livebooks blog

Citizen journalist Janis Krums tweeted this photo minutes after a plane crashed into the Hudson River in January.

I came upon this story and this one the week the plane crashed into the Hudson River. The pictures are solid. As a professional photographer, I might have done a bit better, but I wasn’t there. Which got me thinking about what I would have done if I was. Typically, I would have used my upscale point-and-shoot camera, and then contacted whomever I could get a hold of at the whatever paper or magazine to transmit the image and get a quick sale. A sale that would probably yield anywhere in the range of a $100 to $1,000 — if I got the sale at all.

The competition would be a phalanx of mobile phone shooters all calling the tip lines of all the same publications as me. The photo editor would choose the first “solid” image to come across his or her computer screen in mad dash to scoop all the other publications and blogs.

Now think about a different set of priorities applied to the same scenario. I shoot a quality image, better than the mobile phone shooters, and upload it up to my photography branded twitter stream or blog. The fact that I call myself a photographer in these two internet mediums will already give me a splash of credibility. The subject matter of the photos will guarantee swift dissemination and trackbacks to my site. The trade off for the exposure to my web site is worth more than the money.

Lastly, think long and hard about being a gear snob. A photographer is defined by his or her ability, not by the gear he or she owns. Ultimately I think I would shoot my first few images with my iPhone and send them to the email account that automatically publishes posts to my blog, or I would send them to my Twitter account. Then I would shoot other images with my point and shoot. I’d start calling editors and point them to my blog or Twitter account.

The resolution required for a reasonable reproduction on the internet requires little more than an iPhone camera. It’s not ideal, and it certainly goes against the quality instinct of every shooter out there, but that’s not the point anymore. The world has changed and in these journalistic situations expediency is king. As skilled photographers that might find ourselves in the right place at the right time, understanding and adapting to the new world rather than complaining about it is the best way to get more notoriety.

An image from Christopher LaMarca's Forest Defenders series, which Redux helped fund after LaMarca approached the agency with the partially completed project. © Christopher LaMarca

Finding the right time to approach a rep is a delicate thing. If you go before you have work that will impress them, then you stand the chance of making a bad first impression and not getting a second chance.  But if you wait until you think you have the perfect book, you might miss a valuable opportunity for feedback that can improve your work.  It is always great if you can make a first strong impression, but it’s not necessary.  What you do need is work that catches the eye of the rep so they keep you in mind. That way they let you stay in touch and give you a chance to come back and see them when you have new work.

I think for photographers with personal projects or feature stories they are working on, it’s fine to contact a rep early on to show them the project and get feedback. Be up front when you initially contact a rep; let them know that you have a story that might interest them, and that you are looking for feedback. At Redux we are always looking for interesting stories to consider syndicating, so we get something out of these meetings too.

In 2004 I was turned on to a new photographer, Christopher LaMarca, who had recently completed the documentary program at ICP.  He was working on a story about young environmental activists in Oregon, and he had been arrested on one of his first trips.  He came to Redux to show us the work he had and to get feedback. The story was strong, he was shooting it in an interesting way, and we wanted to help him continue the project.  We ended up covering half of his expenses to go back to Oregon to shoot more, one thing led to another, we started showing his work for assignments, and now we represent him.

If you have a portfolio instead of a specific story (say you’re a food or interiors photographer), be sure that what is in the book is high quality and that you are proud of each picture before showing it.  If that means that you have to take out half the images and are left with only 20 pictures, then so be it.  It’s better that you show 20 solid images than 50 mediocre ones.

No matter when you see  a rep, try to get them to give you constructive criticism. Don’t leave with a vague “thanks for sharing your work, stay in touch.”  Find out what specifically they liked, what images they would take out, and how they prefer to stay in touch.

"On my first expedition for Woods Hole Oceanographic, I photographed researchers at work in the Irminger Sea east of Greenland." Photo by Chris Linder, WHOI

When I started at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) nearly ten years ago, I was an avid photographer but had no idea that I would someday be paid to photograph researchers on the Greenland Ice Sheet and Antarctica. My first oceanography cruise for Woods Hole, in the summer of 2001, was a month aboard the 177-foot long research vessel Oceanus studying the turbulent waters west of Iceland. My job was to stand a science watch. That entails helping wrangle unwieldy instruments over the side of the ship and making sure that all of the equipment is recording data properly.

