Tod Print, and Managing Expectations

Managing Expectations

At this stage of the project, as decisions are made in terms of the production of the book, it is worth looking at managing expectations.

I have been talking about producing a big, 150/200 page book, with a high-quality form of binding. This will be entirely dependent, though, on what the bookbinders and printers will be able to produce. It could be that the printers work in blocks of eight, and I only come back from a week of shooting with perhaps 20 or 30 images that work in sequence, so I will have to work with a smaller book format anyway. Page numbers will increase dependent on acknowledgments and other written elements, too.

Again there is the element of cost. I may be able to use lay-flat binding but will have to settle with a slightly lesser method of stitching, or use a thinner paper stock.

In a worst-case scenario, it may come to a point where I create two smaller books with two smaller, less ambitious projects which can be shown together. The projects could even be combined into the same book.

All of these things will have to come into consideration, however, these will be decisions worth making once I have shot and began to edit down the work. These initial conversations, though, will be had when I discuss printing with TOD.

TOD Print

Instagram Takeover

My Instagram takeover took place on a day I was busy participating in the Leica Masterclass with Mark Neville. Fortunately, and unfortunately, someone from Group A needed to share my slot with me, so she was able to takeover during the time I was unavailable, so the account wasn’t entirely quiet that day. However, I only had enough time to dump my images in one go, rather than spread out throughout the time I had left. This still bought attention to the account, attracting a fair few likes, comments, and a couple of new followers, but this still isn’t the way to properly go about a proper Instagram takeover.

I was able to focus more in the Instagram Story, though. I introduced myself and promoted my account, while also using that space to share the work that was shot – by those who were able to sent their photos to me in time – on the Leica Masterclass.

This is something I would definitely do differently next time, but the circumstances this time weren’t favourable.

@greatarsenal – Opie O

Opie is an ex student who has managed to crack Instagram, using the social media platform to generate around 80% of his workload; with a growing list of clients including Audi and Adidas.

The main things I picked up were:

• Networking is key…
  • Follow community hubs and interact with said community. Take part in photowalks to meet and network with new photographers. The more you help and interact with the community, the more they will help and interact with you.
• If a client asks you to work for them, know your price, and keep in contact with them.
• Find your own style and work from that.
• Delete your worst work.
  • Your Instagram is essentially another portfolio. Keep personal and professional work separate.
• Post daily/regularly, so prospective clients and users will see that you are serious about your work.
• Be prepared to get undercut at first when clients offer work, and expect to work for free when you first start out.

The Photographers Gallery

 

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This was far from my favourite exhibition (and I left with a splitting headache), however Wim Wenders’ exhibition was definitely unique; with each print being shot on polaroid.

‘Instant Stories’ is the first time the filmmaker has opened up his personal collection of Polaroid images, shot both on and off set, acting as his visual notebook to test out ideas he could use in films.

I had come across Wim before without realising it after having watched Salt of the Earth, a documentary movie about Sebastiao Salgado, his photography, and his ‘Instituto Terra’ project. From what I can recall, this work in this exhibition doesn’t seem anything like the style that Salt of the Earth was shot in.

Away from the exhibition, there was an extensive bookshop selling many different photobooks, as well as rolls of film and analogue cameras. A book I came across was one I had heard about and studied briefly before at college, but never actually seen in person.

‘Oil’ (2003 | Edward Burtynsky) is part of a series of books documenting the manufactured landscape, with this one showcasing humanity’s obsession with oil; more so its lifecycle from extraction, production, use, and aftermath. I really like the way he mixes double page spreads with single images to give imaged with a an even bigger sense of scale to images which already do show it.

Contacting Industry Professionals

As part of the research for this report, I have contacted two photographers, and two architecture firms, so ask for their insight into their respective industries, and asking for information in regards to the professional relationships between photographers and architects. Below are my conversations with Neil Perry Photographic and James Billett, an architectural photographer and property photographer respectively.

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For the sake of variety, I have contacted both an architectural photographer, whose main clients are architects; and a property photographer, whose main clients are estate agents.  I used the same approach for architects firms, this time choosing a smaller firm (James Wells), and a much larger firm (Foster + Partners), in order to see how the relationship changes as a firm grows.

Foster and Partners – Architects

James Wells Architects

The National Gallery and Tate Modern

The National Gallery

As with most of the other galleries I have visited so far (including the Tate Modern), I can safely say I was more impressed by the gallery itself, than the works within them. Paintings from the 1500s through to the 1800s don’t settle well with me, seeming to focus too much on depictions of Christ and the elite. But it is understandable why those tend to be the main subjects. From the start, I don’t think I could take it seriously. I understand that that period in time was much more ‘religious’ than it is now, but I struggle to understand, in the first Titian I saw, what the symbolism a man with snakes beating up a goat-legged cherub dragging a deer head was.

Looking further into Titian as a painter, he appeared to be sought out by members of the Hapsburg family, away from the religious motifs present in his earlier work.

Most paintings seem too ethereal for my liking, and I feel as though having an ornate frame is an equally important part of the piece, when in my opinion, acts as more of a distraction.

I found it hard to extrapolate the way the painters used light and other techniques, and reinterpret it in a way that a photographer would. Clearly, this is due to the fact that this was the 1500s; electricity wasn’t a thing; leaving only candles and ambient light. Therefore, any techniques used would be appear to be very subtle. The only time I could see this be used was with Rembrandt’s self portrait, where it is clear that he has softened the foreground details in favour of drawing the viewer towards his face.

That being said, the only painting I really liked was Constable’s ‘The Hay Wein’. It just seemed the most natural of all the paintings I saw, with no exaggerated forms, and over-emphasised ideals of the time.

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Tate Modern

3D – Donald Judd – Untitled – 1980

In my photos, I am drawn to blocks of repetition and pattern. This installation seems to sum up my photographic ideal perfectly.

2D – Stephen Shore – American Surfaces – 1972/73

It has been a while since I had seen any work on 35mm film, so it was refreshing to see a roadtrip like this be as well documented on film. I also like how casual, and almost grotesque, the images are.

Book – Holidays in Soviet Sanatoriums

I’ve always had a vague interest in history, and more recently, historical design movements; among them; Soviet propaganda. It’s a failed experiment, the remnants with still remain today.

A Small Voice – Mark Power

• The challenges of photographing America 

• • Interested in land use, social injustice.
  • Detailed landscapes, story told in the layout of the book.
  • Much easier to get photographs in the United States that the UK.
  • Parallels with Trump Election and Brexit

•Collaborating with Poet Daniel Cockrill on Destroying the Laboratory for the Sake of the Experiment

• • Finished in 2010, published in 2016 bust before Brexit vote. Waited to publish after publishing so many books in the past.
  • Self published. Can make more money doing it that way. So much more work involved in it.
  • Rise of nationalism?
  • ‘What is Englishness?’
  • Cross contamination of work, poetry inspired photography, photography inspired poetry.
  • Mix poems and photographs from different locations which resonate and change the meaning of each other.
  • More photographers should seek out collaborations.
  • Hold each other accountable

• How he nearly quit photography after getting into 25K debt…

• • Began to train as a carpenter after ploughing more money into sending work to photography magazines which didn’t pay.

• … and how being in Berlin ‘by mistake’ when the wall came down changed everything

• • Met with girlfriend in East Berlin just as the wall opened. Cleared debts in one night.
  • Had no clue how to photograph a news event

• Why The Shipping Forecast sold over 10,000 copies

• • Inspired by a tea towel he had bought from the RNLI.
  • Began teaching at Brighton, learned about American and German large format photographers.
  • Invested in a large format (transitioned to digital in 2015).
  • Thought it was a bad idea, realised it was a good idea after, when people told him it was their idea.
  • Sold out in two weeks when it was made book of the week by The Observer.
  • ‘Place based project’ vague project. All photos connected to the sea, but didn’t have to contain the sea as the subject.

