Well I just bought a website template off of Bludomain. I waited till the last day of their sale. This habit of waiting till the last minute is a hard one to break. There is still work to do, but there has been definite progress.
I will use my Livebooks site for my architecture photography and the Bludomain one for the fashion, portraiture, lifestyle, and landscape/travel portfolios. I have to separate the architecture because it is so vastly different than most everything else. When I market to architects and interior designers, they don't need to see my fashion work. They have told me that themselves. It's a distraction and they tend to prefer to hire specialists.
In a little more than a couple of hours, 2008 will be upon us. What kind of year do you want to have?
2008 will be the year I explode out into the world of professional photography. I will market the hell out of myself, shoot a maximum to develop my skills and portfolio and make enough money to cover all my expenses as well as have a decent salary left over. 2008 will be the year I drop my part time job to begin working in photography full time.
I will stay determined, focused and open.
I shot this in Barcelona, Spain. It's taken on the roof of the Casa Pedrera designed by Gaudi, an architect way ahead of his time. It was finished in 1907, believe it or not.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Let's Make 2008 An Amazing Year !!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Assisting A Professional Photographer
Yesterday at 8am, I got woken up by my photographer friend, Ken. He said he was assisting an architectural photographer that day. He asked if I wanted to sub in for the second assistant because the guy had bruised ribs and might not last out the day. I jumped on the opportunity.
Ken had told me about this particular architectural photographer. He mentioned the guy was really good, had over 10 years experience, but he was too finicky with his shots. 15-20 hour shoots were not uncommon for this guy.
The location was a fancy apartment in Newport Beach. The client was the interior designer.
I jumped right in and began helping out any way I could. One thing I've learned about assisting is: keep asking the photographer what you can do to help. Don't always wait for him to ask for your help. Oftentimes he is too busy thinking about something else.
I watched intently, making mental notes. This photographer was a master at lighting. Every shot was a work of art. He kept adding accents, tweaking this or that. The shot taken in the afternoon was done with strobes. The other two in the evening were shot with tungsten lights. It was awesome seeing both methods. His lighting was very directional, hardly ever broad, except for occasional fill. He used grid spots, snoots, barn doors... It was truly painting with light.
All in all, the photographer shot 3 images in 12 hours with 3 assistants. The client would get impatient, but he was adamant about being satisfied with the shot before moving on to the next one. As great as the images are, that is not a way to run a profitable business.
So what I want to do is incorporate some of his lighting techniques for my own architectural photography, and take twice as many shots in one day. I want to be shooting 6 to 8 images in one day. Anything less would not be satisfactory for the majority of clients.
One way to speed up the process this photographer employed is to shoot in digital format. He used a studio 4x5 view camera which is the traditional way to shoot architecture. It's much slower than using digital cameras because you have to shoot Polaroid to preview the image. View cameras are also much heavier, large and cumbersome. Image quality is superior, and you can correct perspective, but it's way more costly because of Polaroid (he went through over 2 boxes), film, processing, and scanning.
Apparently this guy does not work full time as a photographer. This does not surprise me in the least because he is not efficient. He is too meticulous. His approach is closer to fine art photography. Another problem is his marketing is not ongoing.
In the end, the injured assistant ended up working the whole day, using painkillers. I made the mistake of not establishing beforehand if I was going to be paid even if I was not subbing the other guy. When I broached the subject at the end of the day, it was too late. The photographer said there was only budget for 2 assistants, therefore I would not be paid. He said that was clear from the beginning. It was, but I figured he would pay me anyway since I had contributed for a full ten hours on his shoot.
Well I managed to scrounge $45, lunch and dinner out of him. The mistake was mine. I was hesitant about broaching the topic of money with him at the beginning of the day because I was not so confident in my assisting skills. I learned my lesson: always establish my salary beforehand. This is purely business.
It was a great day! I learned sooo much it's amazing. Assisting is the best way to figure out what to do and also what not to do! If you do it right, you can get paid to learn from the best lol. Not a bad deal.
I shot this image of Il Duomo in Florence, Italy. It is a giant dome built ato
p the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore by Brunelleschi in 1436. It spans 40 yards, took 16 years to build with a design that was deemed to be 'unfeasible.' It was the first octogonal dome built in history and still stands as the largest masonry dome in the world today. I laid down on the floor to capture it (trying not to get trampled by the massive crowd of tourists) and used my digital point and shoot.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Integrity
What is integrity and how does it apply to business? When I use the word integrity, I'm not talking about morality. No, I'm talking about your 'word', honoring your word. When you make a promise or say you will do something, do you follow through?
I'm not talking about sincerity either. Being sincere is a cop-out. If I say I will have an assignment done by a certain date, and I tell the client 'sorry, sir, I really tried to get it done on time.' Will the client care that I really wanted to be on time, or that my computer broke down, or that I had too many other commitments? Probably not.
Having integrity is delivering on your word, what you say you will do. You see, I have been late my whole life, late to class, work, appointments, late handing in assignments, homework, always late.
Can people count on me? Am I reliable? No. When I say I will be there at 9pm, my friends know it will be more like 9:15pm. How does this affect my business? Well how can a client trust me to deliver the goods on time? If I tell an architect that I will provide him with extraordinary photos of his design, will I follow through? We all say that, right? Following through is what keeps the client coming back. It's what has you stand out. It's what reputations are built on.
It's not just about time. It's about following through on ALL my commitments. A while back I told myself I would eat salad at least once a week. That commitment lasted one week. I have no integrity. I'm not alone. Look at New Years resolutions. How many people actually follow through with them?
