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August 14, 2010 by heber vega

Pursuing and Creating Light! (resources)

If you have been following my Tweets, then you may remember me talking about on-location lighting setups. For a long time, I’ve been thinking about making a lighting setup for environmental portraits and editorial types of shots. Photographers such as Mitchell Kanashkevich, have helped in this quest. He has a great e-book on using flash, softboxes, and reflectors, and, of course, natural light for subjects on location. I think that got me started on this. Then I stumbled on Joey Lawrence’s work with these amazing photographs, and recently my new friend, Jerod Foster, put me on track again with all his amazing work on-location. I also have to mention Joe McNally and “The Hot Shoe Diaries” book.

The choices are many, ranging from economic setups, as my other friend Brian Hirschy writes about here, with great results, through stuff from Chase Jarvis, where you need have deep pockets. I think in the end, I chose a middle route to this… I went for a versatile and professional Nikon SB-900 and a new version of Lastolite Ezybox Hotshoe Softbox. (This one is 30 inches instead of 24.) I should also mention that I bought a Lastolite Ezybox Long Extending Handle, but I’ve seen people using a monopod instead.

Now, this is not a review, Why? Because this is my first lighting setup ever! I never thought of using a flash before, just as I never thought of making videos (this is for another post ;-) later on). So, I don’t have enough experience to do a review, and I also don’t have anything else to compare it with. But, and here’s the but, I think I can provide you with a my personal insight of this setup.

Let me tell you that another reason to choose this setup was the factor that it was really easy to handle and use, with the I-TTL technology + CLS Nikon wireless technology (I got confident after reading McNally’s book.) It’s expandable, so I can keep adding speedlights, and it’s very portable as well.

So, I want to show you proof of how great and easy is to manage this type of thing. The following photo was shot after 30 minutes of opening these toys. I must say my wife was not ready for the occasion; it was early in the morning… if you know what I mean (BTW, now she loves me even more! She wants a free portrait session, because she’s in love with the look of this lighting!).
I used a corridor in my own house as the background. My intention was to merge ambient light and my new stuff. Here’s my first photograph ever with artificial light and only after few minutes playing with this setup. (No post processing, except I opened up details a bit in the shadows)

© Heber Vega | Lastolite Ezybox | f/2 | 1/125 | 85mm | ISO 400

Now, I want to show you what this looked like without the lighting setup. (In the photograph without flash, the shutter is not the same, as I was trying to expose for her face.)

© Heber Vega | Left: f/2.0 | 1/40 | 85mm Right f/2.0 | 1/160 | 85mm

I assembled all of this in a matter of minutes. I used Aperture priority for these shots, I dialed “minus” in my exposure compensation to darken the ambient light, and also dialed “minus” on the flash, to have a more pleasant light. That was it! I’m not saying that this a fabulous job, far from it, but what I AM saying is this will open new opportunities for my work, and that’s what matters! I feel I can do so much more now, and I will start using this really soon, as I have the chance to doing so.

I don’t know if someone is interested in photos of the Ezybox, how it folds and how big it is, that type of stuff. If you are, let me know in the comments and I will be adding photos in this post.

Now… let’s keep pursuing light!

NOTE: I’ve added the following photos to make clear the size and form of this setup. If you have further questions, shoot me an email!
NOTE II: One more thing! This is the biggest Hotshoe Ezybox, you can also find it in 24″x24″ and 15″x15″.






Those two white coats are the diffusers inside of the softbox. You can either use both together or only the external one.


Archive

July 7, 2010 by heber vega

Assignment Length? Allowing yourself to be impacted by people stories

© Heber Vega | The most important Story

Before I start I want to make a couple of things really clear. First off, I’m not trying to change your mind about the length of your assignments, but I want to give you another perspective/approach towards the time spent on your stories. This is not a post to tell you, “You are wrong and I’m right.” In fact, this does not apply to you if you are photographer not working on telling stories. On the other hand, if you are a photographer trying to tell stories of people, causes, organizations, NGOs, etc. this blog post may help you in the long run. You should consider this advice.

After that small explanation, I want to quote Ami Vitale and her perspective about this issue. (If you haven’t seen Ami’s work yet, you should stop reading now and go check out her site over here)

The following paragraph was extracted from Nikon World Magazine, Fall 2009.

Ami Vitale doesn’t report stories, she lives them. A few days, a week, even two weeks is simply not enough time. “I don’t feel comfortable working in places I don’t know well,” she said. “I think the better work comes when people know you and trust you, and also when you have a comfort level in a place.” Further on in the article she said, “It really takes a long time to understand what is going on and why it’s happening. I like to give myself that time.”

Why did I start with Ami’s quote? Because most of the photographers that I admire have taken the same approach as Ami when they tell stories. As this article said, “They don’t report stories, they live them.” Please, I’m not saying that if you aren’t able to “live” among your subjects, you cannot tell their stories. No, I’m far from saying that. But what I do want to share with you guys today, is that most of the great photographers/story-tellers that the world admires have gotten really cool photographs because they have invested time in telling their stories. Do you see the difference?

What I want to put in your mind is that there’s a different approach to telling stories. You don’t need to “rush” and get in this vicious circle of “Instant.” That’s how the world wants everything today, but most of the time that doesn’t help us to tell the stories that we love to photograph. In one word, what makes stories and photography so great by photographers such as Ami Vitale, is INTIMACY. They connect with their subject, they get close, and they make a big effort in trying to understand the whys, whats and hows. If you want to tell stories, want to do it well, and have an impact on your viewers, then you have to take in account the time you will spend on absorbing the story yourself. On the other hand, if you want an average type of story, then go and rush the whole thing!

How do you get to know the story well? By spending time with the subject. There are other great components, which are as important as time for telling great stories, but time is part of the foundation, in the way I see things.

Now that I hope my point is clear to you, I want to share some ideas for the future of your photography business. 1. At the moment I know a couple of great humanitarian/travel photographers who are taking this approach to telling stories. Check out Lane Davis’ work. He is on a nine-months-long assignment and is telling great stories from Africa. Check out www.totellastory.org. During the next few months, Lane will visit several places, which can be complicated if you only accept one assignment at the time. Let me put it in other words – if you really want to get busy working for several organizations at the same time, or visiting several places from one organization, then an approach like this is convenient. You spend less time going back home, spend less money in doing so, and you end up spending more time with your subjects.

2. What about living overseas? There are several great travel/humanitarian photographers, living abroad. Matt Brandon and Gavin Gough just to name a few. The quality of their work is fruitful, as they are spending a long time among their subjects, knowing their subject’s culture, festivals, ceremonies, places to visit that if you are only for a week are really difficult to find.

