Ron Shoots

What photographer doesn’t love old retro signs! And if only they could talk. I’m sure this one has some amazing stories to tell. Found along the I40 on the eastbound side near the border of Arizona and California.

Shooting in front of the former KGB headquarters.

After the workshop on Saturday, I spent a wonderful Sunday walking around Moscow with Photographer Mikhail Lavrenov. We started before sunrise at Red Square, walked many miles and rode the Metro to even more destinations. Mikhail was also not just a great tour guide, but offered his perspective on the Russia he grew up in and the Russia today.

The colors in Moscow are brilliant. As we walked around and looked at the architecture, old and new, I could feel the energy of the colors. For whatever reason, my expectation of a gray Moscow was nowhere to be found. We stopped for a few moments at Red Square just to look at the scene. As a child, my first image of the Kremlin was during the Cold War… a black & white newspaper photo with hundreds of tanks and missiles parading through Red Square. This morning, there were only a few lucky photographers and a couple of people trying to find their way home from too much partying.

Thanks again to Stockxpert for a great opportunity… and to Mikhail, for an awesome day!

You really should wonder about me… seriously. I hang out with colorful winged faeries, cover people in mud, wrap others in string, and make ordinary strangers jump in the air. And Gray Mitchell, who also shoots for our studio, has a passion for taking pictures of strange-looking pets like this SnapVillage ad on the inside cover of HOW magazine.

One of my “Faery” images used by Photos.com on the back cover of the April 2008 issue of HOW magazine. (Yes, 2 full-page ads in one issue from our studio!)

We call these the “marketing” images, the photos that make people look twice, and if we’re lucky, three times. Will these images sell? Not necessarily, but what they do is to create a feeling for our studio, a sense of our creativity and if we’re really lucky, an interest in buying our images.

Plus shooting crazy photos is fun! There’s really too much seriousness in all of this stock business. Yes, its a business, but didn’t we all start taking pictures because we liked the process? If you have an idea for an image, just shoot it. Don’t filter every production with a “Will it Sell? question. The best images might be the ones you haven’t shot yet.

All About Balance

Shooting pictures that may not sell doesn’t sound like a good business model, but there’s room in every collection for a few fun photos. Our content strategy plan is to have about 10% of our image collection push the edge of acceptable (read sellable) stock photography.

Do they have to be edgy off-the-wall crazy fun images? Absolutely not, but what your “marketing” images need to have is a sense of passion, a reason for an art director to stop for just a few seconds… just long enough to look at the image, twice.

Sometimes I just need to do a few shoots for myself- one model, maybe lighting I haven’t tried in a while, or a new concept, or maybe something just super simple to remind me why I love photography!

Here’s an image from yesterday. This beautiful young woman had never modeled before. She spent 7 years in the military with a few of those years in the Middle East, and now she’s finishing up her biology degree at a local university.

Simple Lighting

The lighting was about as simple as it gets- one 30″ x 40″ soft box with a 1k hot light, a reflector board, and a blank white wall. I moved the model to the front edge of the soft box so most of the light would fall behind her.

Every now and then a funny photograph just happens and I can’t resist creating a headline in my feeble brain. I’m forever buying wacky little toys as props. In fact, there’s a plastic dinosaur that rides around on the dashboard of my truck. The dude’s got more frequent flyer points than I do.

So with all due respects to Jay Reilly who has a really great photo blog at a site called My Camera is Bigger Than Yours, I am claiming the title of My Camera is Smaller…

Humor is what keeps us going, and a strange offbeat humor is always good. So if you’re in a toy store, please buy some wacky little thing for yourself… but sorry, small cameras are off-limits.

Too cool! I’ve been invited to do a talk and hands-on workshop with stock photographers in Moscow on April 26. I’ve always wanted to visit Russia. As a “50-young” something, and growing up in the “Cold War” era, Moscow was always a forbidden yet intriguing city.

The workshop is sponsored by Stockxpert- over 200 photographers signed up within the first few days. The other photographer, Lev Dolgachov (from Estonia) and myself, will speak in the morning, then shoot in the afternoon. While Lev demonstrates studio lighting, I will be working with natural light and reflectors. I better start practicing my Russian!

Here’s more info on the workshop.

My sincere apologies to those readers who haven’t found anything posted here for the last month! I’ve been mostly planning the next 6 months with only a few shoots. But that doesn’t mean I’m laying around the pool with a tropical drink! (I wish…)

This year, I will spend more time discussing the great questions I get from other shooters. Please feel free to email me or post a comment/question.

Since I’ve been planning, a great question to start with was posted by Andrew Ptak. “Just how does your Producer go about lining up shooting opportunities hundreds, or even thousands,of miles away when you don’t even know exactly what you’ll find until you get there?” (Thanks Andrew!)

The worse that could happen…

Remember when someone once told you long ago that “the worse that could happen is that they will say no” which is another way of saying it can’t hurt to ask! Cost-effective stock production relies on the ability to produce images at the lowest cost possible. We look for opportunities where there’s always a win-win for both the location/business or model, and ourselves.

