Costs of Photography - Explained in an Exceptional Way

Naples Newborn and Children's Photographer Nicole Zumaeta (known as Nicole Z) has reposted a really exceptional job that explains what the value and costs are associated with hiring a professional photographer, which was originally written by Marianne Drenth. So, rather than try to summarize what Marianne's written (and which Nicole had the permission to re-post), I commend you to head over to her blog and check it out!

(Comments, if any, after the Jump)

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Earned Success

Recently I was breaking bread with a friend and colleague, who is a highly respected and well known photographer. For the sake of this story, we'll call this photographer Asa. During the conversation, I turned to this photographers' assistant, and asked "how did you come to be assistanting Asa?" What was shared was not, per se, genius, nor, really, a secret. However, it was a validation of the common truths along the path to success, and it is worth sharing.

The story goes, that after the assistant had heard the photographer give a lecture, through happenstance, they ran into each other several months later. Pleasantries were exchanged, and an offer of "if you ever need some help, don't hesitate to call me" was made. Now, it's important to note that this assistant was still in college. A short time later, for a short-term assignment, Asa called the assistant, and the assistant was available. At this point, you might be of the mindset to suggest "oh, well, that assistant just got lucky." And to that I say "perhaps. However, Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." Thus, here is where our erstwhile assistant proved their mettle.

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Photographers and assistants have an interesting symbiotic relationship. I can recount one instance where my full time assistant, a young women of a mid-sized build, suggested that she was unable to heft several large equipment cases into the production vehicle, and so, rather than push her or expect more, I just helped. No harm no foul, I surmised. However, when a project came that called for a second assistant, after several months with my full time assistant on board, we send the second assistant down to the production vehicle. We arrived there, and I said "wheres all the gear?" This slightly built (also female) assistant said "oh, it's in the car", and from that day forward, the first assistant was loading all the gear herself, and without any quarter for complaint from me. The point is, photographers often get accustomed to just accepting the stated limitations of an assistant, even when the limitations outlined just don't seem to ring quite true. As in my case, Asa had a similar situation. Asa's full time assistant was used to a somewhat tortoise-like travel case handling routine, and as the normal assistant would be moseying along with cases, Asa would have to wait around, and otherwise be delayed by the assistant. However, for Asa, the first sign that the new assistant was a keeper was that when Asa arrived at the curbside, the new assistant had figured out how to load all the gear onto two huge luggage carts and have them ready for Asa without delay. From that point forward, Assistant "Tortoise" had been one-upped by Assistant "Hare", and the fabled ending to that tale is not the same as this one. Here, the Hare proved that when called upon, Hare could deliver.

As we finished out meal, I found it refreshing to find a fine example of success coming to someone who really demonstrated a superior work ethic. To this day, That assistant is traveling all over the world with Asa, and their commitment to excellence shows through each time an assignment comes in and is swiftly completed.

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Wedding Photography Contracts - A Cautionary Tale

As PDNPulse recapped here a New York Post article here, a bride has filed a lawsuit in the Manhattan Supreme Court alleging she instructed her photographer, of the highly regarded wedding photography studio Christian Oth Photography, to refrain from taking photographs of her while getting ready, and in some degree of undress.

The suit also alledges that Oth posted the photographs, according to PDN for "all to see." So the question is - what are the photographers rights and obligations? Let's take a multi-facted look at the circumstances surrounding this issue.

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First - let's assume, just for the moment, that the allegation of the bride is true, in that photographs of the bride in some state of undress/preparation, are online and viewable to the public. Since Oth no doubt had the bride and groom sign a contract, the contract most likely includes the right granted to the studio for them to be able to use images from the wedding for promotional purposes. The sample contract made available by the Professional Photographers of America (here - membership required) to its' members, includes the clause:

"The Studio/Photographer reserves the right to use negatives and/or reproductions for advertising, display, publication or other purposes. Negatives and previews remain the exclusive property of this Studio/Photographer."

Thus, if the images appeared on Oth's website, and Oth used recommended contract language, they would be legally covered.

The second statement that the bride alledges, is that (according to PDN) the photographer was ordered "...to refrain from taking photos of her in a state of undress but that the photographer kept snapping away anyway." However, there are no stipulations in the contract for this to take place, if Oth used the standard PPA contract. Two terms would cover this:

"It is understood this Studio/Photographer is the exclusive official photographer retained to perform the photographic and/or video services requested on this Contract."

and this term:

This Contract incorporates the entire understanding of the parties. Any modifications of this Contract must be in writing and signed by both parties.

Thus, the bride could not modify the contract verbally with an "order", and this is again, assuming some variation of the PPA recommended contract was used.

Oth has responded to the PDNPulse article, with a statement (in PDF form) here, and makes the point that "We have never posted any images of Mrs. Bostwick on our public website or any other public venue. Client images, such as Mrs. Bostwick's, are posted on our proofing website and are always password protected." Some research shows that Oth uses Pictage, long considered a leader in providing online galleries and proofing/print ordering for wedding couples. Oth's studio page on Pictage is shown here. As someone who has in the past used Pictage for all manner of client deliverables (including weddings), I can say that the back-end ability to limit public viewing is very powerful.

Pictage recommends that the bride and groom be given "owner" status of their galleries. As such, the gallery would be transferred to the owner, and the owner in turn has the right to "make private" images they don't want their guests to see (yet they can still see.) As such, before the owner releases the images to friends and family to browse, they have had the ability to edit their gallery of images. At all times, owners, friends and family either have to log-in, or have a password to establish an account specific to that gallery and then log-in, before being able to see images. In the end, Pictage has the ability to protect client and end-client images very well. While it is possible for a Pictage user like Oth to have granted "public" access to a wedding, it is made very clear that you are choosing this option when you are setting up an account, so I would doubt that this was the case.

