TIPS60 - Workflow and dpBestflow - Digital Photography Best Practices

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

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TRANSCRIPT:Here a few thoughts on the best practices for digital photography workflow. I'm John Harrington. I could sit here and tell you till the cows come home how to do digital workflow, how we do digital workflow, but there's a really great resource I can't stress enough the value of and that is something called dpbestflow. Dpbestflow was created by the ASMP in coordination with the library congress to come up with the system that demonstrates for you best practices and how to manage your digital archive. How to archive it properly, keep the archive, transition it from one one system to another system. So check out the URL below, dpbestflow. Can't say enough good things about it, it will help you understand what the best practices are for managing your images from ingest through workflow, proper and secure workflow, all the way to archiving. Also, delivering images to a client of the said and known standard. It really is an invaluable resource so check out dpbestflow.

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TIPS60 - Website Do's and Don'ts - Your Self Portrait

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

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TRANSCRIPT:Here a few thoughts on self-portraits on your website. Self portraits belong on your website, but really only in your bio page in your about me page. You need to have a self-portrait that's flattering, not one that shows you goofing off making silly faces or otherwise doing stupid things. You need to have a bio picture that has a nice expression. In other words you're a photographer you should be showing a bio picture that shows you attractively lit, not looking like an idiot and just generally needs to be a flattering picture. Not doing that, not having that, and not having any bio leads people to wonder whether or not you're someone they want to hire. People make a connection with the eyes in the face when they see a portrait photo on your website. To have a flattering have attractive bio picture lets people know that you're willing to put yourself out there visually and that that's what you do for a living is make great pictures and the great picture you make starts with yourself.

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TIPS60 - Website Do's and Don'ts - Your Biography

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

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TRANSCRIPT: Here are a few thoughts on what your biography should include on your website. I'm John Harrington. Bios on your website, or biographical sketches of you on your website need to really reflect who you are, but you don't want refer to yourself as a flighty person. You don't want to refer to yourself as a goofball. You don't want to refer to yourself in some kind of way that looks like you do you're just there to have fun and happenstance will take pictures for you. You're there to do a job. You need to let the client know you can do that job and you can do it right. Make certain there are no typos. I know that sounds like a no-brainer,but I come across photographers' websites everyday that have typos, bad grammar, and otherwise unintelligible speak on their bios. So make certain, when you're putting together a bio, you have someone else read it. Make sure everything is spelled right, capitalization is correct, it's really important that you're not only does your bio reflect who you are, but also should portray you in an excellent light.

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TIPS60 - Should you upgrade your equipment?

Here is one in a series of videos by the author of Best Business Practices for Photographers John Harrington, who also publishes the blog PhotoBusinessNews.com. In this segment John discusses the benefits of upgrading your camera equipment.

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"TRANSCRIPT: Part of your workflow for your business, your equipment workflow if you will, is the importance of planning for and upgrading your equipment. If you're Nikon shooter you probably shouldn't be shooting on a D2 right now or D2x. If you're Canon shooter, you probably shouldn't be shooting on an EOS IDs Mark I or Mark II. You need to be using current model equipment. It really does provide you with better quality visuals, better quality images, and not just about size, but of noise issues. The same holds true for computers. You should be upgrading your computers, you know, every eighteen months to two years. Again, that same time frame for your still cameras. Lenses maybe not so much so, but still cameras, computers should be getting upgraded. Software should be getting upgraded. You should not be working on photoshop CS1. Or any other older version it's not going to be able to open the files as you need and it really is gonna slow you down. So, I would strongly encourage you maintain a plan for upgrading your equipment. "

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TIPS60 - Keeping Your Memory Cards Organized

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump. This segment is about organizaing your memory cards.

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TRANSCRIPT: Here a few thoughts on organizing your memory cards. I'm John Harrington.

Obviously, we use memory cards for all the cameras were working with these days. Were no longer shooting film, as much as we have a nostalgic impression of film, we are shooting all digital. Organizing our memory cards so they don't get lost, files don't get misplaced is really critical. So one of the things that we do when were organizing our memory cards, is as we have fresh memory cards, memory cards that haven't been shot. We'll have them in our card wallet like this. When we shoot them well actually turn them over so that the back side of the memory card, with our phone number and contact information, is on it. Now. When we're done and bring those images into the office, well actually use post-it notes we use a set of 3M post-it notes here. The post-it notes get pulled out. They're actually just the right size for a memory card. They fit on the back, let us put some notes on there about exactly what's on there.

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TIPS60 - Sticking with your marketing campaign

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump. This one offers a few insights into the importance of sticking with your marketing campaign.

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TRANSCRIPT: Here a few thoughts on marketing and sticking with your campaign. I'm John Harrington.

