If You Don't Get What You Deserve, You'll Get What You Negotiate For...

It's been some time. Lots going on over here over the summer; motion photography, new promotional work, new personal work, new blog too!

This webinar showed up in my email inbox, thought I'd share it with you. It's a chat about negotiating for photographers. Negotiating is something most photographers are really not comfortable with and to that end not very good at. These days a shooter's ability to negotiate WILL make or break their career, as poor negotiations will result in money left on the table. I could rant here, but I'll let the webinar share the info.

The chat is about an hour. Make the time. You probably have nothing to lose.

Hey, Anyone Could Have Shot That

Keep in mind that the skills needed to generate a successful ad image are only 10% photographic. The rest? Client interaction, on-set conduct, conference call etiquette, budget finagling, crew management, general problem solving, the care and feeding of buzzwords and jargon — and knowing when to go with the flow versus when to make suggestions that might nudge the project out of the everyday and towards something more transcendent ...

This is what separates photographers from camera owners.

Monday again and here I am in my chair with a huge cup of lovely, lovely coffee reading Rob Haggart's blog, A Photo Editor.

Rob comments in one of his posts about what he learned in a recent panel discussion he took part in. It's an interesting little read about the photo biz and how buyers (the ones on the panel) choose the photographers they work with.

The more of these posts I read the more I realize they all say the same thing (touched on in 'comments'). Give it a look here.

Personality, people. Find one. I usually find mine two thirds of the way through a bottle of Bombay.

A Few Tips for the Young Upstart...

What the hell is better on a rainy Wednesday afternoon than surfing photo biz sites and blogs? Through my virtual travels I came across this 6 part blog entry by Gregory Benson. It's a quick read of 'skim the surface' type tips regarding do's and don'ts of the business of photography. Good tidbits for new photographers and maybe a reminder or two for the more seasoned veteran. Sharing is caring...

Have a look. What else are you going to do... go outside?

Hot on the Heels of Then and Now...

Just returned from an advanced screening of The Bang Bang Club, a film based on actual events that occurred in South Africa in the early 90's & one certain group of photographers who covered it, trailer here. Thanks to Heather over at Vancouver Photo Workshops for the pass. The film is based on the book written by Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva, 2 of the photographers who lived the story.

Plot: The real life story of a group of four young combat photographers. They risked their lives and used their camera lenses to tell the world of the brutality and violence associated with the first free elections in post Apartheid South Africa in the early 90s. This intense political period brought out their best work (two won Pulitzers during the period).

As a photographer watching this film the thought 'what would it be like to be there, to shoot the anger, pain, suffering and death of these people' trotted through my head almost constantly. The moral conflict would be as, if not more, difficult to deal with than the prospect of severe bodily harm. According to one of the photographers who spoke after the film (and photographed this same conflict at the same time), said film is pretty true to actual experiences he encountered with the rest of them.

In the story, and I suppose through the course of the actual events, one of the Pulitzer prize winning images (photographed by Kevin Carter) featured a young Sudanese girl out in the desert while mere feet away a vulture of roughly the same size as the girl stood and waited for the inevitable (image here). While the photographer was being interviewed, after the prize had been awarded, he was asked repeatedly, 'What happened to the girl?' and 'why didn't you help her?'. I think facing that sort of situation is as gut-wrenching as facing flying bullets.

I enjoyed the film. I'd suggest you photo types check it out.

Then & Now

While flipping channels on the 52 inch television I was sitting in front of out here in the 'burbs last night I came across a documentary on iconic photographs and their creators (The Knowledge Network; The Genius of Photography). The photographs and photographers discussed were/are of the photojournalism variety; Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, W. Eugene Smith, etc. Photographers who captured the essence of the world in front of them, photographers whose images recorded the life and times of their era. We've seen the images time and again, perhaps not always knowing who the photographer was behind them. Incredible images revealing other peoples and their cultures, the dejection, despair, pain and hope reflected in the faces of those directly and indirectly affected by the horrors of war, the brutality and beauty of humanity. Iconic images of those times.

While the program continued I began to wonder about this era, our era. What images would emerge as the defining images of the time? Which photographers are now recording images that will become the depiction of our society's reality, the history for the future? James Nachtwey's images popped to mind, as well as the work of Sebastiao Salgado.

