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April 25, 2007
When you find your photo(s) have been misused, The conclusion...
If you're wondering what this entry's about, please read part one of When you find your photo(s) have been misused to catch up.
I contacted a lawyer that's in my family and with my help we constructed a letter with particular verbiage of my intentions to still come to a conclusion amicably with out taking the case to the courts. The letter was more of a help than actually a letter from a lawyer. But if you were to read the letter you could tell I consulted a lawyer. As well, it puts in writing my thoughts and intentions for the client to clearly read and hand off to other members of his staff for review or even his own lawyer if need be. The term, "put it in writing", does have a sort of concrete and serious tone to it.
I mailed the letter and the very same day they called me, wanting me to go on a shoot. I told them I could do it because I only had one day before the location would change, but I insisted we work out the details of my proposed contract. They again insisted they didn't intentially not give me credit, but other members of the team didn't know I had to be given credit for the photos when submitting them to the local paper. I can understand how these things can happen, but It was my intentions from the get go to have a photo credit in hopes to gain more exposure and future clients via the credit of
Photographer: Robert R Gigliotti, Hqprints.netIf this would have happened in a trade magazine I would have not felt so violated, but a circulation of well over a million...I feel its fair to want more than just an apology.
After a few voice mails and playing phone tag for a week we finally met on the weekend and signed the contract. In the end I was very happy with the end result of a larger down payment for my services and the client committing to a two-year deal for a little more than half of what I could have received if I had taken them to court. The upside of taking them to court would have been more money, but a burned bridge and loss of client(s) and in the end a loss of more revenue above and beyond what I could have received in the lawsuit. The relationship is still intact and I have an opportunity to do more great photo work for a respected client in the industry. In the end, I plan to deliver the best photo work I can and gain more respect as a businessman as well as a photographer.
Posted by Robert R Gigliotti at 10:08 AM | Comments (0)
April 15, 2007
TS-E 24mm f/3.5L
The Canon Tilt Shift lens is a must have if you're a landscape or architecture photographer. One common problem that architecture photographers have is the subject matter often recedes or falls away from the view point creating an incorrect perspective. The TS-E 24mm can correct this issue and is useful for creating seamless wide-angle shots from two shots as well as capturing objects with great distances between them in focus. Other uses for the TS-E 24mm depend on how creative you want to get with your lens. But if you got one...you'll love it.
Wide angle shots
One of the very cool features of this lens is the ability to sift the lens +/- 11mm creating a 13mm wide angel shot when the two photos are stitched together. The only way to do this seamlessly is with a tripod. With a conventional lens you'd take a shot and move the camera a few degrees and take another shot. Even with a tripod, stitching the photos together you’d loose a considerable amount of data on the top and bottom due to bending when the two are brought together with software. This bending is because both photos must be warped to make them match up because of the movement when taking the photos from two different locations. With the TS-E the camera stays in place and the lens can shift giving you a full frame panoramic wide angle shot.
To show off this feature below is a photo I took from the Rookery building interior here in Chicago. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Click on the photo to see the full size version.
Perspective correcting
Taking photos of tall objects can be difficult with standard lenses. Sure, you can do it. I've been doing if for years and trying to fix the perspective in Photoshop. You can only do so much with Photoshop before you start to loose data and canvas size as well as quality of the photo. Who wants to spend time in Photoshop when the problem can be fixed at the source. Below is a photo I took with the TS-E 24mm with out shifting the lens.
This is a pretty low structure so I got down low so I would have to turn the camera lens from perpendicular to the line of the building to about a 45-degree angle upwards. This would represent a similar situation if I were taking a photo of a skyscraper from the ground. The turning of the lens is what creates this situation in the first place.
After shifting the lens while looking though the viewfinder I found an acceptable position where the building didn't seem to be receding into the distance and away from me. In order to take the photo in portrait I had to rotate the lens 90 degrees (the TS-E can rotate +/- 90 degrees) and turn the sift knob so the lens would shift up while keeping the lens nearly perpendicular to the structure’s main vertical line. The results are below.
