livebooks blog

• The New York Times launched its photography blog, Lens, this week. Not surprisingly, it aims to highlight the paper’s own top photography from the present, as well as its archive dating back to the early 20th century, but Lens also gives props to great photos from other newspapers, magazines, and agencies. With its beautiful full-screen interface and insider interviews with photo legends, like this with David Burnett about his images of Bob Marley, it’s no surprise the photo blogosphere is buzzing.

• Todd Walker of Gallery Hopper blog pointed us to a scanned copy of a NYPD internal memo which tells its officers that street photography is indeed legal. In the memo, it says, “photography and/or videotaping is rarely unlawful.” Given the recent outpouring of complaints regarding street photography, we’re glad the NYPD is taking steps to rectify the situation.

• American Photography 25 announced its winners earlier this week. A slideshow of the selected images is available online for a limited time. The 351 photographs selected from over 10,000 submissions will be included in a hardcover book to be released in November this year.

• American Apparel settled a year-long lawsuit with Woody Allen on Monday, agreeing to pay the director $5 million for using an image of him from Annie Hall, without his consent, for one of their billboards. Dov Charney, CEO of American Apparel, posted a thousand-word statement on the company blog in response to the settlement, explaining that it was the insurance company’s idea to make the settlement, not his.

Avalence Studio

Carmen Suen: Why did you decide to open Avalence Studio?

Gray Scott: For me as a photographer, it’s just almost impossible to financially keep up. A lot of times you’re scrambling to find a studio when a magazine contacts you to do a shoot. When I first started, there were several times where I couldn’t find a studio to shoot in, and I had to turn down the magazine shoot. It’s not a good thing for any photographer to turn down work because they work so hard to get their name out there and get work. I wanted to provide an affordable space for photographers to do their shoot.

CS: How is the studio an affordable option for photographers?

GS: One of the most important things about the studio is that for a $750 day rate, from 9am – 5:30pm, you get an Octabank, a stand, a power pack, sandbags, V-flats, and a wardrobe styling station with a steamer, robes, and slippers. So basically a young photographer without a lot of money can come into the studio with their model, their hair and makeup person, and their stylist, and they can produce a shoot without any extra expenses.

For one price, you’re coming in to Avalence Studio and you can produce your whole shoot. Whereas a lot of times, when I have gone to other studios, the base rate is just for you to be in the space. It could start at $1,200 to $1,500, and then every single thing costs more, whether it’s a pitcher of water or an apple box. You think you’re spending $1,000 to be there, but when you walked away, you ended up spending $1,800 for the shoot.

The idea of this space is that it’s sort of an artist workshop where everything is provided. You come, and you shoot, and you pay your day rate. That’s pretty much it. The only extra is if a photographer has specific equipment they want to rent, that is added on top. They have the option for us to rent the equipment for them; or, if they want to do it themselves, they can have the equipment delivered here.

CS: Aside from the price, what makes Avalence different from the average photo studio?

GS: One of the things that I think is very exciting is that we are in a neighborhood where we are surrounded by other artists. You are constantly bumping into artists that you know: stylists, hair and makeup people. There’s an independent record label right beside us. There’s a video production beside us. So it’s a community of creative people in the building, which is really exciting.

The studio itself is a very clean open space. But it’s not concrete and sterile. We have hardwood floors that have been painted white. There’s an industrial feel to it, but it isn’t cold. The place has a warm feeling.

CS: What are the future plans of the studio?

GS: I’d like to eventually have 10 to 15 photographers that we work with on a consistence basis, who fit into the studio space, who have the same goal as the community that we are trying to create, which is sort of a younger editorial feel. That’s how the space is.

The space is very private. We try to find photographers who may be working on books, or private work, or some of their editorial work is very sensitive and they don’t want people to know they’re working on certain things or certain campaigns. Our first client was Spin magazine. They said they loved shooting here and that they look forward to shooting here again. I have a feeling that they will be a repeated client.

Another goal is to have the studio also be a gallery space for young photographers. We have such a great space and so many white walls here that I think eventually I would like to have an addition to the Avalence website where we do private showings of young photographers’ work. In the next few months, I would like to find photographers that are doing fine art photography. We’ll do an opening ceremony for them and have 10 to 15 of their pieces presented in the space. It’s nice to have a space where you can have all your peers together and show your work. I think that’s definitely down the road for us.

These past few months I’ve been reaching out via email to some high-profile writers that I’ve never met so that I can cajole them into an interview for my new book. It’s always difficult cold-emailing someone that you don’t know because you are desperate to convey your credentials, but you don’t want to blather on about yourself imperiling your original point for contacting them.