When you're out there putting your information out in front of a prospective client some marketing studies have shown that you actually need to have that information in front of that client nine times in order for them to do business with you for the first time. One of the challenges, of course, is every time you place your information in front of a client they really only, one out of every three times is they only ever see consciously. So if one out of every three times they are seeing your information consciously and you need to actually put your information in front of them consciously nine times that's twenty seven times. Twenty seven marketing outreaches. So when you're starting your campaign, getting your information out there and you're sending out two or three promo pieces or promo emails or however you're getting your marketing information out there, don't be discouraged when you find out that no one's responding to you after the fourth, fifth or even tenth attempt. Because the reality is they've only ever seen it a few times. So stick with your marketing campaign.

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TIPS60 - Do you need a business license for your business?

Here is another of our videos offering tips and insights into the business of photography. In this one, we discuss the need for a business license, and other considerations.

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TRANSCRIPT:
Here are a few thoughts on whether or not you need a business license for the photography business you're running. I'm John Harrington.

Lots of businesses require business licenses some are far more formal than others. As a photographer there's lots of things that you worry about and you may not be aware that in your jurisdiction you actually may need a business license. So you want to look into your jurisdiction and whether not a business license is required for the services that you're providing, You have to be very careful and make sure that you're working within all of the rules and regulations of the town or city that you're living in.

There may be even state licensing requirements, you have to provide them with a tax ID or some other document the show's that you are paying taxes. Sometimes you need be paying sales tax depending upon the type of service you're providing and your jurisdiction. Be sure to check with your local jurisdiction and your accountant about all these things. Your accountant is one of your best friends when it comes to finding out things like this. So business license - definitely look into it and see if you need one.

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TIPS60 - An Introduction to the TIPS60 series

Here is an introduction to the TIPS60 video series - another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi I'm John Harrington and over the next - I don't even know how long - we're gonna talk to you in small sixty second blocks about a variety of different things related to the business of photography. We're going to talk a little bit about marketing, we're going to talk about business essentials, accounting software, everything that I can think of under the sun to talk to you about.

Hopefully, I can keep each time down to sixty seconds or less. So over the next couple of I don't know how long, we're going to be trying to do one a week, maybe a few more as time permits and share with you some businesses insights. As you know I'm the author of the book ""Best Business Practices for Photographers"", a book has that been really well received and so what I'm trying to do now is to put a face to the name and get some more information out there so that people can grow their business and become successful photographers.

So, hopefully, over the next months, years, or so we'll be talking to you once a week on video for about sixty seconds about the business of photography and how your business can grow and prosper.

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The Value of an Upgrade

Wish it were the case that we could return to the days where a 1960's era Hasselblad could be loaded with the latest and greatest advances in film technology to make an amazing photograph. I remember the days when I could "upgrade" from Ektacrome (EPP) to E100G, or even the E100VS. I loved going from Fuji Astia to Provia and the various speeds of Velvia. The technological advances in those films are decades ahead of when the cameras they could be loaded into were designed.  For many reasons this is unfortunate, yet, for many more, we live in an era where our ability to produce images that are amazing. And then, you have people who still think it is acceptable to not only use Photoshop CS3, but then complain that it won't work with the raw camera files because you couldn't upgrade to, say, CS5. Really? I'm not even suggesting in this case that you make it to CS6 (although you should), because even though I have CS6, I also use CS5 to process my Nikon D4 files. 

If you consider that it costs you about $200 every 18 months for the upgrade to a product you use almost every day, why would you be so cheap as to not want to be able to afford about $0.37 a day on your software upgrade? Or, if you are complaining about using an older computer, consider that a brand new MacBook Pro runs $1,200, and if you replaced it in 2 years, that's $1.64 a day for your ability to use it, or, heck, if you are crazy and amortize your computer over the IRS allocated 5 years, then it's only $0.66 a day, but really, WHO uses a computer that's over 5 years old other than your mom, who just surfs the web and types a few Microsoft Word files from time to time? 

Professionals use professional tools. At $70 a month for your internet (Verizon FIOS 15/5Mbps), you're paying more per day ($2.33) than the cost to keep your computer up to date and upgrade Photoshop ($1.64 + $0.37 = $2.01). Computers don't last forever - they're not designed to.  Hard drives are designed to last approximately 10,000 hours. A $100 hard drive thus, costs you $0.01 per hour, or $0.24 per day to own, until it is prone to crash. 

