I find architects to be a fairly laid back bunch as a whole, unlike advertising shoots which tend to involve more people and sometimes a very compressed time frame. It’s harder to develop an affection for an abstract concept like a brand, but an architect is real person and often has a lot riding on the success of the building so it becomes more personal.
via Architectural Photographer Friday: Andrew Prokos | Photography and Architecture.
We emailed Art Buyers and Art Producers around the world asking them to submit names of established photographers who were keeping it fresh and up-and-comers who they are keeping their eye on. If you are an Art Buyer/Producer or an Art Director at an agency and want to submit a photographer anonymously for this column email: Suzanne.sease@verizon.net
Anonymous Art Buyer: I nominate Johann Wall. We use him all the time. He takes amazing photos of people and I love the way he always captures a person’s essence.
How many years have you been in business?
It must be coming up around 15 years now since I was consciously taking photographs that I wanted to show. More like 10 in a sort of commercial/editorial professional sense though.
Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
Both. I learned how to develop in the darkroom at the University of Victoria where I was enrolled in the writing program. A friend slipped me into the photojournalism lab and showed me the process.
When I moved to Liverpool, I was supposed to photograph the Manic Street Preachers for a little magazine so I went to the library to learn how to take photographs in the dark. Push processing! We set up a darkroom in the closet to develop.
The following year I received a grant to attend photo school for a year. I loved it, being able to learn, make friends and try out things without any concern other than photography. I assisted in London for a while as well as in Vancouver on gallery shoots. I liked London the best as I worked with a woman who shot country Vogue style advertising stories so we’d stay in castles and remote estates. She used almost exclusively modified natural light so there were a lot of massive reflectors and diffusers.
I’m glad I studied and assisted because I gained a real technical knowledge and understanding of creating and modifying light. I don’t usually use much equipment but I’m glad I know how to use it if necessary.
Who was your greatest influence that inspired you to get into this business?
I think my greatest influence was Wolfgang Tillmans’ first book. It’s a wonderful collection of photographs.
How do you find your inspiration to be so fresh, push the envelope, stay true to yourself so that creative folks are noticing you and hiring you?
I don’t know if I’m pushing the envelope! I just like making as beautiful a photograph as I can.
I like to think of all my work as one multilayered story which I keep adding to. I have a consistent aesthetic to my imagery and I am very happy that I’ve found that. I guess by creating new photographs I am keeping my work fresh. I don’t really like terms like pushing the envelope.
Do you find that some creatives love your work but the client holds you back?
I think people all respond to the storyline aspect of my photography. So they would expect me to create a story and usually that means I am instructed to do whatever it is I do to make that happen. I’ve been on tripods tethered a few times photographing group scenes where I’d normally be moving around amongst the talent whispering the odd instruction in their ears. So that was sort of limiting, as I couldn’t be right in the scene. I think that was the creative’s tethering me though, not the client.
I’ve been sent out on my own a lot, even on commercial jobs, to just bring back great pictures.
What are you doing to get your vision out to the buying audience?
I send out some postcards now and then. If I’m in the right mood I’ll make up unique packages for people I like at magazines or agencies. I’ve always loved post and letters.
I do some email newsletters but I haven’t quite gotten used to that so they are not on much of a schedule. I get good interest when I do send them though!
Magazines are great.
Work with people who love Instagramming so you don’t have to spread the news yourself.
I sometimes have no idea how people hear about me though. I’ll get a call from a Zurich newspaper out of nowhere to shoot a story and wonder how that happened.
What is your advice for those who are showing what they think the buyers want to see?
I think everyone shows work they think people want to see. Whether a buyer wants to see it, you will never know until you show it to them. I don’t know what people want to see, and how can you?
My first website had 14 pictures on it and almost all of them were blurred because I really liked that look then. I got a national magazine cover and the photo editor said, “ Johann, we really love your pictures but would you mind not blurring this portrait?”
Are you shooting for yourself and creating new work to keep your artistic talent true to you?
Of course.
How often are you shooting new work?
I do try and photograph people as much as I can but I’m not someone that photographs everything they see. I like to have moments to think and then I do other things and then I’ll decide to make some new pictures. I like limiting my image making. I am creating new work in my mind a lot though.
Johann Wall is a Canadian photographer based in Vancouver.
Phone: 604 725 8865
Email : johann@johannwall.com
www.johannwall.com
APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s, after founding the art buying department at The Martin Agency then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies. She has a new Twitter fed with helpful marketing information. Follow her@SuzanneSease.
When I was teaching myself to write, in my twenties and thirties, here’s what I used to do. I’d work at a real job (usually in advertising in New York) and save my money till I had enough to last me about two years. Then I’d quit, move someplace really cheap, rent a place, and write full-time. I did this three times between 1967 and 1980.
I never sold anything. Never got anything published. Never made a penny.
Earlier this summer, I caught up with David Maisel, a few weeks after reviewing his new book “Black Maps.” He recently began working with Yancey Richardson Gallery in New York, and has a solo show up at Haines Gallery in San Francisco through October 26th.
All images © David Maisel courtesy Haines Gallery/SF and Yancey Richardson Gallery/NY
Jonathan Blaustein: Were you raised on Long Island? Is that right?
David Maisel: Yes.
JB: Your bio states that you went to Harvard as well as Princeton. That’s pretty impressive.
DM: True, but technically I would have to call myself a Harvard drop-out. I went there for graduate school in architecture. It was a 3.5 year masters program that I left after a year.
JB: At Princeton, you studied with Emmet Gowin and Edward Ranney?
DM: Exactly. It was quite a remarkable experience. They were photographic educators, but that kind of skims the surface of what their impact was. I had the opportunity to work with Emmet at Mt. St. Helens when I was an undergrad, and they both informed what my view of landscape could be.
And even what a photographic practice could be. To have both of those men as teachers so early on was really amazing.
JB: When I was looking at “Black Maps,” it made me think of the Nazca lines, and I know that Ed is one of the foremost contemporary photographers who’s worked in Peru. It occurred to me that it might be a literal link in the chain of your creative process. Is that the case?
DM: Absolutely. When I was working with Ed, he was engaged in this very intense, deep photographic survey of Mayan and Incan architecture, and the vestiges that those civilizations had left in the land. That sense of working as a visual archaeologist, looking at artifacts from former civilizations.
I’m looking at artifacts from the present. It’s a future-past, in a way. I’m documenting and cataloging that which our current civilization might leave behind. Ed’s work helped me view contemporary artifacts in the landscape through the lens of what remains when a civilization is gone.
JB: I reviewed the book, and wrote that there was an element in which you were making the work for future people to judge us. So it sounds like that is conscious in your process.
DM: I think so. I think there’s also a science fiction aspect to it as well. A JG Ballard, post-apocalyptic sense that these are the elements that might remain. Or we might be unearthing past civilizations. It’s not entirely academic in nature. I think Ed’s work in large measure is. And I think that’s one of its strengths. I’m playing with other elements as well.
