So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - VIP Credentials

If you have a VIP credential (like the one at right), you're not a photographer, you don't have photo privledges, and more than likely, if you try to take pictures with just it on, those people with the big yellow "Event Staff" polo shirts will yank your camera away, unless, of course, you also are dating one of the band members.

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Typically, if you have a VIP credential, it allows you into a room, tent, or other cordoned off area backstage - usually before the show for a meet-and-greet with the artist.

For bigger events, if you have a credential like above, or a wristband like on the left, you'll end up being able to get to the catered area backstage, meaning you won't starve.

If you are given a VIP pass, make sure that it has written on it "Photo", or that you also have an accompanying photo pass. Also, if you can get food and water, don't forget to bring sustenance out to your working colleagues that didn't bring water like they should have. A VIP pass will also let you roam around more, to where the fans are, and this pass, from these vantage points, can often give you images that those in the pit, or at the sound board, can't get, so you have the opportunity to make something different.

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So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Primer
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Multiple Shooting Positions
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - VIP Credentials
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - All Access Credentials
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Getting Started, The Right Way

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So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - All Access Credentials

If you have an ALL ACCESS credential, you're in luck. Clearly, you know the band really well, you're working for whomever is bank-rolling the concert, you're the offical tour photographer, or the tour manager is your best friend. Either way, All Access isn't always "ALL ACCESS." Further, if you're only working at one of the concert tour stops, you'll not likely get one of these passes, because you don't really really need one. They're almost always given to the people that only really really need to have this level of access.

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There are times when all access means "everywhere except the stage", or "everywhere except in the band's dressing room", or some variation thereof. A wristband is one of the ways that "non-performers" can get onto, or on the sides of the stage to make images. In addition to your All Access, or Production, pass, the wristband (just like the VIP wristband in that article) gets you to where you need. If you need to be on stage, then you'll likely also need a "Performer" or an "Artist" credential.

However, in some instances, people have been so aggressive in trying to get an All Access pass, that a few promoters have taken to granting one level higher than All Access, and that pass is an "Infinity" pass. Even then, though, Infinity does not mean on stage, that still requires a wristband!

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So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Primer
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Multiple Shooting Positions
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - VIP Credentials
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - All Access Credentials
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Getting Started, The Right Way

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So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Getting Started, The Right Way

the first thing to do is, don't sign those contracts that limit what you can do with your images. Doing so will mean that you can't put them on your website to show you can shoot concerts, Don't trade the rights to your photos to be given to the artist for a press pass. This'll just make it that much harder for you to earn money when you do finally get into a rhythm of covering shows, because the bands will not only be of the mindset that photographers will do it, but in addition, others coming up behind you will think that that's the way to get a foot in the door. It's not.

So, how do you make images like the one above?

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That image was made just a few months ago, of the very very popular artist Mya. She was singing at an outdoor no-ticket venue, where photography was allowed.

There are countless places where you can hone your skills without selling your soul. And yes, when you take pictures and sign away all (or even some) of your rights to your creative works, you are, to one degree or another, selling your soul. Don't do it.

Summer festivals are chock full of GREAT artists at state fairs, outdoor performance theaters at amusement parks, beach concert series, and so forth. Local radio stations often sponsor local concerts in outdoor areas. In LA, there's Jimmy Kimmel's Pontiac Garage, in NYC, there's the NBC Outdoor Concert Series, and so forth. Go, make pictures, and practice. Take great pictures - ones that you own, and can offer to publications, or demonstate your capabilities on your website so concert-oriented publications will hire you. Further, there are a number of venues and artists where taking pictures is perfectly ok. One touring now is the hip-hop oriented Screamfest, (above left), where 50-cent was performing. For this image, I was wandering amongst the seats (i.e. not in the buffer), so this is an image that any ticketed attendee could have made. There are, of course many other concerts where you can do this.


This image below was made of Hillary Duff at another outdoor ticketless-cameras-ok event that she was performing at. Here, while it looks like I am in the buffer, I'm not.