As someone who has photographed weddings, (and as a male), my discussions center around "the bride putting the final touches on her gown", which usually refers to primping and the affixing of the veil/train, just before dad comes in to see his daughter. This time is usually where a few candids of the bride with bridesmaids, and so on can be made, and those images are nice for the beginning of the album. For a female photographer (and I am guessing here), it might be normal/more comfortable for her to be in a bit earlier when there might be a bit more being revealed, as could have been the case given that the Oth photographer is Carolyn Monastra, almost certainly a woman.

So, with the assumptions regarding legalities and likelihoods out of the way, what remains? Reputation. The Knot has a forum post here with praise for Oth, but as this lawsuit makes the rounds, it could show up on the boards. With the article on the New York Post, it wouldn't surprise me if more than one bride/groom who was considering Oth has opted for another photographer. For those who have already signed a contract, they could well be contacting Oth for assurances, or making attempts to get out of their contracts. With Pictage listing Oth weddings in the $3,001-$5,000 range, this will likely have an economic impact on them even if the suit is dismissed in short order.

Could it be that the bride was unhappy with the results, or wants more for free? Of course - both of those things happen frequently. Thus, this could just be a way for an unhappy bride to get back at the photographer. We won't know, of course, until this is settled, one way or another.

In the end, it is imperative in this world where clients are expecting white-glove treatment at every turn, and reputations are on the line, that contracts clearly spell out what's allowed and what's expected. Further, with Oth, who was likely sub-contracting photographer Carolyn Monastra making sure that vendors are customer-service focused is key. It may be that Monastra and the bride were just being light-hearted about it, or perhaps all was well in the beginning and Monastra did not get direction as the bride suggested, but later the bride decided to revise history. Either way, it is imperative to listen to what the bride is - and is not - telling you. I submit that scantily-clad images of a bride are likely of little use for a wedding album that you'll be showing the parents/in-laws, and eventually your children, so don't bother shooting them until it's all about the "final touches" and the makeup check in the mirror.

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** UPDATED ** Newsweek, Sarah Palin, and Photographers Rights

There can be a lot of discussion about the appropriateness of Sarah Palin's appearance on the latest issue of Newsweek Magazine. It's possible to tie this cover to the photo editor Simon Barnett's departure, and select choice of words - “Pictures tend to be used as part of an overall design conceit" (as reported at PDNPulse here), although we have no idea if it was this cover, the loss of key staff, or a combination of both.

What's missing here, is a discussion of the business side of the photograph.

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Runners World commissioned photographer Brian Adams to shoot their cover, and the broader take can be seen at Rapport here, or you could check out Rapport Press' images of "Sarah Palin at home in Wasila" here, and frankly, if Newsweek wanted to choose a worse photo in terms of making Ms. Palin look bad, they could have. That of course, is not to say that I don't think the magazine had an agenda, I do. However, the important point is that photographer Adams had the right to re-license his work from Runners World, to Newsweek. Of value to note, is the obvious question when most people see the cover is "what was she thinking posing for this photo?" And Newsweek answers that question on the front cover when they write "A photo taken for Runner's World, June 2009."

If you as a photographer give publications the right to re-use, re-license - or even own all rights - you are losing out on significant income down the line. Be sure to present to prospective clients your contract, and negotiate on terms you are comfortable with. Also of note, is that PhotoShelter is the power behind the Rapport archive.

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*** UPDATE ***: Runners World has spoken out, on their website here, where they say of the photograph that, in part, "...it was provided to Newsweek by the photographer’s stock agency, without Runner’s World’s knowledge or permission."

As to Runner's World having to have "knowledge" about a re-use: Some contracts preclude images shot on assignment for one publication from ever appearing in their competition. For example, Time Magazine's contracts specify (or they did the last time I checked) that images shot for them are "OUT Newsweek/US News", meaning they can't appear in those publications, even down the line. If this type of clause isn't in their contracts, then likely they have no say in what re-uses there are. Further, there would be no need to notify Runner's World about this.

As to Runner's World granting permission: The only permission I can think of would be the need for the photographer to get permission from them because of an embargo. It's not uncommon for publications to have embargoes, precluding images produced on assignment from appearing anywhere before a) first publication in the assigning publication; b) 1 week after newsstand date; c) 30/60/90/180 days after newsstand date; and so on. Interestingly, the date on the cover of Newsweek says it was shot June 2009, which would, with a common 90-day embargo, give the photographer the right beyond the embargo to re-license. However, if the date is August 2009, then it is likely that a 90 day embargo would have ended at the end of November, and as such, there would be a problem.

In the end, if there was no embargo, then Runner's World was not entitled to any advance knowledge, and they would have no right to give (or refrain from giving) permission. The photographer created a compelling image for Runner's World, and was rewarded by a re-use from another publication because of his compelling images' residual value.

All of this said, it appears that the photographer, Brian Adams, has posted a brief note in the comments section. I have not spoken with him, and respect his desire to "stay out of this topic as much as possible". I am not personally aware of payment issues with Rapport Press, as commenter Melissa Golden has suggested, however she is not the only photographer who is reporting payment issues with Rapport.

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The Aftermath of an Assignment

In photography, especially when the assignments are third-world in nature, what is the aftermath of the assignment, once you have left; how have you left the location you were in; and what perceptions are you compounding?

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In the TED video below, Chimamanda Adichie talks about the mis-perceptions she grew up with about the world beyond her purview at her young age.


