Join me as we talk about what Covid-19 has meant for our business and creative selves, tomorrow Thursday. Don’t forget to register, as it will enable you to ask questions.
Surprisingly, I’ve had assignments to help keep me busy. But staying safe and protecting others is always a concern, so we’ll be talking about that as well.
Look forward to having you join us!
Running a business will bring moments of truth. Mine came without warning after I voluntarily left my job 5 years ago as a staff photojournalist at the Chicago Tribune. A freelance opportunity had come up that seemed too good to be true. It would be years of regular work and position me well as a storyteller in advertising. I felt that I was ready, both creatively and business-wise, after years of freelance work in photography and video and many years on staff at the Tribune and the L.A. Times.
That opportunity was, indeed, too good to be true. In the rough-and-tumble worlds of mergers/acquisitions and advertising, what appeared to be a 3-year opportunity as a visual storyteller vaporized within a matter of months, to both my shock and that of the marketing director. Our carefully laid plans were thrown out the window and I found myself staring into an abyss, having cleared my schedule in preparation for this opportunity.
So where do you go from a moment like that? How do you survive and thrive in an industry of relentless competition where everyone claims to be a “storyteller”?
Join me and other speakers at the ASMP Chicago/Midwest Strictly Business Seminar this as we share our experiences, insights and much inspiration this January. Early bird pricing ends December 26.
I’m not in charge of the seminar, but I can almost guarantee that you will save a lot of money, and make more, by the advice that we give. Truly, I wish I could have shared these tips with my 2014 self. Someone get me a time machine for Christmas;-)
This week I had the opportunity to be on WGN 720AM with Andrea Darlas on her show, “Andrea and the Reporters”, where she interviewed former Tribune photojournalist Nancy Stone, photographer Will Byington and myself on a range of topics regarding our photography. Andrea (center, middle) is such a pro. Have you known someone so nice and so good at what they do that by the time you’re done with something that might stir some anxiety, you’re like, “Wow, that was too easy!”? We talked about storytelling, favorite pictures, why keeping your outtakes is so important, the kindness of strangers, and generally how our careers got started. It was a fun conversation. I hope you can put it on in the background this week sometime and give it a listen.
Just wanted to give a heads up that tomorrow, Saturday May 18, I’ll be speaking at the Prism Photo Workshop at Columbia College. If you can make it, I’d love to see you. I’ll be speaking at 11am for about an hour about how to take photojournalism and storytelling into other areas to expand your influence and business. I was added a few days ago to the keynote spot when my friend John White had to attend to a personal situation, hence the last minute notification.
For those interested, the Prism Photo Workshop was started by Michael Zajakowski, Alyssa Schuker and Michelle Kanaar with the mission to “provide resources and support for young photographers of diverse backgrounds to tell the stories of underrepresented people and communities with dignity.” We believe it is imperative that news organizations — and the journalists who represent them — are credible, diligent, and reflect our communities accurately and faithfully.”
Over 100 people have already signed up online, and you can do so too. Or you can show up at the door. Hope you can join us!
After many years on the street in Chicago as a photojournalist, one of the concerns that I heard consistently in underserved communities was the need not just for good jobs, but for opportunities for those getting out of jail. It made no sense to me that someone who paid the penalty for their crime and who wanted to rebuild their life would be denied that opportunity because of their jail record. So when I was approached to do to a video for Recipe for Change, it was meant to be.
Recipe for Change is a non-profit organization that provides mentoring and guidance to non-violent detainees in the jail and prison system through culinary, fine arts and life skills training. It operates an active educational program five days per week in the Cook County Jail. The heart of the program is Chef Bruno Abate, who received a “call from God” that led him to start the program. He doesn’t just give cooking advice, but life advice. An equal dose of inspiration.
Detainees can earn a certificate that sets them up to work in restaurants once they re-enter society. Those who go through the program don’t come back. It’s that effective. That, according to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, is very unusual. There are currently creating a program in the women’s jail.
The production team was comprised of myself, producer Kelly Sullivan, my co-creative partner Laura Husar Garcia and Johnny McGuire, who provided the aerial cinematography that you must see at the end.
If you know anyone who owns and operates restaurants or who would like to donate cooking equipment, please ask them to reach out to the organization through their website, recipeforchangeproject.org.
They could transform a life and change a family for generations.
