Month: January 2013

Business Tip: The Piggyback Assignment

by Stanley LearyPhotography
Liliuokalani Park in Hilo, Hawaii located on Banyon drive.

One of the best ways to get a job is to have a job. We have heard this comment made to people looking for jobs or career change.

Some reasons for this being said so often:

•    It’s a lot easier to explain why you want a better job than why you were fired from your last one.
•    You are already plugged in
•    They say that a friend in need is a friend to avoid.
•    You are already battle tested. Someone else’s already taken the risk and keeping you

For the freelancer having a job where you need to travel is a great time to Piggyback assignments. In essence you are just like the employed person looking for another job.

When a client is sending you around the country or globe the best thing you can do is to now leverage this into more assignments on the road.

There are some obvious reasons and not so obvious reasons to always try and piggyback assignments. 

•    Saving clients on travel expenses.
•    Great way to show to your present clients and potential clients that other clients use your services
•    You are not a needy photographer
•    Shows you are thinking of them

Stanley at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.
You may think of more reasons this could be a positive in your column with clients and potential clients. The key is to remember to reach out to your clients and let them know they have an opportunity to save on their budget and maybe there were some photos they would like but didn’t pursue because of the travel expenses.

You need to have a good database of clients to send these requests to and then you can make the most of an opportunity.

How many times does this turn into an assignment—well not that often. But it only takes one time here and there for the payoff to make it worth it.

This is also not just about getting a Piggyback Assignment. This is also another way to market you. Just think of this as another legitimate reason to contact a client that they will not see as SPAM or an annoying phone call.

Mix this in with your snail mail promotions, blogs, eNewsletters and phone calls. You now have one more way to reach out to your clients that will be perceived as a positive from their perspective.

A little secret I learned from my friend Ken Touchton. When you have nothing going on you can always use the Piggyback Assignment on top of your own personal trip. This is great to do if you know there is work in an area where the client is not willing to spend money on travel but you want the work anyway. This way a client will not know if you lowered your rates to get some jobs. Also, once one client gives you the assignment you only need one more in most cases to do really well.

Business: Jot or Tittle assignment details

by Stanley LearyPhotography
A tittle is a small distinguishing mark, such as a diacritic or the dot on a lowercase i or j.

If you leave out a dot or tittle you can screw things up. This has been true since biblical times and now with computers it is just as true.

Today you hear on the radio and TV the announcer saying you can find such and such business at www dot and then they give you the rest of the address. Sometimes there are many dots in that url address. You miss just one or add one too many and you get error messages.

Read the instructions

So you are really gifted and can put together anything on Christmas morning under the tree without reading the instructions.  Good for you. However, assembling something and shooting an assignment for a client is not the same thing. You forget to read the instructions sent by the client and you could be creating a mess for your client.

You may want to know why some clients send very detailed explanations. Just hire photographers for projects around the country and you will soon discover how many photographers cannot follow instructions.

Lets say you have dyslexia or just some other learning disability making this a struggle for you. This is where you must be proactive with the client.

If the client has a specific uploading site they want you to put your photos–ask them for a dry run. With computers you can save all those settings in most software so when you finish shooting an assignment you know you will deliver the photos.

Go through the instructions one by one and be sure you understand the instructions as the client wants you to understand them. This means read each detail and if it could be interpreted a couple of ways or you are not sure what they are asking then call them or email them with your clarification questions.

Sometimes the instructions are wrong

I have had numerous assignments where the client is still using the same set of instructions from 20 years ago. If you don’t believe me just look at some of the listings in Photographer’s Market. They still want you to shoot film and when you contact them to check on that they say no we haven’t done that in years.

I had one client who wanted the highest resolution images and then so many I was shocked when they requested them all as TIFF files. It was going to take a few hours with a high speed connection to upload them. They were still dealing with lower resolution cameras and files that were quite small.  With my camera now we are taking about a 50 meg TIFF file for each photo.  Send a few hundred and you will not being going anywhere soon.