JB: How do you view yourself, with respect to the contemporary environmental movement? You’re doing this exclusively as art? Or do you have motivations to try to alter people’s behaviors in the present, in addition to cataloging degradation for the future?
DM: These are really good questions, but I have to say, first and foremost, I’m looking at landscape from a conceptual point of view. Politics and environment enter into it, but I’m primarily a visual artist, and I’m not making these pictures in order to change policy. If I was, I’d need to make very different kinds of pictures, and I’d position them very differently than I do.
My primary interest is in making interesting photographs, and I think there’s a way that photography has a burden put on it that I want to refute. The pictures are not made in order to change policy, let’s put it that way. But they do have environmental concerns, and they’re based on sites that have undergone very intense environmental transformations.
Politics is part of it. But I think the conceptual aspects of landscape drive me more than the notion of being a documentary photographer. I don’t think that I am documentary photographer.
JB: In 80% of the interviews I do, we end up having a discussion about nomenclature, and the distinctions made in the worlds of photography and art in the 21st Century. Over three decades, you’ve made multiple projects looking at the way humans are interacting with the land. To me, that speaks to a very deep
personal motivation.
DM: It’s intrinsically political. You can’t spend so many years looking at these sites without having a certain kind of viewpoint. But my viewpoint is perhaps less about environmental demise than it is about the psyche of the culture that makes these sites.
These are distinctions that I think are important. In the past decade or so, there have been many more photographers looking at issues in the environment than there were when I began. I’m not really sure to what degree my work fits in with that movement.
There’s a history of looking at landscape in photography in the 19th Century, moving forward into the New Topographics. I see my work as a response to those prior ways of making images.
JB: You spoke of investigating the psyche of a culture that would do what’s been done. Since we’re talking about such a long investigation, culminating in the book, what have you learned about the psyche of this culture?
DM: We’re very distanced from the notion that the way we live exacts a toll. I’m part of the equation, and photography is part of the equation. We really do use natural resources without regard to where they come from, how they may or may not be able to be replenished, what the methods are of their extraction.
We’re divorced from any sense of how we are a part of nature, and how we fit back into nature, and how we use nature. We live in a house or an apartment building, in a city or a town. We drive to the shopping mall, we go to the beach. But we don’t ever really see the kinds of places that I’m interested in looking at, and sharing.
JB: When you show your work, you introduce these concepts to people through art. And there is currently a show in Scottsdale?
DM: Yes.
JB: I’ve been many places in my life, and Scottsdale, Arizona was one of the most challenging. With the all the concrete built right on top of the desert, and the obvious lack of water, it felt like a place where people shouldn’t be living, ecosystem wise. And yet it mushroomed into a city.
What’s your take on Arizona?
DM: The whole issue of desertification is something my work has been looking at through “The Lake Project,” and the “Oblivion” series,” but in my home state of California. But I think there are certain parallels.
I’ve been reading Wallace Stegner lately. You’re probably familiar with his writing.
JB: No, I’ve heard his name, but I haven’t read his work.
DM: I hadn’t realized the degree to which his writing in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s really helped construct a new way of looking at the American West.
He has a book titled “The American West as Living Space.” He writes about the West, and you can include Arizona and California both in there, as being defined by inadequate rainfall.
He basically says, “What do you do about that?” If you’re a nation that’s totally used to getting its way, you can do one of two things. You can either deny it, for a while, and then you either try to adapt to it, or engineer it out of existence.”
That’s what’s happening now, around the American West. We live in denial of the fact that the population of these places is not sustainable, given that there’s not enough water.
Or we try to engineer it out of existence with dams, and other kinds of waterworks projects, and systems of aqueducts, etc.
He’s quite a brilliant writer, and I think his influence has been profound on our concepts of the American West, and to a certain degree, legislation that set aside certain areas of the West. It’s pretty incredible, and worth taking a look at his work in depth.
JB: I will do that, and there’s also a chance that some of our readers will as well. So on their behalf, I appreciate the tip.
By putting together all the projects in a mostly linear way for the new book, did that give you new insight into what you’ve been pushing towards all these years?
DM: It was a really fulfilling project for me, because when I started making these kinds of pictures in the mid 1980’s, there was not much of an audience for this kind of work. I didn’t have the capacity to put this work out into the world in a way that would gather an audience to it.
So to have this trajectory of this work, over something like 30 years, and to look back at the origins of the work, that was incredibly meaningful and satisfying. It answered a lot of the questions that I had about my work in my mid-20’s.
To see the resonance the projects have with each other, the way my viewpoints change over time, the kinds of subject matter that I have looked at, I’m not sure it led to new realizations. But it brought me back to the person I was when I started this.
It helped recall the urgency that I felt about making these pictures, and the incredible frustration I had, because there were not many avenues to exhibit or publish, pre-Internet.
JB: You went to graduate school for photography many years after you had finished your schooling. A lot of people today are questioning and balancing the value of these very expensive arts educations. I got one, and loved it, but I’m still paying off the loans. What led to your decision?
DM: I’d moved to the Bay Area in 1993, and a decade later, I felt like I was still working in isolation here. I wanted to expand my community. That was one reason.
I also wanted to challenge myself to be more rigorous in my thinking. It was an unusual time, perhaps, to go back to school, but for me, it was perfect. I trusted myself enough, at that point in my life, to be able to discern what was useful to me, and what wasn’t, in that MFA program.
I could do it for myself in a way I wouldn’t have been able to, had I gone in my mid-20’s. It was a terrific experience. The environment at CCA, California College of the Arts, I liken it to the Bauhaus. There are all of these different disciplines happening under one roof. It’s an incredible hotbed of creativity, and intellectual and artistic growth.
JB: I was out in SF a year ago, and it was clear the place was really booming. Everyone was talking about Twitter moving in, rents going up, and the big Cindy Sherman show was at SFMOMA. There are a lot of younger SF and Bay Area artists who are doing well right now.
Have you seen anything lately, or come across any exhibitions that really spoke to you? What’s your take on what’s going on out there?
DM: It’s interesting. I’m pretty involved with the Headlands Center for the Arts. I’m on a board there. So that’s the filter through which I see a lot of what’s going on. There are some great things happening.
The de Young Museum has this Diebenkorn exhibit up called “The Berkeley Years,” so it’s not work that’s current. But it’s an exceptional show that focuses on work that he made in the mid to late 50’s. There are certain ways I see some parallels between his way of seeing and my way of seeing, which have been very intriguing for me.
JB: It’s a great point. It can be so helpful for photographers to look at painting, sculpture and cinema. Having a broad range of input tends to lead to more sophisticated output. If I were to make such a grand generalization, which is my speciality.
DM: (laughing.)
JB: “History’s Shadow” and “Library of Dust” are two projects in which you seem to be interested in categorization and typologies. History has a way of forgetting much more than it remembers, and things march on. As such, I was wondering where you were headed, creatively? What new things are you planning?
DM: I’m working now with some X-rays of paintings. The “History’s Shadow” work to date has been based on X-rays of 3 dimensional art objects, from antiquity through the invention of photography.
