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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Today I present an excerpt from my book, “Lighting Essentials: A Subject-Centric Approach for Photographers” now available from Amazon and fine book retailers all over the world! Whew!

It is really interesting that yesterday I got a knock on the door and was handed the ‘galleys’ to book number two, while I furiously finish writing/shooting book number 3.

To those of you in America, Happy Thanksgiving. I am taking some family time this weekend and I wanted to have something on the blog that would be fun for you all to read. I am including a chapter from my book, and then heading out for some holiday adventure.

Before we jump over to that chapter, I would like to remind you all of ongoing things and contests and other ideas coming your way.

As many of you know, I will not be teaching as many workshops next year as I have done previously. Lots of reasons, but mostly it has become quite difficult to fill the classes without people on the ground doing the booking. I know that may change next year… especially after the first weekend in April (heh), but for now I am planning some very special, quite interesting new workshops – one for beginners, and a few for more advanced shooters.

The website that is currently housing the workshop scheduling will continue to do so, but it will also become a resource for learning to light (the name of it is “LearnToLight” so that is what I am working on. Loosely based on the Project 52 idea, it will have weekly teaching, weekly assignments and more.

Project 52 starts again fresh on January 1, and we will have two tiers to it… the current free model and a premium that will only be available to a few students. Keeping the number down will ensure more one-on-one work.

I hope you are thinking about entering the “Wacky, Winner Gets ME” contest. I will fly to you or fly you here for a one-on-one workshop tailored especially to what you want to learn. You can even bring three buds (sorry, I only pay for you) to my studio, or you can have them join you in your town. See this page for more details.

If you have ever attended a Lighting Essentials workshop, or are participating in the current Project 52, you are invited to Phoenix for the Lighting Essentials Appreciation Weekend and BBQ. It is the last weekend of January. We have some small workshops, a few local trips to do and photograph, but mostly it is a social event here in my studio. More information here.

So Happy Thanksgiving to my American followers, and have a great weekend to those of you not in the states. Enjoy the excerpt of the book after the jump. I will have dinner and then start proofing book two.

Take the jump for the article.

Designing The Image You Want.

Previsualizing an image that conveys the intended message about your subject is the beginning. This process, and its fundamental importance, was covered in chapters 1 and 2. Knowing what type of lighting tools you are going to need is the next step; this was covered in chapters 3 through 7. With these concepts in mind, we can now move forward and see how everything comes together in actually designing a shot.

SKETCHING

Many variables come into play as we transform our three-dimensional world into two-dimensional images. In and of itself, the process will change the apparent relationships between the space, the light, and the subject. If natural light is being used, this can change from minute to minute. In the days of film, we could only preview these relationships using Polaroid film. Today, we can capture test images for review. I call this process “sketching.”

Sketching reveals the subject and scene as they will appear in your final photograph. More importantly, it allows you to make sure that the tonalities, relationships, and values you saw in your head are all represented in that final image. You can shoot from different angles and with different lenses. Add a light, then add another—or maybe a fill board or a shiny reflector. As you adjust the highlights and shadows, you’ll be creating a “road map” to the actual exposure.

I often work with the sketching to find an angle that I want to explore or to evaluate how the foreground works in relationship to the background. When shooting outdoors, I will also see where my exposure choices will place the sky within the limits of the capture.

SAMPLE SHOOT: Portrait of Katlyn. For this shot, I found a cool place to work and knew I wanted to shoot Katlyn here with her gray wardrobe. Although it was a sunny day, I knew the light would be around f/4 on the shady side of this building. That meant I started at f/4 and ISO 100 at 1/100 second. I shot an initial “sketch” image to see the ambient exposure.

This is the first shot I did of Katelyn: Exposure is right on - and it is boring.

I decided to place the ambient light at a stop under, so the light I was adding would be more interesting. I used the shutter speed (rather than the aperture) to make this adjustment so I would still have plenty of flash power and recycle time if I needed it. If I had decided to lower the aperture to f/5.6, I could have accomplished the same one-stop-under look, but I would have had to increase the flash power (maintaining the distance I wanted) to bring the flash up to f/5.6.

Underexposing by one stop made the background more dramatic—and would provide better contrast with the light I planned to add on the model.

I placed Katlyn in the position I liked and added the strobes. In front of her, I placed a small softbox with a speedlight. One bare speedlight was added behind her. Because the ambient was not very bright, the power of the lights was very low for this shot. I matched the back and the front speedlights to f/4 and did the next sketch. I noticed the reflection in the window behind her caused by the back speedlight. The easiest way to hide that was to put her in front of it. I also noticed that the light was very gradient in its presentation and quite bright in front. I moved the light away from the building and angled it away from the wall to get less light spill on it.

By underexposing the ambient by a stop, I ended up with a much more grittier looking scene. I now had the exposure for my image.

After adding the speedlights, my text sketch revealed a reflection of the backlight in the window. The easiest way to correct this was by repositioning the model.

For the final image, you can see that I chose to do a horizontal composition instead of a vertical shot. This allowed me to include more of the wall and the texture. You can also see that I got down a bit lower to add some height to the subject.

You can see that the exposure of the strobe was set to reveal the subject in a brighter light than the ambient exposure had rendered.

The final image was achieved after shooting several sketch images.

SAMPLE SHOOT: Portrait of Stephanie.

I found this cool little place where they use chainsaws to cut artistic things out of palm tree trunks. I wanted to put Stephanie in the mix of it, so I began to sketch the scene. I don’t worry about exposure on the subject at this point in the sketching. I want to simply see the shapes and items as they play out through the lens. I already knew that I wanted her near the tall sculpture, so I played with the foreground approaches.

The light was fairly flat and uninteresting on this overcast day in Florida - I knew we had to do something cool with the set, so lighting was the way to go.

I knew I wanted to place Stephanie near the tall sculpture, so I began the sketching process by experimenting with this relationship.

I had my friend Bill step into the shot to get an idea of the lighting and decided to underexpose the ambient light by one stop. Adding the speedlight in a small softbox gave me a good idea of the exposure and how Stephanie would look when the flash lit her.

The shot with the added lighting was much more interesting.

The sketching process helped me to determine how I wanted to record the ambient light and how much light was needed on my subject.

