Author: Leslie

This term in law school (my last, btw), I’m taking 6 substantive classes, plus I have two others which are not for credit in the traditional sense of the word. I have to write a scholarly paper in one of my courses, plus I have to do mock trials in another. It’s a heavy load in some ways, but entirely doable.

Or it would be, if all my profs provided complete syllabi so that I could plan ahead. Sadly, I have three who do not and this made me think about planning and complete info when it comes to photo projects. Yes, my brain works that way. 😉

We’ve all been contacted by clients who want estimates but don’t provide all the data necessary to produce something accurate. In that situation, it falls on the photographer to ask the questions necessary to get the info. It can be scary to firmly ask for more information when the client seems reluctant to provide it, but it is the responsible thing to do for both of you.

In that situation, you need to explain to your client that you cannot give accurate numbers if you don’t know the number of shots and/or the usage and/or whether it will be 4 people in the shot or 2 and/or whether you have to find the location or they will and/or, well, a bunch of things. And if they say “ballpark it” you will underestimate the cost (there is lots of data that show humans underestimate cost much more than overestimate it) and that number will stick in your client’s head so that when you finally get more data and have to re-estimate significantly higher, everyone will be unhappy–you, your client, your client’s boss and/or the end-client. No one likes expensive surprises.

Also, when you have to try and put together a production with less than full data, you will likely not have things the client wants/needs at the shoot. You can’t plan well for the shoot without having a full understanding of the project–and that requires asking questions (and getting the answers).

Providing full information for planning goes both ways, however. Photographers need to be better about production to get and keep clients. Buyers say that the ability to put together an efficient and well organized production is extremely important. Maybe you do know how to produce your projects, but do you communicate that to your clients clearly? Do you provide them with detailed production schedules and maps and lists of crew, talent, etc.?

You will look more professional and competent when you prioritize production and communicate that to your clients. This will permit them to have a full understanding of the complexities of the shoot and will be able to plan how they approach the production from their end (including when/where to bring in the end-client or a boss).

Doing this means you will provide greater value to your clients. That means you can charge more–because you are a more valuable partner and resource.

So, ask the questions you need to and provide lots of information back to your clients. The communication will contribute to building a strong, healthy business for everyone.

Are you looking for something to jump-start your marketing? Something you can do NOW? Something inexpensive but which can have the best payoff of any marketing tool in your BatBelt?

Call your targets and try to get meetings.

Meeting face-to-face with your targets is the shortest route to getting work. You’re not going to walk out of meeting with work all the time, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how often you do or how fast afterwards the phone rings. A meeting puts you top-of-mind and it gives you the chance to become a whole person in your targets’ minds. You’re no longer just some photographer… you’re the one who told the great joke or wore the cool shoes or who had the coolest bag or, had an amazing image with an iguana, or well, pretty much anything.

And the best way to get meetings is still to get on the phone. Emails, texts, etc., do not work as well. Again, it’s about being a real person, and the voice imparts that better than any other (not in-person) contact form.

So, make a list, check it twice, and start calling already.

First off, the August 2010 Creative Lube podcast is now available. In it I talk about success and offer three ideas on how to be more successful. You can purchase the podcast here ($8).

Speaking of the podcast, I am looking for an alternative hosting service for the podcast. If anyone has suggestions, that would be grand. Shoot me an email.

In other news, I’m sorry I’ve not been posting here as regularly lately. Most of August has been taken up by getting my new book out and taking some time off before school starts again. I’ve been traveling for fun too (even went to Vegas for the first time–and returned with money!). So, although school starts again on Monday, I will be posting here more regularly.

I promise. At least one new post a week. That’s what you should do too, if you are using a (photo)blog to market to your targets–update it at least once a week. Buyers say that not updating a blog is a big negative in their eyes.

However, honestly, for the most updates from me, I encourage you to “like” my Facebook business page. It’s much easier for me to post quick links and blurbs there. This blog is better for longer format posts.

Oh, and if you are using Facebook for business, make sure you are doing it from your own business page. Buyers see FB as a personal space generally but will look more kindly on business contact from FB if it is from a business page (not a personal account).