Paul Melcher's Thoughts of a Bohemian had a piece a few weeks ago titled Dying in Africa, critical of those that travel to Africa, and by inference, other third world countries suffering in famine, and his tiring of seeing those images repeated again and again and again. Yet, what is missing, is the 500 Million Rand ($66.8 million US) that South Africa, for example, is spending on tourism advertising to get the message about the positive things about South Africa out. How much money is being spent revealing the underbelly of South Africa - and thus, forcing the country to address is with a zeal equivilent to that of attracting tourists to the posh resorts and shopping? Who did the actuarial tables that showed how much of that R500 million will trickle down to benefit the poor and impoverished?

The good staff at the Onion must have read Melcher's piece, or it is a significant coincidence, that the ran this "cover" on their website? There is always the challenge for the photojournalist in the third-world when it comes to the question of arriving in a location, do you pay your subjects? Are you earning more in two days than your subject earns in three years? Would your subjects allow themselves to be photographed without being paid, since ethically challenged "photojournalists" have paid their subjects in the past? But wait - if you are getting those model releases that the NGO you're working for (see The NGO Mystique, 10/3/09), you are thus required to compensate your subjects for signing that release in order for the release to be valid, and then what?

I don't profess to have the answers here, and this discourse is not new. However, it's an important conversation to continue to have, and hopefully those making photos and assigning them will be more enlightened to the aftermath of the assignment, from multiple perspectives.

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On failure

76 seconds of your life taking a look at how failure does not preclude future success:

(Comments, if any, after the Jump)

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The Vendor-Client Relationship (Redux)

This video is worth watching frequently to remind you of how ridiculous it is when the client dictates the price and how much less than you quote the assignment for. (RSS readers click this link to view the video.)

(Comments, if any, after the Jump)

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Lifetime Revenue Streams

Rob Haggert, over at A Photo Editor, has a great article up, entitled "Why Would You Quit Working with a Freelancer", that I posted a lengthy comment on, and the thread and comments are well worth a read. That said, what I wrote is a good standalone piece, so I've re-edited it, and am posting the thoughts here as well, since several projects have kept me tied up these past two weeks and have precluded me from having the bandwidth to write much of late.

So, enjoy, and I hope you make it over to Rob's blog to read more.

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There is an expectation is that our success rate must be greater than that of a surgeon in order to remain in business. There is no margin for error, even though a life is not on the line, just a blank space on a page in a publication.

I strive to meet - and exceed - client expectations, whether it is an editorial client or a corporate client. Often the "one for thee, one for me" approach caused the "one for me" to be the better image that the client used, even though it was not the assignment. Note - the "one for thee" comes first, then you can experiment.

Doug Menuez's recounting of the Business Week panel comments also is spot on. A photo editor only gets so many "the shoot didn't turn out" excuses before their judgement about what makes a good photographer gets called into question, and they are soon sidelined, or let go.

What makes a good photographer, first, and foremost, from a clients' perspective is one that can produce AN image, on time, and for the agreed upon budget. When that image meets basic quality standards, they might get a call again. When that image is better than average, they float to the top of the call sheet, and when that image is exceptional, they not only are the first to get calls all the time, they get flown around because there is significant value in a guarantee (or as close as you can get to one) of a great image regardless of the circumstances you throw at the photographer.

Case in point - I have one editorial client who is always calling me to make images that are a huge challenge. Small cubicles, mini offices with no decor and white walls, people in basement office space, and so on - you get the idea. Often they are cover images, but sometimes, inside ones. Every so often, I kid her and say "geez, when am I going to get an easy assignment", and her response is usually something akin to "I give you the hard ones because I know I will get good photos...", and while I certainly appreciate the vote of confidence, sometimes I think I might just like to walk in and knock it out, but, in the end, pushing those limits, and creating a silk purse out of a sows' ear is appreciated by this photo editor, and, in the end, keeps me working.

One of the messages I try to convey to colleagues is the lost revenue stick (carrot?) regarding a lost assignment:

1) You spend a great deal of effort making a prospective client aware of your work

2) You convince a prospective client to hire you for an assignment

3) You do a great job, and earn $2k for the shoot

4) Client calls you next month. you earn $1,500k or $2,500k on that job.

5) Over the life of this ONE client, you can earn tens of thousands of dollars, just from one consistently satisfied client.

6) One consistently satisfied client will recommend you to several other people over the course of their career, thus, one client can be the root cause of upwards of $100k in revenue, over your photographic career.

Now, if I told you that any given job that you would do for that client would cause that client to (at first) think twice about hiring you or (after a second screw up) not hire you, and thus, that single $2k assignment wasn't actually a $2k assignment, but rather a $100k lifetime revenue stream, how seriously would you take the assignment? Would you take extra cameras and lighting equipment "just in case"? Would you have a backup laptop? How many safeguards would you put in place to ensure that each and EVERY assignment went off without a hitch?

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Staff Photography - Disney Style

Staff photography, in some arenas, still exists. A search on Monster.com reveals a few positions that are open, but most are filled by word-of-mouth. The Office of Personnel Management is responsible for filling jobs within the Federal Government nationwide, and every state government has various staff photography jobs for a variety of reasons. Then there are those jobs working for catalog companies for furniture, clothing companies, and so on. Yes, some of those jobs are done by freelancers, especially the on-location stuff, but often, the clothing-on-white-seamless images are done in-house. By and large, these staff jobs are safe from cuts, especially those for the government.

