Onward, semi-pro photogs. Onward from the ranks of the Legion of the Snappers. That should be one of your primary goals as an emerging pro – to move your photography beyond the point-and-shoot simplicity of the so-called “snapper,” (the “guy with the camera” haplessly snapping pics, pawning himself off as a pro) to become a vision-driven photog, shooting with purpose every time out. This blog post is the second entry in my series designed to guide you there – beyond the Legion of the Snappers.
To recap, the three major steps in the transition from snapper to semi-pro include 1) developing the ability to produce a quality product with consistency over time, 2) learning how a pro interacts with his clients, and 3) developing a sense of how to walk the walk as a pro photog. The first blog in this series covered the photographer’s product and laid out three ways to ensure a consistent, quality product – know your equipment; know your client; and know yourself. This post will focus on the second major step in the transition – learning how a pro interacts with his client.
The broad categories in this phase of the photographer’s evolution from snapper to pro include a laundry list of items that sound as if they’re lifted from the pages of the Boy Scouts’ Manual, but they are as applicable to the pro photog as they are to the Eagle Scout – a pro photographer distinguishes himself from the amateur by being 1) reliable, 2) trustworthy, and 3) accessible to his clients.
Being reliable as a pro photog means a client can depend on you to deliver a consistent, accurate product in a timely fashion. We talked about consistency in the previous installment of this blog series. By learning the ins and outs of yourself (as a photographer) and your equipment, you can produce a consistent, quality product. Quality over time translates to reliability. A pro’s work cannot be hit or miss. It has to be right in order to keep the client satisfied. Not only does it have to be right in the technical sense, it has to be right in the aesthetic sense. This, again, means getting to know your client and getting to know his or her desires for the finished product. Clients have to be able to rely on the pro photog to translate their vision into reality. Accurately capturing the client’s wishes and accurately delivering what was promised are fundamental to reliability. Timeliness is another critical component of reliability as well. If a photog takes months (or years, gasp, as we’ve heard in horror stories from clients) to deliver a product, word will spread quickly. In order to be considered reliable, the pro must deliver when he says he will. Together, these elements (consistency, accuracy and timeliness) lead to trust, another fundament trait of a pro.
A pro photog is trustworthy. Just like a patient places trust in her physician, a client places trust in her photographer. In many instances, the pro photographer is shooting an event that is merely a moment in time. Often, there are no “do-overs.” If the photog misses the shot, the opportunity is lost. Events like these range from weddings to birthdays, bar mitzvahs to quinceaneras, but it’s not only events that require precision; other photo ops are one-time only opportunities. Senior portraits are a good example. If the photographer doesn’t capture the cap-and-gown experience, often there’s no going back because the graduation regalia was rented, or grandma was only in town for a day. Family portraits, reunions, anniversaries are also fleeting moments. And, this concept doesn’t just apply to event photography. Pro shooters who shoot with celebrities generally get one shot. A glamour photog gets one shot with a model on set, and the list goes on. When clients hire a pro, they are placing special trust and confidence in that photog to get the image – at the first, and possibly the only, opportunity.
In addition to being reliable and trustworthy, the pro photog must also be accessible – that is, available to his clients. And by available, I mean, both physically (the client can actually reach the photog when desired) and mentally (the client can count on the photog to interpret what is desired and translate it into a product). Just like the horror stories of the photogs who don’t deliver what was promised, my clients also relay stories to me of previous experiences where they were no longer able to reach their photographer once money changed hands or the shoot was over. In extreme cases, clients have had to resort to lawsuits and the courts to attempt to wrest a finished product (or a refund of money) from the photographer. The actions of the photog who shoots and runs are tantamount to theft, and we all suffer the consequences. Clients are traumatized by such experiences, and photogs, in general, take a hit because we are viewed collectively – you know, one bad apple spoils the bunch. By remaining accessible – keeping the lines of communication open with our clients – we can ward off most misunderstandings that lead to bad feelings and damaged reputations. Pro photogs must remain engaged with the client throughout the creative process. By making ourselves accessible mentally, we as pro photogs can interpret our clients’ needs and make sure we deliver for them.
