A photographer wrote me recently to tell me how Facebook and Twitter lost them a job.

“My reps got me a job with the ad agency that was doing Xxxxxx Xxxx. I’m a young photographer and this was my first major campaign so I threw this up on Twitter and Facebook ‘sweet. Got the Xxxxxx Xxxx gig!'”

So, then what happened next is a friend who works at the agency but not on that account runs into his boss and casually mentions how great it is that they decided on that photographer for the account and the boss freaks out. He says, “how did you know about that?” to which the photographers friend replies, “I saw a tweet about it.”

The boss then calls the reps and says the deal is off citing some confidentiality agreement no one knew existed.

The photographer tells me “I fear that it was my big break and I blew it over hubris and five little words.”

I’m not posting this so we can all jump all over the photographer who feels awful about it and obviously made a big mistake that would allow the competition to connect a photographer with an upcoming campaign (I assume this is not irrational of the agency). It’s just a friendly warning/reminder that we all live in a small highly connected world now and you shouldn’t write things you wouldn’t want everyone to see.

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93 Comments

  1. Sure it’s all about staying discreet, since both Facebook & Twitter can also land you some gigs, too.

    But I definitely wouldn’t say anything before the work’s been done… or before I know the legal conditions, that’s for sure.

  2. Similar to something that happened to me a bunch of years ago on a much smaller scale.

    I was working at a radio station, and had discussed with the morning show host being the person to become his new sidekick. We’d worked together a couple of days and all looked good.

    I talked about this to one other person, someone who I thought was a friend.

    Next thing I know, the ‘friend’ went to the program director, who went to the morning host, who said, I don’t know what your talking about.

    Poof! In a heartbeat, there went the new job.

    Lesson I learned was to only talk about things that have happened, not about things that COULD happen.

    Most of the time, I’m pretty good at following my own advice.

  3. moral of the story: twitter birds do fly far?

  4. I say don’t worry about it an just learn from this, if you are good enough to land that gig, many more will came your way.
    Try to stay positive and don’t go crazy about it.

  5. thanks for sharing the story and
    imagine you will laugh about it one day. you probably will.

  6. Anyone else see the irony that after this happened, the photographer ran to his computer to email APhotoEditor with his story?

    Maybe he didn’t learn his lesson after all! ;)

    • No, patronizing wink icon, there’s no irony in it. I didn’t “run to the computer” to write to Rob, I actually thought long and hard about telling anyone due to the embarassment of the whole thing and there’s no link to my site so I’m not getting anything out of this post. I let him know because APE is an important industry related site and I felt the need to let other young photogs who aren’t a biz savvy and infallible as you, that sometimes it’s NOT cool to throw things up on various social sites.
      That being said, I’m not giving up on techs like twitter and FB because i beleive that they will be integral in getting jobs in the future and will be used to bypass reps and agencies to look at a photographers work.

      • @Twictim,

        Hope your rep doesn’t see that last sentence you wrote and decide to drop you. Because that would be a huge “Doh!” moment.

        • @TP, nah. I’m good. they know about this post and my opinions. They ain’t goin’ anywhere!

      • @Twictim, Oh honey. You are going to need lots of help in this industry if you think you are going to bypass reps and agencies.

        • @Bubba Thompson, well, “honey” here’s one major magazine that’s doing that for the most part:
          http://www.flickr.com/groups/614844@N20/
          So far that group has produced several new contributors to the magazine. One 21 yr old photog was discovered through her Twitter feed and now shoots for mags like Nylon, i-D and Teen Vogue. And Rob has written in the last week that celeb PR people may start hiring photogs instead of going through an agency. Reps may not go away, but you can bet they’ll have to change their biz model.
          So “honey” people better wake-up to new mediums of they’ll be here in a few years wondering “what went wrong”

          • @Twictim, I beg to differ about a few points. Discovering on Flickr and bypassing an agent are two different things.

            And Dazed may have a Flickr page but when they want to work with a represented photographer, they don’t “bypass” the agent by any means.

