The Business of Photography

I was planning to write some tips on how photographers can protect their images on the Internet, but then Dennis Rito beat me to it, and probably has better advice. Dennis and I, and three other photographers, form a core group that’s working for the establishment of a community to protect the rights of photographers.

Here are Dennis’ tips:

http://dennisrito.blogspot.com/2007/07/tips-for-protecting-your-images.html

Oprah, more than once, has said that the people around you are like the marinade in your life – they have a way of sharing their flavor with you.

Surround yourself with cheerful people, and you’re likely to be cheerful yourself. At the very least, you’d hear new jokes to share with your office mates or clients. People can be transformed, influenced or inspired by the friends or colleagues that they keep, so look around you and check who’s in your marinade.

I suppose the same is true in business. Check to see who’s in your business marinade. To eliminate frustrations at work, fire your incompetent employee and don’t be afraid to hire someone who may seem to be more intelligent or promising than you. Leave clients who are only interested in working with the lowest bidder and look for those who respect your work, and are willing to pay what you are worth. Stop socializing or competing with competitors who pull you down and join more congenial or more inspiring groups.

Surround yourself with the best people. It’s time to check who is in your marinade, and while you’re at it, check how you’re flavoring those who come in contact with you.

On Tuesday, July 24, a small group of about 6 to 8 photographers will meet at Adphoto to begin talking about forming a Copyright Collective Management organization. As a core group, they will do the daunting task of collating materials, sorting out what is relevant and what is applicable and beneficial to Filipino photographers. The group will also do preliminary studies and discussions on what would be required to form a larger yet effective organization on collective copyright management. They will also research on the benefits of this collective action, how to connect with foreign-based counterparts, how to set up such an organization in the Philippines (SEC and othe government requirements), what assistance we can get from the local Intellectual Property Rights Office and other government and non-government agencies and how to reach photographers to spread the gospel of collective rights management.

For basic information on what this effort is about, please go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_collective

We will keep you posted on developments.

I stumbled on David Parrish’s website (http://www.davidparrish.com) in another blog, http://burnsautoparts.blogspot.com, which I read regularly. Oh, don’t be misled by the title of that website – burnsautoparts is definitely for photographers.

David’s website refers to him as an International Business Adviser for Creative People – just the kind of writer I need to read. His book “T-Shirts and Suits – A Guide to the Business of Creativity”, in e-book form, gives so many tips and advice that I want to run to the nearest bookstore to order the published full book version.

Go to either site for a free download of this very useful e-book.

Once upon a time, John was in Banaue to take pictures – not for any client, but just for himself. He drove eight hours in his yellow Ford Fiera, and was busy photographing Ifugaos on the rice terraces when he saw a helicopter land on the parking lot of Banaue Hotel (the only place where it could land). Two sounds are music to John’s ears – the click, click, click of his camera and the sound of a helicopter propeller whirling. Hearing them both at the same time was like heaven.

He ran to chat with the pilot, who volunteered the information that he had room for one more passenger. Like an eager child, John asked him, “Can I come? Can I come? Please, please, Can I come?” He was ferrying some foreign guests and would be flying back to Manila through Baguio that same day. “Sure, hop on,” said the pilot to the photographer, and away they flew, for a little over two hours over the terraces, over the mountains of Bontoc and Benguet. They made a stop over in Poro Point, La Union to refuel, and continued on to fly over scenic Hundred Islands in Pangasinan and over the rice fields of Pampanga and Bulacan and back to Villamor Air Base, in Metro Manila where John immediately grabbed a cab and asked to be taken to the Pantranco Station in Quezon City, so he could ride a bus for the next 8 hours to go back to Banaue.

He grinned ear-to-ear, and whistled happily while driving alone all the way from Banaue through Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Metro Manila and finally to his home in Makati – in his yellow Ford Fiera.

His take from this joyride? Priceless photographs to show a bird’s eye view of the Ifugao rice terraces.

(Note: Our archivist is still looking for those vintage aerial shots).

A lesson to be learned: Scan those film images now before they fade away. Or before you lose them.

Advertising is a very demanding field and we cannot afford not to be up to date with what we have and what we know. Having said that, however, we still obey the advice of a banker friend who gave this warning: “Be on the leading, not the bleeding, side of technology.” We don’t buy every new thing that comes along. Internet allows us to research on the equipment that we are interested in, compare features of competitive brands, to read reviews, and to ask other photographers for their experiences with certain equipment before we make a new purchase. Most importantly, we make sure that we stay on the right side of technology.

I’m answering a questionnaire sent by a food stylist who wants to feature John in a local food and beverage magazine, and one of the stories I am sharing is this:

In the mid-1970’s, John was shooting a bowl of spaghetti for a client. What we thought would be a simple assignment turned out to be a series of horrendous experiences, but one that taught us that persistence pays.

