Hellooooo, Is Anyone Out There?

[by Judy Herrmann]

One of my goals this summer has been to really wrap my head around Social Media – partly for my own business needs and partly to increase my studio’s value to our clients by offering another area of expertise.

One point that crops up over and over (and over) again in nearly every Social Media activists’ activities is the idea that Social Media is a conversation; a dialogue, not a monologue. Some draw the analogy to a cocktail party – Social Media is where you tell a little about yourself, ask some questions, flirt a little and decide if you want to take the relationship to the next level. Others stress that it’s as important to comment on other people’s blogs and Facebook pages, to follow others on Twitter, to recommend others on LinkedIn, etc. as it is to keep your own blog, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitterverse updated.

In other words, Social Media is, well, Social.

So let’s start talking.

Right now, my favorite blog for learning about Social Media is Mark Steizner’s socialmediaexaminer.com, which includes posts from over 30 social media experts including Mari Smith, Chris Garrett, Denise Wakeman, Cindy King, Casey Hibbard and Jason Falls. Each of those experts also offers useful information through their respective SM (no ampersand!) outlets.

So, what’s your favorite resource? Who’s helping you figure out what to blog, tweet or post about? Or how to add all these posts (and comments) to your already crazy schedule? Or which technology to use and which to avoid?
C’mon, have a drink, grab a canapé and let’s build a great hot-list of the best Social Media resources out there together.

Judy Herrmann uses skills gained over 21 years as an award-winning photographer, small business owner and creative problem solver to help companies grow. Judy@HSstudio.com

Find Your Enthusiasm

[by Judy Herrmann]

I recently stumbled upon a fascinating essay by venture capitalist, Paul Graham, called What Business Can Learn from Open Source . Written almost exactly five years ago (!), the essay offers remarkable insights about business, many of which have played out with startling accuracy. One key point Graham raises is that amateurs (in this case bloggers and hackers) bring so much passion to what they’re doing that they’re frequently able to out-perform people doing the same work as a job.  This observation has huge implications. As he notes:

“Users don’t switch from Explorer to Firefox because they want to hack the source. They switch because it’s a better browser. It’s not that Microsoft isn’t trying. They know controlling the browser is one of the keys to retaining their monopoly. The problem is the same they face in operating systems: they can’t pay people enough to build something better than a group of inspired hackers will build for free.”

Many photographers complain that amateurs are stealing assignments because they’re willing to work for little to no money.  But I’m not so sure that’s the core problem.  Sure there are certain clients for whom cost is the only deciding factor but let’s face it, if someone really wants something, they’ll pony up.  Look at how well the new iPhone is doing in the midst of a global recession of epic proportions. It’s hard to find a more discretionary purchase than a new cell phone when your old one still works and yet it’s flying off the shelves.

As people who earn a living performing work that we’re passionate about, photographers have a rare opportunity to act like amateurs but earn like professionals.  Far too often, though, photographers I meet have let their passion become a job.  It shows in their faces when they talk about their businesses and it shows in the images they’re using to promote themselves.  If I can see it, clients can too.

Albert Einstein once said “We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.”  As I work on adapting to business realities that seem to change daily, this has become one area I refuse to compromise on.  Not because I’m unwilling to do drudgery but because I’ve learned that the moment I lose my enthusiasm, I’ve lost so much more.

Judy Herrmann uses her 21 years of experience as a photographer, business owner and digital technology educator to help small businesses grow. http://consultations.HSstudio.com

Stars and Bars

[by Judy Herrmann]

Ratings and rankings – the star and colored label system supported by many image browser and catalog applications – give photographers a powerful way to organize images without a lot of effort.

Most of us already apply stars and/or labels as we’re culling through our captures to segregate the selects from the rejects.  You can make this process even more valuable by deciding on a meaning for each rating and label and applying it consistently.

For example, our studio uses 3 stars to indicate images selected by a client.  As a result, we can find all of the images that a client has ever picked by simply searching our catalog for 3 star images.  Since we don’t deliver Raw or PSD files, limiting the search to 3 star plus TIF or JPG gets us everything we’ve ever delivered.  Adding in the clients name as a search criteria, returns only the files selected by and delivered to that particular client.

The key here isn’t what we’ve chosen to make 3 stars mean – you can assign any meaning to the stars and the bars that makes sense for your needs.  The key is using that meaning consistently so your three star images from 10 years ago have the same significance as the ones 10 years from now.

