Websites

When searching for photographers or illustrators for a project the first thing I do is go searching through websites to see what work is appropriate for the project at hand before I call in books.

The past few days I've gone through only half of the websites in my arsenal... this is my first step in researching, the next step is combing through promos, PDN, Creativity, Communication Arts and other sources. Since I'm looking through so much and am also working on a timeline I can't go through the entire website but skim over it.

Here's the thing if the site takes to long to load or I can't get to the images I need fast enough, I bypass it and move on to the next name. It may seem like I'm missing out or cutting someone short but when I'm going through 100 or more websites in a few days I need to work quickly and methodically.

I thought I'd share a couple of the websites I really like and the reasons why they work for me when searching. (Please note: these are not in any order of preference and the reasoning is just my personal preference.)

Monaco Reps

Their website is so easy to use. I scroll over the artists' names and get a preview of their work. This feature is great because if I'm looking for a product shooter I'm going to bypass names that show portrait photography. The other feature that I think is incredibly helpful on this site is that once you click on a desired artist name you are directed to their artist detail page which lays out all their galleries, biography, a link to their website and current news. Succinct, simple, and so easy to use.

Francesco Lagnese

His website is so clean, not a ton of links to dig through to get to desired imagery or contact information. I like the scrollbar feature on his site because I can control the speed at which I look through the imagery. I also like how he incorporates tearsheets and the use of the images in their commissioned layout. The main focus of his site is his imagery which is what I'm looking for.

Daniela Wagner Photographers

Their website has a lot of flash animation/java script but it works brilliantly for them. I can scroll over the photographer's name and see what genre of photography is his/her specialty. Once I choose the photographer I am interested in perusing more, the imagery shows up in the main frame of the site. I can choose from the menu to look at publication work, portfolio, the artist's website, etc. A main image appears but to the right of it is one of my favorite features - the image previews. So I don't necessarily have to view each image larger but I can peruse through the thumbnails.

These are only a couple of sites I like and that make my job a bit easier. I have a ton of others but prefer not to make this a ginormously long post.

Geotagging

Interesting article [here] from B&H Photo about incorporating GPS metadata into your photographs. Of course it requires more hardware and accessories (as if you probably don't have enough already).

Artist Friday - Hany Farid

I was watching Nova ScienceNOW and saw a profile on digital forensics (also featured in American Scientific). I found the Nova piece so interesting I wanted to wade through more information about Dr. Farid and his craft. Hany Farid is a professor of computer science in the image science group at Dartmouth College. He has become an expert at the forefront of digital manipulation.

According to his bio, Dr. Farid has worked with federal law enforcement agencies on digital forensics to digital reconstruction of Ancient Egyptian Tombs. He has written numerous papers on digital imaging. Read through some of the papers and see what you think... I believe you'll find some interesting information and possibly helpful information for your photography and retouching.

While Dr. Farid is certainly an analyzer of photography and art he is also an artist. Check out some of his photography at www.cs.dartmouth.edu/farid/myphotos/.

File Delivery

Anthony Georgis from Portland, Oregon sent me an email last week about what I thought about file delivery. In his words specifically:

I've had a lot of issues with file delivery and maybe you have some thoughts on the subject. My personal preference is to deliver a final custom image from client selects. I make a point in bringing that up early in the conversation about the job and have very specific delivery terms and turn around times listed in the estimate. The most common problem is that the client calls and needs a final image RIGHT NOW and I have to scramble to prepare an image and FTP it. (This usually happens when I am on vacation)

As a precaution I usually hand over a back up drive to the client at the end of the shoot with whole job on it. I have mixed feelings about that because once the files are out of your hands you have no control over what they look like or how they get used.
Is handing over a drive is becoming an industry standard thing that art buyers expect?