• Why 26 Different Endings was by far his hardest project.

• • Conceptual, completely different to his style.
  • Prefers to work anything he likes within a defined area.
  • Had to be on the line at the edge of the map

• Tips on sequencing

• • Work with physical prints
  • No one correct way in sequencing, but there are times where things are obvious.
  • If it doesn’t fit, get rid of it.

Nadia Ryder

The three main things I learned during Nadia’s talk:

1. Assisting a photographer is probably the most beneficial thing an early days photographer can do to start their career.
   • Best way to find assisting work is through Instagram, find the photographers you like or who inspire you, then contact them. Don’t be too sappy, and follow up only once.
   • Another option is to contact agencies, for example, Saint Luke.
2. Do your research.
   • Constantly check websites and publications for openings for internships, and be specific when it comes to contacting them as to what it is you are seeking.
3. Contact picture editors, art directors, or producers when looking for work.
   • For advertising work, carry a physical portfolio, and get used to printing work. Have a website and professional Instagram set up too.

Renaissance Photography Show – Getty Gallery

I like the idea behind this exhibition with it’s charitable roots – I think it’s a good way to raise awareness and money for the Lavender Trust breast cancer charity. As a space, I also liked the way the images were laid out. The Getty Gallery, in comparison to the Truman Brewery, is considerably smaller, so none of the work displayed looked as though it was lost by being placed a long distance away from anything else. I do feel at though the images could have been framed using a non reflective glass. With the more detailed images, such as Alain Schroeder’s above, it wasn’t as much of an issue, but there were some works which were much less detailed and had an overall light colour palette which was hard to pick up with the reflections of both myself and the gallery lights.

In terms of the work itself, there was a lot to offer – with work displayed from eighteen countries. The majority of the work (if not all, depending on how you view things), seemed to be documentary based, covering the issues such as ‘identity’ and ‘life’. Overall, I wasn’t particularly blown away by most of it, with most documentary work in my eyes being pretty similar; although there were a few images which focussed around the US-Mexico border wall, which I thought gave a much more personal and real insight into the issues that will be faced in that area.

The Photography Industry – Introduction

Those Involved With the Photography Industry

• Photographers
  • Freelancers
    • Pay taxes, employees etc
  • In House
• Editors
  • Choose images for publications
  • Employ freelancers
• Post Production
  • Retouching
• Curators
  • Belong to/own galleries.
  • Choose works for display
• Assistants
  • Photographers
  • Assist with lighting and props etc
• Buyers
• Agents
• Models
• Stylists
• Galleries
  • Prints/exhibitions
• Publishers
• Picture Libraries
• Equipment Hire/Studios/Location Finders
• Start Up Companies

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Different Types of Photography

• Food
• Product/Still Life
• Architecture
• Interior
• Portrait
• Street
• Landscape/Cityscape
• Analogue (35mm, Medium Format)
• Travel
• Wedding
• Sport
• Wildlife
• Underwater
• Aerial
• Advertising
• Forensics
• Boudior/Art Nude
• Fine Art

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the-aop.org

You can use the Association of Photographers website to search for photographers, assistants, agents, and affiliated courses and associate; refining results by area of expertise, experience level, and location.

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Professional Online Presence

It is important as a photographer to have a professional presence on the internet, to allow photographers to display both commissioned and personal work.

The main platforms that are recommended are Instagram and Twitter, on top of a personal website, but other the more platforms you use, the more likely you are to gain exposure.

Personally, I have an Instagram devoted to just photography, a Facebook business page (which I need to update more frequently), and, more recently, a website created through Squarespace, as a Flickr page. I am yet to create a professional Twitter page, however.

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