WHAT IT TAKES: Building and Maintaining a Creative Career

Join ASMP-SD for an in-depth business workshop to get your creative career and business going in the right direction.

Barry Schwartz, a photographer, educator, and member of the ASMP National Board is coming back by popular demand to offer this workshop to the San Diego photography community. The workshop lays out the steps to become a creative entrepreneur, from starting out to working professional. He will cover pricing and negotiating, contracts and invoices, copyright, insurance, and releases. Then there’s marketing: social media, blogs, websites, and how to find and reach clients. We’ll talk about technical issues like color management and digital workflow, all designed to speed your work, keep it safe, and keep you sane.

Soft skills, business knowledge, and technical skills are what creative entrepreneurs need to be successful. Every specialty has its own requirements, and we’ll break them down to four main types: commercial, editorial, retail, and fine art.

One of the important things we talk about is figuring how clients think: if you don’t know what they need, you can’t give them what they want.

Everyone who attends gets a dozen pages of resources, including links to free and paid software, useful blogs and websites, continuing learning, and business books and publications. You also get sample contracts and spreadsheets for taxes.

Attendance is free for ASMP members, $35 for non-member reservations before February 14th, or $50 for non-members after February 14th. RSVP required to reserve your spot. Coffee, breakfast snacks, and a light lunch will be provided. This is an incredible value for everyone- from starting up to seasoned professional in the photographic industry will want to attend. Please bring a way to take notes as there will be a mass of information.

The event will be at Studio North Park – a 5000sq ft, beautiful, centrally located rental studio. Want to impress your clients? Rent Studio North Park.

MARKETING
Promotional materials such as portfolios, email newsletters, postcards, booklets, and leave-behinds. Letterheads, business cards, and logos. Cover letters. Developing a resume or CV. What goes into a marketing plan.

WEBSITES
Design, production, hosting, best-practices, SEO, and registering domain names. Easier now than ever.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Blogging and social media marketing. How to use social media to get noticed by potential clients, as a learning tool, and why it’s useful to be part of a community.

FINANCIAL and LEGAL
Estimates and proposals, contracts, and invoicing; negotiating and pricing; model and property releases; copyright and the value of registering your work; taxes, accounting, and spreadsheets; insurance; intellectual property law; why to register as a DBA (Doing Business As), and business plans.

FINDING WORK
Finding clients and employers, assisting, why continuing to learn is critical to success, industry cultures, and gallery and commercial representation.

DIGITAL WORKFLOW
Your files: easy, inexpensive ways to insure their quality and safety, including backups for your data and computers. Metadata and how it protects you legally and speeds your work. Color management – not that bad! Basic computer and hard drive health.

AFFILIATED TRADES
Curators, stylists, producers, digital techs, assistants, photo editors, art buyers, reps and consultants, graphic design, illustration, and video.

ART SCHOOL
Academic culture and training, how undergraduate and graduate degrees can support and affect a career