My thought process began to ramble and skew a bit... What images that are of incredible sociological importance will never receive the viewership they deserve due to governmental/major corporation-influenced media censorship? This topic was touched upon in the documentary. One instance; images created by photographers in Nagasaki directly after the bomb fell were not released until years after the event, as if the Japanese government hoped to erase the event from their history. A second instance; photographer Joel Meyerowitz commented on an instance at ground zero soon after the WTC disaster. He pulled out his camera to record the aftermath and was immediately accosted by a police officer spewing, "NO PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED!".  Without photo documentation, is there history?

'Photographs never lie.' In this day and age of photo manipulation, can this statement stand today? Essentially, through the various forms of computer manipulation, every photo published is a twist of the reality that existed in front of the particular camera that recorded the image, a bastardization of that image's truth, if you will? Photojournalists shooting today would maintain that they capture the events as they unfold, no manipulation and for the most part I'd believe that. Who's to say what happens to the image once it's transferred to whatever publication has chosen to publish it? I guess trust in any of this comes down to individual choice. I think the ability to trust entirely in the complete and utter truth in any photograph died with the demise of Polaroid.

I'm thankful for the photographers and others who put themselves in harm's way in the name of telling the story. Imagine for a minute storming the beach in Normandy with the troops during D-Day as Capa did. This, by the way, is something that has been regulated out of existence due to media censorship. Photographers no longer shoot 'during' such events, only 'after' (as stated in the documentary I was watching). I'm sure I don't have the constitution to record events and history as these individuals do. Kudos to them all.

Photos speak volumes, always have. Always will. I can't wait to see which images emerge as those that will define this era.

A little something current; World Press Awards images. Not for the faint of heart. View link at your discretion.

F- you, pay me!

This short-ish video has been making the rounds recently, it's a presentation on contract negotiation for designers but as I'm sure you know, one could easily apply this to any of the creative freelance disciplines. It's great, check it out here.

It's a great presentation that receives a lot of 'damn straight's' and 'as it should be's' and 'like's' from the creative set. Thing is, it's one thing to say, 'Yeah, that's the way it should be!' and another entirely to incorporate this basic business practice into the day-to-day running of said business.

Creatives have to understand that they're running a 'business', not helping out their buddies, and businesses are created to make money. Why in the world do creatives let their clients dictate what the creative's Terms & Conditions should be, and what should be included in the creative's contract? Do vehicle insurance companies, credit cards or software creators let their clients/users dictate the T&D for their product/service?

"It won't/doesn't work here (market)..." and "That's not the way it's done, clients would never accept/sign that" are resultant of creatives being so afraid to lose work that they acquiesce to their clients. In other words, it happens/doesn't fly/won't work because we creatives LET IT HAPPEN. We creatives are running business. Businesses exist to make money. 'Profit' is not a dirty word, and neither is 'mark-up'. That's just business. Remember that clients come to us because they need our product/service to complete their projects. Believe in the value of what we as creatives provide, and charge accordingly!!


Once again, be the change you'd like to see.

Gettin' the Word Out

I wrapped another session of the Business of Photography seminar at Vancouver Photo Workshops last weekend. While the turnout wasn't huge, the attendees made up for it with their enthusiasm about the marketing, copyright and image licensing how-to material being presented, good on 'em.

Saturday afternoon was jam-packed with excitement as guest speakers Robert Karpa (of Venturi + Karpa fame) and Lisa Reddekopp (our insurance guru from Coast Capital) took over the big chair for their respective presentations; Robert on his approach to social media marketing and Lisa on, you guessed it, the ins and outs of insurance! Thanks again to both for their time & knowledge contribution.

As the seminar wound down I was presented with a Thank You card from the attendees, containing hand-written notes of appreciation from each attendee as well as a Starbuck's coffee card! I was a little touched, truth be told! What a great gesture, first time that's happened since the inception of this course over a year ago. Damn big of all of them!

Time to practice what I've been preaching. New promo imminent!

Stay tuned, it's gonna get interesting...

Stop Waiting for Your Big Break

I recently jumped on board the Photoshelter bandwagon! I've been searching for ways to electronically deliver images to clients efficiently, this seems to be my solution.

Photoshelter puts on different webinars a few times a month; how-to's on the features of their services. I virtually attended such a workshop yesterday afternoon. The workshop was presented by Brian Smith, portrait photographer. It was a very insightful and inspirational hour, I'd suggest checking it out HERE.

Giddy-up

Professional Responsibilities

Recently I was asked to quote a project for a local restaurant; interiors & cuisine images for use on their website. I submitted my numbers and was informed that I was a bit higher than they're expecting to pay. No big deal, I responded that I was willing to negotiate. Their response (after a followup email from me a week later as to whether they still wanted/needed photography) was "There is a student photographer who works here who will shoot it for free.".

