This classic roundtable features the endless banter of The Three. But we actually talk about a lot of cool things as we look at the latest gear, talk about tough realities of the industry and even kick into some Facebook and marketing tips in our very long after show. If you listen to the entire after show, you get a +2.
Brought to you by the Seim Effects and the Amazing EXposed workshop – seimeffects.com
New Mexico case forcing people to photograph homosexual weddings. An artist is not, nor should ever be obligated to produce art they morally disagree with. SHAME on New Mexico courts – Article 1, Article2
“Many think they’re ready to build a skyscraper by nature of the fact that they own a hammer. I submit that they should learn what a nail is first”
by Gavin Seim: I have a true story to tell. The other day while traveling, I saw a woman at a rest area on the Salt Flats of Utah taking photos of a family, the sun gleaming overhead.
There were no strobes to compensate for the intense light, the shadows on the faces or that glaring sun. Just a person with a camera moving bodies and working in seeming blind confidence that she was in control. Not a single flash in sight. Not that that would have been enough. No consideration given for the fact that the light, the way it was being used, was completely wrong.
I felt kinda bad for the family who probably thinks they’re getting good portraits. I felt annoyance for the would be photographer who took on something she was unprepared for, while in reality she seemed to have no idea what she was doing. Perhaps she was honest with them about her experience. But from what I saw, it struck me that she was posing in more ways than one.
It was clearly a planned session were this lovely family came to meet their photographer. I felt tempted to let them know that they were getting little more than they could have by handing their iPhone to a passer by. But I setup my 4×5 for a stark desert landscape and tried not to think about it as they bustled around in the corner of my eye doing cheesy poses in what “could” have been an amazing setting for a portrait.
When my son asked what they were doing, I explained ruefully that they “thought” they were making portraits.
Some of you may feel I’m being mean. But I’m not and if this offends I suggest you read it again. My job here is to challenge. I want people to learn, I love to share expediences. But I won’t offer them a pretense. I’ll tell my fellow photographers the truth so we can all grow. I don’t know this person first hand. In fact I’m glad the faces are not distinguishable. My story is not just about this person, or about naming names. It’s a reminder of the fact that this is happening too often.
I don’t know exactly how these photos will turn out, but I have a good idea. I can say with certainly that the portraits were not being done well. Both the client and the would be photographer are getting the short end of the stick. The family will get poor images for whatever they paid. The would be photographer will probably go on in digital bliss rather than actually learning the trade she wants to be a part of. Eventually she will likely tire and give up. All because she has the pretense that you can be a good photographer simply because you own a camera. No experience required.
Some will say “You have to start somewhere”. There is truth in that, but we still need to learn before we leap. We need to learn what the brake is before we drive a car. There was a day when “starting somewhere” meant learning how do something reasonably well before working for pay and selling yourself as a pro.
There’s are surely some new photographers reading this. Don’t be offended at my frankness. It’s OK to be new. But don’t be the person that takes on something you’re not prepared for while acting as if you are. If you don’t know how to light, pose or plan your project, then go learn about those things before you jump in and start charging. It’s a science. Not something you just make up as you go.
I’m absolutely for sharing knowledge and yes, I imagine most of us are guilty of having someone who was a bit of a lab rat on the journey to skill. That’s fine as long as we were honest with them. But increasingly we see people who don’t desire knowledge and think they’re artistic masters right our of the gate. Experience matters. It’s not wrong to be inexperienced, but it’s wrong to pretend you are, when in truth you are not. Take your time, learn the skills, the marketing, the sales, the presentation, the science. Because if you don’t, your journey will likely end in frustration.
Some think they’re ready to build a skyscraper by simple nature of the fact that they own a hammer. I submit that they should learn what a nail is first.
Me with a framed 30x46 limited edition on traditional canvas of Doorway to Winter. Just the start of a long study in how we can better present and display images.
by Gavin Seim: A lot of photos are being made these days. Some bad, some good, some amazing. But what gets me is how little we’re doing with them. Art seems to have become something that lives on Facebook. Most the worlds photographers seem to not even be selling prints to their clients. They just hand them digital file and the cycle of images that exist in nowhere but bits goes on. A few Facebook likes and comments later, the image disappears into the mists of digital bliss.
When we do make prints they tend to be small and cheaply presented. We find the cheapest company to make a gallery wrap that can be bought at WalMart. We buy a plain print, or whatever cheap new product the labs are kicking out in bulk. We take whatever is available. Often it seems we’re not selling heirlooms, we’re selling throw-aways. Has the beautiful art of printing and presentation been lost? Is this good enough?
I say no.. Most images mean nothing until their properly hanging on the wall.
I’m not trying to slam anyone here. I just think serious photographers should think more about the potential of their images and how well their using it. On the business side this is very relevant and wall prints can make a major diffence is sales and profits. Read, Wall Portraits. Why the 8×10 Is Stealing Your Impact & Profit. This stuff matters to our craft.
Sure there are commercials jobs and stock, there are a few projects where prints are not as relevant. But most of the time that’s not really the case. In truth I think we started doing all this because it was easier. It’s a lot of work to make and sell great prints. So we’ve lowered expectations.
