In the words of my friend Mark Leibowitz:

"The business of photography breaks down to two main parts, 1: Make better pictures, and 2: Show more people."

I thought this was great advice, because being successful in this business is really all about those two things. Granted there are a million things that go along with that when you break it down, but I think it's fair to say that sums it up.

I'll break it down lightly, here. In the commercial world(much different than the wedding world), the bar is set quite a bit higher when getting hired for the big jobs. Your body of work has to be properly curated, show a solid style, and show the breadth of what you can do enough to give your client the confidence that he/she can hand you $1/$10/$20/$50/$100/$200/$500K to produce them images that are what they signed off on. The quality and production value of your work will have to show that you can handle that.

1: Make better pictures. So, what does that mean? You have to make better images that shows the kind of work you want to be shooting. In the path that I've taken, I've followed this theory whole heatedly. Through time, development, and persistence, you will begin to get hired for the jobs at the level your portfolio is conveying. Since photography is a artistic journey, your skills are refined as you go and it's not really a field that you can just jump in with the big boys if you have the money. (granted seed capital sure makes it easier). You have to constantly work and hone your craft to become better and better. That will naturally be conveyed through the work you produce. Everyone is different, and enjoys shooting different subjects and styles. Find what inspires you the most, produce better images in that realm, create a consistent style within that that is different than everyone else, and that's what the buyers are looking for. Developing a unique style takes years and is something you have to have the drive and perseverance to get to. All the top photographers sucked at the beginning points of their careers.

2: Show more people. I've thought about this a lot lately. Your work HAS to get in front of the right people for you to get hired. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it does it make a sound? If you make a great image, and no one sees it what value does it have? That said, the first part is showing the right curation of your work. I like the word curation rather than "edit" because you are essentially pulling together a finite collection of your work. Just like a museum. A curation that is a true testiment to who you are as a photographer. This is obviously unique for every photographer. The right curation is just as, or more important than shooting great images. It tells the story of who you are. Most photographers are terrible at curating their own work, and need to realize that. Then hire people that can do it for them. It is a definite investment, but a person who knows what they are doing in that realm can make you look like a much better and put together photographer. You first have to have the body of work that is broad enough for them to curate.

Part two of showing more people, is the packaging that people are seeing it in. AKA your branding. I've already written on the importance of it, but I will reemphasize it again. Branding is something that the average person doesn't see because they weren't formally trained in it. Bad branding can make a good photographer look like they beg for money on the street. Do yourself a huge favor and realize when branding isn't your forte then hire someone to do it for you. If you can't fully afford it, try teaming up with graphic design student and working with them for their portfolios. It gives them real world experience. Hire people that do what they do best. I recommend my http://www.brand-envy.com (as you can see they designed my killer biz cards).

Part three is getting your work out there. This comes after your proper curation, branding, portfolios, and website. Getting your work in front of people is a big process. Something that I hired my consultant for. Amanda Sosa Stone: http://www.sosastone.com There are many of them out there which it's best to find the right one that best fits you. These guys can take a look at your work, and figure out a game plan. Even help you "curate" your work. Then figure out a good game plan to get it out there to the world.

As you may know, I'm writing a book on travel photography. I've created this poll to see what title people would be most inclined to purchase. Please help me by voting and passing this on to any people you think would be interested in buying a book on travel photography.

If you haven't checked out Vincent Laforet's blog, you should. Not only is his work amazing, he's been doing some fantastic video with the 5DMKII Check out this behind the scenes video footage of them shooting with it on a steadycam.

http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2008/12/03/behind-the-scenes-footage-steadicam/

I have to write this as it's fresh in my mind and I'm still decompressing. I have to say shooting in the City of God will be an unforgettable and emotional experience. It's personal projects like this that remind me over and over how fortunate I am. The stories that have come from there are crazy. If you haven't seen the movie, City of God, you should as it is a true story of the drug trafficking that goes on there and is a great depiction of the reality of a this place. Almost every day there is hostile gunfire in these Favela. For those of you who don't know what "Favela" means, it means  "slum" and there are around 513 of them in Rio De Janiero. The drug trafficking is a huge problem, as the favelas are so poor that most young kids fall into it as a way to make money to provide for their families. The sad reality is that boys as young as 11 are on the streets with guns. Guns and selling drugs are power and run the favala. The police are always arresting the traffickers, and the traffickers fight back, is always gunfire going on. People die every day from this.