Finally, the next free Manual will be issued via email in early September. Are you on my list so that you will get it? If not, shoot me an email and please remember to include your URL if you have a generic email address (like @gmail.com) so that I know you’re not a phisher/spammer or other non-creative scumbag.

Today is my birthday and the gods have given me a great gift: my new book is now available! Business Basics for the Successful Commercial Photographer (or how to use your left brain too), 2nd ed. can now be purchased in print or PDF (not ebook, just PDF) on Lulu.com. It will be available in stores and on sites like Amazon in about 6 weeks.

There will be an eBook/iBook version available in the near future as well.

Thanks for all the support and encouragement in getting this book done during my term off from law school. I’ve received many kind emails/FB notes from many of you. Thanks so much!

Now I’m going to take my own advice and play hooky for my birthday. 🙂

I just spent the weekend with someone who works in movies–does SFX and has worked on some pretty impressive films like Star Trek. It was fascinating to get a peek at a different part of the creative world. He showed me examples of his work, from creating animatronics to rigs for flipping cars and dragging burning tankers over cliffs to set dressing he’s done and props he’s built*.

His work is often not obvious in the final film, but that’s as it should be. If you noticed how the elevator worked or the car was flipped, the movie wouldn’t be as good.

And although I’m not sure he would call his work creative, it most definitely is in my book. Figuring out how to make something look real and work as it must, yeah, that’s creative. The traps in Indiana Jones, for example, are as much a part of the story as Indy’s attitude and his hat. If the traps look fake, the movie doesn’t work as well as it could.

Just like if you see the wire in some shot in any film, the experience is lessened. The details, in other words, count.

To add to that, I ran across this article about the clothing in Inception. In it, the costume designer talks about the clothing as an important part of the story-telling process. The details are important. Each item, each choice of collar or scarf, defines the character and, in this case, even reveals clues about the complex story.

I haven’t seen the film yet, but when I read about this attention to creative detail, I feel even more compelled to get my butt in the theatre.

Anyway, back to my point…

Think about how many creative parts go into making a film. Clothing and make up and set design/dressing and SFX and lighting and directing and writing and acting and, and, and… the list is huge. The more attention is given to each of these creative parts, the better the whole is. The more it reaches us, the viewers.

Now, think about the details of your own creative process. Are you taking the easy way on some parts? Are you saying “Oh, I can fix that in post” or “No one will notice that” as you create an image or a prop or a set or casting talent or lighting or, well, whatever? If so, you are cheating your audience but, more importantly, you are cheating your art.

Creating images is your job. Why do any part of it half-assed?

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*Btw, if you ever need a prop or set built, let me know and I’ll give you this guy’s contact info. Depending on the scope of the project, the cost can be quite reasonable.

Love this piece about the relationship between doing improv and doing digital advertising, creatively speaking. A while back I wrote about taking an improv class myself and how it changed my thinking. Sean Kernan writes often about how improv and other theatre techniques help his creativity and its teaching. And I think it still is one of the best things you can do for your own creativity.

It’ll also get you over any fear of public speaking in about 30 seconds. And it won’t hurt a bit.

Anyway, in this piece from Creativity, the emphasis on the “yes…and” exercise is well placed. When you shift your approach from defensive (no…but) to collaborative (yes…and) the entire dynamic of the discourse changes. The relationship shifts. Friendships are built and possibilities get explored. There is really no downside to doing this, except that it goes against many (most?) people’s nature…at least at first.

There are many groups teaching improv now. I encourage all of you to try it. You never have to go any further–you don’t have to give a performance or the like, just let go and try something that will liberate parts of your mind and reduce your fear overall.

And like I’ve written over and over, fear is one of your biggest obstacles to success.

I posted on my Facebook Page about this new partnership (see last post on this blog, too) and, on FB, photographer Luke Copping posted a comment pointing out something important I want to share with you here. When you upload “projects” to Behance, there are several pages of information you need to provide (like key words, etc.). One of those pages deals with copyright and, sadly, Behance makes CC the default. Worse still, they make it sound like if you choose otherwise, you are doing something bad for your business.

