Photographers at Work: Essential Business and Production Skills for Photographers in Editorial, Design, and Advertising

Book description

Today, being a professional photographer is about much more than the ability to make a technically perfect image, and photographers need to use many other skills that go beyond the production of a photograph. What are the relationships between photographer and clients really like? How should you prepare for a special effects shoot? What steps should you take to protect your equipment while shooting on location? In Photographers at Work, photographer and best-selling author Martin Evening examines these issues and much more, offering advice to help you succeed in an ever-changing–and challenging–field. Answers to these questions will give you the practical information and guidance you need to make it as a photographer in the creative fields of editorial, design, or advertising.

This book takes an in-depth look at the industry, covering key topics that every working photographer needs to know–from working with models, to the legal and safety issues of working on location, to owning and running a studio, securing clients and work, and handling the complex finances of a business. While sharing his personal experience, Evening also introduces you to 18 working photographers and industry pros through video and written interviews in which they share their perspectives on this rapidly changing industry and offer advice to help you succeed as well.

  • Includes links to 12 video interviews (more than 3 hours total runtime) by many of the featured photographers in the book, offering more image examples, anecdotes, and insights into the lives of working photographers.

  • Provides access (available to all readers!) to downloadable Reader's Supplement, a 55-page guide that includes key concepts, terms and definitions, learning objectives, discussion questions, assignments, additional resources, and links to featured photographers.

  • Focuses on all the skills a photographer needs to succeed–from handling the hidden costs of running a studio to finding and working with models to insuring a business.

  • Offers essential tips on how to get started as a photographer, such as where to find clients and how to keep them.

