24 PROJECT 52 IMAGES FOR YOUR INSPIRATION

These are some of the wonderful shots from a while back at Project 52. We are gearing up for another great year of shooting – and remember, you can join anytime. Just start shooting and posting the images for critique. A new site is forthcoming, and more information will be available there: www.Project52.org

PROJECT 52 is a year long assignment/critique that we have been doing and are wrapping up in the final few weeks. We start again in January, but it is important to know that you do not have to “join” nor do you have to be involved from the beginning. Every assignment will have it’s own set of parameters and expectations. Photographers are given 2 weeks to shoot and prepare the image, and we do a live, broadcast critique on Wednesday evenings. The Critiques are fun, tough and a strong learning event for all involved. They are then recorded and placed on the assignment page at www.project52.org.

Our focus is on commercial photography and we cover lighting, composition, shooting to layout, preparing files, marketing, business practices, bidding and more. The assignments cover a wide spectrum of typical commercial photography that most working photographers will face as they build their business. We have had such a wonderful success with this, and several of the people who started with us have gone on to create their businesses… both as part time and full time commercial photographers.

Below are a random set of images from a few different assignments. As usual with these kinds of posts, the images are pulled from Flickr and are linked to the photographers image, and their photo stream. Click and leave a comment if you like their work.

I have put the Q1 Workshop Schedule up for 2012. It is smaller than last year, but it has some different and unique workshops. See Learn to Light for more information. L2L will be changing to a WP site very soon, and the lighting courses will begin.

Photos after the jump.

Vintage Design Photography

Cookie Originals

Steve Collins

Silliopolous

James Eisele

Richard Skoon

Kathy Jan

Eric M

Bonzersquad

Bret Doss

Ivan Sorenson

Meester Steve

Nick G

Ranger 9

Michele (peaches)

Alfred K

Rob D3

StillBill

Daniel Fenwick

Lightwork

StillBill3

Gray Girl

Steve Pamp

Perlmonger

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You guys are still the best damn forum pool around. And I have a set of 26 photos that really impressed me. Getting harder to narrow them down now. Lots of great shots in the pool these days. Thanks.

IMPORTANT: IF YOU HAVE ATTENDED A LIGHTING ESSENTIALS WORKSHOP, please see the Workshops Page.

Before we head over to look at the shots, a few thoughts.

Last week, the NYT published a piece, “For Photographers, the Image of a Shrinking Path” that has caused a bit of a mini-firestorm. One that I think will stay smoldering for a while.

I won’t even begin to summarize here, you should read it yourself. And then read these followup articles for other perspectives:

“Don’t Panic: Thoughts on the NYT Article about the Future of Commercial Photography” – Heather Morton.
Money graphs:

“There is no way to compete against stock in the jobs for which stock is appropriate so I think you should mostly stop trying (and definitely stop bitching about it). Instead, make sure you’ve got a look and feel that the brand needs; that you are an innovator, offering solutions. And take heart- as per Jaffe’s article referenced above, these are the same demands that clients are making of the ad agencies.

There will always be some demand for commissioned, generic, safe imagery but this is a field that is enormously oversaturated. On the other hand, there is tremendous opportunity to find new ways of working right now. So don’t panic, just figure it out.”
Check the comments for some great fun.

UPDATE: Heather has added a second, follow up post:
Don’t Panic: Part Two by Heather Morton
Money Graphs:

“This is the same thing I’ve been hearing for a couple of years and I just don’t know what I can do to help on this one. Because of where I work (if you’re an agency who can hire a freelance Art Buyer, you at least understand that you have to pay for good photography), I haven’t experienced this dramatic assault on fees. But I also can’t insist that the client shoot every image. If shooters like Mariano Pastor are offering product shots to own for $250 and my client finds out about it, there’s only so much I can argue that the shot needs to cost 30 times that.

But I do argue with them because I don’t want y’all to leave the business. I need to know that when the good tabletop jobs come up, you will all still be there so that we can really delve into the skill and style that a great photographer can bring to the brand and elevate it beyond the value of a $250 photograph.”

“NYT: Pros and Amateurs Debate: Is Photography in Trouble?” – Bruce DeBoer.
Money Graphs:

“My feeling is that once the “good enough” market is saturated, photographers with the skills to “make” images will find new business models that return a decent lifestyle. We are in transition. The current angst is mostly fear of change but also about the heartbreak of all those career photographers watching their greatest love walk away. I hold grief for my profession but also excitement about possibilities since imagery is gaining importance in the marketplace.

It’s a time of disruption but disruption means high creativity – watch this space – good stuff is bound to happen.”

“Creatives & The Hope Economy: What Do We Do Now?” – Bruce DeBoer once more.
Money Graphs:

“The market is most robust for what’s good enough and good enough is less than it was. Once there were professional type houses but now desktop publishing – good enough. Once there were staffed million dollar music production studios, now we have a garage and Pro-tools on a PC – good enough. Once there were journalists, now there are bloggers – good enough. No time or money for more than good enough unlike there once was.

Spend 10,000 hours on proficiency and the world will have moved on to something else. Don’t look now but your expertise is obsolete. One might be better off learning a little about a lot, settling for good enough and cashing the check: the DIY culture.”

“Professional photographers’ commoditization covered in mainstream media” by Carolyn Potts.
Money Graphs:

“I still believe the very best strategy to deal with these changes is having both real talent (that is ever-evolving) and the right attitude. I feel that having a pro-active attitude instead of a “victim” attitude is probably the most critical element.

What did those professional photographers do to survive? Every single one of them refused to focus on what was wrong with changes; they focused on the opportunities! They use a business slow-down to reinvent themselves. They update their portfolios; become proficient in new software; grow their business network; and learn more effective sales and marketing techniques. “

Of course, you must first read the NYT article, which I found to be very full of holes, mis-representations, omissions and ironically stupid to have the guy from Corbis on there… sheesh.

On the workshop front, I am coming to Omaha, Cleveland, New York, Baltimore and a bunch of other great places. I have a few spaces at most of them, and it is always fun to come to markets that are not well covered as well as those that are saturated. The workshops are much different than most you will take. We combine classroom theory and real world shooting to make sure you understand and can repeat the concepts and techniques taught.

Take a look at Learn to Light for more information, and if you are thinking about a workshop this year, consider ours. Inexpensive, and filled with real learning.

Now… off to the images!

This shot pretty much puts that ‘rule of thirds’ in it’s place. The use of sky/space augments the subtle lighting and adds power to the subject.

This shot just draws you in. The light is sumptuous and warm.

I love the homage to classical portraiture in this shot. Wonderful light and gesture.

Use the light like this to tell a story.

I just like this shot so much.

I think this photographer understands negative space really well.

I would say that this shot is a ‘knock out” but… well, you know. It does have a lot of punch doesn’t it?

A Fantasy shot that has some wonderful texture and light.

Soft and natural light for a natural beauty.

Composition, light and limited DOF creates a powerful portrait.

A very clean commercial look of a beautiful girl and some Canon gear.

Light as a subject itself.

Beauty Light on a beauty.

Nice use of light and texture. The pose is well executed into a vintage look.

Just cute.

Gesture, pose, light.

Classic glamour. Classic light.

Using light to enhance a sense of place.

The light is calling from outside the frame. Adds mystery.