            Overall, your language here comes across as defensive, snarky and cocky, so you may want to tone it down. It’s a small industry and your story (and identity) will probably leak out eventually, considering it’s not exactly an everyday story and people do talk…

            By the way, does YOUR agent read this blog? They might not take too kindly to this whole “bypass-the-agent” business.

            I agree with Tori – maybe it’s time to step away from the computer before you do more damage to your career.

            • @dude, yes. My reps reads this blog.As a matter of fact, they are cutting edge enough to UNDERSTAND what I’m saying when I say that one day reps might be replaced OR have to modify their biz structure. They use Twitter, blogs and FB to reach out to their clients. so YEAH. they know what’s up. as a matter of fact they OK’ed it. you’re missing my point. I was a mistake that I hope young photogs in the future won’t make. And if I sound “snarky” and “cocky” that’s too bad. I don’t like being called “honey.”

          • @Twictim,

            wow…. I’ll bet those rags pay really well too!
            Of course it’s all about the carrot for the *lucrative* print advertising gigs.

            Will print make that technological jump too?

            oh well… feed the hole in the (fragile) ego, even if the ROI investment may no longer exist in this industry.

            Twisted thought begets “What goes wrong”.

      • @Twictim, Sorry to offend, but the “wink” was just meant as a joke. I meant no harm by the original post, just trying to add some humor to a tough situation. Maybe you ought to chill out for a few days and spend some time away from the web, eh?

      • @Twictim, your agent should drop you. You are tripping over yourself, saying some really idiotic things. Perhaps time to zip it.

  7. Twitter feed from Apr. 10, 1912…
    Cap’nSmith @ Tugdude… got the Titanic gig. Unsinkable, baby!

    • @Jeremy,
      HAHAHA

  8. good gosh,
    terrible the photographer lost the job over some paranoidic mess from a corp. wearing their ties too tight …
    Tweeter and Facebook have their place as social and updating networks but they basically are a nuisance and probably will be replaced in due time by something just as annoying.
    The victimized photographer hopefully will take this harsh lesson and try not to repeat the same, as some of us do occasionally. I agree with the keep hush and then show everybody the shabang – learn the muddy way grasshopper – “show thy works” … “then let thy work/s speak for itself”

  9. Simply put: if you’re entering into a business contract, new working environment or client interaction, don’t broadcast it to the world – in any format – unless you know that the other party are happy for you to do so. This isn’t a new issue, it’s been around forever! Although it may be easy to think that there is no confidentiality agreement, it’s pretty obvious that you wouldn’t walk straight out of a meeting and announce to everyone what had been agreed without making sure that it is OK to do so.

    It’s a matter of common sense: think about Twitter, Facebook et. al and take a moment to think about how you would use other means of comunication first. Then think of online broadcasting last. If you wouldn’t tell the guy in the local corner shop, then it’s not suitable for posting online heedlessly.

  10. Something I learned along time ago from a mentor:
    The job is not yours, let alone a done deal to you get the final payment. And don’t get on the plane without an advance!
    Discretion is always key.

  11. Maybe they wanted to get out of the deal and found an excuse.

  12. I feel for the photographer who lost the job and big break (especially in this kind of economy) but at the same time this is not so different from tear sheets.

    A photographer isn’t allowed to put their latest editorial/advertising pieces into their portfolio or even website before it has run. There’s often contract clauses stating so.

    If this photographer has a rep, then that ought to mean he’s shot jobs before, even if they are on a smaller scale. Should he have known better?

    .a

    • @Andy Lee, I hear ya dude! and the real irony here is that I’m super careful NOT to post actual pics up of anything I shoot until the issue, whatever comes out. That’s just common sense.

  13. Photogs loss, everyone else’s lessonl.

  14. Loose lips sink ships.

    Don’t beat yourself up too much though. There will be other opportunities.

    Not sure what your relationship is like with your rep, but it’s also possible that the rep was exaggerating the shoot, saying it was confirmed when it really wasn’t. This is not uncommon – reps want to keep their artists and other clients excited so sometimes they “exaggerate” things a bit.

    And yes, never, ever speak about a job or show the images until the client has had first crack at them.