Now, I'm of a mind that we as photographers are ALL responsible for educating our clients. The email I drafted & sent:


Thanks for getting back to me. Yes, free is difficult to pass up, but free has underlying costs that can run pretty deep.

Having been to XXXX and experienced the room (it's great, as is the food!), I hope your student photographer has a firm grasp on balancing different light temperatures and perspective control, not to mention preparing files for web and print. Top that off with consistently carrying the same image feel through from the interiors to the cuisine images. Prospective customers may wonder about the restaurant's attention to detail with food in the kitchen if they're viewing substandard photography on the website. It's quite a gamble, sinking all that money into something, then trusting the restaurant's primary web and print representation to a student. Don't get me wrong, I love a great deal too. We all do. Bear in mind you get what you pay for and the first taste is with the eyes... even on line.

Best of luck,
Dan



I posted this question (would you respond) to a few photographers in this market and received 'just leave it alone' suggestions. My response to that:



Thanks for the reply, appreciate your time & opinion.

I'm of a mind that all professional photographers must take it upon themselves to educate clients on the value of photography. Apathy just promotes acceptance of substandard work. Often, the client just doesn't know any better.

If the client is just cheap then they'll get exactly the photography they deserve. If they're naive however, and a letter gives them pause to think about the value of photography to them and their business, that's a step in the right direction... understanding the value of photography and the advantage to contracting a professional, no?

Best,
Dan

I'd also sent this to photographers in other markets. The responses from them were in the "Excellent response! Send it now!" vein. Imagine that.

It drives me crazy when photographers say things like, "That won't work here (local market)" or  "That's not the way it's done" or "It's standard to wait 90 days...". The reason this is the case is because we as photographers LET IT HAPPEN.

Be the change you'd like to see.

Creative Block?

As is my usual routine of easing into my week on Monday mornings, I cruise various different industry sites and blogs over a rather large cup of very hot coffee. This morning's journey led me to the blog of another photographer based out of Buffalo, NY, Luke Copping (a commercial and editorial shooter and purported all around nice guy).

The post consists of responses from various creative minds as to how they work through creative blocks. Very interesting read, check it out here.

Me? I have a bookmarked list of various photographer's on line portfolios that I retreat to whenever I'm feeling creatively vapid. Platon, Chris Buck (a fine Canadian fellow), Albert Kahn (going back a ways here) and a local genius Wayne Hoecherl are a few standouts on my 'Inspiration' list. Poking through a few of these sites never fails to jump start my creative mindset.

I'd dig on reading your solutions for breaking through the dreaded creative wall, just fire 'em into a comment at the bottom, there. Most original solution wins a Coke!

Original 'Term-of-the-Week' from one of the comments on Luke's blog:

                         gear-whoring

A Little Light Reading...

Not long ago I came across a photographer's forum site called Shakodo. It's a Q&A forum-style site that addresses assignment pricing, licensing and business practices for photographers.

As is typical with a Q&A forum, photographers from rank amateurs to seasoned pros post questions to the group. Any member of the forum may post an answer (or query the questioner for more info). There are a few very knowledgeable and respected photographers who offer their opinions and suggestions to questions about how to approach pricing assignments, what to charge for certain types of image licenses and/or how to run a successful photography 'business'.

Seth Resnick and Tom Zimberoff are a couple of 'names' who contribute to the forum.

Tom has a 6 part essay in the 'community' chapter right now that ALL photographers should read. It's a great read for anyone who wants to create and maintain a successful photography business. I've been teaching a business seminar at Vancouver Photo Workshops for the last 18 months and Tom made points I hadn't considered.

If you're a photographer who wants to run a profitable business, do yourself a favor and give this a read.

Local/National Marketing Strategies

Just wanted to make a note of one of the differences in marketing strategy when it comes to the local and national/global procurement of the ever-elusive client. It became glaringly obvious as I went through the CAPIC Portfolio Speed Review last week (see previous posts). One of the comments that popped up more than once was "You're limiting yourself with the type of work you've included (in the portfolio).". Obviously, what the local client is seeking from the local photographer is a 'Generalist', someone who has the ability to shoot, and shoot well, portraits, food, architecture, etc, etc.

Now, this flies in the face of anything I've read regarding a photographer's national marketing strategy. The message there from more than a few photographer's consultants is 'specialize, focus your work, develop and hone your style, this is what will sell you and your service.'.

