a fashion shooter

In my closet full of stuff I came across the this sketch. It was created by the prop stylist Reynaldo Davis Carter as we were brainstorming about props for an olympics-themed editorial shoot. Though they are not elaborate in any way, I loved the sketches right away. They somehow convinced me that he was serious about the project, that he was artistic and not cutting corners and had some old-school training – which I miss. As a busy commercial photographer, I literally hadn’t seen sketches from anyone in years. Of course this got me thinking about the hundreds of times I am approached by art directors, creative directors, producers, etc – with some other photographers work torn from a magazine. And I am effectively asked to copy the work, be it the lighting, camera angles, etc. Or sometimes it’s wholesale copying which I am asked to do. And i know I am not alone here. I hear other photographers saying the same thing all the time.

Yes, I understand the concept of Not Reinventing the Wheel every week, and I also understand budget constraints dictate that time is of the essence and whatnot. However, wouldn’t it be refreshing to get some real brainstorming with actual idea creation every now and then? That would be lovely. And maybe the newsstand would not be such a monotonous place to sip your latte.

Any thoughts?

This new app developed by Microsoft and Le Book looks very, very cool. Use your phone to scan the code at the bottom of the page, a web page opens up showcasing the photographers work, with links to his/her personal web site and what ever else they want. “Acting as a filter, bookmark and bridge.” I see this as a big time saver and a great way to add value to their already amazing fashion industry bible Le Book.

English LeBook Tutorial from LE BOOK on Vimeo.

Ok, just so you all know I am not a one-trick pony, i thought I’d post some of my ‘other’ work. And it’s good. Most of these were recently shot with Laurent Lanneau, who was the chef for the French Ambassador for the United Nations in NY at the time.

In New York it is very difficult to be taken seriously in fashion if you admit to shooting anything other than fashion. If so, people think you must be scatter brained, unfocused, unsure. For the most part NY is a very specialized photography  market – people expect you to do one thing only. But I am fearless, so here goes

Thought I’d follow up on the story I posted some time ago about Annie’s financial troubles. Of course everyone wonders how a photographer who earns six figures per day, and seems to shoot eight days a week, ends up in the hole?!? There was a while where some believed that her troubles began due to her inheritance of property from Susan Sontag. As it looks now, Annie acquired very little from Susan – and nothing of any monetary value. It’s now widely believed that Annie’s financial problems stem from nothing more than extreme financial recklessness.

“On Friday, October 11, 2002, Kellum was busy coordinating Sarah’s [Annie's daughter] first birthday party, scheduled for the next day in Rhinebeck. The plans included a petting zoo and performances by hipster kiddie singer Dan Zanes and country singer Rosanne Cash, who was being flown in to sing Sarah’s favorite lullaby.”
The rest of the NY Mag story can be found here.

While her more commercial work is not always my cup of tea, I find a lot of it to be simply amazing. I will point to some of her works which I love here, here, here, and here.

Here are a few video clips…

Looks like the notorious Annie Leibovitz is in an unfortunate situation.

Rumors of bankruptcy and late payments have been circulating around Annie L. for years now. And according to the New York Times (2-23-2009), Annie Leibovitz, one of the most successful editorial and commercial photographers in the business recently had to borrow $15.5 million to pay off debts and such.

And what did she use as collateral? Oh, her three West Village town houses, her country home in Rhinebeck NY, and * the rights to all of her photographs.* Scary.

“In other words, according to loan documents filed with the city, one of the world’s most successful photographers essentially pawned every snap of the shutter she had made or will make until the loans are paid off.”

(nyt)

Quotes from this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/arts/design/24artloans.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1

WOW. Hard to believe that a photographer who commands staggering day rates and whose career seems to just keep going up and up could end up where she is today. 

So, I guess the moral is, do not live beyond your means. If you can, save your money. Put it in the bank until you really, really, really need it.

A couple recent hot spreads mentioned on Fashiongonerogue. the first one in Italian Marie Claire:

Tiiu Kuik and Michelle Buswell on the beach

and here is the lovely Doutzen Kroes  nude in VMan magazine

Just in case anyone here missed it, Paolo Pellegrin of Magnum Photos has done some relly beautiful work for the Times recently in the 2.28.09 issue of the magazine – Oscar Issue: Great Performances. It’s a somewhat unusual approach to commissioned celebrity photography, and the results are lovely.

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/magazine/20090205-great-performers/

 

There were also some nice photos by Ryan McGinley in the 1.25.09 article – What Do Women Want?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/magazine/25desire-t.html

As a commercial photographer, it’s always a good idea to have a sense of what’s out there in the market. Here are some photographers whose work, I think, is great.

www.peterlindbergh.com/
www.christophekutner.com/
www.davidferrua.com
www.kotobolofo.com/
www.jedroot.com/photogr/du/uchitel-fashion.php
www.jedroot.com/photogr/jj/jordan-bio.php
www.billphelps.com
www.jacquesolivar.com
www.paoloroversi.com
www.carlbengtsson.com/
www.brunobisang.com/
www.yutsai.com
www.miconworldwide.com/bio-2006.htm

It seems that in the graphic design/art direction world, web work has increased a lot in status, and now typically pays more than print work (for those who know how to code.) What I am saying is, you can expect to be paid more as a designer/art director at Macys.com than you can at a Macys print design depart.

How are we finding the differences between shooting for commerce for the web as opposed to shooting for print? Is there just more work for the web?

What percentage of your work is for the web vs. for print?

Is the pay more or less?