For this installment, we covered the elements of the pro photog’s interaction with his clients that separate the pro from the snapper. A pro photog distinguishes himself by being reliable, trustworthy and available. We didn’t cover the rest of the Boy Scouts’ attributes – thrifty, brave, and other things I can’t remember, but maybe those would be appropriate for another blog article down the road.
For next time, semi-pro’s, we’ll finish up our evolutionary discussion by covering how a pro “walks the walk.”
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Leaving Behind the Legion of the Snapper
“Ok,” you say, “alright, Tony, you railed in your last blog against ‘guys with cameras,’ aka ‘snappers,’ as you called them. No one wants that ugly distinction applied to them; so how do I avoid being labeled with that pejorative moniker?” In other words, “how do I take my photography from the amateur level to the semi-pro or pro level?” How do I leave the legion of the “snapper” and become a semi-pro shooter?
Never fear – that’s the topic of this installment of the Semi-Pro Photog Blog.
Lots has been written by authors and photographers more experienced and eloquent than I, but I’ll attempt to wade neck deep (well, at least waist deep) into the issue. To tackle such a broad topic, though, I’ll have to break it down into manageable bits. Throughout this series, I’ll talk about three major points: 1) a photographer’s product – the ability to produce a quality product with consistency over time; 2) the photographer’s interaction with his clients – how a pro’s approach differs from an amateur’s; and 3) a photographer’s view of himself and his business – or how a pro walks the walk.
It’ll take a couple of blog entries to do it, but, it’ll be worth it to readers in the end. In this entry, let’s talk about product.
In my experience, the number one thing that separates amateurs from professionals is the ability to produce a consistent, quality product for clients, time and time again. That means shooting with vision and purpose every time out. That means translating the client’s wishes, needs and desires into a photograph. It means delivering a product that the client is happy to pay for, over and over. How? How does the pro photographer accomplish this? I believe all of these deliverables can be summed up thusly: know your equipment; know your client; and know yourself.
A pro photographer has to know his equipment. He has to know the tools of his trade. In another lifetime, I was a Marine infantryman (ok, it wasn’t another lifetime in the “past life regression” sense of the word, so much as it was so long ago it seems like another lifetime, but the point’s the same). The Marine Corps did an incredibly efficient job of indelibly printing in my brain that my rifle, the tool of my trade, was my lifeline. I carried my rifle wherever I went. I studied it; I had classes with it; I ate with it; I ran with it; heck, I even slept with it. I could disassemble it blindfolded and reassemble it in under a minute – I wasn’t unique or especially gifted – that’s what was expected of me as a member of the profession of arms. The same should be true for every photographer who claims to be a pro. I’m not saying you should sleep with your camera (you can love your camera…just don’t “love” your camera…to misquote Janeane Garofalo’s line from “The Truth About Cats and Dogs”), but I am saying a pro knows his equipment inside out.
That means reading the users’ manual. That means studying charts and settings, knowing what the controls on the camera do, and knowing and understanding how to apply photographic techniques to a subject using the piece of equipment in your hand. By knowing your equipment and understanding how to use it correctly, you can navigate your way through any number of shooting scenarios. If it’s too bright outside, what do you do? If it’s too dark inside, what do you do? If you want to blur the background of your photos, how do you set your camera up to do it? If you have taken the time to get to know your equipment, you’re not surprised or unprepared to handle difficult or different shooting set ups. If conditions change on the shoot, you, as a knowledgeable handler of a camera will know how to adjust your equipment on the fly to keep up. Knowing your equipment and how to use it will allow you to produce a consistent, quality product for your client time and time again.
And speaking of your client – the second component the pro photog uses to produce quality products is a fundamental understanding of his client. The ability to translate the client’s vision into reality is a hallmark of the professional photographer. The title of one of my previous blog articles was, “My Client; My Friend.” In that article, I advocated getting to know your client on a personal level. This notion is counter to the cautions promoted by other professions such as doctors and lawyers where practitioners are prohibited from forming personal relationships with clients. In those professions, it makes sense. A doctor or an attorney has to remain objective in order to give the best care or advice to his client. A doctor or an attorney can be caring… they don’t have to be callous, but to “remain professional” (in the sense of the phrase as used by the AMA or ABA), the practitioners of medicine or law must maintain a separation between themselves, their emotions and their clients. As a professional photographer, however, your role is different.
