Kim Saltmarsh
Often, when professional people come to me to have me create their portrait, they have a vision in mind of what they want me to do that can be somewhat rigid and I think, stifling to both parties. Obviously, some organizations and the roles that some people play in their professional lives dictate a certain style of portrait. That's not always true however, even though the individual may feel that it is.
I certainly do create traditional "head shots" for corporate executives and other professional people, but given the opportunity, I am more than happy to try to break the mold and create something more interesting. I blogged a while back ("Got Style") about several people who were more than willing to be interesting, and it showed in their photos.
Over the last year or so, I have been working on magazine articles with Kim Saltmarsh who, along with her writing jobs, is a morning radio voice at WCAP in Lowell, as well as a TV Pledge Anchor at WGBH-TV in Boston. So I suggested to her that, rather than do something expected, we do something more that would show her personality. I have done this with people from many professions too, not just media professionals, but I thought that exploring a dignified but fun approach would be worth doing in Kim's case. I think it works!
Business
Got Style
I have just finished a couple of very intense weeks of shooting and am trying to collect my thoughts and analyze what parts of that work really 'worked' for me. What was it on a particular assignment that felt right, or didn't?
It's really about style. Do I have one? What is it like? I know that there are things that I want to show and say, and when I shoot, if I have those things in my mind and am successful in making photographs that bring those things to life, I am happy. I know that I have done something. I know that that's my style. It may not be my style a few years from now, nor was it my style a few years ago, but it is today. I need to have a connection to the idea and to the subject and the rest is making art.
That's why I love to work with subjects and clients who want me to create photographs for them that are in my style. It's simply a matter of creating the environment and working with the subject to make my ideas into reality. I'm happy, and when they see the results, they are happy. That's what it's about.
If you're being hired because you are a photographer, but the client is simply looking for a commodity shot, and not what floats your boat, take your life jacket! (sorry ;-) You may be a capable, competent professional, but if it's not the kind of work that you feel is your style, think twice. It will probably work out perfectly well! But will you be happy?
This is why we specialize. Right? You want your visibility to reflect where you want to go, not wherever you might have been, unless of course you've been on the right track for a while. I don't think Coca-Cola is inclined to show images of their famous mistake, "New Coke", in their marketing materials. Like most/all photographers, we have have several of those efforts somewhere on our hard drives, but they probably should stay there. Your style is you and you want people to want you to create for them what you do best. I like to create interesting, informal studio portraits in my small space in Lowell, but I also really enjoy location portraits, which anyone who does this kind of shooting knows, come with a whole bunch of logistical fun, but the results can be worth it many times over. But it's important that I show that kind of work because it is my style, what I love to shoot, and what I want people to want me to create for them.
A Family Business
I worked on a story last month for the Merrimack Valley Magazine, written by Kathleen Pierce, about culinary "hidden haunts" in the valley. One of the places that I really enjoyed was Coté's Market, on Salem Street in Lowell. The small, family owned and operated market is a lot like the little stores that my father used to frequent when I was growing up. My father was always on a first-name basis with the owner and they would typically converse in French while I stood in my Anglophone daze. Many of us are a couple of generations away from our Québec roots here in Massachusetts, so English it is, but I experienced the same something in my interactions with the father and son team of Roger and Kurt Levasseur and the rest of their team. They seem to know their customers by name and they went out of their way to make me feel comfortable.
Then there is the food.
In her article, Kathleen appropriately praises the killer baked beans that the Levasseurs make, which 
Here are more shots of the market taken as Kurt showed off this place, of which he is so proud. Coté's is located at 175 Salem Street, in Lowell, Massachusetts.
The (money) Machine
A few weeks ago I was assigned an editorial portrait of Mad Man and film maker Erik Proulx for a magazine article on people who have "survived" layoffs. The article, for Merrimack Valley Magazine, focused on several people who have chosen to thrive in spite, or maybe because of their experiences in being jettisoned from the corporate world. Erik allowed me to see one of his films, Lemonade, which, at the extreme risk of sounding patronizing, really REALLY resonated with me. While never having experienced a layoff, I was one of those people in a cubicle farm working just to make a living so that I could continue to work.
