I woke up to sad news this morning, that two of my friends were robbed in London in the basement of a church behind two locked doors. All of all their camera gear was stolen. Dennis Fahringer was the photography instructor for Youth With AMission and his student Xiao Dong Yu from China had his gear and Chinese documents stolen. Keep them in your prayers and if you can help reach out to them.
They are doing this as a mission outreach for YWAM. If you want to help Tom and Dennis you can donate here: http://dennisfahringer.com/DennisFahringer/Partners.html Please specify if the funds are for Tom. This is Dennis’ account. When Tom canceled his credit card it made it so his PayPal account will not work.
This email prompted me to write today’s blog.
Camera Insurance
There are many ways to insure your cameras and I want to give you three basic categories that I understand exist. My recommendation is to know your situation and if you are adequately covered.
Homeowners Insurance
If you do not make any money through the use of your equipment, a standard homeowners or renters policy should cover against theft and fire, even when your equipment is outside your home. This typically covers what most people would typically own and not maybe all the gear a hobbyist might own.
If you accidentally damage your gear, most homeowners policies will not cover this.
As long as you are not using your gear for commercial purposes the homeowners basic policy can then be expanded through a floater. Here you buy an “all risk” policy that will cover the gear for anything except those things they would exclude which often are things like “acts of war.” So if you are out boating and the gear falls in the water you would be covered.
For the Pro
If you are making money with your camera the homeowners policy will not work. You will need a commercial inland marine policy. This is better than the “all risk” policy in that it will remove the exclusion of professional and usually have even more tailored riders such as covering you if someone trips over your tripod.
Because this is a commercial insurance policy you can expect to pay more. Tyically $1.75 to $2.75 per $100 worth of gear with a deductible of $250 to $1,000 per claim.
Additional coverage available on a commercial policy includes general liability, commercial property, workers compensation, commercial automobile coverage and umbrella liability to name a few.
Insurance: A reason to join a professional organization
One of the best reasons to join a professional organization is for its benefits like special healthcare and camera insurance. One of the best reasons to use their insurance companies is they understand what you need based on working with the organization.
Lesson Learned
A few years ago I was reading on a photography forum how people were getting great deals through their State Farm Insurance representative. I was with State Farm for my house and cars at the time, so I called them.
I explained that I do not have a studio and do location work all over the country and occasionally overseas travel. The quote I got was for about 1/3 what I had been paying. I jumped on that and had the policy for more than two years.
On that same photography forum I later was reading that someone had a problem with State Farm’s policy and found out they do not cover what was typical for what I was doing. I copied and pasted the forum post and asked my agent do you cover me or is this correct?
They investigated and came back and said I was covered through the end of the policy, but the forum post was correct and they would not renew my policy.
My suggestion is to find an organization like NPPA, ASMP, PPofA or another professional photographer’s group and call the vendors that they have deals with. I called all the insurance companies and after calling around finally settled with the ASMP’s vendor Tom C. Pickard and company or TCP (http://www.tcpinsurance.com/).
Final Question
Do you know if you are covered if your gear was stolen? If you dropped your gear are you covered? If you are traveling overseas does this exclude your coverage?
You need to know the answers to these questions. Call your insurance representative and find out today, before it is too late.
Nikon P7000, ISO 100, ƒ/8, 1/220 using manual focus as close as the camera will focus in macro.
If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough. –
Robert Capa – before he got too close to mine that killed him, while covering Indochina.
Making a memorable impression requires your image to have impact. One of the most effective ways photography does this is with macro photography.
The minimum focusing distance for my Nikon 60mm ƒ/2.8 is 0.72 ft. (0.22m). With the Nikon P7000 I can do pretty much the same with it focusing at 0.8 inches (2cm).
While this photo is not all that exciting of my finger, I did this simple photo to make my point (good pun huh?). Taking something very small and making it very big is a way to have a photo with impact.
Most people do not take the time to get close to things and seeing things close is for the most part very different. Being different helps create impact and get attention.
Nikon P7000, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/250
The reason I chose to shoot the macro shots on my Nikon P7000 over the Nikon D4 with a 60mm ƒ/2.8 lens is I like shooting at the lowest ISO and fastest shutter speed possible. The problem when shooting with the larger full framed FX format of the Nikon D4 is the lens is further away from the sensor. The farther it is from the sensor means the depth-of-field changes to make what is in focus at ƒ/8 not the same.
The ƒ/5 on my smaller sensor on the Nikon P7000 is more like ƒ/11 on the 60mm macro lens on the Nikon D4. But I can hand hold the Nikon P7000 where shooting at ISO I would have to shoot at such a slow shutter speed to get a similar photo I run the risk of camera shake.