JB: And you photograph the X-rays?
DM: I rephotograph them. Exactly. So I’m now starting to work with X-rays of paintings. It’s pretty early on in that process, but it’s funny that we were just talking about Diebenkorn, and now we’re on the subject of painting.
I’m probably as inspired by other visual arts in my work than photography, or as much, certainly. Looking at Robert Smithson’s work, or Walter de Maria’s incredible Earth works art.
I found it very interesting to work with the X-rays of 3 dimensional artworks too, because in a way, photography is all about translating 3 dimensions down to 2. As you shift towards photos of 2 dimensional surfaces, it’s very interesting what happens. I’m still grappling with it, but that’s one of the things that’s coming next.
I’m also hoping to do some aerial work in Spain later this summer, or in the early Fall.
JB: What about architecture? Does that also inspire your photographic practice?
DM: It’s absolutely present in every single way. I thought from a very young age that I would be an architect, as soon as I could name it. I looked at magazines and floor plans from a very early age.
The ways architects analyze space acutely informs how I make pictures. You could extrapolate and say the aerial view is the way architects look at things and plan. The plan occupies the bird’s eye view and shows you things.
And the “History’s Shadow” work is more about cross-section: you’re slicing into something and seeing its structure. But the work is absolutely tied to the same interests and pleasures and puzzles.
JB: I was fortunate to see the “Library of Dust” project, in which you photographed the ashen remains of people who had passed away in a mental institution. I saw the prints a few years ago in New York. Maybe it was at Von Lintel?
DM: Yes.
JB: The prints were exquisite and also chilling, because you shined a light on a particular place, and people who had been perfectly forgotten. Did that spur anyone to come claim their relatives ashes? Did you hear any stories like that?
DM: Absolutely. One, in particular, was told in a beautiful and eloquent way by a woman and her adult daughter who were researching their family tree. They came upon a woman named Ada, who had vanished. Eventually they learned she had been institutionalized at the Oregon State Hospital.
They found out she had been one of these patients who had been cremated. They tried to work with the hospital to claim the remains, and were unsuccessful. When the “Library of Dust” book was published, that gave them another round of energy to approach the hospital. At that point, they were able to reclaim her.
It’s interesting, this idea of advocacy. Like I said, my work is not made with advocacy as its primary goal, but there is definitely a social aspect that is woven intentionally into the work. Hopefully in a subtle way.
Before the book even came out, the President of the State Senate in Oregon asked if he could use my photographs of these canisters on the Senate floor to advocate for more funding for the hospital. It was an active hospital even when I was making those pictures there, although some of the wards had been empty for a while.
He was successful in arguing for more funding, to the tune of $3.5 Billion. And in fact, the hospital has been rebuilt. This project was in some way a participant in that process. Did I set out to do that? By no means.
JB: Fascinating. Congratulations. You mentioned again that advocacy is not your primary motivation, but of course we also have secondary and tertiary motivations…
DM: Yes.
JB: Subtlety and nuance come from having multiple ideas sharing the same dance floor, and some times it’s hard to pick them out.
We’ve talked about your different interests and talents, and that multi-tasker model does seem to be hot at present. Do you have any advice you might share with other photographers out there, things you’ve learned that might help them with their careers?
DM: That’s a great question. For me, to study photography alone was not really enough. I do think that what might have felt at the time, as a younger person, like a lack of clarity in terms of making a career path, in the long run all of those things that might have felt like diversions were exactly the things that fed my artistic practice. Studying architecture, landscape architecture, the history of art, counseling and psychology, all these things came together.
JB: So that’s a yes, then.
DM: Follow multiple strands of study, and of inquiry. Follow your curiosity where it may go. Photography, in and of itself, is a vehicle for ideas. What are the ideas that you bring to the table? What are the ideas that you bring to your work? Those are the real, critical questions.
JB: Before we go, is there anything coming up that we ought to know about? Any new shows opening up?
DM: There is a solo show opening in September at Haines Gallery in San Francisco. (ed note, this is still ongoing.) It’s an exhibition of my mining photographs, and we’re going to focus on two bodies of work, one from 1989 and another from 2007. In a way, it brackets the timeframe of my obsession with open pit mines.
JB: And everyone who goes to see the show will get one free gold nugget?
DM: That’s right. And a vial of cyanide.
JB: Can you imagine? You have to pick a hand. You either get $10,000 of gold, or you die.
DM: Actually, cyanide is used in the capture of microscopic amounts of gold in many of those open pit mines. It’s an intrinsic part of the process, and it seems only fair that we’ll be serving little vials of cyanide at the opening.
I just kind of put my camera above my head and even didn’t look and clicked a picture when he moved over the trench and that was all,” he said. “I never looked at my pictures there. And I sent my pictures back with lots of other pictures that I took. I stayed in Spain for three months and when I came back, I was a very famous photographer because that camera which I hold above my head just caught a man at the moment when he was shot.“
via Robert Capa: Finding a Fearless Photographer’s Voice – NYTimes.com.
Why did you start this project? What sort of market space were you hoping to disrupt?
After my son was born, I was still busy shooting for clients but stopped shooting personal projects almost completely for about a year. I was kind of going crazy not being able to shoot for myself so I set up a project in Montana to just go shoot a lifestyle project/test in a part of Glacier National Park. Once I did the Montana shoot I realized that big lifestyle shoots like I had done had the potential to be a magazine.
The pictures that are expected for traditional travel magazines are not as interesting to me over time. A hotel bed, a cup of coffee, and a romantic landscape type of imagery is nice to see but after many years shooting big lifestyle productions, those pictures feel not as compelling to make. I want people! And I want people to do all the stuff there is to do in a given location.
On the flip side, with commercial shoots, you do all this planning and production and activities but viewers never know where you are, where you stayed, who your awesome team was, etc. Additionally with commercial shoots you have budget but obviously a lot of decisions about the content of images (and choices like styling) are made based on a client’s needs and not only your vision. Tiny Atlas seemed like a place to put those things together.
Big beautiful travel stories filled with people experiencing the places we wanted to go, or had been and wanted to share. I have so many creative friends who love travel (and are already traveling for work) and who also yearn to work on projects of their own devising that I figured we could band together and make it happen.
Tell me about the evolution of this, and how it’s either exceeded or disappointed your goals?
I can’t quite even remember how we got started. I had the idea, I spoke with my friend, our art director Liz Mullally, who had just left Apple after many years to move to LA. Liz had some time to think about a new project while she was in transition and we got started. My husband Jake built Tiny Atlas. He works full time as a UX designer but we have always built my sites together. A big part of the fresh quality of TAQ comes from the UX and that is credited to Jake mostly, or our collaboration.
Tiny Atlas has grown so much and it is becoming very exciting. The magazine hasn’t disappointed me but it has sapped my business financially and time-wise.
You must have had space in your mind in order to think up this type of project, did you have some slow periods with your photography?