So now imagine what it takes to get into this place and how dangerous it is. My Brazilian friend Mari is one of the most amazing people I've ever met. She also knows everyone, and was able to lead us to a touching story of one of her best friend's husband, MV Bill. MV Bill is a legend and a hero. He grew up in the City of God, and became a well known rapper who's lyrics are all about inspiring youth to stay out of trafficking. He created a non-profit organization called CUFA to provide classes and recreation for kids to keep them out of the trafficking. He is active every day in the lives of so many people helping them, and most of all mentoring kids. Bill is a big guy with an even bigger heart.

Little did we realize how much work was involved for us to come. On Saturday, the day before we came, there was a gun fight in the morning between the traffickers and the police. It was what they say in portuguese "Chapa Quente" which means "Hot Grill". To make it safe for us to come the next day, Bill had to walk around all day to every drug dealer and ask them not to sell while we were there. Even when we called a taxi to take us there, they called us back to ask us if we were actually going "IN" to the City of God. The locals know how dangerous it can be. When I'm in the zone or the moment of shooting things like this, I tend to be oblivious to the things going on around me which is why I like to travel with a small entourage of key people. A translator and someone who knows the area. I always like to have at least one person from the area walking with me. As we were walking and shooting, Bill had to say ok, this area you can't shoot because there are dealers here. The risk of getting killed if I happen to get a dealer in on of my shots is a likely one.

For me the impact and emotion comes from the stories of the people in these images. Most of the time when people come to shoot in a favela, they show the dark side. They focus on the bad things that happen inside, and not the other side. This is a huge deal. To see a Bill get emotional when seeing the joy captured in the souls of the people in the images is hugely impactful. People who's stories he knows first hand of children without parents, and parents with kids who've gone into trafficking, and that have been in prison. This was the first time in two years that the has brought anyone into the City Of God.

It was a great feeling to be able to show the joyful side of the people in the favela. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to make an impact with my work. We are working on ideas to help Bill and Cufa and get and involved.

See the rest of the story here:
http://www.nickonken.com/Stories/CityOfGod/

Found this article through my friend/mentor, Chase Jarvis. It's written by Court Crandall, a founder of the agency Ground Zero down here in LA. What caught my eye, was the article was written about my friend Noah Clark and his resilient character and motivation. So, if you're reading this Noah, Kudos!

I believe a lot of what it takes to be come a pro photographer, and also as Chase says is hard work, and motivation. That is the core character of a job like this because it can be tough. You need to be very self motivated to excel in this world, especially with all the competition that is arising. That even extends into assisting and learning. Be willing to get your hands dirty for a while to learn. Attitude is everything.

Here's a bit of the article:
"Last week was about as bad a week as I can remember at Ground Zero. We lost two employees. The first was art director Noah Clark, who announced he's leaving to join Crispin, Porter + Bogusky in Boulder, Colo. The second was a woman who made breakfast for the staff and cleaned the office, and who died of lung cancer despite having never smoked a cigarette in her life. (Having worked on the California Department of Public Health account for eight years, I'd be remiss not to mention that her father was a heavy smoker and she believes the second-hand smoke she inhaled as a child ultimately led to her demise.)

Clark interviewed to be my assistant a couple weeks before he was scheduled to graduate from the University of Southern California. Unlike the other finalist for the job, an attractive woman the rest of the creative department was imploring me to hire, Noah was more "boy band": spiked hair, fresh face, jeans that were more fancy than a guy needs to own. But there was something about him that reminded me of myself. And it wasn't the hair. He was just so damn eager to be in the business. There was no pretense, no attitude or entitlement. All he wanted to do was work hard, learn and help.

So I hired him, spelling out very clearly that the chances of his growing into an art director position with us were similar to the word at the end of our agency name: "Zero." He nodded along and said he understood. Then he set about completing every task asked of him to the highest standard possible. Between doing all the so-called "grunt" work, Noah grabbed every creative brief he found lying around the office and looked for ways to help out with layouts, taglines, new business presentations, etcetera. He never asked to be promoted. He never bitched about his day-to-day responsibilities or acted like anything was beneath him. Which is why when a junior art director position opened, I decided it was time to do what a guy named Peter Seronick did for me years before: Give him a chance. So I gave the kid who was Ground Zero the opportunity to join our creative department over all the guys and girls who simply wanted to work for Ground Zero.

