Street Photography

No matter what form of photography you consider, there is an element of personal opinion and bias that motivates every image. This can apply to documentary photography and filmmaking also.  How can this happen?  If the documentary photographer (for example) has a particular opinion about, say, racism, he/she will photograph that topic from that opinion’s perspective.  And even if they are enlightened, or ethical, enough to maintain complete objectivity, the way in which those photographs are used can also be prone to the bias of a picture researcher or an editor.

Looking for the Parade

It is the basis of some of the greatest work by the likes of Cartier-Bresson, Steiglitz, and Erwitt.  And perhaps this is really the only form of photography that really matters.

The sensationalism attached to many examples of photojournalism force editors to be continually pushing for the next big story. But what about the life that is happening around us all the time? It is not unusual to be blind to something very close to you, in favor of attention being given to the latest conflict, disaster, or scandal.

Street photography is a continuous exploration of everything that is occurring around us all the time, and which offers an authentic glimpse at personalities and environments that are often ignored.

Own Your Photographs

A question recently received about copyright of photographs:

Question:

I am contemplating on what should be the engagement
structure? how much should I retain and what should I give off. In any
case I am interested about holding the copyright and publication
rights to media, and give them the right to use the material for their
association’s purpose. But I am not clear what should be the exact
terms and conditions. What is your suggestions?

name withheld for privacy purposes

Answer:
All photographers should retain the absolute right to the work they create. Many clients try to hire photographers under a “work for hire” contract which means that any photographs taken are the property of the client and the photographer cannot resell them. In those situations, the photographer should, at the very least, negotiate to be able to use the photographs in his/her portfolio, web site, marketing materials etc, and to be able to quote the company name in the photographer’s list of clients.

When working with agencies, they usually understand the photographer’s desire to retain copyright and will honor that. So will most publications although that is changing. The New York Times, for example, clamped down substantially on the ability for photographers shooting for them to re-use those photographs for other purposes. Bottom line – if you are sent a contract to consider, read it carefully and don’t feel hesitant about pushing back on any clauses that you do not like.

At the same time, and being candid (as always), there are situations I have found when the photographs I am likely to take for a client are most certainly not anything I would want to try to sell again – they are frequently unique to the client and of no value elsewhere. In those circumstances, I can charge the client more for exclusive ownership of the photographs I take for them,and still use a selection in my portfolio should I choose to do so. Many photographers are in denial about this aspect of their work but they need to wake up to the reality of the large volume of photographers who they are competing with. These days, with the availability of so much information via the internet, it is not a huge hardship for a company to find many options for photographers to work with them. If their first choice of photographer is difficult about the contract, it may be easier for the company to simply contact the second choice of photographer (a short list is often simply alphabetical rather than based on perceived skills and experience) who is more amenable to a flexible working arrangement.

Just some thoughts.

As for contract details, do a Google search on “photojournalism contract” and you will find many options that you should scan. Don’t make your contract too lengthy or complicated – the easier it is for a client to work with you, the more likely it is that they will.

Google for Photographers

You’ve got to love Google. Any company that can replace a simple word like “search” with its own verbalized form of brand name (to Google) just has to be worth taking a look at.

With its growing stable of on-line products, I have found myself increasingly using Google services in my day-to-day activities. Here is a summary:

• Google Search - supports my subject research, travel planning, looking for contacts.
• Google News Alerts - I have setup several news alerts which come to me once a day on a wide range of subjects in which I am interested.
• Google Reader – a page that provides me with a single location to find multiple sources of news and information via RSS feeds.
• GMail – although I have my own, private email address, I use several Gmail addresses, all linked together, to segregate the types of email I receive – one for personal mail, one for media distribution lists, one for photojournalism-related matters, one for my foundation. Keep track of the latest developments with GMail by subscribing to the GMail Labs blog.
• Google Documents – I have several word processed documents and spreadsheets that I keep on-line so that I can access them from anywhere I can get an internet connection, and can share them with other Google Docs users. This is especially useful if I need to send out a PR or press pack about my activities, or if I need to share my standard contract with clients. I am not a huge fan of Google Presentations but the other two applications are extremely useful. And Google recently launched new technology which allows you to use these applications off line. Oh, and one other very cool feature. If you want to print a Google Document, the file first gets turned in to a pdf file. Free pdf files!!
• Google Calendar - this allows me to pull together multiple calendars in to a single one, so I can see all personal and professional engagements on one screen. I can even share my calendar with clients so that they can check on my availability remotely.
• Google Picasa - not the most powerful photo-management application in the world but it is useful for low-end tasks and for general sharing and storage of re-usable images. I use mine, in particular, for my blog entries. Talking of blog entries…
• Google Blogger – a free website for all your journaling needs. People make money from writing on their Google Blog. And with Google AdSense and Google’s acquisition of Feedburner, Blogger has become a very user-friendly, fast, efficient, and effective way to communicate.
• Google Feedburner – dress up your blog and provide RSS feeds to whoever wants to subscribe to your content. Counters, slideshows, subscribe buttons, widgets galore. Feedburner is fantastic!
• Grand Central – a number for life. In theory, anyway. There are still some limitations on availability of this since Google acquired Grand Central but my number is working fine and ensures that I can put a single phone number on a business card which gives clients the ability to dial and track me down pretty much wherever I might be.
• Google YouTube – excellent for photographers who want to show off their multimedia capabilities. The resolution may not be all you would want it to be but it is still a very good forum for distributing your multimedia work. I recently had more than 12,000 hits for a 1 minute 15 second production.
• Google Analytics – all those web sites, but how are they really performing? Google Analytics allows you to keep track of who is visiting your sites, where they are from, how frequently your site gets viewed etc etc. And Google Analytics sends out reports to your email address daily, weekly or monthly.
• Google AdSense – I mentioned this earlier. Ads on your site which are automatically tailored to your site content. Everytime someone clicks on one of those ads, you are credited a tiny amount of money. Once that value grows to a pre-determined amount, Google sends you a check.

And best of all – IT’S ALL FREE!!!!

For fun, also take a look at Google Earth - try and track yourself down. It is completely addictive.