”Photo Trekking” by Nick Onken. Publisher: Amphoto Books (2009).
Is Nick Onken trying to inspire us to take great travel imagery by showing us how it’s done or by telling us how to do it? That’s the challenge for most photographer-writers: striking a successful balance between the written word and the pictures that illustrate the text. In Onken’s case, he has succeeded at the latter while perhaps not putting quite as much effort into the former. That’s not to say that aspiring travel shooters won’t find frequent kernels of wisdom within the pages of Photo Trekking, but overall the impact of his photos will probably teach you more about what travel photography “is” than the how-to stuff that accompanies them.
Although Nick Onken has shot for commercial titans like Bank of America, Reebok, State Farm Insurance and Leo Burnett, his shooting style is decidedly un-corporate. His message to travel shooters? Be “in the moment.” And, of course, in order to be ready for the moments when inspiration hit, Onken implores his readers to hit the ground running wherever in the world they may land: “One thing most travel photographers have in common is a sense of being short on time. Get out there immediately. Your goal is to make every second on location count”
nken’s own wanderings have taken him to such exotic ports of call as Colombia, Nepal, China, Brazil, Mongolia and many more, resulting in a deep body of work that’s exemplified by the more than 150 of his images generously displayed in Photo Trekking. His style is often a bit gritty, with an emphasis on real moments and real people rather than the glossy versions you see in airline posters. The best of these pictures are generally the ones that include people. He points out in his writing that “The presence of people adds human interest to a landscape. Interaction is essential for travel photographers, who need to connect with people.”
The best of Onken’s text covers the reality and practicalities of being a travel shooter. Insight into how he prepares for a shoot, what he packs (and how!), how to tackle logistics and deal with post-production workflow cumulatively help to dispel the glamour myth that many people believe is intrinsic to travel photography. As he wisely points out, “When you’re not on the road shooting, chances are you’ll be sitting behind a desk. This is where much of the work of travel photography happens, from editing and archiving images to pitching stories and working on your website. To be successful, you need to be as serious about the business side of ravel photography as you are about equipment and technique.”
It becomes obvious as you read Photo Trekking that it is the product of someone who truly loves what he does and is highly motivated to absorb both new experiences and cultures, and by recording them with his cameras he’s able to vividly illustrate that passion. As Onken says, “At its essence, travel photography is about inspiration – being inspired by what you see in the world and having the talent and skill to transform this inspiration into good photographs.”
ess successful? The pages devoted to photographic basics (the rule of thirds, lines, movement, pattern and texture) strike me as somewhat cursory and only useful to the rawest of photography newbies. Likewise, he barely makes mention of stock photography (the lifeblood of many travel shooters) and when he does, what he has to say is a bit curious: “In general, you sell your work to a stock house under one of two arrangements: rights managed or royalty-free.” With rare exceptions, stock agencies aren’t “buying” stock travel images, they’re merely marketing those pictures while the creators retain both copyright and ownership. Further, he makes no mention whatsoever of the numerous niche stock agencies that specialize in travel imagery (wouldn’t that be useful information?), and in his “Resources” section only lists three companies, all of which are general subject stock mega-agencies: Getty, Corbis and Masterfile.
Well, OK, so Photo Trekking isn’t going to be much help to you in getting rich in the stock photo marketplace with your travel shots, but on many other levels it’s an easy and enjoyable read, punctuated by often arresting images, which will be helpful to anyone considering leaving their day job behind to indulge their photographic wanderlust.
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“The Photographer’s Survival Guide,” by Suzanne Sease & Amanda Sosa Stone. Publisher: Amphoto Books (2009), $29.95.
If ever there was a time when photographers need something called a “Survival Guide” it’s now, right? Assignment work is down, prices for stock images have been squeezed like lemons for lemonade, newspapers and magazines have either closed shop or seen drastic reductions in their pages…in short, no one in the photography industry is going to someday nostalgically look back on the latter part of the first decade of the 21st century as “the good old days”!
