Feedback & New Ideas

Individual Tutorial Feedback  & Feedback from my Proposal

So In my proposal, my ideas were slightly off and were not correct.  This was a shame as I really actually got excited about the topic area.  It turns out that I had jus got mixed up in my mead about what it was I had to do.  I proposed to enter some competitions that I had found and I listed them as I have earlier in the blog too, and I had found a competition called 'Elements', and I had an idea for 'a brief' which was to create four portraits for each Element, and to have the images used for my brand 'Suzi-Rae Photography'.  This was not actually allowed.  Not because the idea wasn't good, because the concept of my doing 'a brief' that was not specifically for anyone and anything apart from myself.

I was told that I was proposing a 'Self Constructed Brief', which some photographers set themselves when they feel as if they should do a specific theme to a shoot. So as much as this was wrong, It is still something I could do in the future.

My brief was about creating four portraits to a set theme which I thought was right but after my tutorial today, I now have a much clearer understanding of exactly what I need to do.  In basic terms so that I can look back on this I need to one of the projects below:

• A Commissioned Project,
• Development of a Business,
• Charitable Photographic Work. 

New Ideas !!!

• For a commissioned project I have now had new ideas of looking back on anyone that had asked me if I could take photographs for them before.  When I first set up my business of 'Suzi-Rae Photography' I sent out a lot of e-mails and messages to all of my contacts to see if anyone would like any photo shoots.  I need to spend some time thinking about it, but hopefully I can find someone who has asked me, or contact new people and hopefully get a new client and produce the work for them but for this project. 
• As for a Development of a Business, I have basically already started one up, it just needs more work to it.  Last year I had to create a website and my Brand and personality, choose a specific line of work to follow and start a style.  I have done all of this and have technically started up a business though my photographic work.  What I could do to extend on this more is create posters and postcards, flyers of my business and create a Couple Shoots, Wedding, Engagement, Maternity and Newborn business.  I would create this because they are the events in life that everyone wants to capture.  I would develop my materials and come up with prices and outcomes for a new and improves 'Suzi-Rae Photography'. 
• For Charitable Photographic Work I know a few contacts that have asked me to be photographer for their charity Hair and beauty show at the College I used to go to, They needed a photographer to take photos os a catwalk like show.  I could evidence preparation and show the final Images of mine from the show that was for charity, this would build on my community practice side of my brand.  The work would be voluntary and I would happily do more. 

All of these three new ideas have got me all excited to find out something to do for this project.  I am happy with the way all three of these ideas sound.  The one that seems more realistic at the moment is idea number two and the Development of a Business, and I can come up with pricing ideas and photoshoot ideas to create the material needed to spread the word about my Business.  I will see how things go and I may end up changing to one of the other projects. 

More Assisting Again

I have been a photographer for quite a while now and have used my own assistants for some of my work, I know what I would expect of an assistant but I know I would be very nice and calm for them helping me out, whereas in the real world - the photographer can do what ever he likes and ask whatever has can to the assistant because the assistant is there to help them.  I know that if I get any more assisting jobs in the near future it will be a lot more strict, and I would be expected to do everything that they ask for.

Assisting a Studio Shoot

• For a studio shoot I need to make sure that the preparation of the set meets the relevant deadline and is correctly built and organise the set builder to do the work.  
• I would be required to set up the lighting, checking all bulbs are working, flash tubes and fuses are all operative and that their is sufficient power available.  
• I would also have to set up reflectors of the overall light and record power pack settings. Making sure all digital equipment is ready to use and that all cards are formatted and that there are external hardrives ready.  
• I would handle the list names and number of client and all members of the production team, stylist's etc. 

Assisting a Location Shoot 

• For a location shoot I would be required to travel to the location in advance to check availability or power supply, this would have to be done within enough time before shoot.  
• Checking access of the location, roads, trains and the avaiability of accommodation and communication: WiFi. 
• I would have to check the location studio, if being used, for power, height etc. 
• I would have to organise hire equipment and transportation, as well as hiring other assistants for help as there would be quite a lot to take to the location. 
• I would also have to setup up on location and check equipment is working. 

