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It Ain’t Funny Business, but…
April 3rd, 2009
Some of you know my story. Here’s the short form for those that don’t. Been a photographer since I was 14, wanted to be Steve McCurry. Who didn’t? Life zagged and I went to college, a theology school, after a summer on the Amazon River. Kept shooting as a hobby. 5 years later life zagged again and I became a comedian for 12 years. Still shooting as a hobby. Went to Haiti. Zag #3, retired from comedy and finally came back to my first passion. I learned a lot along the way, and many of those lessons have stood me in good stead. I loved that gig, got where I wanted to go, but this one’s more…me.
I can juggle flaming torches on a 6ft unicycle; my mother bought me my first unicycle for Christmas. The next year she bought me a straitjacket. Christmas around our place was a little weird for a few years there. I think they’re all pretty relieved to be buying me camera gear again. And while I doubt I’ll ever be called on to juggle or do a 2-hour stage show again, my diversion into show-biz, specifically comedy, taught me much that’s transferable. Here’s a few things professional comedy taught me about being a vocational photographer.
1. Show Biz is 10% show, 90% biz. Now I’m not sure about the math on this but it’s the same for photographers who shoot professionally. You need to hone those photography skills all the time. But you also need to hone the professional skills. When’s the last time you bought a book about trends in viral marketing or learned how to keep better financial records?
2. That’s Hack, Man! There are few insults in the comedy world that’ll strip a man of his pride like telling him his routine is hack. Cliche. Already Been Done. It pushes the best comics to make their routines as unique to them as humanly possible. Just because it’s original doesn’t necessarily make it funny, but it’s part of guarding your artistic integrity, and for a group of people who seem to be all funny all the time, the best of them can be very neurotic about this. The best comics don’t try to be someone else. Neither do the best photographers. Annie Liebovitz isn’t where she is today because she tried to be Cartier-Bresson.
3. The best comedy is tight, intentionally edited stuff. There’s not much room in comedy for extraneous bits. If you want to keep you LPM (laughs per minute) up you need to trim the fat. Set it up, get to the punchline, and then call back. Seinfeld is the king of the call-back. I’ve counted his LPM as high as 11, a good comedian will get 5-7. Comedians know how to get to the good stuff faster. Photographers need to hone their editing skills, both within the image – there’s a reason Capa said “if your photographs aren’t good enough you aren’t close enough” – and in their portfolios. Tighten it up, it makes for stronger communication.
4. Comedians understand what makes people laugh and they craft their routines accordingly. Do you know how people read your images? If not, how do you expect to lead their eye to what you consider important? Photographers must be visually literate. I preach this all the time, but the WHY is important, it informs the HOW. As in HOW you make an image depends on WHY you’re making it, where you want them to look, and what you want to say. Only visual literacy gets you there.
5. Performers understand what it takes to create and leverage celebrity. Their careers survive on the strength of their fan base, which of course is only partly dependent on the strength of their talent. Photographers who understand marketing, branding, positioning, and how to honestly leverage these things within their intended market, have a better chance of making it, than a photographer with the same talent who does not. Uncomfortable with the word “celebrity”? Don’t think you need it. What if you use “word of mouth” instead? Seems pretty important now, doesn’t it.
6. Comedians – the very best ones – know from whence they came. They know the heritage of their art. They can tell you who did the first bit about airplane food, where Cosby paid his dues, and when Vaudeville died. They know that to understand the present and future of their craft they need to understand the historical trajectory of the craft, where’s it been, where’s it going. Not all of them do, but the best ones seem to.
7. They take their craft very seriously. Ever been to a convention of comedians? You’d think it would be all laughter all the time. And it is. Sort of. But sit in on a conversation with six comics discussing the craft and you’ll think you just dropped in on a planning session with the mafia. They get very serious, and very articulate in between the fart gags. They know that the more seriously they take their craft offstage, the better it will be on stage when the house lights dim.
My time in comedy taught me much more than this. I don’t do comedy anymore, but when I am shooting in Africa, surrounded by 300 villagers laughing at me wiggling my butt or butchering the swahili word for “smile” I’m right back where I started. Ain’t no business like show business, but the similarities, to me, are striking.
Have a great weekend , y’all.
Another great post David-food for thought as always. You have me giggling here at visions of you wiggling your butt in Africa! And oh yes, the duChemin household must have been a riot right around Christmas and birthdays: “So, young David, what did your parents buy you for Christmas this year”
“A straightjacket”
“Okkkkaaaaayyyyyy, well, um, yes, I might just have a little top up of that lovely alcoholic punch your mum made” (while slowly backing away from the guy holding the white jacket….)
Hmmm and you in that green jacket? I think I need to shoot you for my style blog! v nice
“i” before “e” except after “c”. . and in Leibovitz. . . unless you were trying to be funny.
@ Captain Spellright – Uh, gee thanks. I’m sure Annie would understand that in haste we sometimes make the odd mistake. I am very aware of how to spell. Perhaps you could open a co-branded website, like Captain Unforgivable Typo and Captain Don’t You Have Anything Better To Do With Your Time? Go play on Twitter, it’ll keep you busy with spelling corrections until Jesus comes back.