Printers and paper options are getting less expensive and have countless choices of presentation and creativity. I bought a Canon 8300 wide format printer last year and just making my own prints has changed the way I think. I no longer just settle for what’s easy. I study mediums, mounting and presentation. I’m getting into mounting prints myself and looking at how I can stand out with unique offerings. While I still offer digital files if needed, my focus has shifted almost entirely to making and selling prints. And it feels so good.
So what does all this mean. Not that you need to go buy your own printer right now, or take your work in an entirely new direction. But you might find you want to do both. My bottom line is that we owe it to ourselves and our clients to start thinking about how we can be better presenting images, what sizes are appropriate. About how we can make more than a digital file and start producing furnishings for walls. Very few people are making really quality wall art. It’s about the only photo market that’s not over saturated right now.
It’s not easy and it’s not cheap to make and display great prints. But so few are doing it anymore that it’s not only satisfying, it’s become a great opportunity to set yourself apart and stand out in a crowded industry. Doing it well is more than just making an 11×14 and buying a frame at Target. It takes time, study and planning. But the reward is like nothing nothing else.
I hope to post an article soon looking in detail and at the mounting and presentation options I’ve been studying and working with. But what do you think? Am I crazy, have you found presentation ideas that are unique and working for you. Share your thoughts in the comments… Gav
So what’s five dollar fandom like? It’s just like buying advertising, right? Well, I have to confess something today. I did pay for Facebook fans. I know, sick, right? No, I don’t mean I bought an ad in order to get people to my page. That would have been fine. Wait, is it any different? Well, yes. When you pay someone to spread the word in order to gain “real interest,” it’s different. It’s like paying for an ad in the personals or joining a dating site. It may be a little cheesy at times, but it can still be genuine, and sometimes it’s a working approach.
But that’s not what I did today. I went to a site called Fiverr. It’s an interesting place where anyone can sell pretty much any item or service for five bucks: bracelets made of soda tops, video promos, ads on Twitter accounts, people suggesting Facebook pages to their friends, etc. Kinda interesting.
Then I found an offering that promised more: an immediate growth in fans. The one I picked promised at least 250 +Likes for just $5.00. I know, it was self-serving. But 250 fans? I paused. I’ve always been about good content. The slow nurturing of quality followers. My Seim Studios photography page already had over 1500 real fans. But I wanted to know how this worked. I wanted a taste of rapid growth. So I did it. I bought into five dollar fandom. And I got what I paid for.
A couple hours later, my fans skyrocketed. Yep. Just as all the previous buyers on this offering said. It was for real. In about two hours, I went from around 1510 to 1776. Passing by two centuries in a blink. I had done it. I had new fans, and I was flying. Flying…but not so high. In fact, for a few moments, I was flying low enough that I think my belly button was skimming the weeds. I even confessed to my wife. The reviews didn’t mention that the fans gained were completely without gratification.
It was like a time machine in a bad movie. I may have arrived at the destination, but the plot was no better when I got there. I felt dirty. As though I had paid for fans… Wait, I did pay for fans. I keep telling myself I did it for you. To test the waters and make sure it was safe. To protect you from…. O.K. Honestly, the business side of me simply could not resist the idea of so many new fans, in so little time.
So, what’s the scoop? As far as I can tell, this is not some hacker. The new fans come from FB accounts that have few friends and odd foreign names. And they come fast. I’m guessing there are either a ton of accounts owned by one person (yea, shady), or some sort of fan network where people agree to fan pages for each other. Either way, these people have no real interest in me and will probably never think of me again.
So, the bottom line is this: it’s NOT the best way to gain fans. Yes, you can grab some quick cred on your page. Particularly if you have a new page, this is VERY tempting. It’s not illegal or anything like that, but I speak from today’s experience. It does not feel gratifying. I have pages like Seim Effects with more than 5k fans, fans I worked to get by offering value and sharing ideas. That feels good. Buying fans, not so much. My studio page is still a quality place. These irrelevant fans won’t change that. But every time I look at my numbers from now on, I’ll be mentally deducting those 250 or so fans that “didn’t really count,” and I’ll never be able to forget that I paid for for it.
So is buying ads and trying to gain reach all bad? No. But few things are free, quality clients least of all. So think about what you really want. Will numbers really satisfy you or do you want real people who actually are interested in what you do and will spread the word to others? That takes time. But as for me, I plan to stick with quality +Like’s from now on. That’s not to say I won’t ever buy advertising (though it doesn’t usually work that well either). But I want followers that actually are relevant and who are interested in what I do. On that note, if you want to read my notes for cultivating a quality page, read my 10 Tips for Taming the Power of Your Facebook Page.
My confession has ended. The grimy weight is sliding off my shoulders as I strike these square keys. I am moving on.
Gav
UPDATE/TIP:
At this same time of my craving for fans, I spent another five bucks on another promotion. Five dollars to have someone actually suggest my page to “their” friends. I gained another nice chunk of what seem to be “real fans” from this. Nothing like the 200+ useless fans, but 20-30 actual users, which is far better. The difference is that this is not a promised number where non relevant profiles +like your page, simply for the sake of your ego. Those are real Facebook users, who saw my page suggestion on the sellers wall and decided to +Like it. Would I sell a page suggestion on my personal profile for $5. Not a chance, but I see no problem with buying one if someone is offering it. These seem to be honest-to-goodness people, who, if you provide relevant content, may take a genuine interest in your page. Just like buying an ad.
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