  15. O.K., O.K., so the photographer made a mistake.

    But why aren’t more people responding the actions of the agency?! Yes, yes, confidentiality is important in the advertising industry, but forgiveness and understanding are important in life in general.

    What is most important here? The work! The photographs! The results. Even if another agency learned the relatively meaningless information about the campaign, it reveals nothing about the final results.

    It was probably no big secret that Corporation X was working on a new product/campaign. And even if it was…well, it better be a damned good product/campaign, and they better be damned good photographs…or it all isn’t worth a piss.

    • @Another View,
      I thought it was weird too but the guy probably has no clue what twitter is and how difficult it would be to run into that information. He was probably just freaked about a subordinate knowing something before it was announced… in a bad office politics kinda way.

      • @A Photo Editor, you’re probably correct, but perhaps they were also worrying about indiscretions to come since it sounds like he leaked it as soon as it was decided.

    • @Another View, you are absolutely right.

      • @max,
        Well, APE is right and it sucks that one person on the client side can have this kind of power, but the agency as a whole is made or broken by its creative product – that’s why management can overreact when they think that somehow the approved campaign is leaked before it’s released – whether you think it’s a big deal or not.

        Another View: to work with an agency successfully, you have to respect the fact that tens (sometimes hundreds) of thousands of dollars can go into creating the campaign you’re about to shoot before you ever even get a call about shooting it. The end-client is paying agency hours, overhead, creative fees, research hours, account management, usage, your fees and production costs, etc…

        If you’re going to assume that the campaign was full of information meaningless to another agency or make assumptions as to whether or not the work you’re creating for the agency is worth a piss, your life will be so much better if you just stay away from agency work altogether.

        But don’t get me wrong: it’s still a shame this happened!

    • I forgot to add:

      F-U-C-K TWITTER.

  16. Tweeter, Facebook, MySpace, Blogging…..everybody wants to get noticed, but a lot of photographers need to step back and remember that much of what they learn on shoots (or, in this case, information about an ad campaign not-yet realized) is not their information to spread around, at least not before publication! When exactly did it become OK to tell the World, often in real-time, about an editorial project you were doing? I hate to sound like an old fart, but ‘back in the day’ one of the most respected journalism credos was that you would NEVER tell anyone details of a story you were working on. The idea that you could give your competition any clues as to what you were going to publish down the road would be considered professional suicide, yet today I see some very well-respected photographers (including a few featured quite often on this very blog) regularly blogging about shoots they just completed well before the magazine hits the stands…and even more surprising, just a few weeks ago I not only read a photographer’s blog where he detailed the shoot he just completed, complete with photos of his set-ups…but his photo editor ALSO posted about it with her own photos on her own blog! That’s kinda crazy…if I were her editor I can’t imagine I’d be thrilled that she’s talking about a shoot before it gets published. In fact, I recently received a letter from one of my clients warning that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.

    On the other hand, maybe I am an old fart and I just don’t ‘get’ these newfangled ways…..

    • @Brad Trent, I completely agree with you. An assistant of mine once posted behind the scenes images of a shoot and it was a big NO NO, I asked her to take it down. Luckily I caught it before any else.

      I’ve always been a hater of MySpace, Facebook, Tweeter, I finally broke down from insomnia 4 months ago and got a Facebook account, but that’s mainly for friends. I don’t use it for networking. As a matter of fact I only accept friends request from people I know. I don’t need everyone knowing my business. And I hate getting tagged, so I delete all that too.

      I have a blog, but I only blog about minor things and shoots that I do for myself.

      So I must be an old fart too.

      • @Quavondo, see, that’s close minded. why wouldn’t you use every tool at your disposal to get work. My networking though FB got me my first major magazine gig with a well known London fashion mag (wink, wink). As to Twitter, I have three books on Dripbook and when I update any of them, a Tweet goes up. I can’t tell you how my hit count goes up on DP when I throw up an update. Same with Mysapce. I’ve gotten numerous paid band portraits out of MySpace. This tech should be accepted, not shunned. You just have to know how to control the flow of information, contacts etc…I ‘ve gotten more gigs from social networking sites than I have sending out of old school e-mail blasts, which I don’t do anymore. So, yeah, I leanred the hard way about the dangers of putting stuff out there prematurely, but hell, I had my mom’s car door destroyed too…glad I never became a car h8r!