How do you get up close/up front? Buy the tickets first, if it's a ticketed venue that allows photography. If it's a festival, go alone (and not with a spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend) because there's almost always a single seat open near the front as others take their seats in pairs. This also works for ticketed photography-ok performances - often a single seat will be available very close to the stage, and since you're there to work (or, practicing working), having your significant other there is going to be a distraction to the work at hand, if you're taking this seriously.

Further, get tickets to shows you may not normally go to, since you'll need to know how to work a variety of performance styles and genres.

If there are no seats, get there early, or cautiously make your way to the front.

Once you have a collection of images that show you know what you're doing, and they're attractively shown on your website, then begin making the pitch to concert-oriented publications/outlets.

Oh, and one last thing - if you think that your $300 flash can light the stage better than a $10k-$1M lighting truss, operated by a skilled technician who took all day to get the light perfect on stage, then stop taking pictures and revisit lighting 101. Aside from the fact that your flash is a distraction to the artist, your photos will look like snapshots. Let the lighting guy do his thing, and then wait for just the right blend of main and fill, along with artist expressions to give you just the right image, but hurry, you've got about 20 seconds left before you get the hook.

P.S. - The lighting's tungsten indoors, but you're shooting raw, so it doesn't matter, right?

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So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Primer
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Multiple Shooting Positions
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - VIP Credentials
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - All Access Credentials
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Getting Started, The Right Way

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Google's "New" Photo Search

So, it appears Google (GOOG) is expanding their Google Image Search into the "photo search" game beyond their images.google.com mechanism, which returns results from the entire internet, all proprietarily owned by the respective websites that display them in the first place (or those that the website has obtained them from). Enter Picassa's "community photos" search.

Now, instead of just searching for images in your own gallery, you can search everyone's galleries. You don't even have to be signed in to do it, just click here. For example, searching flowers returns 350,486 images tagged with that. A search for "white house" returns 15,914. In fact, an attractive image of the White House can be seen here, or here's the link to just start the download immediately.

And what is Google charging for this service, pray tell?

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Right, you guessed it, free.

Picassa's page reads:

You can now discover and explore an amazing array of photos taken by the Picasa Web Albums community. Just select "Community Photos" in the search box, enter your search term, and enjoy!

When you're thinking about uploading photos, the text reads:

Don't worry - we never include your photos without your ok. Your unlisted albums never appear in Picasa Web Albums public search results. And if you'd prefer not to have your public albums appear in Picasa Web Albums public search results, just uncheck the public search option on the Settings page.

Have fun exploring all the photos in the Picasa Web Albums community!

However, the default setting is for "public" on your images, and "download" and "allow prints" as well. How would you disable print for your photos? The language is pretty specific "Deselect the box marked 'allow visitors to order prints of my photos.'" When I uploaded an image, it was defaulted to be in a "public" album, and it was also defaulted to allow prints. In order words, I have to actually choose to preclude people from being able to order prints. Further, note the language above "just uncheck the public search option", meaning, again, it's defaulted to let the public search/view/download.

Same thing goes for permission to download. It starts off "You can change your Content Control Settings in Picassa Web Albums to prevent visitors from downloading your albums." It goes on to say "deselect the checkbox labeled 'enable people viewing my albums to download them.'" However, here's the rub, further down "Please also remember that this is a photo-sharing service; in general, we recommend that you don't post any photos on Picasa Web Albums that you prefer not to share with anyone." Oh, really? In other words, don't clog our servers with your own personal photos or photo archives. Only post photos that you want to give away for free to the 'community'?

"Oh Mr. Peabody?"

"Yes, Sherman?"

"Mr. Peabody, let's hit the wayback machine for a brief history lesson:"

Wikpedia says about iStockphoto - The company was founded by Bruce Livingstone in May, 2000. Originally iStockphoto was a free stock imagery website. Over the course of time it transitioned into its current micropayment model. The website was originally supported by CEO Livingstone's web development firm, Evolvs Media, but began charging money in 2001.

