Vietnamese wedding photographers hit by recession

From the Look At Vietnam blog, we can see that Vietnamese wedding photographers are suffering in a similar way to Australian photographers, and in much the same way as rock photographers worldwide.
Wedding recession | Look At Vietnam

“Nuptial photographers complain amateurs have flooded the market and couples hit by the global cash crunch can’t afford expensive wedding photos.”

“Today, anyone can be a photographer, but a camera isn’t enough,” he said “A real professional photographer does not let the lab produce the whole picture. A beautiful photograph is not only about Photoshop, its about aesthetics.”

I live in Vietnam

I’ve been receiving quite a number of quotation requests from Australians lately, so I guess the message hasn’t been clear that I no longer live in Australia.
For the record, I live and work in Vietnam now.
Please don’t send me quotation requests unless you are based in, or are referring to a job in Vietnam.

For all updates on my adventures in Asia, please subscribe to www.channelsteve.com

Thanks

Online article – The Free Exposure Trap

I really enjoyed this article published by Mark Stout, called “The Free Exposure Trap”, and have re-published it here for your interest. It covers the all to common problem faced by all but the most successful photographers – that of being asked to shoot for free.  Please visit his site to read the original article and if you want to read more of his ideas.  His photography is not to my tastes, but he is very good at what he does, and he writes in a thoughtful and well-structured manner.

The Free Exposure Trap « Mark Stout Photography – Photoshoot News & Models

The Free Exposure Trap
© Mark Stout 2009

Note: I am finding that I am frequently contacted by photographers asking for advice and it is not possible to fully answer the questions by e-mail. This is the first of a series of articles to answer the questions I am most often asked.

The “Free Exposure” Trap

I may not be in a league with Annie Liebovitz, yet, but I have seen accomplishments I did not dare dream possible when I started my career. Many mistakes were made along the way, the worst of which was believing “exposure” would make my career.

Yes, you need exposure, but it has unfortunately become the lever the bottom feeders of the industry use to coerce photographers into working for free. And while it might seem worth it to allow one of your photos to be used without charge for a magazine cover to “break in”, this underhanded game has reached astonishing proportions and never leads to anything other than more work for free.

Some examples: A publication that wanted me to shoot a 4 day convention in a distant city with two additional photographers, assistants, and set up a portrait studio on premises with a digital capture station and technician to wire photos immediately to the magazine during the day (all at my expense). The pay? Mention in the magazine, which would be distributed ONLY to attendees at the seminar. As the audience consisted of teachers, it would not even reach potential clients. I was left wondering how they even dared ask… yet they probably found someone foolish enough to take them up on the “opportunity”.

Another is a designer who offered me the “opportunity” to pass out business cards at their party for the grand launch of a new line. They paid for catering, flying in industry executives, NFL football players to attend, and took over an entire nightclub for the night but expected the photographer to work free. My answer was that I could pass out the business cards at the entrance to the club and not have the work of shooting the events and touching up all the photos.

The twists to this game are endless. We are, after all, creative people. But they are all played to the detriment of the photographer who goes along. It can be the designer who asks for a discount because he will publish the shoot in additional publications and on blogs (in truth, you should get paid an additional amount for each use of the images), the modeling agency who promises paying work but only after you do some “test” shoots with their girls first (why can’t they look at your portfolio to determine your work quality?) and the ever increasing number of magazines and blogs who have “no budget” for photography, but claim the exposure you get will make it worthwhile. The worst of them happened yesterday when a magazine offered me the “opportunity” to pay them to publish a fashion editorial in their magazine. Of course I would also have had the expense of the shoot on top of the magazines fees!

The problem is when it seems everyone is offering some variation of “free exposure” as payment, just what is this exposure worth? The chance to pay to shoot for someone else?

The irony of the situation struck me hard after one of the more offensive “opportunities” — the convention shoot — was sent my way. It occurred to me that driving to the conference and parking in the convention center parking lot each day the Ford logo on my car would be seen by more people than my name would be in their magazine. Ford would be getting a ton of “free exposure”, yet I still had to pay for the car. The Nikon logo on my camera would be seen by the same number of people, but I still had to pay for the camera. Likewise with my strobes and the rest of the equipment, lots of free exposure given to them when I use their equipment — but I still had to pay for it.

Think about it for a moment. You buy a pair of Nike shoes. They get free exposure as a result of your purchase. Your stereo, free exposure each time friends are over. Every item you purchase has the logo plastered across it and each time someone buys their product, they get free exposure/advertising.

