PixelatedImage Blog

This one might not win me any friends out there - so let me say in advance that I know it’s rather biased, and I’m willing to just be just plain wrong on this. It’s just a rant and I’ll feel better for getting it out. So if you’re looking for wisdom move along. But…

I’m not much a fan of micro stock photography. I think there’s something fundamentally flawed about it. While some photographers make a living with it, the vast majority seem simply to live on fumes and hope. Something about the idea of intentionally putting my images out there for people to buy for a couple bucks - or less - and then use them for who knows what - I dunno, it’s not for me. So I feel a particular sense of irony when I read this on the Photopreneur site:

PhotoShelter’s VP Marketing told us during a recent conference call.
“Everything is dated, especially in the category of diversity,” added Emily Hickey, VP Products. “The majority are cheesy, too staged, too stocky and not authentic.” That’s quite an indictment but it’s based on a new survey of over 20,000 photo buyers just conducted by PhotoShelter. More than 700 art directors, creative directors, designers, photo editors and art buyers replied — and delivered some withering criticism of the state of the stock industry. In each of the categories of Healthcare, Multicultural/Diversity, Seniors, Technology & Products, Interior Décor, and Eco-Friendly, more than 80 percent of buyers expressed dissatisfaction with the images on offer. The photos were too similar, they complained, unnatural and too posed. Even the photos available in Business Situations & Settings were given a thumbs-down by 72 percent of the survey’s respondents.

So people want to continue to pay pennies on the dollar what a photograph costs to make, but they want selection and quality too? I know there are some excellent photographers doing stock, and I applaud them for it - it just seems like an exercise in masochism to me. But as long as photographers are willing to sell images to people who will only pay a few dollars for them, we’re breeding these clients ourselves. We made this monster ourselves and their sense of entitlement is fostered by our willingness to give it away for nothing.

This isn’t a shot against stock-shooters, it’s a lament that micro stock clients have become, as we should have expected them to, whining cry-babies with no sense of reality or respect for the photographers who produce the work. Still, the blame lies with us - if we hadn’t sold to the lowest bidder in the first place….

This thinking is not exclusive to the micro-stock world, it permeates the photography world. It’s one thing for an amateur to take work for next to nothing - you have to pay your dues - but for professing professionals to take the easy way out, to low-ball quotes and undercut the next guy because “I have to make a living,” is monumentally short-sighted and a good bet that they won’t make it for the long haul and will be found one day, sadly, working a day job and wondering why they couldn’t make it as a photographer. It’s a basic rule of business: to make a profit you take the actual cost of doing business and you charge MORE than that. Not less. Not the same as.

I love what I do and I want to see other people doing what they love to do, not shooting themselves in the foot and making it impossible to charge fair-market prices, that’s all. There’s plenty of work out there for all of us, so long as we don’t glut the market with cheap or crappy product. Simple supply and demand, folks.

Ok, the rant’s over and the comments are open. Agree? Disagree? Just do it nicely. And remember, I already admitted this was a potentially unbalanced emotionally-driven reaction-piece, so you were warned.

Photographers, for all their professed ability to see, can sometimes be terribly myopic when it comes to business. I guess it’s a downside to be so darned artsy-fartsy right? Well nothing says “legitimate starving artist” quite like a bankruptcy, so if you’re going for that particular positioning in your marketing, you may totally ignore the following.

Five Ways To Avoid Totally Tanking, Going Bankrupt, and Becoming a Horrible Cautionary Tale For Years To Come.

1. Work on Your Craft. Constantly.
The biggest asset you have is your vision and your ability to put it within the frame, and if you aren’t constantly growing that asset by intentionally, pro-actively, working on your craft then you’re probably moving backwards relative to your competition. That’s the commercial concern. More tragic would be never evolving as an artist.

2. Get a Mentor.
Find someone who’s been where you want to be. Seek their counsel, their honest critiques, and learn from them. Paint-up, Paint-down, Daniel-san.

3. Put a Designer in Your Back Pocket.
Unless you’re good at design you should let the pros do it. Back design is bad visual communication and it will work against you in your marketing efforts. Assuming that good photographers are automatically good designers has resulted in too many bad websites and promo using comic sans font. Don’t let this happen to you.

