Well, I am kinda with my buddy Kirk here. We have had some distinctly powerful discussions on working for free and what to charge. So we are going to lighten it up a bit with some discussions on images.

So let’s take a look at something I am working on right now. I have been asked to do some lifestyle ad shooting for a local client. We are looking for something a little edgy to promote some villas in Rocky Point. I am doing the photography and the creative, so I am working with owner on the direction of the work.

The project will be a brochure, an ad campaign, and a couple of large billboards. He wants to make the look very modern and he has a pretty good design sense anyway, so it will be a nice collaboration. Some clients think they are pretty design savvy, and this client is actually better than he thinks, so it will be a good working arrangement.

We did an audit of competing companies direct mail and large display ads and determined that a lot of them were saturated color and fairly static… shots of the villas themselves, or empty swimming pools with zero edge.

I presented a more ‘active’ and compelling direction to the work. The images are fun, distinct and a bit desaturated for a look that would stand out. My plan is to deliver the ‘fun’ and ‘excitement’ of staying at a villa in the little Gulf of California town south of Arizona. They are experiencing quite a downturn in visitor traffic so the plan is to focus on the fun. And I want the viewer to feel they are a part of the fun, not just looking at it from afar.

We are also going to do some video work, but that is down the road a bit. However, as I am working on the stills and direction of the still work, I have to take the video shooting into perspective. It will be necessary to tie the two together to provide a cohesive look to the ads, collateral and display advertising.

Briana on a Waverunner in Rocky Point, Mexico.

This is one of the shots we are using for the testing portion of the pre-production. It was taken very early in the morning a year or so ago in Rocky Point. The shot puts the viewer ‘in the scene’ by keeping the camera angle low. The wide angle lens choice brings the waves right up to the viewers chin. Point of View is such an important part of making an image.

This shot was also shot at the same time as the one above.

I mocked up a simple layout (not the final design, folks) to kind of show how the type and the image work together to provide a nice context for the viewer… come to Mexico and have fun. Being there, so to speak.

It was very, very early in the morning because we had decided to make our Mexico trip about two weeks too early and it was hot as hell. The water was actually like a bath, and the heat had already started to make itself felt at 7AM. The girls had been in makeup since about 4AM (we had 4 models and only one MUA, so we staggered the calls to get them in and ready for the 6:45 call. I think they drew straws… heh.)

I had the two models ride by and hit the brakes/gun it to create a big splash and lots of flying water. I would take a few bursts of shots as they played and acted happy. Well, they didn’t have to act that much cause those things are a hell of a lot of fun. I was up to my neck so that I could get that POV that I wanted when making the shots.

Continued after the jump.

I should note, that when I was shooting these, I didn’t have this gig. It was the opportunity to shoot image from a different angle that drove me to the water. I am also shooting with my Rebel because if I dropped it, I would lose an inexpensive camera. The lens may or may not make it, but could be fixed. Was this kinda stupid…? Yeah, so? I should have had a waterproof housing. But I didn’t, so I was as careful as i could be. I didn’t plan on getting it wet – and I didn’t. Mostly.

It can take a lot of coordination to get the models to work with you when they are on loud machines and you are right next to the water where sound doesn’t travel nearly as good as you expect. We had a great little arm/hand motion going so I probably looked pretty silly out there neck deep in the water waving like a crazy guy.

NOTE: When standing neck deep in the Ocean, it is very important to remember that the water is about 12 inches from eye level. So dropping it to your waist as when standing on the land can be catastrophic. Yes, I caught it in time… Sheesh.

When this gig came about and we started talking about the stuff we were going to do, I remembered these shots and am using them for creative direction. So far so good.

Post processing includes: open shadows, higher contrast, increased luminance contrast, and de-saturation. The challenge for the shoot will be to get some clouds in the sky – whether by them being there or putting them in during post.

The scene of the crime.

Yeah, we were deep into the water, and kinda, you know, wet.

All in all we shot for about an hour… one girl, two girls, even working on getting two Waverunners going by each other head to head and neck to neck. I shot about 1000 frames. And while I like some of the images with the two Waverunners, it is my nature to go for the simpler, more ‘deliberate’ images. I like the cleaner look, and the graphic design of the image being straight forward.

I will be going down with two models to do the shoot in early October. It will be so much nicer then, and we will be able to do the shoot without being encumbered by extraordinary heat and horrible humidity. Since “Sandy Beach runs East/West, I will also be able to shoot in the morning and the evening. Two chances for some pretty cool clouds.

One last thing. You will notice that we do not have the models wearing life vests. It is because we were working in a very small area right next to the beach. We had permission to do that and we had help standing by. The area was clear of any other craft so we were pretty tight and safe. When the shoot was over and it was time to play on the Waverunners, the life vests went on. And we had a blast.

My most recent posts are:
“Enough Negativity: Ten Things to Positively Affect Your Photography”
No Assignments Without Experience, No Experience without Assignments… Yeah, That Makes Sense, Right?
What is the Difference Between Shooting for Free and Shooting for Me?
Be sure to check the Archives for hundreds more articles.

Thanks for following along on this shoot. You can follow along on Twitter anytime, and check out Learn to Light for information on our lighting workshops.

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While some pros are worried about kids shooting Facebook and concert pix for free, I think that the perspective is really skewed when we start to become more interested in what non-consequential folks are doing and forget to be excited about this wonderful thing called photography. To make photographs is a joyous event, something I love to do. I don’t want to sit around kvetching about some dude who shot his company picnic. Hope he had a blast and made good shots. They couldn’t have paid me enough (well, they actually could have, but they probably wouldn’t have regardless of the product manager’s awesome handling of the formidable D-Series camera… and what if he had a Pelican case… Judge Brown would have made him the winner anyway).

I have made my feelings known on the ‘working for free’ thing on several posts. It isn’t for ‘free’ if value is gained… and if it can be a win-win… then take the damn win.

So today we aren’t going to worry about that $400 wedding (with CD and proofs) that happened yesterday, or the IT guy who shoots for the local ice-cream parlor for trade (Mmmm – Rocky Road). Who cares anyway. Did you really want those gigs? Today we are going to focus on what we can do that is positive and fun.

Ten things to POSITIVELY affect your photography that you can do NOW.

1. Shoot something totally out of your comfort zone.
Are you a portrait shooter? Take some gear out and shoot landscapes. If you normally shoot still life, grab some stuff and go somewhere to shoot street portraits. Do something different. Shoot something different. Try a totally different subject matter… and try to bring your aesthetic to it.

Do it with the seriousness of an assignment. Work toward something that would be ‘portfolio’ worthy. Make the date and keep it. Whatever the impending challenges, meet them and create a shot. If it is raining… cool, make that work for you. No excuses… bring back a shot that you love.

Examples:
Dave Hill’s Landscapes
Arthur Elgort’s “Jazz” (you will have to click on it on the navigation. Stupid UI (flash) doesn’t allow for deep linking… but then this is Arthur so he probably isn’t looking for SEO… heh)

2. Do a “series” of images on something new to you.
Or something familiar, I don’t care. But make it a true series. Tell a story. Five or more images that work together. Not a ‘comp’ card approach, nor am I wanting you to write a ‘story’ and make illustrations for it. (Although, that sounds like a possible #11 to me… hmmm.) I am talking about images that ‘belong’ together.

Plan a couple of excursions to that place or event, or some time blocked off to work out all the shots you need. “Cover” the subject with enough shots that when you edit them down, you can get to a set of images that says something about what/who you shot.

Examples:
Joni Sternbach’s Surfers
David Eustace’s Trip with his Daughter
Chase Jarvis’s Songs for Eating and Drinking

3. Rent a Tilt-Shift lens and spend a week with it.
This is a somewhat unique tool. It can change the perspective on an image and allow you to control converging lines and depth of field. Still life shooters use it, as well as architectural shooters. Here is a link to a tutorial I did on how to use it.

Take it out as your single lens for a day or a weekend. Find things that it can do to help make your images different. Play with it. Experiment with it. Shoot portraits and exploit the tilt to alter DOF.

Resist the urge, if you can, of tilting it back and making landscapes look like toy scenes… yeah. Cute. OK… maybe one or two, but don’t get carried away. Oh, and BTW, if you do a google search for Tilt-shift photography you will find a ton of these lameass shots and articles. And most of them are too that silly ‘toy’ look, that is ONLY tilt, NO Shift involved… but hey, stupid runs rampant on them interwebs.

Rent it from these nice folks if you live somewhere they are hard to find. They make a few flavors of wide to semi-telephoto and each do their own thing. I would say start with the 24MM, but that is only a suggestion.

How a Tilt-Shift Can Change Your Work
From Luminous Landscape, this great post.
Wiki has some good info as well.

4. Plan a large-scale shoot. Then do it.
This is great for the soul and great for the commercial shooter working on building a book.

The planning and production of a large-scale shot is one of the things that is so hard to learn from a book, or a blog. It is something that takes practice and experience. And it has a ton of learning associated with it.

Working out the set, the models, MUA’s, stylists needed. Then the time and coordinating the shoot with the realities of time. Three models and one makeup artist means you better have the models on set waaaaay before the shoot. Scheduling them for a half hour before shooting could be a terrible mistake.

Do you need permits or permissions? Get them. It’s good practice. You will have to do this more and more as you move into larger commissions, so get comfortable with the system now.

Do a casting… not a MM thing where people simply show up (if you are lucky) – but a real ‘casting’. Find the people you need and KNOW will work for the shot. Look for the look you want. Settle ONLY as a last resort. And then resist it like hell.

Need props… find them. Find rental houses, if you can. Ask friends and family. Somebody knows somebody with a Harley if you need one. Getting the resources together to make a big shot happen is as important as understanding what it takes to pull a big shot off.

Be tenacious and make the shot happen. If you are lucky and prepared, you will get something for your book. And you will learn a ton of stuff to do differently next time. And then start planning the next time.

Make the jump, there’s more on the other side.

