I’m just a dude taking pictures. I appreciate the amazing opportunities that come my way but I don’t really enjoy being in the spotlight. I’m not trying to be anyone’s idol. That’s for sure. The fact of the matter is I can’t do one damn thing without the love and support of my wife. She is my better 7/8ths. When I’m sitting at a table listening to Joe McNally tell stories and share his experiences, she’s at home folding laundry. When I’m hoping and praying that I get an upgrade to business class, she’s getting four kids to four different schools in the morning. When I’m out with a camera in my hand, her piano sits dormant.
Pricing & Negotiating: Industrial Lifestyle Shoot
by Jess Dudley, Wonderful Machine
Shoot Concept: Industrial lifestyle shoot
Licensing: North American collateral use of all images in perpetuity (15 per day)
Location: Manufacturing facility
Shoot Days: Up to 20
Photographer: Lifestyle and portrait specialist
Agency: Client direct
Client: Not a household name, but well known within it’s industry
One of our west coast-based photographers was approached by a fairly large industrial manufacturer and asked to shoot industrial lifestyle images of their employees at work, manufacturing a variety of products in a number of different locations in North America. They were mostly interested in using the images on their website and in a self-published coffee table book that would be given out to investors, executives and employees. Their products are generally larger than a semi-truck and manufactured in facilities on the scale of an airplane hanger. Think big.
The client wasn’t accustomed to hiring photographers (it’d been nearly 20 years since they’d hired a professional). Thankfully, they thought it was wise to get us involved pretty early on before they firmly established their needs, so that they didn’t develop a creative concept and plan that would break the bank. Their initial thought was to shoot 10-15 different locations, 1-2 shoot days at each, for a total of approximately 20 shoot days. This presents a bit of a dilemma. Because we were in the planning stage and they wouldn’t commit to 20 days or any specific number of images (although as usual, they were expecting a deal because of all of the potential work), we couldn’t approach the presentation of the fees for this project in our typical way. We had to present an estimate that was scalable from a single day on up, but also factored in a discount for a volume that the client was unwilling to commit to. Also unknown was the number of scout and travel days. Here’s how we addressed all the issue:
We needed to create a fee structure that the photographer would be happy with if the client only booked one day and that the client would be happy with if they booked 20. I’m sure just about every photographer has had this same experience— a client asks for a quote and pushes back on the numbers saying something along the lines of “if there’s a lot of work down the road, can you be flexible on your rate/fees?” It’s not an unreasonable request, however the work down the road almost never materializes. The approach we took here protects the photographer’s interest, keeps the client honest and gives them a break for the volume.
We based the day rate on the typical collateral library rate we’ve negotiated with other industrial clients. The rate usually varies from 2500.00-3500.00 depending on the size of the client and scale of the project. In this case, we started a bit higher because of the self-publishing use requested, though if the client did ultimately book the photographer for 20 days, the fee would average out to just over 3500/day. Although we didn’t explicitly limit the number of scenarios or images, in the course of our conversations we determined that the photographer would probably be able to shoot in five different scenarios per shoot day and that the client could expect 2-3 variations of images per scenario. We didn’t want to commit to a specific number in the estimate because certain factories may be easier or harder to shoot in than others, which would seriously impact how much could be accomplished in a given day.
The client signed the proposal and requested a detailed estimate for the first leg of the shoot – one-day, local to the photographer. We extrapolated a one-day version which the client approved. During the course of the pre-production, the client requested a certificate of insurance. Since we hadn’t been asked to provide any sort of unusual coverage, and the photographer carries a fairly standard business liability policy year round, we’d opted not to charge a fee for the insurance in the estimate (however, like equipment, it would not be unusual to charge the client a fee for the use of your insurance policy). As it turned out, the client’s legal team was requiring the photographer to provide workman’s comp insurance and specialty insurance specific to their industry. I’ve seen this a lot lately and it’s getting old. The client presents a project, approves the estimate, then comes back with unusually high insurance coverage requirements. If the client requires you to provide coverage that substantially exceeds a standard business liability policy (ie workman’s comp, weather, specialty, etc.) and they don’t tell you about it beforehand, it’s considered a change in the scope of work and the cost should be approved as an overage. In this case, we gave the client two options – pay for the insurance or waive the requirement. They opted to pay for the insurance, so we resubmitted the one-day estimate. Here’s the final version:
Tech/Scout Day: We included a half tech/scout day for the photographer and agency to walk through the location, determine the ideal scenarios and try to nail down a shot list.
