Wonderful Machinists Amanda and Jess went down to Atlanta last week to show our books to a few friends at JWT, UPS, CNN, 22squared, and Big Sky. It’s a fun study of logos and branding to view all of their entrances at once:
Amanda Hanley in front of CNN (sorry, we don't have a shot of Big Sky's)
Our first stop was One CNN Center to meet with CNN’s creative team for Multimedia and Interactive Storytelling. One of their producers explained how they’re trying to veer away from using stock images: “I can’t use the same picture of a plane taking off one more time!” A graphic designer expressed the same need for original photography: “In the Health section, we might be covering a new advancement or medical rarity, and we need creative, conceptual images to illustrate it and draw the reader in.”
She was especially impressed with Bill Cramer’s work with doctors and CEO’s, and his ability to animate them into more engaging subjects. They also enjoyed Martin Sundberg’s lifestyle and video work, as they try to incorporate multimedia work whenever possible. Here’s his portfolio:
One producer recently had a situation where they needed images for a story about a Midwestern farmer who, in order to publicize his business, tweets from his tractor while he’s out in the field. Generally, technology trends like this change so frequently that there just aren’t enough stock images to choose from. The story itself was on a tight deadline and they needed an assignment photographer in a city/town that wasn’t familiar to producers, so the regional focus of our site was especially appealing to them.
We were also treated to a studio tour, so you may have spotted us in the background of the 11:00 AM broadcast of CNN News.
Next, we spent some time talking with one of 22squared’s art buyers, who says she’s been there since before it was 22squared. She was familiar with a number of our Atlanta-based photographers, especially Deborah W. Llewellyn and Harold Daniels. Always looking for “people, places, and things,” she responded most to books with a playful presentation, like Ryan Robinson’s humorous conceptual images. She was excited about their recent acquisition of the Baskin Robbins account, and she and her family have been big fans for years (and let’s face it, who doesn’t like ice cream?).
After lunch we made a stop at Blue Sky Agency, who handles all of Atlanta’s major sports franchises. One of their creative directors explained that they didn’t set out to focus on sports, and handle other accounts as well, but love working with the teams and are excited to fill that role.
That evening we went to Cypress St. Pint & Plate to meet up with a crowd of our Atlanta photographers. It was great to see them all face-to-face and enjoy a few rounds, especially since most of our correspondences are through phone and email. We learned that Ryan Gibson has a music background himself, which helps musicians let loose on his shoots; Jon Kownacki is actually from Detroit, “which explains why I swear a lot,” he jokes; and Deborah W. Llewellyn’s husband is an attorney who pulls double-duty as her official negotiator with clients.
Jon Kownacki, Ryan Gibson, Stan Kaady, Calvin Lockwood, Jim Llewellyn, Harold Daniels, Deborah W. Llewellyn, Amanda Hanley, and David Smith
The next morning we greeted JWT’s creative team with a spread of portfolios and breakfast (kept the two separated of course – no spills). Can’t recall a broader client base: they work with the US Marine Corps, the US Virgin Islands, and FEMA. One art director responded to Terry Vine’s resort work, and loved his presentation of three books in one case, each featuring a different side of his lifestyle/travel work. Aside: No Plastic Sleeves just had a nice post about Terry’s branding collaboration with his rep Patti Schumann.
Another art director was very impressed with Tyler Stableford’s work, especially his recent project photographing the U.S. Air Force: “I had the amazing opportunity to fly with these guys for 90 minutes with five F-16s over the Rocky Mountains, all at my service to get the best possible shots!” Tyler said. He made an exciting, in-air behind the scenes video from that shoot: http://www.tylerstableford.com/portfolio.php?dirid=11 (get your Top Gun fix for the week).
We ended our stay with a stop at UPS’s headquarters, where we sat down with one of their graphic designers to share a few books and talk about our website. UPS is looking for authentic-feeling lifestyle shooters for their internal and external advertising: “We want to capture a driver on the road, talking with customers, and everything in between.” They were especially happy with Wonderful Machine’s international reach: “When we open up a new market,” she explained, “We want to show our trucks and employees on a real street in Shanghai, on a real doorstep in Thailand – you can tell if it’s done in a studio so we steer clear of that.”
Luckily we made it back into Philly before the snow hit again. So all in all it was a great trip and we’re looking forward to the next opportunity to head down!
