Art Producers Speak: Carlo Ricci

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 Producer: I nominate: Carlo Ricci. “Carlo is wonderfully approachable and in the cusp of making a real name for himself”

Barry Shantz is a former international drug dealer. When the FBI caught him with 1.3 billion (yes, Billion) street value worth of Hashish they claimed it was the biggest drug related bust in US history. Photographed for Vancouver Magazine.
Editorial shot just a few weeks ago, portraying Ron Mattson a pharmaceutical researcher involved in a controversial conspiracy aimed at shutting his medical studies down.
Jordan Morita is a talented trombone player from San Diego. Photographed after jumping in the pool, fully dressed, with the rest of his band.
Part of a personal project.
Personal work shot in South America driving to Canada. We were in the middle of the Atacama desert and our van was over heating. We had to stop and spend the night literally in the middle of nowhere, it was a surreal and magic experience.
Advertising campaign for Emirates in Australia.
Part of a personal project an art director friend of mine and I worked together on.
Laura is a good friend and an amazing singer who lives in LA. Shot over two days last year for her new promo material.
Fashion shoot with a former contender from Australia's Next Top Model.
Advertising work shot in Australia.
One of the first commercial jobs I've done, shot in Italy for a UK based clothing company. It's an old shot but I still love it.
Quantum physics researcher. Who said scientists can't be sexy?

How many years have you been in business?

I’ve been shooting professionally for almost 4 years now.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?

100% self-taught. In Italy I studied Engineering and coached basketball for a living, go wonder.. Photography came somewhat late in my life, I discovered it at 26yo by picking up a Nikon F2 (my dad collects old film cameras) and from that moment on I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I moved to Australia with a 5D and a bag of clothes and I never looked back.

Who was your greatest influence that inspired you to get into this business?

To get into photography nobody really, it just happened; but a few inspired me once I started.

If I have to pin-point one name, it would probably be Simon Harsent. I met him once in Australia and we kept in contact over the following years through sporadic emails, but what he told me stuck with me. He’s such a fantastic photographer and somebody who truly has an honest love for his craft.

I’d also mention Kieran Antill, an amazing artist and creative (great guy too), at the time Creative Director at Leo Burnett in Sydney (now in NY) whom I showed my first ever printed portfolio. He had just won a Cannes Gold Lion Award for advertising, but still took the time and especially the honesty to constructively criticize (let’s say destroy) my book. But he really liked some of my work and that raised my confidence that I was doing something right.

Also, my partner is a photo producer and she’s been incredibly supportive and contributive throughout the last 3 years.

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’ll just take that as a compliment, am I fresh?

I mean, you started this column interviewing Nadav Kander, let’s say you raised the bar pretty high for the remaining 95% of us photographers out there..

Going back to your question, I love iconic and very strong/styled images, I look for inspiration in other people’s work but mostly in other fields, especially cinema and music. I try to constantly challenge myself and curiosity is what fuels the search.

I’m also very passionate about what I do, it just comes natural and I feel extremely lucky to be doing it, as it never feels like I’m working really (almost never). I believe that hard work, commitment to your craft and being a nice guy always pays back in the end.

Do you find that some creatives love your work but the client holds you back?

In general I’d say no. I shoot a lot of editorials so the creative is also the client and I find them very open to new and risky ideas. I usually try to shoot something “safe” that I know will work and then I explore more creative options. Even when I think that they were looking for a more “conservative” shot, they always surprise me by picking the one I love the most.

When it comes to advertising work I feel there’s much more preparation and discussion beforehand. If the client signed off on the photographer often it’s because of something he/she has shot before which they liked already and they want something similar. There might have been a conversation on some aspects of the shoot but I always felt that their suggestions were legitimate points.

I’ve probably been really fortunate and it might happen in the future but I’ve never felt that clients were compromising my work.

What are you doing to get your vision out to the buying audience?

