This Photo Life

“It seems dangerous to be a portrait artists who do commissions for clients because everyone wants to be flattered,so they pose in such a way that there’s nothing left of truth”

hannnnnahleighx asked

“whats your best advice to an aspiring photographer?”

Answer:

“first off, i say just shoot..shoot shoot and shoot. just keep doing it. and eventually you will find your voice. it takes a lot of copying and a ton of mistakes to find your niche. To find out the thing that makes you unique so that your work is cohesive and looks like it all came from the same hand is a process that takes time and failure. Experimentation. I would also say to just shoot what gets you off. Shoot what excites you. Shoot what YOU want, not what u think “they” want you to shoot like. Also, if you are into shooting celebrities; here’s my advice for you…(Anthony Mandler told me this years ago and he’s dead right ;) They hire your lighting. remember that. its true. LAstly, just shoot. all the time. Just shoot shoot Shoot”

David Alan Harvey
You must have something to say. You must be brutally honest with yourself about this. Think about history, politics, science, literature, music, film, and anthropology. What effect does one discipline have over another? What makes “man” tick? Today, with everyone being able to easily make technically perfect photographs with a cell phone, you need to be an “author”. It is all about authorship, authorship and authorship.
Many young photographers come to me and tell me their motivation for being a photographer is to “travel the world” or to “make a name” for themselves. Wrong answers in my opinion. Those are collateral incidentals or perhaps even the disadvantages of being a photographer. Without having tangible ideas, thoughts, feelings, and something almost “literary” to contribute to the discussion, today’s photographer will become lost in the sea of mediocrity…
Perhaps more simply put, find a heartfelt personal project. Give yourself the assignment you might dream someone would give you. Please remember: you and only you will control your destiny. Believe it, know it, say it.

Constantine Manos
Try not to take pictures [that] simply show what something looks like. By the way you put the elements of an image together in a frame, [you] show us something we have never seen before and will never see again. And remember that catching a moment makes the image even more unique in the stream of time.
Also, try to do workshops with photographers whose work you admire, but first ask around to make sure they are good teachers as well as good photographers. Taking good pictures is easy. Making very good pictures is difficult. Making great pictures is almost impossible.

Donovan Wylie
Never stop enjoying it. Try and not “look” for pictures but keep yourself always open and allow yourself to be stimulated by whatever hits you. Work towards a goal – book, exhibition – but more importantly, work towards finding your own voice, your subject and your application.
Accept that your work is more about you than what you represent, try to bridge that balance, without resorting to photographing your feet! In other words, try and translate personal experience into a collective one; it is very possible and I think the key quest of any art form…
Study all the great photographers and love doing it, start at the beginning, look at early American, and German, then French, then take a close look at artists using photography in the sixties – Ruscha etc. Don’t get bogged down in theory, but respect it, read Robert Adams on Photography, in fact embrace Robert Adams generally and you will learn a lot.
Always try and be honest with yourself. For example, is the idea of being a photographer more exciting to you than photography itself? If this is true, think about becoming an actor. If you genuinely love photography, don’t give it up. Understand and enjoy the fact that photography is a unique medium. Respect and work within photography’s limitations; you will go much further.

David Hurn
Don’t become a photographer unless its what you have to do. It can’t be the easy option. If you become a photographer you will do a lot of walking, so buy good shoes.

Dennis Stock
Young photographers should learn their craft well and don’t expect to make a constant living at taking pictures. But they should “follow their bliss”. Find time to pursue themes that indicate their concerns, big and small. Above all when shooting, make an articulate image.

BORROWED FROM
http://www.ideastap.com

Turning your passion for photography into a career can sometimes feel like an impossible slog – but every successful photographer has to start somewhere. Here, a few of Magnum Photos’ biggest talents share their tips for young photographers…

Alex Webb
Photograph because you love doing it, because you absolutely have to do it, because the chief reward is going to be the process of doing it. Other rewards – recognition, financial remuneration – come to so few and are so fleeting. And even if you are somewhat successful, there will almost inevitably be stretches of time when you will be ignored, have little income, or often both. Certainly there are many other easier ways to make a living in this society. Take photography on as a passion, not a career.