Stanley’s Tips for the freelancer

  • Always ask them to send their request in writing–preferably an email is how i like to receive them.
  • Always have in writing what you are providing the client for the assignment. The best thing is to have a contract spelling this out. It protects both the photographer and the client. 
  • Spell out when payment is expected and deliverable is expected.
  • Review all instructions and ask clarifying questions. This doesn’t make you look like you don’t know what you are doing, but often helps to know you are paying attention to their details.
  • If you need to send them files electronically clarify how this will be done. Do they have an ftp server or do you need to provide that.
  • Do a test run with one image to be sure they get it and it is like they like it.
  • If your project has multiple days of shooting, try and give your client some images as soon as possible to be sure you and they are on the same page. Much better than shooting on and on only to find out you were not on track and they will not be paying you.
  • Many clients today may have file naming protocols due to their database system. With software like PhotoMechanic and Adobe Lightroom you can easily rename your images for them and then keep your own system.
  • Metadata is important for you and the client. If the client doesn’t need any metadata you still should be putting your © information on every photo. Be sure you put something in the caption and keywords so you can search for the image.  Both the PC and Macs will search the metadata and find it for you.
  • Keep receipts and scan these and attach them to your invoice. I prefer sending a PDF with all the receipts attached in the PDF as extra pages. I also attach each receipt to the ledger in Quicken Home and Business. So if it was a VISA, AMEX or Check the receipt is scanned and attached to that transaction.  Helps for taxes later.
  • Always send a W-9 with your first job with a client. My W-9 is a PDF that I attach to the email which also has the invoice.
  • When you send an email letting them know you have sent everything to them you can attach your invoice and W-9 to this email or ask them to see if everything is OK that is delivered and then once they respond then send your Invoice then in response. This gives you two things. First you have them acknowledging everything is acceptable and they have the bill. I usually send the invoice and W-9 and ask if everything is acceptable and then I have acceptance and acknowledgment that they recieved my invoice and W-9.

You may have great photos on your camera, but you must get them off the camera and to the client. The speed and accuracy of doing this will win you a client for life. Believe me you would be surprised how many photographers do not follow through on all the instructions given to them by the client.

Those photographers who clearly follow directions make the life for the client so much better.

One agency I do work for confided in me about they have staff photographers that have never completed a project yet. A typical assignment for this agency is to take just a few of the images from a shoot and send them with a press release. The rest of the project goes into their database from the shoot to be used in their stock file system.

The staff photographer had always sent just a few images from their world travel.  Yes this photographer was being sent around the world.

The agency was always in need of their stock images for more than those press releases.

By the way even when the photos were sent they were never captioned and key worded correctly.

Needless to say the photographer lost their job.  They didn’t loose their job because they didn’t shoot good images–they failed to follow through.

You want to be successful–Big Clue is to follow the directions of the client.

Don Rutledge my mentor

by Stanley LearyDon Rutledge

Don’s awareness of body language is sometimes very clear-cut, like here in this photograph of the teacher and students. Often, the body language is more subtle in Don’s photographs. Body language is always essential in Don’s photographs.

I was processing film at the Hickory Daily Record when I got a call from Don Rutledge. He told me about an entry-level photographer position for the International Mission Board.

The chance to learn from Don Rutledge was one of the best opportunities in my life. While I wanted Don to look at my work, Don taking the time to walk me through his contact sheets helped me the most.

Don’s storytelling with his camera helped missionaries realize God’s calling for them. Those impacted by his work are vast. Just as extensive as his stories are those he mentored.

Harley Shields is a Southern Baptist Home Missionary whose workplace is in Selawik, Alaska. Don photographed him in 1978.

Unless Don was on the phone, his door was open at the office. While working with Don, I cannot remember how many people came by or called to ask for Don’s advice. No matter their work’s bad, Don treated everyone with honor, dignity, and respect.

He always looked for something positive to talk about with them. I learned that when Don would look through my contact sheets, if he passed over a sheet, then he couldn’t find something to say something positive. He was often reticent while looking at my work early on. He would then reach for his contact sheets to talk—rather than express my work stunk.

Inside the Artic Circle, 1967: Eskimo child chasing ball.

Don taught me how important it is not to use visual gimmicks to create interest in a subject. Don taught me how to compose a scene like you might see on a stage in a theater. The composition is done when the curtain rises, but then the scene develops. The audience doesn’t get different camera angles; they see the subjects moving in the scene. Don helped me understand the rise, the peak, and the fall of action. He showed me my contact sheets should show this rise, peak, and fall.