Why then should a photographer be expected to pay to produce the content (yes, it does cost money to do a photoshoot) that a magazine needs to attract readers and advertisers; or the advertisements a designer or corporation needs to sell its products, or the portfolio a modeling agency needs to market its models for “free exposure” in lieu of pay?

I can’t follow the logic. Can you?

Why do so many of us fall for this ploy? It is the mistaken belief of most artists that “getting discovered” is the route to the top. Over the years I have learned that is exactly what it is. A mistaken belief.

Each success I have under my belt came about not as a result of free exposure, but through creating well thought out marketing materials, determining who the right contacts were and knocking repeatedly on their doors. I quickly learned that throwing the coveted “tearsheets” from the free exposure work down on an art directors desk was a big mistake. It’s a small industry, everyone knows who is out there and who the bottom feeders are. Throw down the free exposure work and they instantly know, and tell you, you got played. You have at that moment lost the respect of the person you hoped would hire you.

It is also interesting to note that whenever work is done for free, the recipient considers it, and you, worthless. If he were to do otherwise, it would make him guilty of having taken advantage of you. For this reason, if the promised paying work does eventually appear, it will go to someone else. In their eyes, you are worth only what you charge. If you were any good, you would have demanded payment!

I expect that I will come under criticism from those who defend their right to be taken advantage of. I have seen that oddity over and over on the various photographer forums and it was one of the more difficult things for me to understand. I did however, finally, come to terms with it. It’s just human nature. Some people work to get ahead and help others do the same. Some like to get ahead at the expense of others. Others have given up and seek to pull others down to their level. It is for the first category I write this and I hope that it will help a few beginning photographers avoid the mistakes that could well cost you any chance of success.

I wish you success. I will do my part by sharing with you the lessons I have learned and hopefully spare you some of the same mistakes. Meanwhile, never sell yourself short. Whether you are a seasoned pro, or still learning your way around all the buttons on the camera, if someone wants your images, they have a value. Learn what they are worth and demand it.

© Mark Stout 2009

Channel Steve launched

Today I launched my new blog – Channel Steve at the web address www.channelsteve.com

For those not already aware, I leave Australia on May 21 for a year-long working adventure in Vietnam. I’ll be teaching English and IT whilst over there and during that time Rock Portrait Photography will effectively be on hold.

The purpose of Channel Steve is twofold.
Primarily it serves as my personal blog and single-entry point into all of my online activity.  It is also intended to provide me with a photojournalism-style outlet where the Rock Portrait Photography blog would not be appropriate to do so.

I intend to blog as regularly as possible and hope you guys would like to come along for the ride.
Regular posts at www.channelsteve.com will start after I land in Asia.

I’ve been published again – well, sort of.

Anyone ever heard of Schmap online travel and map guides?

Nope, me neither.  Regardless, I’ve allowed them to use one of my more average photos of a wallaby in their latest guide to Melbourne.

Apparently they are best known for their iPhone app and blog widgets, allowing people to quickly call up maps of whichever international tourist destination they happen to be traveling around.  The editor contacted me through Flickr, asking to use this shot to represent the Healesville Sanctuary.

At first I cringed, thinking that’s a terribly lit photo from a not very compelling angle (in other words, a snapshot) and wanted to offer her a bunch of really excellent flora and fauna shots from both Healesville Sanctuary and Werribee Zoo to choose from instead.  Then, after thinking about it, I realised that it would be best not to waste too much time on this as the chances of someone seeing the shot on their iPhone and suddenly getting the urge to contact Rock Portrait Photography, or even just take a look at more of my photos, is next to zero.

What this experience illustrates is that even though there are millions of photos and many thousands of subscribers on Flickr, there is still a reasonable possibility of exposure to those looking for something specific.  Makes me re-think my current view on what I post to Flickr.  Currently I post very little of my professional work on there as I don’t like the idea of it being open to re-use without my permission.  Even though I apply an appropriate  Creative Commons licence to all my images I still have to rely on people respecting that, as it’s nearly impossible to track down unauthorised use of online images.

But lets face it, the iPhone is kind of cool so having one of my shots occasionally appear in one is cool by association.

Photography for Musicians – Published in Forte Magazine

Working in the rock photography business means you are regularly challenged by the scores of music fans with cameras – whether it be directly when you’re trying to work around them at a gig, or via bands who don’t yet understand the difference between fan-shot images, and professional, marketable ones.  You know, I’ve even met management representatives who don’t understand the difference.

Late last year I wrote a two-page spread for Forte magazine in a contribution to their “Essential Young Musician’s Guide” series. Forte is the music street press for the Geelong and western Victoria region.  They’ve only just recently made the issue available online, so I can now reproduce it for your enjoyment.

Key points I covered included:

• The band photos used in the bio, and CD artwork, can be a deal breaker. They need to be professionally shot.
• Presenting amateurish photography is almost as much a backward step as presenting amateurish demos on Myspace.
• Effective live gig photography is not easy, and requires a real knowledge of light as much as an understanding of stagecraft.
• A Myspace page is not enough. Whilst it has it’s purpose, you need a professional web presence.
• Find a photographer with creative vision that aligns or compliments your own.
• Ask questions about experience, charging, contractual rights, numbers of images, gear and recommendations

Attached is the article itself. If you have an interest in hiring a photographer (hopefully me!) or you’re dabbling in the idea of rock photography yourself, then do yourself a favour and add this to your reading material.

The Essential Young Musicians Guide – Part 4 (Forte Magazine, Nov 20, 2008)

Apologies for the typos throughout. I can’t do everything myself, as much as I would like to, so typesetting fell into the hands of the publication itself. 

What do you think?

Just for a bit of fun, and to find out who’s reading this far into my article, here is my initial suggestion for an advertisement I took out in the same magazine, and following is their final proof supposedly based on mine. Quite a bit different.  Tell me which one you like best, or none if you think they’re both rubbish.

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Photo Books

Once upon a time there was only one way to enjoy looking at photographs – by printing them out. Of course things have changed and now it’s far less common to print your photos as it is to keep them digitally.

Personally I don’t print my photos other than to enlarge them for wall hanging. I find photo albums to be time consuming and messy to make, and I rarely look at them again. Most photos are printed from print kiosks that output less than satisfactory prints, and the prints themselves usually stay in their folders and get thrown into a drawer.

As much as I love presenting my images online – after all, how can you find a bigger audience for your photos than on the internet, accessible by the majority of the modern world – there is still no replacement for a printed image. Photographs beautifully printed and presented impact you in a way that no digital image currently can. So the best way to present large numbers of images, particularly from an important event is to print them in a Photo Book.

One of my favourite products so far is my “Images of Asia” travel calendar for 2009.

There are any number of online Photo Book services out there, but only two I recommend and use. A basic service for simple products such as travel books is Albumprinter. For premium results I am a big wrap for Momento. I have a Pro account at Momento, allowing me access to rates and products not available to the general public, and I use this service to create amazing wedding albums, family portrait books and calendars. These books can live on a coffee table or pride of place on display in a family room. People will enjoy picking your book up and exploring your photos, rather than them never seeing the light of day in shoeboxes.

If you’d like a timeless and beautiful memory of any event I have or will be photographing for you, consider adding a Momento product to your shopping list.

Check out some examples of some of my Momento Photo Books.

Update – buying and using a DSLR for beginners

A little while ago I posted a link to a site providing some basic info for those making the transition into theworld of the Digital SLR (DSLR).

http://site.rockportrait.com.au/2008/08/27/upgrading-from-a-point-and-shoot-to-a-dslr/

Yesterday I stumbled on CNet’s much better version of this, so I’ve made it available to you all here.  The content that really stands out to me is the workflow section.  This is a critical component of digital photography yet few actually consider it so until after they enter chaos or panic stage.  Once you start creating and collecting all that digital data you really do need a time-effective, and safe means of managing and protecting it.  My own process took a while to put together, but works well. I use a number of products to make my life easy (see below), and I store my precious photos in four different locations – the process of which is fully automated. Seems like a lot of trouble? Maybe, but well worth it when the hard drive crashes (it will) or the house burns down (I hope it won’t, but it happens).

http://www.cnet.com.au/digitalcameras/cameras/0,239036184,240001942,00.htm?ocid=nl_w_01122008_fea_l1?omnRef=1337

Saves me having to go through it with you, although you know I love it
Please read through this, but if you still want a human being to help you with your questions about getting into the DSLR side of things, feel free to get in touch.

The main tools of my trade:

GretagMacbeth Display Calibrator – not the best available, but cheap, and if you are serious about making great shots you need to calibrate your monitor regularly.

BreezeSys Downloader Pro – I couldn’t live without this.  With very little input It allows me to create and populate all the backup locations I need, as well as add the EXIF data (image identification and copyright info) and rename and deliver all my images to my working directories.  It kicks in the moment my camera or card reader is detected by the computer.

