on working with other photographers

close your eyes and say this: "other photographers aren't my competition, they are my friends."  hold true to that philosophy and it will hold true to you.

i have came in contact with photographers who give selflessly without looking for anything in return and by sharp contrast those tuned into radio WIIFM (whats in it for me.)

i'll tell you one horror story in regards to working with another photographer but before i begin, here is some background information on how i like to photograph weddings. i prefer to photograph weddings as a single photographer with an assistant, so i don't hire second and associate photographers.  simply because its a matter of style and I want the photographs i deliver to the client to be consistent with my brand.

with that said, if a photog asks to second shoot at one of my events, i have no problem allowing them to do so. as long as they are kewl and will not make guests uncomfortable.

horror story: i once photograph a wedding, where a photog asked if she could second shoot to gain some images for her portfolio. the agreement was for her to deliver the images (details and photo-journalistic moments,) a day after the wedding.  so i allowed her to use on her memory cards. after the wedding i called, exted,emailed, and she never responded. the client later asked about their photographs and i had to be upfront and honest with them. the good thing was that i always shoot and capture beyond what the client expects and as a result  they were happy with the package nonetheless.

how i fixed that particular problem? whosoever, wants to come to my events and shoot along side me, has to sign a contract and use my memory cards. i take the cards directly after the event and mail them the images later.

with all that said, here it is: other photographers aren't your competition, they are your friends. yet there are some small measures that you need to protect yourself; which will differ from situation to situation. but most of all, be true, be genuine, give freely with no ulterior motives and don't look for anything in return, and it will comeback to you. psychological studies show that people generally feel the need to reciprocate. and also importantly build genuine relationships outside of business with other photographers.

photogs who I've  mentored, taught how to shoot, met and networked with, shared learning materials, shared my contracts, business tips, marketing skills, pricing structure, etc... in return has sent me leads and clients thereafter.

keep kewl!

practise, practi[c]e, practi[c]e

glory. from a practice session with my niece

as artist we struggle with the notion of: "is my work good enough"; we go through a lot of self doubt: scrapping and retrying. akin to the proverbial writer in the movies, who types a script on his/her typewriter and then in an instant, brutally snatches the paper from the typewriter, crumples it, and tosses it into the garbage.

it makes the developmental process of art even more difficult if one is in the business of art because most times business take preference over art. so whats the key? practice! that age old concept that betters our skills, so when we are on location we are not practicing but rather preforming. i have an alarm on my tele that reminds me daily to "practice your craft."  most times when it alarms, i am in the process of doing so already. this could be a five minute process of looking for a new location and searching for contrast, color, shadows, lines, posing, light etc. or a six hour process depending on what i am doing. i believe in practicing with the camera, or simply with my mind's eye, as well as practicing my post processing techniques.

second, it is my philosophy that "art is a dialectical process," it is also what keeps me going. and by that i mean: i have learned the rules, i follow them, i break them, i am influenced/inspired by those before me, i add my own, i develop, i produce, i change, i grow, i refine, i add, i subtract, i worry, i scrap, i go back, i work hard, i do, i never give up!  and finally, i always keep in mind "all will be right in the end, and if its not right, it's not the end."

keep kewl!