With that in mind, you’d surely have to be a candidate for mental health treatment if you decided that now was a good time to launch a career in professional photography. Nonetheless, like moths drawn to a flame, we still see a seemingly never-ending flock of fresh-faced photo school grads as well as laid-off accountants and bank executives gravitating toward making photography their vocation, and they could certainly do a lot worse than using this particular tome as their basic manual on what it takes to “make it” as a professional image maker.
hink of “Photographer’s Survival Guide” as sort of the CliffsNotes version of the business of photography. The book is only a couple of hundred pages long to begin with, and about half of that is comprised of photos, screen shots and other illustrations, so the text is minimal. But, my test for the “meat” of any book of this type is, upon completion, to flip back through it and see how much I’ve highlighted in yellow, and I can tell you that you’d be hard-pressed to find a single text page in my copy without something marked as “important.” So, while Sease and Stone certainly won’t be accused of being verbose, that’s to their credit as the result of their collaboration is a “nothing but the facts, m’am” approach that’s both a quick read and a solid overview of what you’re in for if commercial photography is singing your siren song.
The value here resides in the first five chapters: “Establishing Your Style,” “Presenting Yourself,” “Marketing,” “Bidding The Job” and “Doing the Job” (the concluding two chapters, “Keep Marketing Yourself” and “Stock Photography and Creative Outlets,” seem a bit cursory and tacked on to fill out the book). Within those 5 sections the authors really drive home the value of approaching photography as a business and then proceed to impart nugget after nugget that explain how to go about it. Just one example: one of the keys to getting work is having a killer portfolio. Here, you find out the differences between customized and off-the shelf portfolios (and their costs), how to make your own (including choices for sealing, binding, hinges and paper), how to ship your portfolio and, of course, what the content should consist of. Great nuts-and bolts stuff (both literally and figuratively!).
further invaluable component of the book is the accompanying CD which contains 21 very useful forms and templates in both Word and Excel formats. There’s some of the usual stuff like model and property releases as well as an estimate/invoice form, but what’s really unusual (and probably worth the book’s price all by itself) is the inclusion of such exotic items as an “Approved Job Check-Off List,” “Estimate Questionnaire,” “Prop Check-In Sheet” and “Wardrobe Disposal Sheet.” Wow, who knew that being a photographer involved shuffling so much paper? Obviously, industry veterans Sease and Stone do, and fortunately they’ve shared their extensive knowledge and thus made “The Photographer’s Survival Guide” a must-have addition to any would-be professional’s reference library.
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“Digital Stock Photography: How to Shoot and Sell,” by Michal Heron. Publisher: Allworth Press (2007).
This is the book that I would have written about how to go about the business of stock photography if Michal Heron hadn’t saved me the time and trouble. That’s right: if I had to select just ONE book that would adequately educate someone about contemporary stock photography, this is the one and it’s the next-best thing to a personal consultation with our semi-esteemed colleague Mr. Stock Smarty Pants.
his is a really an update of Heron’s earlier book on stock, “How to Shoot Stock Photos That Sell,” written back in the analog days. As the title makes clear, that older tome is now completely updated to the digital era. What’s interesting, though, is that the core ideas about stock really haven’t changed: you still need to do your “homework” before you even click off a single frame, you still need a plan of attack, you still need to think in terms of visually capturing “concepts,” and you still need to organize your images and somehow get them before picture buyers. What has changed radically, of course, is the actual execution of most of those tasks.
Heron’s book still contains especially useful chapters such as “How to Shoot for Stock: Style and Concept” (terrific stuff, especially if you intend to pursue commercial markets), “Twenty-Five Stock Assignments You Can Shoot” (lots of ideas that can stimulate you to, as Nike says, ‘Just Do It’!) and “Preparing the Shoot” (which reinforces that idea that success in stock is most often the result of what goes on BEFORE you take the pictures). Now these are augmented with such valuable sections as “Editing and Post-Production in the Digital Work Flow” (which, as many of our Stock Answers clients have found, is the make-or-break component of a successful stock business) and “Finding a Stock Agency or Portal” (critical in determining exactly how you’re going to bring your pictures into the marketplace for buyers to view and purchase).
f I had to find fault with Heron’s book, it’s the lack of any discussion about what everyone really wants to know about stock photography: how much money can I make? How much money do other photographers make? Am I going to become a millionaire by creating stock images, or slowly but surely slide into the financial abyss? Noticeable by its absence is virtually any mention of dollars and cents, even (curiously) in the chapter titled “Negotiating Prices.”