5. Make a Book.
Seriously. Make a book.

Take your images and edit them down to 30 or so, then edit them into a ‘flow’. Take your time and develop the images in a sequence that makes sense. Hint: Cheap 4×6′s are a great tool for finding the sequencing. I cannot do it on a computer… back and forth is not the same as grab and switch.

I generally use Photoshop to create full page designs that are to my liking, and really not use their design software. It isn’t bad, but it is not my preference. You, however, may enjoy their templates. Make a hard cover book and show it around to everyone.

What you will learn is the so valuable as you go through the process. Flow of images, color matching, layout. There are a ton of things that you will face to get it right. And in the end you have a book to go on the coffee table. You can spend as little as $30 on it.

Want a really fun idea? Do the book in conjunction with a road trip, or a series of images, or stuff you don’t shoot very often. If your kids skateboard, spend an afternoon with the lights and get them and their friends doing cool stuff. No matter what you do, where you live and who you know… there is something cool going on around you.

Book Makers to consider:
Blurb
MyPublisher
LuLu
Asuka Book (a little more pricier, but very nice)

I have made books with all of the above. I have been happy with what I received in all cases.

6. Make a Portrait of Someone Famous (or nearly famous).
Yeah… get on the phone, send an email, show up at the door – and make it happen.

Maybe it is a local musician, or the symphony conductor. A local chef who is renown for his cooking. An author, painter, heck – even another photographer. Just make it happen. Could be you set your sights way high… Catherine Zeta Jones for instance. OK, you are going for a big name… can you pull it off? I bet you can… it just takes legwork and time and energy. And if you need anyone to, you know, hold the lights or something, I am available for that one. Yep. Sticking to local celebrities may be easier.

The shot MUST be killer, so make sure your stuff is up to par. But the point of this exercise is to work out how to make this happen. It takes guts. It takes initiative. It takes gumption and the ability to sell yourself and the gift of gab and more… It won’t happen while playing Farmville, and it won’t happen sittin’ on your ass watching re-runs of American Idol (the white-hair guy wins, can’t remember his name.) It surely won’t happen while you are spending every waking moment at your BF/GF… that is for damn sure.

You may also learn a thing or three about celebrity shooting. It isn’t nearly as easy as you think it is, and you already don’t think it is that easy. Correct. Egos, time, PR flacks, weenies with too much power because they glom on… it is quite an interesting world. Get your feet wet locally and see how it goes. However it goes, you will learn a ton about the business/production side of photography.

7. Get a List from Agency Access.
Oh, and then use it. This is for people who have already got their book together and are ready to make the rounds. Get a list. Get a good list. It may cost a few hundred bucks, but it is so worth it. Agency Access.

1. It eliminates that lameass excuse of ‘not knowing who to show’ the work to.
2. It is tailored to what you want to do (magazines vs ad agencies for instance)
3. It gives you a target and a real tangible sources for your efforts.
4. It becomes the foundation for your marketing efforts – and is worth 10 times what you paid for it.
5. None of the above count if you get the list and continue to NOT do a damn thing with it.
6. Read #1 again.

You should have your mission statement, marketing tools and drop-offs and leave behinds ready as you begin this process, so we are going to simply let that stand as a very important pre-cursor of this exercise. If you are not ready, what is your time frame? Don’t tell me – tell yourself. Oh, and you should have some ideas of rates and billing.

Now get after it.

8. Create an EMail Marketing Campaign.
If you aren’t totally ready for the big time yet, you can start by creating an email marketing campaign and get it ready to go.

Finding a template there for your photography by not be the easiest thing to do – even though there are several billions of templates or so. Know what you want to send. Work with a designer to get the look you want, testing it to yourself and a few friends. This will take a while and you can be getting your other stuff ready in the meantime.

You can find some pretty cool templates for email at Envato. Or look for a designer you like and find out what something custom would cost. Not as much as you think, probably. If you are good with html, you will most likely be able to customize one of the templates provided.

Try it out on a few customers or a circle of prospects. This is a list of the ones I have used and recommend. You may find others that you love. That’s cool.

MailChimp
Constant Contact
Mad Mimi

9. Road Trip.
Oh yeah, man. I love them. They get me going. Apply the road trip to any of the above suggestions in as liberal a dose as you can handle.

10. Work With a Designer and Create a Direct Mail / Leave Behind
Get that direct mail piece into the works.

It can dovetail with the list above, and of course the email list as well. It may take a while to get together, and it may cost a bit (tradeout?), but it is worth it. This piece is your calling card, it is YOU when you are not there. It says who you are, and shows your attention to detail, aesthetic, style, vision, presentation and relevance.

Start to research the different styles and methods of these important parts of your business. I would recommend these sites to see examples of direct mail and leave behinds.

A Photo Editor
Heather Morton Art Buyer
Graphis (print as well)
Communication Arts Magazine (print as well)

Getting this vital piece of the puzzle done before you start to get calls is very important.

And anytime you start to actually ‘work’ with your own images, you find out a lot about yourself. We can miss holes in our work, and stylistically out-of-place images when we are simply shooting and storing. But going in and working with them to make a book, or a direct mail piece, an email campaign and other things we can do, can bring them to us in new and different ways – ways that transcend just being an interesting photograph.

Or we can sit around complaining about other people who have no more consequence to professional photography than the man in the moon.

And this should be #11, but it is a reminder that you will probably not spend a hundred bucks on anything more valuable than Selina Maitreya’s 12 hour long audio series, “The View From Here” on success and vision and style. She has examples, road maps and more in this baby, and it could be worth 10 times what she is charging.. and you get half off her price of $200 by purchasing it through Lighting Essentials. Just enter FOSLE in the checkout and you will save $100. I don’t do a lot of ‘selling’ on this site, but I so very much believe in this information that I really do think you should get it.

So that wraps it up for this post. Follow my bloviations on Twitter, and come to a lighting workshop to pop your chops up another notch.

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We see a lot of talk about ‘vision’ and ‘style’ and they are difficult to put into a specific, detailed set of parameters.

Style – noun (OnLine Dictionary)

1. The way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed: a style of speech and writing.

2. The combination of distinctive features of literary or artistic expression, execution, or performance characterizing a particular person, group, school, or era.

3. Sort; type: a style of furniture – a type of photography.

4. A quality of imagination and individuality expressed in one’s actions and tastes: does things with style.

5.a. A comfortable and elegant mode of existence: living in style.
5.b. A mode of living: the style of the very rich. (Photographers… heh)

6.a. The fashion of the moment, especially of dress; vogue.
6.b. A particular fashion: the style of the 1920s. See Synonyms at fashion.

We have talked about style before on Lighting Essentials:
“Style: It’s Not What You Shoot. It’s How You Shoot It.”
“Salina Maitreya: 4 To Do’s for Photographers (Interview in Three Parts)”
“What Makes a Photograph ‘Great?’”
““Breaking Out” as a Professional Photographer: Daron Shade”
So take a look at those articles when you get a chance.

Pretty good definition list, but what do we make of them. (5b is a given for photographers, so we won’t get into that one. My Bentley driver may have a few words later, but only after he fuels up the jet for the weekend MM shoot.)

Let’s see what we can attach to some of the photographers I have listed here. Spend some time at each photographer’s site. Note how the definitions above start to make sense as we view the images.

Rodney Rascona is a fellow Phoenician. His work has always been top of mind for me in this area. A talented photographer who has maintained a strong presence in the national advertising scene and still lives here in the desert. Rodney’s work ranges from portrait to automobile to travel… and he has a style that is so prevalent in his work.

Photograph by Rodney Rascona, Phoenix. www.rascona.com

Photograph by Rodney Rascona, Phoenix. www.rascona.com

Spend some time with Rodney’s work and note how he creates his style. Composition and light as well as presentation are consistent. A drama that is created by formal design and light with contrast to define. Colors are vibrant.

Across the genres of portraits, automobiles and even the photojournalist like shots of the tsunami, there is a consistency of vision.

Joni Sternbach is a huge favorite of mine. Her work ranges from portraits to landscapes.

Joni Sternbach, Photographer : www.jonisternbach.com

Joni Sternbach, Photographer : www.jonisternbach.com

Sternbach chooses an older process for her prints, and uses large cameras for perspective control and limited Depth of Field. But it is beyond the choice of camera and process that makes her images take on a specific vision and style. Study how she approaches the “Surfland” images and compare that to the imagery in the “Salt Effect” series. Portraits of surfers and landscape work tied together by a vision and execution that show a single photographer’s style.

Kurt Markus shoots fashion, sports figures and landscapes… how’s that for variety. And yet the distinctive vision that Markus displays is across all genres.

Kurt Markus, Photographer: www.kurtmarkus.com/

Kurt Markus, Photographer: www.kurtmarkus.com/

A great example of it being not ‘what you shoot’ but ‘HOW you shoot what you shoot’, Markus’ clean style and intimate, natural approach to his images keep his vision consistent. Classical, almost historically iconic approaches to his subjects combine with a fresh, natural feeling seems to run through his work. Modern classicism? Maybe. See what you can find as you go through the images slowly and with deliberation.

I love Kate Orne’s work. It is approachable, natural, elegant and totally free of conceit. It is an approach that lets the subjects be the subjects. No banks of lights and Photoshop magic, just honestly beautiful images.

Kate Orne, Photographer: www.kateorne.com

Kate Orne, Photographer: www.kateorne.com

Notice also how Orne’s style crosses over to her travel work and studio work. It is a vision that is hers, and the style is in the work itself. Beautifully photographed and simply presented imagery.

Nick Onken is a guy I go to often to just smile and take in great imagery. He keeps his work fresh and identifiable by keeping the style consistent. And that consistency has led to major campaigns and recognition from all over. His book “PhotoTrekking” was reviewed here on LE and is a fantastic addition to any photographer’s library.

