It’s All About Value

[by Judy Herrmann]

Almost every time I give a business seminar, someone asks me about working for free. Sometimes, they’re trying to build a portfolio. Sometimes, a worthy cause, a prestigious client who’s promising more work later or a popular publication that’s offering a credit line has reached out to them.

If you want to build a profitable business, you’ve got to receive fair compensation for your work. The majority of that compensation has to be in the form of cold hard cash – after all, that’s the only way to pay most of your bills. But if the non-monetary compensation on offer has genuine value, it still counts.

Let’s take the portfolio scenario. If you’re going to shoot for your portfolio, it has to be under circumstances where you’re guaranteed to get portfolio worthy images. If the shoot involves people, they’d better have the right look for what you’re trying to achieve. Clothes, hair, make-up, the faces and the bodies have to be perfect for the story you’re telling and the shot has to fill a real hole in your collection. You have to be able to maintain total creative control and shoot for yourself first, them second.

In my experience, neither promises nor traditional credit lines have much value. Hyperlinked photo credits have more value. Depending on the context (e.g. the cachet of the client, the audience their site reaches, the impact of your photos, etc.) they can even have significant value.

If the worthy cause is one you’d be willing to donate money to, you can consider donating your skills instead. Understand, though, that you won’t get the same level of tax benefit. In most cases, you can only deduct out-of-pocket expenses, not the value of your work or time.

Bottom line: use your good judgment. Just because you’re capable of doing something, doesn’t mean it’s in your best interests to do it. My rule of thumb? Every job we take has to provide fair compensation for the market value of what we deliver. My first choice is always cash but I’m willing to consider non-monetary compensation (or a mix of both) as long as the total value we’re receiving matches what we’re providing.

Acclaimed advertising & editorial photographer Judy Herrmann conducts seminars and one-on-one consultations that help people grow their businesses and build more satisfying careers. Judy@HSstudio.com

Real Friends are Priceless

[by Todd Joyce]

A photographer friend of mine tells me that his business is doing very well.   Mine has been slow, but seems to be improving.   I don’t mind saying so, but last year was my worst year since being in business.   I admit that I ignored my business too much and my friend reminded me of that several times throughout last year…   he watches out for me in many ways.   We tend to watch out for each other actually.   In fact, there was a time when he was having a slump and he reminds me that I helped him through it too.   He tells me, “I am simply returning the favor – that’s what friends do. ”

I have another photographer friend who talks about business and what we can do to stay ahead of the curve.  He’s been very helpful in what I term as a rebuilding of my business.  We also bounce creative ideas off each other and talk about how to market our work and which buyers we need to see.   It’s quite a great relationship.   We show each other work for critique too.   It’s amazing what another person can see in your work that you may not be able to see.   They have an objective view that is very valuable.  And, if you have a good and honest relationship, they can tell you what they think without fear of hurting you.   It’s taken years to achieve, but it’s incredibly valuable.

I laugh when I hear another friend of mine tell the story, but he credits a conversation he had with me about 12 years ago on my deck as the turning point in his career.   We talked about visions and goals and life.   I suppose counseling could be in my future, but in truth it was just an honest conversation with a good friend.

If you know me at all, you have probably guessed by now that these friends are fellow ASMP members.   We met through ASMP and have been friends for many years. Now, if I were just looking for friends, I’m sure there are lots of other places I could find them, but  it is not just about having friends.  This is about surrounding yourself with people who understand what we do and what we need to survive.   I prefer to surround myself with creative people, because I want to be creative.  I surround myself with people who run an ethical business, people who want to share, who understand the process and who have unique perspectives, all for the same reason.  I can honestly say that these friends have helped my business and my creativity through the years.   I’m sure I would not be the artist I am, nor the business person I am if it weren’t for the network of friends I’ve established through ASMP.

Todd Joyce is a recent Past President of ASMP and specializes in conceptual people photography for advertising. See Todd’s work at joycephotography.com and contact him at todd@joycephotography.com

Unlikely Parnerships

[by Gail Mooney]

Got a call a while back from a guy selling training seminars for NAB Post Production conferences. I have been a past attendee and the training they provide is top notch. I’ve never attended a poorly taught seminar – the instructors know their stuff and know how to teach it.

