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!

2010, A Year In Review

2010 draws to a close and, as with the ending of pretty much anything, one tends to look back on the ups and downs, the accomplishments and challenges of the past period of time. 2010 was quite a year for Koz Photography. We found ourselves shooting on frozen lakes (thought we moved away from Alberta...), on beaches, in board rooms, in studio as well as a few other places across Vancouver and the lower mainland.

The past year was far from the best year we've had, but a damn sight better than 2009 (by about 300%). Granted, part of all of this was due to the relocation from Calgary to Vancouver. Moving into a new market is never very easy, coupled with the economy being WAY down, leads to a challenging undertaking for just about any business. But, here we are, alive and kicking.

This week (the last week of the year) has been spent reviewing the projects we'd shot in 2010, both personal and client-driven, and creating goals for 2011 and beyond.  Thought we'd post a few of the highlights from 2010.


One of our favorite images this year is the image of a man who is fighting to crawl out of a hole in a frozen lake. The image is a comped image, all work was completed in-house. The frozen lake, which looks like it was
shot somewhere in northern Alberta
is in fact Lost Lagoon with Stanley Park

in the background. The actor was photographed in-studio. We had him emerging
from a hole cut into a 2 inch thick 4ftx8ft sheet of styrofoam. The sheet was supported by studio stands and specifically angled to recreate the proper camera angle used when shooting the lake surface. Colour and contrast were matched in post. We really enjoyed this project.

One of the few product images included in this retrospective is an image shot during the production of our first foray into motion photography/video. We've produced 3 product demonstration videos in 2010 with another currently in production. Due to confidentiality issues we cannot post the videos at this time but rest assured, they're kick-ass!

We had the opportunity to participate in a wonderful project aptly titled 'The Tattoo Project' this past year. A group of a dozen incredible photographers were connected with 100 well-inked people at the VPW Studios, Over the course of 3 days the photographers and subjects created a wonderfully diverse library of images. The weekend of shooting led to a slick calendar and a great gallery exhibition, a full-length documentary and hard cover book are currently in production. The above are part of the 9 images we had hung in the exhibition.

This image was created for promotional purposes; portfolio and website. Clean and simple, the way we seem to like them these days... Thanks to all involved for their time and talent.

The 2 images below were produced for a client's website. An un-comped version of the portrait is displayed on the Koz website. All post was done in-house.

After a bit of a fender-bender on the Trans-
Canada the vehicle had to go into the body shop. On the way to pick up said vehicle we chose to take a ride on the new-ish Canada Line. We made this image just as the train was exiting the tunnel into daylight. The title 'Train to Salvation' popped up the moment we saw the image on the view screen. How is one transported to the sweet hereafter (if you believe in that sort of thing) in the 21st century? A couple of people here didn't get the memo that you can't take it with you.

We worked on a video project in Mission, BC and naturally the Canon was handy. We spent most of the project shooting on the First Nations Reserve just south of Mission. During some down time we made these images (and more like them) as well as some documentary images of the video project itself. This would be 'Fenced Tree' (left) and 'Texas Gate' (below).

In an effort to get to know the city we relocated to it was decided to start an on-going photo-essay of the city and it's people. These are 2 of a number of cityscapes we created, just for the sheer joy of it. As an added bonus, we've enjoyed some residual income through stock licensing of these and other images from the project.

  Through industry associations we've been incredibly lucky to take part in and contribute to instruction at Vancouver Photo Workshops. VPW offers instruction in all aspects of digital photography, from beginner to professional. Dan of Koz Photography offers a seminar dedicated to the business end of the industry; building estimates, image licensing, copyright and intellectual property knowledge and more. This seminar ran quarterly in 2010 to much success and is slated to continue through 2011.

Through this association we're lucky enough to partake in a few other hands-on seminars that VPW offers. We created the 2 images here during seminars taught by Wayne Hoecherl, a master of photographic lighting.

















There you have it, our 2010 retrospective. We're looking forward to creating our brand of evocative, enigmatic portraits in 2011 as well as building great professional relationships. Check back for blog updates regularly (it's one of our New Year's resolutions, regular blog posts!)!

All our best in 2011 and beyond.
Koz Photography

NYT and the Classic Film Scenes

Came across this bit of film making  directed by fashion photographer Solve Sundsbo this morning. A re-creation of classic film scenes by current talent. Some are moving, some are haunting, some are downright difficult to watch. James Franco's bit is oddly disturbing. Michael Douglas is incredibly moving (kind of looks like Avedon...).

Interesting to watch. Even more interesting are all the comments about the piece... all 5 pages worth.


Have a look, comment at your leisure.

NYT Classic scenes

I've entered the MeatMarket

All of us here at Koz (meaning me) are proud to be included in the distinguished group of talented photographers on Anna Goodson's portal site; The MeatMarket.

It's a portal site that links prospective art buyers, creative directors and other design house types to some of the best talent in the nation; photographers, make up artists, food/hair/wardrobe stylists... any and all the talented people needed to create great images for advertising, magazine/editorial work, all of that business. Big thanks to Anna G. for putting all of this together. Check out the site!

Powell Street Festival

Took a break from the computer on Sunday to walk the neighborhood with the 7D. The Powell Street Festival was in full swing a couple of blocks over from my space, thought I'd check it out.


It's actually a Japanese cultural festival, celebrating the Japanese heritage of the area as well as the alternative and street culture. Makes sense considering the area is called 'Japantown' and the 'street culture' is nothing but interesting.


The wee park was quite crowded with people listening to the live music, sampling the assorted Japanese dishes offered up by the very colorfully dressed vendors and cheering at the 'Sumo Wrestling Challenge'.























On stage, various traditional dances were performed; fans were... well... fanned, hats were waved and the breezes that caught the colourful kimonos only added to the fluidity of the movements.Quite the spectacle.