Light can make even the most mundane set more interesting for a portrait.

Simple beauty light.

Nice lighting and gesture.

Perfect… LOL… just perfect.

I love the flare, and the crop.

Beautiful color and edge light.

Thanks for following along. You can stalk me on Twitter, visit my other sites, and view my iPhone images here.

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A day or two ago a firestorm of sorts broke out on the interwebs on pricing. It got heady and angry and although I initially made a post on one of the players in this dramas posts here, I subsequently found that I had stumbled on to something that was just getting going.

You can see how it unfolded here. Be sure to read the comments, as that is all part of the context of the argument. Mr. Bourne’s post is linked here.

This issue on price, undercutting, ‘ruining’ the business all gets so dicey and tricky in the crazy light of the real world, I thought I would throw out some of my opinions… and I do have some opinions. (And if you disagree, I will be totally fine with it, not call you names or deride you in any way. I am not the end all of photographic knowledge, just a guy with an opinion.)

So here are a few subjects that keep coming up on forums and blogs all over the net.

1. Undercutting is wrecking the business.
Let me be clear. I think that undercutting is a problem. It demeans the business, it demeans the photographer doing the undercutting, and it demeans the client. There is no win. What professional photographers do is valuable. It demands years of work to do well, and it provides a unique and very special product. But the term ‘undercutting’ means we have to be apples-to-apples. And that is where I think a lot of these arguments come off the rails.

Let’s look at the $500 wedding scenario with a bit more of a realistic set of parameters. I think that there some situations where a set of variables must be known, compared and weighed. A $500 wedding in my little area of Phoenix is laughably inexpensive for most of the folks living and working here. Upper middle class area, lots of Saabs and Volvos and Tahoes. Nice folks and quite diverse. Average wedding shooter in this area: $3000 – $5000. Average. So where would a $500 shooter fit into this wedding market? And do you really think that a bride in this demo wants a $500 shooter for her wedding?

A little area north of me is a community with a demographic that puts $1200 weddings at the upper echelon of wedding photography. I have no desire for the people in that neighborhood to get bad wedding photography, or worse… get no photographs of their wedding at all. They are hard working people at the lower end of the scale and they don’t have that much discretionary income. They don’t drive Hummers and Mercedes, nor do they do open-bar weddings with $4K cakes at the Phoenician. A wedding with a budget of $3000 could be a place where a $500 wedding shoot makes sense. Not for a wedding shooter who has a different demographic for a clientele, but I don’t have any problem with people of modest means getting their weddings photographed. Do you?

12 miles north of that little area, $8000 wedding photography shoots are norm. And there a $500 wedding shooter would be terribly stupid. The market can bear, and work with pricing at that higher level. If someone in that demo wants to hire a photographer at the $500 rate, they are either playing the photographer, have no concern about what the images look like (or what their friends say – and believe me that is a big concern for a lot of brides in that demo) or have some other agenda. None of those clients are ones I want to work with, how about you?

I think that making a well researched investigation into the venue, expenditures and budget of the couple is easily handled int the pre-wedding meeting. If they are spending a lot of money, you would be a fool to do the photography for a cut rate. If they are spending money of other stuff, they can afford to pay for great photography. However, there are times and clients who fall below the budgets we would like to see. Here is my take on it. If the bride and groom have rented a big, fancy hotel, spent a couple of hundred on a cake, got themselves a DJ, open bar and some rubber chicken dinners, then they can take that $500 fee and stuff it. If you are a $500 wedding shooter and that is your market, you are still crazy to take a gig where you are making 3 times less than the DJ, ya know. Pride in your work and your value counts for something.

And while I am saying that there may be a place for lower end wedding work ($500 is way, way lower end) I am sure as hell NOT advocating anyone do cut rate work. I don’t think anyone in this business should do any less than excellent work. I am simply saying that there are issues beyond simply the black and white issue of undercutting. Apples to oranges in many cases… and we end up yelling PAST each other. And if you are a photographer who is doing really great work, and shooting far under what YOU are worth, then that sucks for you, and your clients. If you are a moderate priced shooter and are being killed by the lower end shooters, you need to look within. What are you doing or not doing that your clients cannot see the difference between your work and someone who has far less value identification?

Commercial photographers are a little different. There are a lot of challenges to world of commercial shooters… ad budgets are down, magazines are folding, micro-friggin-shit-stock is evident in some regional and even national magazines. But I don’t believe the Conde Naste folks are pouring over Flickr and Craigslist looking for a shooter for the next issue of Vogue… and neither are their advertisers and their ad agencies. They aren’t. Really, they aren’t.

And the same thing with the better ad agencies and design studios and corporate communications clients out there. In my town and your town. There are plenty of artistic, creative people who are looking for quality, creative, professional shooters who know all the ins and outs of producing the kind of work that they need. Quality work. Work with vision.

2. “Craigslist photographers” are killing the business.
Here I have to disagree. Not my business. I don’t work for people who look for cheap photography. Do you? And if you do, then you are working in the client area you work in.
(more after the jump)

Clients looking for design and photography of the kind I do are not looking in Craigslist. They simply aren’t. Annual report shooters are not found on Craigslist by corporations who spent $50K on photography last year and suddenly decided they could get someone off CL for a couple of hundred bucks. Brides looking for that special photographer that can make her special day… special, aren’t looking there either.

Craigslist photographers are there for the clients who want to pay as little as possible. It is a filter. It is a way of pre-qualifying your clients. If they are looking on Craigslist and you are a higher end shooter, they aren’t your clients. They are probably gonna choke when you make your quote. And, again, if you are competing with CL photographers, there better be a real big self awareness meeting coming up for you. Differentiate or die.

And if you are working in that lo-end space, good luck to you on that. I am serious. Not into having anyone fail. If you are putting food on your families table and keeping your little home warm on those lesser paying jobs, that is great. I am not worried that you are ‘taking’ my clients. And you should not worry about me taking yours. I cannot work at those margins. And I wont.

Look, Ferrari salesmen don’t hand out their business cards to fast food clerks. They have a built in pre-qualification filter. Kia salesmen don’t usually try to crack into the high finance guys with a great deal on the newest $8K sedans. Same filter, different settings.

You make a decision on whether you are a “Ferrari Salesman” or a “Kia Salesman” when you start out. At least you set that goal. That is your choice and your road to travel. And I bet those Ferrari sales guys don’t lie awake at night freakin’ out about the Kia guys. If you are getting killed by the undercutters, maybe you are playing in the wrong arena and need to redefine your strategy. Maybe it’s time for some serious self evaluation, a seminar or a workshop. A new portfolio… something to change it up. Vitally important to make sure you are NOT on par with the lowest level shooters if you want to make more money.

And some areas have been pretty well decimated by the weekend warriors. Model composite work is more rare now than it has been in the past. I know a guy who does real-estate photography for $15 a shot… and he is getting heat from below. And I also know a architectural guy who charges tens of thousands for shooting a few images. Guess which one is the most busy. (Hint… the one who is driving the way better car.) Oh, I also know a shooter in Miami doing very well shooting model composite work for the agencies there. Very well.

Are there some challenges for us to meet? Absolutely. Can we meet them and move forward, sure. Does it do our industry any good to drive the prices down in a market that already has challenges with keeping the prices where they need to be? Absolutely not.