Thank you, Captain Spellright, for the wet blanket
but back to David – David, this is one of my favorite posts. I should have known you were a comedian in a former life. Of course, you had me laughing out loud and I have no doubt that your sense of humor was handed down to you from that person who gifted you with a straight jacket.
I love the comparisons you’ve provided here – they click, they make sense and they really spoke to me…
Thank you!
PS I would count myself as lucky to see that juggling act.
Come on David, I thought you had a sense of humour!
That’s why I keep coming back.
@ Captain Spellcheck – LOL – Yeah, I do. Guess I hadn’t had my coffee yet.
One of the downfalls of this medium is never quite knowing the spirit in which to take these things. Sorry if my reply sounded harsh, it too was meant to be tongue in cheek, but probably came out a little grumpy. Gotta go get me some coffee!
Have a good weekend, Captain.
Juggling flaming torches on a 6ft unicycle…?
I can’t think of better preparation for running your own business!
Hi David. I really enjoyed this post. I’ve only just stumbled on to you blog, but consider me a fan from now on!
Great advice and a thoroughly enjoyable read. I’ll send some more visitors your way.
Cheers,
Paul
David – I absolutely love your writing. You have become very skilled at being serious and funny at the same time. Looking forward to reading more of your awesome posts!
Have a great weekend,
Sherri
What a great post!
I actually did Stand Up for a year, but couldn’t handle the stress.
I can barely handle the stress of what I do now
Excellent Work, Great Information!!!!!
[...] in my stock photography – I’ll throw a funny twist into the portfolio. So when I saw this web post from a comedian-photographer (there’s an awesome hyphenated job title), I had to stop and [...]
Nice post David, thanks.
JI
Your last paragraph really hit home. Interacting with kids in Africa, or clients in a studio you need to be able to engage and intrigue them. I do that very poorly right now. Maybe I should find a green jacket…
Thank you so much. I’m inspired.
I just found your blog via a Tweet from Scott Bourne. Loving your blog already – after just this one post.
Great stuf, as Capt. Spellright would say:
‘That’s sum grate blog post wot u rote’
First time visit via a Twitter post by Scott Bourne. I’ll be back! Great post. The comparisons really worked for me.
Funny, I knew that I wasn’t the only one to see it this way. Obviously, I don’t have your comedy experience, but I often thought of stand up when shooting. Getting to know the client quickly, them liking the show and being comfortable walking away. I wrote about this in an unpublished blog post. Nice I can relate.
[...] Check it out here. [...]
I found this post like others via a Twitter post by Scott Bourne.
Very informative and enjoyable read. What I got from your post, for me, I will improve my knowledge of the history of photography. I agree, it would be much better to know the history and important figures. It certainly can’t hurt!
[...] It Ain’t Funny Business, but… [...]
[...] It Ain’t Funny Business, but… [...]
10% show 90% biz.
I completely disagree. With your frequent comments about how craft and vision are the most important, I would assume you would also disagree!
I address this in my response to a post by David Ziser.
http://vault-blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/response-business-or-craft.html
I think something more along the lines of 90% show, 10% biz would be appropriate…
If you look at the comment again you’ll see that, first of all it’s about Showbiz – Biz is the important word there and the craft is not the key element. So it’s a discussion specific to business. Second, the math is not what’s important, it’s the focus – hyperbole to make a point is often helpful. We’re talking parables here.
The reality is, if we’re talking math, it’s craft 100% and business 100% – the two are interlocking spheres and one doesn’t have to give for the other to gain. To do so is a mistake and one side suffers needlessly.
What is being put forth, mathmatics aside, is that anyone who goes into this professionally and thinking that craft alone will carry them is mistaken. So back to the math, I think 90% show and 10% business is equally problematic.
I can tell you every working professional I know – who is succeeding – works as hard, and as much, at the business as he does at his craft. For people that don’t want to do it that way – it’s probably a good sign they’ll be happier doing this avocationally.
Math aside, again, thanks for the dialogue. It’s usually the questions and the discussion that are more important than the way in which we phrase our answers.
Craft 100% and business 100%
That, I totally agree with. I just think that some people make the mistake of choosing one over the other. I would probably count myself as one of them, though I’m on my way to a BSBA in marketing and (hopefully) fixing that.
I love your blog and will definitely be buying the book ASAP! Thank you for your responses
[...] First up, we get started by looking at the similarities between the Photography Business and other businesses, in this case Show Business. I don’t do comedy anymore, but when I am shooting in Africa, surrounded by 300 villagers laughing at me wiggling my butt or butchering the swahili word for “smile” I’m right back where I started. Ain’t no business like show business, but the similarities, to me, are striking. via pixelatedimage.com [...]
[...] turned photographer, David duChemin shares the parallels between being a comedian and being a professional photographer. His portfolio is also well worth a [...]