Graphic Designer: Yes or No?

What is a graphic designer, and should you use one?

This is a question for the business side of things, rather than the nuts-and-bolts of photography, and it comes out of the leap from hobby photographer into the world of selling your work. This could mean trying to edge into the stock photo market, or it could mean hanging prints on coffee shop walls with a card and a price. Either way, and especially if you post your work online, you're going to need a logo. You can use it to brand yourself and your business, but I also use mine as a watermark over any photos I post online to make sure the photo gets accredited to me if anyone tries to use it.

I originally didn't plan to use the services of a graphic designer to design my logo, but the opportunity sort of fell into my lap – and I'm glad that it did.

My original logo was constructed by a very good friend of mine after I shot a music video for her daughter. I quite liked the logo, so I didn't see the need to hire a graphic designer to do one up for me.

The layout of this logo was awesome and I love the emphisis on the CTF which was very important when the logo was reworked. The 35 mm film reel was also a brilliant touch.

However, after I did a shoot at the Chilliwack Flight Fest I was approached by one of the organizers about my logo. The organizer asked if I would mind if he sent my logo to a friend of his for a bit of rework before he posted the credit for my work. 

It turned out that his friend was one of the guys over at Big Cat Productions, and over the next week or two my logo was worked and reworked. Now you see the final results all over my media pages. I use it as a watermark, as headers and footers, on business cards. Anything and everything that has my name has my logo from Big Cat Productions. (You can take a look at some of their other work here.)

As you can see both are simalar in design concept which is what I liked, but there is a flow to the professional one that just works for who I am. The 35 mm film reel still exists and the CTF is also still emphisised but in a different aspect. I also loved the plain black on gray and if you follow other sites I am on you will see this trend throughout when I can control the look.

Even though I was pretty fond of the old one, at the end of the day I'm glad that I was able to use professional services to develop it further. The thing to keep in mind is that your logo is your public identity. It defines you and your work in many cases, since this is the first point of contact for perspective clients. You want to put your best foot forward, and that might just mean shelling out a couple of bucks to get someone to do it for you. As a photographer, you probably have a pretty good eye in terms of composition and design, but you might not have the program experience to sit down at a computer and put something like a logo together yourself.

In the beginning stages of setting up a photography business, you'll be cook, captain and cabin boy all rolled into one. There isn't a need for (or a way to necessarily pay) employees or assistants to work for you, so you'll be in charge of getting everything done – from scheduling to billing to advertising to marketing to graphic design. This isn't a bad thing, because it'll teach you a lot about yourself as well as the business.

However, always try to remember that your primary focus should be to shoot and shoot and shoot some more. We're in the photography business because we love to get out and capture the world with a camera. The time you spend doing that is what pays you, both financially and creatively, and that's what you should be spend most of your time doing. 

But even in those early days when you're doing it all yourself, I think it's worth it to get a professional graphic designer to do up your logo. You can see the difference between my original logo and the one I now use for everything – which is basically a cleaner, more professional-looking reworked version of the one I liked in the first place.

Remember, when anyone searches for your company the first thing they see when they land on your pages is your logo. You control what that first impression is – and in this case I can say I am beyond glad that I chose to let a graphic designer have a crack at it. 

Surprise Blog/ Photo Contest

Surprise!

I'm going to run a contest over the next two weeks!

Head over to my Facebook page, hit the "Like" button, and you will be entered to win a hi-resolution photo of your choice from the photos in the blog this last week. It will be a digital copy that you may print, use on your site, or anything else, except sell. It's really easy! Click the link, like me there, and follow the blog and Facebook. Winner will be announced on Wednesday, June 19th.

Oh, and if you already Like me on Facebook then you are already entered.

Good luck! And I'll see you on Friday for another blog post.

What to bring, what to bring!

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges to an SLR photographer is what equipment to carry. The easy answer is all of it — but is that a logical response?

This past Tuesday I was a parent escort on a trip to the local aquarium with my son's biology class. I traveled on a school bus with the students for an hour and a half, and if you've forgotten what that's like, I can definitely say avoid the experience if possible. The seats have shrunk by half, and the manufacturers seem to inject the smell of sweat into the seats. (I'm sure it can't be that I got bigger and learned the value of good hygeine.)

