While it maybe wasn’t as great for backing up photos as it was for compressing them, Google Photos was a perfect platform to use as an easy-to-access online portfolio that was always in your pocket. I was using it extensively, not just for sharing the photos from photography trips with my friends, but also to send images to my clients for fast reviews before the final delivery.
It seems like more than ever, architectural photographers are battling copyright infringement, ignorance towards licensing, and confusion over usage rights — not to mention the dreaded “but this will be great exposure” remark.
On Wednesday, April 28th 2021 at 7:00 pm BST (2:00 pm EST) Mass Collective in collaboration with VIEW Pictures will be hosting an online talk discussing the importance of licensing and contracts in the photography business.
When I was a baby architecture writer, a thousand years ago, I remember spending what felt like the majority of my work time asking my editors who’d commissioned stories, or publicists who were pitching me projects, or architects who’d decided to see if I might want to write about something, to send me pictures.
Given the plethora of available self-help books on sales, it should come as no surprise that becoming successful in sales starts from within.
In my (free to download) eBook The Value of Architectural Photography, I touched upon instruments our clients can use to increase the value of our work. I asked the following question: “Any time of the day, 24/7, someone who could be your next client can check your website.
Hi everyone, Rob here! I just joined the APALMANAC writers rank and am really thrilled to be part of the team that makes this magnificent, unique platform come to life. My brief is to write about architectural photography with an emphasis on post-production, so in the future, I’ll bother you with color management, image blending, and all other kinds of topics you can think of that involve our production process.
So you’ve made the decision to pursue your passion for photographing architecture. Fantastic news! Your dreams of hopping from one beautiful building to another, capturing it as only you can, and getting paid for it are about to come true. But you’ve got one major problem – you don’t have any clients.
A few years ago, seasoned Amsterdam-based architectural photographer Rob Van Esch released a captivating eBook “Staying On Top of Current Architectural Photography Trends” which focused on the recent shifts in the way architecture is photographed.
As a photographer who consistently enforces my copyrights and encourages others to do the same, colleagues are often surprised to learn that I do not support the CASE Act in its current form. At first glance, it sounds amazing: a low-cost, fast, informal way to resolve infringement claims, presumably without even the need for an attorney. A more thorough review of the Act’s provisions, however, reveals numerous caveats that, in my opinion, will be very easy for a resourceful infringer to exploit.
A year after transitioning from architecture to architectural photography full-time, I wanted to share some initial thoughts comparing and contrasting the two professions. Hopefully, this will resonate with others who have, or are considering, making a similar sort of career transition.
Tom Harris is an incredibly talented and charmingly down-to-earth friend of mine who has worked for some of the most esteemed architectural firms in the United States documenting architecture across the country. He was kind enough to sit down with me for an hour and chat about his background and his process.
The topic of usage fees remains at the top of the list of questions I observe among architectural photographers. Many of us concur that a “standard” license for a commercial client would typically include rights for the client to use the images on their own website, social media, local advertising, and for other purposes of self-promotion (some refer to this as a “publicity and collateral” license). However, where exactly to draw the line varies dramatically across the industry.
Most of us love being photographers, but let’s face it: we don’t do this for fun. Don’t get me wrong—I’m grateful to have the opportunity to express myself creatively and earn a living doing something I enjoy. But that second part, the “earn a living” part, comes at the expense of my own sanity if the compensation for the work is not equitable.
A question that we receive at APA regularly goes something like this: I shoot predominantly real estate with a basic contract and would love to hear more about how established architecture and interior photographers went about creating and modifying their contracts.
It’s been four years since my last educational photography project, and I am happy to announce the release of my first ever e-book: I’ll just Fix That in Post, And Other Lies I Tell Myself, a combination of group therapy, an epic self-roast (plenty of laughs at my expense) and technical manual to architectural photography.
How many times have you received an inquiry from a potential client that, in the first message, includes something along the lines of, “What are your prices?” or, “Can you please send your rate sheet?” When this happens, do you typically reply with a PDF that outlines your entire pricing structure, or perhaps refer them to a page on your website?
DBOX is an international creative communications agency that creates campaigns in the sectors of luxury residential, hospitality, commercial, and cultural property. Specializing in both renders and photography, DBOX is at the top of the global architecture marketing game and were kind enough to sit down for a chat with APA to discuss their inner business workings, their frustrations, and their efforts to remedy an industry-wide scourge.
In Part One of this series, we discussed some of the basics of insurance, why we need it, and where to begin your search for a business policy. Armed with this foundational knowledge, we are ready to delve into much more specific topics to assist in your search for a policy or review of your existing coverage.
As businesses cautiously but optimistically resume operations, many are posting notices or asking customers to sign a COVID-19 waiver. Given the proactive stance many businesses are taking to shield themselves from liability, how do the potential legal implications of COVID-19 affect us as photographers? Do you need a coronavirus waiver to protect your business? Would such a document even stand up in court?
Business Insurance: Part One
As I write this, locales throughout the world are in varying degrees of “stay-at-home” orders to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of us are able to continue working, at least in a limited capacity, while others have found ourselves with time to catch up on housekeeping items like bookkeeping and copyright registrations.
