Category: Uncategorized

Heather Elder, the wonderful rep who offers so much helpful information for photographers on her blog, asked me to guest post. The result reveals 5 common legal myths debunked for photographers.

By the way, if you are not following Heather, you should.
Well, not in a scary stalker kind of way, of course. I mean follow her work.  Your business will thank you.

Are you playing it safe? Are you making the work you have been told you ought to make, that clients want to see, that won’t scare off potential clients? Then do us all a favor and quit now.

No one will pay more for your art than the next guy’s unless you believe in its value and make something original. If you feel like “anyone could have done this” about your work, you are probably right and it’s not worth anything. Why are you wasting your time? Worse, why are you wasting mine? Stop pretending to be a creative professional and whining about the state of the industry while what you do directly causes its downfall.

Harsh? Maybe, but I’m not done yet. Look, if you feel like your work could be made by anyone, then you aren’t working hard enough to make your art. I don’t know what you are doing, but it’s not being an artist.

Quit now, because that “play it safe” attitude is bullshit in today’s market. You are only contributing to the illusion that anyone can be a creative. You are lowering the perceived value of creativity by flooding the market with shit work. Those creative pros who are making really creative work are having to fight harder than ever to get dollars for their efforts because people like you make it look like artists are lazy, don’t work hard, and simply luck out when they actually make something more.

Making art is hard work. Art requires more. More effort. More bravery. More of you. You need to put yourself out there to make the work. You should be spent, having given a part of you in the making. If it really is that easy for you, you aren’t trying hard enough.

But you are sure whining about how no one wants to hire you now.

Put the two pieces together and the equation is simple: you won’t get work playing it safe because safe work is shit and no one wants to hire someone who makes shit, no matter how nice you are. So you might as well make the stuff you have in your soul, the stuff you hide from everyone, even quite probably yourself, the stuff that lots of people might actively hate or at least not understand, the stuff that is real.

You don’t need everyone’s approval.
You don’t need to be liked.
You just need to make the work, your work, your real work, and to get paid for your creative (and economic) value.

So, either quit now or get off your ass and make art.

It is with a great sense of pride and excitement that I announce my new position with the law firm of Carolyn E. Wright, LLC… better known to most of you as photoattorney.com. Starting April 1 (yes, April Fools’ Day) I will be working full-time with Carolyn (and Evan).

As you may remember, I have been working as a lawyer with the firm in a part-time capacity since I was admitted to the Bar last June. Not surprisingly, I have loved the opportunity to be an advocate for photographers and the work has been rewarding. It’s exactly what I have been hoping to do since I first thought of going to law school–copyright law (mostly). Now, I will be devoting myself even more to this passionate pursuit.

The firm devotes itself to defending the rights of creative professionals, particularly photographers. While we do a lot of copyright work, we also handle other issues that affect you and your business, like contracts, etc. One of the things I like best about Carolyn’s firm is that we don’t just handle the big cases–we do a lot for the “little guy/gal” artists.

Carolyn is well known for her outstanding advocacy and Evan Andersen is equally devoted and bright. I’m joining a great group and a growing firm. We know the photo world and the law.

What this means for Burns Auto Parts is that I will be doing considerably less marketing consulting work. I will take on some clients and certain projects, but not at the same level as I have in the past. It means that I will be even more selective about the clients I choose to work with for non-legal work–I will have to be convinced I can really help you to put the time and effort into doing so.

I will continue to write the Manuals and produce the Creative Lube podcasts, for those of you subscribed or who own the BAP2Go app. Don’t worry, I’m not bailing on that. For most of you, you won’t even notice a shift. I’ll still be posting on Twitter and the Facebook biz page, and here, although possibly more often on burnstheattorney.com.

And if you do want me to help with your marketing (editing your book, website, or the like), it will never hurt to ask. Just be warned I may have to say “no” and I’ll likely nag you about registering your copyrights even more.

 

Y’all have heard me nag about how important targeting is. It’s crucial. It’s absolutely the first and most important step in all your marketing. If you have a targeted audience, your ROI will increase, sometimes dramatically.

The days of the shotgun approach to marketing, just like the days of being a generalist photographer, are over.

