Black Star Rising

In this month’s “Ask the Photo Business Coach,” I answer the following question submitted by a Black Star Rising reader: “If you were starting from scratch, how would you find your first five photography clients?”

In June 2009, Canon unveiled the first legitimate HD DSLR for video when they released the manual control firmware update for the Canon 5D Mark II. This manual exposure, manual control video camera had a sensor that was larger than 35mm film, recorded at a 35+ mb/s bit rate, and used some of the best lenses ever made. It promised to open a new world for professional video capture.

Other than the 50-year Canon vs. Nikon holy war, nothing incenses opposing factions in photography circles like the debate over RAW vs. JPEG recording formats.

Why does this topic provide such great fodder for argument? As with most barstool discussions, it’s because there’s no right answer. Neither format is inherently superior to the other; it’s all a matter of how you work and how involved you want to be with image editing.

Every year, it seems to get harder and harder to make a living as a photographer. And yet every year, more and more people purchase DSLRs with the intention of doing just that.

So I figured it might be helpful to provide a reality check for those who are wondering when the big money is going to start rolling in.

First in a series.

There is no shortage of marketing guidance for photographers on the Web today. “How to Use Social Media.” “How to Use SEO.” “How to Use Trade Shows.” “How to Use Business Cards.” “How to Write ‘How to’ Posts.” The list is endless.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about software — specifically, about how much software we are currently teaching our students.

At the end of last semester, I sent around an e-mail asking about software in our curriculum to the other faculty members in the Visual Communications sequence here at the University of South Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications. And just last week, the issue of teaching software came up at a meeting of the entire journalism and mass communications faculty, which had been called to discuss revamping our curriculum.

When I go out in public to shoot, people often approach me and ask questions. Many times the initial query is about my camera or lens. From there, however, the conversation can go anywhere and, invariably, the individual will share a personal anecdote or pose a question based on their own experiences.

Anyone with a DSLR and a Web site can present themselves as a professional photographer today. So how can you, as a prospective photography client, separate the contenders from the pretenders?

Here are eight questions to ask yourself before hiring a photographer for an assignment — be it a corporate shoot, an editorial assignment, a portrait, a wedding or other event.

As I looked through my viewfinder to shoot a group of railway passengers at China’s Guangzhou Railway Station, I suddenly felt a cold splash of water on my neck.

Rain! Where was my umbrella — and the photographer/assistant who was supposed to be holding it over me and my gear?

One of the leading explanations for the disappearance of the Neanderthals was that they could not adapt their tools to the new conditions surrounding them. They stubbornly (or stupidly, considering their limited brain capacity) continued to use the ones they had. Then, they vanished.

In a previous Black Star Rising post, I discussed overcoming self-doubt in client negotiations by tapping into a reservoir of confidence — the one you have earned by developing your talents as a photographer.

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.