I love meeting people face to face. I think this digital revolution opened doors to a lot of creatives and everybody has the chance to put his/her work out there to be seen. There are thousands of talented photographers and reaching out to an art director, a photo buyer or even a client has never been that easy. So now more than ever I value the importance of meeting them personally, getting them to trust me that it will be great working together, both creatively and personally.

I initially reach out through social media or direct emails, maybe follow up with a phone call and every time I’m travelling for a shoot in a new city I try to save some extra time to go and show them my book in person.

What is your advice for those who are showing what they think the buyers want to see?

I’ll go back to Simon Harsent and what he told me that stuck: “Shoot what you love. Because ultimately, that’s the one thing that will make you grow into the best photographer that you can be.”

I think it’s great advice, however I believe it’s normal to overthink about your work and how it will be perceived; I do that all the time. But eventually you want to be shooting what you love, otherwise you’ll find yourself 5 or 10 years down the road that you’re doing something that doesn’t make you happy and more importantly that doesn’t inspire you anymore and that’s the end of creativity. It’s hard because you still have to make a living and I’m definitely not the naïve artist type, but aesthetic is subjective, some art buyers won’t like your work and some will love it, those are the ones you want to be working with. Trying to please everybody is just plain pointless.

Are you shooting for yourself and creating new work to keep your artistic talent true to you?

This past year I’ve mostly been shooting assignments but the one before this I took the whole year off to shoot personal projects (see below).

Editorials are a great in-between, they give you the chance to be creative and try new ideas and at the same time it’s work that gets published. You also constantly deal with all sorts of people, which I think it’s great for interpersonal skills as well.

Having said that, I’m about to take a month off commissioned work to shoot a personal project that I’ve been planning for over two months.

How often are you shooting new work?

In the last few months I’ve been shooting editorials every week but I shoot motion as well and usually video projects take much longer to be planned and executed, so it really depends.

I spend the majority of my time working on ideas and organizing shoots rather than shooting for the sake of it. That’s what my Fuji x100 is for. I’d rather do 30 well thought shoots per year than 300 average ones.

In Australia I used to shoot fashion work pretty much everyday and after a while I found it was killing my creativity. I was so unhappy that I decided to leave. I took a year off with my partner and we drove a VW van from Argentina to Canada, shooting film documentaries for NGOs along the way. Looking back now I believe that for different reasons it has been the most productive year I’ve ever had.

Carlo Ricci is a Vancouver based photographer and director. Born in 1981 in Italy, he discovered photography in his mid twenties and soon after moved to Australia where he started working professionally. After 2.5 years in Sydney he embarked on a year long exploration of Latin and North America driving all the way to Canada while shooting film documentaries for international NGOs. He now lives and works in Canada specializing in editorial portraiture and advertising.

Please visit www.carloricci.com to see his portfolio. Proud member of www.wonderfulmachine.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.

The Daily Edit
More: Zachary Scott

 

Thursday: 6.20.13

Creative Director: Debra Bishop
Photo Director: Natasha Lunn
Senior Art Director: Jamie Prokell
Assistant Art Director: Faith Stafford
Associate Photo Editor: Stephanie Swanicke
Assistant Photo Editor: Gabrielle Sirkin

Photographer: Zachary Scott

 

 

(click ad to see today’s visual interview )

California Labor Laws And Work Made For Hire Agreements

Question from a reader about California labor code and an answer from Carolyn and Leslie at the Photo Attorney.

Q. I’m sorry to bother you but I have a question that has not been addressed on any professional photography or photography related website that I can find. In CA the labor code makes work for hire when transferring the ownership of copyright illegal (civil and criminal liability) except in the case of an employer/employee relationship. How does this apply to photographers working in CA when doing small jobs? Is it legal to have work around language that assigns copyright to the person doing the hiring (meaning the agreement says everything a work for hire agreement would say but it doesn’t use the term work for hire); or is it a case of walks like and duck, quacks like a duck, it is a work for hire agreement and therefor illegal in the state of CA?