Nick Onken, Photographer: www.nickonken.com

Nick Onken, Photographer: www.nickonken.com

Nick’s color palette, natural light approach, fun and witty composition and strong emphasis on Point of View gives some consitency. His attention to detail, in every instance, brings an excitement to the images and draws the viewer in. You will have a lot of fun looking through Nick’s work.

Damn, I am a big Mark Tucker fan. Such compelling work and with such conviction of style. Whatever Mark shoots, it is presented in what seems like the most perfect way. There is a pronounced absence of ‘over-the-top’ processing or faddish types of lighting. The work is consistent in color, composition and vision.

Mark Tucker, Photographer: www.marktucker.com

Mark Tucker, Photographer: www.marktucker.com

Mark’s work can be quirky and fun as well as serious. His use of old lenses, tilt-shift lenses and textures also makes the work accessible and seem like a blend of art and commercial… with an emphasis on personal style. As you go through his images, think of the choices he is making as he is designing the shots. What you see in Mark, and all the artists here, is a deliberate attention to detail. If it is in the shot, it was meant to be. The light is chosen to set the subjects off in a specific way… and that approach is taken across genres in his work.

Last up is Bill Phelps, a fantastic shooter that I recently discovered. I am so in tune with this work. Personal, engaged and without the vestiges of over-commercialism, the work Phelps delivers is most definitely his. Not a lot of compromise shown in the vision… it is tightly held and demonstrated in every shot he shows.

Bill Phelps, Photographer: www.billphelps.com

Bill Phelps, Photographer: www.billphelps.com

I am captivated by his post-modern style and the way he uses the frame to isolate sections of the world, and presenting them as slices of reality. A reality that is charged through the use of black and white. The work has a film look to it, although I have no idea if it is film or digital… nor do I care. The careful use of light that is infused within all of his work is intriguing and elegant.

As you look through the images of these photographers ask yourself these 5 questions:

1. What is the thing that ties the work together for you?
2. If the work was presented within different post-processing would it still stand?
3. What is the compositional approach that the photographers use to bring their work cohesiveness?
4. How is light used to enhance or alter the reality in the work?
5. Quick, describe the photographer’s work, style if you will, in less than 8 words.

Of course not every single image will contain every element of a photographer’s style, but taken as a whole – a “body of work” – the images belong to each other. And to the photographer that created them.

A challenge:
Can you find the elements that tie your photographs together and show how they work to present a body of work? Are they cohesive enough to show you as a photographer with vision or just a photographer? And, hey, it is great to be a good photographer. Let’s step it up a bit and be a good photographer with style and vision.

It’s damned hard work. It is a gray area, a nebulous enigma entwined in the emotional ties we have with our work. It is the ability to grasp and let go at the same time. It may mean a slight tweek to what we are doing. It may mean a total disc wipe and on to a new chapter.

But whatever it is, it will be important for us in the long run to have developed a style. Doesn’t mean we are locked in to only one, but one is good to get started.

Thanks for tagging along and I hope I have your juices going on what style may be, how to look for it in the work of others, and your own. It is a journey that can have lots of pulling of hair and gnashing of teeth. Sometimes you feel isolated and fearful and sometimes joyous and victorious. All part of the next climb in the journey.

Please note the workshop schedule, and follow me on twitter if you are so inclined.

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This post was instigated by a post a friend of mine made. Brian Matiash’s blog post, “It’s not about the gear?” takes a well written hit at many of us who state that being a good photographer is not about the gear. I think he has some valid points, but I also think he may be missing some points in his main hypothesis. It may be a bit of a different approach, but it needs to be stated: When I say “It’s not about the gear” I am NOT saying that gear doesn’t matter.

Many of people who commented on Brian’s post seem to take a black and white approach to the saying… if it isn’t about the gear then why do people shoot great gear? Sorry, that is a non-starter. Stating that making a good photograph is not about the gear is in no way stating that the gear doesn’t matter to make a specific image.

We will examine the question of whether it is or is not about the gear after the jump.

First up: Links around the web.
APhotoEditor has a great guest post by Jess Dudley, Wonderful Machine Producer, “Real World Estimates – Publicity Pricing and the Value of Subject Follow-Up”. This post examines how a photo rep puts together a price quote for an editorial shooter. Very granular and vital reading for photographers.

“Ask an Art Buyer: Targeting and Evaluating your Promotion” at Heather Morton’s Blog looks at a promotional card by a photographer and makes some suggestions. Luckily we get to watch and learn as well.

This great little series by the folks at APA and Selina Maitreya starts a 6 month challenge for photographers. You should take part and learn how to make a more successful book, and create your style. It’s free and there are even prizes. “The View From Here Video Challenge” is here.

This very introspective post by Rodney Smith gives us all pause to think about what it is we want. “Rule from the Center” at The End Starts Here.

Next up, Workshop Information:
Denver next weekend (July 10, 11, 2010) and we have a few openings there. Denver is a wonderful place to be in the summer. Great light, wonderful talent… come on over and join us. Learn to Light has all the information. We are also headed for Toronto for a workshop, Flagstaff, Arizona and other fun places… see the site for more information. If you have a place you would like to have the workshop come, let us know.

Personal One-On-One Workshops:
I am doing some very specific, one-on-one workshops in July and August. They are a bit limited in how many I am going to do, but if you are interested in spending two days working on the specific things YOU need to learn, see more here. It will be in my studio in Phoenix, and it will be intense.

On to the discussion of whether gear matters.

I think there is a disconnect when we use the statement, “It’s not about the gear” and it is the root of the challenge we face here.

Look, gear is cool. Gear is fun. And there are some pieces of gear that are definitely needed to make imagery. And better gear makes it easier to make specific images. But when we are talking about general photography, I think that making an image is so much more about the vision. Gear is about the technical, and there are times when the gear can make creating the image a smoother, easier operation.

Brian states it this way: “I will agree with one unequivocal and indisputable truth: no amount of gear can be a substitute for raw talent and vision. Just because you have the newest camera with the sharpest lens will not give you a guarantee that all of your shots will be memorable or provocative or even marginally good. But, I can guarantee you that it will help.”

I agree with the this statement with a couple of important caveats… Brian is stating this with the end product in mind. He is expecting a specific outcome. So when he states “I can guarantee you that it will help” he has already set the parameters of acceptability. He is referring to specific outcomes without taking into account that those outcomes are artificially determined by his statement.

What if the photographer doesn’t care about sharpness or has a different view of what ‘good’ is? What if the photographer wants to make moody, incredibly dark, muddy images that have a totally different point of view? What if the “best gear” for making that shot is a Holga ($28 at Amazon)? Great gear? A plastic camera? Not when compared with a D7, or a 5D MKII? But they would suck for doing what that photographer wanted to do… so the RIGHT GEAR is substituted. And to know what the right gear is, we have to know what the vision is.

When we say that vision comes first, that means that before you even know what gear you need, you should be finding out what you want to shoot. How do you want to shoot something? What do you want to say about the subjects you are photographing? What is the outcome you want to achieve with the work you are doing?

Vision.

Here is my scenario on gear.

Can a photographer who is competent make an image on any camera? I think they can. I think I could hand a Holga or a Canon S90 or a P&S Kodak $80 camera to Chase Jarvis, Jake Chessum, Andrew Hetherington, Joe McNally and Brian Matiash and they could make images that would be remarkable. They would already have the vision, they would now simply apply that vision to the limitations/parameters of the camera they are using. And they would make remarkable images.

However, I could give a 1DS MKIII with a 70-200MM L to someone who was a ‘snapper’ – a GWC… – and I am not convinced at all that their work would improve. The images may be sharper, and the colors cleaner… but the vision would not have improved. My point is that the guy who was previously shooting crap on his Rebel is now shooting crap – but needs a whole bunch more storage to keep the images. Nothing will improve.

Now that may sound like I am saying that gear doesn’t matter at all.

Nope, gear is important. For the vision that is created – and the ability to further that vision. Here are a few examples:

A photographer whose style includes shooting natural light headshots may naturally evolve toward a camera that would provide the best capture, and those fast lenses would be something that would help bring the vision forth. (And I bet that photographer was making good photos with what they started with, or there would be no evolving.)

A photographer who wanted to shoot architecture, or still life would greatly benefit from having a couple of tilt-shift lenses. They aren’t cheap, they are specialized and they are pretty darn well important for those choices in work. (And I bet if I gave those photographers an assignment and a P&S, they could get some cool shots.)

The argument that photographers who espouse the philosophy that “It isn’t about the gear” also have great gear is to miss the main point. If one has great vision, one can become as successful as one wants… bringing with it the perks of the best equipment. A photographer like Joey L may state that it isn’t about the gear while shooting a Hasselblad in Africa. They have nothing to do with each other. Joey has earned the Hasselblad… and could also do great work on a 5D MKIII. Does anyone think that the images Joey brought back from Africa are simply good because of the camera? I hope not.

Those images are a result of Joey’s vision. The gear makes it easier. The gear makes a bigger file. The gear is simply wonderful to use… but the vision is there first.

I am frustrated sometimes. I meet photographers with tens of thousands of dollars worth of cameras and lenses and absolutely no idea of what an image is. Not a capture… click the button – capture. Focused, accurately exposed, and somewhat framed. But without any vision at all. The vision is the thing that separates the capture from the image. I think it comes from the new tools not requiring pre-vision to make the image. We don’t choose film any more, nor do we work the focus with our hands. We don’t have to make choices on development, or processing, or what paper to print it on.

And we start to then put more emphasis on the gear – because the gear does so much. And maybe we should start to think more of the image than what it was created on. That may not be a popular thing to do, and God knows what would happen to the hundreds of forums out there where the discussion of the best lens dissolves into name calling and more… sigh. (Best lens… for what?)

“As you use your gear, and eventually start to plateau with its capabilities (and limitations), you will reach an impasse. You will hit a point where your vision can no longer necessarily be realized with the gear that you have. This is when you will decide whether it is worthwhile for you to invest in better gear.” – Brian.