When I wasn’t on watch, I indulged my passion for photography. But it wasn’t the photographs of pilot whales and icebergs that caught the chief scientist’s eye — it was the photographs of people working aboard the ship. As a member of the science party, it was easy for me to capture candid moments of people working on deck, analyzing water samples, and playing cards. At the time I had no idea of the value of what I was doing. But when I returned home from the expedition, the photographs were used in calendars, annual reports, and presentations.

The following year, that same scientist hired me to document his 3-year project working in the Arctic Ocean’s Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. In addition to documenting the work with my camera, I also wrote daily first-person essays describing the experience and facilitated direct communication between the scientists and school kids. It was a tremendously rewarding experience, and for the first time I discovered the power of photography as an educational tool. It was also the start of a new niche for me at Woods Hole—that of a field photographer and outreach specialist. Now, although I still help with analyzing data and publishing papers, science photography and other education projects make up the bulk of my work.

Resolve: v. To deal with (a question, a matter of uncertainty, etc.) conclusively; settle; solve. n. Firmness of purpose; resolution.

I’m excited to introduce RESOLVE, a new photography blog from liveBooks. We don’t have to tell you that this is an important moment for photography — things are changing fast and there seems to be far more questions than answers. That’s why we decided to create this online resource for photographers, a place to come together with your peers, to get inspired by great work, and to learn from the experiences of photo professionals from every corner of the industry and the world. While giving individual photographers the tips and tools to build creatively fulfilling, economically sustainable businesses, we are also working toward positive RESOLUTIONS to some of the hardest questions facing the photo industry at large.

I’m not going to sit here and deny that the forecast often looks gloomy, but I also know that photographers and photo industry professionals are some of the most innovative, passionate, creative individuals I know. If anyone is going to figure out where the photo industry should go from here, it’s the photo professionals themselves (that means you). As the editor of RESOLVE, I’m mostly here (along with Associate Editor Carmen Suen) to help where I can: keeping things focused, helping visual people communicate in words, and exploring innovative modes of collaboration.

I hope that a few of you have seen my name floating around the internet before, but in case you haven’t, let me introduce myself. I am the Social Media Editor at liveBooks, based in often-sunny San Francisco, which I’m pretty happy about coming from a lot of cold Midwest and East Coast cities as I have. Most recently I was in NYC working as senior editor at American Photo, writing for the magazine as well as PopPhoto.com and the State of the Art blog. I have a degree in magazine journalism from Northwestern University in Chicago (serious brrrr) and grew up in Athens, Ohio. I like writing, sometimes I even think I’m good at it, but what I really love is helping people communicate, making connections with people (especially photo people), and using those connections to foster stronger community.

A few notes on how this blog works. Because we know you’re busy, we aren’t going to post anything that takes more than five minutes to read. Each post covers a few important points of a larger topic and is linked to earlier posts on the same topic (plus we’ll let you know when later posts are coming). That way you can dig in deep if you have the time — or jump onto the next thing that catches your interest.

At the end of many posts we ask additional questions, titled “Be Part of the RESOLUTION.” Any post is only one person’s opinion, and you can help us provide the best information possible by sharing your own perspective in the comments. Oh, and about those comments: We are serious about keeping them positive. We think it’s time to do more than complain about the way things are — let’s figure out how to change things into the way we want them to be. Healthy debate is always welcome here, as are constructive criticism, and even controversial and unpopular ideas. But we will not tolerate unproductive personal attacks on our contributors or other commenters, especially if they are anonymous.

I hope you’ll quickly start to think of RESOLVE not just as a community but as your community. The more people who contribute to it, the stronger it will become, so please get in touch with me (and Carmen) if you are interested in collaborating with us on one or several posts. Or maybe there is a question you can never find a good answer to. Send it to us and we’ll find an expert to answer it. And last but not least, if you hear about anything photography related that is innovative, cutting-edge, or just a great idea, LET US KNOW — even if it’s your own project. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

~Miki Johnson, Editor, RESOLVE