Black Star Rising

My first blog post for the Black Star photo agency’s business blog, Black Star Rising, is now up. It is based off of my previous blog post on blogging best practices. I will be contributing articles to their site periodically so if you like my blog you might want to bookmark Black Star Rising as well.

Here is the article: Seven Strategies to Ensure Your Blog is Worth the Effort

Thanks.

Ignorance is Ignorance.

I read about this story through Gary Crabbe’s blog originally, http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/flickr-as-an-interior-decorator-tool/

Basically the New York Times goofed by not having an editor check the article for ethical and legal concerns before publishing what essentially is a blog post demonstrating copyright ignorance. Here is a quote from the article, “And if you’re wondering about copyright issues (after all, these aren’t my photos), the photos are being used by me for my own, private, noncommercial use. I’m not selling these things and not charging admission to my apartment, so I think I’m in the clear.”

It is one thing to view an image on Flickr or even copy it to your desktop. But when you gloat about framing them and putting them on the wall then yes that is commercial use because believe it or not there are photographers out there that sell prints of their work that usually get displayed in frames on people’s walls. The entire concept for the article is irresponsible “journalism” at best but if the New York Times felt a need to publish this sort of rubbish then they should have at least made a designation that there are specific licenses on Flickr that state what you can and can’t do with images. Certain Creative Commons licenses (CC) for example allow people to freely distribute their work sometimes with or without giving credit to the artist. If that is what the photographers chooses to do with their images then that is their deal, but for the rest of the images that having an all rights served designation then that needs to be respected as well. Who knows why someone with an all rights reserved license would offer a full resolution image on their stream but regardless that doesn’t change the license terms.

If newspapers want to compete in today’s media landscape then they need to stick with what got them their reputation. Relevant, accurate journalism. Once newspapers start getting into reporting opinion rather than facts then they start becoming just like your average blog on the internet like the one you are currently reading. Sometimes facts are reported but you have to take it with a grain of salt because maybe it’s not entirely accurate. Sadly in this case I’m putting more faith in my own opinion than what I just read in the NYT.

Also of further interest look at the comments section of the article and the freelancer’s follow up post which didn’t exactly retract her original statements.

Weekly Photography Links – 3/31/09

“Copyright/Copywrong in Image Licensing” – If you are in Southern California this Saturday morning and license your work or otherwise make money from photography then this lecture by the ASPP is recommended. The event is going to cover current copyright law essentials such as the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, Fair Use, infringments and have to have them removed them from the Internet. Space is limited so sign up now.

Zoriah’s Budget Cutbacks – Independent war photojournalist, Zoriah is struggling like many due to the current economic climate and needs our help to keep him going. Have a look at his blog to see if you can help him out.

Tom O. Scott Photography – Tom Scott’s sandscape photos caught my eye the other day as I was browsing the Ordover Gallery in Solana Beach. His work really blew me away. It has been a long time since I have seen something original in nature photography so his photos were really refreshing to discover.

Friends Pay Friends for Photography Services

Charging friends and loved ones for your photography services is probably the hardest thing to do as a photographer in my opinion. There has been a lot written about this topic but I think this advice from the Anderson Independent Mail in South Carolina is short and sweet:

Photographer Ill at Ease Charging Friends for Service.

Weekly Photography Links 12/22/08

When it Gets Slow – Photo Business News & Forum. A very honest and insightful post on sticking to your rates even during tough times rather than selling yourself short.

E-Promos – Burns Auto Parts Manuals. Leslie Burns – Dell’Acqua, a creative consultant, writes some really great marketing “manuals” that she makes available via PDF. I like this one in particular because I get so many emails from photographers and providers that it is ridiculous. The main issue I have with them is not the content of the emails but that they were mis-targeted. I shouldn’t receive most of these in the first place.

Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge – Outdoor Photographer magazine interview.

Greener Photography – Learn how to make your photography business endeavors more eco-friendly.

Professional Photography Industry Website Roll Call!!