I mentioned to this guy that I give seminars for the ASMP to still photographers who are contemplating adding video to their skill set and that I always link to his company, Future Media Concepts in my resources PDF. He asked if I’d send him that link to Future Media Concepts and I did. The next day I got an email from him with links to a band’s “original” music, knowing that I frequently license music as a part of my role as a video producer. But the interesting part of his email was a query about doing a motion “photo essay”. Quite interesting and we plan to talk.

Not sure what will come out of this but the point is we were both open to possibilities and unlikely partnerships. That’s a good thing and to my experience has always turned into a win/win. Be open to all kinds of possibilities and take notice when they present themselves.

Volunteer

[by Sean Kernan]

If you’re not busy enough with work and also too busy trying to find some, try this: volunteer. Take some of that time and give it away.

Be a Big Brother or Sister, coach a kid’s team, mentor a child. take your charming dog to a nursing home every week. There are so many people in this world who need help, and it shouldn’t be hard to reach out and find a few of them. It’s probably best to do something that involves real human connection, though working at some kind of wider-ranging effort like fundraising would be fine too.

When I’m busy at a job I feel energized, but there’s often a little ambiguity in the mix, and I find myself asking if the world needs me to urge it buy another thing. But I know that the volunteering I do is unambiguously right and good. And having one clearly good thing in my life seems to re-balance everything else.

In his book, The Gift, Lewis Hyde talks about the huge importance of the things we pass around our society as gifts with no compensation. We can’t sell love or hope or compassion or so many of the other things that make us human. But giving them away brings enormous returns.

The Unexpected Profit from Personal Projects

[by Paula Lerner]

One thing I’ve learned in 25 years in business is that doing personal work that has meaning to me almost always leads to lucrative commercial assignments.  Although it is unpredictable beforehand how personal project A may lead to job B, in the end doing work that I am passionate about not only feeds my soul, it helps grow my business in unexpected ways.

Back in the mid 1990s I did a project about a welfare mom in Boston at a time when welfare reform was in the news.  My work garnered a number of national awards, as well as winning a regional comp called “The Big Picture Awards,” sponsored by the ASMP New England chapter.  An art director at a major ad agency happened to see ASMP’s promo disk of the winners, and and called to ask me if I could apply that same gritty, black and white style to photos of printing presses for an ad campaign.  Who knew that my photos of a welfare mom could lead to a lucrative ad gig for an international company?

At the time I got into multimedia I collaborated with the washingtonpost.com to produce an online feature about women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan.  I did the project for love rather than for much money because I felt it was an important story, and I knew in that venue the audience would be large.  After it was published, a director of New Media in my home city of Boston googled “multimedia” + “photojournalist” + “Boston”, and my name came up.  She saw the work on The Post and called to ask me to submit a proposal to do a series of multimedia segments for her institution’s web site.  Since then she and her colleagues have commissioned me to produce just under twenty multimedia segments, which has kept me in business during these terrible economic times.  Who could foresee that my project on Afghan women would result in an ongoing, solid assignment base from a good institutional client?

Although I could never anticipate exactly how the connections might unfold, I have found throughout my career that taking a chance on doing work I cared about also supported my business. If the images are good and the work is meaningful to you, that high quality and passion will come through and clients will want to work with you.  So don’t put off doing those projects you care about.  Think of them as both a chance to recommit to the reason you got into photography, as well as an opportunity to grow your business.

Paula Lerner is an award-winning photographer and multimedia producer based in Boston. Her work can be seen at www.lernerphoto.com.

Post Symposium Thoughts

[by Richard Kelly]

If content is king, distribution is its queen. What does distribution and publication really mean today and in the foreseeable future? How can independent artists exercise their rights and gain fair compensation for the use of their work?

I believe visual artists must adapt. We need to do business more efficiently by creating systems that allow us to be easily found and identified with our visual works.

ASMP has reached 1000 photographers through our symposium and copyright registration workshops and the work will continue. Our hands on workshops are training photographers on the importance of registering their photography and walking folks through the steps to actually do it. Register your work and train a friend to do the same.

Without a searchable image registry, the path forward in image licensing is not possible. ASMP supports the Picture Licensing Universal System’s development of this registry and has donated $180,000 from our Authors Coalition Funds to ensure this happens. The registry will launch this year.