Probably the most important asset is having a good web site. When you make a “cold call” to a potential location, you want to be able to show that you are a professional and that your images are of the highest quality. In the case that the images on your site don’t target the exact audience, put together a PDF or composite JPG that does showcase your work that would build the most credibility. This can be emailed to the prospective location.

Locating the location…

The next step is locating the location. We use every combination possible depending on the situation. Sometimes we’ll post on Craig’s List, find friends that have friends that have a location, or use a search engine. If the business is large enough, the best person to talk with is usually the Marketing Manager. Marketing people are tasked with coming up with new images, and saving money with a low cost shoot is always attractive! If a small business, then the owner is the best choice- the owner will need to sign the property release anyway.

Probably the best way to find a small business location is simply to walk in the front door- but not the day of the shoot. Plan ahead by a few days, or week, and ask permission from the owner. Be prepared to have a hand-out that shows your work (the same PDF as above) and a professional business card.

Click here to view the PDF we use.

When possible, we try to trade images for access. If the company can use new marketing images, then promptly providing a CD of the shoot is a wonderful win-win and helps keep your production costs low. If the location simply wants a fee, then offer what you feel is fair in relationship to the type and quantity of images you can shoot. This fee could range from $100 for a half-day to $500 for a full day. While $500 may sound like a lot to pay, determine if the location has “props” on site, and even perhaps models. Time is money so having everything available without the need for further prop-gathering or talent-scouting may be well worth the cost!

Photographing someone’s business or home is a privilege, not a right. Make sure to treat everyone with respect, leave the location cleaner than when you arrived, and make sure to follow-up with images and a thank you. Good karma goes a long way when you’re looking for that next location!

I don’t usually write about news- but this one is really important for photographers and anyone carrying lithium batteries for camera, video cameras and laptops! From the Rob Galbraith web site…

US DOT Hazmat Safety Rule to Place Limits on Lithium Batteries Carried by Passengers Aboard Aircraft Effective January 1, 2008

Passengers will no longer be able to pack loose lithium batteries in checked luggage beginning January 1, 2008, once new federal safety rules take effect. The new regulation, designed to reduce the risk of lithium battery fires, will continue to allow lithium batteries in checked baggage if they are installed in electronic devices, or in carry-on baggage if properly protected from short circuiting in their original packaging or by placing them in individual plastic bags or a protective travel case.

Common consumer electronics such as digital cameras, cell phones, and most notebook computers are still allowed in carry-on and checked luggage. Moreover, any number of spare batteries for these devices will be allowed in carry-on baggage if they are properly protected from short circuiting and do not exceed 8 grams (~100 watt hours) of equivalent lithium content. All lithium-ion cell phone and standard notebook computer batteries are below 8 grams (~100 watt hours) of equivalent lithium content. Batteries not installed in electronic devices are not permitted in checked baggage.The rule limits passengers to not more than two large spare rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in carry-on baggage. This applies to batteries that exceed 8 grams (~100 watt hours) of equivalent lithium content and less than 25 grams (~300 watt hours) [see attached illustration]. Batteries with more than 25 grams (~300 watt hours) are not allowed in either checked or carry-on baggage.

“Doing something as simple as keeping a spare battery in its original retail packaging or a plastic zip-lock bag will prevent unintentional short-circuiting and fires,” said Krista Edwards, Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Lithium batteries are considered hazardous materials because they can overheat and ignite under certain conditions. Safety testing conducted by the FAA found that current aircraft cargo fire suppression system would not be capable of suppressing a fire if a shipment of non-rechargeable lithium batteries were ignited in flight. This rule aims to reduce the risk of fires involving lithium batteries in the cabin of passenger aircraft.

”In addition to the new rule, PHMSA is working with the FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the battery, consumer electronics and airline industries, airline employee organizations, testing laboratories, and the emergency response communities to increase public awareness about battery-related risks and developments. These useful safety tips are highlighted at the public website: http://safetravel.dot.gov.

 I’m not stylish by any means! My personal fashion sense was halted about the same time GAP came out with khaki pants and solid color t-shirts. But that doesn’t take away the fact that I live in a visual world. As a stock photographer, I’m expected to create images that have the appropriate sense of style for the images at hand. When any shooter composes a shot, we look at the colors, light and background and push the shutter when we feel we’re arrived at the best combination. For some reason, many photographers “freeze” when we try to pick clothes for the models to wear. We worry about what’s stylish, what the models will think, and if others will approve of our choices. 

Here’s the whole article with lots of suggestions for styling and wardrobe selection.

David Walker of Photo District News interviewed myself and a several other stock shooters (Walter Hodges, Donna Day, Katy von Brandenfels, Cila d’Oliveira, and Jose Pelaez) for an article on efficient stock production. If you’re a subscriber, the article is available in the current November issue or at PDN Online. Lots of great suggestions for everyone who shoots stock!