Assistant Days: The photographer wanted two assistants for this shoot. Although there wouldn’t be much in the way of equipment, the size of the space and materials was daunting, so the photographer wanted an extra set of hands.
Equipment: This covered the one day rental costs for a DSLR, a backup DSLR, grip equipment and a small portable strobe kit, all of which the photographer owned and would be renting to the production.
Shoot Processing for Client Review: This covered the time, equipment and costs to handle the initial edit, batch color correction and upload of the images to an FTP for client selection.
Selects Processed for Reproduction: This covered color correction and basic touch-up of the 15 selects. Any necessary retouching would be estimated and billed separately.
File Transfer: This covers the cost to deliver the 15 selects via hard drive, including overnight shipping.
Miles, Expendables, FTP, and Misc: This covered the basic out of pocket expenses the photographer would accrue between mileage, FTP costs, lunch for him and his assistants on the shoot day, and any other miscellaneous expenses that may arise.
Insurance: We included the cost to provide the specialty insurance the client required.
Housekeeping (see the project description): I noted all of the production elements the client would be providing: Location, releases, subjects, escorts and safety equipment.
Results, Hindsight and Feedback: The photographer is in the midst of the project and has already shot two additional days.
If you have any questions, or if you need help estimating or producing a project, please give us a call at (610) 260-0200. We’re available to help with any and all pricing and negotiating needs—from small stock sales to big ad campaigns.
This Week In Photography Books: Paul D’Amato
Last week I claimed I was tired and listless. Poor Blaustein, you must have thought. All worn out from galavanting around the mountains. Crying because it’s gray a few days a year. Boo hoo.
You’re probably hoping I’ll come back strong this week, and write one of those columns that starts out like a story. (“Colin looked away, unable to meet her eye. Shame has many tells, and this one was screaming louder than an infant at the witching hour.”)
Sorry to tease, but it’s not going to happen. I spent most of the last week running around New York City like a miner headed towards the claims office with a hunk of gold. It was intense, but worth it. Especially as I was able to see some genuinely excellent photography at the NY Times Portfolio Review, which I will share with you in the coming weeks. (As always, I am but your almost-humble proxy.)
One of my favorite things about plugging into the NYC nuclear reactor is how much you can get done in short amount of time. It’s the adrenal equivalent of paying it forward. Extra juice, so you can pull insanely productive 18 hour days, but then…
That’s the part you always forget about while you’re living in the glory. The crash. All that extra juice had to come from somewhere. NYC may inspire activity, but it doesn’t actually fill your blood with surplus protein and such. It has to come from somewhere: your future self.
So here I sit, my muscles twitching like a horse in labor. Wondering if I fell from ten feet into a pile of rocks. Cursing the city for its seductive qualities. Among them, the chance to hang with people from all over the world, and to revel in ethnic diversity. It’s a drug of its own sort.
On the flip side, no sooner did I get on the A train in Howard Beach than I realized it was only running in sections, so I’d have take 3 trains instead of 1. (If you’re counting, that’s a bus to a train to a train to a train to a train to get from JFK to Upper Manhattan. 2.5 hours to go what, 10 miles?)
And that was just the ride into the city, after taking a 3.5 hour redeye from ABQ to NYC. Which is to say, given how I’m feeling, it’s time to segue to the book.
Here we go.