This blog was intended to be a one-stop resource for professional photography industry websites and information. I already have a fairly large list of sites on the side bar including the obvious ones like A Photo Editor, John Harrington, etc… but by no means am I aware of every reputable site out there. If you have more professional photography related sites that you think should be listed on this site, then feel free to post them in the comments. I’ll take a look at any site submitted and add onto the sidebar the ones that I feel are relevant. Sites that add to the collective knowledge are given first priority. Microstock sites need not apply. Hopefully that doesn’t weed everyone else out…

Thank you.

Weekly Photography Links – 10/27/08

Marketing Your Stock Directly to Buyers – Great advice from Jon Hornstein.

Book Review: The Life of a Photograph. Brian Auer was contacted by National Geographic to review Sam Abell’s new book and also had a chance to speak with the legendary photographer himself.

Life of a Photograph – National Geographic Online Store. Sam Abell was one of my biggest influences as a photographer so I’m going to recommend this book even without having read it yet.

Getty Images Agrees to Buy Jupiter Images for $96 Million – Personally I’m getting tired of hearing all the talk about Getty but this is huge news considering that Jupiter is one of the top five largest stock photo agencies. My opinion is that you should only work with agencies that have your best interests in mind. Getty doesn’t. $1 unlimited use agencies certainly don’t. (Getty also owns the largest.)

Surf’s Up – David Alan Harvey. Harvey raises some good thoughts about balancing the personal and professional life of a photographer. Something to think about for sure.

Introducing My First Book: Stevens Pass – Chase Jarvis’ first book. He pays homage to a popular ski resort in his home state of Washington.

Weekly Photography Links – 10/17/08

Lesson #2: Take advantage of the atomization of demand and expand the scope of consumption

Lesson #3: Take advantage of the oversupply and target your brand, your niche, your fans, your customers

I think Taylor Davidson has some really great business advice here for photographers.

Digital Railroad to be Liquidated? – John Harrington believes so. If it’s true, this is unfortunate as the talent level is extremely high amongst their stable of photographers. Their marketplace has made sales for people. If Photoshelter could somehow figure out their business model and do what they do best and learn from what DRR does best they could really make a difference in the photo industry ironically after shutting down their Photoshelter Collection today.

Stock Photography, the Consumer and the Future - Dan Heller. A very long post but thought-provoking as usual.

Determine the Website’s Purpose – InFocus.

Do You Really Need to Pay Attention to Social Media? – Talent Zoo. If you want to successfully market your photography brand, then you’ve got to embrace modern marketing strategies.

Interesting Links – 9/17/09

How to Make Your Audio Slideshows Better – Good tips by Colin Mulvany, multimedia editor at The Spokesman-Review.

How Jill Greenberg Really Feels About John McCain – PDNPulse. Greenberg trashes the presidential candidate publicly after photographing him on assignment for The Atlantic. Career suicide or PR genius?

Dirk Panier – A photographer website with really interesting presentation. Turn on your speakers.

Interesting Links – 9/5/08

The PLUS Coalition: Standardized Licensing Codes – DigitalPhotoPro article by Jim Goldstein. This has been a widely discussed topic in the stock photography industry for sometime now. This article aims to simplify the idea by PLUS.

My Two Most Valuable Business Lessons – Digital Exposure article by Rick Sammon.

CPA – The Holy Grail of Online Advertising? – This article examines what CPA is and compares it with the CPC and CPM ad models. According to this article, CPA is best for advertisers, CPM is best for publishers and CPC is good for both.

Marketing Moves That Sell Books – PDN

Jay Reilly Photo Blog – Some great lifestyle photography.

Mike Mclaughlin Photography – Very powerful documentary work.

Zoriah: War Photographer – PhotoNetCast. A great podcast interview.

Interesting Links – 8/29/08

Dispatches From the Edge: 40,000 Feet – Photo Business News & Forum. John Harrington describes a day in the life of photography business while traveling. A very exhausting schedule!