These are both things that I have done before in my years as a photographer so far - they are fairly obvious and quite simple to do.  It just requires a lot of planning and time management to get everything right for the photographer of the shoot to be ready.  

Skills and Knowledge

Abilities to make decisions quickly is handy, constantly asses what jobs need to be done around the shoot.  Checking before doing anything to confirm it is correct. Ask short quick questions so that I do not distract too much from the photographers mind.  The shoots can be at any point in the day so remembering overtime is not usually paid, just be helpful at all times.  

• Stay relaxed enough to talk to but know when to stop and get busy when the pressure hits,
• Have good digital skills to be more employable,
• Second guess the photographer as then the bond there will keep you in a safe position.

I personally think I have all of the above and have already been an assistant for a few years to prove that.  And I have been given good comments about how I have been as an assistant and have been used by a few different photographers through word and mouth. 

Assisting Jobs & My Assistant Job

Careers in the Photographic Industry

Assisting Jobs

The first step for this is to get in contact with the photographers that I actually want to work for.  I need to ideally make an appointment with them.  Things like this can take a while to get but if very polite and If I kept at it and do not give up with a few different photographers then it could work.  After I finish University I would have had more than 5 years experience in working with Photography with a lot of different ranges from studio, locations, film and digital etc.  I'll need to be completely honest in everything I say to photographers that I'm asking.  Most of the time, honesty, a good attitude to learning is what photographers are looking for in assistants.

Most photographers will pay even a beginner depending on the experience you have in the field. The sooner i can explain what experience I have the better as I will probably get contacts quicker.

My Assistant Job
I have worked as an Assistant for a few years now with a professional Events Photographer called Andy Barnes.  I have been to many event with him as assistant and photographer.  I have been to big events such as The Kent Excellence in Business Awards, and The Caudwell Butterfly Ball as photographer two years in a row,  and many more other events such as proms and weddings and santa's grotto at christmas etc.  But I will talk about this more in depth on a later post.

The Role
The role for the assistant is to do everything so that the photographer is free to concentrate on the image he is producing.  Learning a long the way is always helpful, but is a secondary position as the assistant photographer.  As assistant, the rest of the people at the shoot will not care if you are trying to make it as the photographer because at the point your not.  Assisting means, help out on everything and anything when you can.  This is what I have had to do, even if there are stressful times, being an assistant is second to the photographer and is something that needs o be remembered.

If there are other clients on shoot, I still need to remember that I am just the assistant and not a photographer because at the particular shoot there is the photographer already and I have to remain the assistant.  This case was different for me in my jobs that I went to.  The photographer was on press call and was taking the photos of the celebrities and I was at the studio set up and was taking the photos for the whole night - but for these events I went to - I was more like the second photographer rather than the assistant.

Things to remember when being as assistant:

• Be early to all photo shoots. 
• Be presentable, and get prepared to be working hard on jobs that need doing around the shoot,
• Offer to make drinks for all the team in the shoot,
• Listen to everything that is asked of me and get used to the photographers working methods,
• Try to meet everyone and find out who, communications are great in this business and very important in the shoot.  I should make a note of everyones names mention and this could be a great start to my own contact list. 

Being a Stylist and Stylist Jobs

My Ideas for my Future 
This is a field of work that I seriously considered doing as well as my photography.
My original ideas from when I was back in College was to finish my Photography Diploma and if I was to take a year out before coming to university I would have maybe tried to do a short course in styling and beauty make up, i would combine this with a partial hair course so that I could learn all aspects of beauty in the field.

The reason for doing this as my original ideas and why I might still consider it after university is because then, I will be part of a bigger business and have more experience under my belt!
If I can get my own shoots, with model for example, I would not have to pay out for a make up artist or hair stylist because I would already know how to do it.  I've always had these ideas and it is something I am still thinking about.

As far as the career as a Stylist goes, a stylist provides the props, which can be as varied as clothes, furniture or china, and anything that is required for the photographic production.  If becoming a stylist as well as a photographer is a path I will try then I have to remember that any ideas I have towards an image I can completely change but as far as the whole look goes, I would probably be on a very tight brief that only wants a specific thing.

If the brief image is for a magazine the props are usually borrowed from shops in exchange for credit in the publication, but if the image is used for advertising purposes, the stylist buys or hires props from prop houses or hire companies.

Why am i interested in becoming a Stylist
I want to try out a bit of styling in the future mainly because I feel like this is the section in my photo shoots that I am actually very good at.  It wouldn't just be buying products, It would be choosing related things to the photographers style as well and the market the shoot is aimed at.  Planning and scheduling is important for a Stylist which is the only section that I probably wouldn't be best at, but it is all something that can be worked on.  Everything for the shoots has to be delivered on time and the transportation would be in my own hands so there holds a lot of responsibility, which I know I do have and work with really well in business purposes.

I like that the reputation you can gain as a stylist can get you so many contacts with shops, hire companies, suppliers can mean that If I held down a substantial job as a stylist but had my own freelance photography business as well I would be able to have good contacts to help myself out with my own work. I think another reason why I like the idea of becoming a stylist is because an Established stylist for photo shoots can earn up to £500 per day !! This would be a great place to be in my future career.

• Fashion photography - fashion magazines, mail order catalogues, brochures, on location and in studio - this would be a dream job for when I finish university and is what I will aim for. 
• Food photography I have always had an interest in and I could potentially be a stylist for cookery books, packaging, magazines and adverts. 
• And there is also the option of Room set photography with home interest magazines and 
• Still Life photography - again working with magazines, books and packaging. 

All of the bullet points above I would love to work as an assistant Stylist for, they would be a great lead for working my way up to the top. 

Getting Started on becoming a Stylist

• I need to make sure my portfolio is better and bigger and that I include more work.  I basically need to get shooting more frequently so that I have a lot more images. 
•  I also need to do this so that I can try and get my photographs published because the client will want to see my own published work in tear sheets.  
• I need to get in contact with photographers and work for free on a few jobs to get my portfolio bigger and then the photographer will pay for everything in return for free styling. 
• I need to start phoning agencies and magazines only after my portfolio is at a higher standard. 

Making a Living - Corporate / Stock

Careers in the photographic Industry 

Corporate &  Design 
My views on this genre of photography is quite good, the fact that you can meet directly with your clients as a way of doing business.  Once hired, its for the personal services and means you can discuss matters without having to go to a third party.  This way you are being hired directly for the photographic skills that you have as a photographer.  You can also set up ways of trying to get more money in with this genre of careers in photography as you can set up a 1 year or 2 year contract for certain design companies and set on an agreement but then also charge additional payments for any brochures created, internet and trade press, etc.

Working with design companies has a considerably lower pay rate than with corporate companies almost 50% lowers, which doesn't sound too great in my eyes.  I would not really be too interested in this genre of photographic careers - purely because I do not see the point in trying to get into to something that seems like it would be so hard to get noticed or get any well paid jobs for your own work.  This is just my response to what I think about this genre - it is not something I am too fussed about or interested in.

Stock  
Picture libraries are in two basic forms:
news (including sport and celebrities) and
creative (people, travel, concepts etc).
A lot of photographers try to get into Stock photography as there can be a good way to spread your own images really far - whether they actually still get traced back to you is a different section altogether though.  Stock photography can be aimed at Newspapers and magazines.  I would love to work for a magazine in my future and would be something I would consider chasing up, but I probably wouldn't go straight into stock photography, because again the money just gets taken away, most big libraries of images with take them and give only 50% of what they could potentially be worth.

I just don't really think that either Corporate Design or Stock photography is worth trying if you really have a passion for photography, the reason being is because there is a big chance that the images will not get what they are worth at all.

I wanted to include a small section about each side of careers in the Photographic work place just so I could wrap my head around and understand why I am not going to pursue a career with any of these types of photography straight away.  I would like to start my own business first whilst working on portfolio to maybe one day search jobs in editorial or advertising but only once I am ready for it.

Making a Living : Editorial Photography

Careers in the Photographic Industry
Editorial Photography

I would probably say that I am into Editorial Photography a lot more than Advertising but I do think that I can work quite well with my style of work for both categories.
Editorial Photography can be quite harsh when it comes to the money side of things, Trying to get your own images sold can be really hard, especially for a price that will actually make a profit.  A company could offer a certain deal for less money and It would seem like the right idea to work for them, but they then could use the imagery and not give you what you should be getting from your own photographs.