While I have had the opportunity to have Disney as a client in the past, they have staff photographers at their resorts, and in a series of commercials they are running, use the job of photographer to sell the notion of a Disney vacation, under their new tag line - "What Will You Celebrate?" In fact, over a series of three commercials, lasting a minute each, they tell the story throughout a television program, within their theme "Short Stories".

Below, the three commercials are strung together, and worth a watch:


Interestingly enough, the value of photography - and the memories made with still images - is front and center throughout the pieces. So, what does Disney charge for these services?

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If you are having your wedding at Disney, here are their wedding photography rates. These rates are fair and reasonable when you consider the brand value of Disney, as well as the fact that you know you will get excellent photography, and an amazing setting as your backdrop. For these photographers, it is, no doubt, repetitive, but for each couple, who will never see other couples' photographs, it's an amazing memory.

At Disney Parks, you can get their Disney Photo Pass, and in one central location following your visit, wherever you had your photo taken by a Disney photographer, you can view and order the images online.

At this podcast, at around the 26 minute mark, you can hear an interview about the Photopass Portrait Sessions you can get for around $150 for 30 minutes of time. Here, you can learn more about what those photographers do. Unlike the photographers who wander other resorts or ball parks for just over minimum wage, these are full-time employees that likely are paid a living wage and have benefits. During the interview, the person being interviewed notes "all of your portrait images on a separate CD...and you are paying for that professional service... and you are getting copyright releases on the photos as well" which means you can turn up with the portraits to Wal-Mart/etc and legally get prints made from those files. Combining the portrait session with the around-the-park services costs you $200, so you get your own photographer(s) all over the Disney park for $200.

How does this work? How can this be profitable? Well, this works out to be $300 gross revenue per hour for these photographers that Disney collects. If you're a photographer working for Disney 40 hours a week, even if they're paying you $20 or $30 an hour, and earning $40-$60k a year (plus benefits), that's a decent starting wage as well as a tidy profit for Disney and also covers their overhead for back-office staffing, and so on.

Likely, other resorts offer similar staffing positions, and if there is a resort near you that does not have a package of photography they offer, taking the above models and considering how they could work for you and how you might sell them on it could help you make your own staff job a reality. During the initial contact, you can easily use the Disney URL's to convince a resort without photo services to offer them, since Disney is seen as the gold standard for resorts, it becomes an easier sell.

Will these be the most creative images you'll ever make? Nope. Could you get tired of working the same location over and over? Yup, probably. Will your photos be life-changing photojournalism? Definitely not. However, your images will make someone's trip memorable for sure, and you can remain a photographer instead of packing away the camera and changing fields entirely.

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White House Photographers: Draper & Morse

Being a White House Photographer is an immense honor, and responsibility. While Pete Souza has returned to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for President Obama, resprising his role that he began with President Reagan, photographers Eric Draper (at right during the President's last State of the Union address in January of 2008) and Paul Morse (below prior to an event in the East Room in February of 2007) have exited the Presidential fold.

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Draper, following the conclusion of his appointment serving the President, gave an interview - Bush gives fist bump as farewell to official photographer - which is worth a read.

While it remains to be seen what role in the photographic community Draper takes, he is no doubt weighing some options. President Clinton's former photographer Bob McNeely has had a successful career post-Clinton, and David Valdez's first post-Bush (the first President Bush) job was in service of Disney and the Magic Kingdom. Since then, he has pursued other photographic endeavors.

Morse, on the other hand, now has a successful freelance photography business in Washington DC (paulmorsephotographs.com), and was interviewed recently by PhotoShelter - Paul Morse: From Newspapers, to the White House, and Beyond. Paul has become a friend of mine over the years, and I know personally he's doing well. I have interviewed him for the upcoming post-inaugural wrap-up video, which will run shortly.

Being a Presidential photographer isn't easy, but it's the ultimate honor and responsibility to document history in the making.

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Stock Industry Declines, Long Live Assignment Work

I can honestly tell you that 10 to 15 years ago, I was making images that, as I was contemplating the work being done and efforts made, I was considering it nearly the same as putting a few dollars into my retirement account. "My stock is my retirement" I said more than once. Thankfully, I also have a real retirement account with real dollars growing in real time that will pay my real bills when I get older.

Fortunately, there will always be assignment work - that much I can be sure of. As faces, styles, trends, and subjects age, new products announced, new and fresh images will need to be made. Clients can easily be convinced that they don't need "all rights forever", when you tell them "you (and your boss) won't want to use this portrait after two or three years. You'll be tired of seeing it, so why pay for a license that extends beyond what you really need?" That tact - an honest and true assessment of the real likelihood of the situation - is a very convincing one. True too as buildings are built and need to be photographed, news breaks and needs covering, and plights and despair need documenting.

Stock photography, on the other hand, as operated by corporations bent on record profits every quarter, is in decline. That does not mean that photography is in decline, just one aspect of it. Segments of markets decline over time. Consider albums to cassettes, to CD's, yet music and musicians live on.

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Dan Heller does an excellent job (almost all the time) of writing treatise after treatise on the business of photography. Long and detailed insights are a worthwhile read, yet every time I write a piece that's a bit lengthy, I get comments privately that the piece is too long, or needs to be broken up. Studies have shown that articles in USA Today, Time, and so forth can't be too long for todays reader, as they will tune out. So, this is more of an overview and light commentary than anything else.

Alamy reports in their latest quarterly statement that revenues are down, which will no doubt be offset by their increase in the percentage of each sale they take from you. a21 filed for bankruptcy, and Jupiter is being acquired by Getty for a fraction of what they were worth just a year or two ago. And, Getty is worth a fraction of what it once was, hence it is now in the hands of private investors, and the shoe will likely drop on staff cuts in January, as the ramp-up to a breakup follows in the coming year.