Here's a slightly more insightful interview with Mr. L from Design Mentor Training:

"...After deciding he was not going to make it in the traditional stock photography business, Bruce created a free Web site to share his images with a network of designer and photographer friends, and iStockphoto was born. Initially a trading site, iStockphoto introduced the micropayment model in 2000, where buyers purchase credits in blocks starting at $10 each."

So, free web site....share...images...network of...friends? Sound familiar? Maybe Mr. L should revisit the part above about "not going to make it in the traditional stock photography business..." part.

So, what about size? Well, it's up to the uploader. This search yields an image of celebrity Petra Nemcova at an America's Cup event arrivals area. It's a 300dpi file at 3.5" x 5.3". Want to see the full-sized file? Picasa will serve it up to you free by clicking here. Interestingly, the Google/Picasa page lists "74810330" as one of the image tags. Go to Getty (GYI), and seach the same number, and ten images are returned, all from that same event. Here's the photo at Getty with the watermark. Is Getty seeding images there, giving them away for free? That same sequence # 74810330 again searched on Picasa yields three images from the same arrivals event, one from a JimmyJones23 (and that's Jimmy's ONLY image he's posted) is identical to the Bekendheden image that I was first referring to, and Bekendheden also has a third image that's full length, also identical to one on Getty. It could well be that Bekendheden's got unauthorized images in his public Picasa folder, but they're decent resolution files, without any watermarks, which means he paid to download the ones we're discussing here.

This search for "Getty Images", yields over 9,000 images with that in the caption. Is it possible that there's over 9,000 copyright infringements on Picasa? Well, yes. Is it likely? Who knows. A number of the images on Picasa are from celebrity events and NBA games, and many (but not all) of the NBA images have the NBA logo on them. Meaning, possibly, that Getty shot them, and delivered them to the NBA as per their contract, and then fans downloaded the images for personal use, and have them in their personal/public Picasa folders. Somehow, that's probably within the rules of the NBA use, and Picasa's TOS. Or, maybe, it's Getty's doing. The metadata/keywords for this image from the arrivals area at the Golden Globes from last year, on Picasa look remarkably the same as those here. Why? Well, because they're the same image, and they appear on BOTH sites. Again, Getty - you pay; Picasa - it's free. Then, a search for that photographer's name, Frazier Harrison yields 124 images on Picasa, and only a handful are watermarked. Again - free from Picasa, pay to Getty. What I find interesting, is that few, if any, of those that have posted images on Picasa from Getty have also posted their own personal photos, which is what many other Picasa users typically do. It's as if these Picasa logins/galleries are actually all Getty shell accounts. Next to none of them have headshots of themselves either, it's the anonymous default shilouette graphic.

Ok, so, file not large enough? As I noted, it's up to the uploader. Photographer Mike Baird, who's caption of the photo to the left reads, in part "This Snowy Egret was shot at 1/4000th second, f 7.1, ISO 800 at 400mm...", which is a 300dpi file at 8" x 5.3". To download the full-rez file, click here.

So, what rights do you have to use Picasa? According to Google's Picasa Terms of Service:

Your Rights

Google claims no ownership or control over any Content submitted, posted or displayed by you on or through Picasa Web Albums. You or a third party licensor, as appropriate, retain all patent, trademark and copyright to any Content you submit, post or display on or through Picasa Web Albums and you are responsible for protecting those rights, as appropriate. By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through Picasa Web Albums, you grant Google a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, adapt, distribute and publish such Content through Picasa Web Albums, including RSS or other content feeds offered through Picasa Web Albums, and other Google services. In addition, by submitting, posting or displaying Content which is intended to be available to the general public, you grant Google a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, adapt, distribute and publish such Content for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting Google services. Google will discontinue this licensed use within a commercially reasonable period after such Content is removed from Picasa Web Albums. Google reserves the right to refuse to accept, post, display or transmit any Content in its sole discretion.