For the final shot, I added a bare strobe from camera right aimed at her midsection and set to expose at 1/2 stop over the ambient. This light, a 1/2 stop under the main light, added a little fill and highlight on her camera-right side. The sunlight added backlight and kept the foreground interesting.

SAMPLE SHOOT: Desean in the Lobby.

Every time I come into the lobby of my studio, I admire the lighting from the clear skylight and bright white ceiling. For this portrait of Desean, I sketched the image out with my camera to find the ambient level that made sense to me. The ambient was very important; I didn’t want to change the ambiance in the lobby, I wanted to capture it.

You can see the placement of the light for this shot of Dasaun. A single shoot thru umbrella flooded the hallway with light.

Once I had the ambient setting, I knew what I needed to add to the subject. I placed a single head into a shoot-through umbrella and set the power 2/3 stop brighter than the ambient. I shot at the ambient exposure, letting the light from the hallway glow brighter than the lobby.

The resulting image precisely captured what I saw in my head, with light from the hallway flooding in subtly to provide some depth.

The final shot of Dasaun matched exactly what I had seen in my mind's eye - visualizing the shot makes the process go much easier

This is the final image of Desean. You can see the feeling of the light from the hallway, which was a little brighter than the light from the skylight.

START WITH ONE LIGHT

I have a method that has served me very well for over thirty years: I build each shot one light at a time. In the studio, I get the main light ready, and then add the secondary. If I’m working outdoors or in a daylight studio, I find the placement of the ambient light and decide what I want to do with it. Perhaps the image calls for the background to be a bit overexposed. Or maybe dropping the ambient light down a couple of stops will add a dramatic flair to the image.

When making these fundamental decisions about ambient light, there are some important settings that must be taken into consideration, of course. If you are going to use only the ambient light and fill cards, you must remember that there is no way to overcome the ambient light—no way to make any kind of light that will be stronger than the direct sun. You also have choices to make about your aperture and shutter speed. Why? Because they can be whatever you want. With natural light, you are not limited by anything other than your lens’s widest aperture and your camera’s fastest shutter speed.

If you will be augmenting the ambient light with strobes, you’ll need to have an idea of what you want to do before you begin to sketch. For example, if I know that I am going to be bringing in my large strobes, I will set my camera to aperture priority (Av on my Canons) and choose the aperture I want to work with. My first consideration is aperture, but there is a real concern about the shutter speed, as well; I know that I cannot sync at shutter speeds faster than 1/200 second. If I chose f/8, then saw that the shutter speed dropped to 1/400 second, I would need to rethink my aperture—so the exposure might be made at f/11 at 1/200 second. Most of the time I will walk the scene with my meter (set within the required parameters of the camera and sync speed) and make notes of the highlights, shadows, and midtones in the scene.

SAMPLE SHOOT: Stephanie on the Docks.

I saw this image as I walked up onto the covered dock. I loved the incredible sky, the boats, the way the light was playing off the water, and the different shapes of the buildings around the background. I wanted to do something dramatic, so I sketched in a shot while we were setting up the boomed softbox.

This shot in ambient light shows where the lights were being placed to create the shot of Stephanie on the docks.

I started by considering the ambient light. This seemed to be sufficient for the background feel I wanted. However, I needed more light on Stephanie, so I added a softbox on a boom to illuminate her face and jacket. With the ambient light on the background and the main light on Stephanie in place, I determined that the light from camera left was a little lacking. Adding some light from that side would create a more dramatic, three-dimensional feel in the shot. Therefore, I placed a bare strobe at a low angle to camera left. I wanted the light to seem like a reflection on her, not a “full light” as from an instrument.

The final shot shows how the ambient was blended with the strobe for a much more interesting photograph.

The direct strobe from the left adds some nice highlights and the softbox from the right gives her face the soft light I wanted. The sun gave me some wonderful shadows coming in from behind, and the look was what I saw in my head when I walked up to the scene.

SAMPLE SHOOT: Jazmin and Column.

Jazmin was posed on a column at a beach house we used during a workshop in Mexico. The sun was on her face and I knew the light would be a perfect “Sunny 16″ on her. But that also meant that the shadows would be too dark for what I saw in my head.

Knowing this about the ambient light, I added a speedlight at f/11. This was aimed it at the shadow side of her. I immediately saw that I needed another light to add something to the ceiling; it was going far too dark. I aimed this speedlight at the ceiling but away from the camera. I wanted it to produce an “open shadow” feel, not look lit, so I settled on getting an f/8 on the ceiling—two stops away from the f/16 ambient level. The resulting image has a nice feeling of light to it, with just a little drama. Jazmin added the wonderful pose and I got the shot in only a few exposures.

Adding some pop to this image of Jazmin in Mexico was achieved with speedlights

Building one light at a time allowed me to design the image of Jazmin I envisioned when I saw this location.

The point is this: Don’t try to get it all at one time. Building the image one light at a time lets you see the possibilities—and alerts you to places to improve. After you do this for a while, it becomes second nature; while you may be building the setup one light at a time, you are thinking so far ahead that it feels seamless to those around you.

“KNOWING” THE EXPOSURE IN AMBIENT LIGHT

I have a method that works pretty well for me. It is based on the Sunny 16 Rule that we looked at in chapter 5. These values are based on shooting at ISO 100 (and, accordingly, a shutter speed of 1/100 second). (Note: What is in the scene all around can make a difference as well. Lots of bright buildings and a bright sky can open up the shadow exposures by 2/3 to 1 stop in some conditions, but these values offer a pretty darn good starting point in most situations.)

in direct sun: f/16
side light in direct sun: f/11
backlight in direct sun: f/8
on the shadow line (within 2 feet of edge): f/5.6
5 to 7 feet into the shadow: f/4
8 to 12 feet into the shadow: f/2.8

From here, it is a process of elimination. Looking into a shadow scene you know that at ISO 100 and a 1/100 second shutter speed, the exposure will be somewhere around f/4 or f/2.8. You know for sure it isn’t going to be f/11. If you are in the sun, you also know for sure it isn’t going to be f/4 or f/5.6. You know not to even start there as you’re sketching the image. It helps to know that stuff. You can achieve your vision so much more quickly when you know where to start.