“Don discovered these two youngsters who proudly displayed the results of their morning hunt. In that section of Cincinnati, rats were not particularly difficult quarry to locate,” said Walker Knight.

Don then taught me how important it was to understand body language. I remember him showing me a series on a contact sheet. See the mother reaching out to the baby. See how just before she touches the baby, it is a more powerful image than when she feels the baby. The anticipation is stronger than the actual touch. He then reminded me of Michael Angelo’s Sistine Chapel painting of the creation of Adam. Reaching to God and not touching.

Don understood how meaningful people’s relationship with each other in the photo is; it is the real power of the storytelling image.

Philippines Clustered on the split-bamboo floor for a meal are (clockwise from left) missionary Boe Stanley, Supreme Datu Manlapanag, Basilisa Feril, Jean Tolintino and Arsenio Garilao.

Don understood that his God gave his life for a relationship with each one of us. Nothing was more important than to establish and grow relationships. All of Don’s work was to show the power of God’s love. You either see the celebration of God’s love, or you feel the sadness of someone who isn’t letting God into their life.

Don helped me realize how to fulfill my call to ministry with the camera. Don was a pastor who realized the camera was a pulpit and the congregation wasn’t limited by the walls of a church.

Don Rutledge

Today, my clients often tell me how much they like my storytelling. My success is due to Don taking me under his wing and teaching me.

Some of my friends who Don also mentored have commented that they can see Don’s influence in my work. While this always brings a tear and lump in my throat, the photographers who thank me for teaching them make me the proudest.

The most excellent way I have to honor Don is to make photos that respect the subject and tell their story. Also, helping other photographers like Don helped me is a way to pay it forward.

I can never thank Don enough for helping me to see the world through God’s eyes.

Business Tip: Look for clients not subjects

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 

How do you consume photography?

I think way too many photographer wannabees are skipping past the most basic understanding of making a living as a photographer. Who buys photography? This is a basic question that is overlooked.

You would think that photographers themselves would be one of the largest consumers of photography. However, too many photographers don’t even buy photography themselves.

Now if a photographer isn’t moved to spend money on photography and they are one of the most interested in the subject why are non-photographers willing to spend money on it?

Here is a big clue to you as a photographer wannabee; if you are not purchasing images on your photography interests then it is a good indicator no one else is either.

If you want to be a sports photographer you should be subscriber to Sports Illustrated, the local newspaper or some other publications that use sports photos. If your attitude is those publications are not as good as they used to be and therefore that is why you are not taking them then maybe this is an insight to a dying area of photography.

Client needs an expert

First of all for the most part you need to be somewhat of an expert on a subject to truly make money shooting it today. People can take a photograph with today’s cameras themselves. They can even take a pretty good photo without our help.

Your understanding of the subject will help you to make photos that those are interested in the subject would appreciate.

When I took golf lessons the club pro started teaching me how to swing a golf club with a 5-iron.  Once I could hit this consistently straight we moved on to each of the different clubs to make minor adjustments. This is how most professional photographers end up working their entire lifetime in photography. They start with one area and master it and then transfer their photography skills to other subjects.

I started shooting for my college newspaper, which gave me a lot of access to shooting sports. While my camera skills were focusing on sports I was also majoring in social work, where I was being trained to understand body language and helping to apprehend people’s situations.

After college I was able to to continue to shoot sports for a regional newspaper. I was also able to take the social work training to help me capture better moments to help tell stories in every day life of people.

After moving on to shooting for a Christian mission agency I went to seminary to get more training, which helps me today to shoot for a variety of church groups and nonprofits. I was trained to understand the nuances in theology that helped me to communicate even more specialized messaging than just taking a picture of what I see in front of me–I am helping tell a story.

What are clients buying?

You really need to know who uses photos of any subject. I wrote a blog on this earlier and here is a link to it.

This requires some investigative skills. You need to trace the life of the photo to the consumer.

Sometimes you maybe so lucky to have an eureka moment. This is when you see a need that is going unfilled by professional photographers. You also realize you are an expert as much as any other photographer could be. This is when you can capitalize on an opportunity to fill a void.