But I haven’t met an ‘undercutter’ shooter who could do what I, and a lot of professionals do? Coordinate a crew, manage a set, prepare for all contingencies, light it, direct it, shoot it, process it and deliver it. On time and on budget. To do that, one would have to be able to manage a budget that would be beyond the weekend warrior practice and experience. You don’t go from shooting ‘models’ with speed lights on Saturday afternoons to shooting CEO’s for Annual Reports in a week.

I am focusing on the clients and budgets that make sense to me. I am not interested in clients who only want to pay a few bucks. I will not do web design for $60 a page. I won’t shoot for rates that will not allow me to make the studio rent, drive a nice auto, pay for health insurance for my family and a profit. I am not a hobbyist. Experience counts. It is valuable.

I want photographers to measure what the value is of their images. To educate themselves as to usage and fees and structures and the intrinsic value of an image. And, in the day of $3 images with unlimited rights (MS) that can take some strong personal fortitude. Find your voice and sing really loud. Take a stand. BE a photographer with pride in your work and your industry.

But if we are gonna beat each other silly, call names and insist on our positions as golden, and all photography must be treated the same, then we have some more discussion to do. And we will.

Here’s another opinion: I would rather a new photographer shoot for free than to charge a pittance for their work. It is far less damaging to the industry.

We’ll talk about that next time.

Interested in taking a workshop this year? See Learn to Light for our schedule. Follow me on Twitter, and my 365 Project is here.

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We present a three part look at the current business of commercial and editorial photography through the ‘lens’ of Selina Maitreya, photographers coach and consultant. Selina’s 30+ years experience working with photographers all over the globe has given her a unique and deep understanding of what it takes to compete in a crowded market.

First things first: Selina’s website is 1PortAuthority.com, and it is there you can read about what she does for photographers. You can also download a free chapter of her amazing audio series “The View From Here” and purchase her newest book “How To Succeed In Commercial Photography: Insights From A Leading Consultant.” If you do purchase the audio series, be sure to enter the code FOSLE to get $100 off (50%) the purchase price.

Now on to the 4 ToDo’s for Photographers.

I asked Selina if she had only four things to tell photographers to do – now – what would they be?

1. Shoot Photographs that are compelling and represent your vision.

“It is interesting that photographers will sometimes go to market without understanding what buyers needs are or with a full product to sell..A product ready to sell is a defined vision that is showcased via a full, deep body of work.

Taking the time energy and effort to develop a visual product before going to market is key. Ask yourself what do I shoot and what is my visual approach to my subject?

Am I shooting architecture or portraiture? Do I have an affinity toward shooting people in environments or is the comfort of a studio where I will find my muse?

What are the components that make up my visual style?

How do I use light ? Composition? Angles? Where do subjects fit in? Are they props in my shots or is the connect through the camera important? How important is the location, and what part does it play? Is it informational, or an element of design? Is post a style element that ties your work together? Once you have that vision and style across the type of photography that you want to shoot…

2. Edit the images down to a set of photographs that create a Body Of Work that will b shown on both your website and in a print portfolio.

“With the vision and style and preferred subject matter decided, Look at the images you currently have in your portfolio and on your web site. In addition look at your files and see if any images there match your vision, and create a core body of work. Look at them all together as a whole group… do they say what you do? If you are an architecture photographer who likes shooting intimate spaces with natural light… does your portfolio represent that? Would someone looking at your book KNOW from looking at it that you are an intimate spaces architectural photographer who favors natural light? If so do you need any additional image s to complete the collection.

It is important that you know where your body of work is and that you finish the job of building your client offering before attempting to market or sell. Clients are not interested in a partial representation or being asked to know that if you can shoot his type of work of course you can shoot another type. They have many photographers offering them complete portfolios. And you need to make sure that yours is ready to go before you begin to sell.”

3. Determine who that work should be shown to… choose the markets that you would be consistent with.

“There are many different industries that may be interested in your work. Advertising Magazines, editorial, graphic designers, corporate, educational non-profit. Discover at least four or five markets for your work and begin to develop a data ba e of contacts.

Let’s say you are an architectural photographer. There are architectural magazines, architects, construction firms who build the architects vision, and interior designers that bring the building to life, product manufacturers (think flooring, windows, kitchen cabinetry, appliances )That’s five markets right there.

Find those markets, those industries that will be a possible client for your work. Get access to those people with lists. There are a lot of good database services out there who can help you define who to get your message in front of those buyers. Do your research and develop a list that makes sense for you. Unless you live in New York City, it will be necessary for you to market regionally and or nationally”

4. Get Your work in front of the people who will be interested in hiring you to make images for them.

“Make sure your message and vision is consistent across all of your sales and marketing materials. Your website, your direct mail pieces, visual email, postcards, blog, portals and print portfolio. Build your campaign with the list you have created. Of course budget must be considered, but that is really up to you. There are costs involved from emailing programs that will send your emails for you to postage for direct mail. These must be taken into account as you begin. Use sales visits, on line social networking visual email, direct mail, web portals, and your web site to deliver a constant and consistent message over time that will drive home your style, and help the clients to think of you when considering hiring a photographer.

The idea is to send the message to as many people as you can consistently throughout the year. Plan on committing to your plan ,observing short term results and making changes every 6 months as needed for 2-4 years before you will see your investments paying off handsomely. This timeline and the work involved may seem a bit daunting but taken step by step it is very doable and what is needed! If you were building a house and had to think of all the steps that you would need to put into place from establishing credit, to choosing land, to hiring an architect, to finding an builder, your head would spin.But when you take large projects one step at at ime each step reveals the next.

If you are ready to service clients thoroughly and completely, handling your process as a professional, take inventory. Where are you in the process I have outlined? Start at your beginning point and begin to build a business that will serve you and the needs of your clients!”

Thanks Selina.
Part One of this interview.
Part Two of this interview.

These are of course highlights and a very general overview, but there is a lot to take in here. (Again, I recommend the audio program that Selina has created… with the FOSLE code at checkout it is only $99… and with 12 hours of solid info, that is an amazing deal.)

As photographers we are daily being bombarded with new technology, new software and hardware to purchase, new markets replacing old markets… and a lot of young fresh faced competitors (many of which are reading these pages right now).

And we constantly hear about the challenges and the shooters who are closing studios and having a rough time. That saddens me. But there are also new shooters stepping up and there are stories of shooters having great years… great success. And the market be damned, there is good news out there in the world of commercial photography.

And the overwhelming consistent thing across all of the success is shooting a lot of images. Shooting a lot of images. And making those images striking, powerful and representative of your vision.

Have you checked out the Learn to Light site for information on my workshop coming to your town? We are heading out to Seattle in a few weeks, then San Diego. We have Houston on the schedule… New Orleans… how cool will that be? Santa Cruz is looking great!

If you enjoyed this article, tell your friends. You can follow me on twitter and see more of my work at my personal site.

See you next time with a kinda quirky little article… well, you’ll see.

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We present a three part look at the current business of commercial and editorial photography through the ‘lens’ of Selina Maitreya, photographers coach and consultant. Selina’s 30+ years experience working with photographers all over the globe has given her a unique and deep understanding of what it takes to compete in a crowded market.