Heron would probably argue, “But this book is really about the nuts and bolts of creating stock photos, not how much money you’re going to make.” Great, but who in their right mind would set off on such a speculative venture as creating stock images without doing a thorough analysis of their potential financial return? While stock image pricing information can be had elsewhere (including yet another book co-authored by Heron), it’s the “how much dough can I make from my pictures?” information that’s really the juicy bits you won’t find here.
That criticism aside, if you’re considering stock image production as a part of your photography business plan, or even if it’s already a part of your endeavors, I think this is a terrific book; it’s certainly a “must-read” and one that many photographers will want to have handy on their reference shelf at all times.
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| “Selling Your Photography,” by Richard Weisgrau. Publisher: Allworth Press (2009).
I was about halfway through Richard Weisgrau’s newest book (he’s previously written or co-authored over half a dozen others) when I started to have this nagging thought: “Have I read this somewhere before?” Sure enough, I dug out my copy of his 2004 tome entitled The Real Business of Photography, thumbed through it a bit and realized that Selling Your Photography is really a far more current version of that ’04 book. However, this is not a case of simply taking the old text and repurposing it with a new title and cover (though there are some specific sections that duplicate his earlier effort). Selling Your Photography is a truly updated and expanded text that covers the many business aspects of photography that would-be professionals must consider while simultaneously retaining and reinforcing Weisgrau’s hard-edged advice (what do you expect from a guy from Philly?) about business in general (example: “One thing I can tell you with certainty after more than four decades in the business is that unless you at least get to the photographer-businessperson stage, you will fail economically. That will make you an amateur photographer.”).
One of the major differences between Selling Your Photography and the older version is that The Real Business of Photography had very few references to the Internet; five years later, Selling Your Photography reflects the fact that the Net is now both a mature and all-pervasive factor in any business, especially for a visual medium like photography. Related to this, one of the most useful facets of this book for both newbies and established pro shooters is the wealth of information and web addresses Weisgrau has collated on the advertising, corporate, editorial and merchandise segments of the picture buyer universe. This feature alone is probably worth the price of the book since actually zeroing in on photo buyers can be one of the most time-consuming and difficult tasks in running your own photography business.
here are also some very useful sample documents in Selling Your Photography, including an estimate letter (“Serves the same purpose as an estimate form, but in a friendlier manner. Remember that prospects would rather buy from a person they like.”), assignment confirmation and both a copyright license and renewal notice.
If you are seeking nuts-and-bolts information on “How to Make Money in New and Traditional Markets” (the book’s subtitle), then Selling Your Photography is a very good place to start. Although Weisgrau touches on stock photography, this book will really prove most valuable to the individual seriously contemplating either full- or part-time work as an assignment “publication photographer” (the goal is to get paid for getting your images published, in either print or electronic media). Using your photographic talents and the business smarts Weisgrau helps you to learn, you may be able to positively answer the universal question he poses: “Opportunity knocks; are you going to open the door and let it in?”
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“Art Without Compromise*” by Wendy Richmond. Publisher: Allworth Press (2009).
Crawling out from under the worst financial environment since 1929, it would be entirely understandable if photographers, illustrators and other creative-types spent their precious reading time, should they be lucky enough to actually have any, diving into books dedicated to business survival strategies, or perhaps technical tomes that could help them rise above their competitors by acquiring heightened skills within their craft. Nonetheless, I would heartily recommend Art Without Compromise* (and don’t ask my why there is an asterisk at the end of the title; since it was written by an artist, just chalk it up to creative license) as an antidote to all the grim front-page news and subsequent forced-operation in survival mode that many creatives have found themselves in over the past couple of years.
uthor Wendy Richmond, a Communication Arts columnist since 1984, as well as a teacher, artist and media observer, has put together a thought-proving, insightful compendium of extremely brief essays which, in total, are a collective call to arms for the creative process as well as concise commentary on 21st century technology and attitudes toward both art and artists. And, because no single essay exceeds 5 or 6 pages (most are only two or three pages), you can easily snatch her book off the shelf and devour an essay or two in one of the many “in-between spaces” she describes in the essay titled “Killing Time”:
“In our twenty-first century society, most of us have lives that consist of densely packed activities. We do so many things in different locations with different people (even when we are just sitting at our computers) that we have created a by-product: innumerable ‘in-between’ spaces of time. They are the gaps that exist between finishing one thing and starting the next. These gaps are typically short and unpredictable in length: empty moments that, for the most part, simply require us to wait. But we never simply ‘wait’, do we? Because we are a hyperactive, hyperconsumptive society, we have to be busy, productive and entertained, even during the in-betweens.”
