Not Just Academic Marketing

I spent most of this summer working with the excellent web team at the University of Massachusetts Lowell on their web site redesign project. As a location portrait photographer I was thrilled to have been given the opportunity to create environmental portraits of a wide spectrum of administration, faculty members and students for the web site's many profiles. Here is one of several : http://www.uml.edu/Profile/Donna-Lannan.aspx

Academic marketing has changed quite a bit since the days when you would request a catalogue in the mail that would contain five or ten year old generic photos of happy students. The landscape today is very competitive and the UML team members take their jobs very seriously.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from this summer.

UMass Lowell

I spent most of this summer working with the excellent web team at the University of Massachusetts Lowell on their web site redesign project. As a location portrait photographer I was thrilled to have been given the opportunity to create environmental portraits of a wide spectrum of administration, faculty members and students for the web site's many profiles. Here are a few of my favorites.

Harvest Time

It saddens me to say that the end of summer is upon us. I would love Fall if it were followed immediately by Spring. Ok, enough complaining!

Local farmers are bringing in their Fall harvests. I met up with two of them in Dracut last weekend, JoAnn and Kamal, as they collected their potato crop. Bigger farms will harvest potatoes with a fork, as I used to do when helping my father. I imagine that factory farms use something far more high-powered to dig them up. JoAnn and Kamal like to get down into the dirt and find them by hand. As JoAnn told me, using a fork results in a number of potato stabbings. This way, they find them all and they don't destroy them in the process.

Business Headshots vs. Business Fun Shots

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!

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.

Lawrence YMCA Music Clubhouse

Recently, I shot a story for a magazine article that profiled a program at the Lawrence, Massachusetts YMCA, called the Music Clubhouse. In the basement of the Y, kids are invited and encouraged to learn, practice, perform and to exercise their musical creativity. This is one of several Music Clubhouses sponsored by the Music and Youth Initiative, a Boston non-profit that has established seven others in the Greater Boston Area. The Lawrence clubhouse exists with the help of numerous collaborators, such as Avid, my alma mater Berklee College of Music, and numerous other donors and volunteers.

Recently, I shot a story for a magazine article that profiled a program at the Lawrence,

Massachusetts YMCA, called the Music Clubhouse. In the basement of the Y, kids are invited and

encouraged to learn, practice, perform and to exercise their musical creativity. This is one of

several Music Clubhouses sponsored by the Music and Youth Initiative, a Boston non-profit that has

established seven others in the Greater Boston Area. The Lawrence clubhouse exists with the help of

numerous collaborators, such as Avid, my alma mater Berklee College of Music, and numerous other

donors and volunteers.

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 are quite different from those that were once called "Boston Baked". They are decidedly Québécoises. The beans are great, but really, it's about the pie; the pork pie, or la tourtière, which Coté's makes in abundance. Kurt told me that at Christmas they sell about 500 pork pies! Pork pies are something that everyone who had a Mémère knows about, but that no one else has heard of or believes you when you tell them about it. Every family makes it differently. Coté's make it their way, and it is the real thing!

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.

But what makes what I do different from all of the other photographers out there who are marketing to the same people? I have actually read articles that say things like: 'you don't have to be the best photographer to be a success'. While that may seem encouraging if you, like most of us, have insecurities about your work, it's also a really convenient excuse to let up on pushing yourself to create more and better work. The race to the middle! Is that where success lies?

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...

Assuming that your marketing and sales thing has been taken care of, although it is always ongoing, and the presentation of your work is of a high quality and consistent, both on-line and in person (read: have a great book*), THE most important thing is the work and how it is better, more creative and different than all of the others from whom a client might choose. It's so important to keep pushing yourself, to keep growing and stretching, both technically and artistically. And equally important is to push yourself to do personal projects as well as the work you do for business. Hopefully, you soon will be able to see the two come closer together so that the work that people hire you to do is the kind that you love to do.

*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!