Editorial Fashion Photography, if I had the time to 100% concentrate on some technically great imagery, and if I could get in links with people I know creating their own fashion brands or clothing designs, I would be more than happy to follow a editorial fashion photography route.  I would be shooting and shooting for a long while before I make it with any kind of substantial job in the field but would definitely make me build up my portfolio with a Fashion style as well as my own current style and this would give me more opportunities in fields such as beauty and fashion photography.

 Editorial Photography like I said, is a hard business for the money income.  As a career in this genre, it would take a long time and probably a lot of savings to even get started.  A busy Editorial Photographer works at an average of 150 days of the year and once you think about all the things in life that you need to live on, on a day to day basis, is around £400 a day mark.  And no magazines will pay this at all. Some jobs, if landed in one could actually lead to more jobs in the same genre.

Stock Photography
A lot of photographers find stock photography and easier way to get jobs, and money. More and more people are selling Royalty Free images rather than the traditional method of Right Managed images, due to this clients like 'Getty' pay hardly any money and Stock photography has gone down and down for the photographer.  If work is original and unique then some clients will pay a good enough fee for the Royalty free images but producing something that is unique and different to some people seems like a huge challenge on its own.

Editorial Photography
The different market areas can vary a lot, Papparazzi can have very high fees an the line of work whereas some newspapers only pay as low as £18 per image, which is certainly not good enough.  National Newspapers can get £150 a day, so this would be the one to aim for.  For someone like me, Editorial photography seems a bit too much for my liking to start off in the real world.

Photographers that just give away CD's of their work away without even realising are the photographers who are making editorial photography harder in todays world.  The images get passed around between the entire field and the photographer then has no control over what happens and cannot do anything about it, so the most important thing from this is to always focus of selling work correctly and for what you think is right, and if it is there will be offers there.

Making a Living - Advertising Photography

Careers in the Photographic Industry
Advertising Photography

This is a genre of photography that I have always been interested in since I started in Photography.  Back in my BTEC in College for 2 years in photography, we were given an Advertising assignment.  It was great fun and reminded me of similar tasks that we are given at University.  I created and Advert for a supermarket and created a two page magazine page for food photography and photographed strawberry cheesecake.  I also produced an advert for Cadburys Chocolate Mousse, which was so long ago now, and was only something to add into my assignment for advertising, and I would be able to produce something so much better now days.  But it's all good to show.

The best way to get into Advertising Photography is to build up a big portfolio and develop a technique and style that is unique.  I have been doing this over the past three years and would like to think that I have now found a style to my work base,  and I have most definitely found a route of what I want my style to eventually be so I will carry on working that path.  My portfolio is gradually getting bigger and definitely more professional than last year.  I have been working hard on just using the photographs that show me for me.  I personally think that I have work in my Portfolio that can be used for Advertising Photography, but these things have to build up along with everything else first.
I've been told to read Campaign - and to follow the agencies that are winning jobs and to target them only if they have a similar style to my own.  This is something that I will try to do on a monthly basis from when I finish University.

The Advertising Photographers Role
The Role of this type of photographer is to hold and go to lots of Pre-production meetings, and control the production of shoots and explain all details to clients and account teams.  Whilst on the shoot, you work with art directors to achieve the best shots and deal with problems calmly.

Although I have looked at almost all of these before, I am going to Include some great Advertising Photographers on this blog so that I can always come back to look at this post and find them If I ever needed to.  There are some truly amazing works by each of the photographers below;

Nadav Kander, Kiran Master, Alex Telfer, David Stewwwart, George Logan, Ben Stockley, Andy Green, Chris Frazer Smith.

Advertising Photography, depending on which field of advertising you go down, can be really hard to get into, and actually get jobs.  But most of the time, it is the simple shots with editing that will get noticed for ad campaigns and articles.

I think that if I want to focus on Advertising Photography then I need to focus on my portfolio really hard over the next couple of months and make sure that I am constantly doing shoots to get a big range of imagery.  I will also need to send out my work to online magazines to be in for a chance to get some work published.  Like i mentioned above, I will need to focus on my style of photography 100% and makes sure I go looking for the places that have the style I am going for.