File delivery is always a little difficult and sometimes can get overlooked if the photo shoot is a big production. Everyone worries about everything that needs to get done for the shoot that the delivery comes last. Repeating myself from a prior post - microwave society - we expect things to be instantaneous. Many clients and several agency people assume that if the photo shoot is being shot with digital that it should automatically be ready to go when the last shot is taken. It's a simple fact of being very up front with all parties in the beginning and building into the estimate and the schedule the necessary steps for the post production process.

It is also the art buyer's job to work with the print producer and traffic manager on the project and make sure there is an understanding for all parties of when the final layout needs to ship and back out the schedule from there. However there are quite a few cases when the client does request the image ASAP (usually a positive thing because it means they love the image so much they want to bump up its insertion date) and this is when everyone needs to scramble.

I have found the normal process usually goes as follows:
1. Photographer and art director review all images from shoot and their respective selects.
2. Art director and account manager present selects to client (sometimes in rough comp form)
4. Client gives feedback
This can sometimes go for a few rounds and can make timing tight depending on the feedback. The timing may not allow the photographer to do retouching as he/she might like but there should be collaboration between the art director and the photographer.

As far as handing over a hard drive this is starting to become an industry norm but not expected as of yet. I have worked on several shoots where we have brought our own drive along, the images all get copied over to it, and the art director leaves with it to make selects. More often than not the team is walking off the set with the images. This is a double sided coin though. While it works out great for the agency and the client, it doesn't necessarily give the photographer enough time to tag all the images or catalog them as he/she would like. The turnaround time for the agency is becoming shorter and shorter and having this drive is a huge help so the art director can start editing immediately.

However a downfall for the photographer is being able to track those images and make sure that the correct usage is being adhered to. In all the shoots I've worked on most of the time when we left with a drive there were only low or medium res jpegs and not camera raw files. It is also very important to have the conversations ahead of time with the agency (art buyer, art director and/or account manager) and get the agreement/usage license in writing. I'm not saying you should not trust your art buyer or your client but you also need to protect yourself. Handing over a drive with all the shots requires a leap of faith and mutual understanding.

Timing for shoots is never an exact science and we all know days get cut or added on. The best thing is to have a few buffer days built in for file prep and delivery... especially if the photographer wants to color correct/retouch the image. Keep an open conversation with the art buyer or whoever your contact is and make sure they know about how you like to work and your timeline, but compromise if necessary.

check out Anthony's work and his blog (he has some fun posts) over at anthonygeorgis.com

Film vs. Digital

Boston-based photographer Bob O'Connor asked me the following question:
What is the agency feeling if a photographer still wants to shoot film (large format specifically 4x5 or 8x10)? Is it ok with agencies despite the fact that it slows down production a day or two?

I decided to get a few opinions on this instead of just giving mine so I asked the question on the art producers forum as well as LinkedIn. LinkedIn unfortunately wasn't abundant with answers (see the answers here) but a few had some interesting opinions.

Here are two quotes from art buyers:
"It didn’t seem to be a problem with our clients or our production department. The images were beautiful and we just went with it. I think it should be up to the photographer and the overall look you are after." (on shooting with film for a project last year)

"there are projects for clients that we shoot only digital because it's part of the look & feel of the brand. There are other times that the look of film or digital is an intrinsic part of the photographer' s style and that's what we are asking him/her for. Ultimately it is not a cost difference or enough of a time difference to matter."


My opinion is similar to the above opinions. It really depends on the project and the look of the concept the creatives are hoping to achieve. If they do not know the photographer shoots with traditional film it's a good idea to bring it up in the first creative call you have with the agency so it's worked into the budgeting and the schedule.

I am finding more and more that clients prefer to shoot with digital. Reason being is because they can see the image automatically and decide if they like the look of it or if they want it tweaked, with film there is not that automatic satisfaction. We're in a microwave society where everything is instantly at our fingertips. On set or on location, digital is great to work with as well because what we see with our eyes is very different from what is captured on the camera. It's an asset to have the client and agency see it on screen.

But the question is film or digital... essentially I don't believe it matters because the photographer is being hired for his/her visual creative and the successful quality it brings to the client's brand.