Already have a bunch of randomly rated and ranked images?  Don’t stress.  Just pick a date and implement your new consistent system moving forward.  That way, you’ll know what any images rated and ranked after that date mean.  If you decide you want to bring legacy images into alignment, don’t feel like it has to be perfect overnight.  You can re-rank and re-label images organically, as need arises.

By doing nothing more than setting 3 stars and Tif as our search parameters, we can exclude everything but files delivered to clients.

Judy Herrmann has taught seminars on digital photography since 1995 and is a presenter for ASMP’s dpBestflow program, I Need A Workflow That Works For Me.

Our Data, Our Selves

[by Judy Herrmann]

Earlier this year, ASMP President, Richard Kelly, suggested I read Ken Auletta’s book, Googled: The End of the World as We Know It.   Thought-provoking and packed with facts, quotes and well-researched information – I actually pulled out a highlighter pen for the first time in years – it is so well-written and organized that it’s an easy and inviting read.

Auletta, who has written the “Annals of Communications” column for The New Yorker since 1992, uses the rise of Google as the basis for a much broader thesis on the impact of the internet and searchability on business, communications, advertising and the creation, distribution and publishing of content.  He clearly outlines the struggle between old and new Media and his interviews with moguls on both sides of the line provide fascinating insights into the role of content in these vast distribution networks.  My new understanding of the data collected about consumers and how it’s being used to monetize the internet has completely altered my views of the future and how our industry and my business need to evolve to take advantage of these rapidly growing data mines.

We’ve all been Googled in one way or another.  We owe it to ourselves to understand a little more about what that means.

Judy Herrmann, photographer, business consultant and former ASMP national president volunteers on ASMP’s Strategic Research and Web Oversight committees. Learn more about her at www.HSstudio.com

Writing Effective Licenses

[by Judy Herrmann]

Like it or not, if you’re earning money with your photographs, you’re in the licensing business.  No matter what kinds of clients you’re working with – commercial, editorial, or retail (personal portrait, weddings, fine art print sales) – your paperwork needs to include a written license.

A lot of the licenses I’ve seen photographers draft are much more convoluted than they need to be.  So convoluted, that I often can’t even figure out what they’re trying to say!

Licenses don’t have to be complicated.  They don’t need to include a lot of wherefore’s, whereby’s or other legalese.   What they need to do is to outline – clearly, simply and in plain English – what the client can and can’t do with your images.

Most importantly, licenses don’t have to be in sentence or paragraph form.  Both the ASMP and the Picture License Universal System (PLUS) recommend writing your licenses as a series of bullet points.  You’ll find a comprehensive list of points to cover in the “How to write a License” section of ASMP’s licensing guide.

Licenses can cover a wide range of rights.  You can license extremely limited use (e.g. one time insertion at a specific size in a specific edition of a specific magazine on a specific date).   You can license extremely broad use (e.g. unlimited usage in any and all media throughout the Universe in perpetuity).  You can also license anything in between those two extremes.  You’ll find some common licensing bundles in the PlusPacks section of the PLUS website.

Be sure to include any conditions you want fulfilled in exchange for licensing your work.  Not granting rights until our invoice has been paid in full is one of the conditions my studio always applies.  You should also address whether or not the client can sub-license the images to third parties and if so under what conditions.

Providing vague, confusing or, worse yet, no written license at all, can lead to huge conflicts.  Conflicts that will damage your relationship and may even land you in a lawsuit.  Instead, try to write licenses that work as an effective communications tool.  One that helps both you and your client protect your respective interests.

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

Help a Student, Help Yourself

[by Judy Herrmann]

Looking to ramp up your marketing this summer?  Consider bringing on an intern.  Many programs require students to complete internships and right now, with the economy and job market so tight, students are having a tough time finding positions.
Having worked with countless mentorship students and interns over the years, I’ve learned that the best way to manage an intern is to assign them a project they can complete from start to finish.  Things like researching prospective clients, designing a promotional campaign, mapping out a social media plan – these are all projects that an intern could take on for you.

Photography, Design, Communications, Marketing and Business students all need experience.  Ideally, the student gets as much out of the experience as you do so look for someone who really needs to learn how to do what you need done and let them at it.