The solution? In my humble opinion, the answer to LOCAL marketing is to build a portfolio (printed, 'cause you know, I'm old-school) of what the photographer loves to shoot, the sort of image & style that defines them. As an accompaniment, the all-singing, all-dancing iPad loaded with work a photographer has done in other disciplines. Prospective client says, "Yeah, sure you can shoot people, can you shoot food...?". Out of the fancy shoulder bag pops the iPad! The photographer (who has just scored 'cool' points) flips to the fantastic cuisine images created for some local restaurant.  It works well and doesn't blow the roof off of the marketing budget by requiring a separate book of cuisine (architecture, sports imagery, whatever) images. Yes, different disciplines really should have a book (and on-line presence) of their own.

National/global marketing? If a photographer is entertaining the notion of chucking their pork pie into this ring they'd better have a very focused & honed specialty. Given that printed books are rarely called in these days (doesn't mean you don't need one!) the first line of offense is the on line portfolio (I don't much care for the term 'website' when I'm referring to my on line works). Images that represent the same style, look and feel (never disregard the 'feel') and are the best of the best of a photographer's work must be displayed here. Mixing in cross-market work will cause prospective non-local client's perceptions to shift to "this guy's a generalist, we have a hundred of those here" (or some such thing). Vision, style, specialty, a tight collection of works that resonate. Yeah, make that happen.

Damn, this was supposed to be a short note. Forgive me.

CAPIC Portfolio Speed Review Review

The action was fast and furious at CAPIC's 3rd annual Portfolio Speed Review last Tuesday night. There were enough of us photographers to fill 3 shifts of 5 minutes each with the reviewers.  Designers and art directors from the likes of Hangar 18, Dare, and Red Rocket (to name a few) were kind enough to spend some time offering up their opinions on attending photographer's portfolios. 

There were also a few heavy hitters in the photographer crowd; Dale and Michele of Roth and Ramberg fame, Phillip Chin & Kevin Clark were a few of the tougher acts to follow.

A 5 minute speed review goes by incredibly fast! CAPIC might consider finding a way to stretch that time to maybe 8 or 10 minutes in the future. Mind you, I'm sure any amount of time in this sort of format would seem short. Regardless of the amount of time allotted, photographers are afforded invaluable face-time with their target clients, and that interaction is all too important in any photographer's marketing strategy.

My reviews went well. Most suggestions leaned toward my inclusion of more conceptual imagery in my book. I received kudos for my lighting skills and light-matching accomplishments on one comped image I'd included last-minute.

I had 2 different leave-behind pieces and offered the choice to each of my reviewers. 80% chose one in particular, one reviewer asked to keep both. It was an interesting experiment (one reviewer touched on that, "Is this your way of learning a bit about me?").

Various sponsors offered up door prizes via random draw. Apparently it's good to be the one to draw the winning ticket, 2 of the photographers asked to draw from the bag pulled their own name!! I was lucky enough to win a 20x30 canvas gallery wrap, graciously donated by Technicare. Others won digital retouching time supplied by Cake Imagery and studio rental time from Whitebox, among other prizes. 

Thanks to CAPIC for bolting this together, and to Rick Etkin and Steve Pinter for cracking a whip to keep it all rolling smoothly.

My membership application is in the mail.

Comm. Arts

Yes folks, it's that time again. Break out the best you got, wrap a few bucks around it and fire it off to the good people at Communication Arts.... IT'S PHOTO ANNUAL TIME!!


One little tidbit about contests such as this. Check out who is on the judges list and do a little due diligence on who they are. Knowledge is power, after all. Not saying one should gear one's submission to what these people want to see, but it will give you an idea of what they like.

Shoot what you love, the work will come.

CAPIC Portfolio Speed Review

Tuesday night is the 3rd annual Portfolio Speed Review put on by the crew at CAPIC. Thought I'd throw my hat into the ring, or circle, or whatever one would throw their hat into during such an event.

Events such as this are invaluable for photographers and illustrators. When one considers the time it would take to get their face in front of this many creative directors, art buyers, etc, how can a person afford to NOT be a part of it all?

Face it (no pun intended), networking and face-to-face interaction are the most important marketing tools in the arsenal. Tweeting, facebook 'friending' and the like will only get one so far. The art of the face-to-face is making a come-back, get with that program now.

Will post thoughts and such tomorrow after the big show. May even share a few new images! Can you imagine?

Teaser image!