Race Horses not Unicorns

In layman terms, a racehorse represents a worker; a unicorn represents a dreamer (or what I call delusional).   As artists we all dream, but are you doing anything about it? In other words, what are doing to self-promote? Have you published a book of images to submit to Art Directors? Do you have a hit list of top Editors for national publications? Are you networking with professionals current and actively working in the field?
I am -making me a true Thoroughbred race horse!!
My choosing filed is Editorial / Commercial photography.  Confident this genre of photography utilizes my past 20 years experience in advertising and photojournalism,  I can now combine my artistic style into my images. Oh sure, I am positive there will be some assignments that I will do begrudgingly,  for the money, or probably be a favor to a friend, but these will be few and far between.
Armed with these skills, experience and knowledge,  it is my goal to bid and obtain contracts from major publications from leaders like LIFE, TIME, Word Press, Associated Press, for national clients like Coca Cola, Walt Disney, Kellogg and other major corporations.  Specializing in commercial photography (in order to pay the bills) and seeking editorial assignments, will balance my business bottom line.  As always, I will continue my "hustle' all along the way.

Who won the Super Bowl

Who won the Super Bowl

Ok, yeh sure, the giants won the Superbowl, but the real winners are those advertisers that ran successful advertising campaigns - The ones that go the attention of the viewers with distinct, unique ads.  Here is my choice for the top 3.

1.)  Chrysler delivered authentic emotion. As images of Americans flash on the screen, the director of "Gran Torino," gives a stirring monologue about America's – and Detroit's – ability to come back from hard times: "This country can't be knocked out in one punch,"  Clint Eastwood, said. "We get right back up again, and when we do, the world will hear the roar of our engines. It's half time, America."

2.)  Audi took a strong 2^nd place with their Vampire ad campaign. Going all “Twilight” in their choice of approach, this ad featured the first hash tag.

3.)  Being a fan of Ferris Bueller’s day off, Honda knocked it out of the park. I actually saw the teasers posted on a Google+ page promoting this ad with more yet to come. This pre-release gave attention to Honda Corp on a International level prior to the Superbowl airing of the Ad.

Source: Wall Street Journal 2/6/12

Competitive Analysis

The hardest task when starting your business is figuring out where you fit in. Which niche can you fill? The goal of the competitive analysis is to better position your organization to leverage your competitive edge. How is your company different from others? In what way does it stand out? Is there a sustainable value that you can maintain and develop over time? The effort to express your vision combined with the battle in the crowded marketplace to sell your talents during the worst economic crisis in history; well it's dauntingly sisyphean. I believe I can. I know my style is unique and personal to me and my clients.More importantly, I learned three valuable life lessons: 1.)Say No, to any job that does not fit into my plan. For example, I am not equipped to do wedding photography, have no desire, therefore, it would result into a financial and creative failure. 2.)Let go of the fear. For too long I worked out of fear of financial failure. In turn, I never enjoyed my successes. Instead, I let go and my fear slipped away as my failures led to great successes. 3.) Don't pigeon hole yourself. I may never shoot a wedding, but I allow myself to shoot in other various genres. If it is something that inspires you, interests you, then do it.  This is how I have carved my edge over my competitors. Here is how they size up.

Peter From© Peter From (2012)

One of the photographers I faithfully follow and is a type of virtual mentor is Peter From. His site, although extremely professional, has altered its appearance to a type of glamor style in order to showcase other "up & coming" photographers. The layout looks more like a magazine, rather than a standard photography website: http://peterfrom.com/ Born in Finland, raised in Sweden and spent many years in Germany and time in the US (NYC). His main interests (beside the obvious): particle physics, cosmology, astronomy, fishing, nature hikes to mention just a few. He is an author (historical books), photographer, web-designer and editor of the WordPress Web Magazine WP-Magazine.SE and Google+ Contest Page, PeterFrom.com.  Wearing these many hats, Peter still finds time to take walks and shoot images on a daily basis.  His published several historical books. He also manages a Photoshop Tutorial page, with great videos doing step by step processing of images.