Nikon P7000, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/200
I wrote an earlier articles talking about macro work here:
Nothing can sharpen your understanding about the nuances of photography more than macro photography. This is where you photograph objects extremely close, where the image projected on the “film plane” (i.e., film or a …
Pick a macro lens or use your point and shoot on the macro (flower) setting. Set the lens to the closest focus setting. Set the f/stop on f/8 or greater. Very important if using a macro lens on DSLR; Get as close as you can without …
If this is your normal lens of choice try something different like a macro or extreme telephoto. It is forcing you to look at the world differently than you are doing now. Change your routine. If you eat your breakfast always in the …
2) Distance to subject. The closer you get to a subject the shallower the depth-of-field when the ƒ-stop stays the same. In macro photography for example when you get as close as 1:1 ratio you often have to be at a ƒ -stop at a …
What I recommend with macro work is shooting with higher apertures to get the object enough in focus in the depth-of-field that you can see something is sharp. Too shallow a depth-of-field and it will look like you missed your focus.
If you need to use a small flash off camera with a cord to get the flash right over the object. If you shoot with on camera flash the flash will not even land on the object because it is so close to the lens.
Try photographing as close as you can with a variety of objects. See if you can get some photos that have impact.
You need to not just carry extra batteries, but a battery tester as well.
Spare batteries
Everyone knows you must carry extra batteries. I am using rechargeable batteries most of the time today. I have a few types of rechargeable batteries, but highly recommend eneloop batteries. These are great and highly recommend them.
As we all know the battery will run out of juice sooner or later. This is why we carry extra batteries.
Battery Tester Saves
Years ago I was using rechargable batteries, but found them a pain. The earlier ones I used in the 1980’s just didn’t hold a charge and while I had them in the bag charged, they would loose so much power I found them dead when I got ready to use them.
For many years I was using the alkaline batteries and then came along the lithium batteries. These were great. They weighed so much less and lasted 8X longer than the alkaline batteries.
The newest Lithium AA batteries cost about $2 each and last up to about 8X longer than other traditional batteries.
If you have used them you know they are expensive and this was inspiring me to test them and see if they were all bad, so I would bring those batteries I replaced home. I would test them with a battery tester and found most of them were still good.
Here you can see my Nikon SB-800 in my ThinkTank bag and my spare rechargeable batteries.
While having all these batteries with me is great when I would replace the batteries I would often toss the ones I took out that were Alkaline or Lithium, until I found out that of the 4 batteries three were still good and only one was bad.
I am finding that on my Nikon SB-800 and Nikon SB-900 that usually only one battery is dead when the flash says the battery is dead.
This shows how your effort the first time may be great and the reward very low, but over the next three times the effort diminishes and the reward increases. if you quit because effort doesn’t give the reward too soon you will miss out on a good idea.
Before you implement a new marketing idea you need to be ready to commit to executing it three times, before you decide if it is a good idea. –Steve Robinson, Senior Vice President, Marketing for Chick-fil-A
No matter the idea you come up with to use to market your business the first time you try it is not the best time to evaluate it’s success or failure. Your effort the first time to pull off something is pretty high and it takes time for a good idea to truly take hold of your audience.
First time
The very first time you try something you will spend a great deal of time, effort and money to pull off an idea.
Effort
The first time you try anything it is quite difficult. Just imagine if you learned to ride a bike using your present method of evaluating a new market idea. Would you have ever learned to ride the bike?
I think we all understand that the amount of effort due to the learning curve can be overwhelming the first time we try anything.
The first time I created a postcard to send out I had a lot of learning to do. I had to find a vendor. From my previous experience with business cards I realized I could spend a lot of money or no so much for the exact same quality. I had to shop around and investigate.
I went with the company SharpDots after getting a recommendation from a friend. It was a great recommendation.
My first layout was done by my good friend and creative director Tony Messano. We decided to use one photo on the front and my logo and return address as well as my web address on the back.
My first postcard cover shot
The back of my first postcard. I had a different logo then.
I also needed a mailing list and bought one of those as well. That took some time to find the best fit for me.
I printed the labels and bought the postcard stamps to mail them. I put the lables and the stamps on that first run of about two thousand postcards.
Reward
The phone did not start ringing a few days after the mailing. Not a lot of response to that mailing.
Second Time
Effort
Now this second time I didn’t have to do all that much work as compared to the first time. I already had a printer, a mailing list and someone to help me with the design.
Some of the postcards came back and I had to investigate this time to get an address if they moved or delete them if they were out of business. How I did this the first time took some time to get a process down that worked.