A FINAL NOTE ABOUT SERENDIPITY

When asked why I chose a specific light modifier for a shot, I can answer with all kinds of technical and artistic reasons about 70 percent of the time. The other 30 percent of the time, the selection was the result of me playing—mixing up the vision I have in my head with newer visions that pop in while I am working. (That “what if?” voice can be a true pest or incredible muse depending on how you hear it.)

Lynne with the Graffiti behind my studio in Phoenix. I love the light and the colors.

Shooting in the alley behind my studio, the sun was very low on the horizon. While it was not directly on this little nook in the wall, it was plenty to bring in soft lighting for the shoot. I used a long lens and a shallow depth of field to allow for the fastest shutter speed I could get. Handholding a long lens is something that I was able to do with complete confidence for a long time. Lately, though, I am more often seeking the control of a tripod.

Sometimes I grab a beauty dish just to see what it will do. Sure I can imagine it, but occasionally I want to see it—I want to play and let the fun lead me to new things. What would it look like to have the beauty dish as a bright sphere in the background? Let’s try it. What about a grid spot on the hair? Sounds cool. Do one.

Certainly I want you to be able to visualize the image in your head before you go to create it, but at the same time I encourage you to take advantage of serendipitous moments and whimsical fun. The results can be pure magic.

© Don Giannatti

I hope you enjoyed that little bit of the book. There is, as they say, a lot more where that came from.

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Yeah, we heard it all through our early schooling; “Set you goal to achieve…” And there are countless gurus out there teaching seminars and workshops and holding ‘retreats’ on the “Art of Decisive Goal Planning and the Strategic Paradigm of Unilateral Ubiquity…” or some such rot.

[NOTE: Project 52 is found here.]

And I am not going to even go down the road of ‘writing out your goals’… I think it is powerful and would serve you well to do so, but if you are not doing it now, this is not the post to cajole you into it.

There are many kinds of goals that one sets, and strives to complete. Some are simple and nearly take no thought at all; “I will pass that truck on the left side and not lose control of my car…” “I will be ready for the meeting this afternoon.” “I will eat this jelly donut without spilling it on my new shirt.” (Yeah, like that’ll happen.)

Small, tiny, single focused goals are met every single day we are alive.

We set goals for other things as well. Sometimes we refer to them as ‘plans’. Vacation plans, hunting trip plans, shopping plans, gardening plans… the list is endless.

Imagine your best friend calls you up and says “Pack your stuff, I just won an all expense vacation for two – and YOU are the lucky one I am taking!!! WooHoo!”

After the initial whooping and hollering and downing of many celebratory Coronas, there would be some inevitable questions.

Where are we going? When is the trip? How long is the trip? What should we bring? How will we get there? How will we get back…?

Oh, and a few hundred more.

Imagine your friend says… “ah, don’t spoil it by worrying about that stuff… just focus on the great time we are gonna have when we go somewhere… sometime… for a while…”

Yeah. Sounds great. (Now make a list of what you would pack, buy and do to get ready for this wonderful opportunity… go ahead, we’ll wait. … … Didn’t take long to realize you have no idea what to do to get ready for the two weeks.)

We expect a great deal of planning when making vacation plans.

Do we expect the same from our photography? Should we?

We see the lost questions on forums and websites all the time; “What kind of camera should I buy?” “What kind of lens is good for portraits?” “How do I sell my photographs of my kitty?” “How could I have made this picture better?”

Questions without answers. No good ones anyway. Just questions that are the result of a very similar approach to photography that our friend had to winning the two week vacation. “Hey, wont it be fun to take photographs of the stuff we photograph when we photograph that stuff…?”

Yeah. Sounds like a blast.

How about we think through some goal setting to make sure we have the end game in mind. Sort of like ‘visualizing’ the place we want to be so we know how to get there. And we will be able to recognize it when we arrive.

My approach to goals is a bit more organic and ‘vision’ oriented. Personally not that much into bullet lists and sheets of paper with dates carved in stone. There is a place for that kind of planning, but the arts don’t really lend themselves to that deep structure/measurement type of goal setting. Photography as a GANT chart doesn’t work for me.

Instead, I would ask you to think of what you want to do with your photography. What do you see yourself doing, photographically, next year at this time? How will your work have improved? What will your portfolio look like? Who are the types of clients you will be working with.

Make it a narrative if you want. Make a picture board, a collage, or a PowerPoint that only you can see. Put images on it that are the kinds of images YOU want to do. Put a list of clients on it that YOU want to work for. Make it real. Make it personal. Write it out and put it in a prominent place where you can see it every day.

Make it yours. Own it.

What does your one year goal say about where you are now? If my one year goal is to quit my second job working weekends and make photography my second job on the weekend, my current situation is one of entry point. If my one year goal is to have shot 4 annual reports – up from two this year – my current situation is one of a somewhat established pro.

Making it yours means making it real… and not something that cannot be achieved. For me to write a personal goal is clarify an outcome. A “point” in the future that I can see clearly, with the measurement and accountability that I have imposed on it. In other words, a destination that is of my own making. One that is vividly alive.

I hope you are not confusing a vision oriented goal with something material. A ‘goal’ of having a 300MM f2 lens may be a goal in the monetary,saings, hit-the-lottery sort of way. ‘Shooting for a major travel magazine, in far away exotic locations, within 18 months.’ There ya go.

Both take commitment and diligence. Whether forgoing those morning latte’s or working to increase your talent, there are steps that must be taken. Defined steps with small and incremental points to measure the progress.

More after the jump:

“We haven’t got a plan so nothing can go wrong!” — Spike Milligan

There are countless followers of this illustrious philosophy. They are usually not doing what their heart and talent should have them doing. They were waylaid along the way by roads to nowhere, a lack of a map, and no clear cut, definable plan for getting from where they are to where they want to be.

And yeah, nothing could ‘go wrong’ so to speak. But in a place where nothing can go wrong, maybe nothing goes right either.

Do you have a set of goals that you are working on for your photography? Share them in the comments. I would love to see what you are working toward.

This post was brought to mind after a visit to the Biosphere 2 in Oracle, AZ.

While talking with some of the people there, the enormity of what had been created back in the late 80′s really hit me.

They had a goal in mind: to create a totally self-sufficient enclosure that could be replicated on the Moon… or Mars. It would have to have its own water supply and air that could be replenished.