As soon as I got home, still vibrating with NYC pollution on my skin, a friend who was raised in Brooklyn Heights said on Facebook that he likes Chicago better than New York these days.
What now? Chicago?
I was only there once, coincidentally with this same guy, nearly 20 years ago. I don’t know anything about the place, as that quick trip was a blur for many reasons. It’s almost like I wasn’t there.
And he up and says Chicago is the better town? Big words.
Wouldn’t you know the first book I picked up off the pile was of African-American culture in Chicago: “We Shall,” photographs by Paul D’Amato. (Another Guggenheim winner. Two in a row. And wouldn’t you know the 2014 Fellowship winners were announced today. Co-incidence, or Taos Hippie Juju? By the way, let’s give a shout out to a really, really great photographers list this year.)
This book of photos is excellent. No two ways about it. Or three ways, I should say, as the artist uses the technique of multiple images more viscerally than his contemporary Paul Graham. The triptych pictures in particular, which show delicately how different a few similar photographs can be, based upon the subtle energy in a set of eyes.
But my word count is getting higher than my IQ, which means it’s time to wrap it up. I implied in the beginning that I wasn’t planning to bring it this week. Maybe I pulled one out in the end, but I don’t have as much to say about the book itself as I ought, what with all the whining and pontificating.
Let’s summarize. I like this book very much. I suspect you would too. Despite the fact that I live in the hinterlands, I’m glad the great cities are out there, attracting people and ideas, thriving and allowing folks to live in any style they’d like. Bastions of creativity. Long may they prosper.
Bottom line: Taut book of African-American stories in the Windy city
To Purchase “We Shall” 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.
Art Producers Speak: Therese + Joel
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 Therese + Joel as they are a great team and the one’s to keep an eye on!
It was also named one of TIME’s Best Portraits of 2013
How many years have you been in business?
About four years now.
Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
We met while both studying at Parsons in Paris and later transferred over to Parsons the New School of Design in New York, from where we graduated.
Who was your greatest influence that inspired you to get into this business?
Therese was very influenced by her mother, who is a photographer. Joel doesn’t have one exact source of inspiration; the fascination for storytelling has been there as far as he can remember – it has just perhaps changed mediums over the range of years from written to visual. However, the greatest inspiration for both of us must be film – early European cinema, great minds like Ingmar Bergman, Carl Theodor Dreyer, Douglas Sirk, the melodrama of film noir, our similar taste in music (power ballads, italo disco), as well as 90s masterpieces like Twin Peaks, and Tim Burton’s Catwoman – tragic pop culture icons.
We were also heavily influenced by our Nordic surroundings – Therese grew up in Stockholm, Sweden, and Joel in Finnish Lapland. Even if a bit of a cliché, the pitch-black, arctic surroundings have definitely played a great influence on us.
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?
Perhaps it’s not so much about staying fresh and/or following trends – we rather try to do what we find interesting, inspiring and beautiful.
Since we are two it is important for us to discuss and communicate our ideas with one another. It is helpful though that we share a lot of interests, but also important to disagree at times to challenge each other. Usually one of us comes up with something they find inspiring, and the other one takes it to another level. In that way, we complete each other’s sentences.
Do you find that some creatives love your work but the client holds you back?
Communication is truly key, as well as staying true to your vision and doing what you do best – not trying to mimic something else to become more accessible. That being said, it is of course important to stay flexible. And occasionally art buyers or creatives find our darker work the most interesting, but have a difficult time to convince the client to go for something less mainstream.
What are you doing to get your vision out to the buying audience?
Editorial work has been very important for us in approaching different and larger audiences.
We find social media to be extremely helpful: Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr. Not only just to get our work out there, but also for other reasons like casting for example. We also find that social media makes us more accessible; it’s a great way to interact, as well as to show our process.
What is your advice for those who are showing what they think the buyers want to see?
Understand your audience. Taste varies, but it’s really hard to get away from bad editing – sequencing your book appropriately is a crucial step in storytelling.
