Blue Planet Photography

What does it mean to you to be successful? A hundred self-help books start with that short sentence and it has, in my opinion, become a cliche often treated superficially by authors and readers alike. But, it really is a fundamental question leading to actions and beliefs by you that influence your satisfaction with your life as an artist and, ultimately, with your life in general.

Determining for yourself the criteria of success as an artist is a complex process involving both internal and external factors and obstacles, starting with the creation of a way of being and expressing, of life and living, a structure that is your own. Do you want to be a full-time artist, a part-time artist, or improve your skill as a hobbyist? Do you want to have a solo exhibit in a well-known gallery? Do you want to be published? Do you want to establish an art school? Do you only want to be personally satisfied with your work and don’t care what others think?

Creating the structure of your own life provides greater freedom and opportunities for self-expression and happiness. If you do not have control over the structure of your life, you will have to accommodate the structure created by someone else and their vision of what you should be and do, which puts you in a position of powerlessness. The people who would love to create your structure for you (and do) are friends, teachers, family, lovers, mentors, colleagues, employers, strangers, students, even enemies and rivals. When you have control, you seize the initiative and move forward confidently and deliberately. An artist’s life is made from the inside out.

Many artists (if not all, even secretly) want one (or THE) measure of success to be financial security. As artists, one of the things we look for in our audience is approval. Approval is an external factor dependent upon others liking our work and showing their approval by positive comments and/or a purchase or two. We can become slaves to approval, however, and stray from our intended path if we only create art that is approved of (purchased) or suppress our talent or experimentation because we fear risking disapproval or because the “easier” or “safer” art sells better.

The best life would be doing what you love and getting paid well for it. But, financial security isn’t a true measure of success by itself. I know of several well-known artists who are (or have been) unhappy, although very financially secure, because they lost control over their work and life for the sake of financial gain. I think a successful artist is in control of their work and their life, whether it’s making a million dollars or a thousand dollars a year as an artist. Establishing that balance is a tricky proposition. Our ego and the desire to be somebody special helps turn us into slaves of approval, which diminishes the quality and impact of our work and our overall satisfaction.

A very close relation to approval, is fear. Where approval is external, fear is internal, wreaking all kinds of havoc with our dreams and intentions. Artists are great self-doubters and second-guessers, destroying many opportunities and limiting our potential. Here is a list of the possible fears artists endure and fall victim to:

Fear of
1. Failure
2. Rejection
3. Reality
4. Losing identity
5. Pain/Sacrifice
6. Commitment
7. Making the wrong choice(s)
8. Not being in control
9. That it will never work
10. Success
11. Inadequacy
12. Being misunderstood
13. Perfection
14. Annihilation
15. Expectations

Overcoming Fear allows you to become independent, to divorce the wishes and desires of others wanting to control or influence your work, and to do the work you were meant to do.

Artists have many obstacles, external and internal, to overcome on the road to success. Creating a structure to your life around your art, overcoming fear, understanding and taming the desire for approval, and a host of other barriers, milestones, and rewards make up your criteria for success.

In the end, though, you are the only one that can determine whether you’ve reached your goal and met your measure of success.

Good Luck!

Back in the “Old Days” of computers, the mantra “Save Frequently and Often” was a hedge against the common system hangs and crashes of the day. While operating systems and software are much more stable these days, the mantra is still worth hanging onto and practicing for two main reasons:

1. Technology is not infallible
2. Human beings are not infallible

Computer operating systems and programs will crash and hang. Hard drives will crash and fail. Humans will format hard drives and memory cards thinking they’ve downloaded or saved the information stored on those devices. Humans will drop things they shouldn’t be dropping and misplace things they should be paying better attention to. It’s natural. It happens. However, if you can avoid that knot in your stomach when you’ve lost 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, or even 2GB of image files due to a hardware crash or other mishap, that’s a lot of stress and woe energy you can redirect to restoring that data instead of looking for the nearest window to leap out of.