4. Put an Accountant in Your Other Back Pocket.
If you want to be in this for the long haul you need someone who understands money to help you with taxes, savings, and the basic stuff you need to know to run a tight, clean ship with no holes.

5. Keep Your Overhead Low.
No one cares what gear you own. OK, that’s not true - lots of people care what gear you own, but they’re the creepy people who also hope you care about what kind of gear they own. If you buy your gear to appease them or to make yourself feel you’re the kind of photographer you wish you were, you’re leaking money. If you’re going to use that new tilt/shift lens a couple times a year, rent it. If you only need lighting for occasional paid location work, rent it and build it into your pricing. Purchased gear needs to be stored, fixed, insured, and eventually replaced and unless it earns you consistent solid money, you don’t need to own it. Let the rental houses take this one for the team. Stay lean, put your money where it will earn you something: in savings, an RRSP, or the designer and marketing coach you can now afford.

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While we’re on the subject of business, check out David Ziser’s post about quoting on large jobs - the advice is sound for all quoting.

When I was 16 I wanted to be a professional photographer, shoot for the yellow rectangle, all that. I think in part because I felt like I wouldn’t be a real photographer unless I was making a living from it. Then something clicked and I think one of the reasons I dodged doing this professionally for many years was because I didn’t want the demands of vocation to steal the joy from something I loved so much. But I was still dogged by words like “amateur” and “hobbyist,” if only because it felt like I was being defined by what I wasn’t - a “professional.”

Pursuing your vision and loving your craft has precisely nothing to do with how you make your living. The real photographer is the one who shoots what she loves and is committed to learning her craft well. Money often just makes it unnecessarily complicated.

In fact, abstaining from career photography can have advantages, and as a follow-up to yesterday’s post about “going pro,” I wanted to add a little perspective to the would-be converts. Abstaining from career photography:

Can mean having a day job to fund the gear you want. Pros are often forced to spend their money on necessities: marketing materials instead of the 14/2.8L lens they want. The hobbyist gets the cool lens, the pro gets postcards.

Can mean the flexibility to shoot what you want to shoot without the demands of clients hemming in your artistic impulses.

Can mean being free of the pressure to create on demand.

Can mean the freedom to pursue the art of your vision without commercial concerns or distractions. Ideally a working photographer finds/makes the time for personal projects she is passionate about; it just doesn’t always work out that way.

Can mean the freedom to love your images without feeling like they’re only truly good photographs if someone buys them. Allowing your vision to be validated only by dollars is a terrible trap.

In the best-case scenario, doing this for a living is as good as doing it as a hobby. Sometimes more so. Doing this for a living can mean doing it more, pressing deeper into the art simply from necessity, and being able to write off some cool gear. I love doing this and making a living at it, right now I wouldn’t change that for anything. But the notion that you aren’t a real photographer until people are paying you is rubbish. Vincent Van Gogh didn’t sell any of his work during his lifetime. Sure, he went crazy and lopped an ear off, but he was incontrovertibly an artist.

So if “going pro” allows you to both make a living and pursue your vision - go for it. If remaining a hobbyist allows you to pursue your vision without the pitfalls of making it your trade, go for it. Either way, serve your vision with passion. Shoot what you love, even if it costs you (and it will!), that’s when you’re a real photographer.

When I first started blogging I did a Home Office Smackdown and readers sent in pics of their home offices. Very complicated. A friend, Jordan Nielsen, posted something similar this morning and in a moment of boredom I decided to play along and will link this to his comments. I invite you to link yours in mine. Why? Why not? (Click the pic to embiggen it.)

On a side note - anyone out there ever have Photoshop’s Photomerge go through its paces with a small handful of jpgs only to simply end up with nothing at all, as if you’d never started the process? Very strange - for the life of me I can’t get it to work. Gurus feel free to chime in. But only once you’ve shot your office/studio/workspace and linked it in the comments.

I just read an article online that’s pushing me to react. It’s an honest account by a man who’s giving up the freelance life in favour of going back to “working for the man.” Good for him for being so honest and candid, but the article saddened me. So, I’m reacting and writing another of those advice posts that always, months or years later, seem so presumptuous.

So, if you’re thinking of making “The Switch” and going freelance or professional, here’s a couple thoughts. I’m going to use the word “freelancer” rather than “professional” because it’s often more accurate. I’ve known hobbyists that were very professional; and I’ve known people who do this for a living that are far from it. Making a living at this ought to mean you’re a professional, but there’s professional and then there’s Professional. If ya know what I mean.

