The Nationals are losing touch….

with reality.

We are seeing a increasing number of rights squeezes by the National newspapers,  with the latest example being the Guardian’s attempt to force contributors into handing them the right to syndicate their photography,  and give them a virtual veto over further use by the photographer of his own pictures.

However  the time when they could dictate terms to their contributors has now gone.  With a freeze on rates over the past decade,  and a substantial decline in volumes,  they are no longer spending enough money to substantially effect the behaviour of the industry.

For National freelancers the rates now being paid are so low,  and the work so rare, it simply is not possible to abandon more rights and lose more possible medium and long term income streams without going out of business.  

More importantly for many photographers,  this wholesale demand for all rights strips the them of the only thing that has any value,  their library. 

The best photographers simply wont accept this, certainly not for £150 per day all in.

But the National papers are so far removed from reality that they just don’t seem to understand what is happening in the real world.  As a consequence of this they are going to paradoxically lose even more control of the editorial material that goes into their papers,  as their choice is increasingly restricted to the 3 big agencies.

The newspapers simply don’t seem to understand what their actual product is,  they don’t understand that the newspapers value to the customer lies with the editorial content within.  With huge choice for the customer now available both at the newsstand and on the internet,  if they don’t grasp this fact  then these valuable brands are going to be flushed down the toilet. 

Relying on the same limited agency sources for their photography, and consequently producing a newspaper that looks virtually identical to all of its competitors,  is a sure way to loose market share.

Its only through making proper investments in content,  including photography,  that they will be able to create a distinct product that will grow readers.

Trying to do it on the cheap by exploiting and abusing the already struggling freelance will not do this. 

The Guardians recent moves to impose blatantly unfair terms on its freelances, far from supporting photojournalism,  damages the very basis upon which it is produced,  and in the long term this behaviour will mark the end of the National newspapers as a influence on public opinion.

Get the pics in the Bag!!

 

Milan Mandaric,  pictured at LCFC for the TIMES.

We recently were asked to photograph a certain member of Dragons Den for a magazine client of ours, but after travelling down to London,  arriving on location at his high tech offices,  and then being kept waiting in the reception for an hour whilst the journalist conducted the interview,  we were told that our subject was unwilling to have his picture taken.

So a wasted trip,  and disapointment all around,  for both us and our client.

Which brings me to the point,  even if you have a set appointment for pictures,  its often a good idea to make some portraits during the interview.  With a good easy to use lighting setup some great pictures can be made,  and it can also be an opportunity for the photographer to get a better feel for the personality of the subject, which could lead to even better pictures later.

I recently photographed Milan Mandaric,  the owner of Leicester City FC,  for the Times,  and had to make the pictures during the interview,  and the results were excellent.  Far more revealing,  and a big difference from the standard Chairman in stands picture.  With a simple radio slave setup, I was able to very quickly set up one strobe with a softbox,  and make a great set of pictures without disturbing the interview. 

It helps if you use a quite camera,  and the 5d and 40d are ideal.  For Mandaric I did however use the 1ds,  but recently in similar circumstances I used the 40d for Derby County’s new manager.

With the latest cameras you can also go to quite high ISO’s,  which means that you can easily balance available light with any strobe,  or just use the light from the strobe. 

Everyones a photographer now….

Digital photography is great,  it has revitalized photography.  It has lead to new technologies which have allowed us to push the boundaries forward,  and to produce material which we simply could not produce before.

Funny how at the same time that digital has brought a renaissance to photography,  it is killing off the livings of dozens of photographers and dramatically reducing the value of the pictures that we take.

This is the challenge that we are facing in 2008,  how do we as photographers bring new value to the work that we do,  and how do we ensure that we will be able to actually continue to make a living doing the thing that we love.

I was watching some posts on another website recently,  one that is totally unconnected with photography,  and the thing that struck me was how the average person now views photography as a technical hobby.  Virtually all of the discussion focused on how to use the latest camera,  and its various buttons and features. 

There was virtually no talk about photography or photographs per se.  And it is this technical fascination that amateurs have with photography that will be the saviour of the professional photographer.

We have to take the opportunity to raise our game.   We have to become experts not a “taking pictures”,  but at producing high quality photography.   

 We have to produce excellence in our photography,  and we have to back this up with the traditional values that underpin any successful business,  excellence in service and customer support.    It is through this combination that we will attract high quality well informed customers who value what we have to offer.

And that is our challenge for 2008.