More often than not when creating an image library for a corporation or organization, I am called upon to create portraits or headshots. It’s logical, since the library is often part of a more ambitious overhaul of a website and that includes the “About Us” page.
But because they don’t reside on the home page, these portraits don’t always receive the same creative consideration. You would expect that to be a creative goal to create consistency in branding, so I’m always prepared for that to be the case. My modus operandi has always been to answer the question, “What is the end goal here?”
This all comes to mind on two recent shoots, where careful consideration was, indeed, given to crafting a look for photos of individuals. In the top example for a healthcare company, the agency showed samples of different headshots, had discussions, and issued a creative brief. On set, the agency creative director and the company’s creative reviewed the images on the tethered laptop to make minor adjustments. The goal was more about color and light but not so saturated in color that it set up an odd pairing for the mature leadership. The background was different but similar, to account for what could be future photographs taken in other environments. Thematically, they had to work together without being identical.
In the lower example, the headshots were taken at a Working Not Working creative gathering. Discussions ahead of time were about how they should be a little more moody, muted with a dark background but not so dark as to create jarring juxtaposition with a smiling, happy person. It was to be more personal and intimate. Again, samples were offered but I was given the flexibility to bring whatever look I thought was appropriate within those guidelines. Practically speaking it was also very quick, since we were doing dozens of subjects and it was taken in a corner next to a crowded bar! But it was a crazy fun time.
Both were a success and an enjoyable experience, in part because of creative direction. To me, that element always been essential in order to align expectations. One reason there is a “Create PDF” link in the left column on my website is because it’s a very useful function in creating a mood board. Clicking on the image shows all the images in the website, allowing a person to create a PDF by selecting images that might pair with the creative look and feel they have in mind.
You would think after all this, the only thing missing from having photographs achieve a creative goal is to have creative direction. Yet unfortunately, the head-scratching truth is that there are photographers who don’t know how to follow a creative brief. I don’t get it. I was on a recent multi-city project where a very thorough creative brief was given to different photographers shooting in different cities. It called for a white background, even lighting but a light source not too hard, very shallow depth-of-field, a certain type of expression. Examples were given. I understood what was needed and rented equipment as appropriate to the project. Afterward, the project manager was happy with what I had done but circled back in a group email (mercifully bcc’d) in which he complained to the other photographers about their lack of follow-through while holding up my pictures as an example (with my name redacted so no one ended up hating me later). Honestly, I don’t say this to brag. How can you brag about something as basic as following directions?
This is perhaps fodder for a different post, but in the end, it appears to me that many photographers are not comfortable shooting outside their creative comfort zones. I understand this to some degree. There are natural instincts as a photographer that take over when faced with uncertainty on a shoot. You solve problems a certain way. You subtly adjust to repeat past success. The insecure impulses associated with a challenge can be hard to fight. But having been a generalist for much of my career in which I have been expected to emulate different looks for different editors over the years, I don’t get caught up with what I’ve done but what I need to do. As with the examples above, I echo what Gregory Heisler used to call the “appropriate response.”
So it’s a two-way street between a photographer and a creative director. It’s fantastic and a relief to have a brief written by someone used to directing photographers but it’s up to the photographer to read between the lines of any project description or brief to ask questions and offer synonyms for ambiguous words such as “candid” or “edgy” to get everyone closer to acting from a shared vocabulary.
The example here is portraits and headshots, nothing terribly complicated. But once expectations are aligned and creative flow is moving forward, it makes the process a lot more reassuring for everyone, no matter the size of the shoot.
I’m thrilled to announce that through the School of Visuals Arts and Kadenze online arts and technology courses, I’m co-teaching a program called Photographer to Video in Today’s Gig Economy. It’s for all those photographers who need focused and cohesive instruction (read: Kick in Butt:-)) as they add video to their skillsets, or reinvent themselves as video storytellers. This is a MUST DO, as I’ve told many photographers. My transition to being an independent freelancer was made possible with video as an option for my clients, and in many cases, the primary offering. I’m honored to be among distinguished faculty who are also co-teaching this course, including Eduardo Angel, Gail Mooney and Manuel Tejeda. The experience of teaching in front of a camera was new for me (reading a teleprompter to begin with!), but I got into the swing of it.