Well after you have a child you both lose a lot of free time and then gain a lot of time where you have to stay home at night because there is a baby sleeping in the other room. My husband and I used to go out all the time and now it is pretty rare. A lot of Tiny Atlas happens between 8pm-midnight.
How will you monetize this?
We have purposely put in all the production info and links so that potential branded partners and advertisers will see the opportunity and how open we are to work together, but also so that when the time comes, readers will not be surprised about the more branded connections being made. We are thinking of lots of ways for brands to work with us, but we have kept the magazine really beautiful and grounded and it will never feel commercial. All of the places, clothing, activities have come from our creators . They are OUR favorite places, and our favorite clothing and we want to share them. But we are open to sponsors and the great ideas they can bring, as well. There is also the potential to have an online marketplace for our imagery and favorite crafted objects and destination suggestions in a curated way. We’re starting to examine ideas such as this, for example, in a small way with our Oakland gallery show in conjunction with our Kickstarter campaign and possibly in a popup gallery/shop in the new year in Oakland, as well.
In a perfect world how do you see this taking off?
In the perfect world, places with fascinating stories, writers with a taste for exploration, and beautiful exciting destinations (on or off the radar) will approach us with projects they want to collaborate on and we will choose the right ones to shoot/write about/collaborate on. This will be in addition to just going to places we want to share with our readers who will hopefully support the printed magazine/shop.
Why Kickstarter and not private investors?
Tiny Atlas has been completely created by me and a growing group of artists that have a lot in common. We are interested in personal stories and personal vision and we want to share work that feels intentional but also casual and real. Unfortunately we are at a point where we can’t continue to share this work without funding. But, there seem to be many individuals who appreciate what we are doing and a general interest in small magazines with unique vision. We hope to connect with all these affiliated folks directly through the Kickstarter campaign and expand on the groundwork we have done as well as listen to direct thoughts from our readers about what they are liking about what we do. While we are not opposed to funding, we want to continue to grow what we already have going and not to change focus.
How did you start your career in photography?
I went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and got my degree in English Literature and creative writing/poetry. For me photography has always been visual storytelling and poetic editing mixed together. I grew up traveling a bit with my family and I developed a pretty strong love of travel. I took photo classes in high school and university, but I also did a study abroad in Chile where I had an internship as a photojournalist with the national daily newspaper in Santiago. Everything came together for me there. I wanted to shoot and travel. After my study abroad I traveled alone through parts of Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina for a few months. I thought I would become a photojournalist and travel and shoot, but I was not interested in war as much as humanity. My husband and I met when I was a few months out of college trying to be a stringer for the AP (at 21 years old) in SF and he was an art director at the SF Bay Guardian where I started getting portrait assignments. I excelled far more at that than taking pictures of Willie Brown shaking someone’s hand for a Thanksgiving benefit for AP.
How did your experience at Apple fold into the evolution of this project?
Apple was amazing for my career. I started shooting for them on lifestyle projects when I was still just working editorially mostly. They had a lot more freedom in what they were looking for from photographers than other commercial clients so the goal was to take great images of people-often real families on real trips. But they put production muscle, great producers and amazing vision behind what they do and it set my course for making images.
Does your agent support you on this project?
Bernstein & Andriulli has been very supportive. Carol Alda and Howard Bernstein have been especially helpful in getting the word out. They are enthusiastic about my work coming in from Tiny Atlas and they are excited to share it with their clients and network. It feels fresh and relevant to them and that feels good to me.
Why do you think this style of photography is emerging and becoming valuable?
I think lifestyle is maybe coming into its own as a genre. Lifestyle is not a great word and the connotations aren’t amazing- you think, backlit happy people, but that is not why lifestyle is popular. It’s popular because lifestyle images are taken from the perspective of individual experience.
For a time documentary was predominant for so much of photography. Then it split back into categories, portrait, nature, etcetera. This is a little off track for Tiny Atlas but I guess my point is that lifestyle seems like the new documentary. Its a ubiquitous form that seems current and real and relatable. Lifestyle images can be profound or disposable but they are all fitting into the same bucket right now.
The source/credit information about the shoot is shared, are there direct links out to contributors sites? Do you think that can substitute as payment (essentially it’s free advertizing )
I think people want information to be free online and I think it actually should be. The internet is for sharing information and I hate paying for any content online personally. I don’t want people to pay to be a stylist or photographer for Tiny Atlas. I do want to find partners- be they readers who will pay for a beautiful inspiring quarterly or annual magazine in print to keep at home (or tear apart and put on their walls like I did as a kid), or shoot and put on their pinterest, or an airline that wants to promote their new direct service from SFO to Copenhagen, a gem of a national park, an amazing campground, a gorgeous boutique hotel, a delicious local food or restaurant, an old resort that is not trendy but it’s still awesome, or a clothing brand that wants to share a new type of jeans that are actually super flattering. I want to know about all of these things and I think the Tiny Atlas reader does too.
Certainly there is an amount of luxury in any travel magazine but while we want to go everywhere in the world I think the best journey is really just about experience ultimately and not price. I talk about this below but one of my best trips ever was taking buses and hitch hiking around South America in college with money saved from waitressing between college semesters. The biggest luxury for any trip is the time to do it.
Is the entire team friend and family?
The team is friends and family first but has been really growing. I think 45 people had a hand in the last issue or more. Lots of people have reached out to collaborate and if their work is the right fit we are happy to get new people in the mix. I am meeting lots of new people both near and far, virtually and in person. I recently met one of our contributors, Ashley Camper when I was in Hawaii shooting. I also just met Erin Kunkel in person- who is another great bay area photographer we are working with in the next issue and on the Kickstarter campaign. We just tried (and kind of failed) at having a global TAQ Google+ hangout the other day but the experience was fun and we hope to do more things like that as well as connect in person with each other both on our travels and in the gallery/popup in Oakland.
Will you ever do a print version?
Yes! We are going to do a limited run annual for the Kickstarter with an edited version of all the work from Tiny Atlas so far, including our new issue that will come out in November/December. If it goes well we might go to a printed quarterly, or just keep doing the annuals and keep the quarterly online if it feels like the right timeline.
What is missing?
We are missing WRITING! I want writing that is excellent writing with a strong sense of place. The writing format is open to poetry, fiction, memoir or straight journalism, but it should ideally be great storytelling. Sentences should sing and make you happy to read them- is there a happiness-in-reading-something well-written word, like farfegnugen? I want that.
Even though I went to school for writing I don’t know many writers anymore and we are hoping to have budget to seek out excellent writers or ideally expand enough so that writers with a similar vision come to find us.
You can follow Emily and the project:The controversy that erupted this summer over the World Press Photo award winning image taken by Paul Hansen has forced the organization to examine their contest rules. In a press release on October 2nd announcing contest chair Gary Knight, Managing Director Michiel Munneke explained: “We have evaluated the contest rules and protocols and examined how to create more transparency, and we have changed the procedures for examining the files during the judging. We will announce further details when the 2014 Photo Contest opens for entries later this year, but the bottom line is that we will need to be able to rely on the integrity and professionalism of the participating photographers.”