Yes. This is exactly right. But I think it goes farther to bolster my argument than Brian’s. With the vision, the work grows. As it grows, the “Right Gear” begins to make sense, and make the vision go even farther. But it is worth noting once more, that the vision preceded the ‘gear’.

I am not a gear snob. I shoot Profoto, Dynalite, Norman’s and Canon. My lenses are “L’s” and my accessories are the best that I can get. I have C-stands, booms, and a ton of modifiers. I also have a studio with a full coved cyc, big enough to shoot a pickup truck in – with a full cove ceiling. I also have Hasselblad, Toyo, Bronica, Mamiya and Deardorff cameras. I shoot on all the cameras… sometimes because of a reason… and sometimes because it is simply fun. And no one will take my beloved Nikon’s from me. I rarely shoot 35MM film, but I love those cameras. I think the whole bag is worth about $100… heh.

I also shoot on my iPhone (which I just use for the camera… no phone service. I have Droid for the phone.) And I shoot Holgas, and little Kodak P&S’s.

My vision doesn’t require a specific camera… unless it does. That make sense I hope. It means that I love to take images on a camera that gives me very little latitude. And I love to make images on cameras that give me the specific needs I must have to make those images. I love shooting with my Profotos, but I can make images on Home-Depot work lights with a shower curtain. And do on occasion. Brian points out that as his vision for HDR grew, the need for a camera that would handle the demands was necessary… and he has that just right. The vision led to the gear.

So to wrap up, yes… gear matters to make the technical side better/easier/diverse. But that gear is a response to the vision. And the vision only comes with making more and more images. With whatever camera one has.

—-

Thanks to Brian for writing the original article and getting the discussion going.

I hope if you are considering a workshop this year that you take a few minutes and check out Learn to Light. We are heading all over the country for the rest of the year. See if we are coming to your town. We have kept the cost to a minimum in order to reach more people. I have a FaceBook page here, and you can stalk my every move at Twitter.

See you next time.

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Guys… I got so tired of hearing how it is so horrible out there, and how there’s no this and no that. I just got over it. So I decided to put out a tweet for some emerging photographers to chat with. No formal questions, just some chatting. I was so happy when I got several takers early on, and we set some times and got together for some fun chat.

I will share their stories after the obligatory news from around the web and some important links I think you should have. Check them out after the jump.

A few important posts from around the interwebs:

“Great Work is Memorable – Good Work is Experience” over at Permission to Suck. Great post and a lot to think about.
Kirk Tuck shares “The Ten Trends I Am Fond Of” at his blog, The Visual Science Lab.
Selina Maitreya has a very poignant post. “What’s Old is New Again….” that you really should read.
Jake Chessum has a new blog – no words, just a picture every day. I love his work.
“May I Feel, Said He” is a wonderful little post at Rodney Smith’s great photography blog, The End Starts Here.

On the LE site, you should know that we are having a contest for photographers. It is our first big contest and the prizes are worth over $1000 at this point… and more may be coming. it involves shooting to a layout, and is something that should be a lot of fun for you.

If you are in the Columbus, Ohio area this Wednesday evening, drop in and say hi at MPEX around 6PM. I am speaking on lighting for portraiture and photography in general. More information here.

And we have had some really interesting posts recently:
Daron Shade shows us how to make our sites viewable on handheld devices and iPads.
We look into the stupidity that was a recent DPP article on being happy when people steal your work. (Gets pretty passionate in the comments.)
And if you are thinking about being an assistant, take a look at our Ten Things that could help. There is some more info in the comments so read the whole thing.

Workshop News:
I have a few openings left for the July/August one-on-one personal portfolio building workshops. I will put all the info together for you all this week, so look for the information. Almost booked up before I put the word out, so that is definitely cool and humbling. Thanks.

July is the Denver Workshop. It is really a very special place and we have some special things to do up in that mile-high city. I hope to meet a bunch of you up there, and I am already booked for the flight. If you are interested in doing a workshop this year, I would lead you to my page of testimonial and comments from folks who have taken the workshop. I teach by showing, telling and then having you DO IT… and there is no downtime… we do and discuss and look at and make photographs for two full days.

In August we will be going to Flagstaff for a really exciting and special workshop. Deserts, mountains, old Route 66 and move are right there in the fantastic and cool city of Flagstaff. This will be a very special workshop as well, so if you are thinking you may want to get out of the heat and spend some time in the mountains shooting… take a look at Learn to Light for more info.

Well, that’s it for the blurbs and stuff, let’s get on to the four photographers who are making stuff happen.

NOTE: All four of these photographers are full time photographers, not part time. That was part of the deal when I was looking for people to chat with.

First up is Dom Romney, Stratford UK. Website: ModernPics

Dom started out in Journalism, and working for local newspapers. He moved on when he realized that the life of a PJ was not what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. So he changed gears and began working on something totally different… hot rods. American style hot rods in Stratford, England.

And it is working for him. Dom has been a full time photographer for 3 years.

He is currently taking assignments from several magazines and is coming to the states to shoot the races at Bonneville next month. His niche also provides him an opportunity to excel in dealing with clients who have very demanding expectations.

His “main tool” is how fast he can get his pictures up to his Photoshelter account and get the clients up there to view/order the images. Dom prides himself in keeping his work in front of publishers as fast as possible. He stays busy with a shooting schedule that runs from hot to crazy.

Next up: some direct mail marketing: Postcards targeted to lists he is purchasing from a professional list builder. His focus in on the clients in the business who are not currently shooting with him, and editorial clients all over the UK and Europe. Dom works the Photoshelter SEO friendly pages to help get the images found and his name in front of the clients he wants to reach.

Here are some of Dom’s images for you to enjoy.

2009 European Finals Santa Pod by Dom Romney

BB/FA 9 Adam Gleadow

Dom Romney,
Renault MSA young Motor Sport photographer of the year 2010
Modernpics.co.uk – Home to Europe’s premier Drag racing photography–

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Next up, Maryelle St. Clare. Website here.

Maryelle has been a photographer for 3 years now. Her specialty is music photography. Based in Atlanta, Mareyelle has been photographing band for publicity and promotion and has been working for magazines as well.

She stays in touch with her clients personally, and keeps her marketing on a one to one basis. She is planning some direct mail and other campaigns for the second half of the year, but for now she is busy with the PR firms and music agents in the Atlanta area.

Magazines have been picking up more and more of her images, and now she is enjoying some assignment work as well as the live-band shoots. Maryelle is well acquainted with the 3-song rule. She has also learned the ins and outs of getting the best shooting spots for the stages as well as how to deal with agents, management and artists.

Her pet peeve is the photographers who don’t know what the value of the image is. Her next promotion may focus on the ways that great photography can help define the band and its ‘personality’. She is planning some targeted direct mail for the fall and spring.

Here are a few of Maryelle’s images.

Models are (L-R) Sarabi and Britt

Robin Finck | Nine Inch Nails @ Noblesville 30 May 2009

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Matt and Agnes Hage (website) are a couple living in Anchorage, Alaska. Currently their client list includes some of the biggest names in outdoor equipment and lifestyle gear. That is by plan.

Matt told me that they focus on doing what they love doing… the outdoors. “The work we do is what we’re about,” he states matter-of-factly. And it shows in their photographs.

They just recently updated their website with full screen images to capture the majesty of some of the places they photograph. It is only one point of the Matt and Agnes’ multi-point marketing efforts. From personal contact through portfolio review, they keep it quite personal and prefer to work with clients who trust them. That trust comes from the one on one contact that they make with each of their clients.

“We start with a phone call, then a mailing, and then the portfolio showing.” It is something that works for the type of photographers they are and the clients they work with. And there are no plans on changing it.

Most of their work is advertising and editorial, and they are doing a fair bit of industrial work as well. Matt and Agnes are having a very good year, and the plans for the upcoming year is more of the same – trekking about some of the worlds most incredible regions shooting photographs for clients that love the work.

Matt and Agnes sent along these images:

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Los Angeles is a big town with lots going on… and one of the shooters there who keeps it going is Kevin Knight, (website) a photographer for 4 years and expat from the music business. “15 years in the music business gave me some perspective of what I want to do,” Kevin said, “and it also opened some doors that may have been more difficult to get through.”

“It was the 5D MKII that helped turn the hobby into the full time business…” He shoots Canon and has the fast glass that goes along with it. Some assisting part time in the beginning and then one day he just decided to go for it. His wife gave him one year to be profitable.

He made profitability in 8 months, and things keep getting better and better.

How did he do it? He shot everything, anywhere/anyway he could. Some was profitable and some was for notoriety… he knew what it took to become somewhat known in the business, so he took every opportunity to make himself visible and get his pictures out there.

At one of the largest indie band concerts he shot 20 bands in two days… and that was self funded. Next year, he plans 30 bands… the work that was generated by his self-funded project was amazing he told me.

At a portfolio review, Kevin met consultant Debra Weiss who looked at his book and told him to pursue the environmental portraiture he was showing. It was a small part of his book, but he realized she was right and that was what he really loved to do. It has been the focus of his work, and he has worked with musicians, artists, writers and others to produce a body of work that is strong.

These days he is taking some time to work on a project of portraits (I will let him tell about that when he is ready) that take him all over the country. Most of the project is self-funded, but he keeps a steady roster of clients to make sure ends meet when necessary.

Marketing in a traditional manner may be on the rise for next year, but for now Kevin relies on social media like Twitter and Facebook – both of which he gets assignment work from. He targets the SM he works with to the people who he likes and works or wants to work with.

Here are a few shots that are currently in Kevin’s book.

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Our five photographers:
Kevin Knight
Matt and Agnes Hage
Maryelle St. Clare
Dom Romney

Thanks to all for taking time to chat with me.

This was a fun project for me, and I will be doing this more often. There are a lot of photographers doing wonderful work out there, and I want to hear their stories. There are plenty of articles on the big-time-famous, but at Lighting Essentials we want to talk to and about the hard working shooters who are getting things done and making great images and may not be so famous.

Lighting Essentials has a Facebook Fan Page, and you can follow me on Twitter where I link to photographic things I find interesting. See you next time.