Your job, if you value your digital photographs, is to make a practice of Saving Frequently and Often. There’s much more to this than I can squeeze into this little space, but let me point out some options (there are many) that can relieve the pain if such a disaster strikes you.

A second mantra is the 3-2-1 Rule:

3. You should keep 3 copies (at least) of any important files - a primary and 2 backups
2. Your backup files should be on 2 different media types (i.e. hard drive and optical media - DVD/Blu-Ray) to protect against different types of hazard
1. 1 backup copy (at least) should be stored offsite

The 3-2-1 Rule is really a guideline (like most “rules” in photography) and should be understood to be a minimum recommendation. You can never have too many backups (versus having no backup).

There are many more backup options now than just a few years ago and they range in price from around $5 to several thousand, depending on your needs. Let’s run through a general list:

1. DVD and Blu-Ray. The least expensive but probably the most time-consuming backup tool. DVD capacity is 4.7GB and Blu-Ray is 25GB (50GB for dual layer). The cost per GB is nearly the same for each with DVD at an average of $0.299/GB ($0.60 - $0.90 each) and Blu-Ray at $0.213/GB (about $5.00 each). The $300 cost of a Blu-Ray drive might offset any small cost-savings for now, until prices come down.

2. External Hard Drive Dock. These devices are relatively new, dispensing with the difficult-to-access enclosure for a simple “drop slot” for the bare drive. The BlacX SATA dock by Thermaltake connects using Firewire or USB and can read 2.5″ and 3.5″ drives and costs between $35 - $55 depending on the vendor. You do have to be careful handling the hard drive since it is bare, but the dock is a convenient way to quickly backup or transfer information.

3. External Hard Drive units. Large drive enclosures like the Seagate FreeAgent Pro or Western Digital MyBook are more for ‘permanent’ use as backup space or storage. Connecting via USB or Firewire, they range in price from $90 for 500GB to $200 for 2TB.

4. External Hard Drive enclosures. Sometimes called JBODs (Just a Bunch Of Disks), these enclosures are simply extensions of the disk capacity of your main computer, with from 2 to 6 or 8 or more hard drive bays. Some enclosures have removable hard drive carriers for “easy” replacement while others require the hard drives to be attached in the bay (like in your computer). Connecting via Firewire or USB, they can also be set up in a RAID, individual volumes, or as a large volume. Other enclosures are used for single drives and can be purchased with a drive or empty.

5. RAID and BeyondRAID. RAID is an acronym for Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks and allows for the division and replication of data among multiple drives. Some cons for RAID is it’s difficult for the unitiated to set up and maintain (I think) and the volume is set by the smallest capacity. So, if you have a 250GB drive and a 500GB drive, the capacity is driven by the 250GB and you “waste” the 250GB from the 500GB drive. Also, if you upgrade capacity, you have to backup and reload all your data. Systems such as the Buffalo Terastation (2TB $730 - $900 empty, 4TB $1150 - $1400 empty) use RAID. A system called BeyondRAID, used by Data Robotics in their Drobo line, allows the use of multiple capacity drives and easy upgrading of capacity without the need to reload data. Drobo products range from the 4-bay Drobo (up to 8TB capacity, starts at $310 empty) to the 8-bay DroboPro and DroboElite (up to 16TB capacity, starts at $1250 empty).

6. Solid State Drives. This technology is very promising but still expensive. These drives have no moving parts and are very durable, like your Compact Flash memory cards. They use less power than conventional hard drives, run cooler, are smaller, and are faster. The downside is the price. A 64GB solid state drive is $200 and a 256GB solid state drive is $700. As with all new technology, the price will come down as the devices enter the mainstream.

7. Personal (or Portable) Storage Devices. These palm-sized devices are primarily for backing up memory cards. Epson, Hyperdrive, JoBo, Wolverine, are some of the brands that manufacture PSDs. They come in various configurations and capacities. Epson PSDs tend to be the most expensive, but feature rich. However, upgrading capacity requires the purchase of a new device and battery life is low. Hyperdrive makes a PSD with smaller color screen, but faster upload and longer battery life for about 1/3 the cost of the Epson. These devices are great in the field for backing up memory cards. They connect to your desktop or laptop via USB just like an external hard drive.

In addition to the backup devices, a regular program and procedure to backup your data is needed. Whether you backup every day, once a week, or once a month, doing so on a regular basis will save you a ton of grief if you ever have a crash.

Some people know what direction they’re heading in their life and business. I think most people have an idea of where they’d like to be. But achieving that goal is what separates dreamers from doers, as many “advisors” will tell you. The goal and the deadline for achieving that goal is, however, mostly set by you. You set the pace. It’s not up to someone else to determine how successful you are or say when you’ve finally reached the point at which you can claim to be successful. You are the judge of your own success.

“An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one”
– Charles Horton Cooley

“They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea”
– Francis Bacon

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up”
– Thomas Edison

The career of an artist goes through many stages and often we are changing gears, much like you would downshift and upshift in a car. We downshift when we run into difficulties and need the lower ranges to power through a difficult time, when we’re dealing with a steep learning curve or complex issue, when we need to slow down a bit or maintain a steady pace coming off a rapid rise, or perhaps for a burst of power to swiftly overtake a competitor. We upshift when times are good, reaching a comfortable cruising speed when we’re working efficiently and effectively. But, like driving a car, the road ahead is variable, sometimes steep, sometimes rocky or muddy, sometimes curvy, sometimes straight and flat, and skill is required to know when and how to properly shift gears to stay on the road and keep moving forward.

For a couple years now, but recently in just the past several months, the pressure for still photographers to enter into video production has been increasing in step with the addition of high definition video capability to digital SLR bodies like the Canon 5D. A big question for still photographers is, “Should I get into video production now?” While a competent still photographer has the basic technical and artistic skills to transition to video, it’s not just a matter of turning on the video feature and shooting away. Transitioning (or adding) video production to your repertoire is a costly endeavor (remember, you can’t shoot video with strobes) requiring expensive new lighting equipment, movement dollies, tracks, stabilization, gimbles, platforms, etc. and a large crew. Video (quality video) is not something you can do by yourself or with a single assistant. For reference, read recent issues of PDN Magazine for overviews of video production and comments about the pitfalls, costs, and pressure from clients to shoot video in conjunction with a stills shoot (for the same rate even). It’s going to be a bit of a messy transition period until the industry gets this bastard child sorted out. Vincent LeForet & Chase Jarvis are the well-knowns (or most prominent in the video-sphere) jumping full force into the video genre, but they’ve got the cash, notoriety, and resources to do it relatively painlessly (I’m sure they might have some words to say about that, but compared to the rest of us I think that assessment is accurate). The still photography industry is entering another trying time while it’s still trying to deal with the flood of digital technology, ease of entry into the market by anyone, pricing issues, over-supply and under-demand, etc.

Anyway, take a look at this video showing how Canon 5D’s are used to create second unit driving plates for the TV series 24. Very interesting behind the scenes kind of stuff:

Shooting Driving Plates for 24 from Stargate Studios on Vimeo.

Rob Haggart, over at aphotoeditor.com, has posted a nice list of commonly-used terms in the photography industry. The post is targeted to ad agency buyers, but if you’re a photographer starting out or if you aren’t quite sure what the difference is between unlimited use and a buyout or corporate versus promotional, check it out. The terminology and its meaning is the same whether you’re a buyer or a photographer (not “seller). And, it’s a lot easier for Rob to type it all out over on his site than it is for me to do it here (ha ha).

Some other resources that are very helpful when it comes to the terminology and its proper use in the photography business:

Websites:
www.useplus.com/ Picture Licensing Universal System
www.updig.org Universal Photographic Digital Imaging Guidelines

Books:
ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography, 7th ed.
John Harrington’s Best Business Practices for Photographers, 2nd ed.