Are you shooting for yourself and creating new work to keep your artistic talent true to you?
We work when we are not working: personal projects are incredibly important to us. We find it very helpful to our creative process to constantly produce new work – not only to try out new things, but also keep exceeding at what we do.
How often are you shooting new work?
As often as possible – commissioned work keeps us very busy, but we try to shoot at least one new personal project every month.
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Therese Öhrvall and Joel Jägerroos are a Swedish-Finnish photography team. They live and work in New York City.
Therese + Joel’s work has been exhibited internationally, including The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico, The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia, Krasnoyarsk State Museum in Siberia, Milk Gallery & F.L.O.A.T. Gallery in New York City, Gallery S. Bensimon in Paris, France and Ricoh Ring Cube Gallery in Tokyo, Japan.
Their clients include TIME Magazine, Wired, REVS, The Wall Street Journal, The Times, S Magazine, Out Magazine, FLATT Magazine, Milk Made, Galore Mag, IVANAHelsinki, Bullett Magazine and New York Post, amongst others.
Therese + Joel were selected as one of the 30 emerging photographers to watch in 2011 by Photo District News. Their photo of Greta Gerwig was named as one of TIME’s Best Portraits of 2013.
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.
The Daily Edit: Ian Spanier
Photographer/Creative Director: Ian Spanier
Art Director/Design: Warren Mason
Editor: Brian Dawson
Heidi: What compelled you to do your own magazine?
Ian: Last summer I met with Creative Director Warren Mason to discuss ideas on what together we could create as a promotional piece. Being someone that shoots a wide variety of work it is always a challenge to show all the areas that I work, especially in one place. Initially we thought about making a poster from a personal shoot I did but the more we looked at my notebook of the past year’s shoots the more the idea of making a multipage piece came to light. Warren being a seasoned veteran of magazines, it seemed like a no-brainer to just make our own magazine.
I know you were formally a PD, would you say it’s easy for you to edit your own work? For this project, do you give edited images to design or is this a collaboration?
I’ve always been fairly good at removing myself from the fact that I shot the same photographs that I am editing, so I am able to provide Warren with a very edited version of a story, and/or only a few additional options to consider when I need input. Ultimately I can change an image if he chooses one and I think a different one is better, but he and I have always worked well together- having worked together at one magazine and as well on a coffee table book. I wanted to collaborate with someone on this- which I think it a very important thing to do, particularly when you have a lot of respect for that person. I’ve seen Warren make some amazing layouts so I trust his opinion…and he likes my work- which helps! I was also able to enlist Brian Dawson, a great editor whom I had also worked with in the past. Brian is able to take my medicore copy and turn it into much more concise and clear thoughts. His input on the look of the magazine is also helpful as his years of experience provides one more checkpoint in the process of the magazine as a whole.
Tell me about the process of putting this together? You have an editor and a CD?
I basically create an issue by collecting options for cover, features and “ads” by going through my Lightroom catalogs. Since I made a feature from a personal shoot in the first issue, I now make a point to do a personal shoot for each issue. Personal work of course is important for all photographers and having a place to show it has been great. In many ways I owe that first personal shoot credit for giving us the idea to make a magazine. Now I basically come up with a new mini project for each issue.
From there I create some lores folders and send that to Warren. We have a quick conversation about what what works together. I am trying to keep the variety up, and at the same time make sure that there’s some cohesiveness to the magazine. I also contact one of my clients to get a quote from them about what it is like to work with me. As a whole, the point of the magazine is to give the viewer a glimpse about what I bring to to the table as a photographer, who I am as a person and what it is like to work with me. I think people loose sight that the photography part of being a photographer is just a small piece of the puzzle. Not to discount the ability it takes, but talent in many ways is the given, we are hired for jobs based on the prospect that we can shoot, so getting across how you are to be on set with, what your presentation level is, and how you run your business is what I believe really builds you up as a successful photographer.Brian, as I mentioned is the editor and Warren is the CD.
