An iOS app called Plandid allows people to book photographers in New York City for any occasion.

Launched within the last 12 months, Plandid allows photographers to sign up so users can hire them for their services if and when they require them.

Customers can make “instant bookings” or schedule a photo shoot for any occasion, whether it be a birthday, a party, or a portrait shot for a dating profile.

“Plandid is your personal photography connection on iOS,” the company writes on its website. “Perfect for the creatives and trendsetters of NYC. Whether you’re a model building your portfolio, a fashion student showcasing a new collection, an entrepreneur launching a product, or an influencer creating standout content, Plandid has you covered.”

The app offers users a chance to explore different categories of photographers where they can favorite the ones they like the most. Then the booking takes place on the app where they can chat with the photographers and the finalized image can be downloaded on the app too.

Any Kind of Shooter

Interestingly, any kind of photographer can sign up — and yes, that includes iPhone shooters. But digital cameras, film cameras, and drones are all welcome too.

“Whether you’re a professional with a pro camera or simply know how to capture quality iPhone content, we’d love to have you join us,” adds Plandid.

Photographers are able to set their own rates and can block out times on the calendar they are not available.

The team behind Plandid says the app came about after they were searching for a car photographer in the summer of 2022 and realized “how hard it is to find a specialized photographer.”

“We still have to rely on recommendations and unsatisfactory Google search results. The idea of being able to find creative photographers who truly know how to capture your vision began to snowball.”

To find out more, head to the Plandid website or Instagram page. The app can be downloaded on the App Store.

‘Cute’s potential to change our way of being could be more radical than we might ever have imagined’: Somerset House’s new exhibition, Cute, explores the potent and intoxicating power of cuteness

Lone Star College-Kingwood presents selected works from ‘America’s Western Landscape,’ a body of iconic images of the American West, now on display at the LSC Art Gallery.

The photographer, Mark Burns, is a master of the black and white image, and is skilled in large format photography, traditional silver gelatin, platinum printmaking, and contemporary digital tools. Burns began working professionally in 1978 as a sports and commercial photographer. His photographs have appeared in publications including Time Magazine, The Sporting News, Wine Enthusiast, The Wine Spectator, and Wine & Spirits.

In 2015, Burns completed a major 5-year project, in collaboration with America’s National Park Foundation, photographing all 59 of America’s national parks in black and white. Some of the images on display at Lone Star College are from this project.

Mark Burns, Shiprock – Study #1, 2019, Photograph, archival pigment
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His work has shown at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Memorial, the Houston Museum of Natural History, the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts, and the Sam Houston Memorial Museum.

Also currently on view is Strata Various, a collaborative exhibitproduced by LSC-Kingwood geology and fine art students, and the gallery.

“Our goal is to showcase our relationship with Earth with the aim of addressing the need for its preservation and appreciation,” Art Professor Mari Omori shared. Art students will be displaying landscapes from different campus locations.

Geology Professor Cherith Letargo says the project came about after a trip to the Hill Country in the fall of 2023. “Students and faculty were in awe as they got a glimpse of the scale of Earth’s wonders – from fossils, minerals, and rocks in the classroom to the grand views of outcropping rocks in Austin, Pedernales Falls, and Enchanted Rock State Park. As we continue to discuss challenges faced by our planet in the classroom, students have asked, what can we do to bring awareness and appreciation of the beauty and resources that Earth provides us?”

Mark Burns will speak on his “American’s Western Landscape” exhibit on Feb. 7, at 12:30 p.m., in the gallery.

Professor Letargo and Professor Omori will speak on the Strata Various exhibit on Feb. 13, at 12:30 p.m., also in the gallery.

Both exhibits will be on display through Feb. 20.

The art gallery at Lone Star College–Kingwood is in the Administration and Performing Arts building, APA114. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, contact Kristine Larson at Kristine.Larson@LoneStar.edu. Or visit https://www.lonestar.edu/arts-kingwood.

Lone Star College enrolls over 80,000 students each semester providing high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education. LSC is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Mario K. Castillo, J.D. serves as Chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area. LSC has been named a 2023 Great Colleges to Work For® institution by the Chronicle of Higher Education and recognized by Fortune Magazine and Great Place To Work® as one of this year’s Best Workplaces in Texas™. LSC consists of eight colleges, seven centers, eight Workforce Centers of Excellence and Lone Star Corporate College. To learn more, visit Lonestar.edu.

Guildford School of Art had a good reputation for photojournalism, but when I got there, I found there were no photojournalists on the staff. You just had to get on with it yourself. During my final year, I photographed the 1968 anti-Vietnam war demo outside the US Embassy in London. I learned on the job.