        • @Twictim, Good points. The goal is finding the harmonic balance from using these tools.

    • @Brad Trent, although I am on neither MySpace, Twitter, or Facebook, I am hearing from all directions that these are the way to market your business and one is being left behind in the dust if they are not using these tools. I would guess that people must LEARN how to correctly use the new fangled tools just as we learned how to use radio, tv, and the Internet.

      • @Delaine Zody…….hey, I never said I wasn’t using all this fancy-schmancy new technology…..my problem is with how others seem to be using it in all the wrong ways! I’ve had a MySpace account for years…ditto facebook…and I finally caved and even started up a blog this year, although I basically use it to pass along whatever music is sitting at the top of my iTunes folder! I understand why you need to stay current and use whatever tricks are out there to spread your brand, but I have a real problem with the way some photographers have been pushing themselves. What a lot of people now consider as inappropriate blogging, tweeting and facebooking has gotten so bad recently that two of my clients have felt the need to send letters out demanding that photographers working for them remember who is paying for the shoots they’ve been assigned to do and cut the shit with the constant online stream of information regarding whatever they shot that day being released well in advance of the publication date of the article. If magazines felt the need to pre-release information about their future articles, much like feature films show ‘trailers’ months in advance, I’m sure they would have already figured out a way to do it. And I would bet the ranch that if one of my clients saw me blogging about a story before it hit the newstand I would soon be calling them an ex-client!

        And for what it’s worth…as open-minded as I think I am, I still consider Twitter to be quite possibly the stupidest waste of time I’ve ever heard of!!! And anybody who can convince me otherwise gets to go under my staircase and raid the cellar as a prize….. http://tinyurl.com/trentcellar

  17. Thank you so much for posting this. As an emerging photograher I had no idea it was such a big deal. I’ve made this mistake, albeit without being caught/punished, and had never considered the client’s side. Well I considered it…just failed to see the importance as they might. This industry is so filled with obstacles that any little victories lead us to the mountaintop and we want to shout it to the world as if we’ve just been legitimized. But I guess good things come to those who wait?

    You have just saved me from making the same mistake, so thanks again for being open enough to share it.

  18. I see NO UPSIDE to posting anything about my business on Facebook or Twitter.

    I was up for a sweet campaign two months ago and the art buyer let me know that they chose me instead of a better known shooter who is relentless about promotion and seeking sponsorship. The AB cited seeing at least six companies that this shooter is sponsored by. She felt that he was more concerned about being “known” than doing great work. She was very honest in her appraisal of this person and why he was not awarded the job. She also said that the reps pushed heavily on his being known as a “tech savvy guy that other photographers looked up to” with a bit too much hype connected to him.

    She even went so far as to read his blog and felt that the focus was not on the work but on his ego. From this insight, she felt he would be difficult to work with. It was an vibrant conversation and I kept notes.

    Ego will get you every time. It got me once and I climber out of that hole and learned the lesson.

    Work first. Respect the client. Respect the confidences. Do not count you chickens before they have hatched. Treat people fairly. Don’t boast. Give more than you think you have in you. Most of all, keep your mouth shut. Let the work speak for itself.

    • @Mother Mary, Amen.

    • @Mother Mary, That’s what I keep preaching. So many people get so excited about certain ‘famous’ photographers. Personally, I’m not moved by a lot of their work. It’s ALL about the work. Nothing else matters.

      • @Tim,

        I agree. I mean, come on…who needs to have a “staff” videographer to “document” your every move as you tweet about yourself. I agree…..it is about the photography you create and the its message….not about ego and greed.

    • @Mother Mary,
      Well, if you want to help canon and nikon move more pro-sumer cameras then you basically turn yourself into a pitchman using all the social network tools. It’s more about your ability to become like the shamwow dude than to take pictures. It’s like those live photoshoots that go on at the camera booths at the photo expos with hundreds of photographers crowded around only now it’s online.

