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Last Updated: Oct 22nd, 2012 - 18:43:33 |
Finding Clients
Fine Art Photography: with Raymond Meeks
Finding Clients
Editorial Photography Clients
Editorial
photography: the images created to illustrate a magazine story and one of the most
sought after clients in photography marketing. Maybe it is because of the
newsstand exposure factor. Maybe it is because of the industry standard of
using the photographer’s credits with the images. Beyond all the reasons that
photographers look to pursue editorial photography clients is the single most
attractive factor: telling a story with your images.But today’s market for editorial work
has changed considerably in the last few years and to discuss both these
changes and the marketing techniques that work today we interviewed these four
editorial photographers.Brian Smith, www.briansmith.com, has published portraits
of celebrities, athletes and business executives on the covers of hundreds of
magazines. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his images of the Los Angeles Olympic
Games and is president of the organization Editorial Photographers (EP). Robbie McClaran, www.mcclaran.com,has been documenting
the American people and landscape for magazines and news publications for more
than twenty five years and is the author of the critically acclaimed photo
essay book, Angry White Men. Brian Smale, www.briansmale.com, is best known for his
award-winning portraits of the world’s leading businessmen and women,
scientists, inventors, politicians, and does advertising and corporate work
along with his editorial projects. Shawn Henry, www.shawnhenry.com, has been photographing
people on location for more than twenty years on worldwide assignments for
corporate and editorial clients. He is the vice-president of Editorial Photographers
(EP).
MP:
What do you recommend are the best ways to research and find editorial
photography clients?
Shawn G. Henry: I can spend
hours in a good bookstore perusing the magazine aisles. As fun as that is, you
can't beat using a good list company like Agency Access, Adbase, or Freshlists
-- there are hundreds of potential editorial clients and you'd be hard pressed
to find all of them in even the largest bookstore.
Brian Smith: While there are
a number of really good lists available of every magazine photo editor and art
director in the country, I find the best way is putting in the effort to craft
a targeted list of magazines that are appropriate for the work you shoot. Spending
a couple hours at Borders or Barnes & Nobles is a great way to do
this.
MP::
What seems to work best for you so far- given the different marketing tools
available (direct mail, email, web site, sales calls, social media)?
Robbie
McClaran: All of the above and more including blogs, search engine
optimization, old fashioned schmoozing. You've got to find ways to get your
work out there in a variety of ways. In this compressed market that is
overflowing with talented producers of images, photographers ignore any of
these available tools at their own peril. There is such a volume of promotional
materials from photographers being distributed that none of the tools work by
themselves, some work better with some clients than with others. But the single
most important tool is your work. It has to be great. Seems obvious but if your
work sucks, no amount of marketing is going to work. That said; marketing has
become nearly as important as producing good work.
Shawn G. Henry: Most of my
marketing during the last few years has been via email, though I still do some
direct mail. I've done a few smaller campaigns, targeting select current and
potential clients using Blurb books (basically a direct mail portfolio) that
had good results. I'm a general member of ASMP (www.asmp.org ) and have several portfolios in
ASMP Find A Photographer directory (www.findaphotographer.org ). Referrals
from Find A Photographer more than
pay for my membership every year. I'm a member of Editorial Photographers (EP),
www.editorialphoto.com, as well
and have a portfolio in EP's Find A
Photographer (FAP) as well. Being included in the EP directory is worth far
more than the minimal cost of membership in EP. Disclaimer: I'm on the national
board of ASMP and I chair the FAP committee. I'm also a member of a small group of
photographers represented on www.BigShotStock.com.
It's basically an online stock database for member photographers, but we've
done a fair bit of marketing for the site, including a couple of Blurb book
portfolio "source books". Again the referrals I've received from
BigShot more than pay for my membership. I've also had pretty good results with
Google.
Brian Smale: I have generally
noticed an uptick in calls and jobs in the first week or so after sending out
an email. These have always come from existing clients, so it could be a
coincidence. Nobody has ever said to me, 'Loved the email, here's a
job’ but it does keep my name floating around somewhere in a client's head.