Ways to find interns include contacting the career center at local Universities, Colleges and Community Colleges, reaching out to Department Chairs or faculty members to find out about their most promising students and posting your listing at an internship website like www.internjobs.com or college.monster.com.

Photographer, educator and consultant, Judy Herrmann, helps student, emerging and established photographers build creatively and financially rewarding businesses. http://www.HSstudio.com

Photographers Helping Photographers

[by Judy Herrmann]

Photographers helping Photographers

A few weeks ago, ASMP Minneapolis-St. Paul hosted my I Need to Jumpstart My Career seminar.  After the program, I went out for a bite with a small group of attendees including Steve Umland, who had served on the ASMP National Board in the 1980s, Bruce Kluckhohn, whose tenure on the National board overlapped with mine and Karl Herber, who’s currently serving as the chapter’s Treasurer.

As we were sitting down, Steve relayed a story about a shoot he’d done several years ago in Dallas.  He’d never shot there before, he said, and needed help lining up resources.  So he phoned the president of the Dallas ASMP chapter, who was home, in bed, with the flu.  Steve explained what he needed and a couple hours later, this flu-stricken stranger in Dallas had sent him a comprehensive list of reliable local resources.

Laughing loudly in agreement, Bruce told us of several similar experiences with ASMP members across the country. “I got my best client through ASMP!” Karl announced.  Several years ago as a chapter volunteer, helping to organize a members-only exhibit, he asked an Art Director he respected to jury the show.  The A.D. got to know Karl in his capacity as the organizer, saw his work in the show and invited him to estimate on a project.  They’ve been working together steadily ever since.

As the evening wore on, I watched the pair of young emerging photographers at our table avidly soak in the stories and anecdotes, gleaning tidbits of wisdom and advice between the jokes and laughter.
There’s no doubt that ASMP’s actions on a macro level – advocacy, information, education – have placed our Society on the map.  But each and every one of us contributes to ASMP’s success by sharing these moments, being part of these stories and practicing these small, yet life-changing acts of kindness and generosity towards our peers and our colleagues.

Judy Herrmann, photographer, business consultant and former ASMP national president volunteers on ASMP’s Strategic Research and Web Oversight committees. Learn more about her at www.HSstudio.com

Preserving Your Options in Photoshop

[by Judy Herrmann]

Want to keep the most flexibility with your data but still work in Photoshop?  Try using Smart Objects.
Smart Objects allow you to import a stand-in layer that references your RAW data.  The stand-in functions similarly to a normal layer – you can apply several different types of filters, add layer masks, apply adjustment layers, and more – but double-clicking on the smart object takes you right back to Adobe Camera Raw [ACR] where you can reprocess the RAW data if desired.  Your smart object will automatically update using the new ACR processing parameters you set.

Smart Objects don’t just let you reprocess the RAW data in ACR, they also allow you to resize the file or transform it and get back to the original size and shape without any loss of quality.  You can even crop (inside ACR) and remove or change the crop later.

There are some things you can’t do with Smart Objects – certain filters can’t be run on them and you can’t do any pixel level editing directly on the Smart Object (though you can create a transparent layer and retouch on that with the “sample all layers” box checked).

To create a smart object from within Adobe Camera Raw, click on the processing options tab (blue link in the lower-center area) and check Open In Photoshop as Smart Object. In Lightroom, select Edit In Photoshop as Smart Object from the Edit In menu. In Photoshop, use the File > Open as Smart Object command and navigate to your proprietary RAW or DNG file.

Top right: This crop at 100% magnification shows how sharp and clear a Smart Object (shown full frame at left) remains after being sized down to 216 x 288 pixels and then sized back up to full capture size (3024 x 4032 pixels).

Bottom Right: The same RAW file, exported into Photoshop as a normal pixel layer and resized the same way results in a pixelated, unsharp image at 100% magnification.

Judy Herrmann has taught seminars on digital photography since 1995 and is a presenter for ASMP’s dpBestflow program, I Need A Workflow That Works For Me.

Monetization Matters

[by Judy Herrmann]

My Mother’s day gift this year included a leisurely morning that allowed me to make a small dent on my rapidly growing stockpile of New Yorker magazines (I love the New Yorker but I mean, seriously, does ANYone have time to read an entire magazine every single week!?!).

The issue I grabbed (March 29, 2010) included an article on Polyvore – a fashion website that encourages members to clip photos of clothes & accessories from all over the internet and create collages or “sets” demonstrating their sense of style.  The author, Alexandria Jacobs, likens the experience to “…playing paper dolls with real clothes.”