There were many small wins that had to be made along the way, along with the final win of having people live totally enclosed for two years. Growing their own food, making their own air, with a sustainable water supply, the Biospherians would be totally sealed from the outside environment.

An amazing, incredible engineering feat coupled with tightly defined goals.

I highly recommend you take a visit down there one day. To see what was accomplished and to be entertained by the engineering virtuosity and brilliance of humans.

Here are a few shots I took while visiting the facility.

The main enclosure for the Rainforest, Ocean and Desert.

This facility handles the expanding and contracting air within the facility. A huge membrane that floats and keeps even pressure all through the day and night.

Measuring tools within the Rainforest Enclosure.

The high humidity in the Ocean enclosure makes for some very wet condensation.

Water treatment tanks deep below the enclosures surface.

The Rainforest Enclosure from the dry, Sonoran Desert.

The glass work is phenomenal. The entire structure built on the single triangle design for simplicity.

Thanks for coming along, and be sure to share your goals with us in the comments. Project 52 begins our 8th week, and you can follow along on Twitter. As always, follow me on Twitter and check out the Lighting Workshops for Photographers at Learn to Light.

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If you missed the show, please enjoy the presentation here:

Please take a moment to read Trudy’s entire article and then come back here for my discussion of a few key points.

“Many photographers turn to older and/or more experienced photographers for help in understanding the business of photography. Many face insults, closed doors or guidance on everything except business.”

Sorry for the photographers that don’t help. I can’t speak for them, but I have always considered it both an honor and a responsibility to help startup photographers. The question I would ask is how they came to ask the established photographer? Was the shooter being asked the right one to ask? Was there research done to find out if the questions would be appropriate for that specific photographer? Was it a request for a favor or a demand… I get both. Requests do get answered, demands not so much.

I have also had the occasional “hey, you are really busy, but can you take a few minutes and tell me how to be successful? Can you give specific things to do and review my portfolio and give me some advice on where to show the work and who would be interested in what I do and … …?”

Well, no. No I can’t.
No one can.

However, there are different associations established for the very real agenda of teaching the younger shooters how to survive, negotiate, and learn the business ups and downs. They are more than happy to have the opportunity to help a young shooter understand how not to undercut themselves and the industry, and be more professional in the industry.

The ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) and the APA (Advertising Photographers of America) are two that I am familiar with for the commercial side of the business. The direct to consumer shooters have the PPA (Professional Photographers of America) The Phoenix chapter has monthly meetings in my town. At least half of the meetings I am aware of are business related.

From dealing with clients to marketing on a regional scope, these organizations offer guidance, mentors, bidding strategies, pricing guidelines, tax planning and more.

The truly sad thing is how low the attendance is. Workshops on business are not as much ‘fun’ as workshops on shooting ‘hafnekkidchicks’ and ‘fashun’. Sorry for the attitude, but it is what it is. I would love to be proved wrong.

“A great business person with average work will always do better than a poor business person with stellar work. And who makes the decision that the work is good enough to be a business? Other photographers?”

Nope. The market decides. The clients who see the work decide. Other photographers have no point of influence in the decision of who is worthy and who is not.

Seeking validation from Flickr, or Facebook is not as conducive to your career boost as getting validation from the industry itself. Once the industry acknowledges you, there will be less problems with the validation from other photographers.

If you are getting work, you are a photographer. If you are growing and challenging yourself, you are a photographer. If you are trying things and failing once in a while (although, not on a gig) you are a photographer.

There seems to be a lot of angst on the interwebs about the terminology of ‘professional photographer’ and what that means. I think it means nearly nothing… you can be a weekend warrior and behave and act far more ‘professional’ than some full time photographers I know. Legally… you make money, you are a professional. I am simply not that into ‘terminology’.

More after the jump here:

“The truth is there is a certain point where every photographer (who wants to be more than a hobbyist) feels they are of the level to move their passion towards passion and profession.”

Yes, but “feeling” and knowing are two separate things. “Feeling” is subjective – “Knowing” is objective. And it takes a lot of work and self exploration to become educated. It takes asking questions that have uncomfortable answers. It is facing the fact that there is more to do, and then doing it, that makes the difference – and becomes the challenge.

Feelings cannot be measured, or confirmed. ‘Feeling’ that I am ready can be a truth or a delusion… it hasn’t been challenged, proofed, measured or controlled… it is an emotional decision that may be a totally different reality.

Knowing means I have measured, challenged, compared, contrasted, done the research, and found some (not all, but some) solutions and wins. I take that knowledge and filter it through what I already know about myself and the business. Then I KNOW what I can and cannot do… at that particular moment in time. Growth is easier when we know where to grow.

Way too many people make decisions based on what they ‘feel’ and that can be a terrible mistake.

“We can argue that some photographers aren’t “good enough” to be making money or to be successful, but the truth is business is about business. And if this business was one where only the most talented with the best images were the most successful, the need for the personal brand might be a completely mute one.”

Well, probably.

Maybe.

There is simply a lot of great work out there. There are more wonderfully talented photographers than there has ever been. They are everywhere. Many of them are part-timers, weekend warriors and such. Some of them are making great money and have a real part-time business.

And there are many many talented photographers who rock photographically but who aren’t making a single penny. And that is generally because they are not good at the other parts of this multi-faceted crazy business. They believe the work should speak for itself. And they are wrong.

But the really interesting group are the ones who are not terribly great, in fact, not good at all. And making money. Lots of money. They are the ones that are marketing harder, making more buzz than the other shooters. They do all the crap that no one wants to do. They shoot the little jobs and turn them into big jobs. They ‘sell’ whenever they are in a group of people. They can be obnoxious, grating and boorish.

But they are remembered.

Personal brand may be that deciding factor… if all else is considered the same. I think it is one of the most important assets a photographer can have. It can open doors, catch the eye, find more access, and define the work when one is not available. One of the most powerful tools – and one of the least understood.

“So a business degree helps, but isn’t the total answer. Even traditional education in other areas help, but isn’t the total answer.”

No, but then there is no total answer. Looking for one is frustrating and full of dead ends.

Photography is a business built on an art that can be at different levels of value. We tend to throw it all in the pot of “photography” and that pot actually doesn’t exist as a single receptacle.