This is not true. In fact, the opposite is true (CC is very bad for creative professionals–see previous posts on Lessig and CC, etc.).

The good news is that you can (and MUST) de-select CC as your copyright/licensing choice. I took a screen-shot of the page in question and all you have to do is select the choice marked with the big arrow I added (click the pic for larger version):

Luke went on to say that once you have made this selection, Behance is respectful of it. When they want to share your project with a third party site (or whatever) they simply ask permission.

Gee, that’s not so hard now is it Behance? After all, you (Behance) have your copyright notice all over the Behance-related sites and all your materials so you understand that copyright protections are important (see #11 of your own Terms of Service). For creative professionals, preserving copyright (including not diluting it through CC use) is vital, so why not change that default? Kthxbye.

LinkedIn has been a good tool for people who are trying to connect with corporate targets. It’s never been very creative-friendly, however. Until now. Behance network has partnered with LinkedIn to display creative portfolios, directly on LinkedIn. Now you can reach the corporate targets with your work.

Moreover, I think this will help shift people out of feeling like they have to post on Facebook (not a good idea to post your work there because, well, for a whole bunch of reasons). Now, you can used LinkedIn more. When combined with AgencyScoop, the social media world may have just shifted for creatives a bit.

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By the way, I’d like to apologize for not posting much lately. I’ve been in the last push of editing my Business Basics book (2nd edition) and it’s taken up a lot of my time. I’m sorry. I’ll be better. 🙂

I love this piece about the danger of inappropriate footwear and potential client meetings. I’ve said for years that wearing great shoes to meet with clients/targets is a good idea, but that post deals with an oddly connected issue: don’t wear the wrong brand to your meeting.

Overall, the important underlying point of the post is that if you don’t do your research, you can blow a great opportunity. You’ll look lazy and unprofessional if you wear Adidas to W+K (btw, I discourage wearing sneaks of any kind to meetings–wear grown-up shoes, please–you’ll look more upscale, too). You need to know what brands an agency represents, at a minimum! Or if the corporate target you are meeting with is part of a larger multi-national.

The other side of that, of course, is that if you do do your research, you can add to your perceived value to a target. Imagine going into a meeting with a potential corporate client and telling them that, for example, you love how they added solar panels to their parking structures. You don’t need to know that info to work for them, it has nothing to do with what you would do for them, but the fact that you do means you care enough to do more than the minimum for that client. You invested time and effort–this client means something to you. It is not just another name on your list.

Remember that when you are making your target lists, you want to work with companies you admire and with whom you share something–an aesthetic, at least, but maybe more, like a commitment to the environment. Those companies want the same–to work with people they admire and with whom they share something. By doing your research, you can find the best matches for your business.

And when you get a meeting, don’t forget to wear (the right) great shoes.

I know that many of you will read this article about how to avoid being a workaholic and laugh at its suggestions. You’ll say you can’t do these things and/or that if you did your business would suffer.

I beg you, beg you, not to give in to your current lifestyle and associated thinking, but instead to give this the attention it deserves.

I know it doesn’t feel logical that to tune out and work less is to do the best thing for your business, but it is. You need to do these things. You need to take time off and turn things off and get out and connect with loved ones, etc., etc.

You are burned out. Even if you don’t think so, you almost assuredly are.

And even if you might not be, even if you are fresh as the proverbial daisy, being on-call 24/7 makes you look too available.

I recently heard that Irving “Swifty” Lazar, the agent of agents, once said that if he called a counterpart on a potential deal, after hours (like on a Saturday or in the evening), and the counterpart took the call, he knew he had ’em. It meant, to “Swifty” that the counterpart was desperate and he could use that to his advantage.

I love that. I think he was totally right. It is one thing to be available and to work with your clients (especially if you have a project and are in production); it is another thing to act like the guy holding his wife’s purse while she shops.

You’re better than that. Because you are, you owe it to yourself and to your business to try some (all!) of the suggestions in that article. Best of all, by disconnecting and giving yourself your life back, you will find that you are more creative. And in today’s photo/creative business world, it is your creativity that will make you successful.