The question of who created, owns or paid for the creation of those photographs wasn’t raised anywhere in the article.  Now, before we get all outraged and up in arms and cry “it’s the Napster of the fashion photography world” let’s look a little deeper.

The creators of this website are tracking pretty much every click that users make.  The data they’re collecting has enormous value to the apparel industry, which has started to embrace and in some cases, even sponsor, Polyvore sets.  Well, sure, you say – they’ve got nothing to lose, they make their money from the clothes.

But, that same data has potentially even more value to photographers and other creators. Rather than using copyright to prohibit such uses of images, as the music industry has tried to do, why not try to monetize them instead?

Tracking the relationship between users of the internet and the data they touch is rapidly becoming an entrenched business model for everyone from major players like Google to small start-ups like Polyvore.  The next step – forging a connection between the data and its creator – is coming soon.  At the ASMP Copyright Symposium last month, Jeff Sedlik noted that the Picture Licensing Universal System (www.usePLUS.org) has developed machine-readable licensing codes and plans to launch a creator registry that will link images to their owners later this year.

We’ve learned from the music industry that trying to shut these sites down or arrest the users isn’t really viable.  If instead we embrace these technologies and find ways to work with sites and their users to make sure that the creators of the photographs and other content they’re appropriating receive fair and just compensation, we may just build system where everyone wins.

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

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

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.

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.

The Salesperson Called You

[by Judy Herrmann]

I hate sales.  I hate cold calling.  I hate closing.  I hate the artificiality of it and I hate how it makes me feel.  For years, I’ve arranged my life so I didn’t have to engage in sales.  In 1992, we hired our first in-house salesperson.  Since then, we’ve had two other people in that position.  By the time our last salesperson left, we’d built a large enough client base and enough name recognition to coast on referrals and more passive forms of marketing.  This recession has changed all that.

Many of the people who kept our business growing over the years are currently unemployed.  The rest have cut way back on spending.  Referrals are down, not because people have stopped saying nice things about us but because the people they’re talking to are in the same boat.  And so, for the first time in many years, I’m taking a good hard look at sales.  And what I’ve discovered is that what I think of as “sales” is radically changing.
Sure there are still tons of snake-oil schmoozers out there – guys who offer “Guaranteed Results” and sell their “Secret to Success” for just $19.99.  But there’s also a new crop of sales professionals who recognize that integrity, honesty and a passionate belief in the true value of you’re selling will take you farther than canned pitches and stilted closing efforts.

S. Anthony Iannarino of Columbus, OH exemplifies this new order.  His blog provides clearly written, insightful commentary on selling to a new generation of buyers.  Buyers who are smart, savvy, and have little tolerance for old school gimmickry.

He recently posted a two-part interview with business guru Tom Peters.  Peters, whose 1997 Fast Company  article “The Brand Called You” changed how an entire generation took charge of their careers, notes that today “every person is a salesperson” and adds that “in a crowded market, sales is more important than it’s ever been, not less…”

The good news is that selling doesn’t have to be a phony, soul-killing process.  My research has shown me that by figuring out who my best prospects are and what motivates them, offering genuine value in my own true voice, and building real relationships based on mutual benefit and a deep caring for the well-being of my clients and my vendors, I can engage in active sales without losing my self-respect.  If you want to know how, read Iannarino’s blog – he says it all better than I ever could.

It’s Not You – It’s the Economy

[by Judy Herrmann]

This past January, my studio celebrated our 21st business anniversary.  In that time our business has survived 4 recessions and soot damage that destroyed literally everything we owned.  With all that history, all those experiences, I can honestly say that in 21 years of working as a full-time self-employed photographer, this last one has been the hardest.

As I travel around the country talking to photographers, I meet so many brilliantly creative business people and artists who are struggling like they’ve never struggled before.  Even as it breaks my heart to see so many people hurting, I believe we can all take some comfort in the fact that we’re not alone.  It’s not you. It’s not your work. It’s not your failing. It’s not your fault.

This is no ordinary recession – like it or not, we’re living through a game-changer.  In previous recessions, as one door closed, other doors opened.  New doors are still opening but they aren’t where they used to be.  To find them, we have to look farther and keep a more open mind.