      • @A Photo Editor,

        Rob…these clowns do not realize that they have become the laughing stock of photoworld to those who are in the know.

        I hope they are making the big bucks because when you trade a major photojournalism award to become a huckster for the industry…who really gives a tweet about your workflow or what software you use or how you what brand CF card you use or how much you talk about yourself to a bunch of wanna-be prosumers who read your blog.

        When you sell your soul to the devil…he always collects his due.

      • @A Photo Editor,

        Dude … that’s what the wedding photography industry has become. You can make MORE money selling to other photographers than you can shooting weddings. Look at how many workshops crappy photographers put on and charge like $500 to $1750 per seat!

        I know one wedding studio who grossed about $45k for a four-day workshop. Uh … yeah.

        • @Say It Ain’t So, The worse the economy gets the more emails I get about “workshops” that are “great opportunities for emerging photographers”. I got one the other day for to learn the secrets of the fashion industry from a “famous NYC fashion photographer”. If he’s so famous why is he selling $900/day workshops on the west coast instead of, I dunno, shooting assignments in NYC?

          I know times are tough and there is no shortage of people out there with day jobs willing to shell out the money for these things, but I’m tired of being pitched at by other photographers. Social media has amplified it to the point where it’s getting ridiculous.

  19. I get excited about shoots too, and want to share what I am doing. I run into this a lot more with the imaging work I do for advertising. I quick tweet could be an easy mistake to make. However, I am far to superstitious to talk about a job until after I can’t be pulled off of it. I feel that it doesn’t matter how much the client wants you in the beginning when the rod gets bumpy the creativity is always the first thing to get thrown.

    Adm

  20. Bear Bryant once told once of his greatest wide receivers some solid advice that is appropriate here,

    When you get to the end zone, act like you’ve been there before.

  21. First I am a little stunned by some of the responses to the article slamming him for being a crybaby about it or trying to make noise to promote himself. also the smacking of the corporation who decided to fire him because of his twittering is just stupid.

    1. your entering into a job situation with someone, you have to respect the needs of the client no matter what.

    2. Always ask what kind of advertising you can do about the job itself . can you list them as a client, can you post about the shoot or that your shooting for them and when would it be okay to do so. Many clients dont want advance word going out about How their product is being advertised as this is fuel for the competition. You may be the big hotshot famous Photographer but the client may feel revealing your working for them after the fact is more effective than up front.

    4. Remember as someone creating an image for your client your creating THE IMAGE of your client and have to respect that.

  22. Bummer man. I think it is important to be discrete about disclosing this kind of information prematurely though. I am often surprised to see photographers post certain information about a job they landed before anything has been shot or published. From the clients standpoint, they don’t want competitors, or anyone else knowing who is shooting a campaign for them. You might not post the concepts, or ideas, but knowing who is shooting something, is a pretty good hint to the style that the campaign will be shot in…
    I think it’s a matter of respect and trust too. When a photographer get’s hired, they are working for the client. The client want’s to know that you are on their side, not throwing it around trying to use it as promotion before you have even shot. They might think that if a photographer is posting info about the job, they might post pictures the day after the shoot too…

    I don’t mean to kick dirt on this shooter when he is down. I do feel for you. Just in general, and as a good lesson for all, that’s my 2 cents.

    And to the people who hate online tools like Facebook, Myspace… That’s fine, but it would be foolish to fight these things, because they are not going away, and the people who embrace them, will thrive.
    It’s like fighting digital photography when film was the standard. Maybe an extreme example, but why not use it to your benefit.

  23. Learn an important lesson and carry on doing the good work that got you this job in the first place. And read Brad Trent’s post. Just because a supposed big-name photographer blogs about everything he or she does(and I’m not referring to any specific photographer but have at least three or four obvious ones in mind) doesn’t mean it’s wise or that you need to be doing it too. There is tremendous pressure to get yourself noticed in this business as we know. Self-promotion is a necessity and some are better at it, and more comfortable with it, than others. If you must blog or twit be discreet and avoid self-inflicted wounds like this one and the appearance of self-aggrandizement. Reading David Burnett’s occasional blogs would be a good place to start looking for inspiration and style.

