1. MVS knows her stuff! We listened to her talk yesterday about how to get your work out there, particularly to the fine art community. She talks with such eloquence, ease and a whole heap of knowledge along with years of experience.

    Because we are running (writing) on the hoof at PDN’s Photo Expo, I’m going to list a bunch of mainly bullet points from the seminar:

    Get your work out there     – as often and as much as possible – whether it’s a finished body of work or not. Create a dialogue about your work. This will help to grow your work.

    Portfolio reviews – these are really important in not only getting exposure for your work but getting it seen by the right people in the industry. Their expertise and critique can be paramount in helping you to move forward – and to evolve as an artist. You get the opportunity to have your work reviewed by top editors, publisher’s, corporate art buyers, gallery curators etc. MVS mentioned a whole list of the best portfolio reviews which you can find on her website
    http://www.mvswanson.com/events/index.php Including:

    Review Santa Fe    , Center, Santa Fe, NM http://www.visitcenter.org/ – a tough one to get invited to and/or accepted (only 1 in 7 photographers who apply are accepted) but its one of the top portfolio reviews around. Once the review is over, the Santa Fe100 is listed on their website until the next review. Your name and website are linked from this list for a year. You also get to meet some amazingly inspiring photographers.

    Fotofest, Houston, Texas http://www.fotofest.org/ – the ‘grandaddy of portfolio reviews’ (MSV)

    Lens Culture, Photo Nola, Photoweek DC…..and more on MVS’s website.

    When attending a portfolio review, make sure that they remember you after you have gone. ‘Leave behind’s’ – make up a postcard with an image of your work or a mini book These don’t have to be expensive to put together and can leave a lasting impression, Be as creative as possible to make sure you are remembered. After the review, send a thank you postcard or email embedded with an image to the reviewers. And don’t forget to add your website and contact details!

    Your graphic identity: ensure that all your postcards, emails, booklets, website are consistent. This is your branding.

    Competitions and grant applications:     don’t wait until the last minute to apply. Get a dialogue going with the organizers as soon as possible. Plan ahead – i.e. keep a diary of comps/grants and the deadline dates.

    Don’t just enter comps or apply for grants willy nilly! Do your research before you enter/apply – find out who the juror’s are, what work they like, who won the previous competition/grant etc. Is your work applicable?

    Prestigious art fare’s such as AIPAD, http://www.aipad.com/ in NYC, are key for research purposes alone. There is so much to learn from just walking around and listening to business deals being made between curators and agents or artists. You won’t hear this kind of talk in a gallery (at least not out on the floor!). So, take advantage and listen to the language and, above all, learn. Check out what dealers are looking for. Study price points, size, edition numbers, the paper choices photographs are printed on, installation styles etc.

    Your website: this is ‘your voice’ so keep it consistent. As mentioned, this is your branding; this is the face of who you are. Make it clear on your home page what it is you specialize in. A succinct, concise sentence or two can say it all. Make it easy for any photo editors, curators, collectors, corporate buyers etc who may visit your site to see immediately who you are and what you are about. These people don’t have time to search your site for the relevant information that should be right up there in the first place.

    If you have a book – don’t forget to promote it on your website!

    Prepare for viewing your website on ANY device – how does your site look on an iPad, iPhone, other computer screens (the view can often be compromised on smaller screens)?

    Sending out your work to curator’s, fine art buyers, agents, etc: don’t just cold-send work. Call them first to find out what their policy is on accepting work. They may only accept work once a month or once a year even. MSV is a great advocate of picking up the phone! Again, research everyone that you want to approach – know their market. Will your work be relevant to them? Also, find out the name of person (i.e. don’t address an email to anonymous info@photographers.com) you wish to make contact with at, i.e., a gallery – personalize any communication as often as you possibly can.

    Social networking: is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc relevant to your market? If so, do it well, update regularly and keep it consistent.

    MVS tip: Art buyers and curators are looking at the following sites for new work. Contact them to see if your work can get featured on these two great sites:
    Flakphoto http://www.flakphoto.com/
    Fraction Magazine http://www.fractionmagazine.com/

    MSV Soundbites: Know your market. Who do you want to target? Plan your career well. Don’t sell for less than you are worth. Research is key. Be consistent. Plan. Communicate what you want. Be present wherever you are. Your branding has to be clear at all times. Be patient. Own your decisions!

    MVS’s website is a treasure trove of information for any photographer – however established or not your may be . And, if you ever see her listed on a panel for a portfolio review, then get your 15 minute slot booked with her asap!! It will most definitely be worth it!

