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Key
words in this issue: Self-Advertising | Average Fee | Hobby | Day Rate
|
PDF
| Insects | PhotoShop 7 | Contests | Galapagos | New Zealand |
NEWSWORDS:
Hitler | Photographer detained | Hachette | Pool Hall | Jungle
Beasts
| Kodak | Pixels | Seminar | New Mexico | Travel | Writer | Switzerland |
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PhotoAIM weekly newsletter for 09/13/03 ## 396B
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PhotoAIM,
the weekly newsletter from PhotoSource
International. <http://www.photosource.com> ==>
ISSN
1530-0511
If
you no longer wish to receive PhotoAIM, see the instructions at the end of this
newsletter.
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It's no secret that the book and magazine industry
buys large quantities of photos - daily. Medium-size publishing houses have a
$20,000 or more per month budget for photography. Large publishers pay out
$40,000 to $80,000 per month.
You, the photo illustrator, don't
have the opportunity to advertise your work to these clients in the usual,
conventional ways. The yellow pages are not available to you, neither are
billboards, radio or other media. Since you are a "specialist" in your
field of photography, you are faced with the task of figuring out a way to
"advertise" yourself, without appearing, shall we say, immodest. I
have seen great reluctance on the part of photographers who deal with the
magazine and book industry, to "advertise" themselves. They have the
task of overcoming their resistance to "self-advertising" or
"horn blowing." It's a paradox because most talented photographers
(because of their talent) find it uncomfortable to talk about themselves or
promote themselves in glowing terms.
However, this fact remains: many a
genius has gone undiscovered to his or her beyond, because they failed to allow
themselves to be discovered. Look at it this way: Picture the Bronx telephone
directory and then imagine that all those names are modest, talented
photographers. It would be preposterous (or even immodest?) on your part to
imagine that the world was going to come along and discover you, wouldn't it?
Sometimes it's actually immodest to be modest.
You happen to be a talented photographer.
The viewing public deserves to see and enjoy your pictures. It is necessary for
you to break out of the conditioning imposed on you by your relatives, your
neighbors, and your friends to not state your talent and achievements. You must
transcend that circle and admit that if your photographs are going to be seen
and enjoyed - you must blow your own photographic horn.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/gen301.html
Kracker
Barrel
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Note:
Need the answer to a stock photography question? At our website (www.photosource.com/board)
you'll find our Bulletin Board, called "The Kracker Barrel." Check it
out. Our staff answers marketing questions; fellow photographers and our
columnists offer their input and experience. The following is a typical
exchange:
Q: As a photographer who owns copies of
Cradoc Bagshaw's "fotoBiz" and "fotoQuote" software
packages, along with Rohn's book "sellphotos.com," I am pretty
familiar with the pricing game that we all participate in with periodical
publishers.
However,
can anyone please tell me what the "average" fee would be for
illustrating a book? An author (not a
publisher) has approached me to illustrate his yet-to-be published book. The book will be a collection of
approximately thirty (30) homilies and reflections, written by this Catholic
priest, dealing with death and the grieving process.
Do
I request a flat fee for my photographic collaboration, or percentage of the
royalties? What is the current average
fee of royalty percentage? Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
A: There are many ways to go in a
situation like this. And by the by, many a
photographer who has tried it, has vowed "never again." But
this sounds like a labor of love, so let's examine the options.
The reason a project like this so often does not run
smooth is that the variables seldom fall together. The author doesn't meet
deadline. The author doesn't find a publisher. Your fee is too high. And other
reasons you can imagine that "Murphy" says will go wrong.
Often the author himself will pay for everything and
hope that sales will meet expenses In the industry, this is called 'vanity'
publishing.. If the project turns out to be a blockbuster - well,
congratulations. But the Boulevard of Broken Dreams is strewn with bodies of
those who thought such a project would be (monetarily) worthwhile. Be prepared
to find that it rarely is.