Help us by creating a new marketplace thus establishing new business models that address the needs of the consumer, the artist and the publisher.

Copyright or Compensation?

[by Judy Herrmann]

ASMP’s Copyright Symposium yesterday focused on the role of Copyright in the New Economy.  I walked away from the Symposium inspired and excited by the business ideas and opportunities discussed.  But, more importantly, the Symposium renewed and reinvigorated my commitment to continue searching for ways to protect the interests of independent creators.  A search I hope you’ll join.

Copyright Law grants creators the exclusive right to exploit the fruits of their labors for a period of time.  It exists to benefit the public by providing creators with both the incentive and the financial means to create original works.  In other words, the whole point of Copyright is to enable creators to receive fair compensation so they can continue creating and the public can benefit from their creations.

But Copyright Law today falls short of accomplishing this critical goal.  To a great extent, Copyright Law as it’s applied in the United States benefits the large corporate rights-holders who daily offer creators less and less money for more and more usage far more than it does the independent creator.

For decades, many photographers have viewed Copyright Law as a sacred cow but Copyright is simply a tool; a means to an end.  That end is fair compensation – compensation that will give you both the incentive and the financial means to keep on creating. Copyright today does not accomplish this goal. We need to find other tools that will.

The video of this Symposium will be available by mid-May.  I urge you to invite some friends over and watch it from start to finish.  Use it to start your own conversation about copyright, compensation and new business models.  I hope that like me, you’ll walk away inspired, excited and committed to working with other creators to find ways that we can all keep on creating and  support our families.

ASMP Copyright Symposium Today in NYC

Copyright and the New Economy
TimesCenter, 242 West 41st St
New York, NY
Wednesday, April 21

Register Here.

Morning Session
9:30 am – Welcome — Eugene Mopsik, ASMP Executive Director
9:45 am – 10:30 am – Overview of Copyright Law — Victor Perlman, ASMP General Counsel
10:45 am – 11:30 am – Story Telling in the Digital Age — Brian Storm, President Media Storm

Afternoon Session
1:00 pm – Introductory Remarks — Richard Kelly, ASMP President
1:15 pm – 4:00 pm – Panel on Issues and Trends — Jay Kinghorn, Moderator; with Panelists Lawrence Lessig, Director, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics and Professor of Law, Harvard University;  Chase Jarvis, photographer; David Carson, U.S. Copyright Office General Counsel; Jeff Sedlik, founder and CEO of the PLUS Coalition; Liz Ordoñez, photographer; and Darrell Perry, former Director of Photography, Wall Street Journal.

Copyright and The New Economy

[by Jay Kinghorn]

For many years, the profession of photography has been based on licensing a photo for a specific use, often with precise definitions on how, where and what size a given image can be reproduced. 

Today, myriad forces, including client requests, microstock and Internet publishing are prompting photographers to rethink the traditional rights-managed business model and search for creative new ways of selling their photographic services. 

Tomorrow, I’ll be moderating a panel of thought leaders on how photographers can thrive in this new environment, what new business models they think will succeed and specifically, what role should copyright play in the equation. 

We’d like you to contribute to the conversation. What questions would you ask the panelists? What new opportunities do you see for professional photography? How does copyright law need to change or adapt to facilitate and protect these new opportunities? 

Please add your thoughts and questions in the comments field below. Or, send your questions via Twitter to @asmp. I’ll incorporate your suggestions into the questions I ask panelists. In the weeks that follow, we’ll post videos of the panel discussion along with the morning presentations available at ASMP.org. 

Do You Register Your Images with the Copyright Office?

[by Susan Carr]

Only a small percentage of photographers register their work with the copyright office. ASMP wants that to change.

We have new resources to help:

• Read ASMP’s recommended Best Practices for registering your work.
• Attend one of our “Registration Workshops” traveling the country.
• Watch our new podcast on the steps to register unpublished work.

Registering your work gives you the full benefit of copyright law. If you do not care enough about your photographs to take this step, why should anyone else?

Reaching Out

[by Paul Barholomew]

Do you have any questions about business practices, techniques or fees? Try reaching out to other photographers within your specialty. If you feel uneasy about contacting your local competition then contact someone in another region. ASMP members find that communicating with others is a great benefit and it’s valuable to your growth!