Here's the most important sentence there:"by submitting, posting or displaying Content which is intended to be available to the general public, you grant Google a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, adapt, distribute and publish such Content for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting Google services." Thus, since your content is "available to the general public", and further, you've granted Google the right to "distribute" your work, "royalty-free", all recipients of the images recieve a royalty-free license to use them.

How is this the same, or different, from Flickr? The Flickr Community Guidelines reads:

Don’t use Flickr for commercial purposes.
Flickr is for personal use only. If we find you selling products, services, or yourself through your photostream, we will terminate your account.

But that refers to running some form of business on Flickr. Nowhere does it say "if we find you obtaining images for commercial use...". This admonition is only for "selling." Further, many of the images on Flickr only require photo credit, under the Creative Commons licensing model, meaning that, which the exception of the "non-commercial" preclusion, you can pretty much publish the image as-is without any payment to the copyright holder. Google has not integrated any Creative Commons restrictions to it's files.


So, how does all this work? Well, the nice Picasa graphic below explains a lot:


The image below is returned, among the results. It's a 300dpi file that's 5.3" x 3.6", and, when open, is 5MB, which is about the size of the file from the camera that produced it - a "Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT", but perhaps it's cropped just a bit:
.

Here, to the left, you see the "more info" box, where you can choose "order prints". In the print dialog box, you then specify Shutterfly or Photoworks, and then the image is transfered to their site for printing. (this particular community member has turned off "download photos" for the photo above, this dialog box is adjacent to other images).

Here, below and to the right, you now see that the photo I've chosen has been added to my cart/order. I may now view my order, or keep browsing for other photographs that I'd like to have a print of.

Below, on the image that I uploaded, you'll see the "Download Photo" option, just above the "Album" and "order prints" choices, which allows you to download the original file size, without any downsampling. For this image, I've uploaded a very small image. As I mentioned above, it's a default choice to have your photos available for downloading by anyone and everyone, you must deselect the option if you don't want people to download your images.


So, how did that photo get there? It's extremely simple. I just downloaded the free (of course) Picasa Web Albums Uploader, and drag and drop the photos I wanted to upload to Picasa, and, note, the default choice for your album, as I noted above, is "Public Album".


I can easily see a point in the future where Google will add a column to the side of the search results where the images appear, displaying Google Ads.

Google has also added (and this is within the last few days, as far as I can tell) a new "drop down menu" to their images.google.com search, as shown to the left. This "search by size" capability is something that Flickr does not currently have. In addition, it would be most easy to add other choices, like "From Picasa", but for now, choosing "Large images", gives you, well, large images.

So, when exactly did this service become "new"? How long do they refer to what they're doing as either "new", or "Just Added"? Certainly, I've seen little to no public discourse or reporting on this. Yet, burried in a Google Groups discussion list for those working on coding/programming is this thread - Feature Launch:

• New features include:
• Community search
• Retrieving a user's recently uploaded photos
• Retrieving comments recently added to photos owned by a user
• Searching a user's photos
• Filtering by tag
• Uploading non-jpeg photos (bmp, png, gif now supported)
• Downloading an original photo

It's been functional in the Data API since the end of July.

I've got a number of questions in to the Google folks looking for clarification, and I'll update this post where necessary or helpful.

And yes, free beats $1 from iStockphoto.

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A Double-Header: Presenting in Atlanta Monday

So, Monday 9/17 I'm off to Atlanta, speaking to the ASMP Atlanta/Southeast Chapter, and, because of serendipity, Photoshelter has asked me to be a part of their Town Hall in Atlanta, which is happening earlier in the day. For details on the Photoshelter program, which includes rountable discussions, and so forth, click here, For details on where and exactly when the ASMP program is (that evening), click here.

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From the ASMP program description:

How do you operate a successful freelance photography business (even if you’re a staffer)? How do you determine your rates, handle supposedly “no-change” contracts, late-paying clients, and debates over rate increases. Simply put, the business of photography is just plain time-consuming and oftentimes daunting. How can you negotiate better? How do the needs of editorial and commercial clients diverge and intersect? During this presentation, John will address these topics and more as you learn to handle your business better and more efficiently. We will discuss considerations when developing rates and resources, designing a business model that accounts for everything from taxes to business expenses, plus several techniques for negotiating with clients.