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I never really thought that a mobile site was important for photographers until recently. My studio has a great address, 302 S. Park Ave. Unfortunately, the streets of Tucson were not so much designed as just haphazardly built then named… There are three park Avenues and they all change and overlap in my neighborhood. The numbers don’t overlap, but it’s a bit of a mess to navigate if you aren’t familiar with the area. To make matters worse, one of the SATNAV systems directs everyone to another street. I’ve had about a third of the people coming to my studio for the first time get misguided and call for directions.

This got me thinking about having a mobile device site with a simple landing page and link to a Google map. I put together a landing page and as a second thought decided to put a very simple gallery on the mobile site.

There are a number of ways to drive traffic to this mobile site, but keeping it simple, I used m.daronshade.com as the subdomain and used Javascript to set my main site to forward visitors if the screen resolution width was less than 768px (768 pixels is the width of an iPad held vertically).

I dropped this code in the header of my pages:

<SCRIPT language="JavaScript">
<!--
if (screen.width<768)
{
window.location="http://m.daronshade.com";
}
//-->
</SCRIPT>

This forwards visitors to the mobile device site that was designed to provide my phone number, address, and a map…

Every time I receive a call from a new prospect, I make sure to ask how they found me. This keeps me in the know of how my marketing is working. (This is how I know that working for free for ‘exposure’ is about the worst thing that we can do with our time! – I’ve never had a freebie turn into a referral for a paying gig.) I never thought that anyone would find and book me with their hand-held device, but in the last month, I received two phone calls from people who found me via Google on their phones.

One of them was an individual in need of a portfolio. She was a backup dancer preparing for an audition… The other was a frantic art buyer in an airport that had a deal with another photographer fall through while she was on her way to town. They had some mis-communication on the date of the shoot. She found me on her iPhone during a layover and booked me on the spot. Acquiring work through my mobile site has been a total surprise to me, and something that I hope continues.

When talking with your web designer or setting out to build your own website, keep the mobile browser in mind and at least make sure your site is navigable on an iPhone. The extra investment may pay for itself in a single phone call.

A note on flash: It’s no secret that Don and I both campaign against flash and for content managed html-based websites. With the huge following of the iPhone and the new iPad, there are even more reasons to stay away from a flash-based site. iPhones and iPads do not support Flash.

I am averaging 2-3 visits on the mobile site per day, which is much more than I had expected. This trend can only increase.

– — Daron

That is pretty cool, Daron. Thanks. Please visit Daron’s site and leave a comment if this helped you. I know I am working on my mobile site now, and this really helped.

I will have some news for everyone, as well as announcing a couple of contests that I am working on. One for LE and another for a third party.

The Columbus workshop is filled, and there is talk about someone showing up to do an informal discussion on lighting at MPEX on the Wednesday night before the workshop. I guess you will just have to keep checking MPEX’s site for more information on that.

I have openings in the Denver workshop. It is the only workshop I am doing outside of the one-on-one’s I am doing in the Phoenix studio for the month of July. It will be a really fun workshop, so check it out at Learn to Light. Coming up in August is Calgary and Toronto… so don’t miss those workshops if you are in the area.

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Getting an assistant gig is top of mind for a lot of commercial shooters starting out. It can mean exciting photo shoots, learning the ropes they didn’t learn in photo school (and them’s a lot of ropes), and an opportunity to work in their chosen industry while earning a bit of money as well. It also means long hours, boring down time, and a lot of stuff that wasn’t expected… like sweeping floors and cleaning windows. An assistant can be called on to do some of the most exciting and menial things you can imagine… sometimes right next to each other.

When I started out in LA back in the latter part of the 20th century, it was a tough town. Yes, I know, still is. I was a pretty big fish in the small pond of Phoenix, but upon landing in LA I found I was a pretty small, insignificant, amoeba in that pond. I knew immediately that I didn’t even know what I didn’t know.

So I got a pager, an answering service and I started assisting on every day I wasn’t shooting. I worked with big names and small names, architecture and lingerie, celebrities and construction workers. It was a total blur. And I loved it and I learned so much it was like a crash course in what I needed.

These days it is a bit harder to get those gigs, but it certainly is not something that cannot be done. On the contrary, I think a really GOOD assistant would be very much in demand in today’s environment. And the reason I say that is simple… and it may offend some… I rarely find anyone who wants to work as hard as I do. That sentiment was was expressed to me recently at a lunch with a very well known editorial shooter. It isn’t that they don’t want to work, it is that they don’t understand the concept as we do who came from that world. No cell phones, no twitter, long days, long nights, tough work, boring shit, demeaning shit that you are well over qualified for… but has to be done.

It is rare that I meet someone wanting to assist that can put themselves out there and ‘show up’ for the gig without having to check in with the BF/GF or significant other. “When will we be through” is something my wife doesn’t even ask… she knows. Most of the time we have no idea… when we are through, I guess.

Recent posts you should be aware of:
27 From 27: Recent Photographs from the LE FLickr Pool
A Chat with Steve of “Standbagger” Fame. Cool Gear for Photographers.
In Praise of Natural Light: Examples and Discussion.
“So You’re a Photographer, Quick… Tell Me What You Do”
Pricing Issues: One Big Monster of a Problem

I am sometimes asked what kind of images to show the photographer to get an assistant’s job. I will speak as to myself here, I don’t care what you have. I am not being mean, I already have a photographer. Of course I will look at your work at some point, and I am one of those photographers who would teach and help, but honestly I don’t really care if you rock or suck… can you get the parabolic umbrella on my Profoto without crushing the edge? Do you know how to get the images off of the cards fast and get them processing? Can you make a killer PB&J? Are you fun to have around when there is absolutely NOTHING to do? Sell me on that, not how you shoot hot chicks wrapped in caution tape standing on railroad tracks in stripper heels… seriously.

I have openings in the Greenville, SC workshop. I won’t be getting back to that area in the near future, so up your game and get involved with one of the most informative and affordable workshops around.

Now, on to the 10 things you can use to get an assistants job… and I hope to get the comment area alive with more!

1. Be Persistent / Not Annoying.
Call and make contact. Voicemail isn’t contact. An EMail isn’t contact. Contact is one-to-one. Keep the call brief, but make your case for being hired. If there is no work at that specific time, ask how often you should check back, and by what means. If an email every Monday would be agreeable do it. The job may not be one that happens overnight, but if you stay focused, things change and you are up. Sending an email and whining that you didn’t get a return email is not a good sign for this business. (BTW… you think getting in front of a photographer is a pain in the ass… wait till you start trying to get in front of AD’s and Editors.)

Keep your followups brief and respect the photographer, or his first assistant’s time. That will go a long way in establishing yourself as someone who understands how busy it can get, and someone that would be cool to have around.

2. Know Your Stuff – and More
This is so important. As you read above, I don’t care what you shoot, or how you shoot. I want you to know how to work a new Profoto pack when I am busy with the talent. I want you to be able to setup and be familiar with the more common strobe systems out there. And hot lights. And natural light modifiers.

If you are not familiar with the Quadra Rangers, rent a set for the weekend and get real familiar with them. You have done your homework and know that I shoot with Profoto, so get to know Profoto if you want to work with me. And don’t whine about cost to learn how to work a couple of systems… it is still a thousand times cheaper than Refrigeration Repair School.

Some photographers will take the time to show you, but you better catch on real fast. Brands to learn… Dynalite, Norman, Speedotron, Profoto, Elinchrome, Broncolor, and Alien Bees. There are a few other brands, but most will work like one of these.

And know your metering. Taking meter settings is something a lot of photographers need their assistants to do. Know how to use an ambient light meter, and a reflected light meter… and the difference between them.

3. Hone Your People Skills
So important. Look, the photographer and the assistant may have to spend a lot of down time together. Know how to converse, know what not to talk about, and when it is fine to not talk at all. Have a sense of humor, and have a sense of timing. Timing referring to those times when the photographer just needs to chill… not a good time to start drilling her on what lens she used for the shot and why she didn’t use that other thing. Just don’t.

You will also have to be ‘present’ when clients are there. Know how and when to have a conversation with them. Know what to discuss and what not do discuss. NEVER discuss the photographer, or the shot, or other clients. I like to have my assistants keep the client occupied while I work on the setup, and that is one of the things I look for in an assistant.

Be caught up on what is happening in the industry. Know stuff. Be informative. Be helpful. Be attentive.

4. Be a Self Starter
I love it when we would get to a shoot and Kevin would have all the lights on stands and the umbrellas out and the softboxes setup and the cameras on a table ready to go… and I was still chatting up the AD and looking over the layouts. You don’t need the photographer to tell you what to do… you know we need the lights and the tripod and such. Do it. Don’t ask.

When shooting, be aware of the progression. About time for a card change? All the lenses ready to go? Tethered cord is taped to the tripod and the floor. You know where I left my meter last?

Whatever needs to be done, do it. Don’t ask if it needs to be done, do it. Conversely, if there is something you don’t know how to do, ask. Ask. Do not barrel ahead and create a bigger problem than the one we had when it wasn’t set up. Follow the chain of command on the shoot, but get done what needs to be done.

If you are a freelance assistant, have a great set of tools at your disposal. Nothing wastes time like looking for my scissors. I have no idea in hell where they are when I am shooting. Have your own. See this post for a good idea for a grip kit, and then this post here at LE for some other tools that come in handy.

5. Be Familiar with the Photographers Style
This is very important if you want to be considered, and it will help you with the above. If the photographer is a natural light shooter, that may require different skills. Travel photographers mean you best know how to pack the most in the least, keep your head about you, have a passport, travel well and not complain about rainy days, bad food, less than stellar rooms and all the things that can befall a travel photographer.

A studio shooter could require a lot of knowledge in studio lighting, shooting tethered, Mac AND PC, Photoshop, getting lunch for 12, understanding how to connect the clients laptop to the network, sweeping and mopping, and a very organized approach to keeping the studio workable.