First things first: Selina’s website is 1PortAuthority.com, and it is there you can read about what she does for photographers. You can also download a free chapter of her amazing audio series “The View From Here” and purchase her newest book “How To Succeed In Commercial Photography: Insights From A Leading Consultant.” If you do purchase the audio series, be sure to enter the code FOSLE to get $100 off (50%) the purchase price.

We began the interview with the question that so many photographers are asking:

What’s Working Now:

“Vison. Style… and great photography of course. The ability to create a solid body of work and get that body of work into the website, portfolio and portals that are so necessary for getting in front of the people who are buying the work. It isn’t enough to just have great pictures, they have to relate to each other through the personal vision of the photographer.

It has to be what I call a “body of work”, not just good pictures assembled in a portfolio, They have to be connected by the vision, the style, the eye of the photographer. Tell a story through a single image or multiple images… images that can tell a story are very powerful.

Finding that vision is the hardest part, but so is putting it together in a cohesive presentation. The basics haven’t changed… you must create wonderful pictures. That will never change, but that isn’t enough. The pictures must show something more… a vision that is unique, or at least unique enough to interest a buyer into calling your book in.

Passion.

What are you passionate about? That passion should be so much a part of what you do. Get passionate about what you want to do and your vision and your work. Develop that personal vision to get the photography you feel best depicts what you do and who you are.”

This is somewhat a more difficult thing to do for photographers in smaller markets. Creating a magnificent portfolio with few to show it is making some photographers think about making huge, career shifting decisions.

“I have always believed that photographers should market regionally. Take two hours from your home town and draw a circle. That’s your target now. You must market to that region and not just focus on your own backyard. Narrow your scope to the buyers that make sense to what you do and get in front of as many people as you can.

Even smaller 2nd and 3rd tier cities are being marketed to by European and other foreign shooters these days. Getting your work in front of people in cities within a couple hours of you is one way to make your reach wider. This is especially true for advertising photographers where there is a lot of challenges now.”

I live in Phoenix, so two hours north, east, west all have nothing, and south of me is Tucson… a much smaller market than Phoenix is. I can only imagine what shooters in Vegas are thinking at this moment…

“Then widen the circle to at least a couple of cities as close to you as possible. And find the people who are interested in your work.

Identifying who would be a possible client is sometimes hard, but find at least four channels that make sense for the kind of work that you do. Industrial, design, lifestyle and portrait for instance… then find the clients who use that kind of work and get your work in front of them. The same basics that have always worked are working today… but there are other forms of marketing today… websites, email and portfolio showings are all important. Finding the buyers who are looking for photographers with vision and style is more important than ever.”

Marketing nationally is as important. Don’t let the geography get in your way. Local, regional and nationally it is important to get the website into as many channels of presentation as possible. You want buyers to find you by reading your blog post, then seeing your portfolio, then a personal phone call. Get your site listed on portals where buyers visit and attract them that way. Interacting on social media can mean a potential client sees your FaceBook Fan page, and checks your blog and then heads over to your web site. Mix it up and make as many entry points as possible.”

What do you think is happening with social media these days? Is it something that photographers should spend time with?

“Oh yes. It may not be what we all want it to be at all times, but it is here to stay. Getting involved now means not catching up later. I have a twitter account, but the blog thing has to wait. I am terribly busy right now and taking that on is not happening right now. You have to be committed, you know.”

I think that commitment is so important to the entire life of a photographer as well. I don’t think you can compete unless you are totally committed to it.

“It is really like having a child, you know. Total maintenance. You have to want it and love it and be so totally committed to your photography that nothing else can replace it. Photography is a wonderful business, you know, and I have known so many talented, committed and successful photographers. Even the struggling photographers keep on… they have to. It is in their blood.

I asked my first husband why he kept struggling at music (you think photography is a hard business… music is so hard and full of heartbreak). He said “I can’t not do it.” That is what I mean be commitment… you can’t not do this thing you love.”

Wrap up for part One:

• Create a portfolio (body of work) of images that shows a vision and a style. (More coming on this)
• Market regionally
• Find markets close to yours and identify clients that would be interested in your work
• Identify at least four types of buyers who would use your work
• Create multiple channels for the clients to find your work and you
• Be committed and passionate about your work

Thanks, Selina.
Part Two is here.
Part Three is here.

Follow me on Twitter, and visit my workshop site at Learn to Light.

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As we begin to work toward our new focus on Lighting Essentials, I want to discuss some truths that go along with this business. Some are probably truths for most any business, and some are narrowly within the creative realm of endeavors… but all are nearly universally true. (Yes, something is either universal or it is not, but I am being a little creative with the language here.) Today we will look at some truths about getting assignment work as a photographer.

Working in the world of corporate marketing departments, designers and agencies carries with it some realities that take a while to sink in. We will examine some of those realities, and how e can deal with them, after the jump.

On the workshop front: We are in Saint Louis this weekend, then off to Mexico for the October workshop at the Las Palmas Resort. There are a few spots open, and it will be a blast. I only have a few openings in Toronto, Detroit and Boston. And the Anna Maria Island workshop (Florida) in December is also getting quite close to being full. That three day workshop rocks… and what a special place to be.

Our (Matt and me) WordPress Websites for Photographers are getting more attention, and there are some new designs coming out very soon. The new designs are targeted toward the professional who wants an even cleaner page, with big pictures and lots of space. We have some great users who are loving their LE WP sites for the ease of use and SEO power. You can see more about them on the WordPress Themes for Photographers page.

I also want to let you know that as I am scheduling next year, I would love to know if there are groups or cities/towns that would like to get a Lighting Essentials Workshop in their area. At this point we will not be raising the fee, so it will remain at 2009 prices, but contain even more great stuff. Keep watching the site for more information.

I am finishing up a post on Gear that will run this Friday (Sept. 25, 2009) and it is aimed for the photographers who work with small lights and fast setups. There will be plenty there for the studio and big light guys, but the focus will be on the smaller, speedlight approach to lighting and creating a kit.

Now let’s look at 5 ways things to do to get assignment photography.

When people talk about Professional Photography, there are a couple of things that we need to know before we simply acknowledge the information is relevant. Are they referring to direct-to-consumer photography like wedding or portrait, photojournalism (newspapers and news magazines), or the myriad of specialties within the advertising, corporate, editorial area?

There is a big difference between preparing to be a wedding shooter and a photojournalist. And even more between those two large specialties and being a commercial advertising, editorial shooter. Some are in the preparation and execution, and some are systemic to how the work is hired out or assigned.

This site is not about wedding or PJ photographers specifically as those are specialties that I am not that familiar with. And there are lots of sites that are wonderfully written for those areas. LE is for the commercial shooter who may have to do a portrait for a magazine article on Tuesday, a still life shot for a designer on Thursday and then spend three days on location for a corporate marketing firm to get pictures for a company brochure.

The budgets are larger, there are more detailed parameters, and the ability to execute under pressure is always present. And while the same is true with wedding and PJ’s, the advertising and design world has its own set of pressures and pain points that we must address.

Getting hired to do an ad piece, or an annual report, billboard, brochure, catalog or editorial assignment takes a lot of portfolio showings, email blasts, phone calls, returned calls, portfolio drop-offs or deliveries and absolute top-notch work that is definable for the assignment at hand.

Let’s examine five things to do to prepare you for getting an assignment.

1. Create Amazing and Compelling Pictures.

OK… I can hear some of you sighing… “well, of course Don… that’s a ‘duh’ and we know that already.” And maybe you do know that. Are you doing it?