To continue the slashing of overhead, as PDN reports, "Newsweek, NPR Cutting back", and they are not alone. PDN also reports on New York Newsday with this piece about everyone having to reapply for their jobs - no doubt at a lower salary, and NPPA suggests that the department will be slashed by two-thirds from 20 to 7, and in the PDN piece there's a link there to a previous piece about other cuts. Staff jobs everywhere continue to be slashed, and you can expect cuts from Tribune, and others, as bankruptcy looms and cost-cutting devastates once robust newsrooms.

So, what to do?

Rely on yourself. Freelance, my friends. If you fail, you will have no one to blame by yourself. Is it hard? Absolutely, from time to time. But once you get the ball rolling, it is highly rewarding. There are short-cuts, but they are losing propositions. Using someone elses' work and pawning it off as your own, licensing images as work-for-hire without really knowing what they will do with the photo places you in such a disadvantageous position that it is 99.9% of the time, a really really bad idea because, invariably, you get the short end of the deal. Having a poorly done website is the same as walking into a business meeting with a conference room table full of suits, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and expecting respect. You won't get it, or, you won't get a chance to demonstrate your genius which, if you could have, would have overcome your wardrobe selection for the day. No one will click on the "Contact Us" link if your website looks like crap. These, and the many other short-cuts are all along the path to failure, littered with the evidence of highly talented photographers who failed to heed the warnings of solid business and marketing practices as being an integral and critical part of longevity in this business.

To succeed, you must arm yourself with the knowledge you are currently lacking. Step 1 of a well-known 12-step program is to first admit you have a problem. So too, in this instance, you must admit there are certain things you don't know. You don't have to admit them in a circle at a meeting - just to yourself, and then commit to learning what you need to. "Know what you don't know", I say often to people when speaking on this subject. Get my book, or ASMP's, or Dan Heller's book. Read any of the books on the right-side of this article, and head off in the right direction.

Assignment work - for those that remain in business - will be around for a very long time. In a race to the bottom, stock licensing will continue to decline not just on a per-license basis, but also in the revenue per image category, as categories continue to be flooded with imagery, watering down the marketplace even further. While my day-to-day operating budget has never been based upon revenues from stock, I do re-license my images. Earlier this week, an existing client extended a license from a PR rights package to a marketing use, generating $1k in additional revenue from the assignment. This is not unusual. But remember, it came from an assignment.

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A Free Read: Best Business Practices for Photographers

For those of you looking for specific guidance on a particular point, Amazon has put my book in their AmazonOnlineReader - Best Business Practices for Photographers, so you can read it online to your hearts' content for free.

You can search for any term or word, browse the table of contents, and generally just browse it. It remains among the top ten books in "Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Professional" (thank you very much dear readers), and, for under $20, you can buy it at this link - Best Business Practices for Photographers
- and have it laying around your house to enjoy at your leisure.

(Comments, if any, after the Jump)

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10 Questions for: PhotoShelter

In light of the demise of Digital Railroad, a few readers have written expressing concern about the future of PhotoShelter, and what their
closing of the PhotoShelter Collection means. So, we thought we'd ask them how things are going, and we turned to Grover Sanschagrin for answers.

1) Some readers were concerned about the closing of the PhotoShelter Collection and seem to be confusing that with the entire PhotoShelter service. Can you shed some light on this?

We closed down the PhotoShelter Collection because it wasn't cost-effective to keep it running considering the current economic climate. The last thing we wanted to do was put the PhotoShelter Personal Archive in jeopardy. This is the product we started with over 3 years ago, with over 35,000 photographers subscribing to it. It was a difficult decision at the time, but it was the right decision. Doing so allowed us to cut the burn rate - and "cutting the burn" is the key to survival right now.

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2) So, the PhotoShelter Collection was an effort for PhotoShelter to get into the photo agency business, marketing and licensing images collectively for those PhotoShelter users that wanted to participate?

Exactly. A global search across all archives has always been possible with PhotoShelter. But the Collection added photo editors, a sales staff, research people, and a beefed-up marketing department. It was free for photographers to participate, and when sales were made, PhotoShelter's take was 30%.

3) When Digital Railroad was in its' final death throws, PhotoShelter was very active behind the scenes trying to figure out a way to help stranded photographers rescue their images. Do you feel that most photographers were able to get their images off the DRR servers in time?

Unfortunately, most people didn't get their images off in time. The longer someone waited to get their images, the less likely they were to experience successful transfers. The people who jumped on it the moment you started writing about it on your blog were able to get their entire archives safely ported over to PhotoShelter.

4) Of the reportedly 1,400 or so active DRR photographers, about how many are now PhotoShelter customers?

This may sound like a non-answer, but we really don't know for sure which of our newest customers are from DRR. I can tell you, however, that signups have *definitely* increased. If I were to make a rough estimate, I'd say that somewhere around 35% of the total DRR population have signed up with PhotoShelter since the news first broke.

5) Prior to the demise of DRR, it was said that PhotoShelter (as separate from the PhotoShelter Collection) was a cash-flow positive business, so it would stand to reason that the addition of that 35% who migrated from DRR would make PhotoShelter even more stable moving forward. Can you expand on this?

I can't really expand on that at all, at least not with the kind of specific details that I know you want. But I will say that I am proud of our management team, and that the decisions made were difficult but right, and the company, and product, has never looked better as a result. As a company that takes its archiving responsibilities very seriously, we're not interested in taking chances. We're interested in long-term survival, and putting the company in a position it can happen -- even during an economic downturn.