There are levels and genres and demographics and perceived value and the ability of the photographer to control that perception.

And throwing in all the different regions, neighborhoods, levels of income, regional differences and personalities.

There can be no ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer to marketing. There are so many personal challenges that can get in the way.

I know one photographer who does 30 cold calls a week – another who has NEVER done a cold call, but sends out direct mail like crazy. There is nothing similar in their approaches, but both are keeping head above water in tough markets. Actually doing a bit better than head above water.

I have worked with a lot of photographers, and nearly every one who was in ‘trouble’ had issues that went beyond the images. They wouldn’t market with consistency. They had poor social skills, or egos that were not quite in line with the talent they believed they had. Some would proclaim there was no time, but they had no gigs… soooo, how does that work? And others were in the ‘blame game’ mode of believing there was some great conspiracy that had been in play to keep them from getting the work they deserved.

There isn’t a conspiracy, and there is no silver bullet. As well, there is no answer other than to keep looking for the authentic ways that make you stand out.

Yes, I know it sounds too simplistic… and hard, but it is simply such a personal thing to work on.

My friend Selina works with photographers one on one. She has her ways of drawing out the best in a photographer. There are many good personal coaches, consultants and photographers groups that can help a shooter develop a style and a marketing plan that makes sense.

“So how do photographers learn the business, which for the most part involves the four components of: sales, marketing, communication and management? From what I have observed and experienced it involves various cycles of learning, trial, error, failure, reinvention, success, complacency, stagnation, failure, learning, trial, error, reinvention, success.”

Well, that is true to a point. It can be terribly frustrating if there is no plan. And the plan has to make sense for the photographer. And that is tricky too.

But there are paths that have been carved into the marketing landscape. There are methods that work. There are ways to create buzz that are defined – at least with a soft edge of definition. It takes the individual to add the clarity. Others have had similar challenges and met them with success. So it can be done.

The challenges of the market, the perceived ‘anyone-can-do-it’ syndrome, and the reality of a very tight economy are some of the most formidable of recent memory. It will take a sustained effort and very focused personal attention to create a value that people want to spend their hard earned money on.

And that is the million dollar proposition. If I had the answer to it all, I would certainly share it with everyone. But I don’t… no one does. I believe there are ways to go, things to try, methods for testing, and people to ‘model’ for success.

It isn’t sexy, it isn’t easy, and it isn’t guaranteed. But it can be done.

One final point: Expectations.

To be a hair cutter in this state costs between $4K and $10K. Learning refrigeration repair, auto repair, computer repair, and other trades can cost $8K – $12K. Becoming a dental assistant, or para legal can cost about $12K – $15K. And all of them produce a competent professional who will be looking at a mid or maybe higher mid 5 figure salary.

Photographers can easily be in the mid to high 5 figure salary range, but most photographers I know balk at spending any money on training or consulting or coaching. There is no end to the money they want to spend on lenses and strobes, but going to a weekend “Learning how to Market” workshop for $500 is considered outrageous on the forums and the boards… “you can learn that on your own…” – “that is just someone wanting to get rich off of your laziness…”

Sure. Whatever. I have two friends who are professional photographer coaches. With track records. With serious credentials. Their fees are not even a quarter that to learn how to cut hair… and photographers balk at the costs. They want it all, now, and without any pain or cost.

And life… she no worka thata way… (thanks, Grandma – you were right.)

Thanks so much for coming along on this fun discussion. I hope you visit Trudy’s excellent blog – and say hi. And special thanks for Trudy for allowing me to take some of her points and fleshing them out a bit.
______________

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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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Rant/Rave today.

So it kinda sounds like this to a lot of young photographers:
1. You can’t get gigs unless you have experience.
2. Without actual shoots you cannot get experience.
3. You must always charge for your work (see # 1 above)
4. Get an assistant gig.
5. There are few assistant gigs.
7. Never shoot for experience alone.
Start at the top… repeat.

That, folks, sounds like a politician trying to tell us that unemployment is a blessing because it increases employment.

Yeah – sure.

There is always a conundrum that plays on in this business, and it makes me crazy to see and hear such a deafening silence when someone actually asks HOW to get off that round-about.

On a private forum I belong to, one of the photographers, Paulo, asked me a set of questions about my post, “Sometimes It Is About Getting the Shot”. He is allowing me to share the questions and my answers with you.

“After all you come out of college with your photography degree, or leave your job with everything up until that point telling you that you are a great photographer but can you really be expected to hit a home run every time?”

Yes. By carefully picking your starting points, and making sure you have the assets in place to produce the work required. In other words… pick your challenges. Would a kid coming out of college have the experience to shoot a 6 day annual report over several countries? Probably not. Environmental portrait in the city… sure. I would at least hope so.

So the point is to begin to build to the point where doing the big stuff comes second nature. My friend Ken, who I referenced in the article, had a client here in Phoenix that had him shooting about 20 portraits a month. They paid $250 per and let him do his thing on the images… he built a great portfolio, and actually put a lot of money in his pocket. If it had been a one off, it would have been too low of a rate… but they guaranteed him at least 10 per month… so it was not a bad deal. I can tell you that the experience Ken got while doing that gig was priceless.

Want to shoot high end real estate? Do work for architects where a ‘re-shoot’ isn’t that big of a problem. There are usually not that many deadlines, and you can return the next day and shoot it again. If access is required, get access for a period of a few days to make sure you can get it. The ‘practice’ and experience should start to build in to your personal ‘apps’ if you will.

It is more about managing your learning, testing incessantly, and building your skills. And many times you spend a lot of your own capital doing so.

Put together a larger shot for a weekend morning – set a shoot time in your head. Three models, a MUA, a stylist. Set the call times and treat it as a professional gig. Of course make great images, but also make note of things like timing, and set control, and managing the shoot from the photographer’s position. We can learn how to go out and make a photograph when there is only a model and ourselves… and no time frame – and no distractions and the freedom to do what we want…

Things change real fast when there are more people in the mix, a time frame and the exponentially increasing challenges that brings. Did your shot come together in the time frame you expected? Or did hair and makeup take longer than expected, lighting take up too much time, or the people become unmanageable for directing into a tight shoot schedule?