Alec Soth
Try everything. Photojournalism, fashion, portraiture, nudes, whatever. You won’t know what kind of photographer you are until you try it. During one summer vacation (in college) I worked for a born-again tabletop photographer. All day long we’d photograph socks and listen to Christian radio. That summer I learned I was neither a studio photographer nor a born-again Christian. Another year I worked for a small suburban newspaper chain and was surprised to learn that I enjoyed assignment photography. Fun is important. You should like the process and the subject. If you are bored or unhappy with your subject it will show up in the pictures. If in your heart of hearts you want to take pictures of kitties, take pictures of kitties.

Alex Majoli
I would advise to read a lot of literature and look as little as possible [at] other photographers. Work everyday even without assignments or money, work, work, work with discipline for yourself and not for editors or awards. And also collaborate with people – not necessary photographers, but people you admire. The key word to learn is participation!

Carl De Keyzer
Give it all you got for at least five years and then decide if you got what it takes. Too many great talents give up at the very beginning; the great black hole looming after the comfortable academy or university years is the number one killer of future talent.

Christopher Anderson
Forget about the profession of being a photographer. First be a photographer and maybe the profession will come after. Don’t be in a rush to pay your rent with your camera. Jimi Hendrix didn’t decide on the career of professional musician before he learned to play guitar. No, he loved music and created something beautiful and that THEN became a profession. Larry Towell, for instance, was not a “professional” photographer until he was already a “famous” photographer. Make the pictures you feel compelled to make and perhaps that will lead to a career. But if you try to make the career first, you will just make shitty pictures that you don’t care about.

Chris Steele-Perkins
Never think photography is easy. It’s like poetry in that it’s easy enough to make a few rhymes, but that’s not a good poem.
Study photography, see what people have achieved, but learn from it – don’t try photographically to be one of those people.
Photograph things you really care about, things that really interest you, not things you feel you ought to do.
Photograph them in the way you feel is right, not they way you think you ought to.
Be open to criticism – it can be really helpful – but stick to your core values
Study and theory is useful, but you learn most by doing. Take photographs – lots of them – be depressed by them, take more, hone your skills and get out there in the world and interact.

BORROWED FROM
http://www.ideastap.com/

“I’ve been doing this “model/ photographer” thing a long time.
I’ve seen them come. And I’ve seen them go.I’ve got a few observations: This is the fashion business. Lots of people can be successful, for a minute. Or a month. Some might even be able to pull it off for a few years.“Hot” photographers, or models, have a kind of “rock star” thing. The way they carry themselves. Their manner. They’re winners. And they know it.They burst on the scene. Get a ton of bookings. And, just as quickly, flame out.If you don’t believe that, pick up a five year old fashion magazine. 80% of the models and photographers are gone.Then there are the ones who just keep doing it. Year after year. Great work. Over and over. Think of the models: Gisele, Heidi, Kate, Tyra, Cindy, Alessandra, Adriana.One name icons who make ten year modeling careers seem the norm, where they are anything but. It’s the same with the great photographers.Avedon shot fashion for nearly 60 years. Patrick De Marchelier for 40, and he’s still at it. Irving Penn. Sante. Max. Peter Lindbergh. Bruce. Mario. Herb. Helmut Newton. Albert.So many beautiful women. So many great photographers. People who defined their art and their times. Not by one shot or pose. But by thousands, and tens of thousands, of each. Over years.And if you asked any of them (and I know most) the “secret to their success”, you’d get the same mundane answer: “Well, I worked my ass off.”Yep. That’s true.The discipline to make it, really make it, in this business, is no different than the discipline it takes to succeed at sports, dance, design, or business.You work your ass off.Is their art involved? Of course. Hard work, alone, won’t do it. You have to have the talent and the eye, or the physical gifts. Candidly, at this level, they all do.But the great ones separate themselves by their work ethic, and consistent intensity. Simply they do the work. “

-Ed Razek
CMO Victoria’s Secret
April 2010

Had a great talk with photographer Andrew MacPherson the other night in L.A. We talked about my move to N.Y. and he gave me some amazing advice. I was trying to remember it so that I could write about it on my blog when I received an email from him. He wrote;


“I never planned to be a fashion photographer, or to work in Hollywood, things happen if you stay open, light on your feet, and let the world surprise you. As you already know, when energy gets stagnant, its time up and go explore.”