Reward
I was getting some response. Still not overwhelming response.
While the phone wasn’t ringing off the hook, most everyone I sent the postcards to now have only seen my name two times in the mail. Now I hadn’t started a e.Newsletter at this time. I didn’t have a blog at the time either. So I was just sending emails to check on these prospects.
What was happening at that time was introducing myself and what I did to these prospects. I was branding myself. They were starting to see my images and my logo together. I was slowly starting to build a brand.
Third Time
Effort
While I had down my process I decided to change up the layout on the back of the card. This was Tony Messano’s idea. He said maybe running a series of photos on the back along with the photo on the front would communicate I wasn’t a one shot wonder. After all everyone has at least one good photo they can make, my goal was to help separate myself from my competition as someone who can deliver multiple storytelling images.
My last postcard cover shot.
Tony had a different design, but I modified it a little here for the latest postcard. It has my new logo and we went to four color on the back. Not a lot of cost through SharpDots.
Reward
Today, I am getting more jobs and the clients comment often on my postcards as being a deciding factor on contacting me.
Summary
If after three times you are not getting any rewards out of an idea that is a good time to stop doing it. However, as you can see from the first diagram if you base your decision on the first attempt you would cancel some great ideas.
If you are just starting out, this is when you are trying to create a brand awareness of you. This is like you being a young entrepreneur like S. Truett Cathy who started Chick-fil-A. He started first running a diner in Hapeville, GA in 1946. He worked hard and it took time before he even invented the Chicken Sandwich. Since the first Chick-fil-A restaurant opened in 1967, the company has posted 43 consecutive annual sales increases. This was not an over night success, but one where they tried ideas and kept them if they worked.
Take your time to find a good idea and before you implement be sure you are ready to do it three times or you might quit before the big payoff.
When I travel I have a lot of different cords that I need to have. I need power cords for my computer, cellphone, ipad, and card readers. Thinktank has designed a few different Cable management bags. I use two of them.
To store my RadioPoppers I use the Cable Management 10. You don’t have to use these bags for just cables. When you go to your bags and need to find something these bags help keep you organized and more efficient when shooting.
Be sure you are prepared before you go to a job. Have everything you need or might need with you. Nothing is worse than being on a job knowing what you need you own, but is at home or your office.
This is my Great Grandfather Henry Leary on the far right with his family. My Grandfather James Stanley Leary is in the middle. I am named after him.
Today is Father’s Day and you are seeing many people honor their father’s this year in ways that haven’t been able to do many years ago. You are seeing people change their profile photos on Facebook to their father’s.
My wife Dorie Griggs is honoring her father on her Facebook page by making his photo her profile photo for father’s day.
This is my grandmother and grandfather (James Stanley Leary) as I remember them growing up.
Now what I am seeing as I go through our family photos is that I really like the photos where the photography was technically good, but also captured them in a way I remember them.
This is my grandfather on my mother’s side R. Knolan Benfield. I love this photo because it shows him as I remember, enjoying some down time in the family room watching golf most likely. By the way I called him Daddy B. The B was for Benfield.
While we didn’t always have professional quality photos of our family, we cherish many of the photos because they help our family remember.
My grandmother, Emma Benfield and grandfather, R. Knolan Benfield with my mother and their daughter Bonita.
On holidays like father’s day we wish our children could have known some of their relatives they never got to know. Funny thing I have noticed through the years is our families have certain characteristics that tend to be handed down. I think in a way as we live our life out for our children they are seeing parts of their relatives from the past.
My mother took this photo of my sisters with my dad and I. This is Emma, Hannah, David (my dad) and me when we were camping.
My father cherishes photos of the family and I can never remember a family gathering without him have a camera or a movie camera in his hand.
My dad doing what he loved to do, take photos to help us remember these moments.
My dad recording video of our Christmas day one year.
One of the best ways you can celebrate your father’s is to take photos to help remember them. Take photos that help capture them at their best, like a professional portrait. Also, take photos of them in everyday life.
The one thing I think most upsets families after a natural disaster destroys their home is the loss of things like their photos of the family. After Katrina some camera clubs helped families recover their family photos by scanning the ones they found and helping restore them.
For my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary we went through and scanned photos from the years and made a slide show. We also made a copy of all the images and gave them to all the kids.
Take time today and find some of the old photos of your families fathers and reminisce. Then be sure and take some photos to help preserve the memories of today for generations to come.
Have you asked yourself this question? Am I the best photographer for my client?
If you are wanting your business to grow you need to answer this question from the client’s perspective and not yours.
So, who else can your customer use? How does your work stack up to the competition?
