Considering advertising, personal shoots and projects, how much unpaid work is there in the life of a photographer? Annotated BibliographiesAnnotated Bibliography 1
In James Sey’s, “Photographing a South African Sudden Death,” he speaks about the different perspectives and reactions of a photograph. Sey displays two photographs from the different perspectives of two photographers of dead bodies after a group of murderers attacked some anti-apartheid people. The first one mentioned only gives a little bit of insight into what was in the photograph. All that is visible are two bodies with only their heads and a little bit of torso showing. The second one is from behind the bodies. Both bodies are visible, and the reader can see the face of one of the murdered victims. Sey also compares the captions of the photos. The first one is informative, and not very descriptive. The second caption is very descriptive and informative. The second also hits the reader hard with the use of pathos by using descriptive words and making the photo more relatable to it’s audience. Sey says that the first one can be easily overlooked by the reader because it’s just a picture with some information. The second one, however, makes your emotions stir inside of you. The first photograph is just for information, and the second photograph is to make the audience feel bad for the anti-apartheid people. The article mentions what the current time period is like compared to when the photographs were taken in 1985. Currently, our world is desensitized because we see photographs like that every day. Gruesome images can be found in the movies we watch, the books we read, social media, and even in our imaginations due to people’s words, radios, and the music we listen to. The article gives proof of this by giving the example of the origin of “Youth Day.” A photographer publicized a photo of a twelve-year old boy dying after being shot by security police trying to escape during an uprising in South Africa. The photo caught the hearts of good people who stepped in to help, and the photo is now looked at as a sign of freedom and hope. Even though there are many problems in the world today, it takes a photographer to bring it to life so people see what’s actually going on. Sey says that everyone in our society wants to hide the bad things and sugarcoat the reality of death, and how that’s not the truth of real life. “Death must be somewhere in a society; if it is no longer (or less intensely) in religion, then it must be elsewhere, perhaps in this image which produces Death while trying to preserve Life”(Sey 113). This means that our society has sugarcoated the bad things in life, and that in a photograph is where you’ll find truth and reality. Annotated Bibliography 2 In Steve’s Digicams website’s article, 4 Tips for Advertising your Photography, different types of advertising for photographers are discussed. It is not entirely necessary for a photographer to advertise their company, but if they want growth in their business advertisement is everything. The first type of advertising mentioned in the article is “Local Businesses.” By contacting local businesses and offering to take pictures for them, photographers are putting their names out into the open for other companies to see. Companies can advertise a photographer’s pictures by placing them around the store where customers can view them. Clothing companies like J.R. Criders hire photographers to snap shots of people wearing their clothing. J.R. Criders pays for the photographs, and then they use them for advertising through billboards, pictures in the store, and social media. The second type of advertising mentioned in the article is, “At the Event.” By photographing different events in the community, a photographer can advertise themselves while snapping photos and around potential customers in the area. Photographing sports events, weddings, etc. puts a photographer among tons of potential customers. The article also advises having plenty of business cards when attending these events. You never know how many people at these large events will want to know your business. The third type of advertising mentioned in the article is, “Facebook.” Using social media to advertise puts the photographer in front of an unlimited audience. It allows people to look through your pictures and see if you are a successful photographer. The fourth and final type of advertising mentioned in the article is, “Promotions.” Promotions are special offers on photo sessions. Discounts will bring customers in because everyone loves to save money.An example of a discount is mentioned in the article: “first photo session discount.” Overall, this article shows different types of unpaid work a photographer needs to complete in order to have a successful business. Annotated Bibliography 3 In Nicole Crowder’s, Stunning photography projects earn top honors from Visura, she makes it clear that it takes many unnoticed projects to be a successful photographer. Alvaro Laiz, the winner of the Visura grant, expressed his difficulty in becoming a well-known photo-journalist. Laiz was jubilant due to winning the Visura grant because it felt good to be recognized when a lot of projects weren’t even looked at before. It is a challenge for a photographer to get his/her name out in the open. It requires several unnoticed and unpaid projects like Laiz said in the article. “As a photographer I am used to struggling to fund and promote my personal photo essays”(Crowder(Laiz)). Laiz was recognized as the Visura Grant winner in 2015 for his project, “The Hunt,” featuring the Udege people in Russia. He had been focusing on the project for six years before he actually went to Russia and began work on it. Laiz spent six years planning and trying to fund his personal project. His perseverance through this long and difficult project, and the many other little projects he had done paid off in the end for winning the grant. The Visura company is a creative company that recognizes the struggles of rising artists. Visura created contests, grants, and recognitions in order to get artists out where big corporations can see them. “In a crowded industry where long-term personal projects often go unfunded or unrecognized by mainstream media outlets, Visura has hung its hat on the mission of helping photographers get hired and be paid for their works by multiple media outlets”(Crowder). Interview |
Emma Stuart: How long did it take you to become well-known in the community?