Even though everyone who had anything to do with the shoot was there – the test kitchen head, the VP for marketing and the sales manager – all looking at the bowl of spaghetti under the lights, and taking turns at peering under a black and red cloth (remember those) that covered their heads and our rented 4×5 camera to check the inverted image of spaghetti on the camera’s ground glass. We did not stop shooting until they were satisfied with the way the spaghetti was styled and we had run out of Polaroids and films.

Yet, when we presented the transparencies, we were told that the spaghetti looked too arranged. They demanded a re-shoot. Strike one.

We re-shot, and went through the same tedious process. At the end of day, they said they were happy, and would wait for the results of film processing.

After a couple of days, we presented the second batch of transparencies. The people who were present at the shoot approved but when the transparencies were shown to their president, he said the spaghetti was too “disarranged.” Strike two.

We immediately scheduled the third shoot. This time, we took the Polaroid to the president who stayed in his office, so he could approve the arrangement of the pasta. He was happy, and so it was a wrap. We processed the films, and submitted the transparencies. Somebody, (I don’t remember who) objected to a small glare on the bowl. It would have been a simple matter to digitally edit, but this was more than a decade and a half before the advent of Photoshop. Strike three.

At the next shoot, we brought a can of dulling spray, and that took care of the glare. We followed the required styling of the spaghetti, based on the Polaroids and rejected trannies from the previous shoot. It took a while but soon, everyone was saying, “Perfect!” Or so we thought. But something went wrong in the film developing, and our processed transparencies had a magenta cast. Strike four.

After the fourth try, John asked me to tell the client that he was giving up. He said he was having nightmares about spaghetti and he felt that he could not shoot another bowl of spaghetti without going crazy. I was obedient to his wishes. I told him yes, I would tell the client that he was giving up. But, I told him, even though you would no longer be shooting for them, you would still have to shoot that set up.

“What for? “ he asked.
“Well, you would not want to be defeated by a bowl of spaghetti, would you?” I countered. “You’d feel like a failure every time you looked at spaghetti.”

“Okay,” he said, “but if I am doing this for myself, then I might as well do it for them,” and he agreed to one more try. He did and bingo! Everyone loved it.

It was only after the approved tranny was color separated and printed and the product successfully launched that we were told that John was the fourth photographer to be assigned that particular food set up. The first three photographers had given up after two or three tries each. The company stopped calling on them. On the other hand, having persevered, our reward for many years thereafter was the loyal patronage of a client who gave us many food photography projects – thankfully not spaghetti again.

One of the best ways of examining your business, or even yourself, is simply by asking yourself three questions. I have included one or two sample answers just to serve as guide, but you would have to think of the answers that are important to you. Try to include as many answers as you can think of, including those that relate to you as a person or photographer, to your business or family relationships, or those that would contribute to the growth of your business, your creativity or personal worth.

1. What am I doing that I should continue to do?

Sample answers:
a. I should continue to attend seminars and workshops, at least two in a year.
b. I should continue to read books on the business of photography, at least one book a month.

2. What am I doing that I should stop doing?

Sample answers:
a. Since it is not wise to buy all sorts of gadgets and gears that I see other photographers buy, I should stop trying to “keep up with the Joneses.”
b. I should stop offering my services for free.

3. What should I start doing?

Sample answers:
a. I should start having contracts to cover all my jobs.
b. I should start asking for down payments.
c. I should start spending more time with my family by devoting at least one day a week with them.

I hope you will have fun doing this, and I hope you do this handy self-examination regularly. By the way, I picked up this three-question self-examination from my daughters’ grade school.

Sorry, but Kathy’s seminar on Animal Photography which was originally scheduled today, has been postponed. We will let you know – through this site – when a new date is available. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Here’s an announcement from the Filipinas Heritage Library re a forthcoming seminar on photographing animals to be given by Adphoto associate photographer, Kathy V. Chua:

Photographing Animals
May 26 at 9:00 a.m. -6:00 p.m.

Whether tame or unruly, animals definitely make good subjects. This specialized field in photography is intended for novice photographers who may also be animal lovers.

As a culminating activity, a weeklong photography exhibit will be mounted at The Alcove gallery.

Requirement

Basic knowledge in photography

Camera with manual override, preferably digital

Venue

Manila Zoo

Speaker

Kathy Chua, an associate photographer of Adphoto, is a Ford Foundation Grant Awardee for her thesis, “Portraits of Philippine Wildlife”. She has photographed for international environmental organizations in Asia, Europe and Africa, and co-founded MyZoo Volunteer Group Foundation, a local wildlife and nature preservation group in Manila.

Fee
Php 2,500.00 inclusive of handout, meals, transportation, entrance fees, and certificate.

Due to the limited number of slots, interested participants are requested to register on or before May 23 by placing a partial payment of at least Php 500.00 (non-refundable). A 10% discount will be extended to those who will settle in full on or before the deadline.

For more details, please call 892-1801, email events@filipinaslibrary.org,ph, or visit www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph.