The One Man Band And A Network Of Thousands

One Man Band: To Be, Or Not To Be?
At various times in my photography career I have had up to five people working for me. A small number of employees compared to the number of staff members of many other photographers, but certainly a handful for me! I remain firmly convinced that having the right employees can make your business way more efficient and profitable, and having the wrong employees can really drag you down. One question you need to answer before you grow your business staff is whether it will suit the life you want to lead.

Large Staffs, Part Time Employees, and Pressure
I know of several photographers who have large staffs, produce wonderful work in vast quantities, haul in huge dollars and feel like they are slaves to their operations.  One such stock shooter, who has over a dozen staff members, remarked to me how much he envied my trips abroad to shoot stock.  I suggested he embark on such a trip.  He said he couldn’t, his huge studio expenses would continue whether he was there or not, so he had to be there to keep producing. I'm sure not everyone feels that way, but it is a feeling I certainly understand. Whenever I have had full-time, or heck, even part time employees, I have felt pressure to keep them busy and productive.

Routine Tasks And Freedom
Right now I have no one working for me. It feels great! The downside is that I have to do things I don't necessarily want to, like entering metadata, running to the store to buy printer ink (I just got back), and taking care of all the routine tasks that I consider myself too important to do. Oh well…. It also means that I won't make quite as much money. Sure, there is no salary to pay, but I have always found that employees have earned me more than they have cost me…at least in terms of dollars. But at this point in my life I value my freedom more than I do those extra dollars.

A One Man Band And A Network Of Thousands
The trade-off? I have to be that proverbial One Man Band. Of course, I do avail myself of independent contractors. I have a bookkeeper that comes in every couple of months to untangle my latest Quickbooks mess, my web master (actually my twin brother) who handles the heaviest SEO load, and the occasional assistant as needed. But more importantly, I have a network of thousands (OK, maybe hundreds…but whose counting?) I can turn to when I need help, pretty much anywhere in the world.  I have this network of friends and from photographer forums, from helping others and sharing information whenever I can. One of the most amazing things about this new fangled Internet is all of the help that is out their waiting for all of us.  I guess none of us really has to be a one man band anymore.

Creating A Social Media Stock Photo

Social media and social networking are huge topics right now and there is a need for images representing them. They are also, in my opinion, difficult to create images for. That is a good thing. If I am correct it means there will be inherently less competition for the images that I come up with. In this environment of image over supply that is a critical criteria for me.

I don’t remember exactly what sparked this latest idea, but it was centered on the intention of coming up with those “social media” themes. Oh, I do remember! It was those “flickr photo clouds” that Getty is promoting. I thought, geez, I should do my own photo clouds. Somehow, when I see Getty, with whom I have such a large image investment, promoting their flickr collection so prominently, I tend to feel a tad anxious and resentful. The trick is to channel that hit of energy into creativity and productivity. Then it occurred to me that I could have a “photo” cloud around a person’s head indicating their “connections” on social media sites. The image could also work for networking, business connections, even communications in general.

I got pretty excited. Over the last few years I have shot plenty of images of people that I can pull the “cloud images” from. I browsed through some of my recent shoots to see if I could find a “base” image, one with a model in a situation and pose that would work. I needed an image with a fairly plain background. With all those smaller images floating around, the picture could get too busy very quickly. It is important that an image remain simple enough to be a quick read at thumbnail size, since virtually all images are first seen by prospective licensors as thumbnails. The photo should be a positive image with the primary model looking happy and confident. If the model was in a business environment it might help broaden the potential market for the image, expanding it into the realm of business networking.

It didn’t take long to find what seemed like the right image to work with. From an office shoot I did a little over a year ago, I came across an unused out take that in no way was a similar to any accepted shots. Once I had that image I just started looking through the numerous shoots that were readily available on my archive drives. Every time I found a likely shot for the cloud I just opened it, copied the portion I wanted, then pasted it into the base image.

It only took me a couple of hours and my image was done. Sort of. I sent the composite to my editor at Blend Images. He loved it. Hmmm, now the realization sets in. With so many pictures around the model's head, and some of them groups, I am going to have to come up with over a hundred model releases stretching back over five years! I wouldn’t be surprised if it took me two days to accomplish it! Well, guess I better quit blogging and get down to tracking down those releases!

Committment To Your Photo Shoots (And Photos!)

Commitment

Word on the street is that the “low hanging fruit” in the world of stock photography is gone, harvested by Micro stock and the glut in RF images. I don’t know if it is totally gone, but I certainly agree that the bar is being constantly raised. For those of us serious about making a living at stock photography, now is the time to bring a new commitment into our shoots. For me, that means being more disciplined, more organized and more prepared.