Without integrity, I have no foundation to make my life work, including business. I want to be someone that people can rely on. I want to be solid, consistent, dependable. I want to choose my words and commitments carefully. I want to know that deep down, when I make a decision, a commitment, I don't just 'mean it,' I'm not just going to 'try.' NO. I want to trust myself enough that when I say I will do something, it's going to get done, no matter what.
Yes, there are extenuating circumstances. Yes, there are times when it is just not possible. But how often do we use excuses, or 'reasons' as we like to call them, to cop out? I have just never placed much importance on integrity because I didn't think it mattered. Now I can see how much power I could hold by having integrity. My life would be completely transformed. It would be amazing!
So in the last week, I have been late three times. That might sound like a lot to some people but it's a massive improvement for me lol. Still I want 'being on time' to be sorted out and become a background issue so I can focus on more important things.
So for those of you who think I'm being hard on myself, I'm not. I'm always looking for ways to step it up a notch. What is slowing me down, what is preventing me from making it to the next level? Those are questions I ask myself because the blind spots are what gets you. Find and replace that one part in the engine that isn't working and all of a sudden, YOU'RE OFF!
I didn't come up with these ideas myself of course lol. I have been taking seminars on self-empowerment and transformation the past few months. They're absolutely AMAZING! You can find out more about them here or ask me questions. I'd be glad to answer them.
So for this coming year, I invite you to think hard about any resolutions you take on. I invite you to look at how much integrity you have and how it affects your life. Check out the website I mentioned earlier, it might be worth your time (pun intended). It certainly was for me, to say the least.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Financial Literacy
Financial literacy is a term I first came upon when reading the best-selling book, 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad.' It simply means knowing how to manage money. In Robert Kiyosaki's words, it's about having money work for you, rather than working for money.
Yes, I had an idea that it was what rich people did. What surprised me in the book though was that the author talked of how he came to learn this skill through years of studying and trial and error. He went on to explain how none of it is taught by the education system, parents, our peers...
I am an entrepreneur who provides a service, namely photography. In the past three months, I have come to learn some about business and marketing as it pertains to photography. It's a start.
Now I realize my complete lack of knowledge and expertise around money. I spend it liberally. I don't invest. I don't save. I know little or nothing about 'assets and liabilities.' I have the mentality of a poor person when it comes to money. I have NO control over it. It controls ME completely.
How can I possibly expect to have a profitable business without financial literacy? I can't, so I'm going to do something about it.
Kiyosaki created a board game named Cashflow. It is designed to teach its participants the principles of managing money. How you fare in it will reflect your attitude and expertise regarding money. Groups of people get together all around the nation to play it and learn from each other.
I found a group that meets in my neighborhood, Huntington Beach. You can find a Cashflow group in your area through www.meetup.com
Among other things, I also want to take a financial planning course at Orange Coast College next semester.
I actually love finding areas I know nothing about that can propel me forward. If I didn't know my weaknesses, how could I become stronger?
By the way, MERRY CHRISTMAS wherever you are :-)
Saturday, December 22, 2007
How Much Should I Charge?
That is a question I often ask myself as I come upon new types assignments I have never done. The other day, it was with an artist who needed replication slides and prints of a few of her paintings. I called up a couple photographers to get an idea what kind of fees established pros were charging and I adjusted mine with theirs.
It's a common complaint of pro photographers that newbie photographers don't charge enough and end up ruining the market by lowballing. Just yesterday an architectural photographer in Oregon was complaining to me about that.
He said: 'How can I compete with a photographer who comes onto the market charging 3 or 4 hundred dollars when I'm charging $1500 for the same services? Sure, the quality of the shots is reflected in the fees, but still I am losing more and more clients to these guys."
Are YOU charging too little? Here are some signs to look for.
Here is a very interesting solution to this issue, offered by Leslie Burns on her blog. Let me know what you think.
Note from Maria Piscopo:
"Just finished an article for Shutterbug Magazine on 'Photographers That Make A Difference' and though you will have to wait until the April issue to read this piece, I wanted to share the websites of the photographers and the non-profits they support:
Colin Finlay, PROOF: Media For Social Justice (www.proofmsj.org)
Phil Borges: Bridges (www.bridgesweb.org)
So happy holidays-happy new year- now go make a difference!"
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Question for Maria Piscopo, Our Marketing Voice of Reason
When trying to market ones self is it alright to offer one’s service/creative fee at a discounted rate if the client will agree to allow one to rent higher end equipment like a tethered lighting system (such as a Profoto D4) or a Medium format digital camera (Hasselblad H3D)? This way when trying to sell a job to a client in the future one can list that they have knowledge of these "more advance" systems and show the client the advantages in quality and efficiency that they may offer].
Thanks,
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Reader Contributions
Here are some links to various interesting sites recommended by our readers:
-www.paperchase.net specializes in direct mail printing (brought to you by M. Piscopo). Any testimonials on these guys would be greatly appreciated.
The following are from Ben Craig:
A tip from Olin is to download Apple's free software iTunes, if you haven't already. Go to the iTunes store. Search for 'photography,' and you will find tons of free photo videos and podcasts to download.
Email with any info you think might be valuable. It's greatly appreciated !
I took the photo for Susan Cianciollo during her LA Fashion Week fashion show. Yeahhhh, she doesn't follow the rules. She likes to get a little creative with her shows, and she expected the same of me for her photos.