It will take some time for you to be competitive. You must first being doing your best for you. You cannot be the best overnight. It takes time to develop.
Before you can soar you have to learn to fly
Let’s be reasonable, when you are starting out there are a lot of photographers better than you. However, you need to be sure you are at your personal best at all times.
You are building a reputation. You need to have your reputation precede you by word of mouth from your Google ranking, and from your business social media presence. What can you do now to help you have something that when people investigate you there is something for them to find.
When you go for it you need a good parachute
Preparation
Before you call on a prospect and hope they will hire you you need to have done your homework. You need to know all you can about the client. What do they need a photographer to do for them.
You need to be conveying value and not benefits and features. The only way to do this is to know enough about them to help phrase your benefits and features in ways that can be of value to them. How will this help them?
Always have two or three ideas to propose to them when you call. I like to think of stories that my customers could be doing. Most of the time these are typically best practices stories. Every company wants to feature those that are doing the very best in hopes that others can copy some of those techniques to improve their performance.
How will you back all these claims up with new clients? How about using video testimonials from your present clients?
Keep yourself focused on a goal
Keep your standards higher than your clients
It is easy to be satisfied with a certain level of work when you are getting work. What is dangerous is becoming complacent. Your competition only needs to show they are a better fit for the client than you.
If you are always growing and looking for how you can improve your competition will be behind your more often than in front of you.
Realty Check
Your clients are looking for a trusted adviser who has good ideas and thinks of of how to help them. They are not needing someone who is slick and great with a presentation. They need something solid and not about a great sales pitch.
Are you the best person for your client? Can you honestly feel that in your heart? If you can great. If not do all you can to be your best and be able to believe this about your talents.
When we were younger we used to play musical chairs.
The game starts with any number of players and a number of chairs one fewer than the number of players; the chairs are arranged in a circle facing outward, with the people standing in a circle just outside of that. A non-playing individual plays recorded music or a musical instrument. While the music is playing, the players in the circle walk in unison around the chairs. When the music player suddenly stops the music, everyone must race to sit down in one of the chairs. The player who is left without a chair is eliminated from the game, and one chair is also removed to ensure that there will always be one fewer chair than there are players. The music resumes and the cycle repeats until there is only one player left in the game, who is the winner. When down to the last two players the chair may be moved as long as the music has stopped before the chair has been touched.
In the early rounds people are excited that not only they got a chair when the music stops, but their friend did as well.
What does musical chairs teach us?
To stay in the game requires you do be on your toes and paying attention to the music, the chairs and everyone around you.
Alliances are often formed between friends. You will find that often friends will help one another and force you out.
There can only be one winner of this game
Musical Chairs is a fun game to play, because rarely does the same person always win. There is a certain amount of serendipity to this game.
Photography is a profession in a Red Ocean
Blue ocean strategy challenges companies to break out of the red ocean of bloody competition by creating uncontested market space that makes the competition irrelevant. Instead of dividing up existing—and often shrinking—demand and benchmarking competitors, blue ocean strategy is about growing demand and breaking away from the competition.
Kim, W. Chan; Renee Mauborgne (2004-12-16). Blue Ocean Strategy: How To Create Uncontested Market Space And Make The Competition Irrelevant . Harvard Business Press. Kindle Edition.
When you look around yourself as a professional photographer and you notice that there is more and more competition each year you are experiencing a game of musical chairs, but in this game the number of people is growing and the number of chairs is the same or maybe less.
I can tell you from personal experience this is not a fun game to play. It isn’t a game at all when after so many rounds you find yourself not winning at all because the odds are too tough.
Where are the Blue Oceans for photographers?
Unfortunately, blue oceans are largely uncharted. The dominant focus of strategy work over the past twenty-five years has been on competition-based red ocean strategies. The result has been a fairly good understanding of how to compete skillfully in red waters, from analyzing the underlying economic structure of an existing industry, to choosing a strategic position of low cost or differentiation or focus, to benchmarking the competition. Some discussions around blue oceans exist. However, there is little practical guidance on how to create them. Without analytic frameworks to create blue oceans and principles to effectively manage risk, creating blue oceans has remained wishful thinking.
Kim, W. Chan; Renee Mauborgne (2004-12-16). Blue Ocean Strategy: How To Create Uncontested Market Space And Make The Competition Irrelevant (p. 5). Harvard Business Press. Kindle Edition.
Picking the right instrument early can help you get a college scholarship in music. The reason is simple–less competition.
If you wanted to major in music and decided to be a voice major, the number of scholarships verses the number of students applying is like going to Las Vegas and playing the slot machines.
However, if you were to pick an instrument like viola, bassoon, oboe or french horn for example the odds are more like playing cards with your friends at home.