In the past I would throw together a shoot and not worry too much about getting the most out of it. I pretty much knew that whatever I shot was going to earn me money. My dilemma now is how to have increased efficiency without bringing in a dark cloud of concern, how to make each production dollar and minute be more productive without taking the fun out of my stock career. Keeping the shoots fun is very important to me. I didn’t get in to this business to have it become work! For me, success in stock photography is more than just money, it is also an interesting and fun lifestyle.

I pulled together a shoot last Saturday that is typical of my new way of working. I managed to still keep it fun while having it also be one of my most productive stock photography shoots to date. What I did differently: Checked my shot list with an agency art director (Blend Images); Rehearsed and set-up each lighting scenario ahead of time; Added a video component to the shoot; And hired an extra assistant with the understanding he would also do some modeling.

To keep it fun I kept the shoot to only five hours in length and allotted extra time for each set up. I also had a separate photographer there to shoot the video; all I had to do was add a couple of suggestions (I also provided the camera, lights, studio and models). Another very important ingredient to insure that I am having fun is to be working on shots that I am genuinely excited about. I am not concerned about squeezing every last drop out of a shoot, rather I want to have a well thought out production that gives me the resources to do the best possible job of creating images that are interesting to me, relevant to the marketplace, and as low-stress as possible.

I base my shoots around one or two central ideas; then fill the shot list out from there. The central image for me, with this shoot, was based on Social Networking or what is now called Social Media. The shot is comprised of endless hands reaching out to each other. In some cases the hands will be clasped in a handshake, in other cases the hands will be about to touch. The need for images illustrating Social Media is huge and growing. I wanted to create an image that could be used to illustrate and advertise themes based around the social networking groups such as MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and the like.

I ended up putting more prep time than usual into the shoot. I also hired more crew. The shoot ended up costing a bit more, but I was committed to the shoot and to the final images. In the long run, especially in these new more competitive times, the commitment to spending a little more money and a little more time (in this case pre-shoot set up) to get the best possible outcome will prove to be a very “economical” strategy…and a fun strategy as well!

Multi-tasking to success

Multi-tasking my way to success

Just finished an article about the creation of my latest concept stock photo. http://www.johnlund.com/Artcl35-conflict.htm I have this theory about one way to be successful in this Internet world as a stock photographer. My idea is to create cool stock images and then to write about them.
As I have mentioned before, the fundamental problem in this new environment of image glut, is getting your work seen. If I take the time and trouble to create a special image then it will behoove me to take the time and trouble to publicize that image. That effort actually will accomplish another objective too; the increasingly important task of branding oneself. By writing about my images I will be increasing their visibility, driving more traffic to my site, and strengthening my own personal brand.

What does it take to be successful in stock photography today? Let’s see, have a ton of good ideas, be a great photographer, know Photoshop like the back of your hand, become an expert at SEO; excel at writing, spend an inordinate amount of time on your website, be a social networking maven, and develop a strong personal brand. OK, so I’ve left a few things out….

Social Networking – Perhaps a useful tool after all

When I first started out in the photography business the formula for success seemed very simple. Make great pictures and get them in front of potential buyers. That hasn't changed. Of course, back then we didn't have fax machines, answering machines, or personal computers. We didn't e-mail, Facebook, blog or twitter.

As I scramble madly to keep up with all this new technology, and the resulting screens all demanding my attention, it occurs to me that even though everything has changed, nothing has changed! It is still about creating great work and getting it in front of the appropriate people. We have different tools and a lot more choices now. For those of us in stock photography we have a whole lot of new business models too. Should I "micro" as well as "twitter"?

By at least getting involved in these tools I can see which ones don't seem to work for me and which do. By actually participating I can determine which ones I find onerous and which ones actually contribute to my life and wellbeing. At this, admittedly early point in the game, I have my doubts about the fit between Facebook and me. However, I am finding twitter kind of fun and perhaps even useful. The jury is still out, but at least I am starting to get a sense of things, something that certainly wouldn't happen if I hadn't made the decision to get my feet wet.

Also important for me, by getting involved I can at least let go of the angst of not knowing. I can make informed decisions. And I am, slowly but surely, becoming informed. I am becoming more informed in two different ways. Obviously, by trying out these tools I am learning, but also the tools are actually getting me more involved with my peers--- increasing even more the information sharing that leads to greater understanding.

What lead to this post was my realization this morning that, as I looked at the "tweets" from my fellow "twitters" I was feeling closer to them, communicating more, and learning. Imagine that!
John