It takes a steady commitment and brutal, killer, headpounding, gnashing of teeth shooting and editing to get to that point. How long does it take to get some killer shots? I dunno. Took me years before I was ready… you can do it faster, but I was shooting film on the weekends… and it was expensive.

Shoot something every day. If you are currently employed doing something else while planning on making your break, shoot every day. What? You thought you would get a reprieve? Nope. Every day you aren’t shooting, someone else is. In your market. In your discipline. Carry a camera with you and shoot something at lunch or after/before work.

Find the ways to build your visual literacy and define your vision as often as possible. No excuses. Go to sites and magazines that have the most amazing work and look at the refinement of the vision. The NYT Photography pages, or ‘W’ Magazine, PDN, Aperture, Communication Arts, Graphi, and AdAge come to mind. There are more.

Hit the newstands and magazine racks and study… not look at, study the work that amazes you. Find the similarities to your work and expand. I am not advocating copying, but rather to steep oneself in the work of masters can be a truly powerful way to pull out of oneself the power of creativity.

You could consider hiring a portfolio consultant like Selina Maitreya to help you with your planning and shooting of images that rock. And you can get a taste of what she does with her new audio book, The View From Here, for a great price.

2. Create a ‘Body’ of Work

Not a box of images, but a body of work – a cohesive collection of images that lets the viewer know what it is you do. Without question. Without having to explain it. Without narration.

This work is images that speak to your craft, vision and ability to execute, across a myriad of subjects and under a myriad of conditions. Make sure that the images that you show are something you can repeat. No flukes or happy accidents unless you know you can reproduce them again. On demand.

See these photographers for very strong portfolios that I consider a bodies of work.

Dan Winters
Jake Chessum
Kate Orne
Bill Simone (especially the still life)
Chris Buck (website is a PIA, but the work is wonderful)
Andrew Hetherington
Robert Wright
Chase Jarvis
Albert Watson

Added video of Dan Winters discussing portrait photography.

And a video of the great Albert Watson discussing his work.

3. Create Confidence in the Art Buyer

Show up on time. Return phone calls. Deliver the paperwork. Line out the estimates. Create a distinct impression that you have done this before and that there wont be surprises. Telling an art buyer that you can’t find the delivery memo for a half-million dollars worth of jewelry that was rented for the shot just ain’t gonna fly, ya know!

That is one of the scariest thing for someone handing out an assignment to an artist for the first time. “Will there be any surprises?” In other words… will you do what you say you will do in the manner in which you have indicated you will do it in your portfolio and meetings? Cause if you don’t, the person who hired you could have consequences that run from small to career altering.

Art buyers as a group are not terribly cavalier. They are deliberate, studious, demanding, perfectionists and they hold the purse strings to a lot of assignment work. You need to build the confidence with them that you will deliver like the other shooters they currently work with.

They are not currently working with those who can’t deliver. Got that?

One way to instill a little confidence is to make sure all the things you should have on the bid are there. Don’t forget anything. Caterers? MUA’s? MUA Assistant? Rental for the scissor lift or special needs for construction? Is it all there? No surprises, remember.

One way to do this is to sit down with your team and discuss the project, and what will be needed. A well detailed bid, with all the items there goes a long way toward letting that art buyer know you are prepared.

Blink Bid (http://blinkbid.com/) is a software that won’t let you forget what you need to have on the bid. You can find estimate forms at ASMP (you are a member, right?) and other professional organizations like APA.

You may even find mentors and consultants that will help you with your bidding and RFP’s. Just do not overlook this most important area of practice.

One more thing… learn and know what this stuff is worth. Bidding at prices that are too low can be as devastating as bidding them too high. Find out what others are getting for the work you are going for and price accordingly. I am not a fan of low-ball work because I am a fan of great photographers and – generally speaking – they aren’t the low-ballers.

4. Deliver.

Yeah… deliver. Deliver the images as discussed. On time. On budget. With all the wonderful coolness that is your work. Deliver more than promised. As much more as you can. Push the shoot past the point where you know you got it.

Here’s where surprises are good. As long as you got what they wanted, there is no reason to not show them something that kicks ass. Delivering something that was unexpected as well as expected keeps you on their mind.

We were shooting some leather goods for a client who made firearms protection for law enforcement. The previous catalogs had been shot by a very competent shooter and I was brought in because of a scheduling conflict.

I shot one holster to match the previous catalog and they were pleased. It was a single light softbox setup and not a big deal. I then added a few fill items and some ‘magic’ to the typical ‘drop ‘n pops’ that made them look quite rich and showed them that chrome.

I shot the catalog for the next 5 years. Four per year… bigass gigs. Took me an additional minute or two per shot to make mine stand out.

Deliver the best of your ability on every job. Without excuses. Everytime.

I have heard people of all industries say things like “They aren’t paying me enough to…” or “I am not making enough on this gig to go the extra mile.”

See… I think that is bullshit. Because you agreed to do it for that price. If you agreed, then the work should look like the work you showed. The effort to make a good photograph should be the same. It is the agreement you made… to do the work for that compensation.

And you only do the best work. Right?

So how could there be any less effort applied simply because you agreed to do it cheaper. If you don’t want to do the gig for the budget offered, decline it. For your sake. Seriously.

Doing less than your best in anything you do is not a good plan for growth. It simply isn’t. You step to the plate and you hit a home run… whether you are at “the show” or on a farm league. Could it be any other way? How do you get to the big leagues unless you hit homers on the farm team? For a hell of a disparate amount of pay.

Deliver. In all you do and to whoever you work with. Bring it. Everytime.

5. Show your work to everyone, everywhere, all the time.

I know a shooter who is an unemployed tech engineer. He had worked for 15 or more years in an industry that simply went away in the current economy. He is a very talented photographer. In my description of him. In his description he is an unemployed tech worker.

What’s up with that?

Sometimes you simply have to change your personal assessment. After what this guy has spent on gear it is simply astounding that he is sitting at a year of unemployment. But telling other people and yourself that you are ‘an unemployed’ person is sort of a self fulfilling prophecy.

Being successful sometimes means stating that you are successful. It means making it known to everyone in your life, sphere of influence and casual acquaintances that you are a commercial photographer. You are a creative person who can make photographs that other people deem as worthy to hire you to make. Then pay you handsomely to boot.

Declare yourself a photographer. A successful photographer. If you are not familiar with the term “affirmations” I suggest you read some work by Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer and Zig Zigler. What you are is what you perceive yourself to be. Be successful in your own eyes and it will help others see you that way.

Join networks, social groups, volunteer organizations and other places that allow you to meet like minded professionals who can become your fan club. Of course this means becoming a fan of theirs as well.

Prepare your portfolio and make sure you get it in front of someone that is in a position of hiring you at least once per week. Sound easy? It isn’t. Getting your port or website or webfolio in front of a potential client at least once every week will take a commitment to self-motivated work that is real. And it can take a toll.

Don’t let it. This is the nature of this business. It takes time and effort and time and effort and effort and did I mention it takes time to get to the point where it starts to pay off.

And when it pays off… and you get to shoot things and places and people you may never have gotten a chance to do. Well, that makes it all worth it.