Relying on the integrity of photographers is fine when it comes to the level of manipulation where things are added and removed from images, but the larger issue is that World Press Photo in the past has allowed the jury to decide what it deems “currently accepted standards in the industry” for retouching. And this opaque rule is what allowed a mob to form and go after Paul Hansen in the first place. Here are their rules for retouching at the time:
The contest entry rules state that the content of the images must not be altered. Only retouching which conforms to currently accepted standards in the industry is allowed. The jury will consider what they deem acceptable in each category during the judging
I hope that an organization with the reputation of World Press Photo will tell the world what these “currently accepted standards” are and set an example for newspapers, magazines and other contests. Despite the finger wagging of publications like PDN (ironically pushing over a dozen photo contests of their own) at the mob’s accusations towards Paul, the problem lies not with the blogger’s headlines, but rules that leave photographers hanging out to dry when questions arise.
The darkroom is long gone and a RAW image can have many different interpretations as it’s brought to life on the computer screen. Expecting photographers to not produce contest winning interpretations when entering World Press Photo is folly.
“Let inspiration inspire you and take every opportunity,” Rosie says. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s something big or small, but it will lead somewhere as long as you try hard and do a good job. And have fun doing it! It’s pointless to spend your life doing something that you don’t enjoy. As long as I’m shooting, as long as I’m taking pictures and asking people to climb into mud puddles, and painting my front driveway yellow, I’m happy. And I can’t wait to see what’s next!”
via Maroon 5 discovers young photographer on Flickr « Flickr Blog.
Have I ever told you that I live in a horse pasture at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains? Of course I have. Like, a million times. I say it constantly.
Is it a nefarious part of my personal branding? (That Blaustein. Always makes it about him.) I suppose it’s possible, if you believe me that much of a cynic. But I think it’s something else.
Writing for the global Internet is a strange job. Technically, you know you’re reaching a lot of people. But that reality is abstract, like a cloud that looks like the European Continent. Knowing readers are out there is nice, but it has no bearing on my daily life.
It’s very remote here, which is why I bring it up so often. Most of you are living in the urban world, where things run smoothly, and you can get decent takeout almost anywhere. Never before, in the history of time, could we have this sort of asymmetrical dialogue. Without the Internet, I wouldn’t be able to live the way I do. (Which includes having to fire up the wood stove on this, the first un-official day of winter. Snow outside already?)
That I can remain connected and removed enables me to have the perspective that I do. Sometimes, things work out perfectly. Take this morning, for instance. I just swiped through Twitter, and saw a few people saying that the Lori Nix exhibition at ClampArt was a must see. Cool, I thought. Good for her. But what the f-ck does that have to do with me?
Good question. Because not three minutes later, I reached into my book stack, and “Voila!” There it was. A new monograph, “The City,” by Lori Nix, just published by Decode Books in Seattle. (I love that the credits mention the color correction was done domestically, before the printing transpired in China. Lest we be confused…)
I’ll say it straight off. Totally fantastic book. Amazing work, beautifully printed, and I even like the way they constructed the narrative. (A few photos, for the uninitiated, then an essay to explain and contextualize the project, and then all the gorgeous plates, with a few detail shots thrown in to make sure you realize the labor involved.)
Are we done now? Of course not. I forgot to tell you what Ms. Nix’s work is all about. I think my cold bones are clouding my intelligence. Is it possible to lose IQ points when it’s cold outside?
The photographs in “The City,” and presumably on the wall in NYC, are supremely intricate dioramas of interior scenes in a post-apocalyptic world. (Thank god for spell-check. I butcher post-apocalyptic every time I type it.)
Whether it’s the zombie fetishists, the nuclear war junkies, the climate change fantasists, or the Jesus freaks, there are lots of people out there convinced we’re going to end ourselves shortly.
We certainly possess the means to do it. Personally, I think our survival instinct is such that it would be very difficult to eradicate humans off the face of the earth. Terry Gilliam’s underground fantasy from “12 Monkeys” is far more likely, if the shit hits the fan.
The photographs owe a debt to James Casebere, whose brilliant work I saw in Washington DC a few weeks ago. (A description of which will have to wait for a subsequent article.) The craftsmanship of the scenes is mind-boggling, as is the photographic construction. Great color, great light.
The sad beauty is melodic, in that you enjoy it, while still understanding that it’s prophesying your own doom. (Or that of your grandkids. Hard to say.) The dead mall photo, which was like a Play-Do version of Brian Ulrich’s “reality” picture, was superb. As was the control room image, which I preferred to Thomas Demand’s Teutonic version. That there is a conversation with contemporary art Easter egg-ed inside is just a bonus treat.
I hate to give away surprises, but there is a photo of a Natural History Museum late in the book, (Sugimoto reference) and the roof has been blown off. I had to look several times, but up in the sky, one can clearly make out a Pterodactyl. (Or is is a Pteranodon. Given that I have a six-year-old, I ought to know the difference by now.) So what does that mean? Do the Dinosaurs come back? You’ll have to ask Ms. Nix.
OK. Now we’re done. Fantastic book. You should buy it if, like me, you’re far away from NYC, and can’t see the prints for yourself.
Bottom Line: Brilliantly constructed scenes of what it looks like when we’re all gone.
To Purchase “The City” Visit Photo-Eye
Books are provided by Photo-Eye in exchange for links back for purchase.
Books are found in the bookstore and submissions are not accepted.
My boss, who had been a commercial lender for over 30 years, said that the best loan customer is someone who has no passion whatsoever, just a desire to work hard at something that looks good on a spreadsheet. Maybe the loan customer wants to start a dry-cleaning store or invest in a fast-food franchise—boring stuff. That’s the person you bet on. You want the grinder, not the guy who loves his job.
We emailed Art Buyers and Art Producers around the world asking them to submit names of established photographers who were keeping it fresh and up-and-comers who they are keeping their eye on. If you are an Art Buyer/Producer or an Art Director at an agency and want to submit a photographer anonymously for this column email: Suzanne.sease@verizon.net
Anonymous Art Buyer: I nominate Peden+Munk, these two young talented people, Jen and Taylor, work in a symbiotic mode I’ve never before seen. Each is a creative enthusiast and each has the technical acumen. There were times during the 2 day shoot in which they would seamlessly interchange roles while shooting. After the shoot we walked away with a modern arsenal of imagery that helped to forge the success of our clients new website. I cannot say enough about the value reaped from the talent of this gifted team.
How many years have you been in business?
We have been shooting together for 7 years.
Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
For both of us it started with a passion for photography which led us to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
Who was your greatest influence that inspired you to get into this business?
Taylor’s father is a photographer – music, interiors, and portraits – and his mother was a creative director at Elizabeth Arden, so he grew up in a very artistic environment.
My father gave me his old Pentax when I was about 11 years old. I have been shooting ever since that day.
