Question for the clients – what is your portfolio telling them?

At what point does a collection of nice pictures become a portfolio that brings in work?  I am amazed at how one could spend hours, days, even weeks searching through online photography portfolios.  Of course there is a range of quality as in any industry, but there are a lot of people out there who have taken some nice pictures.  So how do clients comb through the endless options when trying to hire someone for an original assignment?  I asked a few clients how they separate a great shooter from the herd. Art buyer: My advice is to show what you shoot.  Examples of good lighting and technique are good too but people hire you for your specialty.  If you have a positive personality – play that up too.

My interpretation:  Get in touch with your specialty.  Go beyond just people places and things.  Do you shoot people smiling?  Groups of people?  Individuals in studio?  Is your still life work dark and moody, or light and bright?  The more you can showcase what your exact vision is the better a buyer will be able to match you with a job.

Graphic designer: When I look at a photographers portfolio, especially if they drop their book off or are showing it in person, I want to see examples of the kind of photography I use in my client’s work.  Personal work is fine to show, but I want to know that the photographer can shoot what I will definitely need for a project.  I also appreciate the photographer doing some research on the work our firm does and then shows relevant photography.

My interpretation: If the company designs websites and collateral for, lets say, colleges and universities primarily, they may not be interested in seeing your collection of conceptual food photography.  Being well-researched takes a lot of time and energy, but is well worth it.

Women in Photography

I recently attended a meeting with a group of other women in the photography industry ranging from established photographers to recent graduates.  Women have come a long way in the past several decades, but it was comforting to hear that I am not the only one who has been mistaken for a stylist, rep, etc. on more than one occasion.  I have been showing my portfolio to prospective clients and had them ask me whose work they were looking at.  This has happened so many times that I come to expect it when meeting someone who is unfamiliar with my work. But I am never offended.  How many times has someone told me I was shooting a CEO and my gut reaction was, “What’s his name?”  We have all made these mistakes.  It’s just not as common for women to be CEOs or commercial photographers.  It’s really not that common for very many people, regardless of gender, to reach the upper levels of any industry.  Family, finances and mental fortitude are just a few of the many obstacles that tend to keep both men and women from rising to the top.

So what can women do to help their chances at success in photography?  Other than not taking it too personal when they get mistaken for someone else, they should do the same thing that men should do.  Persistence and fantastic work are a given, timing and a little luck don’t hurt either.

Assignment Chicago

I ran into Alex Garcia, an old friend and Chicago Tribune photographer, at an APA event the other night and he told me about a blog he has been working on for the past year.  Its called Assignment Chicago.  There are a lot of great posts about the challenges of being a photographer on there that I found interesting, and of course there are great photos on there too.

The Value of a Great Crew

Regardless of the present economic condition (which seems to be doing quite well all things considered) there have always been clients with limited budgets for their photography projects and there always will be. Most commercial photo shoots consist of creative fees and expenses.  So there are two ways to lower the cost of a shoot: get the photographer to work for less money (ask for less usage rights, fewer shots or shooting days, have a flexible schedule etc.) or reduce the expenses, which often means skimping on props, locations, talent and/or crew members.

These are all legitimate cost saving ideas - and just like when you purchase other services you usually get what you pay for.

I recently did a shoot with an agency that allowed for 4 kinds of stylists, 2 assistants, a digital tech, a PA and a few styling assistants.  All these people were absolutely essential because we had a very limited time slot with talent and had multiple shots to achieve at multiple locations.  There was also a video crew separate from my crew, that had dozens of shots to get through during the same time period.  We had a prop stylist prepping our locations, a food stylist prepping all the product for the client, a wardrobe stylist for the main talent and 4 extras and a hair and makeup stylist.  Without great planning and all these crew members, the client may have been able to save a few bucks, but they certainly would not have gotten as many pictures accomplished, and they would not have had control over all the elements in the image (props, quality of food styling, wardrobe, etc).  This would have led to disappointment on their end, and possibly even a reshoot which would have ended up costing more in the end.  Fortunately, this was a savvy client and we were able to work with a full crew.  We accomplished everything the client wanted, including a few extra shots and tons of video spots, adding tremendous value.  We even wrapped a few minutes early and everyone involved was extremely happy with both the process and the results.

For new photographers - be sure to constantly be building relationships with new potential crew members, they will make or break your project.  For clients - look carefully at your estimates.  There is often more to the numbers than just who is least expensive - look at how they will be spending your money, and ask them and yourself if you think there are enough crew members on board to make the project a success.

Positioning yourself in your market

This topic came out of a great question from an assistant seeking some advice. The questioner was basically asking about why so-and-so in New York can shoot such-and-such (insert cool, edgy genres and topics) and have a diverse body of work while here in Chicago it can feel like buyers are more conservative and want to see only one thing from a photographer in order to want to hire them.