If it came off great, wonderful. Do another shoot just like it to build that experience into your personal apps. If it didn’t, imagine how it would have gone if the call were sunset? The sun doesn’t set on your time… it sets on its time. So do it again, but then have the very real, scary deadline reveal itself slowly falling to the horizon.

“So what is the enabler? What turns your average photographer or even a gifted newbie into the kind of pro that you are talking about? Skills, talent , vision and common sense can get you off the starting blocks and for some very gifted people that may well be all they need to reach your standard but I think the vital missing ingredient is experience.”

Experience is the most important thing of all. We used to get it by assisting, and yeah, that is a lot harder to come by these days. But working for smaller companies and smaller agencies can lead one up. You must start “small” – if you will – and keep your abilities to do the gigs in the fore of what you are looking to do.

In some ways your portfolio will help you keep those expectations under control. In your book show the work you are prepared to do. Show the work you are proficient in. Don’t accept assignments you cannot do. If it is out of your league, be smart enough to pass on it. (Or be smart enough to hire the best damn assistants you can find who actually HAVE experience in doing that kind of shot. I did that on a few occasions. Paid the assistants handsomely, LEARNED a ton, put some money in my pocket and delivered exactly what the client wanted. But you better be dialed in to the best assistants in your area.)

In any case, be damned sure you can do what you are being asked to do. Does that mean we play it totally safe and never, ever put ourselves out there on a limb? ROFL… oh hell no… part of this amazing business is the excitement of possibly instant death (well, maybe a little over the top, but the adrenaline that gets pushed… whew!!!)

Let’s say you want to shoot for big time sports officials. Here in the states we have the NFL or whatever. It is nearly impossible to start with them… too big, too much power, and too many gatekeepers. The challenges would be formidable.

So start with the minor leagues. Want to do big setup shots? Do one. It may mean a little more arm twisting and some out of pocket… but arrange and create a bigass setup shot. Do the best damn little league shot ever made. Find some pickup basketball players and bring out all the bells and whistles to do a killer shot of them playing in the street courts. Gymnasts, Ice Skaters, Bodybuilders, and Dancers can all be approached for photography. Do it, do it, do it. Period.

Take the images and do what we used to call a “post mortem” on the shoot. What did you learn? How can you make it better next time?

As you build your book… keep pushing your work and your style to a place where you are so totally comfortable with it that you can create it when needed.

“How do you get experience?”

By doing it. I know that sounds a little snarky, but it is not meant to be. I would say that if someone wanted to shoot music, and couldn’t find anyone to photograph, or bands to work with, or managers willing to take a chance on a portfolio shoot – that person is going to have a terrible time in the ‘music photography’ business. If you cannot find a way to make this stuff happen, how will it be easier when you have a ton of restrictions, expectations and money on the line?

Create your shots, form a group that meets once a week to do a big shot. Assist and shoot. (I have an idea about how that should work… if you are the shooter, you shoot and others assist. Period. When it is your turn to shoot your gig, others assist… but no one shoots but that day’s designated shooter. Otherwise the images can be pretty worthless… Unless you totally change the shot from shooter to shooter. Having a couple of shooters with the same image in their books is just stupid.)

“The best way is on the job, but all the lessons learned can harm your career as your article illustrates. Working as an assistant will teach you how to solve problems by learning from someone who already has the experience or at worst learn from their mistakes without any cost to you.”

It is so important to understand that you don’t start at the top. Shooting an editorial is usually not as ‘gut wrenching’ as shooting for an ad agency. Shooting (testing) models for agencies is less dangerous than shooting editorial for local magazines. So you start there. Shooting real estate for brokers has less ‘failure’ for re-shoots than a location shoot editorial for “Metropolitan Home”. Shoot food for local restaurants before heading out to do a 5 state trip shooting for “Cuisine”… it only makes sense.

It is one of the things that makes the Harrington post, (“12 Excuses for Shooting Photos for Free — and Why They’re Bogus”) that I refer to in my current LE piece (“What is the Difference Between Shooting for Free and Shooting for Me?”) simply wrong. There ARE times and places where you have to parlay your work and find people to work together to create an image that benefits you both. That has value in and of itself. To think that people can start this business without having any opportunities to prepare is simply insulting. Of course there are necessary sacrifices to get to the point where the work has the kind of value that can be considered sustaining.

And ANY pro who tells you they NEVER shot anything for free or nearly free are just blowing smoke. I know too much about this business to accept that at face value. Ask any fashion shooters if they have ever shot without money changing hands? Or travel shooters… or sports, glamour and beauty shooters. Do they do it as a matter of course? Well, of course not. But I know Avedon did. I know DeMarchelier does. I know Elgort does. They are sometimes working to get something for THEMSELVES and the collateral folks needed get something for them.

I would like to share this quote with you from my friend Steve Korn (one of the best drummers ever and a wonderful photographer)

“Musically, I don’t get nervous because I feel prepared and experienced and know I have the skills to handle pretty much anything. After all these years I know that I’ll always sound good sometimes great, but even on a night when I don’t feel like I’m playing my best, I’ll still sound at least good. It may sound like a load of ego, but it’s really just confidence and experience and I know that pretty much whoever calls, I’m up to the task.” – Steve Korn, Musician

Making it to the point of charging good money can take a lot of turns and changes, but the path is one that has to be made. Finding that path and sticking to it is so important. Commitment of time, money, time, effort, time and the knowledge that is built while doing the hard work to get there will pay off. I could go into a rant about the lack of commitment to this business that I see everywhere, but I did a rant about it here.

I hope you liked this Rant. I will be doing a followup on the “Shooting for Me” post on Monday with a list of things to watch for when contemplating working with others and working for your own book without legal tender changing hands.

—-

As always, follow me on Twitter and if you are looking for a workshop to hone your skills, check out Learn to Light.

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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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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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How’s that for a panic inducer?

So could you tell them? Say someone walks up to you at a mixer for the Art Directors club meeting, introduces himself and you realize he is one of the guys you have been trying to see for a few months. Now he is standing there, and in the distance you see someone coming up fast obviously hell-bent to talk with the guy. He asks what you do. You have approximately 5 seconds to get this guy interested enough in you that he may stick around for a few minutes to chat. And that could lead to a portfolio showing.

And here’s your chance.

What do you say?

