Detour

One of my favorite activities is walking. My favorite part of Sacramento to walk is midtown. When I used to live on 23rd and G, I used to walk 25-30 blocks almost every other day. I love to walk to places I've never been before. New surroundings are exciting and I love to discover fresh scenes. For me it's how I handle stress or after hours of looking at the computer screen, immersing myself around trees and calm surroundings, gives my mind a great distraction. In a way, it's a necessary detour from my hectic life where I can catch my breath.

Finding and keeping inspirations - advices from the Pros

Photoshelter put together this great list in Finding and keeping inspirations - advices from the Pros.
To download visit Photoshelter.  Click here to watch the Webinar.
 

Corey Rich:

·      Be interested in the world around you

·      Have non-photographer friends

·      Don’t get hung up on the business

·      Donate time to causes you believe in

·      Fall in love with another person

·      Have a pet

·      Travel to get outside your comfort zone

·      Help other photographers to learn and grow

·      Embrace storytelling

·      Drink plenty of wine, Beer and Tequila

Tim Mantoani:

·      Find out who you are

·      Make images that show your personal voice

·      Forced out of your comfort zone

·      Find a network of like-minded people

·      Update your portfolio with new images

·      Make more powerful images

·      A vested interest (i.e. Self funding) will make you work harder

·      Test the limits of what’s possible

·      Inspire others

·      Inspire yourself

Scott Strazante:

·      Get out of your comfort zone

·      Have a life-long photo project

·      Have a year-long photo project

·      Find day long photo projects

·      Study other people’s work

·      Take mental breaks

·      Enter contests (Feed ego and to review work)

·      Find like minded friends to motivate one another*

·      Shoot your own life

Ami Vitale:

·      Read voraciously

·      Talk to different types of people to get different perspectives on the same topic

·      Localize and humanize bigger issue

·      Think visually about an idea. Not all ideas work visually

·      Write a lot.  Put ideas on paper (Will apply to grants just to help flesh out the idea even if you don’t expect to get it)

·      Be an observer on life

·      Trust your own instincts

Casey Templeton:

·      Promote work that you love, not just stuff that you think others will love

·      Presentation matters; sometimes as much as they photo themselves

·      Know your strengths and fill the gaps (i.e hire a designer)

·      Don’t be limited by your budget (there are so many ways to promote yourself at little or no cost)

·      Leave multiple touch points (leave a print with your portfolio, a business card, etc)

·      Make it easy for people to respond

·      Try something you’ve never seen before (or at least make it your own)

·      Balance strategy and execution

·      Have fun with you promotion

Robert Seale:

·      Identify your serviceable market

·      Research the new market’s business practices

·      Save, save, save money before making the move

·      Have your business house in order (separate checking, EIN, etc)

·      Have self-promotion in order (Website, portfolios, consistency of branding)

·      New work needs to meet the needs of the market

·      Start promoting yourself a year before you move

·      Start showing work to new clients ahead of the move

·      Ideally start working for clients before the move

·      When you’re losing money in the old gig, make the switch

Brian Peterson

·      Have a life outside of photography

·      Shoot what you love

·      Have a relationship with reporters and writers

·      Go the extra mile

·      Keep list of possible ideas

·      Have a personal project (then you become an expert in that subject)

·      Pay attention to other photographers

·      Look at all types of photography and art

·      Don’t give into constraints of your publication

Michael Schwarz

·      Don’t work all the time

·      Be open to change

·      Have other interests and hobbies that give you joy and pleasure

·      Read books, not just photo books

·      Have an understanding of world events and develop opinions about them

·      Don’t shoot “soul killing” assignments

·      Feed your spiritual side

·      Take care of your physical self

·      Get mindful of your family

·      Always have a personal projects

Inspiration (internal source)

            Career Longevity

            Individualism

            Taking chances, trust your judgment, progress and innovate,

            Inward inspiration (positive feeling after taking risks and break new grounds)

            Inspiring others

Passions

            You will be more motivated

            You already know you enjoy it

            You build on existing knowledge

            You probably already have contacts

            Passions rubs off in other areas of your life

            It’s for the really young

            It’s for the really old

            And everyone else in-between

The Importance of Personal Projects

            Confidence Builder

            Connection Maker

            Creativity without limitations

            Explore new methods

            Joy of ownership

Create a Motivation-Generating Routine

            Maintaining a Creative Rhythm

            Small easy steps to avoid Procrastination

            A way to monitor progress

            Proving Productivity

            An inspiring go-to resource

Pitch ideas correctly

            Pitch from their perspective, not yours

            Simple, Clear, and Quick

            Describe the benefits

            Speak confidently and speak visually

            Test your pitch

            Learn from rejection, refine, and pitch again

Trusting yourself and your instincts

            That voice is you

            Recognize Low vs. High Self Esteem voices

            Listening to the positive you

Things photographers can do to help them learn to trust and their ideas more

            Practice

            Don’t be afraid to fail

Finding ways to market/promote yourself

            Thinking bold and new is good for you

            Nobody gets to the top by thinking small

            Goal: to stand above competition

            Be clever

            Be yourself

Change

            A chance to pursue your passion

            A chance to re-evaluate your skills

            A chance to learn new things

            Turning personal projects into paid pursuits

            Leaving the mundane behind

            Builds confidence and trust in yourself

A Strategy for Avoiding Burnout (Stress from . . .)