And if you don’t love the kind of work that the photographer does, it may make you a bit less interested. Don’t let that happen. Be interested in the work, or be interested in being the best photographers assistant, regardless of the style.

If you are wanting to get started in the business it is considered a good thing to work with someone who you can learn from. Even if the style doesn’t interest you, a people shooter is someone you should consider assisting with if you want to shoot people. And where this doesn’t always play out to be perfect, consider it a suggested guideline.

6. Know Your Place and Be There
Now that has two meanings, doesn’t it. Know your place can mean understanding you are an assistant, not the creative. It also means being on time at the location. Let’s look at both of these meanings.

An assistant is not there to proselytize or discuss the brand. We already love the brand. What we are shooting that day, we love that. If you don’t understand that, you are not cut out for this whole freelance thing. Assistants are not there to offer suggestions for the shoot… loudly. If you see the photographer struggling and have an idea, figure out how to get him/her alone and let them know. It then becomes THEIR idea… got it!

Get a GPS. Know how to read a map. Carry an iPhone/Android with the location already punched in. There is only one person who is allowed to be late to the shot… the client. The rest of us need to be on time, ready to go, and with a great and smiling persona. I hate being lost or late. I have a GPS, you should have one as well.

7. Leave Personal Problems at the Door
I think we all know what it is like being around some ‘Mr Grumpy’ or “Whining Jane” and we don’t like it. I don’t want to hear about your breakup, who said what to who on FaceBook, or who you slept with last night. I don’t care. I don’t want to deal with anything but the job at hand. Sure, we’ll chat later if we are friends, but this is a job. There is a client involved and lots and lots of money at stake. Treat it as such.

8. Assist First, Learn Second
An assistant is there to assist. That is why it is called ‘assistant’. Not ‘student’.

If the photographer is one of those who is also willing to teach, let them do it at their pace. Not at the shoot, not at the edit, not at the wrap up… and possibly all three. It has to do with the style of the person, not the ‘implied promise’ of a photographic education. I worked with guys who were all about teaching and helping, and I worked with guys who never even asked me if I actually was a photographer them… they wanted an assistant to help them, not to teach on the job.

If you are looking to be educated, make sure that is the kind of photographer you end up working with long term.

9. Become Proficient in Photoshop / LightRoom
I think that speaks for itself. It is more than a plus these days, it is necessary. Even simple things like Importing into LightRoom or Photoshop, exporting JPG’s, understanding color and more are basic tools assistants must know. Get real familiar with the tools that the photographers are using… and yeah, if they are using some strange free thing they downloaded 5 years ago, do your best and ask… sheesh.

10. Don’t Ring, Buzz or Tweet, Thanks.
I understand you are a freelancer. I understand you need to make plans for the next day. But you have to understand that a constantly ringing cellphone or buzzing ‘texting’ alerts suck in the atmosphere of most shoots. It keeps the focus distracted, and things get missed. Or screwed up. I don’t have an answer for you in most cases, but in my studio, I don’t want to see/hear the assistant making too many calls. I definitely am not happy with personal calls. Gigs I get, GF/BF’s I don’t. Tell your wife you will call at lunch, or tell the husband you will reach him on the way home. This is a business, it isn’t screwing around on a weekend MM shoot.

And unless you are specifically asked to, don’t tweet anything about the shoot. It is not your place. There may be situations where that is most inappropriate. If, however, the photographer asks you to… tweet away!

I am sure there are a lot of other things we can add to this list. Being an assistant is a noble thing to do, and I really have little respect for photographers who treat them less than people. If you are working for an asshat like that, quit. Life is too short for that. I once showed up on a 2 day shoot and was told to get coffee for everyone… as I turned to the photographer he exploded all over me telling me to NEVER speak directly to him… everything must go through his first assistant. And then he questioned my mother’s marriage status upon my delivery and I told him that I didn’t give a crap about him and if he ever called me that again I would kick his skinny little 5’5″ ass all over the friggin east side of LA. I walked off and let everyone I knew know what an asshat he was. Life is way too short to be treated like that from a friggin photographer. Jeeezusss.

IMPORTANT RESOURCES:

Here is a great set of guidelines on being a great photo assistant.
A Photo Assistant: Offers real world, fact based information on being a great Photo Assistant.
A Photo Editor: keep up to date with what is happening in the photo business. Great for discussions and information.
What’s the Jackanory: Travel is a bitch if you aren’t prepared. Andrew travels a lot, and you can get some ideas from keeping up with this editorial photographer.
John Harrington’s terrific blog on the business of commercial photography. Keep up with that legal stuff.
Chase Jarvis’ blog has occasional tips and some great behind the scenes stuff that shows assistants, assisting.
An interesting take from Dan Heller. I think the title of the post is a little off, as he does suggest that assisting is something that is important to do.
At Heather Mortons blog, there is a category entitled “The Whole Nine Yards” which is directed toward assistants and working as an assistant.

Thanks for coming along. I would love to hear some comments from assistants, and photographers. Let’s try to keep it upbeat and positive, without bashing and such. What are your experiences as an assistant and photographers, what to do you look for specifically in hiring an assistant. As always, take a look at the workshop page for more information on them, and follow along with me on twitter if you are so inclined.

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Did you ever have one of those ‘blocked’ periods? The ones where things you are trying to do just don’t resolve? Maybe it’s the time of year, or at the end of a creative burst. The batteries start to drain a bit and it gets close to recharge time. When we get in these creative funks, there are many ways we can work our ways out, and hopefully back to a point of productivity.

I have a list of 10 or so, and I hope you add some of your favorites in the comments section. I will append the article with your ideas and we can have a nice resource for getting over the slumps.

First some fun stuff.

On the Web:
Kieth Carter’s work is amazing. He also plays a mean guitar (we jammed for a few hours a few years ago at a studio in Phoenix.)
Interested in 4:3′s photography? You are going to love this post on Kirk Tuck’s blog.
Ever get that feeling in your gut when starting a gig with a new client? Yeah, me too. Most of the time I wished I listened to it. Here’s a nice little article for us freelancers.
If you are working with WordPress, and I hope you are, here are ten MUST have plugins. BTW, did I mention we have WordPress Web Sites for Photographers?
On Marketing Essentials International, an article titled “What Makes a Great Photographer“?
At APhotoEditor: Photography as Commodity. The action is in the comments, trust me. You want to read this one.
David has a nice little post on being called on to photograph one of the great photographers. At Strobist.
Seth asks if you are one in a million?

And now for some LE news.

On the workshop front: I have openings in Omaha. That is an under-served area of the country, and I love coming to those places and taking the photographers to a new level of lighting. If you know any photographers in Omaha or the surrounding area, let them know to check out Learn to Light for information on the workshop.

Selina Maitreya, Jack Hollingsworth and I are putting together a workshop aimed toward the emerging photographers and the serious amateurs ready to make that break into professional photography. We took the wraps off of it April 3, 2010. Our goal is to help educate the beginning and emerging photographers to the new challenges, markets and solutions of today’s ever-changing market. We call it Going Pro NOW and you can see the site for more information.

There has been a roaring battle over workshops and what kind of instructors should do them. You can see it here, and a nice response from Trudy here.

As a workshop leader, I read that post twice. I can feel the heartbreak some feel after they have had particularly bad workshop experiences. I know, because I have attended workshops that didn’t meet the hype. Or the promise. I wrote about what workshop participants should do to have a better experience here. However I also think that there needs to be some thought and research done before a photographer decides to spend a lot of money for a couple of days time with someone who is making a lot of promises.

I plan on writing a lot more about this, but here are 5 things I would watch for and think about:
1. Over promises: Anyone who tells you they can show you how to make “X” dollars in professional photographers are, well, liars. Got it! (Oh, and if there are ‘secrets’ that are promised to be revealed… well, there are no secrets… hardfrigginass work is the only secret.)
2. Are the workshops teaching something that is ethereal like ‘style’ or ‘brand’ or are they focused on something that is measurable and definitive?
3. Ask yourself if you are going because of the information, or because of the ‘rock star’ status of the instructors? Rock stars can play the big stadiums, but they may suck at teaching music. Are you sure your ‘rock star’ can do both?
4. Assess your abilities and how the workshop will fit in with your goals. Learning how to light with $50K worth of gear is cool. But, uhh… you ain’t got $50K worth of gear… so the point was???
5. Are there testimonials, and will the workshop instructor give access to people who have taken the workshop?

It makes it very hard on the people who do a good job teaching workshops and seminars, but it makes it doubly hard on you, the photographers wanting and needing to have some help. And that is a shame. There are some great workshops out there. Ones that can really help you learn something, and often much faster than reading books or listening to podcasts. Hands on training can be a wonderful learning experience when it is accompanied by explanation and concept.

Three recent articles you may not want to miss here at LE:
Finding Your Creative Center, by Daron Shade
Just a Camera and a Subject. Simplicity Can Be Fun.
Before You Shoot for Peanuts, Consider the Risks

Well, let’s get on to some ideas for breaking out of a creative slump and moving on to a better place. Our happy place.

1. Create a Portfolio Folder:
Make it easy to save work for your book.
I can’t believe how many times I will be working with a photographer and ask to see some image, or to send some images for a portfolio, and be told “Let me see if I can put some together”, or “I’ll look for them.”

That is not terribly efficient. Or wise.

I use a shortcut on the desktop to send any and ALL portfolio possibilities to a folder on an external drive. When I am working on an image, and I feel it has consideration for the portfolio, it is simply dragged to the shortcut and sent to the folder for later review. Keeping the drive external means a copy of the image is sent, so the original is still in the working folder.

At the end of the month, I can look in the folder and see the prospects. They can then be sorted if you like. Being able to locate your best images, quickly, is a real time saver. You would be surprised how few photographers do this.

2. Take an Asset Audit:
Sometimes we confuse what we want with what we need.

This is a real eye-opener for a lot of photographers. We sometimes feel that we are lacking something that we need in order to move forward. Most of the times it is simply something we want. Take an hour or two to organize and assess what you have… software, camera/lens combinations, gear, extraneous tools.