A web site is the default method of finding photographers anywhere. I'm
finding it increasingly difficult to get printed portfolios in front of photo
editors and art directors. Everybody just wants to see a website. I think sales
calls would probably have the greatest impact, if anyone would answer their
phone! Facebook and LinkedIn seem to have some value, especially in
reconnecting with past clients that have moved on and aren't easily found other
ways.
MP: What types or formats of photography
portfolios do you find works best for an editorial client?
Brian Smale: I think the web
rules right now. A nice print book is probably good to have on hand, in
case we all stop using the Internet tomorrow! Small printed books (like
Blurb, etc) will work since they look good and can be kept on file with the
Photo Editor. It will be interesting when the Apple Tablet comes out.
I expect that there will be a 'portfolio' app for it within minutes. That
could be very interesting.
Shawn G. Henry: Without a doubt,
a website is the number one portfolio these days. It's the surest way of
getting your work in front of a potential client and sometimes it seems like
the only way. Years ago, when I was first starting out, it was possible to pick
up the phone and get an appointment to see the director of photography at the National Geographic or the photo editor
at the New York Times Sunday
Magazine. Doing that today is close to impossible, even at less prestigious
magazines. Print books are still important. It's hard to match the tangible
quality of images on paper with a website but it's just so much harder to get
them seen that a website should be a photographer's first priority.
Finding Clients
Finding Clients in the Music Industry
Like
many industries, the music industry has seen changes in how to find and promote
to photography clients. One of the biggest changes is that the “contact” person
for photo services has diversified to the point of being so broad that you have
to contact many different types of firms. We will also look at the changes in
“access” photographers have to the artists. One common theme is “passion” and
selecting your music industry client based on your interest in the music and
personal relationships within that community of artists. Finally, we will
examine different methods of self-promotion working for the photographers
interviewed.
MP: What kind of music
industry clients have you worked with? Who are the best to contact for
photography?
Greg
Watermann, www.gregwatermann.com: I've worked
with them all: magazines,
artists, music production companies, record companies, publicity firms, and the
agents. Other sources are merchandise companies
(t-shirts, calendars, etc.), and management firms (they directly manage
bands), and manufacturers of music instruments and gear.
Bettie Grace Miner, www.minerworksofart.com:
I have worked
with numerous jazz musicians, major and independent record labels, concert
promoters, artist managers and agents, jazz and blues festivals, music PR
firms, radio stations, charities, music related websites, resort hotels, and
night clubs. The
world is changing for music, musicians and the industry as a whole. Radio stations have gone under or changed
formats, leaving the musicians and labels nowhere to sell their product. The
major labels have let go of all but the most lucrative talent and the
independent labels have been all but squeezed out of business. Music stores are almost non-existent with
most music being sold either online or through downloads. I have had to scale back prices from the big
budgets major labels had to a very small budget, working with the artists
directly so they can produce their own projects and then try to get
distribution deals. Art directors for
the labels that are still in existence change frequently and are sometimes
independent contractors. The short answer is that there is no
answer. You have to research each avenue
or project to find the person who will hire you. Most times it is the musician themselves,
then you can work your way up the food chain.
MP: What do you recommend are the best ways to
research and find these photography clients?
David Alan Kogut, www.northeastventure.com: Road Managers and Artist Managers
are still the best to contact. The music business seems huge but it is really
small. Everyone knows everyone else so the best way is to put yourself in the
right crowd. I started locally with a venue close to my studio that had R&B
acts and worked my way up from there.
Christopher Winton-Stahle, www.winton-stahle.com:
I find that the
best way to build clients in general is through personal relationships with
either the artists or the labels. This takes time. Starting with a magazine is
a good way to get in because you meet the artist directly. If you do good work
that they dig then they may want to invite you back or they’re pass your name
along. Musicians all talk to each other so once it happens and you’ve built and
maintained that good reputation then it’ll most likely continue to happen. I’ve
never had a lot of luck with promoting to record labels. Music photography is a
much desired field that is difficult to break into “full time” and I’m sure
that the labels get more promos from photographers than they can shake an ugly
stick at. My
opinion about photographing musicians and celebrities is that it’s not just
about doing great work that is innovative and creative but it equally about
personality and your attitude. The worst thing in the world for an artist is to
work with a weird photographer with star struck eyes or someone that goes into
the situation with an “attitude”. Remember that these are just people like you
and me and when working with other professional artists they don’t want to feel
uncomfortable. They may find dealing with people can be uncomfortable at times
so it’s your job to just make things as quick, easy, and enjoyable as possible.
I think that’s actually one thing that has helped me with photographing anyone
of a celebrity status is that I see all people equally and I just like to just
have a good time no matter who you are.
Bettie Grace Miner: Concert promoters became aware of
my work through the artist portraits due to exhibits at jazz venues, prints and
a self-published book collected by fans.
That visibility led to commissions for music festival posters for numerous
events. The poster art was used for
advertising and merchandise produced for sale at jazz and blues festivals. Radio stations and magazines were introduced
to my work through these events and I created revenue share programs and trades
for advertising with them. Charities
often do music festivals to raise funds, which gets lots of promotion and the
artwork created for those events gets a lot of exposure. I exhibited my work at the festivals and
other events, introducing my imagery to fans; they would then buy prints and
get them autographed by the musicians.
The artists would put the images on their website, which would then get
picked up by magazines, other websites and used in interviews and public
relations. That exposure would bring my
work to the attention of record labels and the resulting CD covers would bring
additional exposure to the entire music industry. It’s a networking dream.
MP:What have been the biggest
changes you have seen in music industry clients?
Paul Natkin, http://natkin.net: When I started
30 years ago there were dozens of magazines featuring musicians-mostly location
photos. In those days it was relatively easy to get access to any venue. That
access was truly the key to finding and keeping clients in this industry. When
you built up a sense of trust with any of the music industry players, you could
make a phone call and have an all- access pass waiting for you at the
door. This access helped photographers become
part of the process, the process of the selling of the music. For example, when
I got a call from the publicist for Bruce Springsteen at the beginning of his
career they told me “shoot everything you can and get the images published
everywhere you can”. So they brought me in for his first video (Dancing in the Dark) and his first
concert in St. Paul. With previous contacts made with Rolling Stone magazine from a photo shoot with Prince, I sold them
images from the Springsteen shoot as well as to magazines all around the world.
So because publicists and musicians wanted me to shoot because I could get the
images published, my access increased the publicity value to the band. And
because I retained my copyright and sold usage, I can still make money today
off these older images. Two problems today: there are far fewer
magazines to sell to and publicists bar access to the artists. But lack of
access is really the biggest problem and is choking off the freelance
photographer and most of the creativity in the process. As an example, this change to the
photographer’s access has been to cutback from shooting the entire concert at
stage front to only the first three
songs shooting from the soundboard and finally to shooting from the back of the room for the first 30
seconds of the concert. Boring and static and mediocre images. Today, the industry will never get back
on its feet unless there is some effort to create change at the venue access level.
The venue will toss you out after shooting for 30 seconds or 3 songs unless
previous and tedious special permission has been granted just to you. It used
to be you got Photo Passes, now they just let you in the back door, escort you
to the shooting position and then escort you out. This is insane. The idea of
the venue dictating access to the musicians is crazy, today the band has to
specifically ask for a policy change to allow the photographers to stay and
shoot. Because if you can’t take the picture of them, you can’t sell the
picture for them. One way I make money today is to be
hired up front- -in advance of any concert tour-- to create hundreds images for
the talent. They select the images they want then buy unlimited rights for lots
of money and then they dole out the images very carefully and deliberately to
the magazines. After a heart-to-heart talk with the
late Jim Marshall, I decided to take a stand and not take on a gig unless I
could shoot the way I wanted. Immediately I lost 90% of my business! But the
10% of clients that kept me on are in it for the images I can create, not the
standard, mediocre shots everyone else gets.
MP: What have you found to be the
most effective self-promotion methods?
Christopher Winton-Stahle: Direct
mail to the labels is an option. You can get a full list of such firms through ADBASE
or Agency Access. These are directory services that build mailing lists and
they both charge by annual fee. Periodic email blasts are an option as well.
I’ve connected with a few bands and musicians through social media which has
worked fairly well for lower profile artists. I’d say to focus on doing good
work, get your name out there through your website, social medial, direct mail,
get to know the artist, talk to the magazines, build relationship with managers
and labels, show your work in a non-stalker creepy way and let the powers that
be know that you’re interested in working with them but don’t come across as
being “too hungry”. If you’re work is good then it will speak for itself but it
is up to you to get it in front of the right people and it’s up to you to find
the people that you connect the best with.
Greg Watermann: Word of
mouth and reputation in the industry are vital marketing tools. That’s really
the only way to move up in entertainment. It’s not possible to get
the clients I have now by cold-calling or drop-offs. Do photography
that blows them away and be very easy to work with. Trust is very
important also. I'm often times in sensitive situations with a
camera in my hands and the artist has to trust I will do the job
professionally.
Bettie Grace Miner: Exhibiting and networking at
major music events; through word of mouth referrals, my website and
e-newsletters. I have never done any
traditional advertising, yet I get sales and website hits from all over the
world. Through that marketing I developed a database of clients, customers and
music industry VIPs. Each month I send
an email newsletter with exhibit, new releases, news and other thoughts to keep
in touch and keep me in the front of their minds. Within days of doing a newsletter, I always
get some kind of assignment, commission or sale, even if it’s not related to
the newsletter content.
David Alan Kogut: Now with Facebook and other
social marketing options the world is your oyster. I have gotten clients from
Europe, US, Canada from Facebook. I joined the New York City Friars Club ten
years ago as a way for me to be around activities and events and get to be
known for what I do. I also used other skills such as fine art painting, art
direction and graphic design to get in the "inner" circle.Today
I offer the same services. For example, I shot the Gin Blossoms (both Still and
Video); I interviewed the band and designed the latest CD. I also created web
pages to promote them. So basically the idea is offer as many things as
possible to your clientele to keep them coming back for more.
Finding Clients
Finding Clients in Editorial Markets
Editorial
photography: the images created to illustrate a magazine story and one of the most
sought after clients in photography marketing. Maybe it is because of the
newsstand exposure factor. Maybe it is because of the industry standard of
using the photographer’s credits with the images. Beyond all the reasons that
photographers look to pursue editorial photography clients is the single most
attractive factor: telling a story with your images.
But today’s market for editorial work
has changed considerably in the last few years and to discuss both these
changes and the marketing techniques that work today we interviewed these four
editorial photographers.
Brian Smith, www.briansmith.com, has published portraits
of celebrities, athletes and business executives on the covers of hundreds of
magazines. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his images of the Los Angeles Olympic
Games and is president of the organization Editorial Photographers (EP).
Robbie McClaran, www.mcclaran.com,has been documenting
the American people and landscape for magazines and news publications for more
than twenty five years and is the author of the critically acclaimed photo
essay book, Angry White Men.
Brian Smale, www.briansmale.com, is best known for his
award-winning portraits of the world’s leading businessmen and women,
scientists, inventors, politicians, and does advertising and corporate work
along with his editorial projects.
Shawn Henry, www.shawnhenry.com, has been photographing
people on location for more than twenty years on worldwide assignments for
corporate and editorial clients. He is the vice-president of Editorial Photographers
(EP).
SB:
What do you recommend are the best ways to research and find editorial
photography clients?