Sometimes you need to take a photo that has an object with a reflective surface. Shifting can remove you or the camera to put that object in the center of the photo with out a reflection.
Tilting the lens
The tilting feature of the TS-E 24mm is +/- 8 degrees. This feature has the ability to take photos with great distances between objects with the entire focal plane in focus. An example may be a flower in the foreground and a building in the background. Tilting the lens towards the object keeping the camera body parallel to the image plane while manipulating focusing can achieve this.
With a shallower focal frame or with little depth you would normally only be able to keep all objects in focus, as no depth of fields is possible. The TS-E can create a shallow depth of field with manipulating the tilting feature and your relationship to the objects. What you can accomplish is only one object in focus with many other objects around the same object on the same focal plane.
Combining the tilting and shifting
When you bring both tilting and shifting together you can correctly control not only the perspective of the objects but keep them all in focus as well. This takes a bit of practice and trial and error. But with experience you'll create more control of your images.
Posted by Robert at 12:32 PM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2007
When you find your photo(s) have been misused
Some times in business you shake a hand, have faith in a client and plan for a brighter day based on the exposure you may gain from the clients using your photos. This happens more than I'd like to admit, but you take a chance and hope the right people see your work and it gets you more work.
A few years ago I was hired by a client to shoot their product. (The product and the client will go un-named for the duration of this entry) They had a great product and I enjoyed shooting their work. It was right up my alley and they worked on some of the biggest projects in Chicago. If you've been to Chicago, you've enjoyed what this client had to offer no matter if you were a tourist, Chicagoan or just a passer by.
The client had seen some of my work from my Chicago Screen saver (its being sold at O'Hare airport at the Chicago Historical Society shop and on Michigan Avenue at Chicago Architecture foundation store and available on line for free if you buy a photo from my site) and heard about me from one of their own employee's. So I came in for a meeting and they gave me a number they wanted to spend, I told them what I could do, I wrote up a quick contract and we were set.
The one thing the client had an issue with was Photo usage rights. They simply didn't want to pay to use my photos. They seemed to think if they paid me to shoot their work then they owned the photos. This can't be further from the truth. The Photographer owns all rights to their photos unless they're a staff photographer or signed away the rights in a contract. I agreed to do the work and be paid for the work at an hourly rate for shooting and a post production rate. I also agreed that they could use my photos anyway they wanted as long as I received a photo credit. They're a big company that had never spent money on Photography and were growing bigger every day. I knew they would use my photos to get more exposure for themselves in the end getting more exposure for me.
Years have passed and low and behold I found my photo in a publication with no credit. The client didn't use my photo in a trade magazine with a circulation of 5k, no, they used it in a local Sunday edition Chicago paper that has a circulation of over a million. My first reaction was not good. The whole point was to get the photo credit and my client completely disregarded the contract and used the photo.
After a few emails and two phone calls I was able to get the person on the phone who signed the contract. They explained that the lack of credit was not malicious and wanted to work something out. I mentioned I didn't want them to write me a check for damages, but I'd like to do more work for them. We setup a meeting and I was in the office the next day.
The moment we got off the phone I wrote out a deal that would smooth this entire thing over. I came up with a number that I thought they owed me for the lack of credit and loss of business. It was the creative fee + usage rights for the photo multiplied by 300%. The 300% is the industry standard when a photo has been misused or used with out knowledge of the photographer. To settle I wrote out a contract for half that amount. Now I like this client and still believe in their product. I'd rather do the work for them and we both get something out of this mishap rather then me collecting a check. I'd like to keep the relationship in tacked than burn a bridge. I broke the work into a two year contract with limitations on the usage rights. They could use the photos, but not for publications with larger circulations with out paying a usage fee. I thought this was a fair and good place to start in hopes we could hammer out the details and move on.
The meeting went off as expected. The client wanted more time to look over the contract. I don't think they expected such a well organized photography contract. They said they'd call me after the weekend as they wanted to mull it over. Monday came and went, no phone call. Tuesday arrived and I received a call saying to hold on till the end of the week. The first reaction from the owner was as impulsive as it was crude. I can only guess they’re talking to their own lawyer on how they can beat my contract. After more than a week of leaving voice mails I've given up and have consulted a lawyer. Thank god I have one in the family and I'm pretty sure the client is assuming I'm so small I can't afford one. At this point I just wanted some advise on this matter and what kind of verbiage I should use in the letter. The letter is a last ditch effort before I file a lawsuit.