A. Thank you for this important question.  The issue is not that it’s illegal for an independent contractor to agree to a work made for hire agreement in California.  The problem is that when a photographer is hired under a work made for hire agreement, then the photographer, under California state law, is considered an employee rather than a independent contractor.   Specifically, California Labor Code section 3351.5(c)provides that one definition of an “Employee” is:

Any person while engaged by contract for the creation of a specially ordered or  commissioned work of authorship in which the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire, as defined in Section 101 of Title 17 of the United States Code, and the ordering or commissioning party obtains ownership of all the rights comprised in the copyright in the work.

California Unemployment Insurance Code Section 686 also states that:

“Employer” also means any person contracting for the creation of a specially ordered or commissioned work of authorship when the parties expressly agree in a written instrument  signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire, as defined in Section 101 of Title 17 of the United States Code, and the ordering or commissioning party obtains ownership of all of the rights comprised in the copyright in the work. The ordering or  commissioning party shall be the employer of the author of the work for the purposes of this part.

Once the photographer is an employee, the employer must pay unemployment and worker’s compensation insurance for the employee.  If not, the employer can be subject to one year in jail and up to $20,000 in fines (California Labor Code section 3700.5 and California Unemployment Insurance Code Section 2122).

But there is another way.

If the photographer is operating through a business entity (such as an LLC or corporation), then the Labor and Unemployment Codes don’t apply.  If the photographer is an individual/sole proprietor, then don’t use “Work Made for Hire” language in the Agreement.  Instead, you may assign the copyrights to another through language such as:

Photographer irrevocably transfers and assigns to the Client the copyrights created as part of the project.

Of course, if a photographer agrees to transfer copyrights, hopefully it will be for an appropriately large sum.  And when a photographer hires someone (like a designer) and wants ownership of the material created, also be careful not to violate these laws.  All of this is part of knowing your rights and responsibilities as a professional photographer!

— Carolyn E. Wright and Leslie Burns, Law Office of Carolyn E. Wright, LLC (a/k/a the Photo Attorney)

 

Advice For Photo Assistants: Traveling Smart

by Demetrius Fordham

I think I speak on behalf of most photo assistants when I say that travel’s easily one of job’s biggest perks. In my time assisting, I’ve worked in the Congo, Seoul, Monaco, Sydney and Rio among other cities, hung out with awesome new people and stayed at five-star hotels – all on someone else’s bill. Sweet, right? Not necessarily.

Traveling might be one of the best parts of the job, but it’s also one of the most challenging. Photo assistants are responsible for lugging hundreds of pounds (and thousands of dollars) of equipment across the world. We’re the lucky ones checking in ten cases of photo equipment, filling out the proper travel documentation, dealing with photographers trying to skirt airline luggage limits (I once had a photographer stick fake CNN passes on all our equipment in order to get it all through). Upon arrival, we’re the ones responsible for ensuring all the equipment got there in one piece, and getting it to the studio (while the photographer and clients are having cocktails on the hotel’s rooftop bar). Don’t even get me started on keeping track of excess travel expenses, or jumping on planes at a moment’s notice (the girlfriends love this, by the way). All that said, there are ways to make traveling – an inevitable part of the job – a little easier.

One: Pack right

It’s the photo assistant’s responsibility to ensure all the equipment gets to the destination in one piece. Therefore, make sure it’s packed meticulously: ensure all cameras are disassembled, individually wrapped and travel-ready. Carry on all cameras if possible (that way if everything gets lost in transit or stolen, the photographer is still able to take pictures). Make sure all other equipment is securely packed in their respective cases (Tenba makes sturdy travel-ready cases for camera, video and digital equipment) before checking them in. And it might sound like common sense, but it’s a good idea to double-check that all the required equipment is actually there and that it’s all functional before leaving the country.

Also be sure to double-check you have all the small but necessary items like cables, batteries, chargers, travel adaptors and memory cards. There’s nothing worse than discovering you have dead batteries and no charger in a location with limited pro-photo resources.