-Amanda Hanley and Neil Binkley
After lunch we made a stop at Blue Sky Agency, who handles all of Atlanta’s major sports franchises. One of their creative directors explained that they didn’t set out to focus on sports, and handle other accounts as well, but love working with the teams and are happy to fill that role. They were exciting about an upcoming project that required a gritty, almost photojournalistic take on a racing event that draws thousands of fans to camp out in a small southeastern town. They enjoy these kinds of unconventional takes on sporting events as is allows them to search outside the box for the right photographer.
That evening we went to Cypress St. Pint & Plate to meet up with a crowd of our Atlanta photographers. For such an email- and phone call-heavy industry, it was great to meet them all face-to-face and enjoy a few rounds. We learned that Ryan Gibson has a music background himself, which helps him make let musicians let loose at his shoots; Jon Kownacki is actually from Detroit, “which explains why I swear a lot,” he admitted; and Deborah W. Llewellyn’s husband is an attorney who pulls double-duty as her official negotiator with clients. We were all witness to the opening of a cask beer that night, so if you’re into $26/glass beverages of unfiltered, “live” beer, head downtown to these guys.
The next morning we held a portfolio breakfast at JWT, located outside the business of the city center. Due to office maneuvers, they were all recently shuffled around with the creatives in one building and everyone else in the adjacent building, until they all reunite sometime this year in a new spot. We greeted their team with a spread of portfolios and breakfast (kept the two separated of course – no spills!) sure to start off the day right. Can’t recall a more different base of clients: they work with the US Marine Corps, the US Virgin Islands, and FEMA. One art director responded to Terry Vine’s resort work, and loved his presentation of three book in one case, each featuring a different side of lifestyle/travel work. Another art director was very impressed with Tyler Stableford’s work, especially his recent Air Force images: “I had the amazing opportunity to fly with these guys, for 90 minutes with five F-16s over the Rocky Mountains, all at my service to get the best possible shots!” Tyler said. Here is a trailer he produced from that shoot: www.tylerstableford.com/photos/fighterpilots.mov
We ended our stay with a stop of UPS’s headquarters; their building is incredible and one creative there said that they built it so that it looked like “someone had dropped it in the middle of a forest.” We sat down with one of their graphic designers to share a few books and talk about the site. UPS is looking for authentic-feeling lifestyle shooters for their internal and external advertising: “We want to capture a driver on the road, talking with customers, and everything in between.” They were especially happy about Wonderful Machine’s international reach: “When we open up a new market,” she explained, “We want to show our trucks and employees on a real street in Shanghai, on a real doorstep in Thailand – you can tell if it’s done in a studio so we steer clear of that.”
Luckily we made it back into Philly before the snow hit again. So all in all it was a great trip and we’re looking forward to the next opportunity to head down!
Jacqueline Bovaird from Glasshouse Assignment raises this question in her latest email newsletter and also her website. She posed this to Jason Lau at Team One USA, Manuel Oprea at Adweek, her excellent photographers Ryan Schude and Evan Kafka, and also asked me to weigh-in on the matter because Wonderful Machine has photographers in so many different locations. And it turns out to be a more complex issue than I thought.
Jacqueline’s emailer and blog excerpts my response, but she said that she’s interested in posting more of my reply at some point because she liked the depth of the discussion. In the meanwhile, here is my original, full response to her question:
Q: How does a photographer’s location affect their career?
I think a photographer can make almost any location work for their career. There are benefits to living in New York, New York or Austin, Texas, professionally and personally. I’ll let you decide what personally fits your lifestyle, and I’ll focus on the professional.
As for my background: I’ve enjoyed living in larger and smaller cities, having worked in creative fields in New York, Los Angeles, Portland, and now Philadelphia. And working for Wonderful Machine, I’ve seen that art buyers appreciate that we have photographers listed by location, in addition to specialty. Clients contact us to say how refreshing it is to find a solid photographer in smaller markets, because they’re often less familiar with talent in these cities.
We also feature international photographers, so what I talk about below applies to them in many ways. So when I mention “New York,” you can usually substitute it with “London.” The basic tenets of marketing, networking and professionalism should apply, no matter your location. Of course, each country has its challenges, so I’m focusing on the United States for ease of illustration.
And before I go further, I’m going under the assumption that we’re mostly discussing larger and smaller cities, and not with living on a farm in North Dakota, 10 hours from electricity. I would save that for retirement or when you’re so famous that clients will fly you by helicopter to anywhere you desire to do a shoot.
The exception to this are photographers whose location is more integral to their specialty. For example, there are action/adventure photographers like Tyler Stableford, who works out of Aspen partially because of the scenic backdrops required for his specialty.