BreezeSys Breezebrowser Pro – not critical, but a useful and rapid way of creating proofs. It will do a lot more, but I use Lightroom for my other image manipulation requirements.

Adobe Lightroom – The best thing for photographers since sliced cheese, and almost replaces Photoshop. An affordable way to manage and manipulate your images, including the output stages – web pages, printing, uploading, slideshows.  Supports plugins and extensions. The latest version lets you make locational changes like spot removal and specific exposure modifications without affecting the entire image.  Most of all I love the filter plugins – make’s black and white and wild effects so easy.

Google Picasa – Hey!  You other photographers out there, don’t laugh! For a free product this thing is amazingly good.  When it comes to my snapshots (you know, the non-pro stuff I’m sure you all do as well?) I want a really fast way of polishing my images and getting them online.  This does exactly that.  And don’t underestimate how good the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button is.  They’re a clever bunch those Googleheads.  And yes, I’m a fanboy.

Adobe Photoshop – The beeze neeze of photography tools, but becoming less relevant as Lightroom ramps up. Far too expensive for anyone but genuine pros, but also by far the best product out there to fully control your images.

Wacom Pen Tablet – Until you’ve used one of these you think the mouse is all you need. However, making accurate exposure changes, and drawing objects in and out of images is so much more natural with a pen tablet.

Syncback – Do you backup? I bet you don’t.  Hey, almost no-one does! In every job I’ve worked in the backup process wasn’t refined, and in some cases didn’t even exist, until after a disaster.  So – BACKUP!!!! OFTEN!!!  Syncback has a free version that does everything for you when you are asleep.

Filezilla FTP Client – Finally, you need a way to get your images online if you are running your own web server (easier than you might think). Why give your copyright away to Flickr, Myspace or Facebook? (Did you even know you were doing that?) Host your own images.  Use FTP to manage your site.

That’s all for today.  Have fun installing and playing with your new workflow management tools!

Easily keep up with your favourite blogs

Browsing through the internet as I tend to do quite often, I stumbled upon a solution looking for a problem.  Well, the problem already exists in Australia at least – people don’t understand RSS feeds and don’t remember to regularly view their favourite web pages to check for new content.

I’d like to make it easier for you to know when I post new content, so I have three options for you.

• Subscribe to my newsletter.
  This is by far the easiest option. Every time I write a new blog entry you will receive an email that day telling you about my post.  Simply enter your email address into the eNews & Updates box in the top right of each page, or use the one I’ve included for you here. 

  eNews & Updates

  Sign up to receive breaking news
  as well as receive other site updates!

   

 

• Use an RSS reader.
  RSS means really simple syndication, and it’s a way to automatically see the headlines (and sometimes full posts) of any new content added to an RSS-enabled website. All blogs are RSS-enabled, and many sites these days will be too.  The more geeky of us will have a dedicated RSS reader already downloaded and installed, but I strongly recommend Google Reader.  Once you’re signed up for Google Reader you only need to find “Subscribe” links in the web sites you are viewing to be able to add them to the Reader.  And while you’re at it, sign up for a Gmail account.  It’s far superior to Hotmail or Yahoo, and I’ll go so far as to say it will beat whatever else you are using hands down.  Contact me to have a chat about it if you have questions.
   
• A third option is appealing to those who prefer to use email only, and are not big on browsing to other web sites to see what’s going on. 
  http://lifehacker.com/5080971/tabbloid-turns-your-rss-feed-into-a-newspaper 

  It doesn’t appear to include any photographs, and I got bored of the idea after two deliveries, but perhaps it might suit you.  Simply give them your email address and the addresses of all the feeds you are interested in.  Bingo! New magazine style emails every day for you to browse through without ever leaving your email application.

Venting my spleen

I can’t listen to band photographers griping about current state of affairs without saying my piece.

Photo credit: Josefina Takes a Picture by carlosluis

Recently I’ve been reading a spate of emails from professional band photographers complaining that “amateurs with point-and-shoots” are being allowed into the pits, and that record companies, bands and management firms are expecting images for free.

As much as I love shooting live bands more than anything, it’s pretty obvious that this is not a career path capable of paying the mortgage. So, I do it for fun and the occasional remuneration. My genuine photography income comes from bread and butter stuff like portraiture and corporate events. Those things need photographers that know what they are doing. Amateurs cannot yet service that demand. They can service the need for live band images.

My annoyance at these photographers who can’t see the forest for the trees led me to respond as such. I thought I’d share. [Read more]

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