            Feeling powerless

            Feeling unappreciated

            Being in the wrong career

            Repetition of mindless tasks

            No room for creativity

            An unbalanced life

 

It pays to be prepared

My camera bags are always packed and ready to go to cover an assignment.  I believe one of the keys to success is preparation.  When it comes to keeping my camera gears in order I am very anal.  My clothes and shoes and dirty dishes could be scattered all over the place.  But my cameras, lenses, batteries, strobes, and other accessories are wiped, dusted, charged, and put away every time I come home so it’s ready for the next time I go out. 

The other day, I got a phone call from SacTown Magazine Editor asking me if I was available to cover the Sacramento King’s Rally at Caesar Chavez Park in Downtown Sacramento.  I jumped at the opportunity and wrote down all the shot requests and info on my little notebook.  She told me the rally starts at 5pm and I glanced at my watch and I had less than 40 minutes to get to downtown (15 miles away) during rush hour traffic.  I told her, “No worries, I will be there to cover it.”

I grabbed my Lowepro bag and took out a camera body, 2 lenses, a couple of CF cards, and my press pass.  I inserted the battery and turned on the camera to check the juice and it showed a full bar.  I jumped in my car and drove to downtown.  I used my iPhone to check on the flow of traffic on the freeway and the best exit to take with the least hold-up.  I knew in advance that I had to park on the street but I had a stash of quarters in my ashtray for parking meters for this kind of occasion.

In the end I got to where I need to be prepared to shoot an assignment with 5 minutes to spare.

Here are some pics from the King’s Rally.  

Carmichael Dan started the Campaign Here We Build Campaign to keep the Kings in Sacramento.

An expensive addiction.

I received a new toy the other day just time to shoot my portrait project.  So I gotta admit, I am addicted to film and this is a damn expensive addiction, which explains why I only have $40 in my bank account until I get paid from my recent commercial gig.  

Mamiya TLR C330 with 80mm f/2.8

I enjoy shooting with a rangefinder camera and currently I own a Mamiya 7.  However, I wanted something a lot smaller.  After researching various sites and checking the reviews at Rangefinderforum.com, I decided to purchase a Voigtlander R3A.  This camera is a lot cheaper than a Leica, (I'd go with an M4 or M6) if I had the money).  I found a used body on Craigslist for $265.  This camera has a built-in meter, aperture priority, 40, 50, 75, and 90 Framelines and top 1/2000 shutter.  My favorite feature of this camera is 1:1 viewfinder which allows me to take take a picture with both eyes opened.  This is crucial for me because I am more in tune with my surroundings rather than hiding behind the camera  when taking a photograph.  Shooting film slows down my pace and forces me to think about my composition.  My R3A is equipped with Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 and this set up is light and inconspicuous. I found a good deal on a Canonet GIII QL, one of Canon's best selling cameras (over 1 million sold) on Ebay for $50.  This is my beater film camera that I bring with me on my random outings. 

Voigtlander R3A w/ 35mm f/1.4

Canonet GIII QL with 40mm f/1.7

I will post some pictures once I get them developed and scanned.  But it will be a while, I've had these two cameras for over a month and I haven't even finished a roll yet.  

Marketing & Visibility . . . continued

I received my promo cards last week and I've been spending the last three days putting them together. To add a personal touch, I included a thank you card with short handwritten note along with my business card taped on one side with scrapbook double sided tape (this works better because it's easier to remove without ruining the card).

Both promo cards and thank you note goes inside a clear envelope (9.25x6.25) that I purchased from Clearbags.  I went to the post office to get the proper postage and they informed me it would cost .61 cents to mail it cross country and $1.82 to Europe.

As for mailing labels, I used Avery 8160. white Easy Peel (1" x 2 5/8") with an existing template in Microsoft Word. It's easy to use and I was able to incorporate my logo on the return address.

I already have an existing list of editors whom I met at Eddie Adams and Missouri Photo Workshop but this is an opportunity to branch out with other editors and publications. My good friend Emily Berl and I worked together to compile a list of editors and publications using LinkedIn and visiting its official websites to gather their names and physical addresses.  In the end I am sending around 70 promo cards.

So let's add up the cost:
Promo Card Design: Free (trade with LoricoMedia)
Promo Cards (2x100): $150
Clear Envelopes (100): $40
Stamps: $43
Mailing Labels: $14
Thank You cards: $14
Business Cards: (Free -  used existing ones)

Total: $261

Okay, what do I expect after all the efforts of putting this together? Landing an assignment?  Let's hope.  At the very least, I want to encourage traffic to my website, establish my visibility in the market, and distinct myself from other photographers looking for work.  This is an ongoing process but I am sure that it will have positive results in the future. After mailing these promo cards I will send a follow up email and phone calls.

Back

Front

Thank You Card w/ Business Card

Thank You Card

Promo Cards Stuffed in Clear Envelopes