Erik Proulx
I was very happy for many years doing the corporate peon thing. It paid very well after all! But after several corporate takeovers, the last company for which I worked was bought by the mother of all corporations in its field. I tried to make the best of it. I even remember being Mr. Pollyanna at the big meeting where they told us how much worse our benefits were going to be. The culture set in after a while though and I went through several years of being miserable. I know, many people would kill for a job like that one, or even any job at all. I told myself that every day. I had no right to complain. My wife always reminds me of the day that she came home to find me with my forehead on the desk in front of the computer. We both knew that I was done. With her support and encouragement, I was going to get out of there. It was over for me and The Borg.
It has been an interesting transition however, and in spite of palpable ups and downs, things seem to get better every year. I wasn't laid off but I did lay myself off. So many of the people in Erik's excellent film were speaking my language. Things can be tough at times, but like them, I have no regrets.
Get Erik's film! See his blog here: http://www.pleasefeedtheanimals.com/about-me/
Spring Cleaning of the Mind
Is it a headshot, or is it a portrait? I get a fair number of calls from people looking for a headshot. They are often business people who are told that they need to get a headshot taken for their employer's web site, or they are in business for themselves and they are working with a professional to improve their branding and on-line presence. They are often actors or musicians too, who need a headshot in order to audition. But this "headshot" thing... I think the term is complicit in the dumbing down of the concept in popular perception. If all they needed was a shot of their head, the arm's length iPhone self-portrait would do (or should I call it a self-headshot? Self-inflicted headshot?), as would scanning their driver's license photo, although there may be copyright issues there ;-) Clearly, neither approach would be acceptable to a casting director or a marketing/branding consultant.
The ease with which we can all create digital photographs of exceptional technical quality has made professional photography a difficult pursuit. Consequently, there are many photographers who, out of desperation I think, will be willing to do a $20 headshot. I will not. Art can never be a commodity. Once it becomes a commodity it cedes its place as art. A professional must value himself or herself as an artist.
Now there is nothing in the slightest wrong with a traditional approach to a headshot. In fact, many purposes for what a headshot is used have specific requirements and norms for such shots. That being said, artistry does matter. An artist will fulfill the client's requirements and then go the extra distance to make the session matter. Other artists, such as performers, are easier to convince, but it's often difficult to persuade business people of the value of really great photography, especially when they are the subject. But when you see or think of the best kinds of business branding and marketing, the photography is never mundane or perfunctory. It's extraordinary and special. It's art.
If you have read some of my previous posts you may recognise a couple of these people. Some of these "headshots" were done in the course of doing environmental portraits for them. But these headshots are portraits just the same! They are unique and in each case I have made an attempt to bring out the personality in each individual while creating an esthetically pleasing experience. A photographer who cares and who values his or her work and artistic sensibilities is worth investing in.
Location Portrait Photography That Tells a Story
I love working with professional people who understand the value of story telling with their on-line photography. This executive wanted a traditional head-shot for certain applications, but also wanted a series of location portraits that would tell a story about who he is, what he does and would present a professional, sophisticated image. Photographing at an office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the goal was to show him instructing and interacting with his clients, as well as simple portraits in an office environment that would convey his professionalism and friendliness.
What's The Difference?
As a freelancer, two of my roles in this operation are marketing and sales. I hear all of the experts: branding blah blah blah differentiation blah blah blah engaging blah blah blah. Can you hear it? Obviously that's all important and unless I or someone I hire does that for me, I will be a very lonely freelancer indeed. It's a given that exposure to the right audience is essential. There is a ton of advice out there on the tubes of the internets as to how to go about making that happen.
If 5 photographers make themselves visible to a potential client through their effective marketing and sales efforts, and they all seem to be the same in the eyes of that potential client, which one does she choose? (If no one raises their hand I will have to call on someone!) The answer is: they choose one at random, or one who answers their email request for a bid. Clearly, there are other factors that, in the real world, come into play such as a usable web site, as opposed to one that re-sizes the browser, plays music, has slippery, ever moving and morphing navigation controls that scream: GET ME OUT OF HERE! What other factors might make a potential client choose one photographer over another, all things seeming equal? Proximity of the photographer, referrals and references, the consistent message put forth in their web presence, etc.
Have I led you up to the precipice of the obvious yet? What's the real differentiator? Remember, if no one raises their hand... Answer: It's the work! Photographer Nick Onken has written a good piece here that you should take a look at, BUT COME BACK! http://nickonken.com/blog/2011/01/the-quality-diversity-of-your-product.html
People have a penchant for sameness much of the time. Kids don't want to be different. It seems to be an instinct at some point in our human development. At times it does makes sense to emulate success. That's clearly valuable as a learning tool. I think where it becomes destructive is when it is a mantra, such as the misguided conventional wisdom that standardized testing of school children is going to generate a well educated population. I can tell you that if there had been a standardized test to graduate from high school when I was that age, I might still be there now trying to pass it. But say such a methodology were to be successful. What has been accomplished? Millions of identically informed people who have never been encouraged to be different, to think critically or to be creative. There's a prescription for success...