Why is this so important and why do I care? As I mentioned in my introductory video, I was once at a meeting with a room full of photographers when an agent asked how many photographers had transitioned to video. The room was packed. Maybe 5 hands went up in the room. I was stunned and sad, especially after seeing many photographers I know give up on their careers. Who could possibly miss the signs of the marketplace that point to video? I could go on, but that’s why I lay out some of the reasons in the first class. Of course every photographer wants to be the photographer that doesn’t have to shoot video, who wants to be recognized for their vision at such an order of magnitude that video is unnecessary. I understand that thinking, but uh, good luck with that, since even the topmost photographers in the industry have embraced video in a powerful way. It’s why I started my company Three Story Media. It’s about not just about video, it’s about scaling up video productions in general. But you have to start somewhere.
From the course description: “Today’s gig economy demands that creatives draw from a wide range of knowledge and frequently adapt to new tools and workflows. Having a strong foundation in photography is a good start, but having solid video production skills will expand the number and kind of jobs you can be hired for. Photographer to Video in Today’s Gig Economy provides five courses to give today’s digital photographer a working knowledge of video as well as projects to extend your portfolio. Starting with Camera Essentials, you will gain an understanding of the camera settings and gear that is used in professional DSLR and mirrorless video production. The second course, Working with Motion and Time is a deep dive from photography to videography and shows you how to think in motion, add motion where there is none, and control focus, light and sound. Sound Essentials is the third course and, as the name suggests, covers an entirely new dimension that can make or break your video work. Next, the Fundamentals of Video Production course will get you ready for your first shoot covering everything from storyboarding to managing the crew, location and lighting. Finally, in Fundamentals of Video Post-Production you will jump into the art of editing your work.”
This program starts with the basics, assuming you have a foundation of knowledge about and experience shooting digital photograph. So if you know little or have dabbled with video, or if you’ve learned video on your own and need some confirmation of what you’ve learned together with deeper insights by other faculty, I’m confident that this program is for you.
For those people who might want to take this class as evidence to a school or employer, the Kadenze program offers this: “Completion of a program or credit-eligible course appears on your Kadenze resume/portfolio, which can be valuable for presentation to potential employers, or schools to which you might apply.”
Here are the 5 courses that are part of my portion of the program. The first session is more of an essential overview, on the way to other meatier topics:
The program also offers a forum for students to interact with each other.
I’m hoping this program might be helpful for you, or someone you might know who would benefit. Please share as you might.
Thank you!
Alex
It’s the Fourth of July and there was a UAV flying over our town’s parade. Maybe he was taking a lead from that viral video of a drone flying through fireworks on the Fourth of July that made a stir awhile back. Was it a hobbyist flouting laws this time or a professional with permission? I was too busy selling lemonade for the Cub Scouts to investigate.
Either way, I’m hoping they’ve taken all the necessary precautions. As I grow my experience with UAVs, my caution has only grown. It’s not just about protecting your investment, it’s protecting people on the ground, including the pilot. I know of a photographer whose octocopter took a chunk of skin off his leg, to the extent that he’s written them off as “flying chainsaws.”
I’m sure others have more tips to add, but from what I’ve learned, here are 14 observations about how to avoid a drone crash that could do damage to yourself and others on your very first flight.
1. Treat Murphy’s Law as if it ends with heavy fines passed by the FCC. To avoid the worst that can happen, learn all you can about flying and your drone in particular. Consult all the manuals and follow all federal and local laws. The Know Before You Fly is a great website to start with. An educated pilot is a better pilot and a more skilled aerial photographer/videographer.
2. Don’t ever panic. The physiology of fear will cause you to either freeze up or freak out. I’ll never forget helping a friend fly a drone. When it started to veer away, he threw the controls in my hands and shrieked, “Get it under control!” It’s up to you to have steely nerves even when everyone around you is flipping out – not unlike Denzel Washington in the movie “Flight”. (Just don’t get coked up beforehand).
3. Eliminate reflections on your control screen. I’d suggest either using a hood, or even better, a non-reflective screen protector for your tablet or phone. Or both. Either way, I’ve had to make split-second or fast decisions while flying and making pictures. Making those crucial decisions while struggling with reflections is like trying to see the road at 65mph while driving into sunlight.
4. Remember that inasmuch as you should always fly line-of-sight (LOS), you can’t gauge the distance of obstacles from a distance. Always refer to the live view which you use for photos and video, but don’t trust that either. The wide angle view of the camera lens can fool you, the delay of transmission can delay imagery if you’re flying fast, and power lines can escape notice of your screen’s resolution until it’s too late.