Do you have a printer version?
Initially I only thought this would be for iPad and issuu.com which is a great site Suzanne Sease turned me on to. As timing was, Blurb offered a printed magazine and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to print out a few copies for meetings and whatnot. I ordered about 20 copies and was amazed at the quality, and as well, the members of Team Braveheart (subjects in the first issue personal project) all wanted copies as well. I was able to send them the link to Blurb and there they could order their own copy. It’s not cheap, but it is very nice.
What other promo materials do you send out?
I send out one-off electronic promo cards regularly to all my contacts as well as to potential clients about every 5 weeks. I also utilize social media a ton, I don’t post personal stuff, minus a comment about the Yankees or Bruce Springsteen from time to time. I don’t believe people care about pictures of my food, so I try to keep it to what I am working on, behind-the-scenes shots and interesting articles or great images from other photographers that I like. I also push to have a lot of meetings. I feel the personal contact is extremely important. Getting meetings is hard, but I am always trying for a few minutes of face time. I do have printed promo cards and such, but the cost of mailing then out doesn’t seem worthwhile to me, I’d rather hand them to potential clients face-to face.
What sort of response have you gotten from art buyers fellow PE, clients?
So far response from art buyers and photo editors, creatives, etc. has been great, recently I switched to showing my portfolio on my iPad, and having a printed piece to show people I think really drives home the right message- I like people to see that my work holds up when ink gets to paper. As well, having a copy on set has been very nicely received, it’s a great conversation piece.
Emotionally I want to try and stop the theft, but logically I think it is probably better for one’s career to go for the visibility.
…when your images are stolen, I suspect there really isn’t that much damage done financially to individual photographers (hey…don’t flame me for saying that), though collectively there sure is a lot of money being left on the table! Ultimately, if someone steals the image I get nothing, if they don’t steal I get nothing, but if they share it there may be profit for me in increased links, web traffic and visibility.
via The Stock Photo Guy – John Lund Stock Photographer: Watermarks, Theft And Visibility.
This Week In Photography Books: Osamu James Nakagawa
I could never live in Portland. (No offense.)
Setting aside my distaste for humorless hipsters, it would never happen: there’s just not enough sun. I don’t care if they have the best coffee in the world, and a beautiful girl in chunky glasses fitted me with an IV drip that dosed me with caffeine, constantly, day in and day out.
It just wouldn’t work.
Why? Because I’m addicted to sunshine. Without a near-daily fix of Vitamin D, I become as surly and listless as a drunk walrus. Like today, for instance.
We get 330 days of sunshine a year here in Northern New Mexico, but come April, the high clouds move in and the wind whips more fiercely than Harrison Ford practicing for Indiana Jones Part 5. (Note to Mr. Ford: ditch the silly earring, and we might take you seriously again.) As I write this, it’s actually snowing outside, and my bones are colder than Han Solo’s blood when he shoots Greedo in the Star Wars bar scene.
As such, I would not have fared well in the old days. I mean the very, very old days, when humans lived in caves, taking protection wherever they could find it. Bears, saber-toothed tigers, homicidal assholes from other tribes, all could cause trouble, if you weren’t careful. So the dark became associated with safety. Dank air was precious, as it represented home.
Occasionally, fast forwarding millennia, there comes a time when people retreat back to those old ways. Deep within natural fissures in the Earth, one can hide for a long while, provided food and water are stockpiled, or, at least, available. (Fresh water in underground streams, and plenty of barbecued rats. Deeee-licious.)
Such a situation occurred during World War II, on the island of Okinawa, in Japan. We’ve seen photos of the place in this very column, as I reviewed a book by Daido Moriyama a couple of years ago. (Yes, that was the book where I mistakenly called him a woman. I only bring it up so you don’t have to.)
Then, we saw things above ground, and witnessed the remnants of American occupation. Burger joints, in particular. (As cows undoubtedly taste better than rodents, when cooked carefully above an open flame.)