Then while at Art Center, renowned Los Angeles photographer Paul Jasmin encouraged us to work together. In his class we shot fashion and portraits and with his words, “show me where you live” in our head, we started to develop our narrative, story-telling style.
One of the first projects we shot under Jasmin’s tutelage was called “Breathless”. Inspired by the 1960 Godard film of the same name, we set out with two models and drove through the streets and alleys of Los Angeles abstractly interpreting some of our favorite scenes from the film. In the end we had a beautiful book of images and realized that our collaboration was something special.
Jasmin’s encouragement also gave us a great sense of freedom. It was liberating to know we could dream and conceptualize anything we wanted. More importantly, it pushed our photography in a direction where it had never gone before. Then the lines began to blur: whose image was whose? We realized it didn’t matter because we had spawned what is PEDEN+MUNK today. Jasmin is still an inspirational mentor.
How do you find your inspiration to be so fresh, push the envelope, stay true to yourself so that creative folks are noticing you and hiring you?
Our subjects inspire us. Often that inspiration is more instinctual than intellectual. It’s a nuanced dance between capturing a moment and creating a reality.
We keep our work fresh by approaching it as storytellers, rather than as pure documentarians. One photograph can be powerful but we find creating a narrative with many images is more effective. It allows us to deeply engage the viewer so they understand what we see and how we see it.
Sometimes that narrative is revealed in the editing process. Of course we initially compose our images with a linear sense of what we believe the story to be but like any art, photography is fluid so we have to be able to adapt as we go. In the end, we create a focused representation with a clear beginning, middle and end.
Do you find that some creatives love your work but the client holds you back?
There are always politics in business. But the key to success is working hand in hand with the creatives to achieve the best possible work for the client. That means pushing the boundaries as far as you can, while keeping in mind that the commercial process is always a collaboration. The ideal day is when everyone feels like their vision was acknowledged, respected, and exceeded their expectations. That’s when solid teamwork can produce beautiful results.
What are you doing to get your vision out to the buying audience?
Personal connections and networking are vital to our success. Whenever possible, we schedule one on one meetings. And we believe a strong promotional piece is one that will never be thrown away. It’s all about quality, simplicity and great design.
We also use Instagram. There we can connect with clients on a more personal level. It also lets people know where we are and what we’re working on. Additionally, we work with our agent, Jodi Rappaport, who is a loyal advocate. All of these tools help us develop our career and continue to do the work we love.
What is your advice for those who are showing what they think the buyers want to see?
Be true to yourself. Only show work you’re passionate about and that represents what you want to do every day.
Are you shooting for yourself and creating new work to keep your artistic talent true to you?
We’re grateful that our assignments allow us to shoot artistically so the need to shoot personal work is fulfilled every day. We feel lucky to have this creative freedom.
How often are you shooting new work?
All the time.
Peden+Munk (Taylor Peden and Jen Munkvold) are a photography team based in NY and LA.
Their editorial work can be seen in Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler, GQ, Glamour, Gather Journal, and Garden & Gun. Other clients include: Electrolux, Newcastle, Renaissance Hotels, and Crate&Barrel. Peden+Munk also photographed THE GRILLING BOOK: The definitive guide from Bon Appetit.
Peden+Munk are represented by The Rappaport Agency. (www.rappagency.com)
Website: www.pedenmunk.com
Email: us@pedenmunk.com
APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s, after founding the art buying department at The Martin Agency then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies. She has a new Twitter fed with helpful marketing information. Follow her@SuzanneSease.
Show notes:
Websites: aphotofolio.com
Consulting: suzannesease.com
Suzanne’s Twitter: twitter.com/suzannesease
Agency Spy: www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy
Agency Compile: www.agencycompile.com
LindedIn Premium: help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/13332
SEO: pinkminnow.com/seo-in-richmond-va/
ASMP Find A Photographer: asmp.org/find-a-photographer
Lifetime Fitness: lifetimefitness.com
UPDATE: We had a miscommunication on the time with Kat who is CST so we are going to be 3 EST and 12 PST. Sorry.
Today at 2pm EST, 11am PST we will have a live webcast right here with myself, Suzanne Sease and special guest Art Producer Kat Dalager. The topic of discussion will be Art Producing and email marketing. Submit any questions you have to: rob@aphotoeditor.com (you will remain anonymous) and we will try to answer them on the webcast.
You can also visit Google Plus where it will be broadcast: Google+
The burgeoning model requires a Malcolm X “By Any Means Necessary” attitude. Photographers are encouraged to write, blog, teach workshops, engage in social media, secure sponsorships, develop exterior passions and basically do anything and everything to put food on the table.
via Ansel Adams: Master Photographer, Master Marketer – NYTimes.com.
Heidi: You are well versed in fashion with your former experience as Photo Director of Teen Vogue Magazine and the Associate Photo Editor of T: The New York Times Style Magazine, and most recently Contributing Photo Director of Bazaar. How do you hope to set WSJ apart from those titles as they all share some of the same photographers/strong fashion sense?
The WSJ readership – and our ability to appeal to that readership – is what distinguishes us. We reach over 3 million highly sophisticated, well-educated readers worldwide, including the US, Europe and Asia and we always try to keep in mind the broad interests of our demographic when we commission stories and photography. The magazine comprises a wide range of content from art, fashion, design, travel and food to business and technology, which makes it very exciting in terms of the types of photography that we can commission. In recent issues, we have been fortunate enough to work photographers including Alasdair McLallen, Juergen Teller, Nan Goldin, Terry Richardson, Josh Olins and Mikael Jansson for portraiture and fashion as well as William Eggleston, Olaf Otto Becker, Harf Zimmermann and Robert Polidori for travel and features. By frequently encouraging photographers to explore subjects that they don’t typically shoot, we’re able to create vibrant and unique stories. For example, Ben Hassett, who’s well known for his fashion photography, recently went to Spain to shoot portraits and food for a story on the legendary Arzak family and their eponymous restaurant in San Sebastien. For the June issue, Harf Zimmermann, who traditionally shoots landscapes and architecture, went to Milan to shoot several pieces from the late Anna Piaggi’s extraordinary fashion collection as still life. In my experience, photographers enjoy these unexpected assignments/commissions, and the result is a portfolio of beautiful and often unexpected photographs.
How would you like people to get into touch with you?
The best way for people to reach me is via email, preferably not through a list serve or automatic e-blast service as those tend to get stuck in my junk mail.
Has there been a place where you discovered new talent that surprised you?
Instagram has been a great way for me to follow photographers, artists, stylists and editors. I not only see what they are working on and whom they are working with but it’s also a great place to find new talent, new locations etc. I don’t necessarily find photographers by looking at the images that they post but if someone’s visual perspective on Instagram is intriguing, then I will often visit their website if it is listed in their profile to see their work. I also love going to photography festivals. For example, this past July I traveled to Les Rencontres d’Arles for the first time and spent time with photographers, gallerists and fellow photo editors in a beautiful village in the south of France. It is a wonderful way to share knowledge and discover talent as well as seek out more obscure photo books that feature talent I may not have come across through the more traditional channels.