  24. No fault to the photographer, BUT a little anonymity wouln’t hurt. In these days of Twitter and Facebook word travels fast be it good or bad. That’s what spouses, friends and family are for.

  25. poor guy or gal. ouch. ah well, if they’re reading…jobs are like buses…

  26. Common rookie mistake.

    Do not ever publicly release information about an assignment before its served its purpose.

  27. Wow. Interesting situation. Good one to make note for future talks. I’m interested if the photographer named names (it looks like it) or if the agency person just made the connection.

    I’ve tweeted that “I got a big job with a great client”. Maybe mentioning the industry. But, nothing more…. very interesting.

    Rosh

  28. I think you can jinx yourself if you “think” you have it. Better to stay hungry and confident about your work, rather than bragging about it.

    As for the shooters shouting about how fantastic they are on every blog they can cross-post to and with their best blogging buddies……..

    Time will tell if your ego continues to write checks you can not cash.

    • @Mother Mary, you don’t hear the word “humility” used much in our profession, but it is recognized and valued by many clients, especially when the WORK of the photographer speaks loudly for itself.

  29. For editorial assignments for which I have some experience, you always have to sign a contract with the newspaper or magazine and it often states that you are not to share any information about the job until afterwards. Also, normally there is an embargo and you personally cannot sell the pictures elsewhere for a certain period of time nor even use them for self promotion on the web. These days with all the ways to get your work out, it is so tempting to mention a job on one’s blog or Facebook etc. but you must be disciplined!

  30. This whole thing gives me a few great ideas actually. Sucks to be Twictim, but live and learn. Seems to be a popular Rob post though and I’m glad I read it.

  31. I recently pitched a story to a ‘famous’ publication out of NYC and it got accepted. I had a good shoot with the subject and posted a thank you blah, blah, blah on his facebook page. I went back to find that he had deleted my post and I understood.

    Rule of thumb: tell your mother to make her proud and explain that it’s a secret until publication. Let everyone else wait for the photo credit.

  32. Yeah, I read the same story in “DUH” magazine.

    “DUH”, also on facebook, myspace and twitter!

    DUH!

  33. All of which raises the question: who do you link to, and what do you say, on Facebook, Twitter, etc.?

    I have some young, goth, transexual friends as well as some “hottish” young female models that I have as frinds on Facebook (one aspires to be in Playboy, etc.). As well as photogs, high school people, etc.

    I value their friendship and am glad to have them linked there. I decided a while ago that I want to live my life, and not try to hide behind being/appearing more conservative/republican than I am (I used to live in Colorado Springs, *the* hotbed of evangelicals – Focus on the Family, etc.)

    Still, you have to use discretion in business, even in a “cool” town. Plus there is always the wife, and the innuendo-laced posts by the models and their friends, that I absolutely stay out of – just in case. Got enough troubles already, plus a 10 year old kid that comes before everything. ;>)

  34. As to bypassing reps and agencies here’s one major magazine that’s doing that for the most part:
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/614844@N20/
    So far that group has produced several new contributors to the magazine. One 21 yr old photog was discovered through her Twitter feed and now shoots for mags like Nylon, i-D and Teen Vogue. And Rob has written in the last week that celeb PR people may start hiring photogs instead of going through an agency. Reps may not go away, but you can bet they’ll have to change their biz model.
    So “honey” people better wake-up to new mediums of they’ll be here in a few years wondering “what went wrong”

    • @Twictim,

      Check the ego, friend. As you can see, you too young and not in demand enough to get away with it.

      It should go without saying – don’t be “that guy” – you know the one people roll their eyes at when he’s not around. Then you won’t have to worry what went wrong later yourself.

      Sometimes taking the high road is the hard one. But it always pays off.

    • @Twictim,

      As suggested above:

      How well do those rags pay?
      If it’s about exposure, to what end?