Anyway, I digress. Long before pondering the school bus experience, another question filled my attention as I started preparing my equipment the night before. What to bring, what to bring. The urge is, of course, to bring everything. But that's not always possible — especially if you have to cram into a bus with a bunch of highschoolers. How do you narrow lenses, filters, tripods, and miscellaneous equipment when it is all begging to be taken along?

The first question is what subjects will be available to shoot. Then consider what lighting conditions are available — what are the local restrictions, if any? The easiest way to find the answers is to look at websites if available. You will be able to see what others have shot, by looking at any photo galleries that pop up online,  as well as check to see if there are any restrictions on what you can bring in or use.

At my aquarium nothing is off-limits to photograph, so I then considered what my subject matter would be. I was excited to see they were currently running a jellyfish exibition so needed to consider equipment for that in particular, as well as equipment to shoot frogs and reptiles in the rainforest room. I figured taking a light source was not an option, since any flash would only reflect against the glass and setting up a separate light stand would be in danger from the milling crowds. Cutting out lights means only taking lenses and tripod — easier and a whole lot heftier to pack. In the end  I decided on taking a standard lens, medium telephoto, macro, and (just to be interesting) the 50mm prime. I also packed the tripod, since I knew I would be shooting in a very dim enviroment and the shutter speeds were going to be a bit long. Like this post.

Here are a few of examples of the photos I took with my pre-planned-and-packed equipment.

3D Dolphins. Hope you don't get wet:)

Undersea Life

Yes I am a frog and I am looking at you

The beauty of Jellyfish

The other benefit to planning ahead is that you get to enjoy your time far more. I ended up arriving at the aquarium 40 minutes before it opened, and was allowed to wander the nearly-empty aquarium and shoot to my heart's content before the crowds arrived. I had the luxury of being able to really set up and plan the shot, which is not always possible at a usually-busy attraction like the aquarium. When the doors opened and the public came in, shooting was very tough, and again it came in handy to have all my equipment organized and close to hand where I wanted it.

By the time the crowds became too thick to handle, it was time for lunch and a coffee followed by enjoying the displays as a casual observer. This is another important lesson for any photographer: don't forget to come out from behind the camera and enjoy the experience.

Talking to clients about copyright laws

This is a continuation from last weeks blog.

As I explained I had a situation where my client was under the misconception of ownership of work, once that work was ditributed online. So, what did I do to correct this belief and still retain the client as a happy and fulfilled individual?

First off, it's all about profesionalism. There is no point in getting angry or feeling hurt if a client uses or wants to use a photo of yours in a manner that you have not given permission. In fact, the opposite should be true most of the time. In my case I was very excited and happy that my client felt my work worthy enough to be used in a capacity that was much larger than I had anticipated, and I stated that in the opening paragraph of my email. What we as photographers want to do is educate our clients on the new copyright laws, not alienate them from using our services. This can lead to them trying to seek out another photographer who may not be as professional as us, which doesn't help anybody.

What transpired was a very matter of  fact approach via email as to when, how, and what laws changed with the copyright regulations. Right from the beginning we (the client and myself) had an agreement that the work that I provided to them could be used for any use for a specific period of time. In this case it was one month. I pointed out, after explaining what had changed with copyrights, that this one month period period of time was drawing to an end and I would be more than willing to negotiate any further uses. Below find an excerpt from the email I sent to the client, I believe it sums up why this education is so very important. Names have been removed for privacy.

"I wanted to put that out there for two reasons. One it protects my work from being used in a way that I might not approve of. Second it protects --------. If sometime down the road the photos surface with or for some ill intent, similar to the -------- current slander campaign against ---------, I have the ability to put a stop to it because I retain copyright ownership."

That is the crux of the issue. This new regulation protects your work from surfacing in a way that you do not want, and if it is found, you have a legal way of stopping it. Prior to November 2012 you would have a large fight on your hands, but now you have the ability to control how, where, and who uses that you created and worked so hard to achieve.

Now back to the client feelings. I believe that because of the professional way I conducted myself they did learn what copyright meant in today's photography world. They were not angry or upset, did not feel slighted or misused, and I felt that they had more respect for me and my profession. I went on to shoot this client a number of more times over the week and am sure that I will be the first person they call for any of their further photography needs.

In closing for the week I want to stress DON'T LET PEOPLE TAKE YOUR WORK, and be flattered when others want to use it. Be open and professional about what you need or want for your service and never ever settle for less than what you believe. We are artists. We work hard to achieve what we produce. Our work is a representation of who we are. We wouldn't sell ourselves out, so why shouldn't we treat our work with the same respect?

