livebooks blog

Stuart Thurlkill
I talked with everyone I knew and then went and talked to everyone I didn’t know. I found out what each person’s greatest need was and tried to find a way to fill that need. I made it a point to go everywhere with advertising and marketing material. I worked with some great photographers here in Arizona who gave me a chance to cut my teeth while I built a portfolio. I also built my own flash website. I don’t recommend this unless you have a lot of time on your hands. I also put together a print portfolio and started to shop it around to as many people in my community as I could get an appointment with.

Michael Mulvey
I instantly jumped on getting my website together and I happened to use liveBooks. I also started a blog. This allows me to routinely update a photo area with what I am immediately doing at the moment. I joined several associations and jumped into the business end of photography concerning branding, copyright law, marketing, etc. I also started networking and using the various social media sites to get the word out, build new relationships, and keep the ones I always had. More »

Miki Johnson: How did the idea for Pro Photography Network come about and when was it officially launched?

Matt Randall: The idea came to me through various portals. Some from just brainstorming ideas and some from advice given to me about “doing what you do best.” Since I had managed the editorial photo department for 15 years at the L.A. Times and knew all of these photographers very well, it was just a natural thing to do. Let’s get them back together again so we can market their skills as photographers, and I’ll do what I like to do, which is logistics, financial innovations, and event planning.

MJ: How does the group work logistically? How are assignments handled?

MR: I will start by working with the needs of the client and confirming the who, what, where, when and why. Once I have the logistics of the shoot, I can work with the client and find the right photographer for their needs: male, female, bilingual, or any other special needs that require a photographer with a particular skill set.

I then send out a request based on the needs of the client to the pool of photographers that meet the clients criteria. Since we all have our Blackberry/iPhone devices, reaching the group is easy. I then hook up the photographer with the client. From this point on, the photographer can focus on being a photographer and doing what they do best. At the L.A. Times, we are always trying to find the best photographer for every assignment too. But the beauty of this approach is the client has more input up front when hiring a photographer. More »

Writing a photo grant

• Foundation Center – Connecting grantmakers and grantseekers, the (epi)Center houses an incredible database — including “95,000 foundations, corporate donors, and grantmaking public charities in the U.S. and 1.3 million of their recent grants.”

• United Nations Library – Breaking it down, these five links provide the steps, structure, and strategy for writing a good grant proposal

• Grant Writing Tips – Column from RESOLVE contributor and science photographer Chris Linder sharing his experience getting a grant from the National Science Foundation

• Documentary Photography Grant – RESOLVE interviews Yukiko Yamagata about the Open Society Institute’s Distribution Grant

Grant resources

• NYFA – New York Foundation for the Arts

• Photography Grants Blog – Fine art and documentary photography grants and awards

• Photography Grant Resources – The Lightstalkers list

• Photography Grants – Michigan State University Libraries

• ICP Photography Grants + Awards – International Center of Photography

Lasting relationships with NGOs

• NGO photography – British photographer Colin Pantall blogs about photographers taking initiative in their idea and approach to NGOs, and being creatively farsighted in seeking grant opportunities

• NGOs to the rescue – Pop Photo’s simple answer to the complex question of why photographers are turning to NGOs for work: “Most photographers cannot solely depend on magazines and newspapers to fund long-term projects.”

• Approaching NGOs – With a photojournalist’s methods and motivations, Mike Fox offers perspectives for working with NGOs

• Working with NGOs – Garth Lenz contributed a three-piece series to RESOLVE about working with NGOs

• Convincing NGOs – Valenda Campbell, Senior Photo Editor for CARE, explains to RESOLVE how to persuade NGOs to collaborate on larger photo projects

• NGOs and awards – RESOLVE contributor and conservation photographer Daniel Beltrá tells how his passion for nature and his alliance with Greenpeace grew into an award-winning career

• NGOs and publishers – In his RESOLVE column, conservation and fine-art photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum describes his trailblazing publishing model, working with NGOs and publishers to create books that effect tangible change

• Relationship resources – Thanks to Black Star Rising – Directory of Development Organizations – On Philanthropy – The Corporate Responsibility Officer – Lightstalkers NGO thread

Nonprofit reportage centers

• IJNET – International Center for Journalists

• IRE – Investigative Reporters and Editors

• Pulitzer Center – The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

• Public Integrity – The Center for Public Integrity

• ProPublica – ProPublica Newsroom

• NECIR-BU – The New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University

Books

• Foundation Grants to Individuals 2009 – this printed version is updated annually, or an online searchable database version is updated quarterly: Foundation Center Database

• Guide to Getting Arts Grants by Ellen Liberatori

• Editor and Publisher Journalism Awards and Fellowships Directory

Maren Levinson

www.redeyereps.com

Photo by Amanda Marsalis

I founded Redeye in 2005 as a photo agency that supports photographers with both fine-art and commercial careers. I have always believed a photographer benefits from a multifaceted career, and I am interested in inspired work of any kind. Redeye currently represents six photographers, each with their own distinct photographic voice.

Before starting Redeye, I was a photo editor at Dwell and Mother Jones magazines, and consulted at various publications including Big, Chow, and GOOD magazines. I have also consulted with design firms and emerging photographers.

I love to edit and match up a photographer with their perfect job, path, or next project. Feel free to ask me anything and, if I don’t know the answer, I will make up something really good.

Click here for a list of all other “After Staff” posts.