1. Go in with your eyes open.
This is not easy. Very rarely will your phone start ringing relentlessly the moment you print a business card. It takes deliberate time, effort, and money to gain momentum. Plan on it.

2. Go in with your wallet full.
Things might take much longer to get rolling than you initially thought. Meanwhile camera’s break, marketing materials cost money, and the bills and rent still need paying. Going in with 6-12 months of reserves in the bank is a very good plan.

3. Go in through the back door.
Want to quit your day-job and live the dream? Who doesn’t? Are you getting clients now? Why leave the safety net until you’ve got enough clients to (1) sustain you financially and avoid months of a totally empty calendar and (2) give you experience and feedback. Going through the backdoor is my metaphor for building a small base of clients while still in the safety of your day-job. It’s a lousy metaphor, but solid advice if your circumstances permit it. Shoot part-time as long as you can, flex your business and marketing muscles while the Boss is still under-writing your efforts.

4. Go in slowly.
Why rush this? While you have a so-called “real job” you have resources to spend on gear, you likely have medical/dental insurance, you have the luxury of planning your transition - make the most of it.

5. Don’t Go In Alone.
Going into this without honest fans, critics, and mentors is foolish. Find someone who you can talk to about this whole thing - listen to their stories, learn from their failures. If you are lousy with numbers and finances, find a great bookkeeper and account BEFORE you launch this ship into a harbour full of hazards.

6. Go in LOUDLY (or find someone to do your shouting.)
What do you know about marketing? I used to be in show business and the saying went, “show business is 10% show and 90% business.” So too with photography. The ratio might be different, the principle is not. You must know how to market yourself or have someone in your back pocket who can do it for you. Read up on marketing, establish a relationship with a designer, and have a plan.

7. Go in Balanced
Want to keep your friends and family? Want not to burn out? Set some boundaries, find some release mechanisms. Do what you love and love what you do, but don’t mistake it for the entirety of life. Find some balance - it’s as pragmatic as it is idealistic - it’ll give you inspiration and rest from the pressures.

I love what I do, and I love the life it has given me. I’ve been self-employed for my entire adult life with very brief early forays into the real world from which I always recoiled in horror. Being your own boss (and your own janitor) has its rewards, as well as its stresses. For some people this is truly the dream, for others it’ll be less so. Going in with your eyes open will give you a fighting chance at making this a dream and not a nightmare.

I have no idea where the whole revolution thing comes into play here. I get dangerous when you put a metaphor into my untrained hands. But I’ve been itching to use my image of Che with the Apple logo, so I did. Call it artistic license.

I’m back to the idea of intentionality and a reminder to be pro-active. If you’re a pro this applies to every aspect of your business, if you’re an amateur you still need to be intentional about learning your craft.

What new series will you shoot for your portfolio this year, and when? What new skills will you learn, and how? What new business, marketing, or accounting practices will you adopt and when? What influences or heroes will you connect with and how?

Key to setting goals is not only planning the goal itself, but breaking it down into steps - easily managed tasks that together accomplish the greater goal. Take some time today to set some goals, then break them down and get to it. Because Apple Che says so.

Here’s a few resources if you’re planning to:

hone your business skills? Best Business Practices for Photographers, Harrington. ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography

hone your photography skills? The Moment It Clicks, Joe McNally

hone your photoshop skills? Klowskowski’s Layers Book, or Kelby’s 7 Point System Book.

meet some heroes? Photoshop World 2008, Las Vegas

This is REO, a 6-week old Cocker Spaniel I had a chance to photograph this week-end. One of my photographic ventures is RedCollar Photographic. My passion is shooting the world and creating photo-resources for the humanitarian and NGO community but I can only be out on the field so much. So, RedCollar is a something I’m rolling out to keep me out of mischief while I am in town and not already doing commercial work here in Vancouver.

I’d encourage those of you who struggle to make a living at this to diversify. Target your marketing to each individual market - don’t be a jack-of-all-trades shooter - and make sure you specialize in each of those markets, but intentionally diversifying your markets to a couple areas of really solid expertise is an excellent way to make sure you keep shooting.