Mark Fisher© Mark Fisher 2012

My second competitor is so far up there, star quality, to be in his company would just make me giddy like a school girl. it is the infamous Mark Fisher.
Mark Fisher's images have appeared on Covers as well as in many campaigns and fashion editorials. His natural beauty images are known worldwide. His work contains many models including the cover Models of Fashion, The beautiful Agyness Deyn and the incredible Stella Maxwell.
His work with the camera started in 1966 and he shot every subject that came in front of the lens.

The image maker grew up in the United States. He served in the U.S. Military as a Medic, then a Press Liaison Officer and Photographer. He continued Photography and captured hundreds of landscapes and scenes of life. Many of his landscapes have been used in advertising and University syllabus. His landscapes were shown in the National Gallery in 1988.

In the 1970's Fashion appeared to become the main subject. Music Images were a detour from boredom. Capturing the live essence of the musician became the main focus. The Band Promos as well as the arranged session work look as if the group is about to go on stage.  Everything looks "Now Now Now, Timeless".  His work contains many well known musicians. He has captured several thousand portraits from the unknown and to the famous-his Portraits are full of life and are hard to rival. The images invoke deep feelings. Many have tried to find ways to get the same feeling without success. His images are published monthly. You may find more work on the web by putting two words in Google “American Photographer” and watch the suggestions, click his name and then hit images to view five pages of history.  www.fishercreative.com/

Doug Menuez©2003-2012 Editorial Photographers

My third choice of competitor's, is another Master Photographer, Doug Menuez.

Award-winning documentary photographer Douglas Menuez began his varied career shooting first for the Washington Post followed by Time, Newsweek, Life, People, USA Today, Fortune Magazine and many other publications worldwide over the past twenty-five years. He’s covered major news stories including the famine in Ethiopia, the destruction of the Amazon, the AIDS crisis, drug wars, and presidential campaigns, the Olympics, five Super Bowls and the World Series. His portraits of key figures range from Mother Teresa and Robert Redford, to President Clinton and Bill Gates. Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, With unprecedented access to almost every major technology company, he covered digital pioneers such as Steve Jobs, Andy Grove, John Warnock, Bill Joy and John Doerr. Working first for Life Magazine, Menuez continued covering start-ups and established giants until the collapse of the dot-coms. Stanford University Library has recently acquired this work along with his entire archive, and created “The Douglas Menuez Collection at Stanford University Library.”

Menuez’ advertising campaigns for global brands include Chevrolet, Nikon, Siemens, Hewlett Packard, Northwest Airlines, Coca Cola, Nokia, and Microsoft. His work has been honored by many organizations, including the Kelly Awards,  His most recent one-man shows include “Heaven, Earth, Tequila” at the Holbrook Arts Center, Millbrook, NY and “Transcendent Spirit” at Farmani Gallery, Los Angeles.  menuez.com

Rita Rudner; © 2011Sampsel/Preston

Sampsel & Preston Photography, as they should.
Oh, did I mention, they are also my Instructors at the Art Institute, and yes, I see them as direct competitors.

Las Vegas Photographers Sharon Sampsel & Greg Preston have been doing amazing advertising, Commercial, Editorial & Resort Photography in Las Vegas for the past 20 years. Sharon Sampsel & Greg Preston graduated from the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and had the good luck to pick Las Vegas as the up and coming place in which to open their studio. Riding the wave in as Las Vegas came into its own in the last 20 years has been a blast for these two partners. Although they concentrate mostly on Resort and Casino work, Being in a town like Las Vegas gives them the opportunity to shoot just about everything, which is fine with them. Their studio is a wonderfully located 4000’foot space right across the freeway from Mandalay Bay Resort, with two shooting bays, a full kitchen, a make-up area, and a relaxation room. 2009 holds in store the opening of their new space, as they are hot on the trail of a property that is really innovative and "outside the box" of the ordinary studios in Las Vegas.

The disadvantages I have versus my competitors, is they're established. One is a Senior editor for a major publishing organization, another has so many national based connections and a network of major publications. The local team of Sampsel & Preston have an established business of 20 years, along with local publications and a local studio and Mark Fisher has been doing photography since before I was born. So my competitors work have legs, stable network and contacts, along with years of experience.
So I ask myself, are my three life skills enough to give me a competitive edge? With additional business sense and the savvy tenacity, I have to go after what I want,  and my new, fresh creative edge, I am confident in saying, "Yes, I can meet and potential exceed what my competitors have accomplished." Until that day, I will continue to be inspired by their work.