Great advice from a great guy.
Thanks Andrew.
http://www.macfly.com/

Top 10 Ways To Piss Off A Photographer
(in no particular order)

1) Try ‘clever’ tricks to save money.
Photographers have seen and heard just about every trick in the book, and you should realize this. You can expect to piss off a photographer if you treat them as if they haven’t experienced a few of these money-saving tricks already.

Don’t say that an assignment will take 2 hours when you know it will realistically require a full day of work. Don’t try to expand the assignment into something more when the photographer arrives on the scene, and expect them to bend over backwards to “help you out, just this once.” (Read John Harrington’s full reply, below, for some of his least favorite tricks.)

You should understand that a photographer is a small business owner, and they’re not trying to use their own clever tricks to jack up their rates. They want a fair, respectable price. Be upfront and totally honest with them from the very beginning, and you’ll find them much more willing to “help you out” in the end.

2) Don’t understand what it’s like in the real world.
Most editors spend their working day in an office, dreaming up perfect situations and scenarios where everything goes exactly as planned. Most don’t plan for the unexpected, and are surprised and upset when the pre-visualized images they promised to their bosses don’t actually materialize.

Instead, treat the photographer as a partner. Let them know that what you’re asking for is just something intended to get you both on the same page, and you’re not expecting miracles.

Encourage them to think beyond the box, and deliver something even better. If you put a little faith in them as a partner, you’ll often find they’ll work harder for you to come up with something truly great. Something you can both be proud of.

3) Screw up the schedule.
This is usually related to having little idea what it’s like in the real world. Scheduling is very important to a photographer, especially when the photo editor is the person setting up the shooting appointment with the subjects.

Don’t assume, for example, that a photographer in Los Angeles can drive to San Francisco and back within 2 hours. In this case, take the extra step and go to Google Maps and figure out the driving times in advance.

Be as clear with the photographer as possible with regard to the schedule. If you’re unsure about something, or if there may be some waiting time once they arrive on the scene - let them know in advance. You should understand that they may have an assignment booked after yours. Letting them know that the schedule may change without notice will give them an opportunity to plan accordingly, and not screw up another assignment because yours ran late.

4) Expect unlimited use of an image, for free.
Don’t be outraged when a photographer sends you an invoice after you’ve used an image again. Don’t assume that every image is Royalty-Free, even if the image was shot on assignment for you.

When a photographer shoots an image, they are hoping to produce something good enough that it will be used in many places - that there will be a demand for the image. If you suspect that you will want to use an image over again, in different places, tell the photographer in advance and work out a deal. Don’t just assume that you can use it, and then “deal with it later” if/when you’re caught.

5) Be difficult to contact.
This goes both ways - both photographers and photo editors should be easy to contact. Great communication between the parties means that you’re working as partners, each available to the other as the assignment unfolds.

Everyone knows the importance of this. If you expect people to be easy to contact, you should make yourself easy to contact as well.

6) Ask them to copy the style of another photographer.
Most people who become photographers do so because it’s a creative outlet. It allows them the freedom to express their own vision. Not understanding this very basic concept will piss off any photographer who has pride in their work.

Treat a photographer as a person who has their own creative process - and it’s the creative process that you’re paying for.

Don’t treat a photographer like a robot with a camera. Showing them an image, and asking them to replicate it is considered an insult to most. Asking them to “shoot the same thing you did last time” could end up making them second-guess their own creative process.

7) Have a big ego.
Let’s face it, both photographers and photo editors can have a bit of an ego. They’re both often sensitive about their work because, if they do their jobs right, they really put themselves into a project and it ends up becoming an intimate personal expression.