Thanks for coming along on today’s positive message on 5 things you can do to help you land an assignment. See you next time. And if you want to know what I am up to, follow me on Twitter. And as always, if you enjoyed this article, let others know through social networks at the top right of the page.

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Today’s post is on your business and your attitudes.

Ten Things to Do Right Now for Your Photography Business

These are slow times for a lot of photographers. I believe they are temporary, and will depart, leaving those who are still standing in a great place. But the combination of summer, the economy, ad revenue down, and the confidence of consumers at an all time low, has been quite a large blow on some commercial shooters. Others are doing well with a large group of clients that they have nurtured over the years.

But slow times also mean some free time. Time to do some things that we may not have had a chance to do before when we were busier. I guess we could go on vacation, or take some “personal time” or other good use of a couple of weeks. But we can also work toward being educated, more organized and fully prepared for the Fall. And these are things that we can work on all year long.

This is a long post as are my previous ones. There are a lot of ideas and suggestions here. Make use of every one you can.

I have almost filled the rest of the workshop schedule for Q3 and Q4. You can take a look at them at Learn to Light. I hope to see you at a workshop this year.

You may also want to read, in order:
Preparing Yourself for “Getting Out There” as a Professional Photographer
Style: It’s Not What You Shoot. It’s How You Shoot It
Shooting for Your Portfolio: Presenting the Work

My current article on ProPhotoResource is on light and gesture and creating dynamics with light and pose. Hope you enjoy it.

10 Things You Can Do Right Now for Your Photography Business after the jump.

1. Organize Files
I should add gear to this, but first we get our files organized. If you have them all organized, then that is great… but if you have been as busy as I have been, there are some serious tidying up to do.

I have a lot of files (being a designer as well) and because of all the legacy documents that are created, I have a two-tier plan that works for my backup. I have just added a third that I am very excited about, but to that in a moment.

Currently TB drives are running around a hundred bucks. So get one and get organizing. Whether you use Bridge, LightRoom, Photo Mechanic or Aperture, you have the ability to start to sort and manage your files.

I use Year, Month, Client folders. Each yearly folder contains month folder inside. And in that monthly folder there are client files. I alsoo have a “Portfolio” folder on my desktop. That makes it easy to simply drag and drop a file that I may want to add to the portfolio into the folder for later editing. I put a lot of images in there, but only a few make it out.

I just added Carbonite to my backup planning, and that is going well. For $55 per year, I get unlimited backup of my files. Offsite and secure. I don’t know about you all, but I generate gigabytes some days. The backup happens between midnight and 5am, so it doesn’t slow my computer down. (I have several, so if one is chugging with the backup, I use a different computer.)

There are many ways to backup and organize your files. Find one that works for you and spend the time getting it up and running. That way when you get busy you will have the works in place and it will be simpler to keep it updated.

Some people refer to this as workflow. And that is fine. I separate the shoot from the post probably because of the way I worked for decades as a film shooter. Regardless of what you call it, maintaining an order and a fast way to retrieve files is an important part of your business.

Links:
Digital Photography Workflow: Fine Art Photography
Photographic Workflow: from camera to eternity
Stock Photography Workflow

As you can see, there are different ways of doing it. Pick one, modify it for yourself and welcome Fall with a workflow/image management system to keep you organized.

2. Create a Marketing Plan

Well… that may be a little ambitious for some folks, but let’s break it down into a nice, bite size plan. We are looking at a simple marketing plan, not a big 25 pager. Let’s just get some things lined up for getting work.

Identity / Portfolio / Business forms: See my post on Getting Out There for some clarification on these tools.

Assess what you have now. You know what you need, but how are we going to go about getting those up and ready?

A plan is best. With time-lines for tracking. Look at your upcoming 8 weeks and break it down into a weekly plan.

Week one: Assess identity package. Make notes.
Week two: Assess website. Make notes.
Week three: Assess portfolio. Make notes.
Week four: Assess ‘Brand’. Make notes.
Week five: Review notes and make plans for changing /modifying existing materials.
Week six: Begin revision process.
Week seven: Continuing revision process.
Week eight: Begin marketing the new materials.

This is in no way to mean that you should do nothing but the above. You will be doing some other things as well. This should take a couple of hours per week.

NOTE: If you are not a web designer, find someone who is. If you are not a graphic designer, find someone to trade out with and have them help you with your redesign (if needed). Badly designed and created websites and collateral materials are not going to help you at all.

Join Constant Contact, Vertical Response or ReachMail to handle your emailing and client lists. They have templates and graphics and will allow you to manage an attractive email campaign for a whole lot less than you think.

Decide how many emails you can send and to whom. Schedule it. In writing. Make it something you are going to do.

Create a cold call list and schedule it in. Forget Mondays and Fridays, just focus on Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday and make a time to start calling prospective clients. 10 per day at first. 15 per day after you get the hang of it. Schedule it in writing and place it over your monitor. Then commit do doing it. (Yes, you will be told there is no work, so-and-so is out of the office, would you like their voice-mail, or voice-mail itself. Sucks. So what? Most people quit at this point. You wanna join them or keep on kicking the tires. Staying in motion is the most important part of life.

There are more things you can be doing, but this is a good start.

3. Refresh the Website

Just what it says. No, not necessarily talking about a total redesign. Just get some new images up there. Add a project that you have shot. Change up the photographs. Clean up the about page. Do you have prices online? If so, are there additional packages or items that could be added?

How about your page names? Are they SEO’d for best ranking? Do you have text on the pages that may need updating? How about a ‘news’ section?

If you have a Flash site, you may want to consider adding a blog of some sort. Blogger is free. WordPress is free. Both are good platforms for the photoblogger. Adding a shot every week or twice a week can help your site get found. And it also allows you to become engaged with your customers or potential clients.

Here is a wonderful list of inspiration.

Here are some places to get WordPress Themes:
Untypical designs.
We make some beautiful ones (of course).
GraphPaperPress has some cool themes.
And see this list as well.

Create a simple plan for one update a week. More if you want, but at least one.

4. Shoot Some New Work or Start a Project

There are always things you want to photograph. This is the time to do it. Find something that moves your gut and shoot a set of images.

Here are a few ideas:

• If you currently shoot DSLR’s, try renting a medium format film camera. Or try some large format for a truly different experience.
• If you are a studio shooter, try some location work. Spend a week somewhere interesting and see what you can do.
• If you are a natural light shooter, use strobes. If you use strobes all the time, try natural light.
• Rent a lens you may not have in your arsenal from BorrowLenses.com and spend a week getting to find out what it can do for your work.
• If you normally shoot beautiful people, try shooting some regular folks. Find a common thread and work on a project.
• If you mostly shoot places, try some people. If you mostly shoot people, try some still life or environment.

The point is to create something that gets you revved up. Sometimes shooting outside our comfort zone can be quite a kick in the creative pants.

Take a trip, try something new, add a new set of skills and subjects to your arsenal. Get going and get creative.

5. Create a New Contacts List

I love Barnes and Noble and Border’s. What a great set of contacts can be found in the magazine racks. Editors and Art Directors and publishers, all there. And a coffee shop as well! (Now as soon as they start carrying Corona’s… wow) I will go and sit and make notes on possible contacts from the mastheads. I also make notes on who is shooting what for whom.

I follow the trends and the styles that are all hot. And I note the shooters who are doing things that are outside the trends. Who is shooting classic in a trendy magazine. Who is shooting trendy in a classic magazine.