Shawn G. Henry: I can spend
hours in a good bookstore perusing the magazine aisles. As fun as that is, you
can't beat using a good list company like Agency Access, Adbase, or Freshlists
-- there are hundreds of potential editorial clients and you'd be hard pressed
to find all of them in even the largest bookstore.
Brian Smith: While there are
a number of really good lists available of every magazine photo editor and art
director in the country, I find the best way is putting in the effort to craft
a targeted list of magazines that are appropriate for the work you shoot. Spending
a couple hours at Borders or Barnes & Nobles is a great way to do
this.
SB:
What seems to work best for you so far- given the different marketing tools
available (direct mail, email, web site, sales calls, social media)?
Robbie
McClaran: All of the above and more including blogs, search engine
optimization, old fashioned schmoozing. You've got to find ways to get your
work out there in a variety of ways. In this compressed market that is
overflowing with talented producers of images, photographers ignore any of
these available tools at their own peril. There is such a volume of promotional
materials from photographers being distributed that none of the tools work by
themselves, some work better with some clients than with others. But the single
most important tool is your work. It has to be great. Seems obvious but if your
work sucks, no amount of marketing is going to work. That said; marketing has
become nearly as important as producing good work.
Shawn G. Henry: Most of my
marketing during the last few years has been via email, though I still do some
direct mail. I've done a few smaller campaigns, targeting select current and
potential clients using Blurb books (basically a direct mail portfolio) that
had good results.
I'm a general member of ASMP (www.asmp.org ) and have several portfolios in
ASMP Find A Photographer directory (www.findaphotographer.org ). Referrals
from Find A Photographer more than
pay for my membership every year. I'm a member of Editorial Photographers (EP),
www.editorialphoto.com, as well
and have a portfolio in EP's Find A
Photographer (FAP) as well. Being included in the EP directory is worth far
more than the minimal cost of membership in EP. Disclaimer: I'm on the national
board of ASMP and I chair the FAP committee.
I'm also a member of a small group of
photographers represented on www.BigShotStock.com.
It's basically an online stock database for member photographers, but we've
done a fair bit of marketing for the site, including a couple of Blurb book
portfolio "source books". Again the referrals I've received from
BigShot more than pay for my membership. I've also had pretty good results with
Google.
Brian Smale: I have generally
noticed an uptick in calls and jobs in the first week or so after sending out
an email. These have always come from existing clients, so it could be a
coincidence. Nobody has ever said to me, 'Loved the email, here's a
job’ but it does keep my name floating around somewhere in a client's head.
A web site is the default method of finding photographers anywhere. I'm
finding it increasingly difficult to get printed portfolios in front of photo
editors and art directors. Everybody just wants to see a website. I think sales
calls would probably have the greatest impact, if anyone would answer their
phone! Facebook and LinkedIn seem to have some value, especially in
reconnecting with past clients that have moved on and aren't easily found other
ways.
SB: What types or formats of photography
portfolios do you find works best for an editorial client?
Brian Smale: I think the web
rules right now. A nice print book is probably good to have on hand, in
case we all stop using the Internet tomorrow! Small printed books (like
Blurb, etc) will work since they look good and can be kept on file with the
Photo Editor. It will be interesting when the Apple Tablet comes out.
I expect that there will be a 'portfolio' app for it within minutes. That
could be very interesting.
Shawn G. Henry: Without a doubt,
a website is the number one portfolio these days. It's the surest way of
getting your work in front of a potential client and sometimes it seems like
the only way. Years ago, when I was first starting out, it was possible to pick
up the phone and get an appointment to see the director of photography at the National Geographic or the photo editor
at the New York Times Sunday
Magazine. Doing that today is close to impossible, even at less prestigious
magazines. Print books are still important. It's hard to match the tangible
quality of images on paper with a website but it's just so much harder to get
them seen that a website should be a photographer's first priority.
SB:
What are the top industry changes you have seen in the editorial photography
market in the last five years?
Robbie McClaran I suppose the number one change
is the demise of so many magazines. Conde Nast closed another four titles this
past week which I believe makes something like twenty one major consumer titles
to close this year alone. As there are fewer magazines being published there
seem to be more and more photographers who want to work for them.