Today, though, we’ll burrow beneath the island cliffs, and enter a world not meant to be seen by cameras, which so dearly love the light. Osamu James Nakagawa is our guide, and his book, “Gama Caves,” published by Akaaka, is our opportunity.
I didn’t intend to go on a run of Pacific Rim photo books, but there you have it. Like I said last week, show me something I’ve never seen before, and I’m likely to pontificate here and now.
The caves were utilized during the War, and many civilians called the Gama home, along with military types. I can’t imagine anyone had any fun down there, and according to the text, Americans used all sorts of killing techniques to either root the people out, or destroy them where they were. Flame throwers, bombs, all sorts of nasty endings for the people who fled to the seeming safety of stalactites and mites. (Never could keep those two words straight.)
These pictures are haunting and beautiful and horrific and awesome. My favorite kind of art, the type that hits all notes together. Ironically, they were on the wall in Houston when I visited FotoFest in 2012, but I didn’t know they were there, as I was holed up in the metaphorical cave known as a portfolio review.
I’m fairly certain you’ll like these pictures, though my snapshots don’t do the subtlety justice. The writing within, in Japanese and English, is uniformly excellent. There’s a poem with the obligatory reference to pubic hair, and a few essays, including one by the legendary MFA,H curator Anne Wilkes Tucker. I believe the artist received a Guggenheim fellowship to support the project, so the high-art-street-cred will likely back up the value of your purchase, should you choose to buy the book.
To continue with all the cinematic references, I heard they’re re-making Mad Max with a less racist, homophobic, Anti-Semitic protagonist. That’s the big fear we all have, right? (Especially when you have kids.) That we’re ruining the world, and our descendants will live in a post-apocalyptic nightmare, where many will be forced underground again.
I’m guessing the artist is smart enough to know that metaphor will pop up in your mind, as it has in mine. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. OK?
Bottom Line: Creepy photos inside Okinawan caves
To Purchase “Gama Caves” 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.
Art Producers Speak: Josh DeHonney
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 Josh DeHonney. I’m a big fan of his work. One of our favorite portrait photographers who is exceedingly nice guy who I praise his humbleness when he is praised for his craft.
How many years have you been in business?
For years I worked as an assistant and at Pier 59 Studios in New York while simultaneously building my brand. But in 2010, I quit assisting and have since focused on my own work full time. As much as I loved assisting and working at the Pier as a side hustle, it’s great to be shooting on my own.
Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
A little of both. School gave me the fundamentals. But I also learned a lot on the job and by being around world-class photographers on a near-daily basis at the Pier. Also, the Pier used to let employees test once a month for free. I took full — and I mean full — advantage of that deal. Between that and my assisting work, I was able to shoot and test a ton. Studio photography is amazing. It’s an important skill to develop. All of the techniques and lighting tricks you learn are universally applied when you don’t have the luxury of a fully-stocked equipment room.
Also, packing jobs for remote locations, where there are no stores, let alone EQ rooms, teaches you the importance of triple-checking. You can never take anyone’s word on equipment that you didn’t see. And sometimes going without it is not an option. No art school can teach you pragmatic things like that.
Who was your greatest influence that inspired you to get into this business?
My mom always stressed the importance of doing what you love, no matter what. She travelled the world taking pictures for fun. Though she chose a stable career as a dental hygienist, her pictures covered the walls. She is also a long-time subscriber and avid collector of National Geographic. Those magazines were major influences. And for years I assisted Kip Meyer, who is an awesome photographer. I really admire the way he interacts with clients and models as well as his general approach to projects.
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?
Inspiration is the easy part. Being inspired is a prerequisite for the job. I get ideas for pictures from the imagery I see all around me. I drive a lot, ride my bike a lot. I find inspiration in that. I can’t help but notice amazing landscapes, or an interesting building, even if I can’t shoot them. Then I imagine what I see as context for a subject. So when I arrive at a location for a client sight unseen and have to make an interesting image happen no matter what, I have a whole catalog of ideas in my mind to draw on.