Don’t forget to pack properly for yourself, either: if you can, travel light and try to fit a week’s worth of clothing in one bag. But make sure you bring one nice shirt. You may be asked to dine with clients at some swank joint and that flannel might not cut it.

Two: Get all your documents in order

If you’re traveling outside the country with multiple cases of high-value photo or video equipment, it’s a good idea to obtain a carnet document (essentially a temporary “merchandise passport” for your equipment) to ensure you clear customs more easily and freely. These can be applied for online or at a carnet office, though in most cases the producer or studio manager will handle this process and all you’ll need to to do is to provide the serial numbers off each piece of equipment you’re working with. Obtaining a carnet might be a pain in the ass, but traveling with it makes hauling equipment from country to country a lot less dramatic.

Also ensure that have your personal travel documents in order: namely, a valid passport and the requisite visas needed for the country you’re traveling to. Double-check that you’re in possession of a valid driver’s license, as you’ll need it for identification purposes (and chances are you’ll need to drive).

Three: Back up everything

Backing up images should already be standard practice as a photo assistant or digital tech, but due to the high risk of digital media getting lost in transit (I’ve had bags stolen before; particularly common when it appears you’re traveling with expensive equipment), you have to get OCD-like about protecting your files when traveling. As a rule, I personally give the photographer a hard drive of the images taken on the job, and I take an additional hard drive myself which I carry on. I also FedEx one back-up hard drive of images to the photographer’s address before leaving the location. At least if the plane goes down, the job can still be delivered on time!

Four: Pack plastic

In a perfect world, you won’t have to pay for anything – and you shouldn’t. But in reality, you might need to put up small amounts of cash for cabs, excess baggage, some meals or to cover incidentals at a hotel. That said, carrying a credit card is useful. Once the job wraps, you’re entitled to get all these excess travel-related expenses reimbursed – including international roaming charges on your cellphone – so keep all of your receipts and records and ensure you can justify all the expenses you’re claiming. (For more information on invoicing and billing on any job, see my previous post.

Five: Get sleep!

Long work days coupled with jet lag and a fast-paced, high-pressure environment aren’t so great for your general well being. It also doesn’t help that you’ll often have dinner after the shoot with the photographer, crew and sometimes clients, and are tempted (or obligated) to stay out for a drink or hit the town. Though it’s important, necessary even, to socialize with your crew and explore a new city, know and respect your limits. Get back to your hotel room at a decent hour and try to get at least six hours of sleep – seriously. You’ll feel better, perform better and get booked on international jobs as a result.

If you have any other tips or questions on traveling as a photo assistant, feel free to comment below or get discussion flowing on the Photo Assistants’ Association Facebook page.

© Corey Rich Productions
© Corey Rich Productions

The Most Important People To Photograph Are Those Without A Voice

Perhaps the most important people that I should photograph are the people who don’t have a voice. And I think that that’s the message of the day. That’s the most honorable thing to aspire to. To be able to give someone the chance to express themselves, to tell their story on a platform that they would never normally get. And in doing so, that platform shifts how we see the times that we are living in. So that really is my mission.

via A Conversation with Platon | New Republic.

Vogue/Condé Nast Contest Attempts To Secure Free Images For Unlimited Use

From an ASMP press release:

ASMP, joined by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), American Photographic Artists (APA), the Picture Archive Council of America (PACA), Graphic Artists Guild (GAG) and North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA), is concerned about the terms and conditions of a contest announced by Vogue, a Condé Nast publication, entitled the New Exposure Photography Competition, Presented by Bottega Veneta. This contest, which is targeted at students and emerging photographers, appears to be an effort to secure thousands of free images for unlimited use in publications and in advertising. For this reason, we believe this contest exploits photographers and we strongly caution everyone to carefully review and understand all the terms and conditions along with the rights they are surrendering before entering any competition.