And as to compatibility, who remembers the Kodak Photo CD format? (PCD)? (info here ) The last update was December 1998, and it's difficult (at best) to access those files in the latest version of Photoshop. Zip Disks? Who can open those with ease? What about using the Nikon scanner software with the latest computer? Time and technology march on. So should you. And, who's fault is it that the latest Nikon software doesn't run on the latest Dell/Windows 7/Mac computers? Not them. Yet, the scanner actually does work just fine if you use a third party scanning solution like those from Vuescan, Hamrick, or Silverfast (see here )  Like I said, technology marches on. (and even 4 years ago, a Mac, for example, was comparably priced to PC's according to Tom's Hardware, here, so stop complaining about the price of a Mac!) Is it smarter for Nikon to put their money into maintaining every flavor of NikonScan for the few people who still need it, or encourage you to spend a few bucks with a third party vendor?  And why haven't you either already scanned all your film, or, smartly, outsourced all your scanning to a vendor?

And then there are the people who upgrade both their cameras to the latest camera, and then complain about the cost of upgrading their computer from time to time. Who does that? It's a tool folks - a necessary one within your workflow. The camera captures the images, but the computer handles everything from there. 

If you want to run the cheap route, and maintain compatibility for years to come, shoot JPEG only. While you're at it, upload using your dialup, or carry your portable Osborne or TRS-80 booted into DOS into the local library and use their free internet. I am sure you can also plug in your Polaroid Sprintscan and save on that power suck and scan all your C-41 you shot in bulk-loaded film cartridges that has aged velvet light traps. Seriously folks, we're professionals. There is value in maintaining a working line of products that are in keeping with the times. I am not suggesting you need to be "bleeding edge", nor even "cutting edge", just keep up so your "edge" doesn't dull, and don't blame the manufacturers for delivering a product and software line of products that make our lives easier and more rapidly get us back to doing what we got into this for in the first place - making great images.

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Earning a Living as a Photographer

Being a professional photographer - and the definition of that would be best encapsulated here - is a challenge. We've written before about the fallacy of the pride in being a starving artist. In most every profession I can think of, you put in your time financially challenged, with some modicum of success as a result of years of hard work. Most people understand that you pay your dues, and then you can do okay. Yet, as photographer James Maden points out in his most recent article on SportsShooter.com - Should You Become a Professional Photographer - "There can be few other careers where you regularly work for the world’s largest companies like the New York Times and Time Magazine, are at the pinnacle of your career yet don’t earn enough to make a living." 


As Madelin notes, and is also cited in the British Journal of Photography, the winner of one of the world's most prestigious photojournalism contests, Samuel Aranda, was quoted as saying "They called me yesterday around 7pm, and told me that I had won the World Press Photo," Samuel Aranda tells BJP in his first interview of the day. "At that exact moment, I was checking my bank account because I didn't know how I was going to pay my rent this month. I was crunching numbers to make it work."  Aranda, in his early 30's was on assignment for the New York Times, and is represented by the Corbis agency. "

This state of affairs is a problem.

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Countless photographers - extremely talented photographers - find themselves several months past where Aranda found himself crunching the numbers, their having to stop shooting professionally, for financial reasons. Either they don't have healthcare and go bankrupt having to pay the bills from a health issue, or they can't afford the rent because they're not being paid enough, or even because a corporate monolith has a 60/90/120 day pay cycle, while the photographer has to pay all their bills every 30 days. 


The experience and talent that shutters operations and moves on to a career that is less fulfilling, and also, making less of a difference in the world - is lost. Sure, a young upstart with a clean credit rating, all their school loans deferred for 6 months after graduation (or, maybe, paid for by parents), will step in.  Then, 6-12 months later, they will find themselves in Aranda's shoes - crunching the numbers to pay the bills, but without the award that *might* bring in a few more assignments to further defer eviction, or bankruptcy. 


One of the biggest concerns of historians as the digital photography evolution is taking place, is while almost every photographer is making many more photographs than they ever did before, not only is the storage medium not as permanent as film/prints, but that people will just delete things, causing a historical void. The only think worse than this, is for talented professional photographers to either have never entered a financially unviable field, or having had to close up shop after the bills outweigh the income, thus creating an even greater void.

Nothing, of course, will happen with clients raising their rates, until there is a void of photographers available to fill assignments.  I once had an experience where a colleague who was charging $200 or so to a client for years was unable to do an assignment, and the client called me. For that particular type of assignment, my rate was just under $1,000. I did that one, and 2-3 more that year, and then I heard through the grape vine that my colleague was upset with me because I had used up the client's budget, and so there was no more work. That seemed to be an odd perspective. I would have preferred he appreciate that my assignments illustrated that the client was willing to pay more, and that, in the future, he might consider a higher (and more sustainable) fee, and that the client would, no doubt, have to raise their budget in future years (or borrow from another line item in their overall budget) to pay for photography.  Sometimes, photographers are their own worst enemies.

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