Richmond is an unabashed proponent of the value of the creative process itself. Thus, one of the book’s values is its encouragement for artistic professionals to welcome the “unknown” (which stimulates curiosity), rid themselves of both internal and external editors, make room for serendipity, and strive for some degree of recapturing a time, perhaps experienced only early-on in the professional lives of numerous artists, when work and play was seamless. There may be more than a few working pros who could use one of Richmond’s “excitement meters: an internal gauge, an indicator of what I find interesting and positive and worth pursuing.”
Although Richmond’s book is not about photography per se, there is nonetheless much within its pages that touches on the creation, effects and applications of both moving and still pictures, since the author has extensive history working with both, though often in a somewhat non-traditional photography context. For example, she discusses the growing pervasiveness of surveillance cameras, and in “Framing Video” states that “on a surveillance camera, everyone looks guilty,” and later in that same essay says: “More and more, video is becoming the basis by which people learn and then determine what is the ‘truth.’ Over the years, video has been like a chameleon, literally changing its colors in an effort to be viewed as ‘real.’ Because we no longer trust anything too slick, we have been given a whole genre of television ads, news, and reality television shows that use low production value and appear (or at least pretend) to be unscripted and unedited. Low quality equals high authenticity.”
ven non-creative professionals will find many of the essays in Art Without Compromise* engaging, but especially enjoyable and stimulating are the chapters “Questioning the Tools” and “The Twenty-First Century Landscape,” both of which offer up enlightened opinions on such topics as computers, iPods, cell phones and the post-9/11 trend towards Big Brotherism. Addressing the plague of our times, the self-absorbed cell phone user (“Private Talk in Public Places”), Richmond observes: “Perhaps when you see only one half of the conversation, that person seems to be committing a greater breach of public space. The tone of a cell phone voice is distinctive. It is a little bit louder, and it is self-privileging. It implies a lack of civility…The lack of awareness of one’s immediate surroundings is benign when it’s confined to a private place. But take it out in public and it enrages those who witness it.”
Chances are that most readers will never meet Wendy Richmond in person; my guess, however, is that after finishing Art Without Compromise* they’ll want to, and the ensuing conversation will be anything but boring.
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| “Professional Business Practices in Photography,” compiled by the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). Publishers: ASMP & Allworth Press (2008; 7th edition).
Back in the day, about four decades ago, Dr. David Reuben had a huge best seller when he published “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (but were afraid to ask).” The latest edition of ASMP’s classic tome may not be quite as titillating as Dr. Reuben’s classic (though the section titled “Turning Projects Into Relationships” might lead you to think otherwise), but “Professional Business Practices” certainly goes a long way towards covering “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Professional Photography.”
If you’re seeking a book that addresses the intricacies of lighting, Photoshop, exposure, digital camera gear or any of the other techie stuff that photographers seem to gravitate toward, be forewarned: this ain’t one of ‘em. Instead, it’s a 468-page paperback compilation of articles on almost every facet of the business side of photography, as well as valuable sample forms, and since taking care of business has traditionally been the Achilles heel for many aspiring and even established photographers, it fills a valuable niche in the reference book marketplace. Best of all, each section has been authored by a pro who really knows what s/he’s talking about because they’ve been there and done that.
n logical order, then, you’ll find sections on both “The Basics” (such as licensing, copyright, assignment & stock photography, releases and digital essentials) and “Critical Skills” (like marketing, negotiating and customer service). “Professional Business Practices” thus covers the breadth of what it means to be a working pro, but at the expense of depth. And, that’s pretty much what you’d expect, since it’s clearly intended to be an overview of the industry, not an in-depth analysis of every facet of being a professional. For example, the section on “Stock Photography” covers just 24 pages. So, you’re probably not going to walk away from that little read with enough information to get yourself signed by Getty Images and start cashing six-figure royalty checks. But, you will get enlightening fundamentals on subjects like stock licensing models, the differences between editorial and commercial markets, what to look out for in a stock agency contract, and why online stock ‘portals’ and worth investigating.
