i’m begging you…..please.

roberto

Cheers,

Dave

This situation many photographers are running into reminds me of some recent developments in the shipping industry. I have photographed ships for ship service and shipping companies for years, so I get some insight into their realm. What happened over the last year is that shipping rates for some cargoes fell bellow the cost of operating certain ships. Some companies needed revenue no matter what, and tried to pick up the difference on loans, which they hoped would carry them until rates picked back up. Chartering companies usually control the rates, but the shipping companies can choose to accept them. Very recently the largest shipping company Maersk, announced they were mooring some ships to decrease their number of available ships, and they announced they would no longer accept any below cost rates. Soon a few of the other large players decided to do the same. That was a bit over a month ago, and now suddenly the rates are coming back up. About 98% of everything manufactured spends a portion of it’s life on ships, either as raw materials or finished products, so this was a very big deal in the global economy.

While I don’t think photographers could follow what the shipping industry accomplished, I think there is a great lesson there in the power of refusing business. When you are aware of your CODB, if you knowingly took on assignments that were below that, then you would have to figure out how to make up the difference. We are not just photographers, we are business owners, and we need to make decisions that allow us to continue our business, and hopefully grow our business. The images that we make should accomplish those same goals for our clients, and help their businesses. It’s like a relationship, it takes time, and both need to grow together.

Anyway, Robotog 2 is released now:

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch?e=20091002122351973

Makes more sense to UK operators, due to geography knowledge, but hey, fil yer boots, mate.
Ranting Robotog

True, but some still working are also those who quite happily hand over all rights and accept ridiculously low fees “all in”.

Before the net photographers had to accept this sort of crap on their own thinking it was their fault they were being treated like this. Now we know it’s rife.

Remember folks, if you’re working an “amazing” gig for way below market rates they haven’t hired you for your photographic skills. They’ve hired you because you were the cheapest quote and because they know you don’t understand business.

http://quavondo.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/undermining-the-business-part-ii/

The only thing missing was the announcement that “we only pay our contributors after 90 days now”.

This IS what is happening. I’ve had those conversations I think we all have. This is what makes this whole industry such a joke.

On one hand we’re being told to spend $$$ on marketing and networking and sucking up to ADs/CDs and Photo Editors and on the other hand this sport of conversation is what all that comes to.

Meanwhile the next troop of kit lens wannabees and kids are thinking being treated worse than a minimum-wage employee is the norm.

It’s no wonder there’s so many of these skits doing the rounds now.

Tightening deadlines are just another part of the massively increased speed of our working lives, but no matter how fast machines get there is a point at which I let a client know what’s feasible, and where quality will suffer.
They don’t want you to bring back bad work, and you don’t want to set out on a shoot already feeling like you’ve been screwed.

Sort the wheat from the chaff, and stop accepting work from bad clients.
Make sure you explain why you’re saying no, in the hope that they become better at commissioning us.

As for working Editorially for free; it’s a choice many successful Fashion photographers make, and if they’re truly great it pays off.
If you want 8 pages in i-D, Self Service or EXIT, spend some of your own money. Think of it as a personal project, seen by many more people than you could ever visit with your portfolio.

Don’t work for a Commercial client if it’s going to cost you money, or make no profit. It’s truly pointless, and the work will suck.

Hack from the top down is a good adage, that should include how a photog does business, are you as efficient as you can be, skills top notch not sloppy, I don’t like have to look for customers in different areas but you know what it is rewarding because there are people out there that see the value of what I do. I am not keen of portraits and weddings but if it fills the gapps I am still shooting and making money.

When people don’t want to pay I don’t play. TTFN.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfprIxNfCjk&feature=player_embedded#t=139

Now excuse me, I have to get back to editing.

http://www.cs.wustl.edu/MediaAndMachines/Lewis/images/p0002568.jpg

“Lewis currently assumes that people are between 4 and 7 feet tall, so children may need to stand on a chair.”

I am guessing any people in wheelchairs will be missed out of the album too, unless they have a child standing on them.

RDP

http://www.cs.wustl.edu/MediaAndMachines/Lewis/

“A robot photographer has numerous advantages. One interesting observation indicates that people feel less self-conscious in front of a robot. After an initial period of fascination, they begin to ignore Lewis as a photographer and lose their perception of being captured in time.”

So how cool is that ?

RDP

right but you were also the rep who told everyone that you’re not only full up, so don’t bother knocking, but also that if photographers are out there doing cool stuff, we’ll be discovered, (though not by you, since you’ve got your hands full.) the robot with the lady-voice who had ‘fuck all’ for a budget is easy to dismiss if she happens to represent some shoddy rag of a magazine. but the ‘cool’ magazines sometimes have the smallest budgets of all, or even a negative one, where a photographer has to eat the film costs, or the cost of a location, or front the stylists expenses who may also be working for free, because of the one in ten thousand chance that someone out there, who might one day hire us, may be watching. sure, a chin up approach, gets you farther than bellyaching. the cup may be half full, but there are ten people drinking from it. the poor robot schmuck took the job, cause it was all he had. if you’re getting bled dry you might as well at least grab the free cookie.

http://www.grahamtrott.com/

a UK based editorial and commercial photographer. who also happens to be bloody witty.