Now look at the work you are doing and want to do. What do you really NEED to do that work. If you are jonesin’ for a new 85MM 1.4 lens cause you NEED it and are working on an old computer that gasps each time you run a Gaussian Blur, perhaps knowing that you can use existing glass to make images, but may not be able to continue to process them will put things in a new perspective.

I list and ‘asset audit’ at least twice per year. It is a good practice and can keep you focused on what is really important.

3. Refresh the Portfolio:
Sometimes just the act of working on the portfolio gets the juices going.

When is the last time you added new work to your portfolio? I am hoping new work goes in constantly, but alas I also know how notorious photographers can be about not getting new work into the book.

If you haven’t worked on adding new images and deleting older ones in your book, take some time to do it. That simple, yet important project can put you back in touch with your best images… and can work as a strong catalyst to make more.

4. Start and complete a project:
Even a small one. Concept it, shoot it and produce it.

Yeah, a project. Done. Nothing like it to get the creative juices flowing and stimulate growth into a new project or set of images.

Choose something that can be done in a weekend. Shoot in a day or two, edit and do post on a set of images and add them to your book. Keep it simple if you haven’t done it before or are so busy with all kinds of scattered projects that you feel it is impossible.

A few ideas from my notebook: neighborhood churches in shopping/industrial malls, the hot rod show at McDonalds each Saturday afternoon, bird sanctuary and the folks who go there (Chandler, AZ), Dragstrip people, Casinos in the desert and the dog park.

I don’t know if I will get to all of them, but I am going to do one of them this month. Make a list of projects you can shoot. Then shoot one.

5. Two words for you. Road Trip:
Whether with a photo bud or alone.

Me, a car, the road. Instant creative flow. New places bring freshness of seeing for me. I want to shoot everything I see.

It doesn’t have to be a long trip, just an afternoon could be fun. Go somewhere you don’t normally go. See things you don’t normally see.

Take a friend, to share the journey can sometimes be stimulating to both. Creativity starts to flow and it can become quite an adventure.

Three rules:
1. If you like it, shoot it.
2. If you see it, stop the car, (or turn around) and shoot it.
3. Have fun with your photography.

Here is my friend, Kirk Tuck, talking about his recent long road trip adventure. And a link to one of my short trips.

6. Research some new resources and blogs:
We get used to the same places, find some new places to recharge.

I did this recently. Added three or four new blogs/sites to my daily visit. I use NetVibes for my home page, so all is aggregated there.

I added a new music blog I found, as well as some art photography blogs that were not on my radar. These new sources of news and images on subjects I love are keeping my brain going, and new work will emerge.

Looking for new blogs and sites? Simply ask your friends, google the topic, or chase links from sites you already know.

7. Rent a Film Camera for a Week:
It can be very zen-like to shoot a nice medium format camera.

Get an RZ, or a Hasselblad, or one of those monstrous Fuji’s and make some images. If you have never shot film, get a quick lesson on how to load the camera, and make sure you understand the workings of it. RB’s take two actions to get ready for the next shot, RZ’s only one. If you are a telephoto shooter, rent an additional lens to keep you in that zone.

Shoot a couple of rolls, or shoot a lot. Getting the film processed will be more of a challenge in some areas than learning to shoot the camera. But you will find a place – the rental folks will tell you where to take it.

My favorite film for medium format is color negative film in the ISO 100 – 160 range and black and white in the ISO 100 – 400 range. This is not the time or place to get into all the different films, and if you haven’t shot film, it may not be a discussion that would make sense at this point.

I would suggest a tripod, and use your digital camera to check exposure if you don’t have a meter. Have fun with a new way of taking photos that is actually an old way… of… well, you get the picture.

8. Find a Mentor:
They are out there. Find someone who will take some time to lead and encourage you.

Sometimes all you have to do is ask. Ask for some assistance. Many photographers will be available to help. And those that aren’t…. well, they would probably suck at being a mentor anyway, right?

You can find people willing to help at associations like ASMP, APA, and APPA. Local chapters will be filled with folks who may take time to advise you.

Suggestions: If the photographer who wants to help you is some ol’ grumpy dude who wonders why you are getting into this god-forsaken business cause it has all gone to hell and there is no hope… well… maybe he ain’t the right guy to advise you in your endeavors.

I have had several wonderful mentors in my life, and all I did was ask.

9. Find and Critique Great Images:
Write three paragraphs of what you see. How does the work relate to you and your vision.

Seriously. We look at photographs all the time. But it takes time and energy to actually see them. See them.

Go online and find some great photography. Adams, Caponigro, Avedon, Penn, Weston, and Cunningham are some of the ‘Masters’ that I love. Take an image that you particularly like and write about it. Write three paragraphs on what it is that you like.

This is probably the hardest of all the suggestions I have made. It will force you to confront the image, your understanding of it, what it means in and out of context and more. But it also makes you see the delights that are inherent in wonderful images – of the great ones, and of your own. And writing them down reinforces what it is you find exciting about photography. Do it for an hour… creative block gone.

10. Photograph Someone who usually is not the subject of a photograph:
Make an image that they love and you love.

We can always get models. They are into having their picture taken. Sometimes they can actually stimulate the image and bring it forth.

But making a cool or wonderful picture of someone who isn’t used to being photographed can have it’s own creative rewards as well.

I don’t have any pre-conceived ideas about who and where to shoot, but I know when you read the paragraph above you instantly thought of someone you know. That person… yep, that is the one.

So from talking them into the portrait, to the shoot, post and presentation, you will be thinking creatively. It is incumbent to be creative when working with someone who may not bring any creativity to the image.

Or… they could surprise you. I love it when that happens.

OK, so there’s a nice list for you to think about this Easter morning. I hope you find an idea or two here to help the next time you have a creative block. If you have a suggestion, please add it in the comments.

Thanks for visiting Lighting Essentials, and feel free to follow me on Twitter, and if you are interested in a workshop this year, check out Learn to Light for our schedule.

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Finding your Creative Center with Google
by Daron Shade

A few months ago, I recommended that you sign up and implement Google Analytics. By now, I’m sure you are all getting pretty proficient with GA and have been watching your traffic and are beginning to understand your visitors better.

You’ve learned about all of the strengths and the few glaring weaknesses of GA that get in the way of truly understanding what drives traffic to your site. You’re a photographer and your work is entirely image-based. GA won’t tell you the search phrases that visitors used to find you on Google Image Search! How do you know if your title and alt tags are working their magic? How do you know if your Meta descriptions and on-page content are working together to bring visitors to your images? You don’t! But you want to know, right? Read on.

I had been struggling with the lack of image search information for many months. For some unknown reason, Google considers it’s own image search engine a referrer and not a true search. I began hacking the GA code and API, and found a way to force it to do what we need. I’ve been testing for a few months and am very happy with the result. Here’s a view of some recent traffic for the search engine images.google.com:

Before this hack, I had no idea that I was getting traffic for any of these keywords.

So, how is it done? It’s actually pretty simple. Google in their infinite wisdom has kept their code very open and friendly to modification. All we need to do is tell it that domain names images.google.* are all search engines. The behind-the-scenes magic does the heavy lifting for us! It took me quite a while to come up with working code, but as soon as I did, I searched and found that some other people were able to do it also.

Without getting more deeply into the details, let’s address the ‘how-to’ of rolling this into your own site.

Simply take the code code below and use it to replace your existing GA code on each page of your site. Please note the “UA-xxxxxxxx-x” – that needs to be replaced with your existing account number for this code to work.

<script type="text/javascript">
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script>

<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8">
try {
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-xxxxxxxx-x");
var ref = document.referrer;
if (ref.search(/images.google/) != -1 && ref.search(/prev/) != -1) {
var regex = new RegExp("images.google.([^\/]+).*&prev=([^&]+)");
var match = regex.exec(ref);
pageTracker._clearOrganic();
pageTracker._addOrganic("images.google."+ match[1],"q");
pageTracker._setReferrerOverride("http://images.google." + match[1] + unescape(match[2]));
}
pageTracker._trackPageview();
} catch(err) {}
</script>

It’s that simple! Update the code and you will start collecting detailed information about Google Image Searches!

Next time, we will discuss paid vs. organic search engine results and if you should be doing both.

– –

Thanks Daron. This neat little trick will be very handy in tracking your images – and what it is people like about your work.

You can catch Daron at his website, you can follow me on Twitter, and visit the Learn to Light site to get more information on the workshops and other cool things coming up soon.

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Critics… there are a million of them. Seems like it anyway.

And when you are starting out in the world of professional photography, getting good, really good critique on your work is very important. Getting poor, or mis-guided critique can be damaging to the progress of your book.

We want to find out what others think about our work, right? And hopefully by doing that we can see what we are doing right or wrong, correct it and become instantly wildly successful. OK… maybe just a little more successful.

But that critique must be tailored to what we need to hear. It shouldn’t and cannot be sugar-coated sweetness designed to not hurt our feelings, nor should it be harsh and overly critical with tones of jealousy and envy. And it should come from a place of knowledge, real knowledge about the work being criticized.

Now with the web we have the ability to have our work criticized by experts all over the world. And also, of course those with no clue at all, but they live on forums where they suck up the ‘lingo’.

So the question we answer first is: Is all criticism, from anyone, important?

No. It isn’t. Not at all.

Criticism from people who are not knowledgeable on what you are doing, the genre of the work, the history and legacy of that genre, and what you are trying to achieve is simply not worth listening to. Or asking for. It can be frustrating for some, and a source of irritation to others, to be critiqued by those with no understanding of the work, and it enlightens the photographer not at all.