Steve Jobs did this with Apple. The times Apple came out with new products that created new markets is how they dominated. Apple was first to introduce a graphical interface for computing in the 80s. They were the first to introduce the tablet. Most importantly Steve Jobs helped understanding how all your technology works together where you main computer is the digital hub between your smartphone, tablet, iPod and the cloud.

Having a eureka moment is the flip side of a saturated market.  You see something that you could be doing that no one else is supplying. This is really what can catapult you to financial success.

Sports as an example

Once you know the audiences for your photos, you should easily be able to see if your photos are what they’re using. Great example is that shots that can be used for a players page in a media guide is one of the staples in sports. A similar use for this photo would be trading cards.  Those photos are rarely so artistic that you cannot recognize the player.

When I wrote about race cars I pointed out how so many interested in NASCAR buy the opportunity to get their logo somewhere on the car.

Now the number one place for sports photos as far as income potential is a business that stands to make money from your photos. If you have such outlets then the potential for income is good.  Now if the places using photos doesn’t really make money off the photos (some blogs, editorial) then they cannot pay that much if anything for photos.

As far as sports go today, you need to shoot a lot of sports where you will make almost nothing to build a portfolio to rival not just those who already have those contracts but the long list of other hopeful photographers. 

There are more photographers willing to shoot for free sports than any other subject matter that I know of in photography.  You just don’t hear of photographers lining up to shoot a brides wedding for free just to get access to shooting weddings, but the number of photographers as sporting events doing it for free just to get access is ridiculous.

Many of these weekend shooters have disposable income that lets them afford better gear than many of the full-time pros. So having a 600 ƒ/4 and a 400 ƒ/2.8 doesn’t make you a pro and make your images look better any more.

I can tell you a long list of places to get access to build a portfolio, but I cannot tell you a single sports venue in Atlanta that will pay you a livable wage to shoot their sports. Most all those have people already on staff or contracted. All the area high schools parents of the athletes shoot the games for free and share the photos with each other. They may pay a pro to do the team photo and some posed shots of the players in uniforms. 

Most of the pros shooting sports that make a living are shooting for the equipment manufactures in addition to some of the editorial market and the combination gives them some income.  Most of these still must shoot other things to break even.

My suggestion is to follow the money rather than just what you want to shoot.  Find those sports no one is covering and they may pay you to shoot since they cannot get good photos. 

Portfolio

I cannot tell you how many times clients have asked if I had examples of a certain subject. You see many of them knew I could shoot, but needed to help others on their team know I have done that before.

You would be crazy to create a portfolio showing every type of subject to get hired, but my point is it is just as crazy to have a portfolio of images which doesn’t reflect what people are needing.

There are basically two types of photos you need in your portfolio: 1) Examples of what clients are buying and 2) Examples of things they might buy. The second type of photos are where you are showing things were not looking for, but once they see your work will want to have.

The examples of what they are buying will show how your work provides both the quality in the industry and hopefully a style that separates you from the pack of photographers.

Does your portfolio show the subjects you like shooting or does it show what clients are buying? Those making a living are showing what the customers are buying. The best photographers in the industry are doing both. They show what people are buying and it is what they enjoy shooting.

The Photo Package

by Stanley Learymultimedia / storytelling / visual storytelling

The Package

This past New Year’s Eve in front of a national television audience and a sellout crowd in the Georgia Dome, Clemson capped a dramatic come-from-behind rally with a last-second field goal to defeat LSU 25-24 in one of the most exciting match-ups in Chick-fil-A Bowl history.

While many watching it on TV were enjoying the thriller at the Dome those in Atlanta were able to participate in more than just the game that day.

We assembled a team of three photographers to cover the days events which started with the Chick-fil-A Parade at noon and ran till midnight with the trophy presentation.

photo by: Robin Nelson

Robin Nelson is a seasoned news photographer who is  accustomed to getting the story. He started our coverage with the parade. Later Greg Thompson and myself joined the days coverage and around 6:30 pm Robin left to process some of the earlier coverage that we needed later that night.  Greg and I stayed to cover the game.

Audience?

One of the first things a photographer should be aware of for a coverage is who is their audience. Too many photographers shoot for themselves and sometimes this can work, but often this is what separates the seasoned pro from the amateur.

Our audience was the Chick-fil-A internal audience. We were not producing this package for the general public.

Purpose?