I have found the answer in the oft ignored and under appreciated “About” page of my web site. In each email pitch I state who I am, what I want, and ask them to please look at the link below for more information about me.

Dear Fabulous One,

My name is Lou Lesko, I’m a writer working on a new book titled Nose Hair Photography for the Faint of Heart. I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to interview you for the book at your convenience. My preferred method of interview is in person, but I am very amenable to conduct the interview via phone call or email. For information about me please click on the link below.

My “About” page has been proven a highly effective electronic calling card because it adds all the things I want to say about myself to the pitch email without adding extra text making the pitch look undesirably lengthy. If someone knows me and my work, they don’t have to drudge through a diatribe about who I am. Those that need to know more can click the link to my “About” page and get the scoop.

This, of course, begs the question, “What’s a good ‘About’ page look like?” The matter is entirely up to you but there are a few guidelines that I’ve found to be effective.

The number one mistake that people make in writing an autobiographical paragraph is shoving too much information into it. Understand the end use of the biography. You’re appealing to people who want to know about you and your photography. So starting with the act of your conception as told by your mother might be a little too much information.

A quick sentence about the epiphany that led you to photography is always fun. Here’s mine;

I got into photography by accident when I drove my friend, who was a model, to pick up some modeling test photos from a photo studio. It struck me that that was what I wanted to do.

Mention your formal education if you survived one. In my case I graduated with an English Writing degree.

Shortly thereafter I attended USC and graduated in 1989 with a degree in English. From there I went on to settle in Los Angeles to try and make it as a professional photographer.

Don’t be shy about achievements like awards and high profile assignments, just don’t sound arrogant about it.

Soon after graduating I found myself lucky enough to be sent to the former Soviet Union on an assignment that greatly influenced my current shooting style.

After you’ve written all that, distill it further. The one thing I don’t like about the lines above is that I mention graduation twice. This is about me the photographer, not me the student. Also the lines above are pedantic and have a very “and then” cadence. Don’t be afraid to make things interesting. Think about how you would tell the story if you were trying to impress someone you wanted to date.

I had a crush on a model who was a friend of mine who I took to pick up some modeling test photos from a photographers studio. When I saw the images I was inspired to give it a try. After two years of shooting on my own and three years of earning an English degree at USC, I got lucky and was given the opportunity to go on assignment in the former Soviet Union. That experience turned out to be a huge influence on how I shoot now. Since getting back from Russia I’ve settled in Los Angeles and have been shooting commercial and editorial fashion. A partial list of clients and career highlights is below.

Then go on to list and link to a few things you’ve done. There are two schools of thought about client lists. I like partial clients lists that list your top five clients, others would argue a “if you got em, list them” approach. There’s no right or wrong way.

You can also write your biography in the third person: “Lou Lesko went on to shoot…” I used to subscribe to this method, but I have found that if someone wants to know about you, it should be in your voice. The contemporary reality is at that face-to-face meetings are difficult to set up, so conveying a sense of your personality whenever you can will always help your cause.

Put a picture of yourself on your about page. Portraits are highly subjective things. And believe me you will change yours twenty times before you find something that you’re happy with. That’s okay. You’re supposed to be an obsessive-compulsive lunatic — you’re a photographer.

The last bit of advice I want to impart is, be confident. The “About” page is about you. If you’ve entered into the photography industry, you have the gift of creativity and the balls of an entrepreneur. That is something to be proud of.

• Almost four decades after John Filo took his Pulitzer-Prize-winning photo of a student shot at Kent State University during an anti-war protest, the photographer was reunited with the then-14-year-old girl, Mary Vecchio, who appears in the image with her arm outstretched, caught in a terrified scream. The Akron Beacon Journal has a nice piece on the reunion, which was the first time the two met in person.

• The Obama administration and its White House photo team led by Pete Souza proved its distinctly updated understanding of image use recently by launching a White House Flickr photostream in addition to its regular slideshows. Last week, Official White House Photographer Pete Souza did an interview with CBS sharing his insider view of Obama presidency.

• The multimedia dream team at MediaStorm announced this week that it will donate its services for a one-time, TUITION-FREE Advanced Multimedia Reporting Workshop, in Brooklyn, NY from June 20-26, 2009. Expect a very competitive application process as there are only 8 spots available. Application deadline is next Friday May 15. Check out more details on their blog.

• LIFE.com picked the 10 most photographed cities in the world. The results are based on the number of photographs associated with each city on Flickr. Being San Franciscans as we are, we’re happy that the City by the Bay made it to number 4. Can you guess the top three?