These are the steps as I see them…
1. You find out your photo(s) have been misused.
2. You contact the company or person and explain what happened.
3. Try and resolve in a amicable manor
4. If not, a letter from a lawyer stating that you will take action or a letter giving them in written form one last chance (see #3)
5. Follow up call after the letter has been received to try again with step three.
6. If this matter is still not resolved seek counsel to file a lawsuit.
Part II will be coming soon. I'm only at step four as I type this letter.
If you'd like to read the conclusion of this entry, click here
Posted by Robert R Gigliotti at 04:05 PM | Comments (0)
April 07, 2007
Marketing, Advertising & Selling your skills
In any business big or small, marketing advertising and selling yourself and your services is an every day effort. A few key points that are a must in business are (I'll expand on later in this blog entry) A marketing plan, consistency, an identity and most important knowing your own business/services and your target market. As well it can't hurt to know a thing or two about advertising basics. If all these basic concepts are new to you I'd suggest taking a class or two on Marketing & Advertising 101.
Ok, I'm a small business owner that wears many hats if not all the hats in my day to day operation. Yes, from time to time I do get help from my friends, family, investors & my significant other, but for the most part, its all me. Being small can be difficult and can kill you in the beginning. As a photographer I need to be shooting as much as possible. The more time I spend on the phone selling myself, making prints or sending invoices the more money that's lost from the main revenue making aspect of what i do.
The Marketing Plan
Every spring I sit down and figure out what I'm going to do to market myself over the next summer. For me I have to get this done before the weather gets really nice here in Chicago. (This is usually before May) This year I'm going out on the road to sell my creative work at art fairs around Chicago and the Midwest. So my time in the office needs to be very productive. The plan is this...I'm a Landscape & Architecture photographer, so I need to market myself to Landscape Architect's and Architects. I'm only going to go over the Landscape Architecture side here in this entry. Any way...I live in the Chicago area so I find out that LA's have a local chapter that most of them belong to. (I know this because I've asked a few that I've done work for in the past) Its called the American society of Landscape architects. Using their on-line member directory I found the best leads I could. In order to keep this advert opportunity under control and in an efficient manor, I only chose firms that are in the Chicago land area, had a website and listed contacts on their site. I needed solid leads to confirm address, a phone number and a contact name. With out meeting my criteria I may as well just toss my advert materials in the trash.
The advertising materials
If I hadn't graduated from Purdue University with a bachelors in Technical Graphics It would have killed me to pay someone thousands of dollars to make me advert materials. Let's be honest...I'm sure I could have done them on my own, but if you need to sell yourself, then they better be the best they can be. You only have a few seconds to hold someone's attention when they receive something in the mail they're not expecting. You better have your act together or as I said before, toss it in the trash before you mail it.
Below is what I sent out to a specific client list this year...Click on the photo to view the full size 4x9. The photo was work I did for a client of mine, Daniel Weinbach & Partners of the 11th street Ped-way to Solider Field.
To make this add pop, I printed it on ILFORDGlossy pre-mounted board. It’s a ridged inflexible board that gives me the ability to print high-res images (I printed this at 1440 dpi) and that chance for someone to look at it and think "oh, wow, I've never seen something like this before. I bet I could use something like this for client presentations...Damn, nice photo! Maybe I could use this guy." When you drop something in the mail, everything you can do to get their attention you've got to do. Aside from mailing money for their time (not a bad idea) the ridged photo poster board and a high quality image was what I could come up with to hook them. Besides, this is what I sell, high quality photos with options to print them. I not only take great photos, but I also print my work and sell those services.
Advert design notes
The one thing when you design something to represent yourself is to be true to your own brand. Now you might be thinking, "what in the hell does this guy mean?" I'll tell you...Just don't make some crap up to slide by, have a plan and stick to your own identity. If you take the time to indulge me, you can see from my website in the hire me section, my business card below and the advert above.