One of the most important questions to ask yourself is why are you doing a coverage. Our answer to this question was to inform the internal Chick-fil-A people as to why we do the Bowl each year.

Every year we try and tell this from a different perspective. One year we told the behind the scenes coverage of what it takes to produce 30,000+ sandwiches in a day.

One common theme is always there in the photos–Branding. You see for a company to buy media time (Advertisements) to run on National TV is very expensive. Time for the Super Bowl this year on CBS is running about 3.8 million for each 30 second spot.

However when a company sponsors an event their logo goes everywhere in the event.

photo by: Greg Thompson

In the past they would take snapshots showing the logos being used. However we knew the images that help tell the story where you still see the logos take the images to a different level–Storytelling.

photo by: Greg Thompson

In the photo of the LSU player running, you can see the logo just as it might appear the next day in a newspaper or in Sports Illustrated. Do you see the difference in what else this is helping us in telling the story?

With photos that would be in Sports Illustrated the audience is seeing how Chick-fil-A brand is part of a world class event. You need world class photography to help communicate it and not a snapshot.

Photo by: Greg Thompson

In the photo of the Clemson player being tackled the logo is not sharp like in the earlier photo, but it is in the background. This helps to communicate the stewardship of the marketing department to place the logo strategically around the field in such a way that almost in every camera angle you see the logo.

More than a logo

photo by: Stanley Leary

Chick-fil-A likes to activate an event. What this means is they like to help take an event to a new level and be like the icing on the cake. They are not playing the game, but helping everyone enjoy it.

During the pre-game and post-game there is a Cow Parachute drop. As you can see from the photo the crowd loves this surprise. I remember the first time Chick-fil-A gave out the plush cows. There was a bad call, well for one of the teams fans and the cows were just flying onto the field. Now the cows they give out won’t go that far as easily. It was great publicity the first time the cows were all over the end zone, but they couldn’t continue that tradition.

photo by: Stanley Leary

Before the game the fans can go to FanFest to play games and just have fun. Chick-fil-A was giving out the new chocolate chip cookie for free. Just writing about that warm cookie makes my mouth water and wanting one. New Year’s Resolution is not to eat so many of those this year.  They are addicting.

photo by: Stanley Leary

Go to Chick-fil-A and you will be so thrilled with the customer service you will find yourself saying thank you and when you do you will hear “My Pleasure” in response. You see one of the other things we are trying to show in our package is how the Chick-fil-A team members enjoy serving with a smile.

Chick-fil-A also enjoys supporting our troops who are serving us with the ultimate gift of service.

photo by: Stanley Leary

In FanFest the fans could play games like the Ticket Tank where they try and grab pieces of fabric to turn in for free prizes.

photo by: Robin Nelson

Pool Photographers

In large events often agencies like Associated Press will only credit the photo with the agency name. This is because the reason one photographer has a shot and another doesn’t is due to the roles they have assigned.

Some photographers will be assigned to be in one corner of the track for that just in case photo.

Our team did a great job this year of covering all the days events. We split it up and also overlapped in some of our coverage.

Individual shots vs package

I believe every time we do one of these packages that the larger package is more powerful helping tell the story than the individual photos by themselves. However, the key is strong individual images.

For all those who enjoy shooting sports if you do this professionally sooner or later you will be told that you need to turn around and stop facing the field the entire game–there is a lot more going on to tell the story than the center of the field.

Now there are many photographers who make another mistake when covering a big event like the Chick-fil-A Bowl–they forget the action on the field. You need all of it for the package.

My challenge to you is to shoot all your assignments like they are to be used in a package. If you do the client has the opportunity to produce a package. You also will be giving them more options.

How to remain creative as a photographer

by Stanley LearyPhotography

Studio Musicians

Professional artists are rarely satisfied with what they have produced. Ask a professional musician what of their work they feel like is just perfect for them and you will most likely hear nothing.

Pam Goldsmith is an emeritus winner of the ‘most valuable player’ award from the national academy of recording arts and sciences. Her viola playing has been heard on countless records, films and television shows. She is vice president of the American viola society and she also plays the viola d’amore. Her articles on the application of scholarly research to performance style have appeared in many journals.

Our family knows Pam because she was my brother-in-laws partner for more than 20 years. This spring our family is going to visit Pam.  Our daughter is looking forward to her first time meeting Pam and playing her viola for Pam.