Network

[by Gail Mooney]

Network with your peers and others.    For example: If you are interested in getting into video production, get to know creatives who are already involved – sound mixers, camera operators, editors, writers etc.  Go to trade events and meet ups like Final Cut Pro meet ups to network with editors or trade shows where sound mixers and camera operators gather.  Your business grows and so do you. Video is a collaborative effort – surround yourself with people who will make you look good.

Museum Portfolio Reviews

[by Thomas Werner]

You can drop off your portfolio for review at a museum. Just call to find out what their policy is, and be aware that they may keep your portfolio for up to 6 months or more. You should also know that in most instances a junior staff member will be reviewing your portfolio.

Production Charges?

[by Leslie Burns]

Double-check your production charges–are they priced correctly to give you a reasonable profit? Small financial leaks can sink your business.

Pricing Help

[by Ed McDonald]

You can find out how other photographers priced and negotiated real jobs. Take a look at some on ASMP’s web site in the paperwork share section.

Go to ASMP.org  under Business Resources/ Tutorials and forms/ licensing and paperwork share. Or, go directly by clicking here.

5 Recession-Proof Sales Strategies

[by Judy Herrmann]

1) Ask for Referrals – Let your clients know you’re looking to grow your business or take it to the next level.  Even if they don’t have names for you immediately, planting the seed will pay off in the long run.  If they do give you names, there’s no better way to break the ice with a new prospect than having a common friend.  See Blake Discher’s recent post for more referral ideas.

2) Know your Differentiators – Without a clear understanding of what your differentiators are and how to effectively communicate them, selling your services is tough.  Your differentiators help your clients and prospects justify buying from you instead of someone else.  Create them, understand them and communicate them.  My recent post provides an easy exercise that’ll help.

3) Clarify your Objectives – Each contact you have with a client or prospect should begin with a specific outcome in mind.  What are you trying to communicate?  What do you want them to do?  Why are you taking up their time?  What’s the benefit to them?  Map out a clear game plan for each point of contact and make sure it actually performs the way you want it to.

4) Know your Prospects – As I mentioned in a post last year, sending thousands of faceless anonymous mailers and e-mailers to thousands of faceless anonymous “buyers” is not effective in today’s world.  Treat your prospects like they’re just another number and you’ll get the same treatment in return.  Instead, take the time to identify the people and companies whose vision and needs truly resonate with what you’re selling and reach out to them from a position of knowledge about their work, their needs, their achievements and their vision.

5) Nurture your Relationships – All the technology in the world doesn’t change the fact that this is a relationship business.  People like to work with people the like.  People like to work with people they trust.  Help your clients and prospects see that you recognize that your success hinges on theirs.  Right now, the number of photography assignments being given out is lower than I’ve ever seen it before.  Nurturing your relationships won’t increase the demand for photography but it will help your clients and prospects pick you when they have a need.

You Need to be a Salesperson First

[by Blake Discher]

Even in these stressful economic times, your business will be more successful if you are willing to recognize one fact:  you need to be a salesperson first, and a photographer second.  Many photographers take great photographs, but far fewer excel at sales.  When I speak to audiences about negotiating, I’m always quick to point out that sales skills are what help you to demonstrate to the client why they should hire you instead of your competitor.

Know your prospect:

One of the first things I do when a potential new client calls is to take a very quick look at their website during the early stages of the call. I’m looking for details that will help me to determine how they use photography, how sophisticated their use of design is, and the overall “look” of their brand.  I’m learning as much as I can in those seconds about the company for two reasons: first, so that I can talk about the site and show them that I have an awareness of and interest in their company.  Second, it gives me a sense of how much value they place in their “image” in the marketplace.  The more value they place in their image, the more they might appreciate the value I can bring to the photography they’re after.

Sell your value, not your product:

By value, I mean the things I do that differentiate me from my competition. You’ve heard it many times, sell the benefits, not the product.  Your product is photography, but what you need to share with the client are the benefits she will get in working with you.   Do you work quickly?  Then talk about how non-disruptive to the client’s facility you are during the shoot.  Do you bring along a monitor?  Then talk about how she’ll be able to see the shots as you take them and can be assured your getting what she wants.

For the client, photo shoots are stressful.  You’re reassuring her that you are the correct person for the job; that she can have complete confidence in your ability to pull off a successful shoot.

