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The Business of Photography: A Panel Discussion with Top Industry Photographers’ Agents
Tuesday May 10th, 2011
by Amanda Hanley
On May 4th I was a part of Louisa Curtis’ panel discussion on photographers’ agents. Louisa’s day job is running Chatterbox Enterprises, where she advises commercial photographers on their portfolios and marketing. The program was geared towards emerging shooters and was designed to help them better understand the relationship between reps and photographers. Wonderful Machine isn’t a rep in the traditional sense, but Louisa brought us into the conversation because of our unique perspective, as some photographers use us in place of a rep and others use us to augment the marketing their own rep does for them. We encourage all of our photographers to work with a rep if they can.
Adorama’s renovated fifth floor was the perfect spot for this discussion, with about fifty people sitting comfortably in the audience. Monica Cipnic, Program Director for Workshops at Adorama, called the event “a terrific success,” saying that, “so many of the attendees let me know how much they enjoyed the lively discussions and having their questions answered.”
Louisa assembled a panel of five other speakers, all with different backgrounds and each with impressive rosters of photographers: Robert Bacall of Robert Bacall Representatives, David Laidler of Works Artists, Frank Meo of Meorepresents, Tricia Scott of MergeLeft Reps, and George Watson of WSWCreative. Feel free to read their full bios here on Adorama’s website.
From left: Moderator Louisa Curtis, Frank Meo, Amanda Hanley, Tricia Scott, David Laidler, Robert Bacall, and George Watson
The consensus from the panel was that photographers need to be thoughtful, consistent, and insightful – both in terms of the photographs they show and in the way they market themselves. Having a rep isn’t going to be appropriate for every photographer, and most photographers will have to establish themselves to a certain degree in order to attract a rep. A lot of the success of any photographer/rep relationship will hinge on the photographer’s ability to collaborate with the rep and their receptiveness to constructive criticism along the way. Tricia Scott, in particular, said that she enjoys being able to work alongside photographers and help them create their vision. That process is a huge part of why she became an agent in the first place, and many others agreed. David Laidler was a great example of this desire for a creative partnership because he’s just started his own agency and is seeking mixed media artists with expertise in still, motion, and everything in between. He shared an impressive video from Stephen Mallo that was a prime example of doing something different, unexpected, and expertly executed to get an agent’s attention (see his Willis Avenue Bridge video here).
A positive outlook and personality, willingness to work hard on your own behalf, and trust are major components of a healthy photographer/rep relationship. And it is a relationship after all, not strictly business. The issue of house accounts came up early, and the consensus among the panel was that if this issue is highly contentious early on, then it’ll likely deteriorate the relationship later, or at least be a sign of forthcoming issues. House accounts are, in general, clients with whom a photographer has forged a working relationship without the aid of an agent and before entering into representation. Often agents will have a period of 4-6 months in which no or a small commission will be drawn from work a photographer does with a house account, after which the customary 20-30% will be taken. Most often house accounts are editorial work and agents are not eager to get involved because the pay is unsubstantial and it becomes a waste of resources for both the rep and the photographer. The main reason for bringing in house accounts after a certain amount of time is simplicity and trust: the agent and the photographer must work as a team, and operating on your own can weaken your overall marketing when you and your agent are heading in two different directions. Ultimately, being able to trust the agent’s work and commitment should cement most photographer/rep relationships.
A traditional rep is not going to be appropriate for everyone, and the agents themselves agreed. Some photographers will prefer to work with a producer or have their studio manager handle some of those tasks, while others will want a rep and not be able to find one willing to take them on. One way or another, if you’re going to do it on your own, you’ll need a keen business savvy. You don’t have to be Gordon Gekko, but you do need to learn how to draft a proper estimate and licensing agreement, learn the value of your photography, and understand how to negotiate. Many clients prefer dealing with a rep rather than directly with the photographer, so if you’re going to handle the business end yourself, you’ll need to become an expert at it.
You’ll need to be consistently and thoughtfully marketing yourself to both agencies and clients in order to maintain your business. Wonderful Machine is an excellent way of doing this (plus having access to experienced producers and designers); Frank Meo paid us a compliment by saying you’re “out there all the time” through membership with WM, which is huge for busy photographers.
All of the panelists encouraged photographers to dabble in video, if only because many clients are looking to piggyback it onto still projects, and in such a competitive industry it’s important to diversify your skills. All the reps said they’re working on expanding their own expertise, too, to stay relevant in this ever-changing marketplace.
Some panelists mentioned that they’re doing more work directly with clients now, rather than through ad agencies, as clients budgets are tight and they want to cut out as many middle-people as they can. Social networking is still a necessary evil, but in-person marketing will always have the most impact. Most still hold portfolio meetings (either project-based or casual breakfasts/wine & cheese), but all are seeing the opportunities shrink along with clients’ budgets and available time.
To close the evening, Louisa read a recent statement from rep Candace Gelman to get our reactions: Gelman said that a photographer has to develop a consistent and distinctive vision before seeking a rep, that “a rep is not the answer.” Most agreed but with certain qualifiers. George Watson reiterated that he likes working closely and creatively with his photographers, but that they’ll need to have some sense of expertise before he brings someone on board. I explained that Wonderful Machine is a little different than most reps in that we work with hundreds of photographers and, as a result, we tend to deal mostly with photographers who are pretty fully formed. However, we do have a range of shooters on the site and are frequently having conversations with photographers seeking advice on new projects, sharing new work, or otherwise keeping in touch. My advice to nonrepped photographers (outside of establishing business cred) is to build a sense of community, rather than cutthroat competition. This business is already tough enough, and Louisa agreed that the time of isolation and “no secret sharing” among photographers should certainly be over.
- Amanda