The authors obviously relate to an audience made up of visually-oriented folks, not word people, since it’s all written in a straightforward style that’s simple without in any way talking down to readers (this is not “Professional Photography for Dummies”). And, while there may not be anything revelatory in the book, it nonetheless contains more than a few terrific gems, insights and opinions gleaned from working in the real world, such as:
“The reality is that contracts almost always favor the drafting entity.” (from Robert Rathe’s section on “Stock Contracts”)
“It doesn’t take long to calculate the cost of doing business – or to add a profit margin – but it is a worthwhile exercise. Try it. You’ll never again grope for a response when a potential customer asks, ‘Why so much?’” (excerpted from Jay Asquini’s section on “Avoiding Business Conflicts”)
icensing stock imagery directly eliminates the middleman, and the photographer keeps the entire licensing fee. That may sound great, but stock photography is very competitive and the difficult part of being independent is marketing your images.” (from Susan Carr on “Selling Your Pricing Structure”)
If you’re considering a career in photography, “Professional Business Practices” will be invaluable in helping you decide if it’s the right vocational path for you. And, if you’re already a pro, my guess is that it will provide more than enough “Gee, I didn’t know that” moments to make giving it a thorough read time extremely well spent.
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“The Professional Photographer’s Legal Handbook,” by Nancy E. Wolff. Publisher: Allworth Press (2007; first edition).
You’re a photographer, or a picture agent. Guess what? Like it or not, you’re also a paralegal. Whether you’re a creator or seller of pictures, or both, the entire basis for what you do rests on intellectual property law. Without it, you’d have no protection for your creations or those that you deal in. And, if you’re in the business of making or selling stock images, what you’re really doing is licensing limited copyright usage. The concept of "copyright", therefore, is one which every stock photographer and stock picture seller must become intimately acquainted with: what copyright is (as well as what it is not), what it protects (as well as what it does not protect), how its definition and application varies from country to country, and what you can do when a client violates copyright usage, commonly called "copyright infringement."
ancy Wolff, long regarded as the preeminent attorney working in the field of IP law as it relates to photographs and the stock picture industry (and, incidentally, ASPP’s “Picture Person of the Year” not too long ago), has produced a massively informative, readable and even occasionally entertaining treatise on what otherwise could be a total snooze of a topic. Describing in great detail real world examples of what is and what is not protectable under copyright, Wolff shows just how misunderstood the concept is as well as how it often simply comes down to one judge’s interpretation versus another's of the very same statutes. Other highlights include elucidating chapters on trademarks (and yes, they are different from copyrights!), rights of publicity, defamation, moral rights, Internet licenses and much more.
You probably don't have the time, inclination or money to go to law school, but that's OK: Nancy Wolff has done it for you and given you just about everything you need to know in The Professional Photographer’s Legal Handbook.
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“Photographer’s Market,” by the editors of Writer’s Digest Books. 2010 Edition. Published by Writer’s Digest Books.
It seems like this compendium has been around forever: I recall latching onto a copy when I started out as a professional photographer back in the day, and I remember being amazed and energized by the plethora of markets it contained, the vast majority of which I was unfamiliar with up to that point.
ot much has changed in the intervening years: this latest edition (which happens to be the 33rd annual edition) is jammed with over 1,500 listings of magazines (some popular, some obscure, and lots in between), book publishers, greeting card & paper product producers, stock agencies and much more. For each entry, you get such valuable information as company contact details, payment rates, the types of images that are needed, and specific tips for making a good impression and getting your foot in the door.
This is not the definitive summary of potential picture markets (there are lots of potential buyers who are not included), nor is it particularly strong on commercial (advertising and design) markets, but if you want an excellent starting point for marketing your pictures to editorial and other markets at the lower end of the fee spectrum, this book is highly recommended. Further enhancing its value are the useful business information, generic tips on selling your pictures, and “portraits” of working photographers and other industry professionals. For any photographer intending to sell his/her stock pictures directly to customers, a current copy of “Photographer’s Market” needs to be on your resource shelf.