Canadian Copyright: What's Yours, and What's Theirs?

As I've mentioned, I've been photographing one of our local provincial party candidates for the past couple of weeks. It's been a wonderful experience, and I've enjoyed helping out in whatever way I can.

However, earlier this week it was suggested that once the photos I took for the party went public I would no longer own the rights to them. This didn't sound right to me, and I dove into research regarding the new copyright laws in Canada – and I found both very helpful, interesting information and a whole lot of misinformation.

Let me start by saying every photographer, both amateur and professional, should spend a little time looking into this subject for themselves. I'm going to explain Canadian laws as I understand them, and feel free to comment below if you have more information or supporting sources. Most people in Canada are aware that laws surrounding downloading copyrighted material changed significantly on November 7 of last year, but most people are not aware of is this included the works of a photographers as well.

Before these changes, if a photographer was commissioned to do a shoot and wanted to use the photos for anything (advertising, selling the prints, etc.), they would have to receive a release from the client. Once a contract was entered into, they no longer had any rights to that work except with the client's permission. Many photographers worked around this by providing a release right up front and would not agree to the contract if there was no release provided.

After these changes, if a photographer is commissioned to do a shoot, they have to provide a release to the client to allow them to use that work for a profit basis. The client can use the photos I give them for any personal use, as long as it isn't for profit or gain. This is the law that's in effect right now.

This means that I retain copyright on any and every photo I shoot for 50 years after my death, unless I expressly sign that away. Wow – what a switch, right? In fact, Canada is just playing catch-up to most of the world. Other kinds of artists—painters, sculptors, and artists in general—in Canada have enjoyed this protection for years except photographers.

You still need a release form signed by a model or subject, human or otherwise, if you are using that photograph in an advertisement. However, if you are using it for art, editorial, or or personal use you do not require a model release in Canada.

I hope that makes things a little more clear, but if not, here is a link to an article that is far more in depth: http://www.cippic.ca/fr/node/129237#Do.

Take the time to read it over. Be informed, and inform others who may not have this information. If nothing else, it will  help the public understand the rights of artists everywhere in Canada.

Oh – and by the way, the political party did not fire me for pointing out the error, and I continued to shoot right up till their loss.

But that's another blog. 

Week Three

Well, another week soon closes. Things have been hectic as usual!

I've had two more All Candidate Meetings covering Gwen O'Mahony. By far the most enjoyable was going out to one of my local elementary schools where Gwen was addressing a grade 4/5 class regarding the NDP platform. This was a great group of kids, who asked some of the best questions I've heard since starting to shoot for Gwen. 

I posted a few more photos on my Facebook page, so swing by check them out and leave some comments. All the photos in the fine art album are available for sale in high resolution, and pricing is relative to size, medium, and quantity. Contact me for a quote if you're interested and I'm sure we can work something out.

This past week has also seen a number of my shots of Gwen being developed into NDP campaign photos, which is hugely exciting. These are also on my Facebook page, if you're interested in taking a gander.

If you are in need of advertising photos drop me a line and we can work together to see your product out there in the best possible light.

Anyway – things to do, places to be. I look forward to hearing your comments below. If you have any questions give me a shout and I will do my best to answer.

As always, you can find up-to-the-minute updates on Facebook,  Twitter, and now Pintrest!

Finishing out Week One

Here I sit, looking back on the last week – and what a week it's been.

Before Monday, I had not even considered putting together a blog, but on my son's recommendation, I made the leap.

Today I thought I could share the links to my Facebook and my Twitter and I invite you to travel over to see my work and follow my regular activities.

I'm going to do my best to blog at least a weekly overview, both successes and failures, just to keep things real and interesting.

In other news, I have been super busy this last week shooting my local MLA Gwen O'Mahony as  BC heads into a provincal election. I am Gwen's campaign photographer, and get to follow her around to all sorts of events and day-to-day activities. Man, does that woman put in a lot of hours! Go Gwen!

Below is a poster that her team has created from one of my photos.

Very excited to be part of this and wish Gwen all the luck in securing her position as our voice in Victoria.

Aside from the schedule of shooting and publishing the material for very short deadlines, I have been busy developing my social media presence, including Facebook and Twitter pages. I'll be working on a website soon, so say tuned for that as well!