Do you find that some creatives love your work but the client holds you back?
It seems the work that gets the best response from creatives and peers isn’t always what appeals to a client’s target audience. Just because an image or series of work is cool on tumblr, or gets a bunch of Likes, doesn’t mean it will sell. The most important thing about photography is being creative. But with commercial work, you have to consider the client’s goals. I am providing a service, and incorporating what the client has in mind is the most important thing. I still try to be sure you can see my thumbprint on the final product, since the client chose me to make the image, after all.
What are you doing to get your vision out to the buying audience?
I have a show at the end of April to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Urban Latino magazine. I’m the photo editor of ULM. I’ve worked with them for years. The show will highlight the work I have done for the magazine. I also stay up on social media as much as I can. And I’ve been known to cold call brands that I love and want to work with. I also love to make new connections through editorial work. But what usually works best is sticking with the network I know.
What is your advice for those who are showing what they think the buyers want to see?
Being a photographer is a lot like being a writer. Great writers have a very clear voice. That’s how you distinguish yourself from the crowd. I love looking at other photographer’s work, taking in as many photo books, blogs, and magazines as I can. This process helps me find my voice. So look at as many pictures you can. Know the landscape. Look at your own work all the time, too. Be sure your images speak to your vision. Know what you want to shoot. Be very clear in your mind what it is you want to see before you make it happen. As with all other art forms, there are lots of trends, but honesty never gets old.
Are you shooting for yourself and creating new work to keep your artistic talent true to you?
Always. One of my favorite things about location shooting is that you have to get an idea of where you are shooting by walking around, and of course you are going to bring your camera. So at that moment, it’s nice to relax and imagine that you are just out in the park, shooting pictures with no pressure, and there is no art director 10 yards away stressing because it’s overcast or the model is late.
Also, I have two young children who are changing by the second — it’s amazing to see them grow. I want make sure that I am changing and developing, too. I don’t want to take the same pictures my whole life. That just doesn’t make sense.
How often are you shooting new work?
At least 3 times a week. In the summer, almost every day. Photography is built into my life. There is always a camera in arm’s reach.
Josh was born in Toronto and grew up in nearby Oshawa. He relocated to New York in 2000, where he was on the grind until 2011. Josh now resides just outside of the city with his wife, Melissa, and their two photo assistants-in-training, Jalen (3) and Janessa (1).
http://joshdehonney.com
jd@joshdehonney.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.
Reuters maintains dogged silence on allegations of ‘staged images’
When contacted by BJP, Reuters refused, numerous times, to share the specific details of the internal investigation it says it conducted after The New York Times first contacted the news agency three months ago. It also declined to clarify when that investigation took place and who took part in it.
When asked whether Khatib still worked for Reuters, the news agency refused to comment.
When asked whether the recent allegations had resulted in a change in Reuters’ news-gathering practices in Syria, the news agency refused to comment.
When asked whether Reuters would consider opening another investigation following the recent and specific allegations against its news operations in Syria, the news agency refused to comment.
And, more importantly, when asked why Reuters had been using Syrian activists as freelance photographers without informing its clients, the news agency again refused to comment.
The Daily Edit – Gabriela Herman: Conde Nast Traveler
Conde Nast Traveler
Creative Director: Yolanda Edwards
Photo Director: Nancy Jo Iacoi
Photo Editor: Leonor Mamanna
Photographer: Gabriela Herman
Heidi: How did you break into travel photography?How you do you describe yourself: travel/lifestyle?
Gabriela: I’ve always been a traveler. When I was just 10-days old, I was already on a boat headed to the island of Martha’s Vineyard. My mom is Brazilian and we went down every other year for the holidays. In college, I managed to study abroad for three semesters (and they subsequently made a rule limiting students to two semesters only, which I like to think was because of my travel). I never set out to be a travel photographer, but perhaps I was always destined to be one?