*If you are not sure of what I am referring to at the asterisk, please call my friend Selina Maitreya, or read one of her books! http://selinamaitreya.com/
I have sprinkled this post with some recent work that I like, for no other reason than to show it. Plus getting it out there will force me to go out and create more :-) So here are even more!
Worth Waiting For
in Business, People, Technology
I love shooting for magazines. One of the tough things about doing this kind of work though is the waiting. Creating a magazine that has lots of interesting, fresh and original content takes time, money and personnel. So waiting for a magazine that you've worked on to hit the streets can be difficult for those who participated.
In early December I was asked to do a cover story photo shoot for a brand new magazine, published by EH Publishing, in Framingham, Massachusetts. What made it really nice was that the cover that I was to do was for the premier issue of a new publication that they were creating, Commercial Integrator. It's a specialty magazine for "Professional integrators who design, sell, service, and install commercial integration products for small and medium size businesses".
Video - Everyone is Doing It!
If everyone was doing <insert your favorite bad activity>, would you do it too? How many times were you asked that as a kid? Or maybe you were the asker. Don't make me stop this car!
I have been reading for a year or so how, thanks to the great video capabilities that are now available in DSLRs, still photographers really need to do video. I guess my reaction was, I don't NEED to do anything. The comments made were to the effect that we needed to do this, or else give it up. I have a visceral reaction to statements like that. All television will be in 3D pretty soon. Um, no. I'm all set in the glasses department, and I generally don't watch "action" shows. So my feeling was no, I don't need to do video; unless I want to.
So here we are. I have been experimenting with video production. You can see my YouTube channel here. My first attempt was to do a walk-around through the building where my studio is located, taking still shots every few feet, and streaming them all together with the Windows Movie Maker to the strains of Flight of the Bumblebee. Wee! It's kind of entertaining, but probably of little practical value. It therefore boasts my biggest hit count. My second was another stop-action video, this time telling the story of an in-studio portrait shoot. While not the blockbuster that my first one was, it is pretty cool and well liked. The music is better too!
Well finally, a real "motion" picture to my credits! I was doing an environmental portrait shoot for a client of mine who happens to be a marketing and branding professional, Anya Downing of Engage Marketing and Design, of Georgetown, Massachusetts. We started to talk about possibly leveraging her photos for more than just her own professional branding, creating a video and a white-paper. So off we went. The shoot was actually months ago, and I have held back showing the photos until now. We worked on the video during the Christmas/New Year break, with Linda Williamson, who did the actual videography for us. I played Cecil B. DeMille.
The video is a presentation in interview format, by Anya, in which she discusses branding and what she calls, Profile Branding. The latter being the use of the type of imagery that I create, and created for her business, in branding a professional or their business, and how it can be an important element. Please take a look at Profile Branding.
While I have no intention of being "the video guy", because my passion is for great still photography, this is something that I will continue to do, to perfect and to offer clients.
While not originally part of the set that Anya chose from the shoot, I really liked this shot and have been really anxious to share it. These were shot at The Space, in Lowell, Massachusetts, and the art in the background is by David LeBlanc.
Boxing Day at CSA
Matthew Himmel, the World PEAS (People Enhancing Agricultural Sustainability) CSA Coordinator at New Entry, here in Massachusetts, invited me to observe him and his workers boxing the Lowell CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares. They pack three days per week. Here in the Boston area we had torrential rains both Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and while they needed to work in the rain, under a tarp, I didn't. I wimped out and showed up on Thursday morning, the first nice day in a while. Conditions were actually pretty good for photography though; no direct sunlight and off and on clouds. And no rain!
I watched and learned much about how they divide up the produce to provide CSA shareholders with their goodies. I never thought about it, but they need to weigh quite a few things and even out the contents of the boxes to make them all uniform, fair and bountiful.
I had originally asked Matthew if I could photograph him for my portrait project back in January. Things happen, so it's a good idea to plan ahead!
For the first few shots, he invited me to experience the refrigerator truck. After 10 minutes, the 60F outside the truck felt pretty good. But what's up with the lens fogging up? A long, beautiful summer makes you forget about those joys of cold weather photography.
