Exploring the city and enjoying the beauty of heritage building around the world is truly amazing experience especially for you who love architecture, buildings, and history. After enjoying the old building in Macau few years ago than I continue my journey to Semarang, the capitol city of Central Java district by using a local transportation.
Hi fellas my name is Bima and thank you for visiting my blog, today I wanna share for what I know about capturing heritage building and sell all the photos online. Become a destination wedding photographer bring me fly to various city and countries in this world so before or after the photo session I push my self to sightseeing around the city and exploring more about what could I do to earn money from photography.
Today I visiting Susan Album factory to check how it looks like and figure out more about their genuine album materials and photo paper, honestly I receive core board album with authentic printing photo few weeks ago and really satisfy their services. As usual I don’t wanna just receive the album but don’t know how the make it to my clients so today I wanna visiting their factory to see how they work through the heart. When you wanna see my core board album than you can visit the link below:
I used to drive my own car to go to Semarang but today I wanna try the local transportation and comparing between their big car and train that provide by Joglosemar. I depart from Yogyakarta with Hiace car at 4.15 and arrive in Semarang at 6.30, it was so fast cause I used to drove like 3 to 4 hours and when I’m back to Yogyakarta than I try their train from Semarang Tawan station at 14.53 and arrive in Yogyakarta at 19.00.
How to Explore Semarang for Your First Time
If you visiting Semarang for transit before having your own paradise holiday in Karimunjawa than I suggest you to stop in Semarang for 1 day and exploring the city. Actually it’s a big city like Jakarta but there is always some spots where you can enjoying the city and local food. As I said before I use Joglosemar from their head quarters in Jalan Magelang and you may reserve your seat, no need to worry cause this bus operate every hour so you always can be a “go-show passenger’ for sure.
All you need to do is telling the company’s staff where you wanna stop, ask them for suggestion if you not sure enough for it. Here in Indonesia we do have online transportation apps which avaailable on IOS and Android that you can consider, both of them are providing various services such as:
- Go-Jek – I suggest you to consider for riding with scooter and car even you also can buy kind of foods
- Grab – even they also provide the same services like Go-Jek but now Grab got tons of food discount up to 70% that you can use for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
I personally use Go-Jek cause I’m a typical person who wanna use only 1 platform for supporting my life, surely Semarang also has their own city bus where you can use to sightseeing around but today I don’t have much time to figure out the system cause I got a business meeting that I have to attend.
Accommodation in Semarang
There are tons of accommodation type in Semarang that you can use, I personally use Agoda.com or Booking.com to find ‘hotel looks’ properties and those two platform bring me so many benefit from simplicity till the most reliable rate for me. Just in case I wanna sleep with ‘homy looks’ property than I will check on Airbnb.
Let me suggest you with some options for the reliable rooms in Semarang:
- Holiday Inn Express – This hotel chain is so powerful and you can find its chain around the globe, it just as simple as 3 star hotel but all the details and hospitality are superb
- Semesta Hotel – I stay in this hotel twice with my family and the best part of this hotel is they located in great location where you can find local food easily for the whole day
Since Semarang is big cities where people visiting for business so there is no specific Airbnb properties that I can suggest, as I said before I will stay in Airbnb with more cozy place, nice host, and people surrounding.
3 Simple Tips to Shoot Heritage Building in Semarang for Someone Who Don’t Know Photography at All
First I want to tell you that there are so many devices that you can use, from the simple smartphone on your hand, mirrorless camera, or your DSLR favourite with great lenses than you always make a better images. What I’m gonna say here is you can use any camera that you had and focusing on enjoying the moments.
When you visiting Semarang than there are TONS of heritage building that you will see, especially when you arrive in Kota Lama a.k.a Old City. Trust me I’ve been here 12 years ago and don’t have any idea how to walk cause everywhere are so chaos but when I touch down in this beautiful era few days ago than I was surprise cause the government works so great to provide great pedestrian ways, border, signage, and heritage building renovations that bring a new face of this old city.
1 – Shoot Vary and Get Its Signage
Take a look for this old cigarette factory image, I’ve been here at 8 am and saw few security on the main entrance, surely you don’t allow to entering the factory but try to walk and passing by the main entrance than you gonna smell fresh and authentic tobacco flavour right on your nose. They were still active to produce local cigar for fanatic local people who smoke it for over than decades.
When you want to shoot for heritage building than try to shoot on various angle and take one photo that provide great information such as the signage or brand letter in a full preview cause this gonna be ‘money picture’ where you can sell online on Shutterstock. If you got a wide angle lens that it would be perfect but here I shoot with my 22 mm f2.0 M lens which make me able to take the whole preview of this superb factory from the side angle.
Once you’re done with the whole building than try to walk closer and shoot for the details like classic window frame, bicycle’s staff which parked nearby the main entrance till the detail of signage. You may sit to get lower angle or tilt your camera up so you can get a different perspective.