Remember, if you focus the conversation on price, the price will likely fall.  If instead you focus the conversation on value, specifically the value you bring to the project, you’ll help the client justify in her mind why she should hire you for the shoot — even though your price may not be the lowest.  Marketing guru Seth Godin says it best,  “You need to increase your value. If people don’t want to pay, it’s because you’re not delivering enough value for the money you’re charging. You’re not selling a commodity unless you want to.”

Blake J. Discher is a photographer, SEO consultant, and educator. He speaks nationally on the topics of web marketing and negotiating. Contact Blake at b@blakedischer.com.

Photographers File Class Action Against Google

Philadelphia, PA…The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), joined by the Graphic Artists Guild, the Picture Archive Council of America, the North American Nature Photography Association, Professional Photographers of America, photographers Leif Skoogfors, Al Satterwhite, Morton Beebe, Ed Kashi and illustrators John Schmelzer and Simms Taback, has filed a class action copyright infringement suit against Google, Inc. in the U.S. District for the Southern District of New York. The suit, which was filed by Mishcon de Reya New York LLP, relates to Google’s illegal scanning of millions of books and other publications containing copyrighted images and displaying them to the public without regard to the rights of the visual creators. ASMP and the other trade associations, representing thousands of members, decided to file the class action after the Court denied their request to join the currently pending $125 million class action that had previously been filed primarily on behalf of text authors in connection with the Google Library Project. The new class action goes beyond Google’s Library Project, and includes Google’s other systematic and pervasive infringements of the rights of photographers, illustrators and other visual artists.

This action by ASMP and its sister organizations was taken in order to protect the interests of owners of copyrights in visual works from the massive and organized copying and public display of their images without regard to their contributions and rights to fair compensation. According to ASMP Executive Director Eugene Mopsik, “Through this suit, we are fulfilling the missions of our organizations and standing up for the rights of photographers and other visual artists who have been excluded from the process up to now. We strongly believe that our members and those of other organizations, whose livelihoods are significantly and negatively impacted, deserve to have representation in this landmark issue.” ASMP General Counsel Victor Perlman said, “We are seeking justice and fair compensation for visual artists whose work appears in the twelve million books and other publications Google has illegally scanned to date. In doing so, we are giving voice to thousands of disenfranchised creators of visual artworks whose rights we hope to enforce through this class action.”

What Is Your Leverage?

[by Paul Barholomew]

We can be cheap, we can be talented and we can offer something unique. These are just a few examples from a long list of features and abilities we can offer to our clients.

Ask yourself, how do you wish to sell your services and how will you be portrayed? What makes you and your photography stand out from the rest? Think about the long and short term consequences of how you get leverage. Find your strong points and use them to your advantage.

Your leverage will increase as you become more experienced and nurture your abilities. You will find ways within your style and business practices to set yourself apart from the competition and become increasingly valuable. This won’t be overnight success but it will be success for those who are dedicated and talented enough. Now and always is a good time to evaluate and reevaluate your leverage.

An Old Salesman’s Secret

[by Rosh Sillars]

Early in my career I worked at a furniture store to earn extra money.

One day an older salesman came in to buy a chair. We began talking and before long I sensed that he had taken a liking to me. Naturally we talked sales. He asked me if I wanted to know the secret to his sales success. Of course, I answered.

It’s quite simple, he explained. The secret to success is all in what he called “the ol’ follow up.”

Although the advice seemed obvious, something about it clicked with me.

The more I thought about the older salesman’s words, the more I realized that many of us fail to follow up. Do you make sure your prospects’ questions are answered? Do you ask your customers if they are satisfied with your work/product/service? Do you confirm appointments? Do you say “thank you” to your clients?

Failing to follow through is a bad habit. Inaction often is rooted in fear.

Sometimes we are frozen in place because we don’t know what to say. It is hard to ask a prospect or client the following questions?

* Did I get the job?
* When are you going to call me back?
* Did you like my portfolio?
* Where is the information you promised?
* Are you ever going to pay me!?

Try this instead: “Hello, I’m just following up.”

The magic of these words is in their simplicity. I use them all the time when I make phone calls, send e-mails and texts. Following up is non-threatening and is a little more subtle than “Did I get the job?”

If you have you any questions, please, feel free to follow up.

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