3. I know another great humanitarian photographer, that recently told me, “I spend so much time traveling to Africa, that now I’ve decided to establish my office over there, at least for 6-8 months every year. That way I will keep my clients in the States but then I will be free to cover all these stories that non-profits want me to shoot.”

In my case, I live in Iraq, although my reason for doing this wasn’t photography. Today after almost 7 years on the field, I have an edge, an advantage to telling stories of the people in this country. The other day I had only a couple of days to photograph some women from Prosperity Candle from Baghdad. With a photographer that did not know the place, that wouldn’t have been enough time to get the story, but because I pretty well know the situation over here, it was easier for me to get those moments out of those women.

I could go on with a list of advantages, as the language for example, and how that really “opens doors” in these countries. Language requires TIME to be acquired. Now, is your time to comment on this topic, to tell me your experiences, maybe your fears on long-term projects. As I said at the beginning, this is only an opinion, and you should keep doing what you think works best for your photography.

Last thing, when I tweeted yesterday about this blog post, Ben Hodson replied to me with this: “I think it depends on if you want to truly allow yourself to be impacted by the people and their stories?” So my question for you is: Are you allowing yourself to be impacted by people stories?

Have a great day.

NOTE: I got this email from Lane Davis, about his thoughts on this discussion, please read it!

“The biggest pro that comes from long assignments is when you are able to actually work on one story or project for a long period of time. This allows you to begin to know people. I’m never a fan of coming into a project and feeling rushed to get the images for the NGO. I like to get to know people. It allows for the real stories to slowly come out. I find people are sometimes hesitant of some guy with a big camera just coming in and taking pictures. If you can spend time and get to know the place, people, story, and culture it only helps your project in the long run.

The best example of this was a project in ethiopia. I met this lady the first day I arrived. Talked to her every day. But it wasn’t until my last day there, that I began to truly hear her story. What all had happened in her life. There I was listening to this woman tell me her story of her life as a refuge. I had talked with her everyday for a month and it wasn’t till I was about to leave that I started to know her story. That had huge implications to the story I had been working on. I wanted to stay longer.

Another advantage is cost. If i’m already in africa, it’s not as expensive to get to another project, verses going to the states and then coming back.

Side note: I’m really starting to rack my brain on what is a good length of time in a project. In this big project I’m visiting many small projects. some I’m there for a month, others only a few days. I prefer the longer ones any day. In fact i’m thinking like somewhere between 1-6 months depending on the need of the project. (audio, video, stills, writing, etc). I think a good couple months would be ideal. I like to just get to know people the first few days or longer. If I am only there for a week, I can’t afford that a lot of times.”

Archive

June 8, 2010 by heber vega

Let’s talk about Contracts

© Heber Vega | Southern Iraqi worker waiting on the street for the next job.

As Matt Brandon well describes in his blog post called “Don’t be an ass get a contract“, we should all have a written contract at the time of starting an assignment. Contracts are not a thing to be afraid of, so why have we stopped talking about them? You should have a contract even when you have decided to work pro-bono. Why? Because contracts are not just to keep on hand in case you have decided to demand someone else in court. Contracts, if you want to see the brighter side of them, are a way of understanding mutual expectations, both from your side and also from the non-profit’s. It’s a guide to help you, to remind you of exactly the things that need to be done on that specific assignment.

Now, before I write more, I do have to make it clear that in this post, I’m not talking about the legal parts involved in a contract, or about jurisdictions and legal actions to follow if the contract is not met by one of the parties. If you are in that type of complex scenario, then I assumed you have hired already a lawyer. If not, do it soon!

Today’s post is much simpler than that. It is for the photographers that want to start offering better services and help themselves by having written “mutual agreements” with their clients. However, you should find out, or try to understand a little bit more about, the laws and jurisdiction in your state, country, region, etc. about topics relating to images and contracts. Just go and find another photographer in your area who has experience and ask him/her what do he or she does if a contract goes sour. Who takes care of those things in your government? Remember, your WORD still stands these days. Just make sure to be faithful to it. Remember word of mouth is one of the secret weapons for successful photographers!

During the last couple of weeks I’ve been doing my homework for my own contracts. I’ve been looking on the Internet for what kinds of things photographers should include in their contracts. What I found out is, that with the exception of the wedding photographers, few other photography fields are really talking about contracts on the Internet. Google them, and you’ll find several copies of contracts for weddings. These are good examples for the type of contracts that I’m talking about in this post. You have found a “client” that’s a couple about to be married, and you have talked about several details already, including your rates and the needs that this new marriage will have for their wedding shots. Now it’s time to write these things down and then stick to what you have promised. In the humanitarian field, you start talking to a person or two from a specific non-profit, then you go through details about rates, dates, needs, locations, etc. and then it’s time to have a written commitment, where both parts have responsibilities. You don’t want surprises on the way, you want to already know the terms when you start shooting.

Now, there’s one more thing, but it’s very important! You will be working to get the best shots of your career for this client (that’s our commitment, isn’t?) Well, what’s going to happen with the images after this assignment? Can they be used by the client only once? For a lifetime? Are you going to keep the Copyright? Sell that as well? Are you going to use those images in your own portfolio ? What type of license then? What about keeping the printing rights of those images? If there’s one thing that’s important after the assignment itself, it’s the images that you have worked hard for! In this case, be very specific about what will happen to them after the assignment.

My advice, give them more rights as they pay you more! If you remember the post about working pro-bono, if they pay you little or nothing, then you can use those images for your own sake. Or maybe, you can sell them as stock, or to other non-profits if you have that opportunity in the future. Again, seek a win-win situation.

Okay, let’s talk about things you should write in a contact:

- Specify the parties to whom this contract will be effective
- Have specific start and end dates
- Jurisdiction. If the contract is not met by one the parties, what happen then?
- Scope of the work. details of the work – assignment. Explain all of your ideas or what you understand from your conversations with the client.
- Payment information. Explain in detail; how much, when, cash/check/paypal, to whom, etc. Who will pay the fees for the payment, transaction, wire fees, etc.
- License
- Copyright
- All details on the delivery of the images.
- Deadlines

(Before you start rolling with your questions, I will put a sample of a contract that you can download and take from there. It’s a PDF to “show you the way”. If you want the template that I use in Pages – only for mac – drop me an email and I will send it to you as well) To download the PDF clic on the image below!

Some photographers have divided all of those previous items into sections. Whether you do this or not is up to you!