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“Food Styling: The Art of Preparing Food for the Camera,” by Delores Custer. Publisher: Wiley (2010).
Based on her 30 years of experience in food styling for advertising, magazines, books, and films, Delores Custer presents the definitive lifelong reference on food styling-complete with lists of handy tools and vital equipment, recipes for artificial foods, and guidelines for running a successful food styling business.
Full of ingenious advice on styling in any media and packed with full-color photographs, Food Styling reveals every trick of the trade, from making a beverage appear to sweat to producing those perfect grill marks on meat without a grill. Filled with resources and organized in a simple problem-and-solution format, this is an ideal resource for both experienced stock food photography pros and first-timers alike.
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“Remember The Joy: How to have a Successful Career in Photography and Have Fun Doing It!” by Bill Bachmann. Publisher: Ernest & Conrad Publishing (2008).
How-to books are a dime a dozen in photography: lighting, composition, equipment selection, Photoshop and every other trick, tip and technique are covered in print ad infinitum. But, there are surprisingly few texts that actually chronicle what it’s like to be a professional photographer. In “Remember The Joy” Florida-based photographer and prolific author (sixteen previous books) Bill Bachmann combines reminiscences from a career that spans over three decades with useful and generally positive advice on how to blissfully shoot your way to the top of both the stock and assignment worlds. Bachmann’s certainly qualified to take on this task: he claims to have traveled to over 170 countries on all seven continents, worked in all 50 of the United States, and completed countless assignments where he directed crews of models, assistants, clients, art directors and make-up artists to photograph major advertising campaigns. In addition, he continues to prolifically produce stock images for an array of stock agencies and his images are published regularly in magazines, posters, the Internet, brochures, billboards, books and TV.
ut make no mistake about it: Bill Bachmann is definitely old-school. His shooting style is hardly cutting edge, he admits that his website “is not the most modern site,” and he is unabashed in his opposition to new-fangled stock licensing models (“I strongly feel that RF and microstock devalue the entire process and give ALL the benefit to the buyer, certainly not the photographer.”). And, Bachmann’s ego may occasionally come into conflict with facts (“I am one of the top five selling stock photographers in the world.” Hmmm. Impressive…but provable?).
Nonetheless, you can’t help but like a guy who says things like “I have emerged today still excited and energized about clicking the shutter each day” and “If you love what you are shooting, this should be inspirational.” Bachmann has remained a joyful soul in a photography industry that has become dominated by deadlines, digitization, ferocious competition, sometimes cut-throat pricing practices and mass data storage issues.
There is a lot of solid, practical advice in this book since Bachmann remains confident that photographers can find success if given the right tools to succeed. Sections like “Best Sellers in My Stock World” certainly go a long way towards providing those tools (random nuggets: “I try to think of dateless images when I shoot abroad”; “Realize that what sells in travel is what people WANT to see in travel, which may or may not be reality”; and “Allow yourself to think like an image buyer”), but the really unique and entertaining content is in the sections that contain the war stories: “Kodak Sends me Around The World For Two Years,” “So You Want To Go On Location,” “Flying Two Months Around The World” and “Notes on many Assignments” (example of a Bachmann anecdote: “A great project that I worked on for an airline campaign included an extensive trip to Iceland. One cute comment from a man I met says it all: ‘There is nothing here that can kill us – no bears, no snakes, no pollution, no guns, no terrorists. Life is good indeed.”).
here’s always the risk of burnout in a high-pressure, creative-based business like photography, so it’s refreshing and perhaps even inspiring to hear first-hand from a veteran who still likes to strap on his camera first thing in the morning. In “Remember The Joy” readers will learn one man’s approach to shooting what you love, getting those image into the “right” hands at stock agencies and commercial clients, and getting richly compensated for those efforts. Bill Bachmann has succeeded in conveying his ongoing passion for image-making while passing on any number of well-learned practical lessons which just might help other shooters to keep the pleasure in their chosen profession.
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SPECIAL OFFER FOR STOCK ANSWERS® CLIENTS & WEB VISITORS: “Remember The Joy” sells for $49.95. However, order directly from Bill’s website (click HERE!), mention Stock Answers® and take 10% off the price. Don’t forget to ask Bill to sign your copy…it’s free!
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