Yep, that about covers it. So, come on by, and check out the Photoshelter program (or, perhaps you can make it to another city, so check it out there!), and then trek on with us to the ASMP chapter meeting, for an indepth discussion about contracts, and so forth.

I'm excited about the roundtable discussions at the Town Hall, because we will be engaging in a dialog with photo buyers in the region, and not only will we listen to what they have to say, but they will also have an opportunity to hear our perspective. My perspective (and reading material prior to the discussion) is summed up by the book that just arrived from Amazon with my Nip/Tuck - The Complete Fourth Season DVD, a book that will no doubt reinforce how I am working with my clients now, and hopefully help me to better understand them - You Can't Win a Fight with Your Client: & 49 Other Rules for Providing Great Service

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I Wish I had Written This

There is an exceptional article on Spec, titled "I Wish I Had Written This", and I highly encourage you to Read The Article.

"Spec" work, as outlined on Wikipedia. And check this out about spec as well.

ASMP, APA, EP, PPA, and the Stock Artists Alliance published a Joint Statement (available here) that was widely distributed at PhotoPlus Expo a few years back, as it regarded one organization that built it's entire business model around spec-assignments, which they termed Custom Stock™ (and trademarked the phrase, I might add).

In case you're not so inclined, here are some excerpts:

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To those who are looking for someone to do work for free…please wake up and join the real world...More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service...But what they’re NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be...In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field. So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?...would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?...It is not a “great opportunity” for an artist to have his work seen on your {whatever}, It IS a “great opportunity” for YOU to have their work there....It is not clever to seek a “student” or “beginner” in an attempt to get work for free. It’s ignorant and insulting. They may be “students”, but that does not mean they don’t deserve to be paid for their hard work....The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it’s one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their “portfolio”. They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It’s not compensation. It’s their right, and it’s a given....Stop thinking that you’re giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them....Students DO need “experience”. But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away...Some will ask you to “submit work for consideration”. They may even be posing as some sort of “contest”. These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the “contest”, or be “chosen” for the gig...The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or “spec”, work. It’s risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely...So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you.

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TRADE WHISPERS: GYI ÷ GOOG <0

If it's to be believed, there are rumors swirling around the internet that Google (GOOG) is going to launch their own stock photo service in the immediate future, and not one that includes the aquisition of GYI, but will instead become a competitor (albeit on the low end) to them.

I posed the following questions to Google's press office:

1) Is Google launching a service whereby individuals or companies can obtain permission (either for a fee, or for free) to use/license images?

2) Will these images appear among the images.google.com search results with an icon on or next to them indicating the images are available for licensing?

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3) Does Google have a platform to deliver and handle these licenses, or is there an acquisition plan for one already in existence?

4) What is the pricing structure or pricing model that Google will utilize to assign a value to these images? Will the pricing model be "pay per pixel", or some variation thereof?

5) Will Google checkout be the preferred/only method of payment for these images, or will you be able to barter images you earn revenue/points from, to acquire other images from other people using your barter points instead of having to actually expend dollars?

Google' response? A Google Spokesperson simply said "we don't comment on market rumor or speculation."

Yet, the rumors persist. A Google version of "Flickr Pro"? Flickr caught flack when they it was rumored they might try to monetize their image pool. So, perhaps it gets done out of the gate this time by Google?

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Getty's Self-Immolation

Many in the photo industry are (rightly) up in arms over Getty's self-destructive behavior, plummeting what from what amounts to a $900 image license of their RM imagery (when you add up all the commercial uses and 10 year term) down to $49, or what amounts to a 95% discount fire sale price on all their images, 500kb or less.

Why did they do this? What could possibly cause them to seemingly slash their own throat?