I look at the subject matter and the styles. Occasionally it is a good thing to create a simple note tool for compiling ideas when looking through the magazines. I use Moleskins, but there are many small notebooks that would work fine.

Adding the contacts list to your existing list will give you more people to get in front of.

Ask for referrals. Ask every client you have for a referral of at least one person. Do it by phone if you can. Touching base with clients is always a good thing to do. Keep the conversation positive and be sure to mention the projects you are working on.

Annuals are also a great source of leads and names. Be aware that after an art director appears in say, the Communication Arts Design Annual, they are inundated with inquiries and post cards. Make sure you show them something really strong and as relevant to their work as possible.

6. Jump into Social Networking

I don’t know really what to say here. Jump in slowly if you have to, but do jump in. Check out Twitter (but don’t do the inane sandwich posts or the stupid “look at me aren’t I cool” posts. Keep it relevant and remember that it isn’t about how many ‘friends’ you have, but the quality of your friends.

LinkedIn is a good site to be involved in. You create spheres of influence with those in the industry and in related industries.

Facebook can be a good tool or a distraction. You will have to see how that works for you. I like my Facebook presence, but I also don’t visit it enough to allow it to be a distraction.

You can try Tumblr, and Flickr for short posts with images.

There are a lot of posts and articles on the social media and its influence. Google it and read. You can make it work for you or against you. Hopefully you will find a way to make it work with you.

7. Edit and Print a New Portfolio (or make a book)

You should be shooting as often as possible. That means new work. That could mean a new set of images for a new portfolio. Grab a Lost Luggage or Pina Zingaro book and make that new portfolio full of new work. It feels great carrying it and showing a new book.

New images sometimes need a new home. If you have recently made a new portfolio, go ahead and make a book at Blurb, or LuLu or MyPublisher and share it with everyone you know.

8. Take a Workshop

There are many good ones out there. Zack Arias has a good workshop. There is David’s whenever he has them, and Joe McNally too. Santa Fe, New Mexico and the Maine Workshops are running all summer. Of course you may want to check out the Lighting Essentials workshops as well.

Take a workshop that may introduce you to something you are not familiar with. My friend Jerry took a multimedia workshop in Santa Fe and is now using that knowledge to pitch clients on more usage. There are incredible workshops on intimate portraiture, photojournalism, glamour, still life, landscape and architecture.

What about a workshop in “Motivation’ or attitude? How about a creative writing course if you are having trouble with thinking of what to add to your blog. What if you found you were pretty good at writing? Adding that to your skills as a photographer would really change the game for you.

There are workshops that take you into the wild with your camera. Or deep into the urban jungle for a look at the inner city. Whatever you want to expand into your world of vision, there is a workshop out there.

9. Find Inspiration

This is simple. Go to art museums, science museums, any kind of museums. Hit the library and check out some older photography books: Weston, Caponigro, Adams, Bernhardt and more. Look for older issues of Aperture and Rangefinder. Find inspiration in paintings and drawings from the Renaissance or contemporary artists.

Cruise the internet looking for photographers who you don’t know. Check out all the shooters at Jen Bekman’s “Hey Hot Shot” exhibitions. Visit art galleries wherever you can find them. If there is a “First Friday” art walk in your town, plan on going next time.

Inspiration can be found at the magazine racks, the book stacks and simply listening to music. Or reading fiction. Or non-fiction. It is out there… you have to tune yourself to receive it.

10. Increase Your Personal Power

This is very important. Limit your time with nay-sayers and doom&gloomers. They are not productive. Stay on point and do not let anyone tell you that it is impossible or that it can’t be done or that you are wasting your time.

That, gentle reader, is bullshit.

Keep yourself motivated by creating new things and being busy. A person who is busy cannot make time to be depressed. Depression is for those going nowhere (clinical depression is a disease that should be treated… I am referring to people who are always negative and on a mission to bring you down.

They are everywhere. Everywhere! Shut them out.

Don’t discuss what you don’t have, frame your language and your efforts toward what you do have. Stay focused on the essentials of your business and your art: making pictures and showing them to people.

Look… there are always going to be challenging times. Some more than others. Refuse to be brought down to the failure group… the hopeless tribe of “it’s all over… whine whine whine.”

I can tell you that if you are doing #1 – #9 above, #10 will take care of itself in many ways.

There it is. My short list of 10 things you can do right now to increase your photography business. If you have some ideas or strategies you would like to share with us, add them to the comments section.

See you next time.

These 10 things, and others you may add, can help you get yourself positioned in a new and exciting way for the times that are on the way. Shooting a lot can leave us little time for the above things, but we can sure do them when times are slow.

If you have something to add, put it in the comments section

Related posts:

1. The First Assignment: Pitfalls and Opportunities Every photographer has a first assignment. There simply has to...

Every photographer has a first assignment. There simply has to be one. The culmination of lots of hard work, a great portfolio and perhaps a little luck and there it is… a job. The first assignments can be very stressful or they can be a thrilling moment in the career of a budding photographer. The difference can be in the planning… the careful and well thought out planning that turns the shoot from stressful to manageable.

Let’s take a look at some ways to plan for that first assignment. And while I can’t imagine what your first gig will be, we will take a reasonable first assignment scenario and dissect the planning.

Well, we don’t know how you got the booking. Whether by persistent showing of your book, a happenstance visit to the website, some nifty direct mail or other way, but here it is… your first assignment. It seems so exciting, but at the same time it can be a little bit terrifying.

What to take? Where to start? What is your role? What questions need to be asked? And more, much more thoughts race through your head as you leave the Art Director’s office.

BTW, our workshop schedule is up for first quarter next year. Take a look and hopefully we’ll see you there. We actually have a whole site devoted to it now. Learn to Light… take a look.

Let’s break it down now, from beginning to end.

Not every first assignment follows some sort of pre-set plan, so we will look at what may be a typical first job in a medium sized town. Our assignment comes in the form of a small local company needing some photographs of their firm. Your assignment is to get some shots to go along with the article that is being written about them. The company has decided to have you shoot the images so they can also use them on a company brochure and other marketing materials and want to make sure they have some control over the photography.

First of all, every assignment has a purpose. A reason. A cause to be assigned. There are many reasons that an assignment is given. Make sure you ask the questions that will lead you to a successful shoot.

Most assignment editors will tell you what they need to get, but sometimes the people you get the assignment from aren’t sophisticated in the handing out of photographic assignments. You have to get some answers so you can do the kind of work that will be meaningful for them, satisfy any possible third party uses and of course, get something good for yourself.

Start with the basics… and write ‘em down if you need to. Verticals or horizontals? This is important because while you can certainly shoot both, knowing what you need can mean more usable shots instead of half of the shots being in the wrong format to be considered. If the client doesn’t know, the magazine will. Contact them and find out what they are looking for. Many times the clients themselves may have offered images or want to have some control over the pics made, so they volunteer the images. That’s where you come in.

You may also want to discuss the spin, or the angle, of the story. Is it a “new company doing well in the neighborhood”, or “just did something cool” or whatever? There is always a direction for the article. Most of the time it isn’t negative, but some sort of positive spin. Local magazines leave that “in your face” ‘gotcha’ kind of journalism to the newspapers.