One way to separate yourself from all the other photographers is photographing subjects that time wise cannot be done after normal business hours.
The first place I find hobbyist dipping their toes into the profession are those subjects where they can do this without conflict of work.
Here is a quick list I have of places many people can enjoy shooting after work:
Concert Photography
Weddings
Sports
Nature
Everyone of those subjects in my opinion is over crowded with photographers. Those photographers who are successful have done so by choosing a strategy of low cost (free) or differentiation or focus, to benchmarking the competition.
Zack Arias was one of those photographers shooting concerts and not making enough money to leave his day job at Kinko’s. He was also helping shoot as a second shooter at weddings with his friend. Both of these allowed Zack to have a job to pay the bills.
Zack however looked around and noticed everyone was giving these bands free photos of them playing in concert. Zack saw little room for any way to make a living doing this, yet this is where he was most motivated.
Zack noticed most of the local bands didn’t have any good publicity photos and good photos for CDs. Two things collided for him at one time, he decided to use an off camera flash to photograph a concert and his creativity for finding a blue ocean.
With one camera, one lens and one off camera flash Zack went after a blue ocean. He sent letters to those bands he researched that most likely had enough money to afford paying him for quality poised band photos.
He offered them a free session if they contacted him within 30 days. Zack shot many of those bands and found himself in a blue ocean.
Keith Ladzinski is another photographer who has found a blue ocean in photography.
I met Keith Ladzinski through my friend Dave Black. We were looking for a photographer to help connect with some of the younger students at a conference. Dave said Keith is your guy.
Keith was first a kid who loved skateboarding and rock climbing. He started to photograph his friends when they were out doing some of these cool moves.
You are not going to find a pool of photographers who are willing to climb the side of a mountain with their bare hands and while up there photograph their friends doing the same thing.
Keith was able to separate himself from the crowd due to access. There were two things that gave him access to these sports: 1) he was one of them and 2) they trusted him.
Today you are very likely to pick up a magazine that has rock climbing or skateboarding and find Keith’s byline below the photo.
Dave Black is another photographer who was able to separate himself from the pack of sports photographers to become one of the most premier sports photographers of the industry.
Before becoming a photographer, Dave was a gymnast. He and his brothers were all world class gymnasts.
After college Dave was coaching and doing photography of his students. His brother was working with the Olympic committee in 1980 and asked Dave to come and help them with the photography to promote the US Olympic Gymnast team.
It was Dave’s knowledge of the sport that help separate his photography from the competition. Dave knew the gymnast routine so well that he would be able to anticipate the exact moment that showed the athleticism and art of the moment. I forgot to mention Dave majored in art. Can you see this all coming together for Dave?
For a gymnast to do well on the world stage they practice over and over a routine to where it is all muscle memory when it comes to the performance. This work ethic is what separates Dave even today from all the competition. Dave was the first person to show up at the Kentucky Derby each day. He was there when the trainers would arrive and there when everyone left.
Dave showed up at the Augusta National Tournament the same way catching the lawn crew at sunrise preparing the course each day.
Dave’s Blue Ocean was his knowledge of the sport and the understanding of preparation. He is so well prepared that he can isolate the moment that will capture the beauty and excitement in a way not seen before.
Strategy for a Blue Ocean
Be the expert in a subject to help separate you from the pack
Get access to something difficult for everyone to access
Photograph subjects that hobbyist cannot because of their day job
Once you find a Blue Ocean–Look for another because your competition will follow you.
You will never have someone hire you and say they don’t like you. However, just because someone hires you doesn’t mean they want you.
It may shock you that there are people who will hire you just because of your price and not because of your quality.
Photos are just from the beautiful weekend we had here in Georgia.
It was so beautiful this past Saturday that my wife and I drove to Amicalola Falls in Dawsonville, Georgia, to enjoy the day. We found this after climbing the 175 steps to the top.
What is also challenging to understand is that many of your clients will never pay you more? It isn’t because you cannot articulate your value and need to charge more. There are just people out there who do not value anything but price.
When you start in photography, you may end up with price-shopping clients. I had a few of these clients. I needed the work and was willing to take their low price to get some money.
It took me years to realize I wasn’t charging enough for my services to pay my bills. This is how I am defining success for this article. The ability to pay your bills for your household, pay your taxes, have healthcare, and have enough money to buy/replace equipment over time.
Sunday was just as beautiful in Roswell, GA, as Saturday. We drove down Canton Street, stopped, and enjoyed our time at Roswell Provisions.
Time to Educate the Client
My first thought when I learned I wasn’t charging enough was to try and educate the client. I would talk to my clients about the cost of doing business. News Alert!!–they didn’t care.