1. Contract Section

All the information from the parties, such a names, logos, emails, phones, websites, etc.
Dates for starting and ending the assignment.
Hours involving the assignment.
Rates.

2. Agreement Section

All the agreement stipulations.
Description of the assignment for both parties.

3. Payment

All details related to this, some of them written above.
Do you ask for an advance?
You want it all up-front?
All at the end?

4. Rights and Usage

First, take your time and determine how you want to sell these images. I have already given you a paragraph to think about it (above).

5. Model Release

Do you want to keep these images for your portfolio? Get written permission for it! Include it in the contract.

6. Budget-Schedule

In my contracts I like to use a chart that shows these things more clearly, about my time/work invested in the project.

Just one last comment. You can send a “proposal” for a contract and go back and forth, changing details until both parties have agreed on all the terms, then it’s time to sign it, stamp it and go finally for the assignment!

I hope this post is of value to you. If so, just leave us a comment. If you have further questions, I’m not an expert, but I will try to help you with them as well. Let’s use posts like this one to add something useful to our industry, that’s all!

Blessings.

Archive

May 13, 2010 by heber vega

Conclusions, Tips, Resolutions on Pro-bono work!

Iraq Dinars, bills - Third part of Trilogy on Pro-bono

Time to take a stand! We can’t continue to ignore this situation (I don’t want to call it a problem). I believe as photographers we have to have an opinion about pro-bono work, and reasons to either do it or not. If you don’t understand what I’m saying, then you should go (back ;-) ) to the last two posts of this issue. Read them and then come back here…

Why we should not do pro-bono work
Advantages of working pro-bono

Today’s post is a mix of resolutions, advice, and links to keep you reading and considering this topic.

I have to say, though, that my opinion about pro-bono is a not a black & white situation, where you pick one side and the other is totally excluded. I’ve learned that in several situations in life, the answers are found in some middle ground or better said, “In the balance.”

Here are the two statements (the most important ones for me) that led me to my decision on how to address pro-bono work in my life.

1. I believe that working pro-bono can bring down the value of the industry… IF… it is done with NO purpose.

Why do you want to do pro-bono work? Is there a concrete reason? Is it part of your vision? If your answer is ambiguous, meaning that you do pro-bono work because you don’t know better, or because you think it is always “good” to do, then I have a problem with that type of approach to working pro-bono. I’m not going to re-write all the reasons why, read my first post. But, I can say that if you don’t pay attention to the reasons for doing pro-bono work, then the market goes down, the NGOs sticks to getting everything for FREE, they don’t look for a photographer that knows how to tell their stories, they’re missing opportunities for fundraising, and probably bringing down the quality of their imagery as well. Again, this will keep happening if we do pro-bono work for no apparently reason, with no purpose.

2. I believe that photographers should help and do pro-bono work… IF… there’s no other choice for the non-profit organization.

There are tons of causes out there with no money at all, and with a handful of volunteers trying to “save the world”. Well, they deserve the work of humanitarian photographers. They deserve good photography to tell their stories for FREE! Again, free from their end, but at a cost to the photographer involved.

It’s because of these two statements that I believe we should “balance” pro-bono work on our lives. We can’t simply reject it or totally embrace it without making distinctions about these two statements.

Tips

A Situation: As I said in the second part of this trilogy, most of the non – profit organizations in this world have a budget that covered their expenses and salaries. Not all the money that you may donate for a cause goes to the people in need. Sometimes, depending on the organization, a percentage goes to cover all their expenses. If you see that the non-profit is able to rent nice houses, have cars, cover airfare to their workers, receive good salaries, etc. I don’t see the reason why I should do my work for free! There’s no point in doing that, and the non-profit only keeps growing, not putting value on the work that we do and/or on the photographs that we shoot.

There’s even another class of non-profit outfits that work based on getting grants or projects, where donations or donors are not the main income. In these organizations, the value of a photograph is only for reporting back to the grant/project giver, and, of course, for propaganda. Sure, these organizations do a great favor to the world, no doubt about that, but they have better resources to pay for your work, and as they hire consulting firms for their projects, they should invest money in their imagery!

Tip: Next time when you approach a non-profit, make time to understand the ways they are supported, see if it is based on donors, grants, projects, depends on the local government, is part of an oil company that wants to do good, etc.

Tip II: Next time when one of their reps approaches you asking for pro-bono work, ask why, and then nicely ask if that person is being paid for doing their job. If the person volunteers for their cause, then it earned your respect right there, but if not, then they will understand why they need to pay for it. Most of the time they only need to be educated and see the advantages of photography for their cause.

B Situation: I hope that you have been working with signed contracts until this point.  If not, this is a great time to start. Not because you have decided to work pro-bono, but because without one,  you and the NGO have no responsibilities. You should talk about expectation from both sides, and what the outcomes of this work will be for both sides. Also, you have to understand what will happen to the rights of your photographs.

Are they going to be used only once by the NGO? For a lifetime? Can you post them in your blog? Can you sell them as stock? And so on.

Tip: Read this article written by Matt Brandon “Don’t be an Ass, get a contract.” You will find why is so necessary.

Tip II: Retain the copyright of your images and the right to market those images to other clients. That’s a good way to stay in business.

C Situation: Every time that you think about pro-bono, even if you are starting out and desperately need a portfolio, think of ways where both of you can get something back, a win-win situation. You have to be creative and remember that to help them out not necessary means to work for free. Remember, you are still giving your skills for this cause. I’m going to give you some examples where you and the NGO can both have revenue:

TIP: Offer an exhibit, where people can donate to the NGO, who gets to tell their story while you sell the prints.
TIP II: Make a book where the profits can be split both ways; you and the cause.
TIP III: Make calendars, post-cards and all sorts of stuff where you and they can show your photos and their cause all together.
TIP IV: Make a workshop among their workers to teach them how to take better photos.
TIP V: If they can pay Airfare, or bring you to the field, ask for an extra day or two, all covered, and use that time to build your portfolio stock.

Resolutions

1. I won’t work pro-bono, with the exception of working for the organizations that cannot afford my services (Situation A) and that I also believe in their cause.

2. I will try to find/pick one of these humble organizations every year, so that I can help them with my photography and consulting.

3. If I accept a pro-bono work, I will try to find ways for the organization to somehow pay for my services (Situation C), because I believe that creates intrinsic value.

Links

http://blog.photoshelter.com/2010/05/photography-business-working-with-ngos.html
http://blog.joshmcculloch.com/2007/11/non-profits-pro-bono-work.html
http://www.thedigitaltrekker.com/2009/05/dont-be-an-ass-get-a-contract/
http://adamwestbrook.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/do-multimedia-journalism-and-get-paid/

I hope this Trilogy has helped you to better understand the world of non-profit organizations, the pros and cons of working pro-bono, and that finally you can adopt a resolution for yourself for future offers of pro-bono work. The most important thing is to study yourself, your passion, your vision, and go for it!