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When Getty acquired iStockphoto, JDK famously said "If someone’s going to cannibalize your business, better it be one of your other businesses,”. Now, JDK has taken things one step further, authorizing a 95% firesale, which is tantamount to eating one's own, or self-destruction. You pick one, either way, it's going to get fugly.

However, the question remains - why? Why take such drastic measures? When GYI aquired iStockphoto, some assumed that they would move the best images, and also the best selling images, from RF to RM, as well as introducing the RF producers into a whole new world of revenue from their images, vis-a-vis higher dollars. Yet, that idea, which would have been a wise move, never materialized.

While industry leaders are circling the wagons and calling on Getty to revisit their pricing structure, (and with the genie out of the bottle, it's unlikely it'll be undone), Getty is keeping their reasons close to the vest.

Their publically stated reason is that designers have been budgeting $50 a photo for web use, and there may be some cases where this is the case, to be sure. Yet, there are rumors out there that this price-slashing is a preemptive move to reposition themselves prior to a major announcement of a new competitor to Getty. One that will make iStockphoto's licensing fees look expensive by comparison, let alone the RM collections of Getty Images. Certainly, Getty's nearest competitors, Corbis, and Jupiter Media are operating in a business-as-usual mode, however, something is amiss. We have made inquiries to determine the validity of the rumors. When we have either official confirmation, or unofficial yet substantiated confirmation from our sources, we'll have more to report at that time.

Let's look, however, at what the rumor isn't. It's almost certainly not a positioning for aquisition. Were that the case, a wholesale drop in pricing of the content would drastically diminish the valuation of the company, just prior to any potential acquisition. Heck, it does that to net revenues regardless of the reason.

For now, we'll remain watching and waiting.

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Full Disclosure: I do not hold, and have not in the past held, GYI stock, nor those of any of it's competitors, nor do I have any plans to engage in any investment activity as it regards GYI, or it's competitors. While I've been critical of them in the past, I've not disclosed these facts, and I feel it's important to make that point clear.

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How Much Value Do You Bring To The Assignment?

So, you're looking to end up "behind the scenes" at a political campaign? No more shooting with long lenses, being told where you can - and can't - shoot from? You're looking forward to being a 17m-50mm lens user, with an all access pass. Maybe you are one of the true believers in the campaign? Whatever the reason, you're looking to become a campaign photographer, or, perhaps, you just want to make pictures of someone famous - or the soon to be infamous - and are looking to determine what you're worth? (or, what the results of your work will be worth?

(Continued after the Jump)

An e-mail landed in my inbox the other day, from the Hillary Clinton for President campaign. Mrs. Clinton is holding an event in DC on October 17th, and was looking for attendees to aid in the fundraising for her run to evolve from FLOTUS to POTUS. Fair enough.

The e-mail listed

Ticket Prices:

$2,300 VIP
Includes full-day Summit, premium Summit seating, and a photograph with Senator Hillary Clinton

$1,000 Guest
Includes full-day Summit

The e-mail invite makes it clear you will get your photo taken with Mrs. Clinton, and an actual photograph if you pay an additional $1,300. About those "premium seats?" Since the photo will, most likely, take place just prior to her taking the stage, they will hold the front row seats for those who are backstage getting their photos taken, so that you can be front and center, rather than getting the back-of-house seats because you're entering the room moments before she begins her remarks. Ok, again, no problem with the seating.

What I find most remarkable, is the value that is placed upon the 8x10 glossy you'll get. Assume a fair figure of 100 posed photos, which will take about 15 minutes - tops - to accomplish, and you're at a $130,000.00 in additional gross revenue just from those photographs. Perhaps, you'll get an added bonus of having it signed by her as well, with something akin to "Thanks for your Support", and then signed by an autopen machine (to learn more, check out this Ebay article which uses as an example, Mrs. Clinton's signature made from an autopen machine during her time at the White House.) I make no bones about political candidates' generating revenue from these types of events. Instead, I am providing this to demonstrate the potential value of an 8x10 where your subjects are depicted with a high profile political candidate.