The core problems we see are that:

  • The sponsors have the perpetual, unlimited use of all contest entries.
  • There is neither compensation for contest participants nor is there credit given for their work.
  • Participants are required to sign a liability release and copyright assignment, and to indemnify Botega Veneta and Condé Nast against any lawsuits that may arise as a result of the usage of the photographs.
  • Every entrant is required to waive any right to sue in the event of misuse of the photographs entered.
  • The winner is being offered $10,000 for a shoot that would normally command several times that amount. The winner will be required to grant copyright ownership of all photographs from the shoot.

 

We believe that while competitions can serve a purpose within your business plan and potentially give your work significant visibility, there are a number of issues to consider before you enter. For more information about the terms, conditions and issues for Photography Competitions, go here.

 

This Week In Photography Books – Hiroshi Sugimoto and Mark Rothko

by Jonathan Blaustein

Last week, I wrote about the Holocaust. It’s a hard one to follow, even for someone like me, who rarely lacks an opinion. (Are you kidding me? That salsa was way too bland. What kind of a person serves coffee that bitter? How many times are you going to tweet about your upcoming exhibition?)

As I was saying, given how much I like to control the flow of my week-to-week ramblings, writing about the worst event of the 20th Century leaves me in a bit of a pickle. Do I go right back to the heavy stuff, and risk ruining your weekend? Or do I trot out something light and fluffy, the photo book equivalent of a cuddly, stuffed bunny?

How about neither? Given that the Roman Vishniac article might bring a reasonable person to question the existence of a higher power, how about we contemplate the counter-argument? When we think of the sublime, we relish feeling small. We delight in the reminder that powers greater than we can comprehend make planets dance around stars, and waves crash on every shore. Right?

Hiroshi Sugimoto and Mark Rothko are two seemingly unrelated artists, one living, one dead. One guy photographs, the other was a painter. (How’s that for brilliant exposition? Tell us more, Blaustein.) I can’t pretend that there is more to the book I’m about to mention, because there isn’t. “Rothko/Sugimoto,” a new book published by Pace London, doesn’t seem to have ambitions beyond putting the two famous men’s work together in one volume.

Here’s a Rothko, and then, here’s a Sugimoto. And then here’s another Rothko, and here’s another Sugimoto. The pattern is not that hard to discern. As you turn the pages, you’ll find yourself guessing, rather successfully, what will come next. (Unless you’re really, really bad at prognostication. In which case, I’d love to play you in Rock/Paper/Scissors.)

Am I mailing it in today? I’m not sure. Is that allowed on a hot summer day? Are you going to call the Blogger Police? Will they suspend my Hotmail account for a couple of days as a punishment? All kidding aside, today, I just wanted to give you some beautiful, meaningful photos to contemplate. Mission accomplished. (How many George W. references is that this year?)

Bottom Line: Ham-fisted premise, great pictures

To Purchase “Rothko/Sugimoto” Visit Photo-Eye

Full Disclosure: Books are provided by Photo-Eye in exchange for links back for purchase.

Books are found in the bookstore and submissions are not accepted.

 

Retailers have a moral obligation to ban the airbrush

The airbrush backlash is now well underway as Debenhams announces a ban on all retouched lingerie model shots.

The high-street department store puts and end to such images as they ‘want to help customers feel confident about their figures without bombarding them with unattainable body images’.

via Mail Online.

Art Producers Speak: Kyle Alexander

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 Producer: I nominate: Kyle Alexander.