Archive

May 10, 2010 by heber vega

The Advantages of Working Pro-bono

Faces on the Iraqi Dinars

© Heber Vega All Rights Reserved | Iraqi Dinars - Pro bono

[May 10, 2010]

If you thought that I was totally sold out on the idea of never doing pro-bono work, you are wrong.

After posting “Why we should not do pro-bono work,” and as the second part of this trilogy, today I’m going to promote pro-bono work, so I will highlight the advantages of doing so (Yes, there are pros!). Now, before I start writing these reasons down, I have to tell you that in the next and final part of this Trilogy, I will explain what I’ve have decided to do in respect to this Issue, and I’ll share some good ideas that I have learned as well.

I hope this series can contribute to you making up your mind about this dilemma. So, in the near future, whether you say yes or no to working pro-bono, you are going be able to understand better, what it takes, what it implies, and what the consequences of doing so are. Let’s get started then!

1. Pro-bono helps to build up portfolios.

This is probably the number one reason that I’ve heard from photographers, especially the ones starting out or trying to create a “name” for themselves in humanitarian photography. Just to give you an example, all the comments in favor of pro-bono work, from the first post of this trilogy, were all about building up a portfolio. How can you show your skills if you don’t have photos on the topic? That’s what is behind this, and I believe in this point, because it’s important to have a portfolio to speak for you (That’s why I’m building mine at the moment ;-) )

At the same time, think of the “rights” of your photos.  Most of the time in a paid assignment you also sell the rights for using those photos. Most of the time you are not allowed to use those shots that you loved for personal use because now they belong to this non-profit organization. But, if you shoot pro-bono, you have the option to make it clear (we’ll talk about this next post) that these shots can be used for personal use, or in your portfolio.

2. Pro-bono provides experience.

As you can take advantage of pro-bono work by building up a portfolio, you can also get a lot of experience by working for different non-profit organizations in different locations and/or circumstances. This will prepare you for once the paid assignments come. Experience is very important for getting jobs.  It’s totally different to tell a client, “This is my first job… I will do my best”, compared to, “I understand… yeah, I’ve done that type of job in the past. Yes, I know how to deal with that”. Do you see the difference? Building up experience is a real asset!

If you go pro-bono, try to take as much experience as you can from each assignment. That will help you to be better prepared when similar situations arise in your paid job.  Also, you can better understand the “inside” of NGOs and charities, you get better at knowing how to handle a contract, for example, and what to ask before taking the next assignment. Remember, being a successful photographer is not just about the talent and the skills, but learning how to run a business.

3. Pro-bono keeps you away from becoming a robot

We are still human beings that are “moved” by people’s needs. That compassionate feeling is what we see as an option for helping others. One of the questions in the Humanitarian 10.Q interviews is an assumption that every humanitarian photographer is not there because of the money. As we want to make a living in this field, we also want to do good things, we want to help out; we want to help to hear the unheard ones. David duChemin said in his 10.Q Interview that humanitarian photography on a broader scale “is creating images used to move the human heart to broader issues of justice and compassion.” If you have lost sight of this, you are becoming a robot. I think it is great to get involved in a cause. I’m not talking about an assignment, but to give up some of your time, your life, just to help others less fortunate than yourself. And, if you are a photographer, why not give what you know best?

There are many non-profits that don’t have, and probably never will have a way to hire you. Are we going to let them down?

Are we going to let the money decide if we can help or not?

I’d say: “If we dare to use the word “humanitarian” as a description of what we do or what we are, then we have to live up to it!”.

4. Pro-bono is a good place for Creativity

This goes along with points 1 and 2. I’ve read that professional photographers, really successful ones with great jobs, still practice pro-bono work.  Do you want to know one of the reasons? (The main one in some cases?)   It freed them up to do other types of shoots that are not allowed in the type of photography that allows them to make a living. These photographers, most of the time, have to shoot the same thing again and again. Why?  Because they are good at it! Sometimes there’s no room for creativity, at least not in the personal and experimental way that they would wish. So how can they do that; by working pro-bono. They look for an assignment where they are free to experiment, they contact that person/group/cause and they go for it!

Somehow, this is another way of building up a portfolio or getting experience.

5. Pro-bono helps your marketing.

I wrote a while ago about cause marketing, because today, that is a reality for photographers. Long ago, companies learned that being associated with a good cause could also help them with their marketing strategies, providing them with more customers and better sales. According to Wikipedia, 89% of the population would choose a brand that’s associated with a good cause over the rest. Think about it!

If the word gets out that you and your photography are supporting X cause, and that it’s an important cause, you will attract new visitors to your site; you will get to places that you didn’t without that job. Social media is in the middle of all this. Many non-profits can help you find new customers once they start talking nice about you. Of course, your photography is still very important, but don’t overestimate what people or the classical “word or mouth” can do to your business. Good NGOs are always in partnership with others; they all like to be connected; so if one of them highlights your work, don’t be surprised if the other ones start to call you, and for a paid job!

There’s a lot more to be said, but I’m running out time… sorry.

Please, let us know what other advantages you see in working pro-bono, what you have seen in your experience.

Be ready for our last post on this topic, probably before the end of the week. I will share more links and my own impressions on this issue.

Peace.

Archive

May 4, 2010 by heber vega

Why We should not do Pro-bono work

© Heber Vega All Rights Reserved | "Iraqi Dinars..."

[May 4, 2010]

Since I started to play with the idea of becoming a photographer, the question of doing pro-bono work has been an issue that I haven’t been able to address. For long time I didn’t have a concrete opinion, or let’s say, I didn’t pick a side. Now, through the Internet, I’ve found people defending pro-bono work, with good reasons, and others opposed to it, also with really interesting thoughts.

After having some time to chew on this issue, and after having done my research as well, I have come to my own conclusions that I want to share in a trilogy of articles. Today I have posted “Why we should not do pro-bono work.” In a couple of days I will post “The advantages of working pro-bono,” and probably next week, I want to share my personal conclusions as to what I’ve learned in this process and also some links where you can continue exploring this idea.

Before giving you reasons for not working pro-bono, I have to add that, as humanitarian photographers, we have to be ready to respond to this question. Be sure, non-profits will come your way asking you to work pro-bono. What’s your answer going to be? What are the pros and cons of working pro-bono? Am I helping to bring down the market? Am I harming the full-time photographers? Do I need a contract in cases like this? Are all the non-profits a charity as well? These are some questions that we’ll discuss during this trilogy.

