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How to Get the Best Content Out of Your iPhone Camera
We’ve all been there. You’re working on a great website, content page, or project. Suddenly, you find yourself in the perfect place to take some photos to fill out our work…but you don’t have your camera! Only your iPhone. Is this good enough? Are there ways to edit? Should I even try? LONG story short…yes! It’s worth it, and photos you take on your phone can come out just as great as a professional camera! To show you how, I will be launching this series on how to get the most out of your iPhone camera. But first, a few tips before we get into all of that. Know the…
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Why You Shouldn’t be Afraid of Photoshop
Trust me when I say this. When I first got into web design, and in-turn photography—I wanted to avoid Photoshop at all costs. It was terrifying, I thought it would be the most confusing, mind-bending experience imaginable. For years I had seen what people could do with it and it became this tool I thought I could never wield. So much so, I convinced myself “I don’t need it, my work is good without it.” Don’t do that. It’s really not a program you need to be afraid of, and you can pick it up quickly—especially today. Here’s why you shouldn’t be afraid of Photoshop You Already Know What You…
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How to Get Users to Stop Scrolling, and Stick To Your Content
There is no doubt, the world of content creation can be very rewarding. Venturing into the world of design, writing, photography—whatever it is, creating content is a truly amazing adventure. However, there is another side to the coin that most content creators don’t think about, or work hard enough on because of the focus on the actual content. And that is getting your work out to people to enjoy, aka marketing it. And if you’re like most creatives, this is the most difficult, and stressful part of the job. But it’s important! After all, part of the ride is to have everyone enjoy what you do. To do this, you’re…
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From Blog Writer to Content Creator—and Why You Should Do It
As a blog writer, it’s easy to get lost in the deep and thick weeks of developing a piece. Planning it out, actually writing, and then editing can all eat up nearly all of your time. So much so, that it can be challenging to think of yourself as anything but a writer. However, in the world of content creation, it’s becoming increasingly essential to be a “jack of all trades.” From photography to graphics, to video editing—you should probably know it all. Why? Well, I am glad you asked. It Will Save You Time, and a Lot of Money You may be thinking, how can adding more to my…
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How to Stay Creative in an Ever-Distracting World
If you’re reading this, you’ve likely stumbled here from a not-too-far-off place, searching online about creative works, people, or just web design in general. Heck, you may have Googled “Paul Laux,” and found yourself here. What do I know? That being said, you may think this is a strange title for a blog about being creative – and ways to advance. But it really isn’t. Because as I have noticed over the past year or so, it can be weirdly difficult to keep the brain juices moving in a world where there are so many ways to make things. It almost seems as if there are too many ways. Canva,…
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Never Give Up On Old Work
It’s winter here in the Midwest – so naturally, some of my work on the photography side has taken the backseat. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love taking shots of snow – but I don’t like being outside THAT much. Because of the indoor nature of the season, I also usually use this time to revisit old web projects and tests that either didn’t work out, or just need some polishing. So I set aside a weekend, actually two, and just reworked and reenvisioned some old projects – and from it, I learned a lot. For one, it was very interesting – and even hilarious – to see…
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Shop Open Now!
For a long time now, I have wanted to open my own online shop for my artwork – and I finally took that leap! With being a web designer and developer, a great skill I have learned over the years is doing my own artwork. Whether that is photography, digital imaging, or even sketching – it has become an invaluable skill that has saved me so much aggravation over the years (which I recommend doing). I have so much in my drives, that I have decided to open a shop for my favorite pieces that I have designed for other projects…or just because! Thank you for all your continued support!
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New Book Out Now!
Listen, I know what you’re thinking; “why is a web designer publishing book?” Well – honestly I don’t really have a good answer for that more than, I WANTED TO. Truthfully, I am in the camp that everyone has “a book” inside of them. Everyone has a story they want to tell, whether real or imagined, and everyone has the ability to tell it in writing. It’s something that I have felt for a long time, and I really love getting people excited about the writing they can do, even if it’s just a blog. For this story, it follows Tom. Tom is from a small town, one of those…
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The Benefits of Having A Portfolio
I will be the first to admit, when I first started getting into design – and I mean REALLY getting into design, I was terrible at keeping a portfolio. Heck, a quality resume for that matter. I always thought that the work would speak for itself. If I just put enough out there, then of course people would love it and love what I do and BAM – work. Turns out, that’s not entirely true. It also turns out, that a portfolio can show off things you didn’t even THINK you could show off. Which didn’t dawn on me until I went through a recent class where a full-fledged portfolio…
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From Concept to Reality
No joke, sometimes things just come to me in the middle of the night. A random idea for a design, just a thought of something I want to write. Sometimes I write them down, sometimes I don’t. This came to me, quite literally, at 3am as I was having trouble sleeping – and I quite like it. Maybe I will make sure to write more of these things down.