Photo Challenge: Wedding Photography

 Something Old, New, Borrowed & Blue.

I am far from inspiring to be a wedding photographer. So far, the Grand Canyon is not deep enough to maintain a safe distance from the perpetual joy weddings are suppose to portray. When asked why I don't shoot weddings, my response it quick and to the point, "Too much work, too many WP's in Las Vegas." Although this satisfies them for the moment, it's far from complete truth. Which is; they terrify me!  I am an extrovert, but Weddings turn me into a frighten child.  Maybe it's the pressure of getting the shot, or the approval that has be sought from the bride (and her posse), but I do NOT do weddings, shoot, attend, participate or otherwise.

"Wedding photography can be perhaps the most critical and stressful type of photography. At a wedding, the total focus is on the bride and groom - they are the event! Therefore, the photography needs to maintain this strong focus  and convey the image that the couple are first and best in every way of that occasion. The whole concept of a wedding is always romantic, fashionable, and gushing with optimism. The photographs visually document the bride, the groom, and the event." (Frank Pinto lecturing in class)

For my photo challenge, I chose to do a still life.  This is how it works; the stone heart bracelet is new, the dinner mints in gold satchel are blue, the diamond earrings are borrowed and the herringbone necklace was old. I shot this image with Canon rebel with a shallow depth of field (4.5) blurring out the back ground and giving the viewer's eye direction to the diamonds.

Scary Legal Issues

In photography, the most scary issue you will probably encounter is protecting your intellectual property after is has been stolen. Can you imagine creating a beautiful image only to stumble across it on someone elses page where they claimed your work as their own? How does one go about rectifying this situation? My response; GET A LAWYER! It never hurts to have a legal representative at your disposal. Someone who can review your contracts, assist in your negotiations, and protect your imagery.
Let's explore contract negotitations.


1.  Contracts: Editorial publications. One of the biggest challenges is negotiating your contracts. First you need to understand who your are negotitating with. In many cases the APE's (Assistant Photo Editor) and the PE (Photo Editor) / DOP (Director of Photography) role is one person. In very small publications there id no AD (Art Director). For a publishing conglomerate, one AD handles multiple titles. the key is to know who has the power to sign off on your negotioning points. Always ask your prospective client, "What is your budget for this assignment?" You will get sveral different responses and here is how one expert handles this situation:

"Regardless of whether I'll take the assignment, I want to know where thay are so I can guage the likelihood that I will get the assignment. Even the first response - seemingly too low to consider-I'll send them my paperwork. I do this for several reasons. Many clients who call have experience with a lower rate in their town and will experience a sticker shock when trying to book in a larger community." (Best Business Practices for Photographers; John Harrington; pg.179)

Some prospects willtry to get their work done for cheap. They figure if they start low and see who bites. others will do this too weed out those who accept the low offers.  Once a client gets over the sticker shock, you want to stay in the bidding pool, as your competitors offers come rolling in and educates your prospective client of the market. Always send out an estimate, the worse they can say is no.


2.  Bids, quotes and estimates: Commercial / corporate photos. During the negotiation process, you will want to know what process you are preparing. A bid or a quote requires a great deal of refinement. You are commiting to that cost to produce the outlined project on the bottom line of your bid. A clever way to go about this is process called triple bid the project. You and two other photographers present your combined bids to the client, and the client decides who will shoot the project. Estimates, on the other hand, allow for a bit of flexibility on the bottom line, allowing for change orders to occur.  It is a good idea to carry a change form with you.

"When the parameters or circumstances change for a shoot, so do the figures involved in the estimate. As with an editorial assignment, in which the concept of a change order is less common, change orders are a frequent neccessity for corporate and commercial assignments." (Best Business Practices for Photographers; John Harrington; pg.222)

3.  Weddings and rights of Passage: Think about all the grand events we go through in our lives, from birth to death. Birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, engagments and more, where you will negotiate your photography. Often these contracts need to be specific, to the letter. If you don't want to "Uncle Louie" popping in with his inst-o-matic as you are working, put it in the contract. And as all other types of contract negotiations, know who to be negotiating with, in this case, the bride, groom and probably the paying parents.  Most importantly, as the event photographer, take control.