Today, for no apparent reason ;-) , I want to share the disadvantages or cons of working pro-bono. The list is not in any specific order of importance:

1. Pro-bono work brings down the value of the industry; it harms the marketplace.

This is probably the number-one reason for the opponents of pro-bono work. Their argument is simple.  if you give the option to a non-profit organization whose resources are limited, to choose between a paid photographer or one that’s for free (on their end) then most of the time, unless they value quality over price, they’re going to end up accepting the photographer for free.

With time, these organizations get used to it and they only look for free photographs, even though this could mean, mediocre images.

The people in this side of the fence says that the market is going down, among other things, to people that charge little or nothing.

2. Pro-bono devalues the importance of photography for non-profit organizations.

Let me put it this way, not all the non-profit organizations are charities. They work as a business, with the difference being that they cannot as a finance balance, go to profit. They have employees to pay, cars, rent, phone, Internet, website, airfare, consulting companies, etc. So why do these other topics deserve a budget but not photography? People see in this behavior, a “devaluation” for good images. If they value it, why is it not part of their budget?

Working pro-bono maintains this tendency among NGOs.

Matt Brandon gave us this example in his 10.Q Interview: “If I have a costly camera and have no earthy idea how to use it and just keep it on my shelf, then I don’t value it for what it can do. If I truly valued the camera I would read up on how to use it and make it pay for itself. But the reality is if while going into it, I don’t know how to use it, not see it’s potential, then I don’t value it and would never buy it in the first place”.

In the last 50 years or so, we’ve had several examples of how images have made a difference, raised awareness of a situation, or simply raised millions of dollars in donations. Images are powerful, but non-profit organizations need to be educated in this.

3. Pro-bono work sometimes promotes mediocre images.

While this depends very much on the photographer that’s working on the assignment, we can say that, most of the time, pro-bono work is seen as a favor, not as a contract.  More often than not, this affects the “severity” or “professionalism” of the job. It’s hard, from the employer’s side, to be demanding on the “volunteer”.  At the same time, volunteers, sometimes, are not fully committed to the job, because they are not paid to be.

On the other side of the coin, if you’re being paid to do a job, your reputation, career, and income depends on your performance.

In the end, we come to, “You get what you pay for”.

4. Pro-bono sometimes decrease the quality of images

This point is directly related to points 2 and 3. Most of the photographers doing pro-bono work today are photographers only starting in this business. They haven’t been around situations and experiences as the seasoned professional photographers have. Most of the time they don’t know how to address the needs of the NGOs, or simply don’t know how to tell the story behind the cause of the organization.

When you pay for someone that has been working in the industry for a while, you can be sure he/she knows how to do the job.

5. Pro-bono can harm your business plan

Usually when people speak about pro-bono, they automatically refer to it as working for free. But, as others have said before, this is an illusion, because “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Someone always has to pay the cost of it.  In this case, not the organization, but you, the photographer. You are giving time, expenses, materials, photos, etc. So, before you start taking pro-bono work, think about it and see if you have the resources to pay for it.

6. This is where you chime in… I want to leave space to comments. Feel free to comment on this issue and make your respective questions. In a couple of days we’ll talk about  “The Advantages of working pro-bono,”  and next week my own impressions and decision. (Plus links to keep reading)

Thanks.


Archive

March 31, 2010 by heber vega

Dignity to our Subject

"My friend the Guard"

© Heber Vega | My Friend the Guard


[March 31, 2010]

This week has been a little bit crazy with work. We are in the middle of a busy time dealing with several NGO projects concerning our Team. The good thing about this is that each of these projects will provide help, and assist development to the people that we love and care about.  I had prepared two posts for this week (besides Friday’s 10.Q); the one that you’re reading now, and a 2-Consider that is really linked to what I’m talking about here, so make sure to read that one too (coming soon).

To start, let me share one of the quotes that motivated this post. When I read it, I thought that I was going to publish it under 2-Consider, but there were a lot of other things to chew on so I decided to write it here.

“Valérie Payen-Jean Baptiste, a Haitian elementary school principal who lost all of her possessions, her home and school, and nearly her family, in the quake, was sickened by the images. “I’m not criticizing journalists [who] talk about the facts of the earthquake,” she wrote in a follow-up e-mail. “But my critique is about the tone of unnecessary pictures and videos that showed pieces of bodies, dying people, the nudity of people, or the misery/tragedy of people in line for food and water. Seriously, is this cruelty really necessary to mobilize massive humanitarian action? “

(This is a quote from a very long post about Haiti and the earthquake photography already mentioned)

When I read that article, the words that resonated within me, were the ones of Valérie.  The reason? Because she is part of the subject; she belongs to the people being captured by photographers and she even mention the humanitarian actions as well. Now, I don’t want to enter the land of “how the media/news should cover these events” (or not), or perhaps the ethics of that. No, that’s not my intention at all. Today I’m speaking to humanitarian photographers and to those who aspire to be one.

When we talk about humanitarian photographers, we are not merely talking about photographers shooting for non-profit organizations. We are talking about people that care for humanity; that deal with human beings and their complex situations as a subject. David duChemin said:

“Humanitarian photography, for me, is shooting images for the international humanitarian NGO community, but on a broader scale I think it’s creating images used to move the human heart to broader issues of justice and compassion. I got into this because I was passionate about it and these were the stories I wanted to tell,” (10.Q Interview available this Friday).

So, if we agree that we are photographers that care for other human beings, for justice and compassion, we also have to think of how we can project that; how we can show our respect and give dignity, among other things, to our subjects.

I think we have to stop and think of how the people that we shoot feel after they’ve seen their own pictures published.

Do they regret having met us? Do they wish they had never have been captured by our cameras? Or, do they feel that someone, somehow had shown compassion for them? That someone is telling their story out there so that their kids won’t have to go through the same thing? Do the people in our photos somehow feel hope?

Sometimes, their own society or government neglects people. Do they feel that some “outsiders” are at least trying to do something? My question to you is, “How does your subject feel about you and your photography?”

Don McCullin said this in an interview:

“when I operate alone I try to approach them with dignity. But there is no way of being dignified with dozens of newsmen around, pushing and shoving and punching each other over one injured soldier, shouting to another “You spoilt my picture”, while almost depriving the man from the oxygen around him. I look at them and think, “Who are these people?” At night, in Beirut, they used to meet at the bar, talking about day-rates. Or someone would say to another one : “If you get the cover, you buy us champagne”.