Obviously you don’t have your print portfolio there (yes, it is on your iPhone. Right? Blackberry? You do have it though… right?), but you want to engage him for a few minutes and genuinely get to know him a bit, while introducing your self to him and along with that your work.

What do you say?

Terribly difficult isn’t it?

“Uh, I’m a photographer…” Ain’t gonna cut it.

“I shoot fashion and, uh… people, and … ” Ditto.

You need to tell them a bit about yourself, what you do, why you are special, and get them to take some sort of action.

What I am referring to is something we call an elevator pitch. It’s something we use to encapsulate what we do, and explain yourself in the briefest of instances… like an elevator ride up 4 floors. Getting the other person to remember you and even send your name on to someone they know may be interested.

In the agency days I worked with and still work with clients on developing language that can describe and define the work into a small bite of words that could lead to more discussion. Or a memorable, short moment. Sometimes I worked with clients who could not articulate what they did in a short burst. If they couldn’t explain what they did, imagine the person having it dis-explained to them. Scary.

Photographers need to have something similar. We rarely wear our portfolio on our sleeves (say…. that gives me an idea…) and there are times when pictures may not be available for perusal. Words take over. You take over.

It becomes part of your brand… that is, who you say you are. And what you show you when you show what you do backs up who you say you are. Convoluted? Not really. You are your brand and you must be able to speak to the work you want to do… especially in stressful, and off the cuff moments like described above.

To get to that place where you can prepare your “elevator pitch” or “mission statement” or brand statement, it takes a bit of introspection and planning.

(An aside here: I am in the plane heading up the coast toward Santa Cruz. We are close enough to the coast to see the beautiful demarcation of water/earth as it meanders up from LA. Looks like Santa Barbara down there about 34,000 feet. Beautiful. Hoping to see Morro Bay out my window in a moment. I love that place. – - – Oh – and there it is. Smile.

While we are on this break, I do want to mention that in two weeks I will be in New Orleans. Hope that the folks in that area take advantage of it and come on out for a workshop. More at Learn to Light.)

The planning of your elevator pitch takes shape in a series of three questions:

Who you are, what you shoot, and what makes that so special?

Got it? Great.. let’s hear your mission statement. Yeah, it isn’t really that easy. Sorry. Let’s break it down a bit.

Take some time and write down who you are as a person. Can you tell me who you are without telling me what you do? “I’m a teacher”, is not who you are. “I shoot still life” is not who you are. Are you involved, passionate, caring, driven, self-motivated, creative, on fire, over-the-hill, powerful, challenged, confused, a leader, self-absorbed, wonderfully giving…? Who are you? It is necessary sometimes, to find out who one is before one introduces oneself to others.

“A guy with a passion for all things creative, who loves his family, music, photography, design and writing, and through that creativity finds meaning in the chaos.” Guess who that is?

Describe yourself without telling us what you do. You may not use this word for word, but it helps you get focused on the critical part of who you are.

Now tell us what you do.

And describing the genre you do in dry terms is not the best thing to do either. “I’m a food shooter” doesn’t tell me that you do incredibly cool work with liquid and flaming food, and have shots “that make food look more sensual than bellydancing.” It only tells me that you do food. Then I bring into my head what I recently saw regarding food photography… and that may not be the best thing for you.

Once I was on a forum and saw a post by a photographer who had noted she shot pets. OK. I will say that a certain image popped into my brain. Chihuahua on a seamless at Petco sorta thing.

Was I surprised when I saw what Laurie Marie does with the genre of pet photography. Take a look, you may be surprised as well. I must say that the term “pet photography” may not be adequate for the exquisite portraiture she does. I do not know what Laurie’s elevator speech is these days, but I do know she is busy.

Try to be somewhat focused in this approach to what you do. Simply stating you are a photographer is not enough. Adding a genre to the designation can help to focus the message and then adding something to the genre to add context to the message, and it gets heard more readily.

For instance, being an Architectural photographer means something different to a lot of different people. But “I shoot high end residential and commercial property” gives the genre more context. And that helps define your brand as well.

You also have to articulate what makes you so much better, or worth considering when they think of photographers.

It can be a challenge to not mention gear for some at this point. Going off about megapixels and lines of resolution are not really gonna win over someone who doesn’t really care about that sort of thing. Some people refer to this as your “USP” – your unique selling proposition. What makes you different, unique, worth more, worth trying, and valuable to the listener.

Remember, when someone asks you what you do, in many situations they are really wondering what you can do for them.

You could mention a style, or a specific tool set that you use to set yourself apart. Maybe it is location. “My studio is located near the manufacturing area, and we have a cyc.” Or, “my in-house shop lets me build some pretty unique sets for advertising photography.” Find the thing that makes you unique… one-of-a-kind. This should not be price, by the way. No one wants to talk about money at this point.

We finish up the short explanation with a simple call to action. From setting an appointment to giving someone your card, a call to action is the reason you are doing all this. It is your moment to shine and be in contact with a potential buyer. At least make a good enough impression on the person that they may pass your name on to someone who would be interested in your work.

“What do you do?”

“Well I’ve always been fascinated by photography and design, so I have blended the two into an agency that specializes in the retail fashion market. We take advertising from concept to production, and our client list is pretty strong. Let me give you my card, and if you would like to know more, the web address is on there. Call me anytime and I’ll be happy to set up a presentation.”

“I make photographs that makes peoples mouths water. I love food and especially love cooking so I bring a special flair for presentation to the work I do. I would be happy so show you around my studio in downtown Phoenix if you would like. Here’s my card, take a look at my web site… and let me know if I can be of service.”

Developing a good, short explanation of what you do, how you do it and a call to action can go a long ways toward feeling a little more confidant when someone says:

“So you’re a photographer. What do you do?”

Thanks for coming along on the discussion of elevator pitches. Yeah, it ain’t lighting, I know. But it is vitally important to get to thinking about what you do… and how to explain it to someone else.

If you are planning a workshop, please check out Learn to Light for our schedule. And follow me on Twitter if you are a tweeter.

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I discovered Nick’s work a couple of years ago. Surfin’ from link to link, I stumbled upon his opening page and the image there of a woman with some amazing flare engulfing her. I immediately liked that shot, so I took some time to look around his site. simply wonderful imagery. Easy to get view, with a sensibility that was so accessible that I bookmarked it immediately.