  • Table of contents

    1. Title Page
    2. Copyright Page
    3. Acknowledgments
    4. Contents
    5. Introduction
      1. Disclaimer
    6. 1. Getting Started
      1. Making Money from Photography
      2. Shoot what you Know
      3. 10,000 Hours
      4. How Good are you, Really?
    7. 2. Finding Work
      1. Whom do you want to Work For?
        1. Advertising and Design Agencies
        2. Public Relations Companies
        3. Editorial
        4. Advertorial
        5. Direct Clients and Corporate
        6. Book Publishers
        7. Record Companies
        8. Image Libraries
        9. Photographers’ Agents
      2. Mark George
        1. The Role of Photographers’ Agents
        2. The Shoot Production Process
        3. The Photographer Relationship
        4. Keeping up with Technology
        5. Advice to Photographers Starting out Today
        6. Presenting your Work and Getting Noticed
          1. Branding and promotion
          2. Photography website
          3. Search engine optimization
          4. Website management
          5. Print portfolio
          6. Mobile media portfolios
          7. Self-analysis and editing your portfolio
          8. Photography directories and advertising
          9. Newsletters
          10. Exhibitions
        7. Networking
        8. Communication
          1. Building a team
          2. Awards and building on success
          3. Self-funded projects
    8. 3. Setting up a Business
      1. Getting Started
        1. Types of Business
        2. Sole Proprietor/Sole Trader
        3. General Partnership
        4. Limited Company (UK)
        5. Corporations (US)
        6. LLC (US)
        7. Taxation
        8. US State Sales Tax
        9. UK Tax
        10. Property Taxes
        11. VAT
        12. Employee Taxes
          1. Allowable deductions
        13. Accountancy and Record Keeping
        14. Raising Money
      2. Business Responsibilities
        1. Employment
        2. Assistants
      3. Insurance
        1. Equipment Insurance
        2. Liability Insurance
        3. Weather Insurance
        4. Medical, Income Protection, and Disability Insurance
      4. Career Objectives
        1. Being your Own Boss
        2. What’s the Plan?
          1. Location
        3. Professional Associations
        4. Planning for your Future
          1. Retirement savings
          2. Certified Financial Planners
      5. Peter Andreas
        1. Working with Clients
    9. 4. Business Skills
      1. Developing Good Production Skills
        1. What’s the day rate?
        2. The true cost of running a business
        3. Estimating and Quoting on a Job
          1. Breaking down the costs
        4. Terms and Conditions
        5. Paying Attention to the Details
        6. Goodies and Extras
        7. Invoicing and Expenses
          1. Cash flow crises
        8. Dealing with Clients
          1. Knowing when to say no
        9. Is Your Business Viable?
        10. Identity Theft
        11. Lawyers and How to Avoid Them
          1. Job rejection
          2. Supplier problems
          3. Personality clashes
        12. Image Library Submissions
      2. Peter Hince
        1. Image Library Work
        2. Work with Queen
        3. Underwater Photography
        4. Underwater AD for Araldite
      3. It’s your Copyright
        1. Copyright Law
        2. Copyright Duration
          1. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
          2. Who qualifies?
          3. Work for hire
          4. Copyright Registration
          5. Moral rights
          6. Client negotiations
        3. Orphan Works
        4. Secondary Rights
          1. Adding copyright information
        5. Picture Licensing Universal System (PLUS)
        6. Creative Commons
        7. Collecting Societies
    10. 5. Photographing People
      1. Street Photography
      2. Legality of Photographing in Public
      3. Privacy Issues
      4. Working with Models
      5. Finding and Choosing Models
        1. Booking models
        2. Exclusive bookings
        3. Model agency booking fee
        4. Street castings
        5. Planning a model shoot schedule
      6. Shooting Tips
      7. Working with Child Models
        1. Child labor laws
      8. Eric Richmond
        1. Working on Location
        2. Preproduction Work
        3. Photographing Celebrities
        4. Editorial Interviews
        5. Commissioned Shoots
      9. Jillian Edelstein
        1. Truth and Reconciliation Hearings
        2. New Technology
      10. Greg Gorman
        1. Books and Workshops
        2. Digital Technology
    11. 6. Photographing on Location
      1. Travel Planning
        1. Road Travel
        2. Air Travel
        3. Accommodation
        4. Customs and Carnets
        5. Research
        6. Location Services
        7. Gaining Access
        8. Keeping Safe
        9. Preparing for the Unpredictable
        10. Getting on with Your Crew
      2. Thomas Fahey
        1. On Location
        2. Self-Promotion
        3. Working Abroad as a Photographer
          1. Liability insurance
        4. Working for Foreign Clients
          1. Processing payments
      3. Marc Schlossman
        1. Shooting on Location
        2. Business Setup
        3. Personal Work
        4. Advice for Newcomers
      4. Michael Clark
        1. Working on Location
        2. Image Library Work
        3. Video
        4. Business and Promotion
        5. Looking to the Future
    12. 7. Technical Requirements
      1. Camera Systems
        1. Medium-Format Systems
        2. Digital SLRS
        3. Compact and Mirrorless Cameras
      2. Computer Software
        1. Image Editing
          1. Digital capture comes of age
          2. How much is it OK to retouch?
        2. Image Management
        3. Business Software
          1. Setting up Internet accounts
          2. E-mail
        4. Data Security and Backup Strategies
          1. Backup software
        5. Reliance on Technology
        6. Should you Rent or Buy?
        7. Training
        8. File Submission Standards
          1. Color management
          2. Meeting press standards
          3. Sharpening
          4. Automating the process
          5. Supplying digital files that are acceptable for print
          6. File naming
        9. Charging for Digital Services
      3. Jeff Schewe
        1. Business Advice
    13. 8. In the Studio
      1. Running your Own Studio
        1. Should you Rent or Buy?
        2. Financing a Studio Purchase
          1. The hidden costs
      2. Craig Robertson
        1. Tabletop Sets
        2. Technical Requirements
        3. Equipping a Studio
          1. Safety
          2. Making a studio work
        4. The Hire Studio Alternative
          1. Efficient usage
        5. Special Effects
      3. Carl Lyttle
        1. Early Career
        2. Automotive Photography
        3. CGI Work
        4. Moofe
        5. Landscape Work
        6. Advertising and Promotion
        7. Future of the Industry
      4. Bob Marchant
        1. Photographing Liquids
        2. Storm in a Bottle
        3. Luxury Yachts
        4. Typesetters of the New Millennium
    14. 9. Art Photography
      1. Fine Art Photography
        1. Creating Certified Print Editions
          1. Printing your own work
        2. Outlets for Selling Prints
        3. Artist’s Statement
        4. Artist’s Resale Right (Droit DE Suite)
        5. Book Publishing
      2. Tim Flach
        1. Fruit Bats
        2. Tone Manipulation
        3. Fine Art Sales
      3. Julia Fullerton-Batten
        1. Early Projects
        2. Korea
        3. In Service
        4. Postproduction
        5. Building a Fine Art Career
      4. Charlie Waite
        1. The Fine Art Market
        2. Promoting Yourself as an Artist
        3. Impact of Technology
    15. 10. New Media
      1. New Ways of Working
        1. Old Media vs. New Media
        2. Video
          1. Equipping for video
          2. Dealing with the variables
      2. Clive Booth
        1. Working in Moving Images
          1. Moving portraits
          2. The challenges of moving images
        2. Stills Work
        3. Combined Production Service
      3. Amadou Diallo
        1. Smartphone Photography
        2. Image Quality
        3. Smartphones Used Commercially
    16. Index

    Product information

    • Title: Photographers at Work: Essential Business and Production Skills for Photographers in Editorial, Design, and Advertising
    • Author(s):
    • Release date: January 2015
    • Publisher(s): New Riders
    • ISBN: 9780133835502