"If a client hires multiple photographers for an event, they are all goping to want to get the same angle/shot. Yet, if you're the photographer who subcontracts the others, you are in charge-you choose coverage perspectives, and as such, you can significantly enhance the event coverage."(Best Business Practices for Photographers; John Harrington; pg.271)

Our challenge as photographers, is convincing the people hiring you that you have to be in charge of the photo shoot. If you're not incharge, make sure your role is clearly defined. Personally, I try to always be the one in charge-that's my nature.

Photo Challenge: Sports Photography

"Saved by the Balls" won the Championships!

Sports Photography is actually something I have had a lot of experience of doing lately. it seemed, for awhile, the only paying gigs I could find was shooting sports; softball, kickball, cheer squads, gymnastics and softball. the pay is not great at a local level, but wonderful to assist in honing my skills.
Attached is a photo I took, at night using a Canon 7D with a 400mm lens pushing for a 1/1000 shutter. Being inside a stadium at night posed a new realm of problem solving. With a higher ISO, I am confronted with higher noise issues in my images. However, most of this can be resolved in post or in camera using sub-folder adjustments. Yes, this is one of those special situations where you will want to pull out the manual that you received with your camera, and actually READ IT!

Where are you going and where are you now?

2012© KeriNeal dba KeriLynn Design, LLC

Where are you going and where are you now?
This is a relatively simple question for me to answer, as I am a mature photography student that has accomplishments on my bio.  I left working for a newspaper company and advertising agency to go freelance and update my education -where I am now. Where I intend to go is grow my business and get big publishing opportunities. With that being said, I am often asked how do I make money this way?
~Show Me the Money!
One of this most controversial arguments among professional photographers is pricing. What to charge, when to reduce your rates, when to charge more than your listed price, etc. My standard answer when asked, "How much do you charge?" is "..as much as the client is willing to pay."

"Never be the cheapest-it's true. you never want to be the cheapest. I don't want to be the 'always low prices, always' Walmart version of photography. Nor do I want to be the Target version. I want to be the Nordstrom's, Saks, Tiffany or other high-end exclusive boutique version of photography. Further, I believe that's the level of service, quality and commitment I bring to each assignment." (Best Business Practices for Photographers; pg.96)

This is an art form after all. Warhol charged different prices for different art pieces. Freelance photographers like Dorthea Lange or Gary Weingard probably started out working for peanuts (especially when working under Federal subsides grants and the FHA programs) and earned more when their popularity and demand rose. And then there is markup...

"One way to evaluate your fair markup rate is...look at the items you typically use for assignments -seamless backdrops, film, packaging materials, shipping, etc. and that you will be carrying these expenses over a period of time..between 30 to 45 days.With all this said, understanding markups are a common practice, you should be more empowered to charge markups on everything and not feel guilty about it."(Best Business Practices for Photographers; pg.110)

I ask myself, what is my time worth? Sure, I may only need an hour to take an image, but I may have an additional 5 hours in editing, so I never want to undercut myself and not be paid for ALL my time.
I was recently aware of this debate when I read a letter -written by a client-posted by a fellow photographer, here is an excerpt:

"...I canceled my $500 photography session with you and this is how I spent the money: $79 for a manicure and pedicure, $180 for a hair coloring and cut, $150 dinner with my husband at a fancy restaurant, and $91 on miscellaneous items I can not recall and probably did not need.  Today, I was told by my doctor, my cancer has returned and given me about three months. So instead of having a lasting professional image of my family that my husband and daughter can have for a life time, I cancelled my appointment with you and foolishly spent the money. Please share this with your customers if they ever feel the need to cancel, I am here to say, they will regret it." 

In most cases, my clients understand, I am giving them quality work that is worth every penny. I have been given the unique privileged of entering their private lives to capture a memory that they will value the rest of their lives. So, I ask you, what is that worth?