Dustin, Nate, Bummy & Fabio Santa Fe 2013 Fort Marcy Overlook We wrapped a shoot up in the mountains behind Santa Fe and my friends/crew and I were driving down into town and it was one of those amazing desert sunsets. I knew this place that overlooked the whole town because my Mom and I used to go there every year for thanksgiving. So we drove right to this beautiful spot and took it all in. I know it looks like a band photo but as far as I know only one of those guys plays an instrument and that’s the skin flute.
the Band “Courrier” Gruene, Texas Feb. 2013 This was for a Rolling Stone magazine/Texas Tourism feature that wanted to capture an Austin band in a location that was close to Austin but that had not been a lot of times before and really said Texas. I had a suggestion that worked out perfect, I went to college 15 minutes away from this place, Gruene Hall which is the oldest continually running dance hall in Texas. They have been open and host to live music since 1878.
the Band “Courrier” Gruene, Texas Feb. 2013
the Band “Courrier” Gruene, Texas Feb. 2013
This is Dale, Red and Berkley at the 6666 Ranch in Guthrie Texas taken in March 2013. This was taken at lunch for an ad shoot, I snuck away for ten minutes and got these wonderful portraits of this fascinating man. One of the thing I always liked about photography is you get to meet so many interesting people and hear so many great life stories, Dale did not disappoint in that regard.
Red and Berkley at the 6666 Ranch in Guthrie Texas
Chris, BILLYKIRK Bags NYC 2012 Started in 1999 by brothers Chris and Kirk Bray, Billykirk is a leather and canvas design company which was founded on the desire to make lasting items that get better with age. I hope my photos age as good as their leather 
Alex - Austin, Texas 2013 Alex was a friend of a friend. I was in town on a shoot for Rolling Stone magazine and had a late flight out so I had a couple of hours to kill and I called my friend Jamie and said who can we shoot and she said her friend Alex who worked at a vintage store called Feathers, so we grabbed some clothes of the racks and walked around the neighborhood and got some great shots.
Dan and Alex 2012 These guys make beautiful custom bikes in the LA area
Personal work 2012 Getting loose in the desert
last one had to eat a live tarantula Personal work 2012
Kassi 2012

 

How many years have you been in business?
Hmmmm…more than a couple…..not an easy answer for that one, after college I moved from Austin, Texas to Hawaii to shoot surfing on the north shore of Oahu which was really fun and amazing but I couldn’t really make a living over there. At that time it was shooting film, you got 36 images and then have to swim in and change film in your waterhousing, go out shoot another roll, swim in and then run to the lab, have it developed and fed-exed overnight to the magazines in Southern California and by that time you were exhausted and broke. I worked crappy side jobs and tried to make it work for a while but never really go ahead.

Then one day I got lucky and got a job on a tv show in Hawaii and worked on that for a couple of years and along the way met some guys who said if you ever get out to LA give us a call. So I looked at my options at that point and said I better move to LA. I was penniless with not much hope of ever making it out there in Hawaii. That was in 2001 and I got lucky again because I hooked up with some steady work on feature films and commercials. It was then I met someone who also produced photo shoots and needed some help so I worked with her for a bit. The first real photo shoot I worked on was a huge budget Tommy Hilfiger shoot, 2 weeks on the Paramount Studios backlot. Patrick Demarchelier was the photographer and it was a amazing and humbling experience to watch him work. This experience inspired me and I began shooting as much as I could when not assisting. However that was not too often, I assisted for about 7 years for dozens of different photographers.

One of the first things I did after I was in LA made a few bucks was buy a computer and because of that someone asked me to do some callsheets and light pre-production work so I ended up producing some editorial stories for Mens Journal and Marie Claire magazine. That introduced me to some photographers who later on hired me to produce some ad shoots, which was great because with all the producing money I could do more test shoots. So my first real break was an ad shoot for Roxy/Quiksilver in 2008. So I did that shoot but then still had to assist and produce and digital tech to make ends meet. So I would get a couple of ad and editorial jobs here and there but not enough to break away.

Finally in 2011 I got enough shooting work that I was able to turn down producing and teching and assisting gigs. So long story short, taking pics- 20+ years, working in the business-10 + years, making my living as a full time photographer- 2+ years.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
I have a BA in English literature and minored in photography and film but I felt like everything I really “learned” about photography was by trial and error, happy accidents, shooting tests and by assisting other photographers.