      Will print (advertising) make that technological jump too?

      ROI investment may rarely exist in this industry.
      Does that reality fill the need for the emotional validation of being a photographer – having images published?

  35. I assume that there will be a web site dedicated to this sort of situation and others situations where individuals will tell about how their signifigant others left them for someone else they connected or reconnected with on FB,Twitter,My Space etc.
    If there isn’t already,maybe I should chuck the camera and start one,hmmm.
    Shhhh, don’t tweet this idea!

  36. I sometimes post photos and behind the scenes shots and have had no problems so far. My clients like it. I ask and get permission before doing it. I normally do not identify the client or campaign until the campaign has launched. I am going to be even more careful now though.

  37. Nothing like a good dose of Martyrdom. Thanks for being uber honest “Twictim” and Rob thanks for sharing it here in this platform.
    Geoff and D have my vote for astute remedies and observations.

    I do have a question regarding Rob’s comment “It’s just a friendly warning/reminder that we all live in a small highly connected world now and you shouldn’t write things you wouldn’t want everyone to see.”

    So I take it when you call an Advertising Mogul like Don Charney a”misogynist scumbag owner” on YOUR blog, you don’t mind making your opinion unequivocally ubiquitous. Is that correct?

      • I’m not defending him, I’m defending professional behavior standards. I don’t see how posting caveats about commenting on social networking sites relating to jobs is a positive thing, meanwhile posting derogatory personal attacks about an industry player isn’t a little hypocritical and unprofessional. How does calling people names contribute to our profession?

        • @scott Rex Ely,
          First, go read this story about Dov:
          http://tinyurl.com/cxdsa4
          Not sure what industry you play in but he’s not a player here.
          Expressing your opinion is different than stating a fact like you got a job shooting xyz. Don’t know why you’re getting all huffy and calling me hypocritical and unprofessional.

          • @A Photo Editor, Um, ok, as a reporter, how in the hell do you continue an interview with your subject masturbating in front of you? That’s sick!

            I just don’t understand.

      • @A Photo Editor,

        Dov Charney is an advertising “mogul”

        who knew?

        • @craig, Let me explain how I came to my conclusions:The following from Webster’s
          :Advertising, : the action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements
          Mogul: a great personage : magnate
          Player:: one actively involved especially in a competitive field or process
          Here is a great article that I found via Twitter:http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2009/04/the_psychology_of_the_sale.php
          From the last paragraph:”For comparison, look at American Apparel. Have you ever seen an American Apparel store advertise a sale in the window? Or slash the price of their t-shirts? I thought not. They know that they are in the perception business, and that how we perceive a t-shirt depends on many other factors that have nothing do with the quality of cotton. Sometimes, the easiest way to make the consumer happier with a purchase is to increase the price.”
          Yeah I read about Dov, now back to my question, How does calling people names contribute to our profession?

    • @scott Rex Ely, it’s DOV Charney. jeeze. at least know who you’re defending!

  38. Next time… ZIP IT!

  39. I like to wait until after the job is done and published to post it.

  40. […] should.  To read the whole story and some of the interesting comments, check out the post over at A Photo Editor.  Did I happen to mention that you can follow me over at […]

  41. The reason I am commenting is because I have been debating the value of twitter on a daily basis. I don’t want to be the guy sitting at the typewriter claiming the computer is going to be useless but doesn’t twitter feel a little like a self imposed big brother? Sure its a great way to reach a mass group of people like when a homeless shelter needs winter coats and can contact a giant contribution pool immediately , the value is obvious in several marketing applications for everyone, but I personally can’t shake the feeling tweeting is moist with a sense of self importance. (Now go check out my blog…ha!)

  42. rule #1 Don’t talk about it until the deals sealed or nowadays till your on set

    It will curse it at least every other time.

  43. to me once this happened:

    shot an advertising job. Asked the agency if its ok to give the info to a news service after everything was shot and delivered. Got the ok on the phone from the art buyer. Published the news. Client complains to the agency. Agency denys that they gave me to ok.