    Helen Jones

    Follow Helen Jones & Jason Florio and their journey around The Gambia in 2009 - a 930km walk with 3 Gambians, two donkeys and a cart! Award-winning photography and road stories:
    http://930kmafricanodyssey.tumblr.com/
    Follow us on Twitter:
    http://twitter.com/#!/hellyjonesphoto
    https://twitter.com/floriophotoNYC
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  2. A couple of cool little things at the expo this year!

    1. Black Rapid camera strap.



    2. New Gary Fong Flash Diffuser to fit the New Nikon SB900 and other new flashes that the old Gary Fong diffuser didn't fit.



    3. New somewhat cheaper but super high end looking business cards from MOO (Great name!)



    4. Tamrac Zipshot Tripod
    Although I made fun of this earlier, it is actually cool. It's a a super light tripod that fits into your backpack.



    more tomorrow..

    -Andrea Fischman
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  3. It seems that there is still money to be made in stock photography, but like everything else, the world has changed. Where in the past there was royalty-free and right-managed stock only, there is now micro stock and direct sales as well. And questions about quality versus quantity remain. Is it better to edit and submit many images hoping to make more sales, or is it better to submit fewer, but better images?

    According to the panel (Sarah Fix of Blend Images, Ellen Boughn and Jonathan Ross), you want repeat sales, so your business strategy needs to be based on how you can make that happen. Agencies and clients want to see that your sell-thru rate is high, and keeping your selects down will give the images you do submit a better chance of a higher sell-thru rate. So when they search your images or want to know more about you as a stock photographer they can see that you make money.

    Sarah Fix made some great points about knowing your competition. Echoed by Jonathan Ross, they both spoke about looking at agencies and other shooters and identifying holes in the coverage. You have to be smart and strategic in approaching your career. But isn't that true for anything?

    Jonathan also made another point worth considering: think about the way you shoot and how well your image works as a thumbnail. If you open the front page of any agency there will be a grid of thumbnails. The ones that speak most clearly at that size are the ones people will open. So shoot cleanly and with clarity--crafted quality. Make your work stand out.

    If you shoot travel and are wondering how to do more, and wondering what to do when there's no money to travel to exotic locations, remember this: You can shoot in your own backyard. Someone is interested in where you live, so take what you know and put it to use to build a great, intimate library of images that no one else would have of the place where you are. You know it best.
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    Labels: asmpny blend images ellen boughn jonathan ross micro stock photoshop. stella kramer sarah fix sharpen stock photography
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  4. This is today's last post. We'll be picking it up first thing tomorrow, and promise all kinds of surprises, including video. It's been a long but good day that ended on a perfect note, with a Sony AmericanPHOTO party that was exactly what we needed. There was great food and drink, all in a wonderful space with amazing work projected across huge walls. I want to thank Brain Smith for the invite.

    One of the highlights of the day was the Darius Himes/Mary Virginia Swanson "How To Publish Your Photobook" seminar (a book with the same title will be out Winter 2011). They are both wonderfully engaging speakers, and so giving with their information.

    Some of the important points they made were:

    1. Own the domain name of your book. Know how to use social media to build a strong audience for your work.

    2. Is your book a S, M, L or XL project?

    3. Know how to talk about your book. Does your idea have a clearly defined subject? What is it?

    4. Figure out who your audience is and be able to spell it out. Do you know how to reach them?

    They suggested you really do research--looking at a lot of books to understand what different publishers look for, what kind of books they publish, what kind of paper they use, etc. Spend time on the publishers' website to understand who they are and what they can offer. Know that it is very rare for publishers to take blind submissions. Try to build a relationship with a publisher--portfolio reviews can help you in this.

    Darius talked about his company, Radius, and what kind of books they publish. It is not in the publishing a photo book where the money can be made, unless there is a way to spin off things like calendars, cards, etc. Money can be made back through limited-editions done in addition to the trade publication. But if you're looking to become rich through publishing you will be disappointed.

    Both touched on self-publishing and made the most important point: If you are not able to be the one and only--to be able to handle all aspects of getting your book out there, then it isn't for you. There are so many facets to putting a book out into the world that it is important to remember that your book needs to have a life of its own--it is a book, it is not your photographs. And that is an important and vital distinction to remember.
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  5. Just saw my first seminar this morning at the Photoplus Expo here in warm and sunny (i think although I am in the ominous Javitts Center) NYC!!

    "An Intro to HDSLR Cinema" with Vincent Laforet.
    First of all, he's not only a talented visual person but first and foremost an educator. Take a peek at his blog when you have a chance. So, this seminar covered basically all you need to know to shoot your HD DSLR films, shorts, commercials, music videos, you name it.

    We started out watching his short called "Reverie" which is his first short with the Canon 5D Mark 2 and also his first short video that he made himself. Or at least that's the impression that I got, as he never went to film school. At the time that he shot Reverie, the 5D had only auto-exposure for video and a lot of the kinks of the camera had not been worked out.

