only take pictures whenever possible, but to do so in many different conditions. This allows photographers to become familiar with what works or does not work in a variety of situations and with multiple kinds of light sources.

Amy Koughan, like many veteran freelance photographers, has advanced her career through forming a clear confidence in her work. Often, this confidence can be gained through public accountability, such as through the creation of a website or blog featuring the photographer’s work. Another method of creating confidence is through education. Successful photographers often achieved that status by learning from other photographers.

There are many books and websites that provide tips and suggestions, and many photographers can now take online classes through sites like Skillshare.com to learn new concepts and approaches to their art. Regardless of the steps the photographer takes, having confidence in one’s work is necessary for future success.

Source: http://digital-photography-school.com/7-steps-to-becoming-a-confident-photographer-a-beginners-guide/

Amy Koughan - Her Work Is Astonishing

​
Amy Koughan is a Los Angeles photographer who has been taking photographs for most of her life, and working professionally for more than ten years. She says she was drawn to photography as a child, and knew early on that she wanted to spend her life taking pictures.

She says that some of her biggest influences in photography have been Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, and Diane Arbus. More recently she has been learning about the photography of Vivian Maier, an enigmatic woman who spent much of her life in obscurity working as a nanny in Chicago, but taking photographs all along.

“Her work is astonishing,” Amy Koughan says. Like a lot of people, she first heard about Vivian Maier after a documentary called Finding Vivian Maier was released in 2013. Maier herself had died several years before, at the age of eighty-three. The filmmakers pieced together the broad outlines of Vivian Maier’s life: she was born in New York but grew up in France, came back to the United States in 1951, and wound up in Chicago where she worked on and off as a nanny for many years. Her employers included Phil Donahue, the former talk show host.

Maier was an eccentric person who seldom if ever printed any of her work. Her photos were not widely known until after her death in 2009. Though she had been shooting for decades, her first pictures appeared on Flickr, the photo sharing website, in 2008.

“It’s a remarkable story about a remarkable woman,” Amy Koughan says, adding that during her lifetime, and even in the years after her death, Vivian Maier was an enigmatic but talented artist.

Sources:
http://www.vivianmaier.com/about-vivian-maier/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Maier

Amy Koughan - Distance Running

Amy Koughan is a professional photographer who lives and works in Los Angeles, California. She devotes a lot of time to her work, and says that as a freelancer she doesn’t always know when her next job is going to come along. Because of that, she says that she is always ready to drop everything for work, if something comes along unexpectedly.

She is also a wife and the mother of a young boy, and says that her family takes up a lot of her time. But by budgeting her time carefully she is able to devote a lot of time to keeping in shape. Her favorite forms of exercising are riding a bike and running, both of them for long distances. She also enjoys swimming.

For many distance runners there comes a time where they cross an invisible line and transition from grudgingly taking those long runs, to loving them and even looking forward to them. “There was this point where my runs became enjoyable,” she recalls. “It wasn’t a matter of looking forward to the ‘alone time.’ It was a matter of actually looking forward to the run itself, as agonizing as they can be sometimes.”

A typical run for her is between ten and twelve miles. Some of her friends are mystified that she could enjoy those long runs as much as she does, but Amy Koughan says there is nothing mysterious about it. Running makes her feel healthy, and after she completes a long run she says that she feels exhilarated, in large part because she just did something that is improving her health.

Sources: http://www.running4thereason.com/2012/03/12/13-reasons-why-i-love-running/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/26/love-of-running-long-distance-_n_2190419.html
​

Amy Koughan - Food Waste

Amy Koughan has been a freelance photographer for many years. She makes her home in Southern California, where she is also an active member in a nonprofit called Feed Los Angeles.

She says that there is an estimated seventy billion pounds of food that goes to waste in the United States every year, and at the same time millions of Americans who deal with what is called food insecurity every day. And she says these are heartbreaking statistics she wants to influence for the better in whatever way she can.

“Up for forty percent of the food that is grown, processed and transported in this country is never consumed,” she said, citing government statistics. “Not only that, wasted food can actually become an environmental threat. Food that ends up in a landfill just rots, and in time becomes a significant source of methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas that has twenty-one times the global warming potential that carbon dioxide does.”

But it is far more important to get food that would otherwise be wasted to people who would otherwise go hungry, she says. “And I’d rather be a part of the solution than be a part of the problem.” Last year, Feed Los Angeles was able to divert some ten million pounds of safe and edible food that would otherwise have gone to waste, and get it to local food banks.

As a photographer, Amy Koughan said she felt it was her duty to document the Feed Los Angeles program in images.

Sources: http://www.feedingamerica.org/about-us/how-we-work/securing-meals/reducing-food-waste.html
http://endhunger.org/food-waste/
​