They all have similar design elements no matter where you are. You get my flyer & business card in the mail and decide to log onto my website. You see similar colors and design elements such as the blue chevrons and background swirl and know you're in the right place. Not only does this ease the mind of the viewer, but it gives off the impression that I put a lot of effort thinking about my presentation and consistent identity. If I did this for myself I'd do the same for my clients.
Sell, sell, sell
Once you've done everything above you better be ready to sell. I only learned how myself after four years in imaging sales with Kodak & ILford. If you're afraid to cold call then you have a problem. Let me give you some advice, get over it. This is how you make a sale, by getting out there and talking about yourself. If you don't feel comfortable about it by now and you really have issues with it, I can only say you better practice, practice and practice. Make mistakes with the little fish, not the big one. Over time you'll be an expert and those butterflies will fade. Back on track, call every person you sent something to. Leave voice mails if you don't talk to them and keep calling back till they talk to you. Persistence will get you a long way in sales. Don't be pushy, just expect results or an answer from someone and you'll get it. Practice your pitch for when you do talk to the head honcho that makes the decision to hire you. Be ready, be funny, be the guy with a coke, joke and a smoke. Look to make an appointment while on that call. But first and foremost, know whom you're calling. Do your home work, go to their website, find questions to ask and things to compliment them on. If you're a photographer these guys need you to make them look good. Show your confidence over the phone and you just might get a face to face. If they tell you to call back, then call back. Keep on them till they tell you flat out, "no". Even then, ask them if you can keep checking in to say hello and to see if things have changed. If you wait around for a client to call you...you'd be out of business in a year.
Posted by Robert R Gigliotti at 01:38 PM | Comments (0)
April 05, 2007
Question...& Answer
This was a question from Lilly...
Hey Robert, I am trying to take some "artistic" shots of my orchids. I grow them and am very proud that they actually bloom. Anyway, I really want the eye to focus on the bloom, how should I set up the photo? Where should I position the bloom? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Lilly
==Robert's reply below==
For starters, this really depends on what type of camera you have. Lets say you have a point & shoot digital camera. Because these cameras don't have the ability to blur the background using a long focal length (an example that can is an "SLR" or Single Lens Reflex camera that can change lenses) I'd remove any distractions from the background or place your orchid in a place with an apealing background that's not back lit.
A few other ideas that might work is this...Orchids tend to have long stems, have the stem enter the frame on the left placing the orchid on the right side of the frame. You can try this at different angles or different framing with the same idea to get a nice eye flow to the orchid.
As well you can set up a tripod and switch on your macro option or get in close with your camera. All cameras have a range where you can get the lens as close as you can with out focus problems. Refer to your manual or even the front of the lens for this information. For more info on shooting macro see my entry "The first macro photo I took".
Here's a few examples of Orchids I've shot in the past. Enjoy and I hope this helped! >>Robert
To buy this photo as a print click here!
To buy this photo as a print click here!
Posted by Robert R Gigliotti at 08:35 PM | Comments (1)
April 01, 2007
A few to start...
If you need photo equipment of any kind, this place has got it. I happen to live with-in walking distance to this amazing worldwide store. If you're a photographer and don't know about Calumet, then its time you discovered them. For the products all photographers use the prices are the lowest in the world due to the fact they can buy in bulk and hope you buy other products. For example, Compact flash cards...Their prices can't be beat.www.calumetphoto.com
Another great Photoshop in the Chicago area that’s been in the family for three generations is Central camera The owner, Don, will match a price with calumet and in the end provides the best customer service in the city. His location is convenient, down town and by the El where as Calumet is convenient for no one unless you live in River west like myself.
Need packaging for your photos for mailing, selling, point of sale and more? This store is amazing and the shipping is free.www.uline.com/
Frames and matte boards at a good prices, and even bulk pricing Dick Blick is great. You can even get a discount if you're a student. They have stores all over the US and an on-line store.www.dickblick.com/
Posted by Robert R Gigliotti at 04:27 PM | Comments (0)