That being said, what tools can you use to reach your targets? Well, I’m working on a podcast about that which will be posted for BAP2Go app owners in the next few days.

One thing that I want to share here, though, is that if you are trying to reach art directors and other creatives who often hide behind the “firewalls” of no emails and/or the much needed and ever effective Art Buyers/Producers at agencies, there is a new resource for you: advertising on Adland.tv.

Okay, full disclosure: Adland is owned and operated by a friend of mine. That being said, I get nothing from her for any of this. Buy space or don’t, it doesn’t affect me. She told me about her new pricing structure and thought it might be a good way for some of my followers to get their names in front of ad people. That’s all.

So, that’s why am I telling you about buying ad space on Adland.tv–Because Adland is viewed by the creatives who make the ads. We’re talking about much of the crème de la crème of the ad world, globally. And now you can get in front of their eyes for very little money. Like $15 and up little money, or $90 for 30 days (for the smallest ads, you can go bigger, of course, details here). All you need is a PayPal account… and an ad, of course.

Go to the page and look at the ad sizes. Get your designer to make an ad of the right format (that clicks to your website, hello!). Then you can buy the space and upload your ad. And if you have questions, email Åsk (my friend, the owner).

Will buying ad space on Adland.tv get you a job? Not if that’s all you do, of course. But it is another tool to get your name and work out there, in front of your actual targets. Sure, it would be great if you were running ads in Archive or the like, but for many of you, that isn’t a financial option. And every time I hear about one of you trading work for ad space in some general consumer magazine or something like Dentists Monthly, I want to beat someone. A total waste of your efforts. You need to reach your targets, and this may help.

 

This article has got to be one of the most important things written for creative professionals in, well, forever.

Not to ruin it for you, but the author worked in advertising for a very long time and doesn’t any more. During his tenure, he saw some of the huge shifts in how the business works and how those shifts have been at the behest of the accountants, not for the betterment of the creative work or the lives of the creative workers.

This all holds true for photographers, writers, illustrators, designers, as well as those directly in the advertising game.

Mostly, what I want you to get out of the piece is how willing you are to take it. Each of you will have to answer that question for yourself, but take some time to do so honestly. Have you thrown in “all rights” when you knew it was wrong for you, because you felt you had to? Has your professional organization knuckled under to the pressure rather than stand up for you? Have you worked for free or for much less than you know the work is worth?

Why?

Are you making your work? Work you are honestly proud of? Work that will outlive you?

Are you protecting your rights in your work–especially your personal work that you are proud of–so that your children can possibly reap the rewards when you are gone?

Or are you just a cog? The money-guys’ bitch? The one whose fragile ego won’t permit being told “no” because you feed off praise like Renfield on a bug?

You pick.

Yesterday, I learned about the death of Paula Lerner, and my heart broke a little. She was so young and such a defender of photographer’s rights. I knew, liked, and respected her.

I learned that news after hearing from a very close friend that one of her other best friends has cancer, again–a woman who just got her divorce papers on Sunday. Divorce and a really bad form of cancer. Ugh.

All this bad news got me to thinking: why am I complaining about anything in my life right now, especially work stuff? Why are any of us?

Business is hard. To paraphrase a favorite movie, anyone who says otherwise is selling something. Business is work and doing the stuff you don’t want to do. Business is hiring accountants and lawyers and making pitches to potential clients and doing research and paperwork and making trips to Costco.

Oh, and making your art, too.

It’s sacrifice and frustration. It’s making tough choices like to take what may be a hit now for the possibility of a long-term gain (the subject of my latest Manual that subscribers & app owners got yesterday). It means having to say “no” to a lot more than you ever imagined, like to buying you or your kids stuff because you need to pay your over-priced health insurance.

It means having to smile to clients who are driving you nuts.

But it’s life, and you chose this path.
Stop and think just how great that is. You are Here, as the sign says.

No matter how tough it gets, no matter how much you struggle in your business and to make your art, you are here and doing it. No matter how psychotic the client demands, how long the hours, how much you miss your life partner because you’ve been locked in post for the past week, or how frustrating the airlines are being about your gear, it beats the hell out of the Alternative, as my 86-year-old father puts it.