How much to you look at social media, blogs or instagram for new talent/inspiration
As I said, I am really enjoying Instagram right now. I also spend a good amount of time looking at blogs dedicated to photography, fashion, interiors, food and design. That said I try not to go overboard in the social media space. It is important to me that I am able to get out to see photography in person. There is nothing that makes me appreciate a photograph more than seeing a print on paper, and experiencing its artistry and beauty directly rather than on a screen. I am also fortunate to work with two very talented and resourceful photo editors, our Photo Editor Damian Prado and our Assistant Photo Editor Hope Brimelow. They are always finding talent on obscure photo blogs and in books as well as at established galleries and shows. I can always count on Damian in particular, to find incredible talent in the most unlikely places. Also, our Creative Director, Magnus Berger is of course another great source of inspiration and talent. He, Kristina and I are always discussing the people that we are excited about, the references that we love and who we want to work with next – it is a real collaboration here.
Also I’d love to talk about the fashion piece you did with Lachlan Bailey. What a stunning shoot. How did you and the fashion director approach this fashion shoot? Did you have a concept for this, or did you want to celebrate a particular trend?
For the couture story, our main objective was to show our readers our take on the best of couture at that particular moment. Our Editor-in-Chief Kristina O’Neill, Magnus and I worked together to determine who could achieve the creative and fashion brief while keeping in mind the point of view of the magazine. Photographer Lachlan Bailey and stylist Clare Richardson worked together to bring the story to fruition, working with model Andreea Diaconu, to create something beautiful, ethereal and luxurious. We don’t have a fashion director at the magazine so we work with a small group of freelance stylists.
Do you ever do any celebrity fashion shoots? Or in your mind is that too much of mixed message? Meaning does one dilute the other?
Regarding celebrity shoots, we are starting to dip into that territory. We like to keep our readers surprised with covers ranging from interiors to landscapes to celebrities. It is really about what makes the strongest cover story.
How long did it take to produce the Daniel Jackson shoot of the curators? and what made you chose him for this portrait project?
Venice was a highly collaborative and intensely challenging shoot to put together from a photographic, journalistic and production point of view. Our Fashion Features Director Elisa Lipsky-Karasz and I worked together to “cast” the portfolio with our Editor-in-Chief Kristina O’Neill and the other editors from the magazine. Our Assistant Photo Editor Hope Brimelow worked tirelessly on the production alongside a local producer in Venice. To say that Venice is a challenging place to shoot, particularly during the opening days of the Biennale, is an understatement but that was part of the fun. We chose Dan to shoot this particular portfolio not only because of his beautiful portrait work but specifically because he had expressed an interest in doing stories that are outside of his usual purview. We had many of the subjects for as little as ten minutes and we ended up shooting over 20 people over two days in three locations so Dan certainly had his work cut out for him. It was quite a scene to watch people like Rem Koolhaas, Thomas Demand, MaurizioCattellan and Marc Quinn arriving one after another in their water taxis to the water entrance of our main location, a private palazzo on the Grand Canal.
Don’t get me wrong, some of my best friends are white guys. (Really.) But lists of various sorts with just white male photographers on them show up on my radar screen way too often.
via John Edwin Mason: Documentary, Motorsports, Photo History.
by Sean Stone, Wonderful Machine
I’ve had the opportunity to consult with hundreds of photographers over the years, and while I love working on websites, promos, or creative coaching, print portfolios have always been my favorite. Just as art buyers tell us how much they enjoy the chance to thumb through books at meetings, I love to see the work come to life on paper. Photographers will sometimes ask “what’s the best kind of portfolio?” to which I can only respond, “well, that depends…” and launch into a questionnaire about budget, marketing strategy, overall brand, and zodiac sign.
You need to consider a number of factors to help you choose the type of portfolio that will serve your needs:
How much to spend? Like all marketing materials, a portfolio is an investment. It’s going to require time and money to put together, and you need to decide how much of each you can realistically afford. The biggest consideration is just how big of a part this book will play in your marketing plan for the coming months/years. If you are going to travel, meet clients as often as you are able, or attend a lot of portfolio events, the book is critical and needs to be a priority. Similarly, if your goal is to get more advertising assignments, expect your book to be more critical to successful marketing. On the other hand, if you are shooting mainly editorial, your website is going to do most of the heavy lifting. A book is still a must have, but may not require the same level of investment.
What are you going to show? Your website is a much larger piece of real estate than a print book. A good book edit shouldn’t exceed thirty spreads. I have seen books come into our office that are gorgeous, but so lengthy that I jump forward ten pages at a time, even though I love the work. It’s better to create an edit that is short and sweet, with every page a superstar, than to risk a potential client skipping right past a winning shot.
If you shoot strictly one thing, like automotive, the choice of what goes into the edit is pretty much made for you. If, on the other hand, you shoot industrial, corporate portraits, and food, one book might not be the best way to go. Creating a single book that is geared towards several different types of clients doesn’t effectively serve them, nor will it benefit your own marketing goals. Consider the types of clients you shoot for, would like to shoot for, and how much they will realistically want to see your book. You might decide that it makes sense to have two or three separate, specialized books. And remember that you might not need to include everything you shoot in a book at all!
How will it compliment your brand? A web portfolio can have infinite variations in design and edit, but in the end it shows up on a screen. The presentation options at your disposal for a printed piece are pretty much limitless. As you start thinking about the look and material that your print portfolio should have, I recommend you grab a friend to brainstorm. A consultant, editor, or other trusted collaborator will do nicely. Think about words that describe your photographic style, and consider materials that speak to those descriptors. Are you shooting bright, cheerful, kids lifestyle? Maybe steer away from the carbon fiber binding or glossy, cool-tone paper. Photographing surfers and rockstars for edgy youth brands? The stoic leather book with plastic sleeves might not be best for you. The materials you choose to work with can work like a logo; not the star of the show, but can go a long way to reinforce your visual brand and create a more polished, memorable presentation. Here are a few of the more common print portfolio styles I recommend:
iPad: Not a print portfolio per se, but it can be useful in meetings. If a client calls without much notice, you can download an app like padport or foliobook, and build a presentation in a couple of hours. It can be most effective as a supplemental tool; containing your motion reel, and a very broad range of images to share if the client asks about work not seen in your book. Looking for something versatile and a little different? Take note from Mark Katzman, whose portfolio consists of a walnut box with a built-in iPad as well as printed images.
Pros: Fast and flexible for in-person meetings.
Cons: If you don’t already have one, they aren’t exactly cheap. Also not a good option if you are shipping for a client to review. They might have a hard time figuring out where to find the work without you there, pushing the buttons.
On-Demand book: These days, there are dozens of options for printers, some are very inexpensive, and they generally top out around $400. While your options for sizes, papers, and cover materials will be limited, there is nothing stopping you from gussying the book up yourself. Matthew Carbone printed his book with Artifact Uprising, then worked with a local press to imprint his logo on the cover. Letterpress, slip cases or a clamshell box, you can use an inexpensive book as the basis for your presentation, not the final product. Many companies will have set numbers of pages that they accommodate, so you will have to take that into consideration when editing. Check out a full list of printing companies on our resources page.