2 – Let the Chaotic Happen
Don’t expect for great chance when shooting on the street and let everything which is look dirty or un-tidy recorded in a great way through your lens cause this is the beauty of shooting heritage building no matter where you go.
When I shoot on this frame I simply walk on the pedestrian ways and found this beautiful old house-store on the left side, there is a dirty wall with a letter gravity, electrical wire hanged on the roof, and some ridiculous things that make your photo become extraordinary. Shoot it and make sure you got a balance setting between the building and the sky, see the blue sky above and it was beautiful even the sun goes down so hot on my skin on this beautiful morning walk.
I only bring one lens, the 22 mm f2.0 M lens and this how to make architecture photography become interesting. If you bring too many lens than you will be busy with changing your lens over and over again which mean you gonna lose the moment and getting boring with it. Just take one of your favourite lens and shoot for an hour with this lens. My 22 mm M lens get the biggest aperture on 2 but surely I can adjust with for 11 or 18 if I wanna make all the photos sharp but what I’m focusing here is simply use one lens for all.
3 – Put Some Additional Ornaments on Your Picture
Remember than put some ornaments like street lighting or trees are also interesting, sometimes it gonna be hard to find an angle that clear for the building and rather than thinking so perfect on this scene than I suggest you to put some ornaments on your frames.
I surely shoot closer to this building but what I uploading and sell on Shutterstock is this frame. It looks like simple but agency or designer will need photos like mine, leaves hanging on the above frame are beautiful and it brings another impression when someone see this picture. When you shoot on the street than there a lot of external ornaments even it is a person who walk opposite your position but try to put in on your frame cause your photo will looks so unique.
Now take a look for another angle,
I shoot also from the side angle and got this image, sun was so hard so I can’t get great sky view on this part but don’t to worry about it cause picture like this also can be sold on Shutterstock.
Guidance to Monetize Your Heritage Building Image and Earn Money When You Zzz….zzz
The best platform that I suggest you to be concern is Shutterstock cause the traffic is huge and so many agency, blogger, and media become of their clients and buy million of stock photo every month. If you just new on microstock photography than generally there are 2 niche where you can monetize your photos, commercial and editorial.
In the simple words, if you want to sell photos that containing company brand, faces of people, or authentic building than you must have their release or license but if you don’t have it on your own than simply make it as editorial photos. I don’t wanna take too long on release so what I did when uploading photo that containing brand or face than I just tick the editorial form and done.
1 – Commercial Stock Guidance
When you shoot for commercial means than everyone who buy your photo able to use it for commercial needs like print it on pillow and sell it online. To make your photos sold than you must concern on description and keywords so let me guide you how to write good on it.
When I went to Singapore botanical garden few years ago I found this big tree so what I did on write the descriptions is gonna be “Beautiful garden with grass field and big trees under the clear sky” and once I’m done with it than I continue to put at least 40 keywords that related to this pictures. My keyword suggestion for this photo are: singapore botanicla garden, gardens, tropical, blue sky, clear sky, grass, fresh, green, tourism, traveling, holiday, big trees, and some others.
2 – Editorial Stock Guidance
When you choose uploading your photos as an editorial means this photo only can be use for news, blog, or any media of information. If you got model or property release than you can sell it for commercial but if you don’t than set your photos as an editorial, let me guide you with this parts.
I’ve been travel to Maldives for pre wedding shooting few months ago and find this boat coming to the harbour, here you must see a face of somebody and the boat company logo on the right side. When you found a photo like this than you better to set it as an editorial or till you can provide their release or permission for selling this photo. Got a permission from someone who stay thousand miles from my hometown and goes to boat company seems so hard for me so rather than confuse about it than I simply set it as an editorial.
When you write for an editorial photo description than you must provide date, location, who, what, how, when the subject do on the photo so here I will wrote the description as “Hulhumale 2014 – Banyan resort’s private boat is landed in Hulhumale harbor for picking up their guest during September trip in Maldives”.
If you could see in the detail I made a typo failure on this photo but surprisingly this photo still being sold over and over again.
3 – Put at Least 40 Keywords
Don’t be too lazy to put keywords for your photos cause after the descriptions than the number two reason how your photos being found by somebody is by having such great and detail keywords. My first three months I only put 10 to 15 keywords and my photo take so long (over than 4 months) for being sold but when I put at least 40 keywords on it than it used to be sold for less than 2 weeks.
4 – Sign Up Your Name
Last and the most important thing on this journey is sign up your name on Shutterstock and provide them with several data like complete name, address, tax number, and your paypal account. When you need more guidance about selling your photos online than you can read my previous article about:
I hope you get inspired from something that I share today and able to know more about how to shoot and sell heritage building photo to bring you extra cash on your bank account. Whenever you want to ask something than simply write your question on the comment below.
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