Let’s say the magazine has told the clients what they need and it is relayed to you this way: One full page shot of the partners, and a couple of small shots of the facility for the article that is being written.

Great. You have a basic idea of what is going to be needed for the magazine… the basics of one vertical and some smaller shots that can be either – they just have to be good. You should plan on doing the partners vertical as well as some of the facility shots if they have a lot of impact. Choice for the client is great.

How much time will you have to do the shots? This is so important… you can do more in a couple of hours than you can do in a couple of minutes. Sometimes the quality of the shot isn’t different, just the time that went into it, but I would like the option of having the time I need. If they short you on time, push back and tell them what you need to make the shots great. Even if it takes a bit of on your own setup time before they get there.

I think you should also get a copy of the magazine, if you haven’t already, to see what kind of work they like. A couple of previous issues should help you see how the magazine uses images and what the editorial style seems to be. If the magazine had hired you, it would hopefully be based on your style and its compatibility to the magazine. If the client has hired you it may be for your work, but they may not be familiar with the style of the magazine. If you want a win-win, make sure you are at least familiar with what the magazine does with their photography.

I will take this moment to discuss something I talk about a lot in the workshops. It is your shoot. You own it. You take control of it. Start every shoot this way. Start your career this way, your assignments this way. If you let someone else control your shoot, you lose. It isn’t yours, and the outcome is not what you could want it to be. Taking responsibility for every aspect of the assignment means the success is yours to be shared. The failure unfortunately won’t be shared, so don’t let that happen. Own your work.

I will not shoot assignments that are destined to fail. Not that I get that many of them, but they are out there… be careful you don’t step into it by accepting a no-win shoot. Or taking an assignment you aren’t ready for. Make sure you can deliver. An example… I don’t do aerial photography. It is an art and takes special equipment to do it right. Can I get into a chopper and do a few frames? Sure… so what? They want quality shots, not some crap that I can throw together. I cannot deliver, I don’t want to try.

(BTW, if someone recognizes my blunt opinions on taking assignments that you aren’t ready for, believe me… I think it can be very detrimental to do so. Both for the client, and the photographer. But most of all for the industry itself. if you go out representing yourself as a photographer, be able to do it. Well.)

So at this point we have the shot list, and we know that we have two hours early in the morning next Tuesday. Now I would want to walk through the area, to get a few shots for my plan, and see how the light falls at that time of day. This is not something I do when I can, I do it whenever I can. I take my Flip (video) and my camera, generally with a wide to normal zoom, and get a few frames. I don’t take a bunch of lights or anything more than something to make a record with. These ‘snapshots’ are a reminder of the reality of the scene… I will figure out how to make it better from knowing what I want to change.

Once I have the ideas for the shoot, the gear gets collected. I make decisions on what to take. Will I need large strobes, or will a few speedlights do the job? Is an assistant necessary, would it make the shoot go easier and free me up for the creative, or slow me down? All this is personal of course, but should be looked at very, very closely. It can spell disaster to underestimate the amount of physical work needed.

If you have a lot of gear to carry, and have a short ‘break-down’ time between shots, an additional pair of hands can come in really handy. However, a bad or uninterested assistant can sometimes be worse than none at all. Choose wisely. This may be a good time to have a talk with the assistant you are going to use. An assistant is there to assist… make the shoot go as well as possible for you. How you work with them is a matter of personal taste, but they need to know what that is beforehand. Discuss it and make sure both of you are on the same page as to what is expected and what is not.

Before every assignment, I clean cameras and lenses, recharge batteries, clear all cards and otherwise make sure the gear is working and operating well. I don’t want to be out on location and clearing cards or looking for a good card to use. Cleaning gear on location is reserved for absolutely necessary situations that may arise while shooting. I pack the stands, clamps, umbrellas, boxes and such to make sure that I have everything I need, and more in case I decide to do something else. Taking one stand and needing three is not professional, and borders on stupid… so make sure you have more than you think you will need.

Having walked through the location and taken a few ‘position’ shots, you should have enough of an idea to get the shots you need. Work through the assignment with confidence and make sure you are getting what you need by checking along the way. I shoot tethered whenever possible to make sure that the shots are sharp, exposure is on, and the composition working as I want it to. I chimp of course, but not after every shot and not as a way to check the precision of the work.

I recommend trying shots from different angles, different POV’s. Show them something wonderful, something intriguing. Something they haven’t seen before. Make this job the most important shoot you have ever done. The only job that will ever be as important as this job is the next job. And the next one and the one after that. Every job you do should be treated as one of the most important of your career. If you can’ do that, get an application at Home Depot and fill it out.

When you get back to your studio or office, get the files off the cards and on to two different storage units. I wont bore you with another talk about workflow… just do something that makes sense. And make sure that the work is totally safe before you clear the cards.

Here’s a checklist for you to consider:
Checklist:
– Purpose of the photograph… the idea or reason for it
– What are the deliverables? How many shots?
– Any format requirements (Vertical, Horizontal, mixed…)
– How much time will you have to do the shots? Can you walk through the site beforehand?
– Can you get some pre-shoot images?
– Any sketches or ideas for the shoot?
– Gear packed? All of it?
– Do you have a gear checklist to make sure the above is packed correctly?
– Cards cleared and ready?
– Lenses and cameras cleaned and ready to shoot?
– Shoot notes (optional, but a great idea.)
– Card data transferred to at least two storage devices?
– Images edited and prepared for proofing?
– Portfolio sample created and ready for adding to web site after the assignment embargo is lifted?
– Billing sent (You would be surprised how many times this step gets missed.)
– Lime, salt and Corona? Ahh… that’s the ticket.

Delivering the work can take a lot of different forms as well, but most of my experience is that the AD will want to see multiple images from the shoot. I edit out all the really lame ones, the test shots and the ones that may have a misfire or be a little soft. Of the final shots, I will edit a few that I like in Photoshop and indicate they are my favorites. Deliver everything in an online proofing system so that the AD can pick the final images and I can P-shop them for print.

Occasionally the magazine may want you to send everything you shot. I simply do not do that and make sure that it is understood upfront. No one likes surprises, and I try not to have them on any of my shoots.

Pitfalls to avoid:
– Not having the story correct and missing the point of the article or assignment.
– Delivering the wrong format… verticals where horizontals where needed for instance.
– Not being prepared for the shoot.
– Underestimating the amount of work that is required.
– Faulty or poorly operating gear.

Opportunities:
– To create something substantial for your portfolio.
– To impress a client enough to get a second job and more
– To grow as a photographer.

The first assignment can be a lot of fun as well as a great start out of the gate. Make it the best you can by being prepared as thoroughly as possible. Have your gear ready, batteries charged, stands and umbrellas and softboxes and gels packed. Have your lenses clean and your assistant ready to go. Eliminating the inevitable stress of not being prepared is important.

Because when one of the partners forgets that the “shoot was today?” and comes dressed in shorts and t-shirt, the sprinklers are on and the grass is soaked, and the day is dreadfully overcast. There will be plenty of stress to make the day interesting without bringing with you.

EDIT:
I found this pair of interesting posts about the “Chemistry” of a photo shoot so I am linking them here. Read part one and part two.

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You can see some of Ken’s Images after the break, and visit his website at www.epsteinstudios.com

Information for today’s photographer. From novice to pro, LEMagazine has it all.

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