Who was your greatest influence that inspired you to get into this business?
I have always had a passion for (borderline OCD) documenting and capturing all of the things around me, people, places, things by taking photos. When I first saw Robert Frank’s book, “The Americans”, it blew me away and made me want to make a career out of photography. However I didn’t really know what an advertising photographer was, I just wanted someone to pay me so I could keep doing what I loved doing, capturing organic defining moments.

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 think it’s more about staying inspired yourself and creating work and pictures that you care about. If you create something extraordinary and love what you are doing then that is what counts. If the work is wonderful, and the world sees it, the creatives will seek you out.

Do you find that some creatives love your work but the client holds you back?
No, In my experience, most of the creatives I have worked with want to push the same direction I am usually going and the client has been appreciative of that.

What are you doing to get your vision out to the buying audience?
Direct personalized faxes, just kidding………reality is probably not enough. That’s the toughest part, and I have had this conversation with a few of my peers, we feel like as photographers we get so busy involved in planning a shoot, shooting, editing or retouching a shoot that there is hardly any hours left in the day to market ourselves, but in reality that should be one of the most important things you do. I try to do meetings whenever I am in NYC or a town that has some agencies or magazines. I did an email blast this year and my Agent VAUGHAN+HANNIGAN has done a few and we do the Le BOOK shows. Working on something now that will go out in the mail soon, hopefully.

What is your advice for those who are showing what they think the buyers want to see?
I think you are chasing your own tail in a circle. Buyers will react to work better if you are showing your own distinct personal vision and they connect with it.

Are you shooting for yourself and creating new work to keep your artistic talent true to you?
Yes, I am constantly shooting personal projects. Currently photographing a series I’m having a lot of fun shooting titled Made in the USA about people that craft and create in America. I feel like there is this really cool resurgence to our grandfather’s generation of people that really made things by hand and care about what they are doing, not just trying to make a buck. I shot a pair of brothers that own a leather bag and belt company in New York, a former ad agency graphic designer turned screen printer/ motorcycle builder in Minnesota and a couple of buddies that created a company that repurposes old wood scrap and industrial age machinery into retail spaces in NYC.

Another personal shoot I really had enjoyed I just did a couple of weeks ago, we were shooting an ad job for a truck company at a crazy 180,000 acre ranch in Texas and our guide was this intriguing man named Dale who was also the county deputy and drove around in a huge red truck with two dogs riding shotgun. This guy was the real deal, Chuck Norris would step aside for this guy. He was very a kind man but you could tell he had seen some tough times. I took a couple of snaps of him during our tech scout and then during lunch of my actual shoot the next day Dale and I jumped in his truck and went up the road and shot for ten minutes, he wanted some photos of his dogs, and I was more than happy to do that. They ended up being some of my favourite photos I have taken for quite some time and when I sent over the pictures later he said he really loved them and would share with his kids. That was just a cool thing to hear and is the magic that happens when you are on the road with an open mind.

How often are you shooting new work?
2 times a month in between jobs

My website is www.kylealexander.com Represented by VAUGHAN + HANNIGAN Reps which is www.vh-artists.com.

My Chocolate lab, Princess Leia and I at my favourite beach, San Onofre



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.

Beyoncé photos spark press-PR feud

Since Buzzfeed published shots of the star that her publicist didn’t like, her PR squad stopped issuing press passes to photojournalists to tour dates, and instead has required news organizations to register with them for access to pictures taken by the tour’s official photographer. They’ve also contacted media outlets like Buzzfeed to request that certain photos be removed.

The strategy hasn’t worked too well for Beyoncé; news outlets, frustrated about the limitations on their photographers, have used the original offending photos, from Beyoncé’s Super Bowl halftime show, in lieu of the provided photos.

via Poynter..

The Daily Edit
Marie Claire: David Roemer

 

 

Thursday: 6.13.13

Artistic Director: Alex Gonzalez
Creative Director: Nina Garcia
Design Director: Byron Christian Regej
Photography Director: Caroline Smith
Associate Art Director: Wanyi Jiang
Senior Photo Editor: Ashley Macknica Barhamand

Photographer: David Roemer

 

 

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