Posting your work to places like zoomr, flickr and other photo ‘sharing’ sites and looking for critique is asking for people who have no clue to say things about your work that have no meaning for you. Good or bad. And the work doesn’t have to be good to get a ton of wonderful comments and critiques. At the time of this writing this photograph has 550 “wow” comments on Flickr (SFW unless you work with idiots). Think about that the next time you go looking for criticism on some internet forum. (I do not link to that image to make fun of it, and it is absolutely certain that the image is not put out there as art or serious photography. The point is that on Flickr the image is ‘popular’ and totally capable of getting hundreds if not thousands of ‘comments’. If you are thinking that popular means you are a great shooter… well, think again.)

“Dude, rockin’ color…” means what to an emerging photographer? That the color was, uh, ‘rockin’? Substantially more must be involved when doing a critique of your work.

If you are a fashion photographer looking for serious critique, I would make sure that the people who are critiquing your work know who Patrick, Arthur, Albert, Annie, Helmut, Richard, and Peter are. If you need the last names, you probably aren’t a fashion photographer anyway. Even if the names are not the ‘new’ shooters, I can tell you that everyone in fashion knows who they are. Everyone.

And if you are working toward a ‘snapshot’ style reminiscent of Shore and Eggleston, wouldn’t you want someone who knows what that means to critique your work. Someone who understands the aesthetic? Someone who won’t say… ‘dude, looks like a snapshot’.

Yes, we have been told that everybody has a right to their opinion. I get that. No problem. But not every opinion has the same weight or value. I do not look for the opinions of people who are not involved in what I do for guidance. If I was a consumer product looking for mass appeal, yeah… I would probably go for ‘mass appeal’ opinions. But I am not, and we are not. We are looking for criticism from the heart, passed through the brain for filtering. The filter is the most important part.

How to get Great Critiques.

Ask the right people. Ask the right people for recommendations of more right people. If you don’t know the right people, find out who they are. You do have to do some research. There are photography consultants, portfolio consultants, gallery owners, editors, other photographers, designers who can work with you to develop your work by critiquing what you are doing. You have to dig to find them.

And sometimes they will do it cause they love to, and sometimes they will do it for a fee. Either way can help or harm you if you haven’t done your research well. And both ways should be considered.

When looking for someone to critique your work, from consultant to buddy, make sure they have skills to offer to help that process go smoothly. Have they done it before? Do they do it often enough to be good at it? Are they offering constructive criticism or is it ‘this sucks, this sucks, this sucks…” sort of college art class crap? Will they offer guidance to help make your work stronger?

If I was seeking advice on how to get into a fine art gallery, I would make sure the critic had knowledge, real knowledge, about that tricky endeavor. If fashion is your thing, make damn sure the consultant has some real working knowledge of the fashion industry and what is hot/not to get your work ready. Same with industrial, corporate, architectural… whatever. Good photographic consultants can help you get your work ready faster than most any process I know of… but you have to be ready.

(Personal story. Back in the early 80′s I had the pleasure of working for one of the most hardass AD’s in the region. He would cajole, yell, pout, and be so obnoxious as to make you want to put the dark slide down and leave. He also helped me make some outstanding, and award winning, images. I realized one day that all that bluster was to get the people who he was working with to do it better and better and better. We spent two days on a bar of soap on a sink. Final shot was simply astounding… and that is what he was after.

I almost canceled it three times, but the day we did it he blended hardnosed critique with pure love of the business and I left there with a new book, and some hard things to think about. Very next time my book was called in, I got the job immediately upon showing it. The book kept growing and I can still hear his voice, and his demanding determination for excellence, when I am working on new stuff.)

More after the jump…

Present the work in a cohesive form.

I get calls and emails to critique work many times a month. “See my flickr site and can you give me some advice.” “Can you take a look at my web site and crit my shots?” Well, actually, no… I cannot do that. We have to narrow it down a bit. And set some ground rules.

I always have the following criteria for anyone wanting a critique from me:

• Tell me why you want ME to look at your images. Because of what I do, and how I do it – or because I have a web site? (HINT: number two don’t cut it.)
• OK: Put 20 pictures into a “set” at flickr, or a gallery at whatever site you are using.
• Better: put 20 images into a folder, zip it up and send it to me.
• Number them in the order you are currently using (1.jpg, 2.jpg etc)
• Tell me what you are trying to accomplish with the images.
• Share your photographic business mission statement with me.
• Briefly tell me where you are level wise in your business – starting out, thinking about starting out, etc…
• Agree that you understand I am not going to give you anything but my opinion.

I can tell you that only 2 or so out of every 10 requests will honor what I have asked them to do. Other people who critique work will have different criteria. Consultants I have known have asked for all sorts of things. Remember that it is important to their process for you to bring and do what they ask of you.

How to Take Criticism:

Understand that if you have done the research, prepared your work for presentation, and opened your mind to receive what is being offered, it can be a wonderful experience. A good consultant will deliver the news you need to hear… and while it may not be what you want to hear, remember our flickr post above.

Listen to the critic and make notes. If asked, offer insight about image and how it relates to your total offering. If questioned about something, answer with your conviction, not what you think the consultant wants to hear.

Keep an open and accepting mind. The critic is going to challenge you, lift you up, dash you on the rocks like yesterdays soup, sweep you to the edge, pull you back with acceptance… and so much more. Going in with a closed, or intellectually belligerent mindset will not help you. You must listen. You must take the information and synthesize it. If it ultimately cannot be worked into your world you either picked the wrong consultant, or have your very own, intractable way of doing things. (I will never tell anyone to not be intractable… heh. The irony of that would be thick enough to cut with a knife.)

Take the knowledge of the critique back with you and think about it. Write about it. Look through the work and then make notes and ideas on what you WILL do to initiate the advice into your work. DO IT. And with all sorts of reasons I will state again… DO IT. Do what the consultant said. Even if it is hard to implement, and you find yourself floundering a bit… yeah… that is good in many cases. From comfort, mediocrity grows at an astounding rate.

How to Give Criticism.

Know what you are discussing. Know what the work you are looking at was supposed to do. Otherwise, referring to the flickr post above, you should simply say… “wow, great composition, nice color.”

Giving criticism when you are not ready to critique may be more difficult than you think. To do it with any meaning, that is.

Without knowing what the photographer was trying to say, it is simply impossible to judge. Sharpness? Noise? Saturation? Composition? – All depend on what the artist was trying to say with the work. In a vacuum, critiquing the color can be done, but no one needs criticism that lives in a vacuum.

So find out what the intention of the photographer was. Does that work for you? Do you feel that there are things that could be stronger in the work to help get it to where the artist intended?

Tell them that.

Do not tell them what you would have done. To say that is totally and incomprehensibly stupid. We don’t know what you would have done that day with that subject and the parameters that constrained the photographer. To say that you do is totally BS. (And most of the time, when clicking to see the work of the photographer who has so much to say on what he/she would have done, the work is most often of kitties and laundry… sorry, just is.)

Do not tell the photographer that the work is “awesome” as that is probably a bit of hyperbole, and is certainly welcome on the sharing sites, but is not a critique of the work. A photographer who is asking for a critique wants to know what is wrong and what is right about the work… not that you think it is awesome. Ego stroking is not critique.

If you have nothing good to say about the image, then don’t bother. If you can see that the photographer had a good idea and didn’t carry it far enough, that is fine. But image bashing is also not critique. If there is nothing of value in the work, pass on the critique. Telling someone that they suck totally is not as helpful as letting them know that while they are not ready, there are places to go to get their work up to a level that could be acceptable. I generally send them to several blogs and sites that can help them get their work to the next level. I want to be helpful, but sometimes pointing out what is needed is help in itself.

Learning to critique an image is one of the most important things you can do as a photographer. It will be necessary to do in your own work, and invaluable when working with others. Take your time and learn to do it well.

Bring compassion, opinion, and goodwill toward the image maker.

Leave belligerence, anger, jealousy and what you THINK a reviewer must do at home. Come prepared to help someone who is asking for help. If you think that tearing someone down will elevate you, well, you are sadly mistaken. No amount of belittling will ever bring you to a higher plane.

Conclusion:

Know what you want to accomplish.
Find the critic / consultant that can help you with your goals.
Prepare your work for the critique.
Listen to the critic with an open mind.
Take what is learned and follow through on it.
Learn how to give good, honest critique.
Remember that what we say and what we do is ultimately who we are.
Be kind, be tough, be human.

Over the years we seem to have embraced the harshness of Cowell as our level of critical discourse. Too bad. I think you can tell someone that they need work, and didn’t rise to the occasion without humiliation and colorful, but mean anecdotes. In the end, the one doing the humiliation (except on reality shows) seems all the weaker.

UPDATE: I forgot to add something I feel really strong about. Don’t offer unsolicited critique. It is rude, amateurish and quite honestly rather stupid. If you have not been asked, then you probably don’t know what the photographer was trying to do, what the legacy of the image is, where the photographer is going, what the purpose of the image is and more… way more. Wait to be asked first, then do the best you can to answer. I have seen some people have terrible experiences because of some joker deciding to ‘skool them’ on photography. Want a good ‘skoolin’, watch Judge Joe Brown. He has a pelican case.

BTW… if you really cannot think of anything ‘deep’ or ‘arty’ there is this handy link. Heh.

UPDATE 2: One more link that makes me laugh. Henri Cartier Bresson’s famous photograph “The Bicyclist” is shredded at Flickr after being added to a “delete me” critique group. All I can say is… well… there ya go.

Courtesy A Photo Editor, here is a list of photographic consultants. Here at LE, we kind of dig having Selina pop in from time to time to help the photographers who follow this site. Another wonderful site to follow is Heather Morton in Toronto.

Thanks for following along on this rant thing about criticism. I think it is important to discuss, and I look forward to a lively discussion on the comment boards. As always, if you would like to stalk… err, follow me on Twitter, or visit my site, or see my Flickr stream where you can leave really pithy comments like “you rock” and ‘duuuuuude… whoa…”, those are the links.

If you are thinking about a workshop this year, I hope you take a look at Learn to Light. We teach a totally interactive, hands on workshop. You will learn the tools of lighting in an intensive 2 day workshop.

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