I needed to educate myself first. I was starting to learn what my operating costs were and that I had to charge a minimum or lose money to cover these costs and grow my business.
Day Rates
I discovered that day rates were day labor. How I learned was quoting day rates and then showing up to be burned a new one.
Clients would hire me to come to their location, and I would quote the day rate. I felt like I was in the big leagues. I went to professional photographers’ workshops, where I learned about the cost of doing business. The National Press Photographers Association even has a calculator to help you consider all your expenses and generate a day rate.
It didn’t take long before I felt abused by clients. “While you are here, can you shoot …?” was becoming too familiar.
Later I would get with other photographers and find out that they were getting 3 to 5 times more for what I was doing. They, however, were not quoting day rates.
Ken Touchton was the first to educate me that I needed to use project rates.
Project Rate
Unlike a day rate where I am pricing myself the same way as a day laborer, the project rate quoted a price based on the end deliverable.
Honestly, learning how to price a project, so the client understood and appreciated the pricing structure took years; frankly, I am still learning how to do a better job.
This is peanut butter and chocolate cupcake with my mocha latte. It is a lot of sugar and tastes great.
GWC vs PS
My career shifted from the Guy With a Camera to a Problem Solver. The client hiring a GWC knows more typically than the photographer and must direct them to get what they need. I cannot tell you a specific date that this happened, but over time I discovered I knew more about what the client required than the client at some point.
My stepson is early in his career working in restaurants. He doesn’t know enough to do it all and is learning the ropes. Clearing tables is where he has had to start. After doing this for a while, he will move to help the waiters and become a waiter.
Hearing him talk about his work day brings back many memories and reminds me how it takes time to become a problem solver. You need enough information and how things relate before you can find solutions for people.
Working for more than 30 years in the industry means that I, more often than not, am covering something I have done in some way in the past. While the exact situation is new, it is often similar to other things I have covered.
While groundbreaking and check presentations seem routine, after 30 years, I can tell you there have been times when I was challenged to take a photo. I remember walking into one business where every wall, except for the bathrooms, was glass. Try and use a flash in this situation, and you find yourself working harder than usual to avoid a glare caused by your moment in the photo.
I enjoyed my coffee, watching people walk by and look in the window. I was enjoying people-watching that afternoon. I enjoy photographing little slices of life like this one.
Transition to clients who value YOU!
In time you will learn to communicate how you are there for your clients. You will no longer price things that make sense to you but rather communicate value to your client.
However, I had to go through what I thought was why people would hire me. Most of these were “Fallacious Arguments” to justify my photography abilities.
Some of “Fallacious Arguments” in photography I used
The camera—If you own the right camera, they will take great photos. I wanted to ensure the client knew I had the best camera possible.
Use Composition Rules—Too many photographers will not only learn the classic rules of composition but will judge their work and others based on these rules. You can hear them in camera clubs saying that it isn’t a good photo because it is breaking the law.
Master the technical—Some photographers are obsessed with the technical details of photos. They will spend their time getting a “perfect exposure.” They will judge their work and others based on if the values of the photograph fall within what they determine as proper exposure. They may argue that their photo is perfect because they used different known values to assure perfection. They may use a GretagMacbeth® ColorChecker®.
I know that, for the most part, I am gifted with technical expertise, but so are many of my colleagues who are working professional photographers.
It is my total package that separates me from others.
One day I had my photo assistant helping me with a job. I was photographing different managers in a company for profiles that were being done on them. I was doing about 20 of these a day.
The photo assistant commented on the day as we were driving back from a long day. You are good at getting people to relax and get good expressions. The assistant was surprised about my ability to talk to a range of people and get them all talking to me about what they like to do.
The assistant could articulate what made my photos so much better than other photographers she had worked with. You get great expressions.
“How do you learn how to do this?” was her question. I talked about how I had majored in Social Work, where I was trained on how to do interviews and get to know people. I then spoke about how my mentor taught me to read body language.
I talked about how my interest in people drove me to seminary, where I studied education, and how people learned at different ages.
I also talked about how it took many years of practice to develop these skills and that classroom alone was not enough.
Hired for my expertise beyond the camera
A few years ago, I had one of my life’s most remarkable moments.
Greg Thompson, director of corporate communications for Chick-fil-A, called me to see if I could do lunch with him one day. We had only known each other a few months after my wife had met him and encouraged him to get to know me.
Greg read my bio and did some investigation about me. He went to Fort Worth, TX, to the Southwestern Photojournalism Conference, of which I am on the staff. He learned about my work with Youth With A Mission, where I taught students how to use photography.