Starting out, I used to say that I was a portrait photographer. That I loved the interaction with people and that connection was what it was all about. But then, I started shooting a friend who is a chef and a farmer and ended up with a portfolio of food photography. So I started getting hired, and sent around the country, to shoot outdoorsy food scenes. Now I still get hired to shoot portraits and food, but also travel stories.
Travel photography is actually a perfect mix of everything I love to shoot because you need to have great portraits, great food shots, landscapes, tell stories… basically a bit of everything. I’m still shocked that I get paid to travel. I was in Hawaii in December on a shoot and I thought to myself, ‘wow, I’m actually living me dream.’ I realize how fortunate I am to be able to say that.
When you are on personal travel, are you always shooting? Can you actually turn off work mode?
I am never not working! Even if I don’t have my camera with me, my eyes are always looking for a shot (or, more likely, editing photos, or updating my website, or networking or one of the other million tasks it takes to be a photographer) . And these days with my iPhone, I always have a camera with me and have become hopelessly addicted to instagram. I was recently on vacation in Istanbul and even though I had my DSLR with me, I ended up taking far more shots with my iPhone than with it.
What sort of direction/shot list did you get from the magazine?
This was one of my favorite assignments from last year. I have a great relationship with the editors at Conde Nast Traveler. Many on the team came from Martha Stewart Living, a publication for whom I was already a frequent shooter.
Going into this assignment, I had already worked with the writer, Stephen Orr, and the editors knew my style so everything was very organic. Stephen had previously taken this road trip and had written up notes on each location, so I had those as a guideline. I knew the hotels where I would be sleeping and the restaurants where I should be eating, but there was a lot of freedom to also just shoot what looked interesting along the way. These are my favorite kinds of assignments, where I really get to spend time and explore a place, versus the kind of assignments where there is already an image in mind that needs to be executed.
Do you typically travel with the writer?
It depends on the shoot and the location and the scheduling. I had a travel story here in Brooklyn for French Glamour where the writer came from Paris and the two of us explored the neighborhood of Red Hook together. In Hawaii, the writer happened to be living there at the time, so I was able to meet up with him for one of the days and he showed me some of his favorite spots off the beaten path.
Whether in person or just over the phone, its very beneficial to connect with the writer beforehand, and even be able to reach them throughout the trip as they have usually already done the exact same itinerary and thus can give you tips and reconditions to make your job go smoothly.
How many days was this shoot?
I think it was four or five days. I was actually already in Marfa the weekend prior to attend a wedding, so I was able to shoot some images that I knew were on my shot list ahead of when the job officially started.
What do you love about being a wandered armed with a camera?
I love how photography can take me to the oddest places, ones I would never imagining visiting were it not for photography. Marfa is a great example — it’s a strange little gem of a city located in the middle of nowhere in west Texas. This trip was the second time that photography took me to Marfa. I had been there once before for Phoot Camp, a creative retreat for photographers, so it was wonderful to have the opportunity to be back there shooting on assignment.
After Phoot Camp, I stuck around and went on a little road trip with a few friends. We ended up driving through Big Bend park, arriving in the ghost town of Terlingua and randomly spending the night with a middle- aged man who opened up his gorgeous home to five total strangers. I never thought I would be back there but, lo and behold, guess which ghost town was on my shot list for this assignment? I remembered where his house was and drove by. He wasn’t home, but I left him a note and memories flew back of the morning dance party on his patio.
Let’s Dispel The Notion That Commercial Photographers Have A Camera In Their Hands Every Day
First, let’s dispel the notion that commercial photographers have a camera in their hands every day. This will vary for individuals, and by season, but I would guess that I spend a good 75-80% of my working hours in front of a computer – not out shooting. I consider that to be a pretty successful ratio. No one starting out really thinks about it, but digital workflow, retouching, billing, marketing, pre-production, post-production, accounting, taxes, etc… and the plethora of general business paperwork takes up a ton of time.