Ladies and gentlemen, the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin!

“R – E – S – P – E – C – T – find out what it means to me!”  -   Aretha sings that song with more attitude and heart now than she did when she first performed it in 1967.   I guess that’s what a lifetime of experience offers.

When I’m working with someone, I want to be heard, valued and utilized to the fullest extent of my talents.   I want  R E S P E C T.   If you want my all and the value of my experience, you’ve got to trust me and give me some respect.   The same goes about collaborating with others.   If you want the fullest extent of everything your partners have, then you have to listen, value and utilize everything they offer.

Step one: Use the word “with” instead of “for.”   It won’t cost a dime and it may change your relationships when you use it.   My assistants, stylists, production people, location scout and yes, even my clients all work with me to create the best images possible.   They all contribute to the success of the project.   They need to know and understand that what they do, brings value and we do it together.   Nobody works for anyone anymore.   We all work with each other.

Step two: Offer someone a stake in the creative input.  It’s amazing what you get in return.   Ask their opinion.   It may take some give and take, but let them loose.  The more they are valued, the more they will want to give.   And they may just want to come back to do it again.   That goes for everyone from assistants to clients.

Step three: Foster an environment for honest feedback.  Give honest feedback to those you work with, with the sole purpose of improving the work and the working relationship.   Ask for their honest feedback in return.   This is tough, but incredibly important.   If you can’t be honest with those you work with, the relationship will never grow to be everything it can be.

RESPECT – Find out what it means to the people you work with.   It may mean more than you think.

Todd captures people to help his clients sell things.
http://joycephotography.com / todd(at)joycephotography.com

One of my pet peeves… websites that aren’t easy to navigate.   Don’t give into the whistles and bells of web design so much so that you lose your viewer out of navigation frustration.   You may not even realize how frustrating your own site is.  Have some outsiders view your site for ease of use.   Don’t ask a friend or relative.   Ask someone who will tell you what you don’t want to hear.   Then fix it.

Todd Joyce captures people to help his clients sell things.   joycephotography.com

I keep extra batteries for slaves, etc., in the front of two bags to be sure I have replacements in case I run low.  Batteries can go dead just sitting for too long.  Rotate your batteries so that you are using the backups and rotating new ones in as backups to be sure they are always fresh.

Todd captures people to help companies sell things.   joycephotography.com

What do you promise your clients regarding archiving images?   We all know hard drives and DVDs fail.  Be sure you are archiving by using best practices as recommended by dpBestflow,  but also be sure you are not taking on liabilities (assumed or real) for archiving images for your clients.   Be clear about who is responsible for what.  Don’t assume.

For ASMP’s recommended terms and conditions, which limit liability for archiving, go to www.ASMP.org/t&c

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.

Speed in post keeps you from wasting valuable time.   Here are just a few tips to save time.

• Learn common key strokes, like the bracket keys in Photoshop to shrink (use the left [ bracket) and enlarge (use the right ] bracket) brush size and the “X” key to swap bush colors, especially when painting masks with white and black.

• Recent Mac OS’s allow you to click on icons and hit the space bar to view a preview window without opening the software to view files.   This works on docs, video and images in most formats.

• Find quick fixes to common retouching issues.  To smooth skin,  I create a duplicate layer, apply the Dust & Scratches filter (approx radius of 6 and threshold of 24, depending on file size and skin issues), then create a mask that hides all and use the brush tool with various brush opacities to reveal the smoothed layer.   It’s not good overall, it has to be applied to only certain areas.

• Determine a workflow for everything in naming, archiving etc.   This saves in organization and prevents time wasted in looking for the right files.  ASMP’s dpBestflow project can help.

• Work non-destructively using adjustment layers so that you don’t have to go back and recreate files that need to be changed.

• Set up actions and presets for any repetitive activities that are common for your workflow.

Todd Joyce captures people and makes them do silly things to sell products and services.  He also works and plays well with others.  See his work at joycephotography.com or email him: Joyce@ASMP.org.

My father in law used to be my insurance agent.  As he got to understand my business, he would suggest carrying different types of insurance to best suit my needs.   He suggested things like an umbrella, a care and custody clause and Inland Marine, while still working to keep my rates as low as possible.   It was great to have someone who had all my interests at heart.  He worked to keep me in business.