It’s time to focus on creating value – to broaden your skill set and seek creatively satisfying work in areas with greater market demand and less competition. Explore new technologies, join with others to cut costs and expand offerings, figure out what your clients believe their problems are and find ways to help them solve them.

Beyond the Routine Back Up

[by Judy Herrmann]

Everyone reading this blog should already be backing up their data regularly.  If not, or if you’re not sure how to set that up, check out dpBestflow’s section on back ups.

An equally valuable CYA habit is to create a bootable back up drive.  Bootable back ups include a pristine copy of your OS and applications.  If your OS gets corrupted or your primary hard drive fails, you can boot off the back up drive, keep working and deal with the problematic drive at your convenience.  You can even boot someone else’s computer off your drive and keep working with minimal downtime.

You can purchase a “bootable external drive” which comes with its own cloning software or create your own.  For the DIY route, you’ll need cloning software – Super Duper!  and Carbon Copy Cloner for the Mac or Acronis TrueImage for PCs – and the right kind of drive.  Power PC based Macs require a Firewire drive with an Oxford-based Firewire Bridge set – Oxford compatible chipsets won’t work.  OWC, WiebeTech, Lacie and Maxtor Firewire drives should be a safe choice.  Intel Based Macs can boot off Firewire or USB 2.  Windows machines require USB 2.

At a minimum, put your OS and key applications onto your bootable clone.  This will let you boot up your computer and keep working.  Depending on your computer’s requirements, you may be able to use a thumb drive, iPod or even your cell phone’s memory card.  This approach is particularly useful for location photographers who don’t want to lug any extra weight around.

For extra safety, create a bootable mirror or shadow drive that includes a complete clone of everything on your primary hard drive – your OS, applications, personal settings, actions, presets, font library, etc.  You can even include any current projects that you’d want immediate access to if your hard drive failed.

Most computers from 2007 to present can boot off an external drive with no problems.  If your computer is circa 2006 or earlier, check to make sure that the BIOS (basic input/output system: the firmware that initializes system devices and launches the OS) is capable of pointing to an external drive.  If not, you may be able to upgrade the firmware to a version that supports an external boot.

Recession-proof Pricing

[by Judy Herrmann]

This recession has hit photographers harder than any that I’ve lived through previously and many are working for lower fees than they’d ever consider accepting before.

Past experience has taught me that quoting lower fees during a recession makes it very difficult to bring those fees back to normal when the crisis ends.  Instead, look for ways to streamline costs or scale back the project to meet client budget requirements.

Non-monetary compensation can be an avenue worth exploring providing the client has something to offer that you really need.  Make sure any trades are based on exchanging equal value – you need to receive tangible benefit, not just promises.
If you feel you have no choice but to reduce your creative fee, don’t just quote a lower price.  Instead, communicate the full value of your fee, verbally and in your estimates and invoices, then extend a courtesy discount to bring the total where it needs to be.  The discount becomes an act of generosity – the tangible expression of your understanding that we’re all in this mess together – rather than a new definition of what your work is truly worth.

What’s the Difference?

[by Judy Herrmann]

Focusing on differentiation is a great way to improve your marketing efforts.   Make a list of 10 really good reasons why someone should hire you instead of someone else.  Your images don’t count – producing good images is a given these days – this is all about added value.

While you’re making and prioritizing your list, do some research!  Come up with creative ways to find out what your prospects and clients care about most when hiring a photographer. Incorporate what you learn into this exercise.

Once you have your prioritized list of differentiators, make sure your marketing materials clearly communicate them.  Make a cheat sheet to keep by the phone to remind you what your key selling points are so you don’t forget to bring them up when talking with clients or prospects.  Obviously, you can’t be too heavy-handed here but keeping your value points by your side will make it easier to spot appropriate moments to mention them.

Protect Your Assets

[by Judy Herrmann]

In a recent thread on ASMPproAdvice, a photographer asked about the necessity of obtaining releases when photographing his client’s employees. Several members of the listserv pointed out that releases don’t just protect the photographer, they also protect the client – especially if an employee who’s been photographed leaves under bad terms.

The thread made me remember how intimidated I was by paperwork when I first entered the field. I felt uncomfortable asking people to sign assignment confirmations, advance expenses, sign releases and change orders or even pay our bills on time.