I’m a “bookie”. I love books and still find a printed hardbound or paperback much easier and quicker to access than any information on the computer, especially when there is no power. Over the years, I’ve spent hours (in total, probably weeks or months) browsing the shelves of bookstores wherever I go, looking for interesting and useful books for my reference collection. I look for books about the business of photography, digital asset management, the “philosophy” of photography, technique, and inspirational (picture) books, among others.

As with most things, some authors and subject matter resonate and connect better with me than others, as they will also with you. The key is to spend some time with the author and the book before you commit to the purchase. Don’t run into the bookstore on the recommendation of a friend or someone you respect (or even someone you don’t know anything about) or because you need a book on a specific topic (like “How To Do Whatever in Photoshop”). Take a few long minutes to browse the book, read a chapter or two. Does the writing style and content make sense to you? Does it put you to sleep or tie your brain in a knot? A book costs money (some much more than others) and will take up space on your bookshelf. If you’re going to make the investment, it should be for a book you’re going to use and/or refer to often, right? I have a handful of “dogs” on my shelf I purchased without prior review. These were mostly purchased online or on impulse in the bookstore. The summary and online reviews sounded good or an initial “page flip review” made the book seem useful, but once I got it home and spent some time reading, it turned out to be less than expected. These books are still on my shelf because I don’t want to give books like this away, it’s not fair to the person I give the book to. And, I really don’t like throwing away books. One day I will gather them up and donate them to a library or other institution that can get some use from them.

While I have a generally decent-sized book collection, I’ve compiled here what I consider my core reference list, the books I go to most often or have been the most useful in my learning process. I pass the list off to you to review and hope one or more of these books helps you in your artistic and/or professional journey. New books are always being released, so this list will always change and grow. The list is in no particular order. Good reading!

Berger, John. 1972. Ways of Seeing. British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books.
Bayles, David & Orland, Ted. 1993. Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking. The Image Continuum Press.
Orland, Ted. 2006. The View from the Studio Door: How Artists Find Their Way in an Uncertain World. The Image Continuum Press.
Gross, Philippe, L & Shapiro, S.I. 2001. The Tao of Photography: Seeing Beyond Seeing. 10 Speed Press.
Adams, Ansel. 1983. Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs. New York Graphic Society Books.
Barrett, Terry. 2006. Criticizing Photographs: An Introduction to Understanding Images. McGraw Hill.
Fielder, John. 1996. Photographing the Landscape: The Art of Seeing. Westcliffe Publishers.
Wier, Nevada. 1992. Adventure Travel Photography. Watson-Guptill Publications.
Hunter, Fil, Biver, Steven, & Fuqua, Paul. 2007. Light, Science & Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting. Focal Press.
Piscopo, Maria. 2001. The Photographer’s Guide to Marketing & Self-Promotion. Allworth Press.
Weissberg, Elyse. 2004. Successful Self-Promotion for Photographers. Amphoto Books.
Eismann, Katrin & Palmer, Wayne. 2006. Photoshop Restoration & Retouching, 3rd ed. New Riders.
Crawford, Tad. 2009. Business and Legal Forms for Photographers, 4th ed. Allworth Press.
Harrington, John. 2010. Best Business Practices for Photographers. Course Technology PTR.
ASMP. 2008. Professional Business Practices in Photography, 7th ed. Allworth Press.
Krogh, Peter. 2009. The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers. O’Reilly Media, Inc.
Fraser, Bruce & Schewe, Jeff. 2008. Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS3. Real World Press.
Fraser, Bruce & Schewe, Jeff. 2008. Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS4. Real World Press.
Zimberoff, Tom. 2002. Photography: Focus on Profit. Allworth Press.

There are a lot of “model agency” scams and shady photographers out there. If you want to model, watch this video, do your research, be aware, don’t get scammed.

Great video from www.dontscrewus.org. It speaks for itself.