Hi, I'm Doug McKinlay and you are watching Adorama TV. This video is a follow-up of sorts,
where in the previous one we looked at what it's like to work on a photo assignment
For today we are going to look at some of the aspects and what you should think about before you
start selling your images, Adorama TV presents Stay Focused with Doug
MacKinlay. First this is not an easy business to get into, and even a more
difficult business to stay in.You have to be fresh all the time, which can be
exciting, I'm not trying to dissuade anybody from becoming a professional photographer
because there will always be a need for us, but it's a difficult road. And I'd be remiss not
to say so. Forewarned is forearmed. Now photography is a wide arena, there are lots of
different genres, so I think first off you have to figure out what you want to
shoot, for me it's traveling documentary photography. So that's what we'll discuss, my little
corner of the photograph world but just keep in mind that things were going
to talk about it, there are lots of crossovers. Getting ahead in this business takes patience, there
are no quick routes, so if you have designs to work in this area, I hope you have a lot of
patience, if not you've got to get some. Now for example when I'm shooting long,
exposures, long time exposures, I can be out there all day long
only get one image and I'm happy with that.
So getting a foot in the door needs more than having skills as a photographer, in fact
sometimes photography skills come second. As a professional, you have to always keep in mind that
this is a business, and as such
you got to build your client base, you've got to talk to people, you've got to get your
contacts,
you've got to deal with newspaper editors, magazine editors, it's all about
trying to sell yourself and your product.
Bottom line you've got you've got a product you want to sell it, you've got
to build as much of a contact base as possible. Now part of this is when you're
away, is making sure you keep really good notes so you've always got to carry a note book.
You got to have the names of people spelled correctly
place names spelt correctly, because if you don't, it will come to bite you in the butt later on.
So personally I think, what's at the heart of all good travel pictures is the
research, more than just your online research, you've got to get out there look at
the newspapers and magazines, check the Sunday supplements the Saturday section and see
what's being sold and what's being bought. Also you don't have to go to Outer
Mongolian to get great images, in fact at the moment I see a lot of call for real,
the picture of the real neighborhood feel. The cold hard reality about being a Pro
photographer these days is the market has changed radically. Digital has got a lot to
do with that.
But as a Pro photographer you have to really cast your net wide now. You have to put
your business brain into action.
Shelve the old creative side for a little bit and think about the money. So that
means things like selling prints as art from your websites. Getting involved with
exhibitions, either on your own, or in a group. Using your traveling imagery in a
commercial way, advertising for instance, teaching photo courses, even doing videos.
Even though magazine and newspaper commissions are thin on the ground, they
are not dead as a dodo yet, in fact in these are the areas I prefer to work in.
Now unfortunately they're also the most difficult to access for new talent. Now in my
opinion the old way is the best way, try to contact the picture editors and make an appointment
to show your work. When I first moved to the UK twenty-odd years ago I cold called
called hundreds of people in that first year. Not a lot of fun, but necessary and
if you do make an appointment that's the time to show your portfolio which we will
cover in a future episode.
I keep banging on about picture agencies and I do think there are valid source of
income, obviously they won't be your only source of income as a photographer. Very few people have that
luxury. But the key thing to think about with these agencies, once you found one you
actually like, is you got to think about the percentages. Now, not too many years ago it was a pretty common
thing for a 50/50 split with picture sales, you know, if you sold the picture for
$100, £100 pounds, you got fifty and the agency got fifty. Well that's all changed in
the last little while. Now I've heard I've heard stories of where it's as
little as 20% for the photographer and 80% for the
agency, so make sure you read all the T's and C's, although terms and conditions
all the guidelines before you actually sign a contract. You have to be
aware of this stuff, you don't want to sell yourself short. So by now, you've kind of got
the idea that being a Pro photographer is not as easy as it once was. Actually I
don't think it ever was easy, but another way to look at way to, not as much make money but
to maybe further your career, is to look at the NGO's. Non-government organisations
and charities. Oftentimes these charities will need a photographer to document what they are
doing in other parts of the world.
They usually just cover room and board travel and they may not pay anything else but that, but
what you get as a photographer, is you get experience, learn how to work to
deadlines, how to build a catalogue of pictures you can use in the future
to further your career. Now something to think about before you sign on with one
of the charities or NGO's, is who own's the copyright? Ideally you want to own the copyright.
Now if their contract states that they're actually going to own the copyright of your images,
I would think twice about signing on with them because that sort of takes
your ability to use those images for future usage for yourself out of the
picture. I know this is just the tip of the iceberg
but i want to hear your experiences both good and bad so please get in contact.
I'm Doug McKinlay. Don't forget to subscribe to AdoramaTV for more great videos. Please
like comment and share this video. And come on by the Adorama Learning Centre for more great tips and tricks.
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