McCullin was sharing some of the things that he witnessed as a war photographer. After all of this, he shoots landscapes today… I wonder why…

What do the people in our photos mean to us?
When we see them in their poverty, in their hardship, do we think of the next photographic competition, or do we empathize with them?

Don McCullin once said:

“Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures”. And then later after another question he reply: “I can tell you which pictures seem to me more meaningful. One is the Biafran mother. Another one is the Indian family, with the woman lying on a stretcher. She had died of cholera, the children were crying and banging the ground, I was looking up to the sky, trying not to let them see that I was crying. I am very emotional, but people don’t know this, I am expected to be the big tough John Wayne of war photography – which I don’t want to be. The man kept saying, “What will I do, how will I feed my children?”

I want to share another great article from a Chilean photographer working for Reuters. He narrates this during what he called,
“His best photo from the earthquake but the one that he never sent.”

“An earthquake survivor carries the dog that he rescued from the ruins of his home, along a street devastated by the earthquake and tsunami. “Take my picture with the dog,” the survivor tells me. I take it as if ordered to, and see that his face shows tremendous pain. “I lost my home, the sea took my son and my wife, and this is all that was left. I can’t leave the dog here. He was my son’s.” He pauses. “I found my wife (alive), but my boy is still missing.” Before he finishes speaking I lower my camera and cry. I walk together with him thinking what to say to lessen his suffering, but there is only silence.”

In this job there are moments where we have to lower the camera… that’s my opinion.  We must make time to share with the people that fuel our passion, or that help us keep our jobs. I invite you to try this if you haven’t already; to really engage with your subject, not just during the shoot, but before and after as well.

It’s not just about our careers or photography, the subject matters as well! If you engage with them, you will see you photography improve, I promise you that. James Nachtwey does, Ami Vitale does, Don MacCullin did, and so have many others. So, not to make this too long…

How do we show/give dignity to the people in our photos? How do we engage with them?

I don’t have a complete answer to this. I’m still experimenting, I’m still learning, I’m in the process, but I already seen some clues that are worth talking about here:

- Do we approach and talk to people? Or do we act like the paparazzi?
- Are we really listening to them? Or do we want to tell our own story?
- Do we care about their perspective of things? Or Ours?
- Do we put our camera down? Or do we just keep shooting (rushing) as if the world will end today?
- Do we come back later to thank them and show them results? Or do we just keep celebrating the last “trophy”?

Sebastiao Salgado said:
“If you take a picture of a human that does not make him noble, there is no reason to take this picture. That is my way of seeing things”.

If you want to keep reading about this, here are some links:

Read question 7 in all the 10.Q Series
Read 2-Consider that I will post this week
Read these links 1-2-3 from Matt Brandon
Read about Ami Vitale in Nikon Magazine Fall 2009… She said among other things: “I think the better work comes when people know you and trust you”.

Follow people like Gavin Gough, David duChemin, etc.

Leave us a comment, ask your questions, or send us your feedback.

Archive

March 18, 2010 by heber vega

Photography and the Family

"Family Portrait"

© Heber Vega | Little Liam and his Mom

[March 17th, 2010]

In 1999, as a part of a trip throughout Peru, I had the opportunity to visit Machu Picchu (if you have never been there, you should go!)  It was an incredible time for me, because that was the year when I decided that I should leave Chile and look for another place in this earth to live. Anyway, in Machu Picchu, I also had one of those experiences that really affected the way I thought, and is directly related to this post. During my time there, I got know many interesting people.  One of them, a book writer and photographer, was the most interesting person that I’ve ever met.  He was working for one of the world’s best-known travel/cultural magazines (I prefer to not disclose details), and was in Peru to update one of his books about the Amazon and its people groups. My friends and I met this photographer while looking for a person that would take a group-shot of us. After talking to him for a couple of minutes and realizing how well he was handling the camera, I asked him what was he doing over there, what was his job?   To my surprise, he was a very famous writer and photographer who was 65 years old, and knew almost every corner of the earth. I remember how excited I was just to hear all of his stories from all over the world, AND to see that he was paid to do what he liked to do!  He, of course, was staying in one of the nicest hotels in Cuzco and had access to all the great sites because it was part of his book. After 3-4 days of talking about everything, I asked him, “Is there anything in your career that you regret; anything that you would change?”  To my surprise, he said, “ Yes, I do regret one thing. I’m old enough to know that the day is coming when I will need to leave this life and I regret not having a heritage to leave to this world; one that can continue with what I am, with what I believe, and with what I love. I miss not having a family.”

That moment is frozen in time for me. It was really significant to me. Here was a man with the life that I wanted to live, but with great regrets about family. On that day I decided that one of the things that I wanted to experience in life was to get married and have children. Now, after several years, I have found my partner in life and am blessed with two beautiful sons that are just incredible to spend time with. I cannot picture my life without them and I can certainly say goodbye to this world feeling that I have been blessed.  Anyway, this isn’t a post to tell you to get married, but it is a post to have us wake up to the fact that photography is NOT all there is in this world!

I have another story, not about a photographer, but a writer, and his wife is the photographer. He is known as one the brightest minds ever. He is classic Tolstoy. There was a time in my life when I was very impressed with Tolstoy and his writings; they touched me. I also admired his career and I wished I could write things as he had. I still admire him to this day. One day, however, I heard the story of his wife (a photographer btw) and I felt sad for her. Among other things, she has said, “All the things that he preaches for the happiness of humanity only complicate life to the point where it becomes harder and harder for me to live.” She was exhausted, being Tolstoy’s wife.  She was complaining about how her husband was “changing” the world through his writings while his family was dying because of his indifference.  Hard, really hard… this is another frozen moment; a moment when I realized that having a family requires you to sacrifice for them, to be there for them, to care, as you care for “humanity”.

We, the humanitarian photographers, have to think of the “humans” within our walls, within our family.

How does your family feel about your career? Are they supportive?

Are they excited when you get another assignment? Are they happy when you return from it?

One of the questions in the 10.Q series is about family time, and I put it there because mixing photography and family is not an easy thing, especially if you have to travel a lot every year. As a photographer, this issue is crucial to me; it’s of the utmost importance!  I have two boys, Caleb and Liam, and another baby on the way… so, I want to be there for them. I’m passionate about relief and humanitarian work, that’s why I do what I do. But most of the time I’m reminded to keep an eye on my family and their well-being.

My question today is, how can I keep a good balance? How can I maintain a healthy family while having a successful photographic career?

Is there any possibility for both?