Pros: Cost effective and convenient. Upload your layout to an online template, get a book a week or two later!
Cons: No control over printing. You send images off and hope for the best. Prints are not interchangeable, so when the time comes to update, you need a whole new book.
Screwpost book: The ol’ standby. Usually just two covers held together with long screws. Traditional materials are usually leather or cloth, but a custom bookmaker like Nicole Andersen can help you get creative and build a presentation that will stand out. If you choose to skip the custom route, companies like Pina Zangaro and Lost Luggage offer slick, modern covers in metal, acrylic, carbon fiber etc. I’ve also found some beautiful wood books on Etsy.
Roger Snider’s book is one of my favorite examples of getting creative on a budget. We used an inexpensive Pina Zangaro aluminum book that was customized to reflect his brand of big rig truck photography. Roger didn’t have to break the bank to make something memorable and distinctive. All we needed was a good idea and a really, really good painter. View Roger’s full portfolio here.
You can find a few types of paper drilled and scored, ready to pop right into one of these bindings. If you’re not afraid of a little hard work, you can always cut and punch the pages by hand, as I have done when building books with luster or glossy papers. Some paper vendors sell sample packs of double sided papers, so you can pull a few test prints before you commit to the stock that’s best for you!
While plastic sleeves have largely fallen out of favor, they are unquestionably convenient and shouldn’t be ruled out automatically. Creating single prints and loading them into sleeves is worlds faster and easier than printing double sided. Constructing books with double sided prints has more than once left me in a screaming rage, pacing the office and violently threatening the printer. If you are in a hurry, sleeves can save the day. Better to have a current portfolio with prints behind plastic than an outdated book.
Pros: Very customizable, whether you work with a bookmaker or portfolio manufacturer. Lots of options for sizes, style, and material means you can create a look that reflects your style and brand. The same goes for papers. Pages can be removed and replaced, so once you have invested in a good binding, the cost of an update is just paper and ink.
Cons: Will almost always require a larger investment of time and money compared to an on-demand book.
Box of prints: I don’t see this done too often, but it can be quite effective. Nick Nacca put together a great example; a nicely branded leather box packed with sturdy prints. What makes his portfolio clever is that each print includes his logo and contact information right on the front. When he is meeting with clients and they comment on a particular image, he invites them to keep it. So he is essentially using a box of leave behinds in place of a bound book.
View Nick’s portfolio here:
Pros: Completely flexible, easy to update and replace images. If you are in a meeting with multiple creatives you can pass prints around and keep everybody’s hands busy.
Cons: No real control of sequencing. Depending on your style and edit, this can be a deal breaker.
Especially if it’s been a while since you put together a book, I know the number of choices can seem intimidating. Thoughtfully considering your branding, work, and marketing strategy can help you whittle down these options and create a book that you and your clients will love. Whether you spend $20 or $2,000, the most important thing is to have a book! If you have strong photography and a comprehensive edit, your stylistic choice for presentation will only serve to enhance an already strong portfolio. The short answer to the question, “what’s the best kind of portfolio?” is really, “the one you have ready for meetings.”
For more video examples of print portfolios, check out our YouTube channel. If you would like help editing and designing a print portfolio, or any other promotional materials, send me an email! You can also find links to on-demand printers, portfolios, and bookmakers on our full resources page.
…Juergen, Arnold here,” he said in broad Austrian. “Thought I’d give you a call and tell you my idea.” Completely groggy, I thought his ideas were good too. So, I had to get up at four o’clock the next morning to go up some mountain in Malibu. There I waited for Arnold Schwarzenegger. The sun rose, and he rode elegantly past me like a cowboy on his horse. It was sultry, dusty – I was totally wiped out. Picture taken. Then I had to climb back down on my own. Later in his office I said, “I’ve got an idea too now, Arnold, climb into the crocodile’s mouth.” “Juergen, for you I’d do anything.”’
via The stories behind Juergen Teller’s best shots – Telegraph.
I just tried to write the opening of this column in Spanish. I was trying to be funny, but it didn’t make me laugh. Trying too hard never works. (Except every now and again.)
Books, at their best, are experiential. I suppose that’s why we love them so much. Think of your favorite novel. How old were you when you read it? What did your hair look like?
As we grow, we change. It’s the necessary way of things. But is there a part of us that’s always there? Do our young, angsty, stupid selves still remain down deep, a few levels above the reptilian brain?
Photo books, especially the ones I’ve been writing about lately, can manipulate your experience to give you two versions of the same thing, if done correctly. Clever use of text, at the end, can allow a viewer to go back and look at the photographs again, relating to them in a completely different way.
The pictures just need to hold your attention the first time, when you don’t know what the f-ck is going on. This week’s book is no exception. “But Beautiful” is a new publication by the Spanish artist, Cristina Nuñez, recently published by Le caillou bleu. It’s a strange little piece of work. I’ll tell you that much.
The book doesn’t give you any details until the end, as I alluded. Going through naked, as it were, you aim to put things together. A historical photo? Looks like a dictator. Is that Pinochet? No, definitely not him. Who is it? (Later I learn it’s Franco. Shouldn’t I have known that? How come he’s been depicted so much less often than his Fascist brethren?)
Some cool historical photos are mixed in here and there. We see some guys are lined up along the upper reaches of a clipper ship, like suicidal birds on an airplane’s wing.
A woman begins to recur. She obviously looks different as she ages, but it’s still her. (The big lips are the giveaway.) Then we see her, glammed up, on the cover of a magazine. It mentions Madrid, so we are in Spain. She used to be a model?
Then she’s older. Mannish. And ripping out some seriously “unsubtle” emotions. What was that again about not trying too hard? Sometimes, maximum effort in front of the lens works rather well, thank you. She is gripping to look at, who ever she is. (We can assume she’s the artist? Right?)
On we go, and there are the obligatory nudes, some of the main character, some not. And more portraits, most of them razor sharp and cool. Throw in a few more super-uncomfortable looking self-portraits, a couple of beautiful water and sky shots, one last bout of historical photos, and bob’s your uncle. You’re done.
Who is she? What’s going on here? How does it all connect? You wonder all these things. In the back, each image is described in enough detail to clue you in. So you return to the beginning, and look at each image again, while reading the caption.
A family association with Franco. Drugs and prostitution. Multiple lovers. 3-year-old child self-portraits. It’s as fascinating as your imagination made it out to be the first time. We end with another historical shot: this one has some serious mad dogging going on, and a shoeshiner to boot. And then a final portrait, of the artist’s senile mother, staring daggers through your now emo-braised heart.
Bottom line: Odd but well-done book, very revealing
To Purchase “But Beautiful” Visit Photo-Eye
Books are provided by Photo-Eye in exchange for links back for purchase.
Books are found in the bookstore and submissions are not accepted.