Logan Simmons: It took me around 2 years of advertising by word-of-mouth and social media to become a common name in the tri-county area!
ES: How many personal projects have you conducted in the past?
LS: I've done about 5 large projects, and dozens of mini-session projects over the course of about 5 years.
ES: How much were you paid from your first client?
LS: My very first wedding client paid me $250! My first family session paid me $50 and bought me dinner. :-)
ES: Have you ever done free sessions to advertise your business?
LS: Yes, I do that often! It's a great way to advertise, especially using new faces. That easily reaches more people!
ES: Do you use social media to grow your audience of clients?
LS: In the past 6 years, I've used social media as an advertisement outlet, yes. For the last year, i've preferred becoming more personable to my client, and chose to take a break from the social media side of my business. It really benefited my relationships with my clients, and my priorities straightened out drastically.
ES: Do you volunteer to photograph at community events?
LS: Yes, recently I photographed Night To Shine at Hopewell Baptist for free.
ES: Do you volunteer to take pictures for community events?
LS: I LOVEEE to volunteer for awesome causes!!
ES: Have you ever had your photographs used for other companies advertisements?
LS: Yes! One example is Georgia's Own Credit Union.
ES: Do you ever lower prices/make deals/create contests as a marketing strategy?
LS: Yes, and that is an excellent way to grab social attention for your business. People love flash sales, lowered prices for shorter sessions, or drawings! Also, its a fun way for the community to get involved.
ES: What would you recommend me to do to grow my client audience?
LS: Keep God first! It doesn't matter if you take the best photos in town and have the best prices, your ability to love people will stand out most. I pray about my business and I know God controls my platform. Be kind to everyone, be timely about getting your work to clients, and make an effort to be personal with them!! You'll do wonderful.
Logan Simmons: It took me around 2 years of advertising by word-of-mouth and social media to become a common name in the tri-county area!
ES: How many personal projects have you conducted in the past?
LS: I've done about 5 large projects, and dozens of mini-session projects over the course of about 5 years.
ES: How much were you paid from your first client?
LS: My very first wedding client paid me $250! My first family session paid me $50 and bought me dinner. :-)
ES: Have you ever done free sessions to advertise your business?
LS: Yes, I do that often! It's a great way to advertise, especially using new faces. That easily reaches more people!
ES: Do you use social media to grow your audience of clients?
LS: In the past 6 years, I've used social media as an advertisement outlet, yes. For the last year, i've preferred becoming more personable to my client, and chose to take a break from the social media side of my business. It really benefited my relationships with my clients, and my priorities straightened out drastically.
ES: Do you volunteer to photograph at community events?
LS: Yes, recently I photographed Night To Shine at Hopewell Baptist for free.
ES: Do you volunteer to take pictures for community events?
LS: I LOVEEE to volunteer for awesome causes!!
ES: Have you ever had your photographs used for other companies advertisements?
LS: Yes! One example is Georgia's Own Credit Union.
ES: Do you ever lower prices/make deals/create contests as a marketing strategy?
LS: Yes, and that is an excellent way to grab social attention for your business. People love flash sales, lowered prices for shorter sessions, or drawings! Also, its a fun way for the community to get involved.
ES: What would you recommend me to do to grow my client audience?
LS: Keep God first! It doesn't matter if you take the best photos in town and have the best prices, your ability to love people will stand out most. I pray about my business and I know God controls my platform. Be kind to everyone, be timely about getting your work to clients, and make an effort to be personal with them!! You'll do wonderful.
My Research
Considering advertising, personal shoots and projects, how much unpaid work is there in the life of a photographer?