Greg also had been to some Christian in Photojournalism meetings in Atlanta that I help with regularly.
Greg had done his homework and knew me well. Greg had to do this with his work. He knew that he had to trust whoever he was to work with because they represented the company and reflected on his management skills.
I will never forget that meeting in the corporate dining room. After we ate, Greg talked to me about my corporate rates for shooting assignments. I thought he was getting ready to ask me to do a job for him.
Greg then asked me to be a consultant and use all my skills beyond the camera to help him and be a part of his team. I have noticed how you teach, give your time to other pros, and still do excellent work. Greg said why not hire the guy, so many photographers go for advice.
Couple enjoying a meal together on Canton Street in Roswell, GA.
Light bulb moment
While this was a light bulb type of moment, honestly, it was more like I had someone turn on the light with a dimmer. I still understand all he said at that moment.
When I talk to other photographers who have been in business for many years, most have had a moment they can look at as pivotal. They had a client value them for more than GWC. They loved their expertise.
How do you communicate your value?
Everything you do is part of your brand. It takes time to develop a brand. The consistency of execution will help you develop into a desirable brand.
Your photos, over time, will show your skills. When time after time, you always come through and get a particular style of the image–your clients will come to expect this.
Some clients will need to try other photographers before they realize what they get from you. This is important to hear and understand. Sometimes losing a job to another photographer may be the best thing for you. When that photographer fails to deliver what they were getting from you and expect to get, they will come back to you.
This is when you realize you have value for that client. In some cases, this is the best time to raise your rates. Sometimes you raise your rates and then go shopping and return to you.
There is no easy road
My conversation with Greg Thompson didn’t happen until I had been doing photography for some twenty-four years. This is not something that happens overnight. It takes time to build a reputation.
You cannot easily talk people into understanding why they need to pay you the rate you need to be successful. If it were this easy, everyone would be a successful photographer.
It takes time for them to see your quality of work and to experience all that you bring to them. Sometimes the only way they learn all you bring to the table is to discover they cannot get this just anywhere.
Trust is earned over time and can be lost in an instant.
Grow your business by constantly looking for those clients that value you as a person and are not just interested in the lowest price.
I have a cubical at an office I do some consulting and they asked me to decorate my cubical so people know it is used and not empty. I had some prints at home that I brought in and realized after putting them up I started something.
You see the prints that are up in my office are 20″ x 30″ prints. As groups go on tours through the office I have noticed they are paying attention to my cubical. I am helping everyone know what I enjoy doing.
A consultant’s cubical at the same office
Now as I walk by other people’s cubicles I realize you must actually go into their cubical to see their photos and know who is in them.
The reason you want to put up photos is not just for yourself, you are helping people know something about you.
This is true also with your home. You don’t want people to have to walk across the room to see your family portrait or another image that you took. They should be able to enjoy it from across the room.
What size print? Use the face size as a guide. Have the face size the same as a clock face. If it were on your wrist then maybe a 4″ x 6″ print is fine. Same photo on a wall may require a 40″ x 60″ print to have the same affect.
One of the best ways to determine the best size is to project the image on the wall. The general rule would be in a normal size living room 20′ x 24′ is a face size of at least 3″ to 5″.
If the person is part of a scene you may need a very large print. If however the photo is a head and shoulder portrait then a smaller print will work.
My friend now has larger prints up of water projects she did around the world. She is always raising money to help drill wells to help in places there is no fresh water. What a great way to use photos to keep her passion in front of her co-workers.
Besides using photos in your office at work to help people know your passions, use photos throughout your office to help communicate your companies passions.
This nonprofit uses large photos of the children’s lives it touches.
With people coming and going throughout your offices each day are you using the wall space to help communicate your story? You should and give me a call and I will help you have photos that tell your story.
For more than thirty years I have been a photojournalist. I started working for newspapers as a staff photographer and now work as a freelancer for the media and corporate clients.
Many times, the public relations office is not ready when I show up. Most PR professionals love to show how much free space they got for their company in a magazine. They show this to the company leaders and then show them how much it would have cost to buy that space. This helps with their job security.
The smartest PR people know the value and are prepared. They treat this moment as if they hired an advertising agency to produce an advertisement for them.
Take advantage of this free publicity and invest in it. You will be glad you did.
While a photojournalist is trained to be truthful and unbiased, it is difficult not to respond to negative or positive behavior towards them. If you want the best story on you, then I have some tips for you.
This is what sometimes I show up on a job with in addition to a photo assistant. Getting this gear from my van to the photo shoot can be difficult. Help out the photographer by a good parking space, knowledge of where the elevators are located and handicap ramps to avoid stairs.