The last time I was in LA I had dinner with Pam. This is when Pam shared how she was talking with her friends in the viola society and asking when was the last time they played something they liked. They all said they cannot think of one time.

Pam was listening to a piece of music on the radio and liked how the violist sounded. While listening she then heard a part of the music that gave it away–she was listening to herself. She said this was the first time she liked her work. It was by accident.

I could related to Pam’s comments as a photographer.

Portrait Photographers

Imagine being a school portrait photographer and trying to remain creative. Your photos all need to be similar so there is uniformity in the yearbook. To increase their sales these school photographers have been offering variations in addition to the traditional photo.  They now have costumes and props to help increase sales.

I am pretty sure that the initial reason for the offering came from a photographer feeling bored and looked for something to offer to keep their own sanity. They came up with some variations and then the sales went up.

For most of these photographers they send out order forms where the subjects must select what they want before they even are photographed.  This helps the photographers stay on schedule. It will not take long before you realize that there is very little room for different treatments.

Common Thread

What does the professional studio musician have in common with the professional studio photographer?

The musician and the photographer are both asked to do something that has been done to death.

The very best portrait photographers and musicians in the world are paid a great deal more than the rest of the musicians and photographers.  Why is there such a disparity between the studio musician playing on all the recordings for TV, movies and radio?  Why are some portrait photographers being paid insanely amounts of money for head shots and the rest of photographers are scrapping by?

Maybe the creativity edge is in the execution of the mundane rather than the unique.

I am an amateur trumpet player. I played in school and college in many different groups. All of these musicians enjoyed recordings of the musicians at the top of the profession. One of the groups many enjoy hearing in person is the White House United States Marine Band.

The band is known for impeccable execution of music.

Excellence is Execution and not Exploitation

photo by: Don Rutledge

My dear friend Don Rutledge’s photos make you always feel like the fly on the wall and you never feel like you are invading a personal space when you were not invited.

Take this photo of the young girl reading a book with the cats next to her. As you can tell she is awake and most likely aware of Don’s presence. You feel like you have been allowed by the subject into her personal space like a close friend.

Many photographer I see today go after the picture rather than the story. If they get right into you face and do so maybe when you are sleeping you can sense the lack of honor dignity and respect.

photo by: Don Rutledge

Don’s photos are not graphic gimmicks to pull you into the photo. They are straight forward and due to this approach the moments are so much more real and inviting to the viewer to join in the moment.

photo by: Don Rutledge

My favorite photo of all time by Don Rutledge is the Eskimo family in Alaska. You see the family as real people that even in the midst of extreme poverty you are not looking down on these people. You are enjoying a warm loving moment with a mother and her children welcoming guests to their home.

Think about it for a while, can you name just one other photo of an impoverished family where the honor, dignity and respect paid by the photographer has you enjoying them like this?  I find it so hard to think of any photos ever like this. I know they must, but they are rare.

Too many photographers are telling their stories and not the subjects. Let me show you how poor they are so you will feel sorry for them.

There is a powerful story where Jesus saw a widow give a mite at the temple for her offering. Jesus celebrated the giving not the poverty.  I think Don’s photos are as powerful as Jesus telling stories to teach us about the love of God.

Tips to remain creative

  • Who are the photos for? Are they for the photographer or the client? Keep your focus first on meeting your objective and be sure it isn’t focused on you.
  • Treat all your subjects with honor, dignity and respect–don’t exploit them
  • While you need to try new things to see what will help you tell stories better–be sure they are not just gimmicks. To make this photo will I be grabbing a fantastic graphic image at the expense of the subjects.
  • Shoot everything you do in a way that the people will want to invite you back. Be sure not just how you act while you are there is kind, but how the photos are used will be just as kind and respectful.
  • Spend your efforts in executing flawless technical, aesthetic and moments which help tell the subjects story in the most accurate and truthful way.
  • Be careful not to take the idiosyncrasies of a subject to make your photos stronger.

You will be surprised that doing the small things well takes a lot of creativity.  I think it takes more creativity to approach each job with the same enthusiasm you did when you first picked up the camera. While you may have done over a 100 portraits in a day, the person in front of you will be their first and only experience with you. Make this moment with them special as it was for you with the first person.