There was a lot of dissatisfaction, so when I found out there was going to be a meeting of students to discuss asking to improve things, I went along. It soon became clear that not only did the students believe the place needed a shakeup, many of the staff felt the same way. However, the governors refused to take us seriously. In those days, these places were run by local councillors who had no feeling for the young or for the arts. When we suggested they were the wrong people to be running it, we were just informed: “Do what you’re told, we’re in charge.” It was clear we needed to make a stand, and that’s how the sit-in began.

You can see the attitude we were up against in another one of the photographs I took, where the Vice-Principal is addressing students who have taken over the canteen. His stance and jabbing finger speak volumes. By week four, in an attempt to get the governors to take us seriously, we’d occupied the whole building. The sit-in continued for eight weeks, even longer than the similar protest at Hornsey College of Art in London. By the end, the school was entirely shut down, the electricity had been cut off and the board of governors were unsuccessfully applying for an order from the High Court to have us evicted.

Throughout it all, I kept taking pictures. Students were often up talking all night and sleeping wherever they could. I discovered these two in the graphic design studio one morning, asleep in their camp beds. In those days you valued your 36 frames, and I think this is the only shot I took of them. I didn’t know who they were and still don’t. A lot of us are still in touch, though, and even had a big get-together and an exhibition 50 years after the sit-in.

Two or three months before our final assessment, we’d had to say what was going to be our major piece of work. Mine was pretty mundane. When the sit-in started, I thought: “This is a ton more interesting.” It was a national event which I was in the middle of. The art school was supposed to have trained me to be entrepreneurial, to see an opportunity and grab it. “Well,” I thought. “That’s exactly what I’ve done.”

So I submitted pictures of the sit-in, half knowing the school wouldn’t be happy. And I was right: they refused to give me any kind of qualification, which didn’t please my dad I must say. But the following year, photos I had taken of Summerhill, teacher AS Neill’s democratic school in Suffolk, were published as a Penguin Education Special with a text by children’s writer Leila Berg. I gave my dad a copy and he took it to show his mates in the pub, proud as punch.

As a boy from a council estate, the art school environment was a shock at first and the sit-in was eye-opening. It ended without the governors ever agreeing to a useful dialogue with us, but soon afterwards the minister for education insisted that all schools, colleges and universities must invite students and staff on to their advisory boards. That we have that today is a direct result of those art school sit-ins.

Nowadays I do a lot of work around copyright infringement, trying to ensure photographers get paid for unauthorised use of their work. I learned back then that if something isn’t as it should be, then say so – and I’m still doing that at 76. You might make yourself unpopular, but you can look back and think: “Well, that was worth doing.”

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John Walmsley’s CV

Born: Harrow, Middlesex, 1947
Trained: “Three years at Guildford School of Art (1965-68), denied any qualification”
Influences: “The early documentary photographers who could capture those life moments as they were without seeming to influence them.”
High point: “Most recently, taking a GCSE photography student into the print room at the National Portrait Gallery to see the pictures of mine in the collection. Afterwards, curator Clare Freestone very kindly gave us a personal tour of the Yevonde exhibition”
Low point: “Realising that so many publishers would now rather copy or use someone’s photos without asking or paying. How a young photographer is supposed to make a living is beyond me. Trying to find a budget to get my archive digitised is also proving a major headache.”
Top tip: “Ask questions, talk to people and listen to what they say”

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In professional photography, developing a personal style and understanding industry trends is as crucial as mastering the technical skills. This important video challenges you to think beyond technical proficiency and consider your unique artistic voice and how it resonates with your audience.

Coming to you from Scott Choucino of Tin House Studio, this insightful video offers valuable guidance for photographers looking to elevate their craft. Choucino addresses common pitfalls photographers encounter, such as the tendency to impress other photographers rather than focusing on what appeals to a broader audience. He emphasizes that while technical skills are important, they should not overshadow the photographer’s ability to create visually appealing and meaningful work. This advice is particularly relevant in a world where technology often takes precedence over artistic expression.

Choucino also discusses the importance of simplicity in photography, highlighting that sometimes, less is more. He challenges the obsession with sharpness and bokeh, two aspects often overemphasized by photographers, and stresses the need for clarity in both vision and execution. This perspective is crucial for photographers, as it encourages them to think about the impact of their images and the stories they tell, rather than just their technical attributes. Choucino’s emphasis on developing a unique style and narrative in photography is a reminder that personal expression and creativity are what truly set a photographer apart. Whether hobbyist or professional, the video is worth a watch. Check it out above.