I’m also assuming that a photographer has done their homework and researched the kind of clients that inhabit their city, or one they’re considering moving to. Agency Access and Adbase are a good start. Also, I know that the Philadelphia Business Journal has a “Book of Lists” which catalogues the top 50 or 100 companies in every industry imaginable in my city. If your town doesn’t offer such a resource, you can find this information for most cities on the internet these days.
In terms of location, I would say that a photographer has a better chance of getting work if they live in or within an hour or two of any city. Additionally, if you are willing to work as a local to the city, and not charge extravagant mileage to your clients, then you will have greater flexibility in how close you need to live to the city’s center.
And honestly, there are people living in Long Island, NY who are a further commute to a Manhattan shoot than some photographers driving there from Philadelphia. And I know some established photographers who will shoot an editorial assignment six hours away for the right project and compensation. You’d be surprised at how close Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC are.
Keep in mind, however, that some assignments can come last-minute. It’s for this reason that we recommend to our photographers that they list only the city that they’re headquartered out of. Every client knows that, for the right project, they can fly a photographer from Kalamazoo to Paris. But they also hire regional photographers who knows the culture of their city and can navigate it well in a tight spot. And who who won’t unexpectedly add a plane flight and car rental as list items on their invoice.
As for where the clients are, there’s no doubt that the bulk of the magazine and publishing world is headquartered in New York, for example. Same with the major ad agencies that have a strong presence, if not headquarters, here. And it’s (almost inarguably) the epicenter of our industry, both in terms of prestigious work and influence. But here’s the thing: New York clients need photographers to shoot all over the world!
On the “smaller” city side of things: most cities have some Fortune 500 corporation headquartered there, not to mention ad agencies, graphic design firms, universities, hospitals, and (at least) a city magazine or two.
In the case of the city/regional magazines, they often provide excellent portfolio opportunities for photographers, which can lead to recognition from the New York players. Texas Monthly is an influential regional mag that comes to mind. Plus, most New York magazines need to shoot a CEO or celebrity from Atlanta at some point.
As I also mentioned, there are plenty of award-winning agencies and boutique design shops in most markets (eg. Wieden + Kennedy’s headquarters are in Portland). And the corporations and institutions can provide steady annual report and other collateral work, too.
Also, working out of a smaller market can make you a big fish in a small pond and perhaps more visible to agencies in larger cities. Another consideration for you may be: if you’re financially and creatively happy living in a smaller city, do you really need to move to a larger city?
By the way, this is not meant to beat up on New York. On the contrary, some of the world’s most accomplished and influential photographers live there and other major cities. And emerging photographers might do well to assist them to learn from “the best.” Plus, it’s easier to run into one of BBDO’s creative directors at your friend’s party in SOHO than in it is in Sheboygan, WI (nothing against the place).
At the end of the day, I recommend trying to live where you wish and seek work with appropriate clients in your own backyard, nationally, and internationally, too. So go show them your portfolio!
PDN’s Photo Expo uses Tyler Stableford’s image (above) to promote their annual photography conference, where Tyler is also leading several workshops. Tyler is a Wonderful Machine photographer based in Aspen. Here’s more about his workshops:
This Thursday, October 22, 2009 at the New York PhotoPlus Expo, acclaimed photographer Tyler Stableford will present a seminar on shooting high-selling images. The lecture is titled “Shooting Stock: Creating Exceptional Work & Making Your Ideas Profitable.”
Tyler Stableford’s photography has earned him a worldwide clientele in both assignment work and stock. An accomplished shooter of both Rights-Managed (RM) and Royalty-Free (RF) business models, Stableford focuses on capturing singular top-selling images of outdoor adventure and heavy industry, often in challenging locations. In this seminar Stableford will discuss his proven methods for getting world-class shots while traveling light and using relatively basic lighting setups. He will also share how he focuses his shot list to maximize income and how he gains access to restricted locations. Stableford will provide examples from his tightly honed list of top-selling shoots.
Tyler has been named by Men’s Journal as one of the seven “World’s Greatest Adventure Photographers,” and he is one of Canon’s prestigious Explorers of Light. Tyler has won numerous awards from Communication Arts (incl. the cover image), PDN and The International Photography Awards, among others. His stock imagery is represented by Getty Images. The lecture will be held at the Javits center in the TC4 auditorium.
Tyler is also hosting a two-hour seminar on Friday afternoon titled “Real World Lighting, Real Results: Using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 & Photoshop CS4 for Exceptional Travel and Outdoor Photography.” This will be held in the FC9 auditorium.