What I Need To Know
When everyday people go through a special event in their life, such as, a first birthday, a 50th anniversary, or senior pictures, they always have a split second thought of, “Should I get pictures made for that?” Some people’s thought process stops right after that question, and some people’s grow until they’ve figured out everything, including the search for a suitable photographer. People go to websites, social media, ads in newspapers and magazines, and they try to find a photographer that fits their style. They look at all of your previous pictures to get to know your style. In order to be successful and reach a bigger audience I need to know how many personal projects I’ll have to complete. Which leads me to my essential question I’ve been trying to find an answer to: Considering advertising, personal shoots and projects, how much unpaid work is there in the life of a photographer?
What I Know or Assume
Before starting my research, I already had a little bit of knowledge on my topic. I’ve owned my own camera for five years, and I’ve been growing as a photographer ever since I got it. I taught myself the basics of taking a picture, but I never knew how to get myself out into the world using my pictures. I naively imagined that all photographers simply started out fantastic. I knew that all photographers had hard times when they accidentally schedule two people for the same time, have creative block, or simply get overwhelmed with an overload of work, but I never thought about the years they went through trying to get their name out there. I needed to find out how much unpaid work goes into making a photography business successful.
My Search
In order to find the answer to my essential question, I read and analyzed several articles, and I conducted an interview with a well known photographer. To begin with, I wrote three annotated bibliographies over articles I analyzed that pertained to my essential question. The first article discussed the different points of view of a photographed situation by different photographers. “Death must be somewhere in a society; if it is no longer (or less intensely) in religion, then it must be elsewhere, perhaps in this image which produces Death while trying to preserve Life”(Sey 113). This article helped me see the power a photograph has, and gave me insight into two different types of successful photographers that show different things. The second article gave me insight into the different types of advertisement for a photographer. The main idea of the article was to know your audience. “Social networking websites offer an unlimited audience. Thus, you can reach a number of customers which may be interested in your work”(Steve’s Digicams). This article gave me insight into what kind of projects and things I need to become apart of in order to be a successful photographer. I also conducted an interview with my mentor, Logan Simmons, and she described free sessions as, “a great way to advertise, especially using new faces,” that “easily reaches more people!” However, when it came to advertisement by social media she described six years of getting her name out into the community, and one year of fasting from the media after six years of growth in order to connect with her clients in a more personal way. Simmons says, “It really benefited my relationships with my clients, and my priorities straightened out drastically.” The final article I analyzed gave me a greater understanding of how difficult it is for a photographer to become noticed. The article spoke of an organization that was formed to help young photographers get their name out into the world. The article explains how difficult the process is. “ As a photographer I am used to struggling to fund and promote my personal photo essays”(Crowder(Laiz)). This article showed me that it’s common for young photographers to struggle, and that it is necessary to work diligently on personal projects in order to be successful.
What I Discovered
After concluding my research, I found an answer to my question: considering advertising, personal shoots and projects, there is a lot of unpaid work in the life of a photographer. I had a preconceived notion that a lot of unpaid work is a negative part of being a photographer, but I’ve learned that it isn’t. Researching my essential question and growing as a photographer myself, I have learned to love taking pictures for free, and coming up with challenging, but fun, projects to do. Not getting paid does not bother me, it’s the thought that I won’t be able to get through the first couple years of non-stop work. It’s that fear that has brought me to my essential question. I discovered that all photographers go through rough spots in their careers. Starting a business is usually the first difficult thing all photographers go through. My mentor, and many other photographer’s biographies I’ve read have all talked about the struggles of starting a business. It requires breaking your comfort zone, being confident, many nights of contemplating quitting, and lots of time working on unpaid work. Photographers also go through rough patches in the middle of owning a business due to being overworked, having relevance in modern society, and messing up. I’ve discovered that being a photographer requires a lot of extra work. Although, it can be troubling sometimes, my mentor has taught and shown me through experiences that it is worth it to push through.
What I Need To Know
When everyday people go through a special event in their life, such as, a first birthday, a 50th anniversary, or senior pictures, they always have a split second thought of, “Should I get pictures made for that?” Some people’s thought process stops right after that question, and some people’s grow until they’ve figured out everything, including the search for a suitable photographer. People go to websites, social media, ads in newspapers and magazines, and they try to find a photographer that fits their style. They look at all of your previous pictures to get to know your style. In order to be successful and reach a bigger audience I need to know how many personal projects I’ll have to complete. Which leads me to my essential question I’ve been trying to find an answer to: Considering advertising, personal shoots and projects, how much unpaid work is there in the life of a photographer?
