There’s some really interesting information in this video shot at the recent Le Book Connections in NYC (and some not so interesting, but whatev’).
I am told by agents that the only reason the advertise in Le Book is because of this connections event. You can see why it has become so important in the following video:
Love to hear from anyone who attended the productions side of the event.
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As a photographer, I thought the productions event was excellent. A good assortment of vendors, and a very pleasant, friendly and professional atmosphere. Much better then I had expected.
@Tony Gale, I’ve been told only photographers’ agents could attempt this event. I thought it was kind of odd, actually.
@Sandee, It would have been a pretty thin turn out with just reps. There where definitely a lot of photographers at the productions event. At the portfolio event there are no photographers allowed
I’ve been to a lot of conferences over the years — on a variety of topics, not just photography. There is a certain sameness about conferences. People pitching stuff; people looking to make career moves; people who are just there to get out of work for a couple of days.
These two videos reinforce my belief that interesting people simply don’t attend conferences. Neither do real movers and shakers. It’s not that the videos were bad, it’s just none of the people interviewed made me want to know more about them or whatever they were talking about.
Sorry, maybe it’s just Monday, but my reaction was BFD.
@Tom,
yeah, look it’s not applicable too everyone. not sure why that warrants a comment.
@Tom, “interesting people simply don’t attend conferences. Neither do real movers and shakers.” I will entertain your generalization – as the veteran conference attendee you are, tell us what do you suggest instead of conferences, and how would you get the “movers and shakers” to attend?
@Julie,
>tell us what do you suggest instead of conferences
I think you would be better served by making a prioritized list of the people you feel would be beneficial contacts, then develop a plan for building relationships with those individuals. Bumping into people at conferences is, at best, hit-and-miss. You might get lucky and make some great contacts, but chances are you’ll wind up rubbing shoulders with a bunch of people looking for career advancement. Even if people you want to know better are planning to attend a conference, it’s hard to spend quality time with them. There are too many distractions.
>how would you get the “movers and shakers” to attend?
The short answer is it’s difficult. People doing meaningful work often don’t have time to spend 2-4 days at a conference. You might be able to lure key people to make a presentation (or sit on a panel, or some other visibility opportunity), but they probably won’t hang around to schmooze with the masses. They’ll just make their pitch then bolt.
Shameless bribery sometimes works. If you have the budget to book a conference at a very nice hotel and can keep the invited attendees somewhat exclusive you can have better success (I’ve done that, and you can up-level your attendees to some extent).
You still need an intriguing agenda to pique the interest of top-tier people. That can be challenging — especially if the people you are trying to reach are doing leading-edge work.
I really enjoyed the Productions event as well. It gave me a chance to meet face to face with some of the vendors that I’ve worked with in the past. It also gave me the opportunity to become familiar with some studios and location companies that I wasn’t aware of before. I’d go back again next year. Plus I got a groovy t-shirt from Adorama!
I get so much done at both events. Its nice to see so many familiar faces in one place.
I spent about three hours on each event.
Hello all,
I thought you may enjoy the 3D option in the link below!
http://www.lebook.com/connections/reportny10
-r
Hello all,
I thought you may enjoy the 3D option in the link below!
http://www.lebook.com/connections/reportny10
-r
I’ve been working as a freelance photographer for years now, and tried to attempt the event while I was in NYC. I’ve been told that only photographers’ agents could attempt it. It’s not making too much sense to me. That being said, yes I heard that it was a very good way to make connexions.
@Sandee,
For the first time the event was separated into two different events. Le Creative, and Le Production. Le Creative is the original event. Its only open to Reps,art buyers,photo editors. Some photographers do come to this event ,but only as invited guest by there Reps or Lebook. Le Production the second event. Its new.It was open to everyone.
@Richard Gary, thanks Richard, so I know for next year :)
What does the “le” stand for?
@Michael,
It’s French for “il”
@Victor John Penner,
“Le” is french for “the” actually.
“Il” is french for “he” or “it.” What does “Le” in front of an english word have to do with anything? I’m just askin’.
@Michael,
“il” is Italian for “le”
Thanks. That certainly cleared up what the “le” signifies in le book. Glad I asked.
i went to le book and i must admit michael kazam was really rude to me. i will never attend again. they treat it like the cool ids club, so over that vibe, such a turn off.
@ri,
Michael Kazam is just rude in general – he made me reconsider going to LeBook next year too – and I am one of the people showing there! He is definitely NOT an asset to LeBook.
I will also say that “movers and shakers” definitely do go to the Connections show. I won’t name names, but I will say that we have gotten a major worldwide campaign with a huge company – traveling all over the world – and the Art Buyer from this company came to LeBook and hired us from that meeting.
Le Book is a Blessing. I have introduced my Men’s Division and all has went well from there. Cheers~ Much success to you all
For Stockland Martel’s photo blog, we invited people in the industry to email us about their experience at Connections. We got some interesting responses: http://stocklandmartelblog.com/2010/07/01/heres-what-you-thought-of-le-book-connections/
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