He is no longer with us and I now have to work a lot harder to be sure I’m covered properly.   Look for someone who understands our business.  Spend time with your agent to be sure he/she fully understands what you do for a living to be sure you’re covered.   Do you take responsibility for goods you photograph in your studio?   Do you travel with equipment and check any of it with the airline?  Do you work with models in studio or on location?  What risks are you taking?  Most photographers don’t understand their insurance until they have a claim, and then it may be too late.

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.

When a client calls or emails for an estimate, I ask as many questions as possible.   When I get a bulk email asking several photographers for their bids along with mine, I use “reply all” when I ask questions.   I’d rather be bidding on the same info, than to have everyone bidding “different jobs” based on their own interpretation.

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

A contract is simple.   It’s an offer and an acceptance.   The issue, is proving the agreement if there is ever a dispute.   Get your clients to sign an estimate/confirmation form.   Make it part of your workflow.   You truly never know when you’ll need it, but when you do, you’ll be glad you have it.  Go here to see ASMP’s sample confirmation form.

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

Why does Walmart have greeters at the door?   They want the first impression you get to be that you are welcome here.  What is the first impression you give your clients?  “Welcome?”  “Go away?”  “I’m a professional?”  Ask someone you trust to be honest.   You may be surprised.

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

David, a very driven and successful director of marketing for a fortune 500 company, smiled sheepishly as he answered my question on where he went to school.   “Harvard, School of Business,” he said.   “Wow, that explains a lot,” I responded.   “Not really,” he said, “I learned some of the most important lessons from being unemployed, and from my first job.”

In his eagerness to land his dream job after graduating third in his class from Harvard, David set his sights on only his top three job prospects.  He was the best.  And he only aimed for the best.  “I wrote the perfect resume and researched each company and each position to the fullest degree,” he explained. “After interviewing for all three jobs, I found myself as the alternate for each position.  I was so close, but by limiting myself to so few options, I found myself unemployed.”  Laughing, he continued, “I was likely one of the few Harvard grads with my credentials, to have been unemployed after graduation.”

Though David seemed to be very advantaged he still had bills to pay like the rest of us, so he took a job selling yellow page ads.  “I needed a job and it was what I had at the moment,” he said.  “Oh, Harvard was invaluable, but selling yellow page ads put it all into perspective.  I sold on commission, so I had to perform.  On my first day, my new boss told me, ‘plan the work, work the plan.’  I did what he said. I made calls on Fridays to schedule appointments for Monday through Thursday.”

David made his list of potential calls as he would go through his week, meeting potential clients and asking for referrals.   As his list grew, he stayed on schedule with appointments and waited until Friday to make the calls that filled the following week.  “I didn’t take appointments on Fridays – Friday was my scheduling day,” he explained, ” I stuck to it so that I wouldn’t get distracted.  If I took appointments on Friday, it threw off my entire next week.”

He saw other salespeople haphazardly making appointments and calls without a plan.  “They got distracted,” he explained, “and had a lot of down time.”    Within months, he was top salesperson in his district and within a year, he became the top performer in his region.  “I owe where I am today, to learning that setting goals and sticking to my plan, keeps me on task,” he concluded.

As creatives, we get off track easily.  Adult ADD, dyslexia and being easily distracted runs rampant in our community.   Having a stated plan to follow, can keep us from getting lost.    Set goals, make plans and stick to them.   Make a “to do list.”  Not just for each day.  Start with long term goals for a year or more, then the month, week and today.  Notice, I didn’t start with today first.   What we want in the long term, defines what we need to do each day.  Stating it is very important.  It keeps us on task.   It makes us focus and keeps us from wasting time.  When you find yourself wandering, visit the list.  You’ll get back to what you need to be doing.

It’s also important to re-evaluate your plans occasionally too.   No plan is good forever.  Make goal setting and keeping a to do list a regular part of your workflow.   Plan the work, work the plan.

Though easily distracted, Todd is a photographer, working primarily with people in concepts for advertising.  joycephotography.com joyce(at)asmp.org