I hope we all take a moment to remember those who have inspired us, like Paula, and then honor them by recognizing that we’re all here temporarily and need to embrace the fantastic opportunity that presents. Play your music a little louder, do the drudge work with a better attitude, and push your art more.

And stop complaining about any of it.

 

That headline is not to shock, it is to make a point.

True story: a man I know who works at a very well known ad agency got a LinkedIn “Let’s connect” email from a photographer. The man doesn’t know the photographer from Adam and, like what I hear from most buyers and other creatives who may influence photo buying, finds such approaches on LinkedIn particularly icky. I’ve mentioned this before to you fine readers, and I mean it. It’s bad form and pisses people off.

Feeling more than a little frustrated with this sort of thing and rather than respond directly to the photographer, my friend tweets the following–tweets it, mind you, and never mentions anyone in particular:
Dear Photographers: If I don’t know you, I’m not going to connect with you on linkedin. Think it through next time.

Next thing he knows, he gets an email again from the original photographer. It reads:
You don’t have to be an [sic] prick about it. Think it through next time.

This photographer has just slit his professional throat.

I don’t care how bad your day is going, I don’t care if someone actually acts like a total asshat (and, btw, I don’t think my friend did anything out of line), you never, ever call someone who is/was a target a prick. Or anything else, for that matter. Why? Because like all people, people in advertising talk and your reputation is vital. Your work can be the hand of god photography, but if you are a jerk, you will not get the gig.

 

Today there is a fascinating post on DuetsBlog.com (“creativity & the law”). It explores the recent re-branding of JCPenney and the attempt to force them to drop Ellen DeGeneres. It teaches all of us a big lesson: your brand is not your logo, it is who you are in the world.

This is why you can’t bullshit your targets. You can’t pretend to be visionary or to care about art and design and creativity and the work you make. You had better eat, sleep, and breathe your passion for what you do, because your targets will suss out a fake faster than you can say Nikon.

Make your work.

Show your work.

Live your brand.

 

There are a gazillion sources for information about how to market your work today. I can’t possibly keep up with them all. One thing that rings true on every one of the best sites? Make your OWN work. Specialize–that is, have your own vision and make (and show) your own work.

I’ve been saying this for a while, but really, that is all you have left.

Technology? Hell, anyone can make a decent image these days. They can do it on their friggin’ iPhones. Work that would have been technically better than about half the photographers I knew back when I got into this industry can be done on an iPhone. Easily.

But that doesn’t mean you’re out of a job. Nope. instead you are now fully liberated to make your art and to make it by your art.

Scary?
You bet your ass.

You can’t fake it any more. You had better be making something you are completely passionate about or your targets are going to know you are a fake in no time flat.

But when you make your own work and put that out to the world, passionately and with the full confidence of “this is mine–that I do–who I am creatively” then people are drawn to it.

Yes, you still have to do the work of targeting and making calls and schlepping your book (and yes, a print book is still best) and sending promos and all that jazz, but if you start with your own work, the rest comes much more easily.

I know, you’ve heard it before. You know how I know? because I’m blue in the face saying it, but it’s true.

Go. Shoot. Make your art. Get excited about it. And get it out there.

 

Oh, and register it too, will ya’?

We should go dark.
Every one of us who makes “creative content” should pick a day and go dark.

Every photographer, writer, illustrator, and related support companies like reps and stock agencies should go dark.
Take our sites down. Make our content unavailable on YouTube, etc. Stock galleries, everything.
Take away everything that is driving the ad-selling machines that promote “free culture.” “Free culture” is ruining all of us.

What we do is not free, it costs each of us our lives, our souls, our efforts, our sweat, not to mention cash outlays in the form of equipment, tools, and investments in education.

The world needs to see how much value we create.

We drive this bus! Yes us, every one of us who creates! Not the parasites who are riding on our backs, getting rich because of what we make.
What YOU make.

You can get a gazillion RTs or +1s or Likes, but they will not feed your family or keep a roof over your head. You don’t need appreciation like some high school prom queen candidate–you need money. We all need money.

How long are you willing to be Google’s bitch? Or the torrents’? Or Facebook’s? Or any of the gazillion blogs, etc., that exist solely to sell ad space? Who are you creating for? For them, so they can get rich?

Take back your power.

Let’s go dark.