Do I need to be resigned to having mediocre family time?

I don’t think so. That’s where I am right now. In fact, I got to the point I’m at so far, because of my family, especially my wife. Now, I’m not a famous photographer.  Maybe you are. One thing I do know is that some successful people have managed their careers + family very well. Some things that I’ve learned from them are:

• Be intentional about spending time with them. Don’t keep talking about yourself. Start asking about them, their needs, and how you can be there for them.

• Try to involve them in what you do. Seek counseling for your career with them. Let them participate.

• Put a limit on the time that you spend on assignment. Get to an agreement with them on that.

• Make evaluations about your relationships with them; a kind of AAR.

• Take them on your assignment if it’s possible.

If you are successful in sharing your love for photography and humanity, if they see it as something fun and good, then you will leave a great heritage to the world; your family. If you care for and spend quality time with them, you will have fans within your walls; you own family. Let’s learn from the stories today.

I want to recommend what I have recently been reading and listening to. Look further down and ask questions of these photographers. They would be happy to share more about these things:

- Gary S. Chapman: read 10.Q here (5th question) and Depth of Field interview here. He talks a lot about family and he does with Vivian.

- Matt Brandon: read 10.Q here (5th question) and go and send him an email, he is a good mentor.

- Matt Powell: read 10.Q this Friday (5th question)

- Scott Kelby’s book: “The Book for Guys Who Don’t Want Kids”

- Rick Sammon at famous Kelby’s Guest Blog Wednesday: “So my purpose in this guest blog is to hopefully inspire all those dads (and moms) out there who think that traveling with a child might slow them down in their quest for great pictures. It is also for couples who might be planning on having a child, and who might think that their photographic lives will be “over” if they have a kid. I’ve heard that, too!” Read more.

As you can see, I’m not alone in this, ;-)

Don’t forget to leave a comment.

Archive

March 15, 2010 by heber vega

A Cause Marketing? Threat or Advantage?

"The Unknown People"

© heber vega | Bazaar of Sulaimaniyah

[March 15th, 2010]

*Note: Please read the comments on this post to complete the idea
In our last 10.Q interview, one of our readers, Dave, left a comment that drew me into this post, that made me think and research “Cause Marketing.” He “left the door open” to a possible threat that this could represent to humanitarian photographers, but the questions I’m posing are, “What’s this ‘cause marketing’ all about? How can it be a threat to humanitarian photographers? Isn’t this a good way to support NGOs? Can we use it to our own benefit?” These were just some of the questions that I asked myself while using Google to search many sites dealing with Cause-related Marketing.

Before we can start a discussion on whether or not Cause Marketing is beneficial to our business, we have to try to understand what is this.  According to Wikipedia, “Cause Marketing” refers to a type of marketing involving the cooperative efforts of a “for profit” business and a non-profit organization for mutual benefit. Cause marketing differs from corporate giving (philanthropy), as the latter generally involves a specific donation that is tax deductible, while cause marketing is a marketing relationship generally not based on a donation.”

“The creation of the term “cause-related marketing” is attributed to American Express, and it was coined to describe efforts to support locally based charitable causes in a way that also promoted business. The term was then used to describe the marketing campaign led by American Express in 1983 for the Statue of Liberty Restoration project.[6] A penny for each use of the American Express card, and a dollar for each new card issued was given to the Statue of Liberty renovation program. Over a four-month period, $2 million was raised for Lady Liberty, transaction activity jumped 28 percent and the concept that doing good was good for business, was born[7].”

“Cause-related marketing is a powerful marketing tool that business and nonprofit organizations are increasingly leveraging. According to the Cone Millennial Cause Study in 2006[10], 89% of Americans (aged 13 to 25) would switch from one brand to another brand of a comparable product (and price) if the latter brand was associated with good cause.”

Now that we are more familiar with the term, and we know how powerful it is in terms of marketing, let’s start our discussion on how this can affect our photographic marketing.

First off, Dave, our reader who brought this up, gave us the following link, where we can see how wedding photographers are encouraged to shoot for charity in order to benefit their business. At the bottom of the page it says that a workshop is offered at WPPI, where photographers can learn how “Cause Marketing can help both you and your business.” The way they promote this is an example of a project that 16 top wedding photographers did to benefit “Thirst Relief International,” when they traveled to Tanzania to work for this non-profit.

Dave said, “I’ve left feeling a bit ‘uneasy’ about all this.” My question is, why? Why would you feel “uncomfortable” with this initiative?

Well, if you are a “dedicated” humanitarian photographer, meaning that your income is based ONLY on this type of photography, then I can see how it could be a threat. Basically, some “other” photographers are using “your” field to make a profit, or to have a better marketing strategy. Using the example given by Dave, we can say that now we have wedding photographers doing humanitarian photography, but for FREE!

This “uneasy” feeling probably also says that a possible consequence of this trend is that “x” NGO is not going to look for “you” next time they have an assignment. Why, if they can get a free wedding photographer to do the job, right? If you see it that way, you can say the wedding photographer has a better business strategy, but the cost falls on the humanitarian dedicated photographer, who loses a job.

We can even reverse the “coin”, to make this even clearer. We can say, what if we, the humanitarian photographers, in an attempt to improve our marketing strategy, start shooting weddings, but for FREE! (Please, this is not real… I’m just trying to make a point)

While doing my research, I found that some photographers from other fields, are not trying to do humanitarian photography as part of their “cause marketing” strategy, but they are using “their” own photography to pursue this. For example they sell a wedding calendar where some of the profits are donated directly to “x” NGO. In that case, I don’t see any “threat” at all. The problem, I think for some people, starts when these photographers accept assignments that previously were exclusively given to humanitarian photographers.

Personally, I don’t feel threatened by this trend, but challenged. I feel encouraged, and somehow inspired to improve my own marketing strategy.

I ask, “What if we use this powerful tool called “Cause Marketing” to our benefit as humanitarian photographers?”

Remember that one or two posts ago, we were talking about the fact that most small NGOs are not able to pay for humanitarian photographers, and how, most of the time, the solution is to work for free (not free on their end, but ours).  Well, I think if we are creative with “cause marketing,” we can use it as something beneficial to our business.

I found this post in Photocrati, where they gave a couple of examples of how to use “cause marketing” in photography.  Some of the ideas were:

• A local portrait/wedding studio holds quarterly workshops for photographers on various business practice issues. They host them at their studio and usually bring in a guest speaker. They don’t charge attendees directly, but ask that they make a donation to a specific charity ($40 to the local food bank or so.)

