16
May 11
Do I need an photographer agent?
So many photographers ask me if I have an agent, and if they need an agent. So I figured I would answer here on my blog for all to read.
Do you need an agent?
This is the first question you should ask yourself. Now most of you may be thinking, YA I do, I’m not getting enough work. Unfortunately its not that easy. Photographer agencies are few and far between. Not only that, the most I’ve ever seen an agency represent is 10 photographers. The odd thing is, I’ve also noticed that they will only take you if you are extremely successful, because they have to make money form you. Now you ask…If I’m “extremely successful” why would I need an agent? That, I do not have the answer to. It’s just the way it works. An agency will never invest in you if you are starting out and will not make them money. I’m sure if it was your agency, you would agree.
When I started to get approached by agents, my feeling was very mixed. I was flattered and excited because, as I stated above, they are extremely picky. At the same time, I felt like….why do I need you? Why should I give you 20% of everything I make if I’m doing fine on my own. In thinking about it, the conclusion I came up with is that most photographers that get agents are already successful, and so successful they don’t want to deal with clients any more. They wanna show up, do the job and get paid. I refused most the agent offers that came to me until I found the right one. And I found an agent that was willing to make a deal with me. If I find myself the work, I get all the money. If he finds me the job, he gets his 20%. Believe it or not, that’s not how most agencies work. They normally get 20% of all your contracts. Not everyone is ready for that.
So I’m not sure if I answered any of your questions, but for those of you that think you need an agent to be successful, that’s not the case. Millions of top photographers around the world don’t have agents and they are doing just fine. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter if you use Nikon or Canon, PC or Mac, have and agent or not have one, what matters at the end of the day if your skill, professionalism, quality of work and natural born talent.
12
May 11
Desert Shoot with no desert? How?
Fashion Editorial L’Officiel Feb 2010
So for a few years now I’ve been inspired by these breathtaking fashion shoot in vast isolated deserts. Being a photographer from Montreal, Canada, deserts are few and far between around these parts. See as this would be a personal project, possibly for a magazine, I dont have the budget to fly me and my team to Vegas or Dubai! So….Photoshop to the rescue! Ive been doing research on mimicking sunlight and also matching sunlight in a photo with artificial light. So I will attempt a desert shoot in my studio this week. With a little photoshop magic of course. Stay tuned for the shots!
02
May 11
Photo Scam Warning -David Lescott
I had to re-post this as it happened to me just recently. I caught on to it right away! But Warrent Toda’s blog posting confirmed it for me. here is his post, visit his site for more.
Originally posted by: Warrent Toda on: www.warrentoda.com
There are several e-mail scams aimed at photographers. Most start with an e-mail saying that the person came upon the photographer’s web site and loved the pictures. The person has some sort of urgent photo assignment in the photographer’s area and would like to hire the photographer. The person will offer to pay in advance.
If the photographer falls for this, the scammer will send a payment cheque for far too much money. When the honest photographer points out the discrepency, the scammer will apologize for the mistake and ask the photographer to refund the excess money as quickly as possible. The trusting photographer will send a “refund” cheque or money order. The scammer’s original cheque will later bounce and the photographer will lose whatever money they sent to the scammer.
One version of this scam is that the person is getting married in the photographer’s area and would like to hire the photographer to shoot the wedding. The scammer will offer to pay in advance and in full.
Another version which I received today:
“Hello
My name is David lescott,i am a Freelance modeling agent working under instyle Magazine,i came across your profile while surfing on the internet it’s really great and i will like to do some work with you, I got a fashion outfit which will be coming up in the United States between 4th- 7th may 2011,so get back to me for more details,if you are interested in this job because it is urgent.
i look forward to reading from you soon
David.”
Note the generic greeting and the bad spelling/grammar, both of which are common in these scam e-mails. Also, the e-mail was not sent directly to my address but only bcc’d to me. If you’ve ever worked for a fashion magazine, you’ll know that none of the information makes any sense.
A quick web search shows that a few other photographers have received this same or similar e-mail over the past two years.
