Month: December 2007

Two, actually, for the ASMP Strictly Business 2 tuition!

After drawing quite literally out of a hat:

…the winners of the SB2 tuition scholarships are Cheri Homaee of Ohio and Jim Bryant of Washington! Congratulations to Cheri and Jim!

Everything you always wanted to know about getting a rep, especially for fashion/editorial work, in one blog post.

There have been many posts lately on ASMP’s Pro/Student forum about pricing issues, like standardizing usage prices. I’ve been trying to offer my opinions while staying out of the fray, but I’m getting frustrated with some of the debate. People get very emotional about these issues and then it gets difficult for them to look at ideas dispassionately before jumping to conclusions about their merit, etc.

As readers here know, I think the idea of standardizing usage licensing prices is at the least interesting and worthy of further investigation. One of the arguments against it is that it isn’t done that way; another is that no one should get to dictate prices. I think neither of these attitudes is helpful in looking at possibilities.

The WGA is looking at new methods and models for pricing usage for the creative products of its members. They seem to understand that just because something wasn’t done that way in the past (or was done, sort of, but didn’t work in the past) doesn’t mean it might not work now. Why can’t we in the photo industry get that?

Life and business and technology (etc.) are changing at incredible speeds and we have to be willing to look at ideas openly in order to find best possibilities for us all. What was may not be now; or what was, then wasn’t, may be again. Who knows? But if we dig in our heels and say “This is the way it is done. Period” we’re going to be left on the side of the road with our egos intact and our businesses in shambles.

The other side of this coin are those people who say things like “Creative Commons licensing is here to stay so we have to accept giving away usage.” They are only seeing that one issue in monetizing creativity and basing everything on it. Equally but differently blindered, so to speak.

Today there are a billion outlets for creative material usage and each set of those uses may require different methodologies for pricing. Today sure as hell ain’t yesterday and tomorrow will be completely different, so you better wear a cup, as they say. But during this fundamental transitional period, we owe it to our businesses (and to the value of our creativity) to look at all the monetizing ideas possible–no matter how crazy or against the previous grain they might be–before rejecting any out of hand.

Then, if (huge if) any new methods gain endorsement from any of the major photo groups, each business owner will still get to pick her/his own way. Even if prices are standardized, no one will dictate them and no one will be forced to use the suggested standardized prices, for example. As always, it will be a choice. Just like today where photographer A uses FotoQuote to price a gig while photographer B throws in all rights for a tiny sum–each makes his her own choice and lives with the consequences.

But as a group, we can and should look at what the changes in media and technology bring to the table. New methods for monetization are certainly possible if not probable. Let’s see what our best minds can come up with. After all, they said no one would ever pay $4 for a cup of coffee (Starbucks) or buy books online (Amazon), and Google has broken every “rule” about monetizing anything and made one hell of a business.

Grey NYC moved a department to the second floor…from offices with a view to a cubicle farm. A creative director there responds in this hilarious homage to Sinead O’Connor. (Thanks Åsk for the link!)

What a weekend! The ASMP SB2 core team (Judy Herrmann, Susan Carr, Richard Kelly, John Harrington, Blake Discher and me) got together in Los Angeles to practice and refine our presentations, workshops…pretty much everything about the upcoming events. We worked our butts off–we’re trying to fit in a hell of a lot of information into a 2-day event–but I think it’s really coming together and will be fantastic.

Everyone on the team is trying to get not only as much information as possible out there to the audience, but also taking the time to flesh out important things like copyright, paperwork, negotiations, and in my case, the steps to building a marketing plan. The Sunday morning negotiations practicum/roll-plays will be a great opportunity for photographers to practice without fear and the afternoon workshops will fill brains to capacity.

Add in the great keynotes by either Sean Kernan or Joyce Tenneson and all the time to talk and learn beyond the formal events (like the casual lunches together and evening receptions) and, well, I can’t tell you how excited I am about it! Totally geeking out….yup, that’s me. 🙂

People are already signing up from all over (I know of one photographer from Alaska who is coming to the LA event and a couple from North Carolina for the Atlanta one, for example) and the mini-consultations offered through ASMP are very popular add-ons. I’ve already booked several post-event meetings (I’m doing longer format Test Drives the Monday after each SB2 event in each city)…and all this is weeks before the first event and months before the others! (C’mon, you know how photographers often wait until the last second before signing up for things like this…)

If you haven’t signed up yet, get to it. And remember to book your hotel room too (to ensure getting a special rate and being on-site for the whole weekend–for that extra time together and networking).

This is going to be great…