livebooks blog

One of Sol's Redneck Games images, which ran in National Geographic. ©Sol Neelman

Miki Johnson: So tell me what you’ve been working on now.

Sol Neelman: I’ve been working on a long-term project, photographing weird sports and the culture of sports around the world. Recently, I photographed dog surfing in San Diego, pro wrestling in Mexico, the Lumberjack World Champs in Wisconsin, and bike polo in Seattle. Up next is a prison rodeo in Oklahoma.

I try to keep myself busy with fun sporting events. It’s an excuse to travel, which is one of my addictions. Along the way I’ll do some traditional sports, such as The Beijing Olympics and college football. I just went to my first Cubs game at Wrigley and photographed the fans in the bleachers. That was fun.

My goal is to get this work published in a book. Ideally it would encompass everything in sports – not just weird sports. It doesn’t need to be the Redneck Games to be good. But the Redneck Games were pretty good.

As far as work, last year I did a commission piece for a developer for whom I photographed downtown Portland for a year. They hung my photographs in the lobby and on each floor of their new building, which ironically is located right across the street from The Oregonian. I’ve also been doing work for Nike and a local bank, plus some weddings. Things are kind of hit or miss, so I try to stay busy with my own project to fill the time.

I’m still trying to figure out how to expose myself to more advertising firms. I recently signed up with Adbase and plan to contact firms that seem like a good fit. At the same time, I’m really trying hard to steer away from editorial clients, just because their rates are so low.

Jade Albert's website, which is branded to complement her "whimsical, airy" style.

Suzanne Sease

www.suzannesease.com

I have so many clients who have found themselves in this position — who were in another industry and realized they were not living their dream. The safety net of the bi-monthly paycheck is gone and now you must create your own identity. Luckily you won’t have to start from scratch.

Visit the websites of photographers you admire and see how they are presenting themselves. Now look at your images. Are there special topics you gravitate toward or are often assigned to? And how do your images convey information? What about them got people to read the stories next to them?

Become an astute observer of the images around you, too. Make mental notes of magazine ads, billboards, store signs, direct mail, even family portraits done for friends. A photographer was paid to make all of these — notice how they did it and decide if the photographer could be you next time.

Maybe most importantly, ask yourself what you really love about this business. Do you want to continue shooting what you have been, or is now the time to re-invent yourself and shoot what you love, not your former employer? You don’t have to build a brand on the photographer you are — this is your chance to build the brand of the photographer you want to be.

Louisa Curtis

www.chatterboxenterprises.com

First decide which markets to pursue and which images to present. Rather than showing work you think people want to see, I think you should show the images you love to shoot, since those are likely to be your best work. Then, once the image selection is clear, consider presentation. For instance, if I were to put your website alongside your business card, your postcard, your e-promo, and your print book — would I know that they all belong to the same photographer? More »

Jason Arthurs
www.jasonarthurs.com
If you combine my 2 years of internships with 4 years as a full-time staffer, then it’s a total of 6 years I was in newspapers. I don’t think I could ever see myself doing it forever. It was an amazing time in my life but it was so much of a roller-coaster ride I never really felt totally in control of what I chose to focus my energy on.

This summer I have been given several opportunities to teach that I would not have had if I were still at the newspaper. I taught a week-long workshop for North Carolina high school journalism students, and helped coach two documentary projects through the University of North Carolina. For one class I spent one month in the Galapagos Islands helping edit a multimedia project shot by students and it was an amazing experience and I would not have been able to get the time off work to do something like that at the newspaper.

Kendrick Brinson
kendrickbrinson.com
I had two internship and two jobs at newspapers from 2005 to 2009. Once I discovered my love for photojournalism toward the end of college, I thought I would work at a newspaper for life. My mother worked as a writer at The State newspaper for more than 20 years so it seemed like an exciting yet solid career. After about a year and a half working for newspapers, my attitude toward them slowly shifted as I watched friends lose their jobs and their enthusiasm.

I am very busy now. I work with some of my favorite photographers in Luceo Images, doing personal projects and editorial work for major newspapers and magazines. I also photograph weddings with my partner David Walter Banks under Our Labor of Love. Now I am spending more time working on marketing and researching stories that I want to tell, and less time looking for heat features to fill holes in an-ever thinning newspaper.

Pouya Dianat
www.pouyadianat.com
These days my work schedule is whenever the Braves play. I had a great working relationship with the team while I was at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and they’ve allowed me a lot of creative freedom thus far. The night’s they’re out of town, I’m firmly planted behind my MacPro, editing away.

I don’t think my photography has changed, but I am enjoying my photography a lot more since going freelance. I’m exploring every outlet that I’m interested in, while still applying the same vision I have to the work I did at newspapers. A lot of the ideas I have won’t work, maybe my idea falls apart in the studio, but I learn from the experience.

Not everyone affected by the newspaper decline is in their mid-40’s with a family to support. For those of us fortunate enough to be free from those more important responsibilities, this is a prime opportunity to do whatever we want. I’ve told a lot of students that I’ve spoken to that the next phase of photography is finding something you LOVE and applying photography to it. More »

Running your own business

• Best Business Practices for Photographers – John Harrington’s wildly popular book, plus more info and industry updates at his Photo Business Forum blog

• The Photographer’s Survival Guide: How to Build and Grow a Successful Business – A helpful book from photography consultants Amanda Sosa Stone and Suzanne Sease

• Freelance Switch – A slightly cheeky but highly informative online resource for all kinds of freelancers

• PhotoJournalism Blog – Mark Hancock, a former Dallas Morning News staffer, explains a wide variety of issues photojournalists face, including finances and how to transition from staff to freelance

• Seeing Money – Column from RESOLVE contributor Doug Menuez outlining basic business principles for photographers

Time management

• Mark McGuinness – A bountiful source of advice about time management for creative professionals, on his Lateral Action blog (a collaboration with Tony and Brian Clark), or posts elsewhere, like this seven-part series

• Behance Magazine – “Insights and tips from creatives on making ideas happen,” including packaged solutions like “The Action Method,” and a think tank called “The 99%“

Building a website

• What Photo Buyers Want – Photoshelter’s survey of 550 art buyers, determining what they like and don’t in photographers’ websites.

• Do You Need More Than One Website? – For photographers moving into several different markets at once, it’s often a good idea to keep specialties separate. RESOLVE contributor Luke Edmonson explains how.

• What Video Can Do For You – Video can enhance a website in several ways, as liveBooks founder Matt Bailey explains.

Professional organizations

• APA – Advertising Photographers of America

• ASMP – American Society of Media Photographers

• EP – Editorial Photographers

• NPPA – National Press Photographers Association

• PPA -Professional Photographers of America

• SAA – Stock Arts Alliance

• WPJA – Wedding Photojournalist Association

• WPPI – Wedding & Portrait Photographers International

• We recognize an emphasis on US organizations here, so please check out this nicely annotated, more international list too.