Every one of my workshop students know his name as it is one of the dozen or so that I through out as being totally involved with making great pictures with light. Nope… not tons of strobes, as Nick seems to use a lot of natural light, and bounced ambient with great success, but light that wraps and flares and seems so integral to the communication ability of the image.

Yeah… I’m a fan. Heh.

So when I heard that he was coming out with a book of travel photographs, I emailed a congratulatory note to him. I mentioned that I would love to review the book when it came out and he emailed back that an advanced copy was on its way. Even cooler!

I gotta tell you that if you are interested in travel photography, or photography of people in environments, you must get this book. It is available now on Pre-Order at Amazon, and at a price that is simply irresistible. Man, those Amazon folks make the pre-orders really attractive with a huge discount.

Before I continue with the review, I would like to thank everyone for the great response to the workshops. Santa Cruz is nearly filled, and West Palm Beach is filling nicely. I do have some openings in New Orleans and Omaha, so if you know anyone who is interested in a workshop this year – one that actually teaches a ton of stuff you will use – send them on over to Learn To Light for more information.

A few important links That you may have missed:
A Sense of Urgency: Are You Demanding More of Yourself and Branding Your Photography Business, A Realistic View right here at LE.
Heather Morton has two great pieces in a row on Branding and the issues of working in another city. In Canada they call it the “Tall Poppy Syndrome” – refer to it as the “Out of Town Expert… on steroids”. My buddy Kirk Tuck has a post on building the perfect camera for himself… ah that it were that easy, and Seth always has something great to say. This point of “Looking Successful” is something to think about.

On the personal front, we are all moved in to the new studio, the office is setup and everything has been taken from the boxes and carefully arranged (LOL) in my work space. I am antsy to get in there and start shooting some food and still life soon. Probably after this weekend in Houston. I will do a walk around with a video soon so you can get an idea of how the studio lays out and what the work flow there looks like.

Please don’t hesitate to offer an article idea or to ask questions regarding any aspect of Lighting Essentials focus. We are ready and able to answer most questions you have as an emerging photographer.

Well, take the jump on to Nick Onken’s new book, Photo Trekking.

Photo Trekking is a different sort of travel photography book. From the outset you notice the landscape layout and the large, oversize images. Mmmm… big pictures! I like that! The printing is very nice, and for a photobook, that is really important.

But it is the content that is mixed with the images that set this book apart from a lot of other travel photography books that I have seen. Content that is real, easy to follow, and conversational… as if Nick were standing there telling you about traveling all over the world shooting known and exotic locations.

The table of contents shows how in depth the book really is: From Preparation to Tips to what to do After the Shoot, the information is delivered in easy to understand bites that don’t necessarily have to be done in order. Each chapter stands on its own. And that means you can read it any way you want. If you want to start with the Tips for Taking Great Travel Photographs chapter, go right ahead… it is self contained and full of great tips, tricks and professional working methods that are sure to increase the quality of your travel photography.

Nick starts by giving a real world evaluation of travel photography today. He cautions the unprepared and slowly guides the beginner through a potentially challenging maze of potential roadblocks. Traveling around the world, with bags and bags of camera gear is part art, part alchemy and a whole hell of a lot of planning. At every turn Nick takes the lead and tells the novice how to prepare and be ready.

This information is well stated and laid out through out the book as it relates to the different chapters, and I found that refreshing. Sometimes we need to be told a few times how something works, and keeping the challenges mixed with the fun of the imagery reinforces the serious side of such a fun lifestyle.

Nick Onken loves to make photographs.

And that truth is on every page, from setup shots and tests for his book, to once in a lifetime moments that are captured with his unique style, the imagery simply rocks. The larger size landscape images make such a great presentation.

Preparation is a fantastic chapter. Nearly all you need to know about preparing yourself, your gear and your mind’s eye to get the most out of a photo shoot on the road. Much of this advice is practical for the shooter who simply stays near home, but it is even more important for the ‘Trekker’ who may find it a bit difficult to get a sync cord in the middle of a Tibetan village in a snow storm. Funny how a $6 piece of gear can take the whole shoot with it when it goes.

Onken stresses the vision of the photographer. How to nurture it, press it, push it and develop it into a style that is unique to your shoot plans. Planning Your Images in Advance (heh, LE Workshop students… you have heard a bit of that before) and delivering them when the moment presents itself is one of the most important take-aways for the photographer who bought the book with hope of increasing the quality of their work.

The Tips Section is the one that will become dog-eared first in most folk’s books. From time honored suggestions of rules of thirds, through color and juxtaposition to the use of lens flare, there are some eye opening ideas and images that reflect the concepts.

Whether you are a newbie to digital photography or a long time pro, there will be something for you in this chapter. Nick presents it tightly, with examples and challenges for you to consider. One of the things a lot of photographers will like is the little personal commentary throughout the book giving the reader a glimpse into what he was thinking and doing at the time the image was taken. This insight is remarkable.

As a photographer as well as a designer, I must give kudos to the design team on this book. Beautifully arranged, with just the amount of white space and ‘air’. All of that leads to a more enjoyable read, for sure.

In the final chapter, Nick goes into detail on marketing travel photography, the creation of web sites, email campaigns and portfolio design. He uses his own portfolio and bound books to show how photographers can begin to market their travel work to ad agencies, NGO’s and magazines. Well presented and concise, the information is rock solid and easy to manage.

All in all I found the book to be an excellent addition to my collection. If it has a drawback it is that it makes you want to run off to the wilds of Argentina or Africa or… well, you get the picture. While some of us may have to settle for that cool road that goes from Sacramento to Mariposa (49), or a trip up the Eastern seaboard on the smallest two lane we can find, others will be inspired to pack it all in, grab their gear and go. Just go.

I recommend this book to any and all photographers who are interested in photographing people, developing a style, working on location or simply wanting to get a creative kick in the ass. Nick Onken’s “Photo Trekking” will deliver.

I would be remiss if I didn’t direct you to Nick’s new website – www.nickonken.com and his not to be missed blog at www.nickonken.com/shoptalk. Two sites that will inspire you as well as entertain.

Thanks for dropping by. You can follow me on Twitter – Nick too – and I hope you tell your friends about Lighting Essentials.

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