Regardless of what you’re shooting, you have to know your client (and, importantly, the client is not always the subject of the photograph). Generally, the client has commissioned the pro photog’s work. The client could be a couple who has hired the photographer to shoot their wedding (the most likely scenario in the kind of photography that I do). The client could be an ad agency exec who has hired the photographer to shoot a new product or an event. The client could be a model who has hired the photographer to produce a portfolio. There are an infinite number of possibilities of who the client is and what that client’s relationship to the subject of the photograph is. The key, as the photographer hired to translate the client’s vision into an image, is to get to know the client. The photographer must understand what makes the client tick – what makes the client a satisfied customer. Meeting with the client is essential, whether in person or virtually. Establish a rapport; listen to the client; understand the client; and then, translate what you have learned about the client into the image he or she desires. When you can do this consistently, you’re on your way to being a professional.
Why did I say you’re “on your way” to being a professional? Because there is still one more element you must master. Not only do you have to know your equipment and your client, you also have to know yourself. This is perhaps the most important element of the three. You can “sort of” know your equipment (and let’s face it, there’s always more to learn); and, you can make a superficial attempt to know your client (based on similarities with others, past experience, etc.); but the one element you can’t fake and still consider yourself a pro or semi-pro is knowledge of yourself. This is where the snapper truly reveals himself.
Let’s take Uncle Bob (with apologies to anyone with a real Uncle Bob who doesn’t fit this description) as an example. Uncle Bob bought a nice DSLR camera. He used to shoot film back in the day and has decided that since he has a nice new camera that he can shoot professionally. Uncle Bob knows a little bit about cameras, and he knows a little bit about the family (aka “his clients”), but what Uncle Bob lacks is the good self-awareness of what he can produce as a photographer. There’s a huge difference between someone snapping pictures with a nice camera and a pro photographer producing a consistent, quality product for his client – the pro knows what he can produce; Bob hasn’t a clue. To take another example – I know I am not a sports photographer. It’s not something I’ve studied; it’s not something I have the equipment for. It would be wrong for me to represent myself as a sports photographer and attempt to produce images that are outside my expertise. I have to know myself and know what I can and can’t deliver.
In order to deliver a consistent, quality product to your client, time and time again, you must know your equipment; you must know your client; and importantly, you must know yourself. When you can put these three components together, then you are on your way to leaving the legion of snappers and becoming a professional photographer.
In the next installment, we’ll discuss the second major element that separates a snapper from a pro - the pro photog’s interaction with his client.
Never fear – that’s the topic of this installment of the Semi-Pro Photog Blog.
Lots has been written by authors and photographers more experienced and eloquent than I, but I’ll attempt to wade neck deep (well, at least waist deep) into the issue. To tackle such a broad topic, though, I’ll have to break it down into manageable bits. Throughout this series, I’ll talk about three major points: 1) a photographer’s product – the ability to produce a quality product with consistency over time; 2) the photographer’s interaction with his clients – how a pro’s approach differs from an amateur’s; and 3) a photographer’s view of himself and his business – or how a pro walks the walk.
It’ll take a couple of blog entries to do it, but, it’ll be worth it to readers in the end. In this entry, let’s talk about product.
In my experience, the number one thing that separates amateurs from professionals is the ability to produce a consistent, quality product for clients, time and time again. That means shooting with vision and purpose every time out. That means translating the client’s wishes, needs and desires into a photograph. It means delivering a product that the client is happy to pay for, over and over. How? How does the pro photographer accomplish this? I believe all of these deliverables can be summed up thusly: know your equipment; know your client; and know yourself.
A pro photographer has to know his equipment. He has to know the tools of his trade. In another lifetime, I was a Marine infantryman (ok, it wasn’t another lifetime in the “past life regression” sense of the word, so much as it was so long ago it seems like another lifetime, but the point’s the same). The Marine Corps did an incredibly efficient job of indelibly printing in my brain that my rifle, the tool of my trade, was my lifeline. I carried my rifle wherever I went. I studied it; I had classes with it; I ate with it; I ran with it; heck, I even slept with it. I could disassemble it blindfolded and reassemble it in under a minute – I wasn’t unique or especially gifted – that’s what was expected of me as a member of the profession of arms. The same should be true for every photographer who claims to be a pro. I’m not saying you should sleep with your camera (you can love your camera…just don’t “love” your camera…to misquote Janeane Garofalo’s line from “The Truth About Cats and Dogs”), but I am saying a pro knows his equipment inside out.