Want to read more of this
article? Go to:
http://www.photoaim.com/cb66.html
TAX
TACTICS
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Those obliging folks at the Internal Revenue Service
allow write-offs to ease the pain for losses you suffer in ventures entered
into make "profits." But long-standing rules disallow deductions for
losses incurred in pursuing "hobbies."
Because of that distinction, the feds
program their computers to bounce returns that show full-time salaries and
other sources of income offset by losses from sideline undertakings that turn
out to be hobbies -- photography, writing, and painting, to cite just some of
the activities that are likely to draw the attention of the tax collectors.
How do IRS examiners determine whether your
intention is to turn a business profit from, say, your photography -- or just
to have fun? They get their cues from Internal Revenue Code Section 183, which
provides guidelines on how to distinguish between a hobby and a business. To
take advantage of Section 183, you have to establish a profit motive.
To cut down on disputes, the law presumes that you
are engaging in a business rather than a hobby -- with the IRS as a partner who
is entitled to a portion of your profits -- as long as you have a net profit in
any three out of the last five consecutive years. Net profit is IRS-speak for
an excess of receipts over expenses. (By the way, Congress, in its wisdom,
decided that photographers, artists and the like are not as deserving as
individuals involved in the breeding, training, showing, or racing of horses.
It conferred an easier standard on the latter: two out of seven years.)
Want to read more of this
article? Go to:
http://www.photoaim.com/txtct.html
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This
week's featured photographer on PhotoSourceFolio: John Houtman:
(http://www.photosourcefolio.com)
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SETTING THE FEE
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A reader recently wrote…
“I read in SELLPHOTOS.COM, (page 108) that the editorial buyer
sets the price for the images they purchase.
Can I expect the editorial buyer to
also set the day rate for an assignment?
How about expenses?”
Editorial
photography appeals to people with cameras who usually choose lifestyle over
monetary reward. That's why most editorial photographers live in small towns or
rural areas. Our subscriber address list shows this. They'd rather shoot ten
pictures for a book-in-progress for $200 each, than one fashion shot for
$2,000. The eventual reward that is most of those ten pictures can be sold and
re-sold down the line to specialty or history markets, and can be a sort of
future annuity for the photographer family. Probably the best reward is, with
editorial photography, there's no art director hovering over your back when you
shoot. Fashion photography, and most commercial stock photography has a very
short shelf life.
Want to read more of this
article? Go to:
http://www.photoaim.com/cb70.html
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WATCH
FOR IT. In October, your PhotoAIM
will
be delivered weekly in a choice of four formats:
HTML,
PDF, C2C, and regular text.
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GOODSTUFF
`````````````````
CLOSE-UP
ON INSECTS, A Photographer’s Guide, by Robert Thompson. The author explains the
best places and time of day to locate your insect subjects, and presents
detailed technical discussion of such topics as extreme magnification,
innovative uses of filters and flash, operating in the field, and marketing
your work for publication or sale. ($29.95; ISBN: 1-86108-238-X; 208 pages, all
color) Contact: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 387 Park Ave S, New York NY
10016-8810. Phone: 1 800 805-5489. http://www.photosourcefolio.com/bookstoreone.htm#186108238X
THE
PHOTOSHOP 7 WOW! BOOK, by Jack Davis. Clear instructions for enhancing and
restoring photos, combining images, painting, customizing clip art, and
creating special effects for type and graphics, as well as interactivity,
animation, and optimizing for the web. ($49.99; ISBN: 0-321-12397-2) Contact:
Peachpit Press, 1249 Eighth St, Berkeley CA 94710. Phone: 1 800 283-9444. Fax:
1 510 524-2221. http://www.photosourcefolio.com/bookstoreone.htm#0321123972
CONTESTS
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LA
PETITE XI. Small Format Competition. Deadline: October 4, 2003. Cash awards:
$2,200. Fee: $10 each entry or three entries for $25. Contact with SASE: Alder Gallery, Box 8517, Coburg, OR 97408.