Tips
Have your subject ready. Often your photojournalist has multiple assignments during a day. You not being ready and delaying them will have them rush your coverage. If computers and technology are part of the subject, be sure to have them running before the photographer arrives. Too many times I have arrived nothing is setup and ready to go. I have spent 4 hours waiting for a researcher to set everything up.
Know where the subject is located. Too often I will show up at a corporation and be led around a building or property while they are trying to find the room, we are to meet the subject. Do this before the photographer arrives. It shows you value their time.
Scout for options. Go a few days early and work with the subject. What is the best setting to help tell the story? Are there items that you may need to collect before the photo shoot? Be careful not to remove everything. Photographers are sent to you to capture the subject in their environment.
Take a few photos yourself. Evaluate the photos you take for what is in the background and can we clean that up for example. Check to see if you have enough room to move around while taking photos. Too often the subject is in such a small room that photographer cannot move to get a good angle. See if you can take photos without a flash. This may alert you to some lights that are burned out and need new bulbs.
Plan for parking. Often magazine photographers will bring lighting gear. Don’t expect just a photographer to show up with just a camera and on camera flash. If they are showing up with a cart of gear, know where the elevators are in the building and where the handicap entrance is located. This will help them avoid carrying material up and down stairs. If you need a key to access the elevator, get the key before the photo shoot is to start.
Pay attention to clothing. Solid colors are better than patterns. Avoid white due to the difficulty of reproduction process for printing press. The one time you may want white is where the white lab coat helps add information to the photo. Avoid red if there is more than one subject. Red is such a dominate color that it makes the eye go to it first. This is why it is used for emergency lights and signs. Fine patterns like haring bone can create moiré patterns. (Here is a link to an earlier blog I did on clothing for portraits.)
Have business cards or printed names and titles of the subjects to help with accurate spelling.
Plan adequate time for the photojournalist. Let the photographer know how much time the subject has for them. Maximize their time if it is very small amount by saying the subject only has 30 minutes and since it is a limited time, why don’t we just let you start and anything I can help you with just ask. This is better than you talking and taking away valuable time of them shooting. You can always help them with information after the shoot or if you know you have limited time be sure they know they can come a few minutes early and you can help them prepare.
These are just a few of the things that I have noticed over the years that would really help me get the shot needed for the media outlet.
Think of yourself as a host or hostess in your home entertaining guests. Make the photojournalist feel welcomed and treated as your guest, because they are your guest.
One of the hot topics on SportShooter.com these past few years has been USPresswire. While many are upset with them, they are just like Getty or Walmart. Their business model is working but affecting many professional sports photographers.
Much of this blog is based on reading Richard Anthony D’Aveni’s book Beating the Commodity Trap: How to Maximize Your Competitive Position and Increase Your Pricing Power. Please read it for a more comprehensive understanding of avoiding being a commodity than I am giving here.
D’Aveni says, “The arrival of a dominant low-end player shakes up the industry’s market power, as Southwest did in the airline industry, Dell once did in computers, or Walmart is still doing in retailing. It is tough for incumbents to compete with these disruptive players using their existing cost structures.”
These are the signs of a Deteriorating Market for D’Aveni
A dominant low-cost competitor has emerged in your market, disrupting the status quo.
The economies of scale enjoyed by the disrupting company make it impossible for you to compete on price.
Customers are less willing to pay for additional benefits such as superior service and industry expertise.
Your margins are falling, and you are losing market share despite lowering prices and product benefits to catch up with the competition.
We have to concede the low-end price market and step aside. Photographer John Harrington talks about a client who chose another photographer for something he did annually for them and was disappointed. When they returned to John the following year, he realized he had a niche. John got the job and raised his price, knowing they didn’t want to get burned again.
There isn’t a quick fix to the deterioration of prices paid for sporting event coverage.
I do think where there are no spec shooters and lowball photographers, shooting events are places for profit to be found.
We will become like moths drawn to a flame if we are not careful. Remember the saying, “Don’t fall in love with the car.” It will make it difficult for you to make a sound business decision.
If you have fallen in love with standing on the sidelines of sporting events with your camera, you are likely to contribute even more to the industry’s deterioration. You will also deteriorate your bank account to support your habit.
If your offering (photography) is similar to that of a large group of photographers, then you are just a commodity, and the low price will always get the job. You can’t tell the difference between one company’s product and another’s. The price tag is generally the only difference when something is viewed as a commodity.
If you cannot distinguish yourself from other photographers in a way that customers desire, you will have difficulty making a living. Due to saturation, you may have to leave a specific niche.