    Key Points about Reverie
    1. Was shot with a very small crew
    2. Used a number of lens, 45 mm, 50 mm, 85 mm, 200 mm, 400 mm, Fisheye and the Canon Mark 2
    3. He used Profoto 7B's to light the film (what!!)
    4. A lot of the more "Hollywood effects" were done in very simple lo-fi ways. For example, there is a scene where a guy has a flickering Tv light look to him and that was done by plugging in his laptop to the Tv screen and changing the hue/saturation level up and down in photoshop. Go to the behind the scenes look on Reverie on his site and you can see how it was done in more details. There is a great scene where the driver is filmed by suctioning a manfrotto suction cup mount to the side of the car.
    5. The budget was $5000. Most of which was spent on the helicopter rental
    6. That film led him within 72 hours of being released online to a very high paying job from SmugMug shooting surfers in Hawaii! Much better use of $5K than sending out a promotional mailer campaign right!

    Vincent touched upon the explosion of HDDSLR onto the scene for the photo industry and how there hasn't been a revolution like this since the time when Auto-focus was introduced. I can attest to this at the Expo just by walking around the showroom for 15 minutes. There are so many vendors here geared towards HDDSLR and handheld lighting rigues etc.

    From there, we discussed the nuts and bolts of work-flow with HDDSLR. Here's some highlights.

    1. Shoot on Mark 2 (or whatever HDDSLR camera you have)
    2. Copy into folders on external harddrive
    3. Load into Final Cut (or Premier or Avid)
    4. Convert footage using ProRes 422HQ or LT or Proxy. You don't need to use the super high res 4.44. Not worth it unless it's going to the silver screen :) This makes the footage much easier to work with in Final Cut.
    5. Use application Pluraleyes to sync audio (i have used this and it's incredible, no more slate boards- especially helpful if you are only one person shooting)
    6. Start editing!

    But still most important according to Vincent is the following below. You can have all the gear in the world but no one will want to watch your film because you don't have a clear message. He really has some cool shorts he has made testing cameras for Canon.
    Here's the skinny to a great short or film:
    1. Concept
    2. Story
    3. Emotion
    4. Sound
    5. Motion
    6. Editing

    Lastly...glad I stayed till the end because he brought out his rique which is impressive but not over the top. Which is his thing, to K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple stupid)

    Also some take-home knowledge that I found valuable below to do before you start shooting with the 5D:

    1. Set the Canon 5D at ASA 100 at 1/50 sec
    2. Turn off all Sharpening and Contrast and keep your color tone to Neutral
    3. Get a couple of pieces of equipment (i.e. tripod with fluid head or some sort of steadying device to make your work move up to a pro level)
    4. Pick up a decent Microphone and shoot with a Dual System. You can buy an inexpensive Zoom recorder even for $500.
    5. Pick up an ND filter

    More to come from me! Stay tuned.

    -Andrea Fischman
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  6. Now that fall is here it's time to make your preparations for PhotoPlus Expo to be held at the Javits Center from October 28 - 30th in New York. Here's your chance to hear keynote speakers Chase Jarvis, Albert Watson, Laurie Kratochvil and Christina Mittermeier, plus attend seminars that cater to nearly every topic available.

    This year the Palm Springs Photo Festival is sponsoring a portfolio review with a great cast of reviewers. So there's something for everyone, and that doesn't even include the big bash to be held this year on The Intrepid! Should be a wild time for all.

    Remember, the earlier you sign up the better.

    I will be blogging the entire event with photographers Andrea Fischman, Sari Goodfriend, Jason Florio and producer Helen Jones so that we can cover everything from seminars to exhibitors. We will be filming interviews and equipment reviews, giving you a front row seat on many of the seminars and some surprises still to be announced. So if you can't make it, you can learn about everything here at Sharpen, and also at my blog, Stellazine.

    You will also be able to follow us on Facebook and Twitter (more details to come).

    If there are things you want us to cover, feel free to email me and let me know now, and during the event. And if you see any of us floating around at the Javits Center, come up and talk with us. Maybe we'll put you on camera.
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    Labels: andrea fischman asmp helen jones jason florio photoplus expo sari goodfriend sharpen Stella Kramer Stellazine
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I've been in the art and photography industry for 15 years as a photographer, curator and art consultant. I've been fortunate to work with ASMPNY as a portfolio reviewer as well as a panelist for photography events here in the city. Earlier this year my exhibition, "Hotter Than July" was reviewed by senior art critic of New York Magazine, Jerry Saltz. In the past I founded veaux.org, a site for emerging creatives with a gallery space in Chelsea as well as curator/consultant of exhibitions for the Hipstamatic iphone app. Currently I'm working on a project documenting the New York art world while curating exhibitions around the city.
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