Learning From Peers, Consumer and Photographer Information
By Andy Ciordia. Filed in Workflow |
Being a member of the community is a great thing. You meet new fantastic people, you share stories, hold lectures, question and answer series. Great fun for those who like to learn and build upon their experience.
Recently Joe Ciarlante of Ciarlante Studio took the time to give us an insight into his life, his studio, and workflow.
His visible specialty includes architecture and by his description he really gets a kick out of it. In the past few years he’s picked up pets and their owners to his great enjoyment. He also understands that adaptability in the industry is a must and has really embraced the digital landscape with no regrets.
As another digital junkie I couldn’t agree more. The digital field has brought about an ability to get perfection unlike any other time in history. Before you could make it good. Now you can make it perfect.
After giving us a good background of himself he referenced his list of questions the local photography group had cooked up.
Do You Really Need Copyright Protection
Q: How do you protect your online images?
JC: The best thing you can ever do is register your photography with the US Copyright office.
While the depression of a trigger might give you a limited control, the only way to near guarantee your due if an image is taken without your consent is to file it with the Copyright Office as soon as you can.
This isn’t just for professionals but novices should pay attention to this too. In a growing world where your image just one day might get dusted off for stock or print usage. Once a year you should send the best of your best on CD or through the upcoming upload-able method to secure your rights for the future.
What About Cheap Commercial Competition
Q: How do you deal with “Portrait Innovation”, $9.99 photography?
JC: You don’t. The people who are going to one stop shops and think they are going to get something great are mistaken. The people in those stores basically know how to push a button. They weren’t hired to know principles of lighting.
You don’t sell by price, you sell by what you do. Show your style, uniqueness, and market yourself that way.
This is something for everyone to take note of. If you begin to chase the price of your worth, you will never stop running. This doesn’t matter what business you are in. Respect yourself for the love, time, creativity, energy, kismet that you do. You have developed something which is your own.
If a consumer wants a Kmart special photo package, that’s exactly what they will get. However if you want something beautiful that really captures your essence, that requires someone whose passion is doing so. By caving to try and keep a customer, keep a sale, what do you think will happen next time?
Understanding a Photographers Price
Q: How do you figure price?
JC: It takes asking the client good questions. Where, in studio or outside, on location, your time needed, usage. Usage is geographical, time, and media. Time, assistants, post production, deliverables.
Under ideal circumstances a client will understand how to hire a photographer. Unfortunately many may not have done business with a professional in the past and it takes someone to guide them through what can be a difficult first time experience.
Many clients will have taken notice to the prevalence of cameras around and may think that a photographer is just a monkey that presses a button. If this were the case we wouldn’t have to work so hard.
A photographer is going to have to have the gear on hand, be ready for your requests, build your scene or help bring your images direction or requests to bear through techniques then clean up the images to best highlight what was there and at times build what wasn’t.
If the photographer understands design they can further create the image so it is ready to accept advertising or editorial content.
Time, creativity, resources, equipment, people. To pay for all of that requires you to give a fee for the photographer, materials (assistants to rentals), and usage fees for the photo.
Why Can’t I Buy the Image Forever?
Q: What are you selling? The image or the use?
JC: Images are intellectual property. You are licensing their use of your property.
Photo usage is a deep topic and can be covered another day. The basis is as Joe put it so elegantly, if you go to an architect, buy his plans and tell him you are going to go stamp out homes across town with his plans, would the architect be amicable? No, unfortunately not. Not without a considerable sum of money.
What does a client / consumer really want to do with the image and for how long. Let’s be realistic. Time changes too fast and the future is not set. Help them get what suits their project today, this year, the next year and stay in budget. Every clients needs are different and the more you know about what they want the easier it is to find a happiness.
What About Portraiture Licenses
Q: How are personal portraits licensed?
JC: Personal use. They need to understand that they can hang up the pictures in there house but cannot use the image in advertising or editorial usage.
This should be cut and dry. Personal use should satisfy 98% of portraiture clients. Some still have the idea of inherent self usage anywhere they desire but this is generally limited to the individual and not those people who work in a more professional environment.
Again communication can not be understated. As a client know what you really want to do with your image and as a photographer help explain.
Splitting Costs
Q: What if the fee wants to be split by parties?
JC: The estimate is not halved. The job is re-estimated to factor in the needs of the other party.
Many clients, consumers, even photographers mistake the idea that splitting the check is just to divide it by the parties. If you go to a fine dining restaurant and ask for them to split the meal they charge you a surcharge so that they can make each plate beautiful to those who are splitting it.
A photographer has many minds to appease. If two different parties go in on a shoot they are going to want very different things from the shoot. The cost must be adjusted to include those new needs or people will become unhappy, fast. It is definitely a way to save on costs, but it is by no means a division of the straight numbers.
Buying the Latest and Greatest Gear
Q: How much money to put into gear?
JC: It’s not about the gear, if you are working well with your camera. If it is not hindering you, you don’t need to upgrade. Your gear should pay for itself in 6 months or less. If it’s not working for you, you don’t need it. Find the tools that work for you.
I am asked this question a lot as well and couldn’t agree more. The reason you upgrade or buy something new is because you are hitting your head repeatedly on a missing function or limitation. Get critiqued by your peers on what images you are currently capturing and have them make you justify your new expense ideas. Whether it’s a point and shoot purchase or a Nikon D3 / DSLR, understand where you are, where you are going, and really know that going up is under sound reasoning.
Great Local Showing
Thanks again to Joe Ciarlante for hosting this meeting and giving some of his mindshare to a group of eager inquisitive people.
If you’re not growing your sliding backwards. There is no such thing as neutral and Joe has helped confirm and compound my own knowledge which is always nice. If you are looking for a photographer for an event, meeting, birthday party, portrait work, etc, go into it seeking great quality for what your budget has available. Doing so will get you the best results with little to no hassle.
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Tags: consumer, expectations, hiring, learning, meeting, photography, Q&A