6) What growth areas do you see for PhotoShelter in the future?

Now that the Collection isn't such a large focus anymore, we've turned our full attention to the Personal Archive. We plan to continue with our aggressive development calendar, and respond to the ideas and suggestions of our customers. Making the product stronger is our main focus.

7) We've previously highlighted the new embed-able galleries features, as well as the incredible shoot-to-live-online capabilities. Are there any exciting new features you can tip us off to in the near future?

Are there exciting new features coming? Yes. Will I tell you what they are? Not exactly. I'm not sure if people realize just how amazing our engineers are, and how fast they can turn an idea into a reality. With their full attention on the Personal Archive, my job has never been more exciting.

8) What can the average photographer be expecting to spend each month on your service?

We've got several different price points, starting with a Free account (with only 150mb of storage) to allow people to get in there and check it out for as long as they'd like. We've got accounts at $9.99/mo (10GB), $29.99/mo (35GB) and $49.99/mo (100GB). Adding more storage can be done on-the-fly and at extremely affordable rates.

9) Shouldn't that nominal amount either be an easily absorbable figure into a small businesses' overhead, or billable out as "online image delivery" to a client when an assignment is delivered that way? (in other words, are other photographers doing it that way?)

Considering what you're getting for your monthly subscription, it's an absolute bargain. A serious photographer using PhotoShelter to drive their business has no problem covering these costs. Wedding photographers can charge a bride/groom for an online digital archive; Retouchers can avoid the costs of DVDs by selling archiving space to their customers; Photographers of all kinds can open up brand new revenue streams with print sales or by making personal-use downloads available, etc.

10) What seems to be the one stumbling block that a potential user is not surpassing that is precluding them from signing up, and what would you tell them if you were talking to them one-on-one?

Many photographers think that in order to make use of PhotoShelter, they'd first have to spend hours and hours uploading their entire archive, and this is time they do not have. I regularly tell photographers to just get started today, and worry about the past later. Tomorrow will eventually be yesterday, so the longer you wait to get started, the more of a chore it will be when you finally get around to it.

I also think that many photographers look at PhotoShelter and ask themselves if it can do everything they need it to do in terms of how they are running their business, instead of how PhotoShelter can, through innovation, actually improve HOW the are running their business.

My favorite PhotoShelter user is anyone who is curious, willing to experiment and try new things, sees the Internet as an opportunity, and is innovative in their business strategy. This kind of attitude and outlook is critical to success and long-term stability - something we should all be thinking about.

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One Photo Editor - Doing Good by Doing Right

Photo editors often get a bad rap. They're often (incorrectly) blamed for the bad contracts they are required to foist upon us. Sometimes, it's their idea, but usually, it's not. It's usually the legal department making things harder for them to get talented work to sign things like work-for-hire, and so forth.

Thus, when a photo editor does the right thing, as is the case here, we feel it of value to hearld it from the treetops, so to speak. This is the case of a photo editor who licensed images through Digital Railroad for several books, with over fifty images. They'd downloaded them, and had recieved an invoice from DRR. Yet, when they were about to pay it (the books have not gone to press yet), they learned that DRR was in trouble, and likely closing their doors, so they waited before cutting the check. Imagine my pleasant surprise when they called me and shared this story, and said "we want to pay you directly, since we know that if we pay them, you'll never see the money." I was eager, of course, to help. They are also looking to finalize their contacting of other photographers whose images they had selected. We've offered to help them find anyone who they can't locate, and await any information from them on that front.

So, three cheers for Brad Epstein, of Michaelson Entertainment for his effort in doing the right thing. Thanks Brad.

(Comments, if any, after the Jump)

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Launching New Website

Friends, Romans, Countrymen! I'll take as a matter of personal privledge the opportunity to share with you my new website - www.JohnHarrington.com! I am very excited about this new site, and the bigger pictures, and ease of use for the prospective client.

Why a new site now? Well, both Presidential candidates are talking about change, and we agree! So, we've put a whole new face on our website - showcasing the candidates (both of them) hard at work reaching out to their constituents, among the many other assignments we've done.

(Comments, if any, after the Jump)

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ASMP & Their $1.3

Much has been said (here, and elsewhere) about the windfall of funds that the American Society of Media Photographers received almost a year ago. ASMP did the right thing in putting out a call for member ideas for spending that money - "Call for Member Ideas for Furthering Industry Education and Advocacy!", writing: "The $1.3 million distribution has the potential to do much good in its areas of use, which are restricted to furthering industry education and advocacy."

ASMP has set as a deadline of tomorrow (Monday, 10/20) as the deadline for the reciept of ideas. Here are several things that ASMP should be doing:

1) Because of the importance of the case that has made its way to the Supreme Court regarding the National Geographic's use of photographers' works from their printed edition in their CD-ROM edition, I proposed ASMP utilize those funds to "fund additional counsel to aid in the preparation of {the amicus curiae} brief..." so that the rights of all photographers and this industry would benefit from the information that the ASMP would present. (Greenberg background here).

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2) There seems to be some movement in the possibility of being able to register with the copyright office works that are published and unpublished together, in one registration. Currently, you must register them seperately. The ASMP could fund a study into the benefits of this combined registration type, that would be of value in making the case for a combined registration. There are a great many challenges for a segment of the photography community that may not be able to determine which images meet the test of "published", and which do not. further, the ambiguity of the language in the era of the internet further confuses people. Surely, more people would register their work if this were the case. (ASMP FAQ on this here).