Once I realized that using good paperwork protected my clients’ interests as well as my own, it became easier to talk to them about it. As my business grew, I discovered that for many clients, good paperwork is a must – it shows you’re a professional who knows what you’re doing and understands the rules of the game.

Make sure your paperwork keeps up with the times – if you’re thinking of adopting new technologies or diversifying the services you offer, answer these questions before you take the plunge:

• Does this new approach or technology affect my potential liability with my clients, models, locations, vendors or suppliers?
• How do I need to change my terms & conditions or other forms (model releases assignment confirmations, change orders, delivery memos, etc.) to minimize my risks?
• What do I need to communicate verbally as well as in writing to protect myself from any miscommunications?

If your paperwork could use a tune-up, visit the ASMP Forms Tutorial and Terms & Conditions Module for recommended language you can modify for your needs.  ASMP’s dpBestflow project includes a digital file delivery checklist and sample digital file “read me” memo that all photographers should check out.

Take Back Your Power

[by Judy Herrmann]

At the SB2 conferences a couple of years ago, I noticed that many photographers were exhibiting the classic signs of mourning.  Back then, most were still in denial but many were grappling with a sense of helplessness, paralysis and loss as they faced what they perceived as the death of a profession they loved.

Today, it’s clear that far too many of my colleagues have graduated to the anger phase and that anger is doing as much damage to our profession as the recession, changing technologies and changing markets combined.
In Vein of Gold, her 1996 sequel to The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron wrote: “When we are angry or depressed in our creativity, we have misplaced our power. We have allowed someone else to determine our worth, and then we are angry at being undervalued.” I’m willing to bet that every single one of us either is that person or knows that person.

Looking for a silver bullet?  The magic answer?  Here it is:  the one thing that’s going to help you survive as a professional visual communicator is your creativity.  I can’t tell you what your career is going to look like – that’s up to you – but I can tell you that without creative vision, creative thinking, creative problem solving, creative strategies and creative approaches to building your business in the “new economy” you’re not going to make it in this field.

If you’re one of the angry ones, all I can say is Get Over It.  Find help, find hope, find whatever shot in the arm you need because if you allow your anger at these irrevocable changes to get in the way of your creativity, you are walking roadkill. If you’re not one of the angry ones, if you’re still hopeful, still open, still looking for what’s possible, I congratulate you.  Foster your creativity – nourish it, protect it and don’t let the kill-joys near it – for it is the key to your future.

Digital Video: Lessons Learned

[by Judy Herrmann]

A couple of weeks ago, my partner, Mike Starke, and I finished our very first digital video project.  We made our deadline with about 15 minutes to spare and only pulled one all-nighter; two facts I take inordinate pride in.  In the process we discovered a lot that we’ll do differently the next time.  Here’s what we learned:

1) Shooting – get tight, get loose, get high, get low, go wide, go long – just mix it up!  Once we were editing the footage, we noticed that even if each segment is showing different people or activities, too many shots from the same distance with the same lens or from the same camera height get boring fast.

2) Editing – I haven’t yet figured out the organizational system that we’ll use in the future but I know we need a better one!  I can’t tell you how much time we lost searching for a particular clip that we had tagged but couldn’t remember which bin it was in.  About halfway through the project, we wound up creating an Expressions Media catalog for our clips.  There’s probably a better way but this let us use a tool we already knew really well to visually scan key stills from each clip instead of trying to remember what we’d named it and where we’d stashed it.

3) Set up – Video editing applications are monitor hogs.  You don’t just need two monitors – you need two big monitors.  We got by with a 21″ and a 23″ display hooked to our tower but would have happily used more space.

4) Time away – After watching our footage over and over and over (and over) it got really hard to figure out how long someone who’d never seen the shots before would need to see a clip before moving onto the next thing.  Every few hours, we really needed to get away from the project for a few hours so we could refine our edits with fresh eyes.  As we work out the deadlines for future projects, we’ll take this into account.

5) Rejuvenation rocks!  One really great side effect of doing this project was experiencing the excitement (and fear) of doing something we’d never done before.  We’re not just learning new software, we’re learning a new way of seeing and a new way of thinking as visual communicators. I’m feeling more excited, more creative and well, frankly, more hopeful than I have for awhile.  It’s been a good reminder of how important it is to keep pushing myself creatively.  As Miles Davis once said “If anybody wants to keep creating, they have to be about change.”  After 21 years as a still photographer, I’m ready.

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