What then, is the added-value of an 8x10 with an actual President (either a D, or an R)? They do political fundraisers all the time, and the stakes are even higher, no doubt.

The next time someone tries to place a value on the print of themselves with a VIP - whether political, or celebrity, realize that it's worth much more to them than the cost of the print plus a nominal markup. It could be worth hundreds (or a thousand) of dollars to them, for the wall of fame in their office. And, by the time they call you because you just happened to be in the right place at the right time to capture it, they've probably already got the space picked out on their wall for it.

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Strictly Business 2 - The ASMP Legend Returns

After over a decade's hiatus, the Strictly Business seminar program has made it's return, titled Strictly Business 2. I can look back 10+ years, to when the original series visited my area, when I didn't really have the $200 or so it cost to attend back then. I also didn't have the $150 for an hour with legendary consultant Elyse Weissberg, but I spent it, because I knew, I just knew, it would make a difference. Yet I see that experience - and it was an experience, all weekend long - as one of the cornerstone's of my success that I enjoy now. It was the foundation for the rest of my career, and it got my off on the right path, without a doubt.

As such, I consider it a privledge to have been asked to be one of the presenters, along with Blake Discher, and Leslie Burns-Dell'Acqua. Discher and I, along with current ASMP President Judy Hermann, and immediate past Presidents Clem Spaulding and Susan Carr, all chart a degree of our success to the original program, and others have testimonials worth reading.

It's got a lot of meat for the seasoned pro, however, the beginner will benefit greatly as well. In a way, it's like the Simpsons is funny - youngsters laugh at one level of humor, while adults laugh rauciously at the deeper jokes in the program. So too will the seasoned pro take away a great deal of strictly business insights into the weekend.

So, where are we heading to, and where should you be making your travel plans to, if it's not in one of your hometowns?

(Continued after the Jump)

• LOS ANGELES: JANUARY 25–27
• ATLANTA: FEBRUARY 22–24
• PHILADELPHIA: MARCH 7–9
• CHICAGO: APRIL 11–13

So, make those travel plans now. Space is limited, and last time it definately sold out fast.

Here's details from the website:

Take control of your career. Attend the American Society of Media Photographers' weekend conference series Strictly Business 2. Learn to negotiate your prices and contracts. Get answers to your marketing questions. Prepare yourself to build a successful and sustainable business. Don't miss this rare opportunity to gain first-hand experience from the experts.

ASMP’s Strictly Business 2 is a weekend conference that will teach you real-world business skills and help you thrive in our highly competitive industry. SB2 brings you consultations, lectures, video presentations, a keynote address, workshops, hands-on negotiating training, and social gatherings to share and learn from your peers. This weekend will change the way you look at your business — join us.

Who should attend? Are you struggling to put the business pieces together? Are you overwhelmed with the pace of change in the industry? Is your career meeting your creative and financial goals? Attend SB2 and get a road map of answers. Strictly Business 2 is for those starting out in the business and those needing a boost. Have you been working in retail photography and dabbling in commercial? SB2 is for you, too. Are you a student or emerging professional? Treat yourself to an intensive weekend packed with the information you need to build a career as a photographer.

The original Strictly Business series was a transforming event in the careers of many of ASMP's most prominent members. Read their testimonials. Today, Strictly Business 2 can transform your career too.

Traveling to SB2? The extra benefit of SB2 is the community it creates. By staying at the conference hotel, you receive even more opportunities to interact with fellow photographers, the educators and our sponsors. The locations offer ease of travel for those flying or driving. Use the conference hotel and take advantage of incredible ASMP secured rates. And don't forget that two meals a day and two social hours are included in your conference fee!

Click here to register.

Oh, and one last point worth noting: It was Susan Carr who generously agreed to spearhead this entire project, so please send Susan an e-mail thanking her for all her efforts. She's been at this awhile, and a note or two of appreciation will begin to give her the thanks she deserves for her yeoman's effort.

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