I see several different problems being raised here.  I will discuss first: what reasoning can we apply to why certain photographers are successful and others are not so much?   Second: how does a photographer successfully position herself in a market?  The issue of specialization can be another entry entirely.

So who works and who doesn’t?  Photography is a service that is bought and sold just like any other, so ask yourself: where do you get your haircut; go out to eat; buy your gas/groceries/clothes/furniture?  Basically – where do you spend your money?  Chances are, you make most of these decisions (big and small) based on how you have made them in the past, or what people you know have told you, or on some advertising or promotion you have seen, or possibly just based on price or location alone.  Buyers of photography are no different.  Sometimes their photography project comes down to location or price alone.  Other times they want to work with someone they know and trust.  Or it may be based on a referral, or some sort of advertising or promotion they saw about a photographer.  Chances are, that established shooter in New York has a lot of people he/she has worked with before, a lot of people referring them, and a lot of advertising/promotion/pr in the works at all times that helps them generate business.  The nice thing is, the rules are the same for all of us.  If we are making great work, we just need to keep getting the word out about it.  You cannot make a living as a photographer if you take great pictures but do not show them to people who might commission or buy your work.

As for the question about positioning oneself, this is a little trickier.  Of course, if it were just hard work alone there would be many more people in the game right now.  An important first step that many photographers skip is researching their own market.  No matter how great your work is, if there is not a good set of clients that can support the work, it will probably not lead the photographer to success.  Food shooters need to be in a city where a lot of food photography is shot, ditto for fashion photographers.  Search workbook.com or your favorite portal and see where concentrations of specialties lie.  In Chicago we only have two photographers in the beauty category, and only two in the celeb category in Workbook.  That might be a hint that our density of beauty product companies and celebrities is lower than other cities.  Or it could show a lack of competition and need going unfulfilled.  It helps to think like a venture capitalist: if someone else showed you your own portfolio and said they would be shopping it around your city, would you bet your own money on their success?

Stay tuned for another entry on specialization.

The hidden benefit of meeting with vendors

With information so readily available today, both clients and photographers can sometimes overlook the importance of in person meetings as a part of our relationship building programs. But for many freelancers and their reps, these in person meetings are still a substantial part of their outreach program both to connect with new potential clients and also to solidify relationships with existing clients.  Understandably, these meetings are very hard to come by because of busy schedules or a lack of perceived need for the service we are offering. I generally try to go on at least 30 or 40 in person meetings per year.  At the same time, I get calls and emails from assistants, retouchers, stylists, etc. offering their services to me on a weekly basis, some who want to meet with me in person.

I recently accepted an appointment with one of these potential vendors.  What surprised me was how much the meeting actually did influence my opinion about whether or not I would have the need to work with this person in the future.  Before the meeting I thought it would be never.  After the meeting I thought of this vendor on at least three separate occasions related to projects I was shooting or bidding on.  Although I have not had any opportunity to use them as of yet, the fact that I was even thinking about it made me hopeful about my own ability to influence the opinions of my potential clients in the same way.  I had two or three meetings of my own later that week, all of which went fantastically.  I am sure having been on the other side of things so recently helped my ability to be empathetic to the client and try to better show them how I could help add to their business offerings rather than focusing on my services alone.

I would recommend both to clients and photographers to accept more sales calls than you might think you need.  I am always surprised how much I can learn from even a short meeting with a new vendor, about the industry, their vision, and how they may or may not fit into projects I am involved with in the future.  And of course, how I can learn from them about the strengths and weaknesses in my own marketing.

Changing blogs for changing times

I have decided to start a new blog about my experiences in the photography business.  Equal parts business and photography, I am hoping this will be of interest to people on both sides of the equation. I'm not sure what will come of my previous blog, which was more of a professional diary listing various noteworthy projects.  I may still have some projects posted here, but my goal is to change this into a place where I can lead discussions about business that apply to both artists and non artists alike. This change has been inspired by both internal and external forces.  Internally, I am constantly soul searching because I find it personally rewarding and I believe that knowing oneself is a strong base on which professional success can grow.  Externally because I am constantly being called upon by others in the industry, from students to professionals looking to grow their business, to tell them how I get my clients and how I market myself.  Translation: how exactly can they do what I am doing?  Some of the topics I plan to cover will be helpful in answering some of these questions.

I believe that successful people are just that because they wake up everyday looking forward to learning new things and accomplishing new tasks.  Success for me has been cumulative, ever-changing, invigorating and sometimes seemingly out of reach all at once.  I am looking forward to posting regular thoughts about the specifics of my business and learning from others as well.  The lines between art and business will most definitely be blurred.  Please feel free to email me with questions or topics of interest.