What I Know or Assume
Before starting my research, I already had a little bit of knowledge on my topic. I’ve owned my own camera for five years, and I’ve been growing as a photographer ever since I got it. I taught myself the basics of taking a picture, but I never knew how to get myself out into the world using my pictures. I naively imagined that all photographers simply started out fantastic. I knew that all photographers had hard times when they accidentally schedule two people for the same time, have creative block, or simply get overwhelmed with an overload of work, but I never thought about the years they went through trying to get their name out there. I needed to find out how much unpaid work goes into making a photography business successful.
My Search
In order to find the answer to my essential question, I read and analyzed several articles, and I conducted an interview with a well known photographer. To begin with, I wrote three annotated bibliographies over articles I analyzed that pertained to my essential question. The first article discussed the different points of view of a photographed situation by different photographers. “Death must be somewhere in a society; if it is no longer (or less intensely) in religion, then it must be elsewhere, perhaps in this image which produces Death while trying to preserve Life”(Sey 113). This article helped me see the power a photograph has, and gave me insight into two different types of successful photographers that show different things. The second article gave me insight into the different types of advertisement for a photographer. The main idea of the article was to know your audience. “Social networking websites offer an unlimited audience. Thus, you can reach a number of customers which may be interested in your work”(Steve’s Digicams). This article gave me insight into what kind of projects and things I need to become apart of in order to be a successful photographer. I also conducted an interview with my mentor, Logan Simmons, and she described free sessions as, “a great way to advertise, especially using new faces,” that “easily reaches more people!” However, when it came to advertisement by social media she described six years of getting her name out into the community, and one year of fasting from the media after six years of growth in order to connect with her clients in a more personal way. Simmons says, “It really benefited my relationships with my clients, and my priorities straightened out drastically.” The final article I analyzed gave me a greater understanding of how difficult it is for a photographer to become noticed. The article spoke of an organization that was formed to help young photographers get their name out into the world. The article explains how difficult the process is. “ As a photographer I am used to struggling to fund and promote my personal photo essays”(Crowder(Laiz)). This article showed me that it’s common for young photographers to struggle, and that it is necessary to work diligently on personal projects in order to be successful.
What I Discovered
After concluding my research, I found an answer to my question: considering advertising, personal shoots and projects, there is a lot of unpaid work in the life of a photographer. I had a preconceived notion that a lot of unpaid work is a negative part of being a photographer, but I’ve learned that it isn’t. Researching my essential question and growing as a photographer myself, I have learned to love taking pictures for free, and coming up with challenging, but fun, projects to do. Not getting paid does not bother me, it’s the thought that I won’t be able to get through the first couple years of non-stop work. It’s that fear that has brought me to my essential question. I discovered that all photographers go through rough spots in their careers. Starting a business is usually the first difficult thing all photographers go through. My mentor, and many other photographer’s biographies I’ve read have all talked about the struggles of starting a business. It requires breaking your comfort zone, being confident, many nights of contemplating quitting, and lots of time working on unpaid work. Photographers also go through rough patches in the middle of owning a business due to being overworked, having relevance in modern society, and messing up. I’ve discovered that being a photographer requires a lot of extra work. Although, it can be troubling sometimes, my mentor has taught and shown me through experiences that it is worth it to push through.
SOURCES:
Crowder, Nicole. "Stunning Photography Projects Earn Top Honors from Visura." The Washington Post. WP Company, 14 Aug. 2014. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.
"4 Tips for Advertising Your Photography." 4 Tips for Advertising Your Photography - Steve's Digicams. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2017.
Sey, James. Critical Arts: A South-North Journal of Cultural & Media Studies. 2015 Supplement, Vol. 29, p104-115. 12p. 2 Black and White Photographs. DOI: 10.1080/02560046.2015.1102260. , Database: MasterFILE Elite
Crowder, Nicole. "Stunning Photography Projects Earn Top Honors from Visura." The Washington Post. WP Company, 14 Aug. 2014. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.
"4 Tips for Advertising Your Photography." 4 Tips for Advertising Your Photography - Steve's Digicams. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2017.
Sey, James. Critical Arts: A South-North Journal of Cultural & Media Studies. 2015 Supplement, Vol. 29, p104-115. 12p. 2 Black and White Photographs. DOI: 10.1080/02560046.2015.1102260. , Database: MasterFILE Elite