2008 PDN Stock Guide

Waffle House Wedding Photos – Not business-related but I saw this on Twitter and had to share this slideshow.

The Pitfalls of Self-Published Books – Jorg Colberg writes about his experiences with various print on-demand publishers. This is a good read because I suspect that most photographers that try the self-publishing route are likely to consider these sources first because it doesn’t come with the overhead costs of running your own publishing company.

Interesting Links – 8/20/08

NPPA Independent Photographer’s Toolkit – Tools you’ll need to run a photography business.

Rights-Managed Stock v.s. Royalty Free Stock – ASMP

Annie Griffiths Belt: A Nomadic Family Life – Double Exposure Online Magazine.

The Brand Gap Slideshow – Great slideshow that examines what a successful brand is.

Ask an Art Buyer: Promotion – Heather Morton. Understand how to promote yourself to art buyers.

Dane Sanders – His intro video is one of the best photographer videos I have seen.

Interesting Photography Links – 8/13/08

Heineken Discovers Flickr Isn’t Full of Free Photography – A Photo Editor.

Joel Meyerowitz MagRack Video – An interesting how-to video of how he shoots street photography in New York.

Studio Photography Magazine – The current issue has a great section about marketing strategies. While geared toward wedding and portrait photographers, photographers of all styles can learn from their advice.

Young Photographers United – An interesting service for young aspiring professional photographers.

Interesting Links – 8/6/08

ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography, 7th Edition – The photographers’ “business bible”. A must-read.

“Use of my photos on Facebook without my consent.” – Photo.net Business forum. Always get it in writing first.

The Cloud is Falling – Vincent Lafloret / Sports Shooter.

Lost America Night Photography – I really dig Troy Paiva’s work. There is an unbelievable amount of forgotten structures in the California desert, and he really does a good job at capturing it.

Into the Light: A Digital Photo Story by Ibarionex Perello. A powerful life story multimedia narrative from a former editor of Outdoor Photographer magazine.

Interesting Links – 7/30/08

Brand Essence – An Art Producer’s Perspective: Caitlin works as an ad agency art producer. Some good thoughts to think about here.

Stop Whining About Copyright Infringement and Do Something About It – Black Star Rising: Sean Cayton reasons that worrying about every single copyright infringement is a waste of time that could be better served doing other things. His philosophy is to make it inconvenient for people to steal his work.

Road Trip – Digital Railroad Marketplace Blog: Man. These photos of the southern states make me want to become a better photographer.

Alert: Digital Photo Frame Company Takes License of Your Photos and More – Photo Attorney Carolyn Wright. Just like with Facebook and MySpace, be sure to read the terms of use before posting images.

MagCloud: – Currently in beta test, but this promises to be an important step in the self-publishing movement. I think the advertising-heavy business model that the American publishing industry currently utilizes dilutes the quality of the product that magazines are able to deliver so I think there is still a market for quality self-published material even in today’s fragmented media marketplace.

Small Town U.S.A. / Local Artist – Sean Donnelly is a photojournalist intern at the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

Is Professional Wedding Photography Dead? – Wedding photographer, David Ziser has an important article on his blog regarding the lack of professionalism amongst photographers. Remember that the actions of a few can negatively impact the perception of all photographers.

To share my own story: While on an elephant seal tour at Ano Nuevo State Reserve in California near the end of 2004, I asked the park docent who to speak to regarding getting permission to photograph wildlife until after sunset since I had seen similar postcards from Kennan Ward in their gift shop. What I received instead was an earful about how photographers never obey park rules by wandering off-trail and cause a big headache for everyone. I felt offended at that notion since I had done nothing out of the ordinary up til that moment. To be stereotyped like that is just not right. After a few minutes of being on the receiving end of her rant, she conceded that I seemed like a nice guy and “not one of the bad photographers” so she told me about how to get in after hours. It turns out that each employee of Ano Nuevo SR can bring guests for after hours hikes several times per year.

I haven’t been back to Ano Nuevo since.