So why do I photograph dogs and their people? It was an intelligent lateral move. Much of what I shoot for World Vision involves shooting children and animals. Shooting people and pets here at home allows me to extend my expertise in one area to another, while allowing me to hone my skills for my primary client. Each one feeds the other. I’d be less likely to shoot weddings (however, I have shot in war-zones with the UN kicking around, and that’s like several weddings I’ve been to…). It’s also a market without high-end competition, and one in which people are heavily invested emotionally - which means solid income.

Diversification, when done right, allows you to retain your positioning without diluting your apparent expertise. When done right it can be a powerful tool for staying in the black.

Check out the rest of Reo’s images at redcollar.ca

Christmas is coming. So is my birthday. So, overlooking the fact that the perfect gift for the guy who has everything is nothing at all, these are my top-ten great gifts for the travelling photographer. If you’re the spouse of a photographer, look at it this way - they’ll probably buy this stuff, or stuff like it, if you don’t get it for them. This way you don’t have to buy them a tie they won’t like. In the end, you spend less. You can thank me later.

1. CIA World Factbook. Link HERE.

This one is on my list this year. Say what you like about the CIA (and I will, thank you very much) you just know a book compiled about every country on the planet just has to be full of great info. Even if you’d rather just photograph the country and meet the people rather than affect a regime change.

2. Moleskine Notebook, pocket sized, lined. Link HERE.

These are legendary. Their cachet is so artsy-fartsy they should come with a beret and a black turtle-neck. But even if you aren’t that artsy, these are the ne-plus-ultra of notebooks. In fact, I didn’t even know what ne plus ultra meant until I started using a Moleskine, that’s how great they are. I always carry a spare.

3. Leatherman Pocket Tool - Link HERE.

Stuff breaks. Usually at the worst moment. A Leatherman, some duct tape, and some crazy glue, and you should be able to fix anything. Make sure you take it out of your carry-on before you fly. Speaking of carry-on luggage…

4. Saddleback Leather bag. Link HERE.

This is not a budget item. I mean, really, really not a budget item. But if you’re looking for a bag that will last until long after you yourself are dead and feeding the worms, this is it. Heavy duty, gorgeous, made like the love-child between a Sherman tank and a think-skinned cow. Or something. Seriously gorgeous luggage.

5. PacSafe Products. Link HERE

Photography gear is infamously expensive. This fact is not unknown to the evil-doers and shadow-lurkers of the world. Protect your gear with the PacSafe line of travel safes and pack safes. The picture about says it all, but PacSafe makes a number of other products - from camera straps to day-packs. All laced with steel mesh and cables. And also Kryptonite. Put your camera bag in one of these, lock it around the bed frame or toilet and it’s going nowhere.

6. MedJet Assist Evacuation Membership. Link HERE

Hospitalized somewhere nasty? If your loved ones had given you MedJet Assist for Christmas you could be flown to a hospital of your choice. The fine print and restrictions on most consumer medical policies is scary. If you or someone you love travels to scary places, this is an excellent investment.

7. LaCie Portable Hard-drive. Link HERE.

A solid, portable bus-powered harddrive or two means when your laptop gets stolen in Addis Ababa or the harddrive dies in Timbuktu, your images are safe. Because you backed-up your data. And then you put the harddrive in a separate place from the laptop. You did do that, right? I thought so.

8. Blundstone Boots. Link HERE.

Solid boots, handmade in Australia. Slide’em on, slide’em off. Perfect for airplanes and security line-ups. Equally at home in Paris (polish them first, s’il vous plait) or San Salvador. I love my Blunnies.

9. Lexar Memory Cards. Link HERE.

Every photographer I know would love more memory. You know how clever people say “less is more”? It isn’t. Less is less. Only MORE is more. The Lexar 8GB UDMA cards are lots more. More capacity. More speed. More gold shiny label too.

10. A Goat or a donkey. World Vision Christmas Gift Catalogue. Link HERE (canada), HERE (usa), and HERE (uk)

Returning to my earlier premise, and to my favourite soapbox, if your favourite traveler has everything - get him nothing. Instead, spend the money on someone who has nothing. See, the thing about travelers is that as they see more of the globe they realize things are different “out there.” They begin to see the effects of a system in which 20% of the world consumes 80% of the resources. They see poverty that can be alleviated, and sicknesses that are preventable. And as they meet these people it gets harder and harder to just be a tourist.

