Flash Forward

Tuesday June 7th, 2011

Last Thursday, Sean and I took off from PHL and flew up to BOS for the Magenta Foundation’s Flash Forward Festival Boston. The festival was geared towards photographers and those interested in photography and would include lectures, panel discussions, and photo exhibitions. We’d been asked to give a joint guest lecture at the festival on how to brand and market yourself as a commercial photographer. We landed in Boston in the early morning and walked out into a bright, sunny and breezy New England day. Since our lecture wasn’t scheduled until that afternoon, we made our way over to the studio of photographer Michael Indresano, where former Wonderful Machine staffer Caleb Raynor is currently working as a producer.

After getting a brief tour of Michael’s impressive studio, Caleb took us out around Beantown. We rode the T and walked around the city and, of course, hit up Faneuil Hall for lunch. Caleb ordered bacon wrapped scallops while Sean and I settled for some pasta. We ate outside and felt like genuine tourists as we enjoyed the historic scenery.

After lunch we made our way over to Fairmont Battery Wharf where Flash Forward was being held. We met up with MaryAnn Camilleri—curator of the event—and other Flash Forward staffers, who told us a little more about the festival. The collection of photographs was phenomenal and we enjoyed browsing through the exhibit.

Eventually, it was time for our presentation. Sean and I sat in front of an audience of around 70 people and gave an Introduction to Branding and Marketing for Commercial Photographers. Sean covered topics such as creating a cohesive brand, print portfolios, leave behinds and websites, while I spoke on how to implement an effective marketing plan once you’ve established your brand. The talk went well and we got some great feedback.

You can flip through our presentation here:

After the lecture, we had chatted with audience members before heading to Starbucks to grab a quick cup of coffee with our Boston photographer, Jeff Page. We chatted about the photography industry and Boston traffic and then snapped some photos before parting ways.

Our final Boston stop was at the Waterfront Cafe. There we met up with several more of our Boston photographers for some drinks. Carolyn Ross, Conor Doherty, Michael Piazza, Carl Tremblay, and Porter Gifford joined Sean and me for some photography chit-chat, some brewskies and some laughs. We had a great time conversing about the sobering truths of a photography career, Brazilian beach wear, motorcycle safety, and shared our iPhone photos.

After a long enjoyable day, Sean and I headed to the airport and bid adieu to Boston.

- Maria