Black Star Rising

Many photographers start out with lofty goals. The budding artist wants to be an original — to immortalize something unique with his or her camera.

These beginners soon learn that there are very few “secret” locations that have not been captured in photographs (particularly now that a camera is part of most everyone’s mobile phone). For some, this realization makes them not want to step outside or hold a camera up to their eye, because everything they see has been photographed so many times before.

In today’s world of Internet publishing and streaming media, photographers are increasingly expected to practice multiple disciplines — namely, to provide both still and moving images from an event. Of course, I understand the desire for video, and I appreciate that it has its place.

Whenever I buy a new camera, I have a tendency to leave it sealed in the box and eye it warily for a few days — or even a few weeks — before I take it out to play.

Even though I’ve owned dozens of cameras in my life, I still find myself somewhat intimidated when there’s a new addition. As familiar as I am with what most camera features do and the new surprises I can expect to find, there’s still that awkward “new gizmo” hump I have to get over.

If you remember buying your first DSLR, you probably can also recall your thoughts and the research you did. You can graze the Internet, find most anything about any camera and read reviews before making a decision.

Black Star Rising reader Richard Cave sent us the following question:

Being a U.K. freelancer, if I as a U.K. resident put my pictures on the Web, do I need to register my images with the U.S. Copyright Office? The reason I ask is that we are no longer local, but now global.

In my previous two columns on financial planning, I discussed three tools that should be part of any business plan — the break-even analysis, the profit/loss forecast and the cash-flow projection. Now it’s time to consider a fourth essential tool: the capital spending plan.

I’ve used cameras for most of my life, and I have really enjoyed what photography has brought me. This science and art requires attention to detail and ongoing maintenance. If you are serious about what you do, you probably spend many hours taking care of your gear. We know it’s important to keep dust off of our lenses and sensor, because any foreign matter degrades the quality of the image.

I admit to being a gearhead. I love tech toys, and that includes not only photography gear but also computers and mobile phones. So you can imagine how excited I was about Apple’s big announcement on Wednesday: the unveiling of the iPad.

Every time you pick up your camera, you have the potential to perform a revolutionary act.

Photography should be a kick in the establishment, a cure for the commonplace, a powerful explosion of new ideas.

If you are a new professional photographer or new to a different photographic genre, you most likely have some doubts about your ability. It’s not only a common feeling, but quite worthwhile in personal development.

I see a lot of skepticism about social media from photographers in various online forums. A recent comment on the business forum at NatureScapes.Net, for example, stated that there are “no clear examples of anyone ever having any success marketing in this fashion,” that social media has never helped sell “hundreds of units of anything,” and that, therefore, it is a waste of time.

The f-word, as in “free.”

In reading Black Star Rising recently, I came upon Harrison McClary’s post asserting that “A Photo Credit Doesn’t Pay the Rent.” In the piece, Harrison states pointedly, “I don’t give away my work for free.”

Over the past few months I have immersed myself in photography podcasts. I’ve found them a great way to catch up on industry trends, get reviews on the latest camera gear, and find out what other photographers are shooting.

To help market my photography business in 2010, I decided to try an e-mail database and distribution service called Adbase. This post shares my reasons for choosing a service like Adbase (there are similar ones out there, such as Agency Access), along with my initial experiences. In future posts, I plan to share the results of my e-mail marketing program.

Case studies have long been used to teach business, law, and medicine, but do they have a place in the journalism classroom?

Kirsten Lundberg, director of the Knight Case Studies Initiative at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, is betting they do.

(The following is excerpted from 99 Ways to Make Money from Your Photos, by the editors of Photopreneur.)

Gallery representation is the goal for many photographic artists who see exhibitions — even shared exhibitions — as a vote of confidence in their abilities as both artists and photographers. While there are lots of different ways of selling your images, few have the cachet, the satisfaction or the profitability of selling them through a gallery.

(The following is excerpted from 99 Ways to Make Money from Your Photos, by the editors of Photopreneur.)

Photo Researchers is a highly specialized niche stock site that has been offering scientific photos for more than 50 years. In the past, most of the images it supplied came from doctors and scientists. Today, about 80 percent of contributors are photographers.

Some days, everything goes according to plan and the assignment seems relatively easy. The assistants and talent do their jobs and you do yours — and even your coffee mug stays magically full.

Other times, however, working through a shoot is like slogging through thick mud; problems seem to crop up at every available opportunity. Be in the game long enough and you’ll have your share of both.

In this month’s “Ask the Photo Business Coach,” I answer the following question submitted by a Black Star Rising reader: “Where is the industry going — and should I be worried about it?” It’s a question I get a lot.

Sometimes with our focus on gear and technique, we forget that the most important resource we have is people. They help us to produce our work, they are the subject of our work, and ultimately they determine the value of our work.

(In honor of Black Star’s 75th anniversary, Black Star Rising is publishing occasional excerpts from Hendrik Neubauer’s 1996 profile of the agency, Black Star: 60 Years of Photojournalism. Here, Neubauer describes Black Star’s role in bringing European talent to the U.S. media.)

(The following is excerpted from Best Business Practices for Photographers, Second Edition, by Black Star photographer John Harrington.)

I cannot imagine operating a business and going out on location without insurance. For many businesses — and certainly the government — you won’t be allowed to shoot within their property or purview without proof that you do have insurance and include them in the coverage.

(The following is excerpted from Best Business Practices for Photographers, Second Edition, by Black Star photographer John Harrington.)

I can’t conceive that it would be acceptable to operate a business without some level of business insurance, yet friends and colleagues do it all the time. I just think that’s plain crazy. In fact, you won’t be able to complete assignments that take place in many locations without insurance.  You’ll have problems obtaining loans, and the risk of you losing your entire business because of a lawsuit or a catastrophic loss of equipment, other assets, or data is just too great.

I vaguely recall getting a press release about the Web site Spot.Us a while back. After a Twitter conversation, I found myself poking around the page once again.

I was impressed by what I saw: A well-designed, organized and professional site asking visitors to donate money to fund news stories proposed by freelance journalists. As an added bonus, Spot.Us would pitch the stories to more traditional media.

Let’s say that your 50mm lens has seven f-stops. You might think that, depth of field issues aside, your lens should be capable of making equally sharp, equally well-defined images at any of them.

And maybe that’s true — if you never print anything larger than 6×8 inches.