That means reading the users’ manual. That means studying charts and settings, knowing what the controls on the camera do, and knowing and understanding how to apply photographic techniques to a subject using the piece of equipment in your hand. By knowing your equipment and understanding how to use it correctly, you can navigate your way through any number of shooting scenarios. If it’s too bright outside, what do you do? If it’s too dark inside, what do you do? If you want to blur the background of your photos, how do you set your camera up to do it? If you have taken the time to get to know your equipment, you’re not surprised or unprepared to handle difficult or different shooting set ups. If conditions change on the shoot, you, as a knowledgeable handler of a camera will know how to adjust your equipment on the fly to keep up. Knowing your equipment and how to use it will allow you to produce a consistent, quality product for your client time and time again.
And speaking of your client – the second component the pro photog uses to produce quality products is a fundamental understanding of his client. The ability to translate the client’s vision into reality is a hallmark of the professional photographer. The title of one of my previous blog articles was, “My Client; My Friend.” In that article, I advocated getting to know your client on a personal level. This notion is counter to the cautions promoted by other professions such as doctors and lawyers where practitioners are prohibited from forming personal relationships with clients. In those professions, it makes sense. A doctor or an attorney has to remain objective in order to give the best care or advice to his client. A doctor or an attorney can be caring… they don’t have to be callous, but to “remain professional” (in the sense of the phrase as used by the AMA or ABA), the practitioners of medicine or law must maintain a separation between themselves, their emotions and their clients. As a professional photographer, however, your role is different.
Regardless of what you’re shooting, you have to know your client (and, importantly, the client is not always the subject of the photograph). Generally, the client has commissioned the pro photog’s work. The client could be a couple who has hired the photographer to shoot their wedding (the most likely scenario in the kind of photography that I do). The client could be an ad agency exec who has hired the photographer to shoot a new product or an event. The client could be a model who has hired the photographer to produce a portfolio. There are an infinite number of possibilities of who the client is and what that client’s relationship to the subject of the photograph is. The key, as the photographer hired to translate the client’s vision into an image, is to get to know the client. The photographer must understand what makes the client tick – what makes the client a satisfied customer. Meeting with the client is essential, whether in person or virtually. Establish a rapport; listen to the client; understand the client; and then, translate what you have learned about the client into the image he or she desires. When you can do this consistently, you’re on your way to being a professional.
Why did I say you’re “on your way” to being a professional? Because there is still one more element you must master. Not only do you have to know your equipment and your client, you also have to know yourself. This is perhaps the most important element of the three. You can “sort of” know your equipment (and let’s face it, there’s always more to learn); and, you can make a superficial attempt to know your client (based on similarities with others, past experience, etc.); but the one element you can’t fake and still consider yourself a pro or semi-pro is knowledge of yourself. This is where the snapper truly reveals himself.
Let’s take Uncle Bob (with apologies to anyone with a real Uncle Bob who doesn’t fit this description) as an example. Uncle Bob bought a nice DSLR camera. He used to shoot film back in the day and has decided that since he has a nice new camera that he can shoot professionally. Uncle Bob knows a little bit about cameras, and he knows a little bit about the family (aka “his clients”), but what Uncle Bob lacks is the good self-awareness of what he can produce as a photographer. There’s a huge difference between someone snapping pictures with a nice camera and a pro photographer producing a consistent, quality product for his client – the pro knows what he can produce; Bob hasn’t a clue. To take another example – I know I am not a sports photographer. It’s not something I’ve studied; it’s not something I have the equipment for. It would be wrong for me to represent myself as a sports photographer and attempt to produce images that are outside my expertise. I have to know myself and know what I can and can’t deliver.
In order to deliver a consistent, quality product to your client, time and time again, you must know your equipment; you must know your client; and importantly, you must know yourself. When you can put these three components together, then you are on your way to leaving the legion of snappers and becoming a professional photographer.
In the next installment, we’ll discuss the second major element that separates a snapper from a pro - the pro photog’s interaction with his client.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)