When big egos collide, bad things can happen. Treating each other with respect, as an equal partner in the creative process, will yield better results in the end.

Accept that fact that you actually need each other, and no person is more important, or has “more power” than the other.

8) Offer a photo credit as payment.
Photographers will be easily pissed off when you offer a photo credit as if it has some kind of monetary value. They will be further pissed off if you insinuate that a photo credit in your highly respectable publication will help their career.

You should understand that it costs a photographer time and money to produce the image that you want to use, and a photo credit can’t be used to pay their bills. Offering a photo credit as a form of payment is an insult.

9) Use images without permission.
If you don’t have money to pay for the use of an image, don’t just take the image and use it anyway - and deal with any potential fallout later. Contact the photographer in advance, and see if you can work something out.

Using an image without permission is rude and offensive to most photographers.

10) Crop their photos to the point of obscurity.
Photographers often spend a lot of mental energy composing an image, and brutal cropping hack-jobs can easily send a photographer into a pissy mood. This is like cutting the first 2 paragraphs out of a writer’s story, and expecting the writer to be perfectly fine with it.

Contact the photographer ahead of time, let them know the reasons why the image must be cropped this way, and have a discussion about it before its too late. It is insulting to see your image in print with the heart and soul cropped out.

http://blog.photoshelter.com/

I got these from the great website http://photodino.wordpress.com/.


The surest way to become a photographic trend setter is to completely disregard all photographic trends.

Do ONLY what you want to do. People who don’t understand are not your target clientele / audience. So what?

In your quest to create the best images you can, don’t forget that sometimes it’s the snapshots that mean the most.

The only photos we can ever really regret are the ones we never make. Stop thinking about shooting, and shoot!

Your photographic style should not be determined by fear of trying new things. “Scared” is not a style.

Never apologize or make excuses for your work. We are rarely as good or bad as we think we are.

Work with your personality, not against it. It’s OK to be shy in your sessions. Learn to make it work for you.

Shoot what intimidates you. Seek out the subjects/sessions that are hardest for you. That’s how we grow.

When in doubt, simplify.

There is only photographic rule that should never be broken: respect your subjects.

You can either build your business by having a unique style – or by being the cheapest. Which sounds more fun?

Don’t worry that you aren’t creative enough. Express yourself deeply and allow your work to be what it is.

Perfectionism and high standards are not the same thing. Perfectionism is ego with a dash of self-doubt.

Nobody but you can make your photographs. If you don’t do it, no one will, and those moments will be lost.

A portrait session is a beautiful dance between photographer and subject; if either doesn’t participate, it’s just a recital.

Photograph according to your own artistic compass, and gain the clients who value it. Never apologize for your style.

If at first you don’t succeed, you probably need a light meter.

You do not need the latest and greatest gear. It’s an expensive distraction. Learn to effectively use what you have.

Know your technique so you can forget about it. Luck is nice, but a terrifying thing to rely on.

A successful portrait is a side effect of a strong human connection. What are you giving for your subjects to respond to?

Sharpness is overrated. There’s a place for a gentle, subtle print. Eyelashes do not have to look like weapons.

Every time you photograph someone, you tell them, “You’re important enough to remember.” Make the most of it.

There is perfection in imperfection. Don’t be afraid to show character and experience in your subject’s faces.

Your technique should never upstage your subject. It should enhance the image, not take over.

Photographers need to be photographed. It teaches us empathy for our subjects. It isn’t easy to be in front of the lens.

There is no such thing as bad light. There is only light that is used badly.

It matters little how great your portraits are if your clients don’t have fun. The session should be its own reward.

A great portrait is a side effect of a strong human connection. Be a person first, a photographer second.

It does not matter how good your post processing is if you start with a badly lit image! Good lighting is KEY.

Everything you need to know about lighting can be learned from your catchlights and shadows. You must know how to read them!

(my favorite is
‘Every time you photograph someone, you tell them, “You’re important enough to remember.” Make the most of it.’)