    I never signed any confidentiality agreement with them. And it was not too big a deal. I just learned from that that you have to be extra careful with this stuff.

    Also what

    to the photographer: dont worry. Big chances are rare and might only come onece in a while. But if you keep at it they will come again. You might have to wait a year or something but earlier or later you’ll get your chance.

  44. There is a lot of discussion about how Facebook and Twitter evolve into tools to support professionals in their careers rather than just social tools. AOL Instant Messenger evolved into Microsoft Communicator and Sametime. Facebook and Twitter provide useful functions, but you need to be careful about how they are used in a business context – just as some things are not okay to say in a meeting but are okay to say over drinks.

    I think the word for now is to be discreet and be profesional when using Facebook and Twitter. The world is changing and anything you say virtually CAN be held against you.

    • @Eric B, Yes Eric your thoughts are well said. All of these “tools” have sharp points and running with them can “poke your eye out, kid”.

      What is amazing about the way we communicate today is that if you want to have a private conversation you need to pick up the phone! Things can get out of balance when social networking gets too mixed into business. Sometimes it’s hard to remember who we are.

      It’s easy to loose a job that way.

  45. Like all the uproar about the ‘Craigslist Killer,’ this would be a non-story without the angle that a relatively new internet-based technology was somehow involved.

    The title of this post should actually be: “My big mouth lost me an advertising shoot.”

    Steve

    • @Steve, actually, that’s what was in my original e-mail to Rob!I agree it’s pretty much a non story, It was meant to be a cautious tale.
      And to everyone who commented whether we disagree or agree on the future, thanks for weighing in. As a young photog, all this feedback was totally useful! The one thing that bothered me about this whole discourse was the people telling me to “zip it” for merely having an opinion. APE is THE site for this type of debate, and yet I have reps (i assume) telling me that my agency should drop me? I didn’t slag a fellow photographer, name any names Why? I’m not on Gawker embarrassing anyone or sounding off. I’ve not posted/ranted/whined about this situation on any other blog, FB (trust me! I got THAT through my thick head!) etc..I’m on a site dedicated to discussions between photographers, which I though was why we all come here. I stand behind my tech comments, but that doesn’t mean that I think any less of reps or agents that bust their asses to get their clients gigs in this difficult climate! My agency is very forward thinking, and I’m just echoing what they instill in their creatives, “Don’t be afraid of technology”. I guess the way of the world is no matter how good your pictures are or how pleasant and cool you are to work with in person, come on to a professional photo web site and have an opinion, and you’ll never work in this town again. It boggles my mind that an awesome photog’s book could come across the desk of a rep on here and instead of saying “let’s meet this person and see what they’re like”, they think “humph. They made xx comment on a photo blog that I read. Forget them.” wow. This isn’t by far the first post where I’ve noticed this. that’s sad really.

  46. and this doesn’t just apply to photographers – I recently shot a story for a weekly mag where the subject posted on twitter/facebook that they were going to be featured, and when I showed up for the shoot there were two local tv stations wanting to cover it. Definitely an issue with an exclusive story, and something that could have caused a major hassle or minor embarrassment for me. I was able to get out of the situation as best I could. So basically, editors and art buyers need to be extra careful spelling out the terms…..

  47. I wouldn’t fool myself into thinking this has much to do with Facebook, Twitter, or whatever. The fact is that the photographer could’ve just as easily announced excitement about the job in public in a restaurant, in a bar, at a party, or at any other live social gathering, and this situation could’ve easily resulted in the very same consequences. This issue has much more to do with confidentiality awareness than social networking. Had there been no confidentiality, the photographer would’ve probably kept the job regardless of which social networking site he made announcements on.

    Photographers announce excitement for upcoming jobs on their very own blogs all of the time, right where their clients can easily see that they’re doing so. Are photographers to stop blogging, too?

  48. Twitter Blueprint…

    2. Limit number of tweets per day, and charge for anything over. This will probably sound horrible to most Twitterers, but it could work out. Craig’ s List charges for certain types of ads. This has the dual effect of creating a revenue stream while …


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