livebooks blog

Jeff Lewis is an adventure and rock-climbing photographer located on the East Coast of Canada. He travels throughout the Western United States and Canada to capture fascinating images. He also dedicates his time to conducting photo tours and private workshops. To see more of his liveBooks8 website, visit www.jefflewisphotography.ca.

I first started with photography after a trip to SE Asia to go rock climbing. I wanted to be able to capture my travels and the landscapes around me to show people how amazing this world really is. When I returned from that trip, I began to shoot photos of my home, Jasper National Park, as well as when I would go climbing with my friend. After a few years working in the “real world”, I decided full-time photography was the path for me and I haven’t looked back since.

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

JL: Clean, Focused, Simple.

Q: How often do you typically update your website?

JL: I usually do updates 2-3 times a year, unless I complete a new body of work I’m excited about, then I’ll add it right away.

Q: How do you choose the photos you display on your homepage?

JL: I want those that visit my site to get a sense of who I am and what I do right away. As I mostly shoot landscaped and climbing, I try to choose the best images from those categories to show on the homepage. Hopefully those few images are enough to entice a longer visit, where someone can take a deeper look at my work.

Q: What is your favorite new feature of liveBooks8?

JL: One of my favorite features is that I can go to the Content section, add a page and then make it invisible. That way I can work on it until I’m ready to launch, or until I have enough content so that it is not empty when I publish it. Also, the ability to publish with one click is quite nice as well.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

JL: Take the time to make sure you have everything the way you want it. With the ability to make pages invisible or not publish changes right away, you can view your changes on your own before you publish to your entire web audience. I think it’s important when viewing a website to know that it’s a finished product and not a “work in progress”.

Have a website you’d like us to feature? Email us at social@livebooks.com.

Chuck Haney is a professional freelance photographer/writer based in beautiful Whitefish, Montana. He travels extensively across the United States and Canada in pursuit of the finest and most intriguing images. His provocative use of natural light in landscape, wildlife, and outdoor sports images have drawn national acclaim and have landed him many assignments including advertising campaigns.

Chuck’s finest images grace the walls of many residential and public spaces. His travel and outdoor lifestyle articles have been featured in numerous national and regional publications; adding to 13 coffee table books, over 190 magazine covers, and numerous sole-photographer calendars to his credit. Chuck enjoys teaching a series of popular photography workshops across the country each year. To view more of Chuck’s work, please visit his liveBooks website: www.chuckhaney.com. Follow Chuck on Facebook and Instagram!

My career in landscape photography began gradually. I would go for bicycling excursions in nearby Glacier National Park and see all these wonderful scenes unfold before my eyes. Soon, I was returning with my SLR camera in tow. This was in the early 1990s when I learned to shoot with film and manual settings.

For me, a perfect landscape image is one that places the viewer into the scene by using a wide angle lens and lots of depth of field. The best shots have fleeting magical light that happens briefly during stormy weather patterns and invoke an emotion. It’s also important to carry the correct equipment. I, for one, cannot leave my home without a sturdy tripod. I always mention to my workshop students that a good tripod is your friend for life.

As for my projects – there is no single one that I can choose as my favorite. Actually, whatever I’m working on at the time is my favorite project. The scope of my portfolio is wide and vast and I enjoy the fact that I work on such a variety of subject matter. One week I am shooting city images for my new book, “Portrait of San Francisco” and the next week I find myself searching for interesting barns for stock use in calendars.

I shoot at a wealth of interesting places; my favorites vary based on the time of the year. I love shooting in the deserts in Spring, the Great Plains in early Summer, hardwood forests of the Midwest in Fall and ski action or quite winter scenes near my hometown of Whitefish, Montana.

I am passionate about my craft. I think this is well-represented in my Portfolios pages on liveBooks, which highlight my favorite and most popular images. I think a photographer does best when he/she shoots subjects that they enjoy…You can tell that I have a zest for many subjects!

One piece of advice that I can give to fellow landscape photographers is to get to know your location by being patient and to take a closer look at what is really around you. You will discover a whole new world that could easily just slip by without careful consideration and reflection.

Want to be featured as one of our guest bloggers? Email us at social@livebooks.com!

Deborah Depolito is a skilled stylist that has 15+ years of experience under her belt. Working with world-renown clients such as Under Armour, Uber, McDonald’s, and Microsoft, it is clear why she is so sought-after in her industry. Her strong relationship with photographers and clients have allowed her to work with on various commercial and editorial campaigns. See more of her work at www.deborahdepolitostylist.com

When people think of styling, they quickly assume that it’s only related to getting the perfect outfit together. What most fail to see is that without a proper styling professional onboard an editorial project, the message being conveyed can be lost. Styling is so much more than it seems – it not only includes props, hair and make-up but also matching people to fit brands and products.

(Director: Gary Land // Executive Producer: Abe Sands // Photographer: Nick Taylor) 

My keenly trained eye for the client’s mission and ever-evolving awareness of color and style ensures that my clients are happy with the end product, every time. This may seem like an easy task – in fact, it’s very difficult. When you’re styling, you not only have to put yourself in the company’s mindset but also in the client that they are gearing the service and/or product to.

Photo by: Stephanie Rausser Photography | www.stephanierausser.com

I believe that it is my warm nature and sense of humor that allows me to complement my ability to dress talent in an authentic and beautiful way. Without this light-heartedness, the work would seem inauthentic and it would create an end-product that my clients would not be happy with.

Photo by: Stephanie Rausser Photography | www.stephanierausser.com

Want to be featured as a guest blogger? Email us at social@livebooks.com!

Meet Jason Halayko. Originally born in Victoria, B.C., Canada, he has called Japan home for the last 14 years. He currently focuses on shooting action sports for companies like Red Bull, which has him photographing everything from skateboarding to breakdancing. In addition, he can often be found taking portraits and photographing the streets, saying that he really enjoys anything that gets him behind the camera. His introduction to photography was back in high school, when his friend advised him to take a beginner photography course. It was a great class that taught Jason the fundamentals, and has since developed into a dynamic and action-packed photography career.

Check out all of the interesting things Jason has to say about what went into the creation of his new website, and then be sure to head over to jason-halayko.com to see his exciting portfolio.

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

JH: Clean, simple, intuitive.

Q: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

JH: I typically try to choose the newest photos, with the biggest impact, to show on my homepage. This is to try to hook viewers into checking out more of the website.

Q: How often do you typically update your website?

JH: I typically update my website whenever I get an image I really like and want to show to the world. This could be once a week, or every couple of months. It all depends on what I am shooting.

Q: What is your favorite new feature of liveBooks8? 

JH: I think my favorite new feature of the site is the ability to quickly and easily change the layout of the photo pages to fit my design preferences.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website? 

JH: I would say keep it simple, and more is not better. Only use your best photos that you are most confident in, as viewers will quickly get bored if they have to search through a lot of mediocre images.

Have a website you’d like us to feature? Email us at social@livebooks.com.