Next on my list is the obvious influence
of digital photography. In the last five years I have gone from shooting
exclusively film and delivering prints to exclusively digital. It's certainly
more convenient in almost all respects but I fear we've lost something in the
transition, a certain level of craft perhaps, in favor of speed and
convenience.
I think another major change is actually
something that has not changed-the editorial fees. Many magazines are paying
the same rates (and in some cases lower rates) they were paying ten, fifteen, even
twenty years ago. Fewer magazines adhere to the old practice of paying space
against day rate, going for a flat fee instead. Contracts retain more and more
rights to the publishers, including foreign language editions, reprints-all for
the same low fee. Editorial photography remains a buyer’s market and
photographers have proven to either be unable or unwilling to buck that trend.
There are certainly other trends worth
noting and I hate to be a pessimist but none seem to favor photographers. Some
people are excited about the opportunity in producing multimedia and video for
web publishing but I'm hearing stories of clients unwilling to pay appropriate
fees for the cost of production.
Brian Smale: There has been a
huge increase in the use of stock photography in general and disturbingly the
use of microstock (see ya at the food bank kids!). Also, magazines are more
likely to use just one or two images to illustrate a story, rather than the
multiple-image stories like back in the 'good old days'
Shawn G. Henry: Many
publications are waiting to assign photography until the last minute now, when
it's certain that the story will actually make it into print. Previously, many
publications would assign right away and the story might never make it into the
magazine. This is probably a result of budget problems, but the transition to
digital also plays a role. With digital, magazines can assign almost up to the
print deadline and know they can still get an image in the magazine.
Brian
Smith: Too
many publications are giving away their content for free on the Internet. I
think from a business perspective what ESPN
Magazine and Photo District News
do makes more sense, offering some stories for free but charging the full
subscription rate if you want the premium content. ‘Free’ isn't working which
is a major factor in why we see so many large consumer magazines folding
or merging.
Also, many images are used small and poorly
on most magazine and newspaper websites. The magazines that feature big, bold,
lavish reproduction that isn't easily replicated on their dotcom site haven't
taken as big of a hit in terms of print circulation. Maybe that means editors
should run photos really, really big if they want to survive.
Finding Clients
Add Press Releases To Your Publicity Strategy-coutersy of ADBASE
[ Visit Website ]
Finding Clients
Working With Art Galleries
You should think of your gallery search as a matchmaking
process. Find a match-you and the gallery-that will work best for both parties.
Partnering with a gallery will give you not only the gratification of seeing
your images on display but also the satisfaction of a profitable relationship.
Finding Clients
Adding Licensing Sales to Your Business
Based on your business need to diversify your income base,
this may be a good time to look into licensing your work. Many manufacturers
have a product development department but still need to fulfill the creative
aspects of their products and this has opened up new opportunities for you.
Publishers are always looking for fresh ideas, creative design and artwork to
attain a competitive edge for their retail paper products.
Pricing & Negotiating Skills
How to Get Paid What You Want
"What do you charge?" The most important
question you will hear when selling your creative services. Learn how to use pricing strategies to
convince your clients that you're the best (not the cheapest) person for the
job. Find out how to tell a client what you charge whether they actually have a
job or are just "looking". Help your clients make the right choice
-hiring you - by presenting them with proposals instead of prices. Learn how to teach your clients to ask,
"What does it cost?" instead of "What do you charge?’
Finding Clients
Beyond the Sales Call
Building relationships does not just “happen” for you. You
need to keep
your fears from overcoming good business
sense. You need to keep your clients
coming back and paying your price. You
need to become more aware of the courtship and bonding in the creative/client
relationship. You need a plan to go beyond the sales call.
Finding Clients
Marketing & Self Promotion
Currenty working on my next marketing book for photographers and interviewing on all aspects of marketing and self-promotion, please contact us with your success story graphics@mpiscopo.com
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