5. If your flight path is straight, don’t assume you can fly UAV backwards to retreat safely. If your drone ever flies out of your LOS – never on purpose right? – there is a very good chance that, whether by wind or by controls, its flight path has subtly shifted. Flying it backwards in retreat could fly it right into an object you passed safely on the way out. I narrowly avoided making a drone into a Christmas ornament on a 100 foot tree this way.
6. Don’t rely on DJI’s safe flying website. It’s helpful, but if you want even more detail about determining safe flight paths, consult SkyVector.com. Yes, it really is intimidating, I totally agree, but we’re all pilots now.
7. Don’t fly over people, especially crowds. It may not be news yet, but the FAA has stepped up its enforcement of risky UAV behavior by making examples of those who flout laws, especially on the East Coast.
8. An obvious one, but don’t fly over places that might generate electromagnetic interference or interfere with signals to your craft. You don’t want to have switch flight modes mid-air when the GPS mode loses its bearings.
9. Set an appropriate altitude for the Return to Home or Failsafe mode of your drone. You don’t want your UAV to automatically fly into anything on the way back to the home point.
10. Moreover, make sure your home point is set correctly every time you fly. You don’t want the Return to Home function to send your drone to the home point from your last flight. Keep as much clear airspace around your home point, because the UAV won’t necessarily navigate automatically back to the precise spot of departure.
10. Wear bug spray before you fly outside. If you’re outside photographing in a rural area mosquitos will come over and feast on your hands and face while you’re trying to fly an expensive object in the air. It really can be a dangerous distraction.
11. Perform test runs in the days leading up to your flight. Update the flight app, calibrate the compass, the gimbal, the batteries and even the cardboard box if you could. You’ll likely find that there are new updates to firmware that could be useful or warning alerts you should investigate. I would check forums to see if there are complaints before you update because you know how that goes. You don’t want to be struggling to revert back to a previous version of system software on the day of a flight.
12. Batteries, batteries. Make sure they are securely positioned in the drone. Vibrations from flight have been know to exacerbate loose connections, causing a drone to lose power mid-flight. That would be a bad thing. Also make sure your batteries are retaining charge well. Checking up on your batteries every dozen flights is not a bad idea.
13. UAV’s can defy even those with the most experience, so resist the urge to be daring. The minute you get over-confident about its safety or your control is followed a few minutes later by the sounds of you screaming inside, “ABORT! ABORT!”
14. Avoid wildlife. I was flying once in a private nature area and a few birds parted from their flock to flirt with my drone. I’m hundreds of yards away and I was trying to shush it away like teenage boys from my daughter. “Go away! She’s not your type!”
15. Just like any vehicle, I would recommend not flying angry, drunk, scared, or with too much swagger.
16. I would also agree with what Know Before you Fly tweeted today on our nation’s holiday, “Leave the fireworks to the professionals this holiday weekend & keep your drone at home, #KnowBeforeYouFly on #July4”
I’m delighted to announce a new “motion” category on my site, starting with two videos recently completed for Richards Patent Law. You would think, a law firm? Yet this firm has an appreciation of visuals and most importantly, the power of storytelling.
They gave me the creative freedom to profile two of their very cool clients, Gramovox and Everpurse. Brand storytelling in the legal world. The videos will be part of a series called, “Behind the Idea” where viewers are given a backstory about the businesses and how RPL helped them protect and develop their innovations.
I’ve been asked, who did the interviews, storyboarding, creative direction, sound, video, editing, coloring and titles? Just me this time. Pete Noback narrowed down the music choices to find the right tempo for the pieces. Going forward, I’ll be collaborating with a crew, but I wanted to get a greater sense of all the needs of production for the coming series.
With my background as a photojournalist, this kind of storytelling is a natural fit. It’s not just telling a story. It’s figuring out what the best storyline and honing the elements to reach an intended audience, while determining visuals to illustrate the necessary concepts. It’s very gratifying to see video projects come together, and to experience wonderful serendipities of words and visuals during the editing process.
It’s not documentary in the sense of unvarnished reality, but for the ring of authenticity we stayed close to environments that are/were part of their natural experiences.
As you can imagine, when dealing with real people and not models – especially busy entrepreneurs, there’s not a whole lot of time for several repeated takes.
You make choices and work with what you have, or what you can imagine, to fill the gaps.
Below are the first videos in the series: