Re: FN-FORUM: Photography

date posted 1st June 2004 18:40

on 1/6/04 12:19 pm, Paul Summers at [EMAIL REMOVED] wrote:

>=20
> Hi All
>=20
> Just a quick question, I have a friend who is a fantastic photographer -
> I'm not talking oh your pics are nice, I mean really, really
> impressive... She spent a summer traveling round the US and has some
> amazing pictures, when you blow them up and print them to canvas they
> are amazing...
>=20
> So... She actaully just joined the police but I'm trying to convince her
> to look at taking her hobby a little further with a view to eventually
> being able to leave the police and do photography full time.
>=20
> What I'm asking is... Does anybody know where to start? Her photos
> really are of National Geographic quality and it's not just me being
> bias! First step would maybe to get some interest and hopefully sell
> some pics.
>=20
> Does anyone know of a submission process for people like Getty Images or
> Digital Vision?
>=20
> Any ideas would be much appreciated as I feel her talents shouldn't be
> wasted on the police!
>=20
> Thanks
> Paul =20
>=20
Hi Paul,

As I believe it was Richard said photography is incredibly hard to break
into, I mean really soul destroying unless you are tough as a rhino's
kneecap and truly, truly fantastic (to earn excellent money doing great job=
s
for cool people, you get the picture I'm sure).

However reality check aside, it really depends on how good she really is an=
d
whether she wants to pursue it further as a freelance shooter full-time
doing commissions or if she would prefer fo do it with much more creative
freedom by as you mention shooting stock for libraries.

If she wants to go after the commissions then the best way IMHO (having don=
e
it myself) is to work as an assistant for a working photographer, kind of a=
n
apprenticeship. Usually crap money, crap hours, crappest jobs...but it
doesn't last for long brfore you get into it, see how the business operates=
,
who the main players are, pick loads of useful contacts (labs, dealers,
printers, couriers, yadda, yadda, yadda). Really good plan to get really
useful experience.

The Association of Photographers site lists assistant jobs under funnily
enough their Job Shop section, there have been some big names on there in
the past looking for staff.

http://www.the-aop.org/

Then there is the stock route, from experience (and this is going back a
fair few years) this can be a lot of work to make it wortwhile. I don't kno=
w
Getty's submission process but if it is like the big players used to be you
are probably looking at say 100-500 images as a submission, if you get
signed then you need to be shooting say 100 a month to add to your initial
number (that's 100 f***ing A1 shots). Then you really need to try to shoot
specifically for their monthly shooting list...so you have to be very
dedicated to manage it on-the-side. Then comes the commission, (as I say
this is based on old experience so do some searching http://www.chb.com on
the Creative Handbook site to find is very good) anyway back to commission,
the way it used to work was say Library A sells you image for =A31,000, the
parent office (usually New York based) takes around 50% so =A3500, then the
selling offfice who actully landed the sale take 50% so =A3250 and the
photographer get the rest...yep...=A3250 out of =A31,000.

However I found this library a while ago

http://www.alamy.com

They take 25-35% and you get the rest, I don't think that they have a
minimum submission number of monthly shooting quota but check.

The best way to asses image library potential is to call the up and request
copies of their catalogues, REALLY shows you what the competition is (oh,
yeah if you shoot for a library and are included in their catalogue expect
to pay well for it but also expect reasonably large sales hopefully).

Then there is also the exhibition route which might be very worthwhile,
again try the aop site for help.

Somebody mentioned getting exposure in something like the BJP and they do a
section for just this, it's on the inside back page, or 2, and is called
Endframe


Anyway must go, 3D building to finish for a brochure...arse...hope I have
been some us,

Steve.