Phone: 1 541 342-6411. E-mail: pet@alderart.com .
Web: http://www.alderart.com .
WORKSHOPS
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DOLPHIN
CHARTER CRUISES
AMAZON,
December 1 – 9, 2003. Price: $1890. GALAPAGOS, December 7 – 17, 2003. Price:
$2495. BAJA, February 12 – 23, 2004. Price: $2895. Contact: Dolphin Charters,
1007 Leneve Pl, El Cerrito, CA 94530. Web: http://www.dolphincharters.com .
NEW
ZEALAND EXPLORER, January 10 – 27, 2004. Land price: $3,495. BEST OF SOUTHERN
AFRICA, May – June, 2004. All inclusive price tentatively $10,995. SCENIC
MOUNTAINS & WATERS OF CHINA. October 2004. Price and exact dates to be
determined. All workshops are led by Dennis Cox. Contact: Photo Explorer Tours,
2506 Country Village, Ann Arbor, MI 48103-6500. Phone: 1 800 315-4462. E-mail: DECoxPhoto@aol.com . Web: http://www.photoexplorertours.com .
QUOTE
OF THE WEEK
``````````````````````````````
Once the game is over, the King and the pawn go back in
the same box.
Italian Proverb
FREE
THIS WEEK
````````````````````````
Free: Training your dog. Here's where you can get
a free treat to use while you are training your dog?
http://www.liverbiscotti.com/
THIS
WEEK'S WEB FEATURE
`````````````````````````````````````````
PhotoSourceBank subscribers! Let photo
reseachers know where to locate you on the web. Include your Photosource URL at
the bottom of all your Emails. (Be sure to include the http://)
Watch
for developments in the field of stock photography in PhotoAIM's
PHOTOGRAPHY
IN THE NEWS
``````````````````````````````````````````
You'll be the first to know…
Note: If the URL is long, it may extend to two lines. In
that case - clicking on it won't work. Instead, "copy and paste" the
URL.
Hitler's Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl Dies
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030909/ap_on_re_eu/obit_riefenstahl_7
Rocker Neil Young Hosts Film Buyers, Fans
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030908/wl_canada_nm/canada_film_toronto_young_col_1
NYT reporter, photographer detained,
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/08/14/journalists.detained.ap/index.html
Problems Persist, But Hachette Not Selling Photo
Division - Despite the
continued financial problems at its subsidiary Gamma,
Hachette Filipacchi
Photos (HFP) president Pierre Boissier insists the
company has no plans to
get out of the photo business. http://www.pdn-pix.com/news/#1
NJ Transit Photog Wins Railway Photo Contest - Three
years ago, Michael
Rosenthal gave up fashion photography to become the
first and only staff
photographer of New Jersey Transit, the nation's largest
state-wide public
transit system.
http://www.pdn-pix.com/news/#4
A child's eye view - Bill's pool hall is the first
building you see in Alert
Bay, B.C., after stepping off the boat from Vancouver
Island's Port McNeill.
It's also where two generations of Savannah Ranville's
family work, so it's
no surprise that the Grade 4 student chose this local
hangout as the subject
for her contribution to a unique exhibit of photos.
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030906/ALERTBA
Y6//?query=photography
Want to read more of this
article? Go to:
http://www.photoaim.com/pitn.html
########################################
FREE.
Find out free products for stock photographers by typing in 'Free' in the
Search section of PhotoStockNotes.
http://www.photosource.com/psn/index.html
Feel
free to forward this issue of PhotoAIM to your photographer friends.
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Got
a question about legal issues for photographers? Type in the name of our legal
expert, Joel Hecker, in the Search section of PhotoStockNotes.
http://www.photosource.com/legal/index.html
########################################
As
a subscriber, you can search back issues of PhotoAIM. On your Web browser go
to:
http://www.photoaim.com/list
and
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To
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PhotoAIM
weekly newsletter is a product of PhotoSource International, Rohn Engh,
Director, who is solely responsible for its contents.
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