3) There are a great many endeavors that PLUS - the Picture Licensing Universal System cross-industry organization is working on. PLUS has recieved support from large corporations to fund the majority of it's development, and with the downturn of the economy and consolidation in the industry, PLUS is likely to face funding challenges. Because of their cross-industry consensus, the furtherance of the PLUS Licensing Glossary, the PLUS Registry (which has an significant importance in response to the expected Orphan Works legislation), are projects that, without a doubt, meet the test of "furthering industry education and advocacy", especially when facilitated by an unbiased organization like PLUS.

4) And here's the big one - fully fund an ASMP Strictly Business 3 program. I was a part of the SB2 program, and a protege of the SB1 program 15 years ago. One of the repeated messages we as presenters heard was "please repeat this more often." We were able to do just four cities, and each event was well attended. Consider a 10, or even a 20-city tour? Economies of scale would make each city less expensive, to be sure, and the ciriculum from SB2 could be utilized, further minimizing the planning necessary. I'm not plugging this so I can hit the road again (but I'd consider it), but if ASMP wanted to take my piece of the curriculum and have it used as the basis for a new presenter on those topics, I wouldn't have any problems with that. The SB2 program was open to ASMP members and non-members, but there was a price difference. Perhaps the pricing at the same level for both this go-round would resolve any concerns about benefits specific to ASMP. In fact, you could slash in half the price of the entire weekend, making it even more available; offer scholarships, or, maybe make the entire weekend free? I know, it sounds crazy, but it's worth looking into.

So there you have it - four ideas for the American Society of Media Photographers to spend their $1,300,000.00 in windfall funds. I'm sure others have been sent in. If you have your own ideas, hit this link - suggestions@asmp.org - and let them know. You have one day left to propose your ideas. As the e-mail notes - "Just be sure that your suggestions conform to the parameters of 'furthering industry education and advocacy.'"

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The Photographer's Assistant

I'm not trying to mirror this great article - Ask Sports Shooter: Assisting by Jordan Murph, over at SportsShooter, but it got me to thinking. We use A LOT of assistants. So many, that we have former assistants running the office, managing all our post production, and as our special projects manager. When we travel, we've picked up local assistants in dozens of cities nationwide. We sure do see our fair share. One special shout out to one awesome one - John Birk. He's Philly-based, but is more than happy to travel. He's got it down. Cleans sensors (after asking if you want him to), anticipates what you need before you need it, and knows when to speak, and when to keep quiet. Oh, and he knows carry-on regulations so well he saved me from having to check my ThinkTank Airport Security full of cameras/lenses with a size change for a recent trip to the Baltics. AND, oh right, he can get you gear shipped to you when you have a problem...wait, this isn't about John, but you should use him in Philly for sure. This is about what makes a good assistant, and the path you can travel when you start that way.

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In addition to that link, here are two good books with information - The Photographer's Assistant Handbook, and then there's The Photographer's Assistant. Both are excellent resources, but you'll have to look past the references to film, as they were written in 2000 and 2001 respectively. Yet, the message points on things like "be seen and not heard, oh, and really, don't be seen either"; "when 'we' forget something, the assistant was the one who forgot it"; and "when the client asks your opinion, yours is whatever the photographers' is, even if the photographer hasn't given his yet", and so many more things.


If you're looking to find an assistant, visit this link at the ASMP website which lists all their chapters nationwide. Each chapter not only has a "Find a Photographer" listing, but most, if not all, have "Find an Assistant" listing, or they have a list of assistants on their website. No list? Call one of the photographers there and you'll find they know who the best ones are. So too, APA has a link to locate an assistant on their national website - here.

Make no mistake though, the Photographer's Assistant is NOT an Assistant Photographer. An assistant photographer is often also called a second photographer, a backup shooter, and so forth. If you are working for a photographer and you have a camera in hand that will deliver images to the client, you're an Assistant Photographer. If you are unpacking gear, setting up lights, driving, getting food, making photos/video of the shoot in progress and/or the setup for the photographer's use, holding an umbrella over the client's head, pulling power, and so forth, then you are the photographer's assistant.

Then there's the second, and the third. On large shoots, you have the First Assistant, Second Assistant, and sometimes a Third Assistant. After that, anyone assisting on set is usually called a Production Assistant. The First Assistant often travels with the photographer, and knows what the photographer wants, needs, and so forth. The second sometimes travels, but is often picked up locally. When you're the second assistant, you do what the First tells you. When you're the Third, again almost always picked up locally, you do what the Second tells you. Neither the Second nor the Third should be going to the photographer for anything. Go to the First.

Many photographers got their start as assistants, but not all. Then, there are people who never want to be photographers but really just love assisting - these are known as "professional assistants". To each their own, I say. Here's a 30 second vignette - Photography Assistant, but here's a really funny (and true) video about being a PA on a movie - PA Stories Episode 1 - The First Day; then there's the video "A Foot In The Door" with a hilarious "Mocha Run" scene.

What does a photographer's assistant make? It ranges from about $100 a day, to upwards of $300 or so. And that's usually for a 10-hour day.

The bottom line - you're there to make the photographers' life easier; make the photographer look better; remember everything that the photographer forgot; know what the photographer needs before they need it; load and unload all the gear - yourself; get up early & stay up late; make sure the photographer is awake; and whatever else the photographer says to do. Seriously, that's not an exaggeration.

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Proverbs & You

"A proverb is no proverb to you till your life has illustrated it."

~John Keats(1795-1821)
Poet

Indeed.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Enter Silicon Alley Insiders' piece - Sorry, Startups: Party's Over (10/9/08) which demonstrates the need to lower your burn-rate the "equivalent to 'raising an internal round' through cost reductions to buy you more time until you need to raise money again; hopefully when fund raising is more feasible."