• A commercial photographer sponsors a hole-in-one contest at a charity golf outing. If a participant scores a hole in one, they win $10,000. He gets a bond each year to cover that, which costs about $100. He’s at the teebox of that hole, shoots a photo of the foursome and mails each of them a print (with his logo and web address of course.)

• A fine art photographer gives 25% of sales of a series of images of the Chesapeake Bay to a local environmental charity.

• In lieu of holiday gifts for his corporate clients, an industrial photographer makes a donation to the USO (many of his clients are in the defense industry and are veterans). He then sends the clients a note thanking them for their business and letting the client know that he’s made that donation.

This is why I think we have to be creative and start using this tool. If people prefer to choose the services of a photographer for a good “cause”, then we have to give reasons to the people to hire us. At the end, we are the ones that have been “fighting” for a good cause, haven’t we?

What if we use this marketing tool to approach to a small NGO and say this?

• I want to shoot for your NGO. I know that you don’t have a budget for it, so I want to offer you this.

• I need your support (logistics) and I will be shooting you in your locations, your centers (whatever they do) for the next couple of months.

• With the results of this shoot I’m going to publish a book, where, let’s say, 20% of the profits are yours.

• I’m going to have an exposition, and for each frame that I sell, I’m going to give you, let say, 20% of the profits.

• Then I’m going to… (It’s your turn to imagine the next thing!)

But you, as the NGO, have to make this commitment with me:

• Give me permission to use your name.

• Spread the word to all your “followers” and “fans” (all social media included. If they don’t have these, they need to start creating them) about this “product” and I will spread it with mine as well.

• Talk to local newspapers and media (that know this NGO) and promote “our” products.

I’m just writing a few examples of how you can use “cause marketing” in your favor. Remember that you are the one that have been working for good causes all along. Use this tool in the right way, and you will have a win-win situation.

What the NGO wins is:

• Imagery

• Income

• Publicity

• Probably, new donors

What you win is:

• Portfolio/experience

• Income

• Publicity

• Good reputation

Today I want to encourage you not to let fears, feeling threatened, or anything similar, take over your business. You know much more about the humanitarian field than a wedding photographer, per se. You know the NGOs and their world. You know how to portrait and tell stories of people trapped in hopeless situations. YOU are the humanitarian photographer!!!

So, take advantage of your field and your experience.  Don’t let new trends scare you.  I know most of you work in this field because you believe in the cause of non-profits, and you want to show them to the world.

If you do your work “professionally,” you will never lack clients. Isn’t that what we’ve seen in our mentors?

If you think this information can be useful in your career as a humanitarian photographer, please leave us a comment. Also if you are a “dedicated” humanitarian photographer, please let us know what you think about all this.

PS. I don’t have anything against wedding photography but admiration! (Please read my comment below)

Archive

March 9, 2010 by heber vega

What’s our Job?

"Local Kurdish workers building a water tank"

© heber vega | Iraqi laborers building a water tank


Humanitarian Photographers: What’s our Job?
[March 9, 2010] Do we know the answer to that question? Have we asked ourselves, what IS our job? Do we know how far to go in our services? What kinds of things are included in them and what are not?
Those are just some of the questions that I have in my mind after reading Jeremy Courtney’s comment on our last post of 10.Q.
He commented on Matt Brandon’s quote, “NGOs don’t understand the true value of an image”.
My intention here is not to discuss that quote (for that, you can follow the thread on the post.) What I want to discuss, or let’s say, hear from you about, is what struck me the most out of Jeremy’s comments. It’s one question that I’m still thinking about… What’s our Job?
Please read the extract of his comment before we continue….

“So let me go out on a limb here for this photographic community. If you want smaller NGOs to pay for your services as a photographer, I’d guess many, if not most would be more willing to invest in the photographer who can help us take the beautiful image after all is said and done and leverage that photo into funding. The photog with the biggest social network, direct mail list, blog following, and the best strategies to help me do that is the photog who gets my organizational money.

Is that your job? That depends. That’s your call. But most of us spending NGO money know our limits. We know that your photography is valuable. But we don’t always have the skill to do something of value with your beautiful photo. And a beautiful photo on an otherwise ugly website, pamphlet, newsletter, or mail out is a waste of money.

So the hesitation to spend it not because we don’t value beautiful photography. The hesitation is because so many of us don’t know how to convert on beautiful photography.

In short, most understaffed NGOs need you as more than a photographer. They need a media producer/media consultant for hire. In today’s media saturated world, “the value of an image” is too small a discussion; and it’s too esoteric.

NGOs need people to help us conceive and implement strategies and cross-promotional opportunities. Create a media package for me that guarantees X Tweets during the course of our time together, FB group email promotional blasts, email newsletter blasts, blog posts, advertising space on your website for ___ days, and direct mail mentions and you take the pressure of me of spending donor money in a way that would not only fail to move us forward, but just might set us back.

Again, is that your job? That’s your decision. But the first photographers that seize the opportunity to be more than photographers (because all of you are great at selling yourselves anyway) will be the first photographers that find an organization like the Preemptive Love Coalition willing to risk it – not just for the valuable image, but for the marketing/distribution plan as well.”

Jeremy Courtney, CEO for the Preemptive Love Coalition, is a good friend of mine. A couple of weeks ago, on the road to one of their assignments, we were discussing an issue. Most of the small NGOs don’t have a budget for photographers, so most of the time they end up taking photos themselves. At the very least, they’re just another set of mediocre images. He told me this, “Before hiring a photographer, I need to know that, as a consequence, I will be getting at least our donors’ money back.” I understand Jeremy. I’ve been leading an NGO team for several years and I know the importance of working within a budget and not wasting resources.
So I posed a question to myself,
“How in today’s world can our imagery enhance the NGO’s fundraising?
What else can we bring to the table to make our clients successful?
Is it our job as photographers to do that?”

Interestingly enough, Jeremy suggested that maybe we should put out tweets, Facebook groups, newsletters, blogs, etc. as a part of the deal with the NGO and “promote” them through these forms of “social media”. That will make it more attractive from the NGO’s perspective to invest in a photographer. To hire us!

So, what do think about this idea?
Are you willing to put your “followers” on the table, your “fans” as a part of the deal?
Is that our job nowadays?

Is that how we can use this “social media” frenzy?

I’m sorry that I’m not providing answers to this issue. I’m far from having them. But, I do know one thing. I’d love to see NGOs putting value on photography and photographers. How? Through hiring our services. I believe that we should discuss how to make that happen.

How can make this a win-win situation?
How can we convince the small NGOs to hire our services?

How do we have to start marketing ourselves?

Please, feel free to leave comments.

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