So buy a goat for a family in Malawi, or an Alpaca for a family in Ecuador. I shoot for the World Vision Canada Christmas Gift Catalogue and I can tell you first hand, these gifts do get there, and they do make a difference.

This post was instigated by reader GKB who asked me to speak to the issue of sponsorship. Before I say anything I should say that everything I learned about sponsorship I learned from Matt Brandon, The Digital Trekker. Matt is my colleague and co-conspirator on the Lumen Dei tour, he should be writing this.

There are a number of variables that go into a successful sponsored relationship. No matter what the nature of that sponsorship, the first thing that the potential sponsor will look for is credibility. If you do not have a level of perceived professionalism, cachet, or talent, the sponsor will look elsewhere. When a company sponsors talent of any kind it is because it sees an advantage to linking itself to them. To be really blunt: if you don’t have the talent, or the perceived talent, they’ll probably pass. It’s a cruel thing, but companies want to be associated with the best. So make sure your chops are up and you have your best foot forward (and polished) before you even think about knocking on doors.

Secondly, there are no free lunches (ok, there are some, but I’ve already eaten them and they are few out there). The perception is that sponsorship = they give you free stuff. Not so. It’s a business exchange. The terms of that exchange are what make one deal differ from another. You need to anticipate their needs, know your skill set, and be willing to do whatever you can do to bring value to the relationship. There is no reason they will "give you free stuff" unless there’s a compelling reason to do so. Usually thats seeing their logo on websites, having product reviews, and being able to say "we sponsor this guy". Sometimes it’s photos of their gear in use in some dusty corner of the world, sometimes it’s writing articles for the website.

Don’t misunderstand me - there are some very generous marketing folks out there and sometimes sponsored relationships feel a little unevenly win-win in favour of the photographer - I don’t want to imply that sponsored relationships are only a matter of return on investment. The companies which I have dealt with in the photographic industry have been universally kind and helpful, even when the answer to my inquiry is "no" or "not at this time."

Which brings me to another point Matt Brandon mentioned recently - that timing is everything. Sometimes it’s just a matter of getting the right person at the right time. If you fail once don’t let it be a sign to give up. Give it a couple months or a year, then send another inquiry asking if things have changed.

Sponsorships are generally found with the manufacturers, not stores or outlets. It’s just way cheaper for the manufacturer to give you stuff. But that does not mean it’s unheard of - baby, if I could get sponsorship from Air Canada or my local outdoor/technical clothes retailer, I’d be there in a heartbeat. If you can find an angle and propose something that makes you both happy, there’s no reason not to do it.

I value my sponsors and do what I can to make our relationship a long-term one. I write articles, send pictures, keep in touch as much as I can without being a pain in the ass. I make suggestions, and where a product really shines I am relentless about making sure others know it. My sponsors also get to partner with me in my humanitarian photography - their sponsorship keeps my overhead low and allows me to remain a little more accessible to the agencies that need me.

I’m relatively quiet about sponsorship because I think it’s a thing that requires real diplomacy. It requires as much (or more) a mindset of "what can I give to them" as  "what can I get" and I think that’s rare in people who pursue sponsorship. But if you’ve got that, and you genuinely have something to offer - then do some research, find out who deals with sponsorships or marketing, and get in touch. Test the waters. If you live in the same city, offer to take the marketing guy to lunch to have a conversation. I think most opportunities in life begin with a conversation, so take the chance.

Got questions? Feel free to leave a comment.

Freelancer: a
person who works as a writer, designer, performer, or the like, selling
work or services by the hour, day, job, etc., rather than working on a
regular salary basis for one employer.

Also: "medieval mercenary warrior," 1820, from free + lance; apparently a coinage of Sir Walter Scott’s. Fig. sense is from 1864; the verb is first attested 1903.

Freelance Switch is a remarkable blog for freelancing creatives. THIS article will be of interest to all ye who lance freely. It’s called, 101 Ideas To Get More Freelance Work and Generate New Client Leads.

In a similar vein, PHOTOPRENEUR has a couple related articles on making more money from your images - in general the site is loaded with some good stuff along the lines of making it as a freelancing photographer.Read 52 Ways To Monetize Your Photos.