When will that happen?

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Who the hell knows. It ain't gonna be soon, that's for sure.

All this belt-tightening is hitting many of us. For example, I've had on the burner a project to install a 20Kw generator to operate my business in the event of a power loss. Clients in California don't understand when there's no power in our offices in DC because of foul weather. While we are proceeding with the planning and estimation phase, until we see what the future holds, we won't be signing on the dotted line. When we have that available revenue, the plan will be in place to execute.

"Everyone must row with the oars he has."

You can expect colleagues looking to get the next line of equipment coming out to delay until there's more stability, and clients are calling more frequently.

Clients too will be delaying non-critical projects, which means fewer assignments for everyone.

"A penny saved is a penny earned."

But be patient, as:

"All good things come to those who wait."

And lastly:

"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

As your life begins to illustrate these proverbs, Enjoy your weekend.

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Risks of Social Networking

"I trashed my entire LinkedIn profile. Just got rid of it." Why, I asked. "Because people, other photographers, were contacting my clients through my LinkedIn profile." This photographer, who has asked to remain anonymous, reflects a growing concern about the privacy and interworkings of social networking sites like LinkedIn, Myspace, and Facebook, among others.

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It would go without saying that if you're working for a company with many employees, you might have clients as your friends/connections. Yet, how are you using the tool? It is a dangerous toy - a place to pass the time, or a communications solution for the newly graduated generation? There are many types of people who use facebook (The Multiple Facebook Personalities, 4/15/08), but instead, there are people with more than one persona on these sites. Having more than one account is a violation of Facebook's Terms of Service, and you risk having both closed. Yet, if you feel you must be on it, maybe you should think about it further.

Many people on Facebook, for example, have been on since college, and they have pictures of them partying, and otherwise just being unprofessional. They remain connected to their past, and keep up with everyone that way. But do you really want your new boss, colleagues, and clients seeing those images? Of course not.

With your boss, or other professional colleagues on Facebook, do you really want your high school friends to be able to contact your employer, or post photos of you that your boss might see from the past weekends' homecoming celebration you were supposedly home from work sick for?

When it comes to freelancers - specifically photographers, it's easy to see nothing wrong with connecting to them. Then going further, it seems a no brainer to connect with your clients. There's where the problem starts. Your friendly photographer colleagues should know that it's wrong to connect with your clients. Yet they don't. Or, they do, and don't care. Further, what if one of your clients is Time, and the other Newsweek? ExxonMobil and Sunoco? Will that create a problem? Surely it could. Do you want to risk it?

I am on Facebook (my profile), and that's where my friends are. I am also on LinkedIn (my profile), and that's where I would be comfortable linking with clients. I try not to have the two cross, but I know that it's happened, and there's the risk. If you want to share with your clients - and prospective clients - what's going on in your world, have a blog that you share your day-to-day assignments and thoughts on. Be sure it's being written with your professional end audience in mind.

Surely some etiquette is in order. Suffice to say - don't go shopping for new clients on social networking sites when those new clients could well come at the expense of your friends. That's not very friendly. Think twice - no three times - before posting embarassing photos of your friends on a public social networking site. It was funny in college - now, not so much. If nothing else, make the photos private.

Above all, be good. Be thoughtful, and do no harm. To yourself, or your friends.

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Zen and the Art of Photography

A lot goes into that first call. Not the call you make, but the call you earn. Before your phone rang, lots of things had to happen - the client had to decide they needed a photographer, and where there's an ad agency, PR firm, or design firm involved, they had to convince their client they needed photography. Then, they had to decide on candidates for the assignment.

And that's where you come in.

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There are five stages that your clients go through during the entire process:

1. Anticipation
2. Trepidation
3. Inspection
4. Fulfillment
5. Evaluation

Lets look at those closer.


Anticipation:
A prospective client is anticipating that you can deliver, based upon your marketing materials - portfolio, website, business card, presentation in person, phone skills, and the appearance of your contract. Based upon this, they book you.

Trepidation:
Depending upon how you did in the Anticipation phase, the degree of trepidation can vary. Were you a yellow pages or search-engine find, a referral from a trusted source, or had they used you in the past? Even so, there is a period where the client is worried about the quality of the end result, even when you are a repeat vendor for them.

Inspection:
During the shot, and afterwards, they look through your results, contemplating the circumstances that went into the shoot, and thus, the results. Was it a rainy day when the shoot called for blue skies, but you had to shoot anyway? Was the model late? Were the VIP's that were the cornerstone of the event absent, and so the client-handshaking with a VIP is missing from the event images? Or, did everything go smoothly, and the client has the highest of expectations after the fact relative to their expectations beforehand?

Fulfillment:
Did you deliver as promised? Are they satisfied with the results? Is their client satisfied with the results? Did what you do meet - or better yet - exceed expectations? You should always strive for a "that photographer sure exceeded my expecations" response. You need to win over even the most critical of clients, so they may become your staunchest advocates.

Evaluation:
Would they hire you again? Would they casually recommend you to a colleague? Would they enthusiastically recommend you to a colleague? Or, in the best of scenarios, without provocation, would they go onto their listserv and shout your name from the treetops "...boy, I just finished this shoot with John Harrington, and if you ever need a photographer, he should be on the top of your list of people to call..." ? Wouldn't it be great to have an evangelist like that? They do exist. Have you experienced it yet?

Take a piece of paper, and print out those five words, and place them in a prominent place near your desk. By understanding the phases of a client experience, you can ensure that you are firing on all cylinders and meeting and exceeding expectations in each phase.

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