In the four years that followed, Noah turned into an award-winning art director who did the kind of work students at VCU and Art Center now point to and say, "Someday." But that wasn't what made him special. The longer you do this job, the more you find that doing good work is the price of entry and it's all the other stuff that separates the folks you really like from the ones you can't live without.

In 15 years of owning Ground Zero, there haven't been many folks who regularly beat me to the office in the morning. Noah was one of them. It should also be noted that he was often the last to leave at night, if he left. I don't say this to glamorize long hours or a sweatshop mentality, but to point out that he typically wasn't burning the midnight oil or the pre-dawn oil to better his portfolio, but to make a presentation look a little better, work on the agency new business materials or polish an ad that was still a little too rough around the edges for his liking. This kind of dedication earned him the moniker "The Cleaner" from Laura Eastman, our head of account services. Like Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction, Noah was the guy who fixed things, no matter how screwed up they might have been when someone dumped them in his lap. When another art director left on vacation, Noah picked up the slack. When another team dropped the meat in the dirt, he picked up the pieces."

Read the rest here:

Obama '08 – Vote For Hope from MC Yogi on Vimeo.

This Vote for Hope video by MC Yogi(youtube) is an amazing one. It was inspired by Shepard Fairey's work, one of my favorite street artists. The graphics and the message in this video are very inspiring.

I love looking at good photography. It always first makes me feel like crap and wish I had shot it, but more importantly motivates me to go and shoot it. Seeing images that inspire, and looking at photographers work whom you admire is a good part of the game. Let that jealousy and envy motivate you into becoming a better photographer.

Here are 3 of my most inspiring photography books at this moment in time.

1. Vanity Fair Portraits
My friend Trever just led me on to the Vanity Fair Portraits book, which I just purchased and it's amazing. So many amazing icons photographed from Albert Einstein to Princess Diana. It's all shot by the worlds most known photographers (Annie takes up half the book). Amazing. Get it on Amazon.

2. Mario Testino: Let Me In
Amazing naturally lit portraits by Mario Testino. Mostly celebrities. Testino is like Ellen Von Unworth in he shoots mostly 35mm point and shoot contax. I love his organic and gritty style. Get it on Amazon.

3. Sam Jones: The Here and Now
I've already blogged about Sam Jones being one of my favorite photogs. His celebrity portraiture is so amazing because it is very lifestyle and naturally lit, but very conceptual. This book is a series of celebrity portraits. Amazing. Get it on Amazon.

A reader brought a few questions to the table on testing, and I thought it would be a great subject to touch on. My previous post on ABS, is a good preface for this post, so it may be worth the read before diving into this one.

Testing is the way to shoot what you want, and push your creative vision for your portfolio. It's a very necessary part of the business. I've heard stories of reps dropping photographers because they became stagnant, only shooting client work. Creating fresh work to show potential clients is crucial, especially this day in age with the influx of new talent. Most of my portfolio is made up of my tests, or personal work. It's a depiction of who I am, what I do, and how I do it. Most of all, what I can bring to the table.

The great thing is, testing can be whatever you can dream up to shoot. What ever you want to shoot. I'm actually writing this on the way back from Hawaii. I decided I wanted to shoot some surfesque lifestyle on the North Shore of O'ahu. So I created a test for it. (Kualoa Ranch Girls)

That said, when bringing a team together to create a test, ultimately it's your vision and YOU are the team leader. YOU set the tone for your team, and the shoot. It's YOUR job to instill vision and motivation into your team members. Your work also is a catalyst for people to test with you. Just like a client asks themselves, Will I get good images? Is this photographer capable? You are the sum of your team and the creative that comes out of that. You need to lead and direct, but be just as open to collaboration with your fellow crew. How much depends on each person involved. Testing also gives you a bearing on how people will mesh with you on a real job. For me, personality on my team is crucial. I like to spend my time with positive, fun people. Are they capable and flexible? It's also your job to take care of your team and make sure everyone is doing alright. A happy team results in better attitudes. Even though I'm the team leader, I always talk with "We, Us, Our". Simple as it is, we all want to feel a part of a whole. Those small words help create a synergy and camaraderie with everyone.

Getting your team together for something that is unpaid can be frustrating sometimes. I've had models bail at midnight the night before a 9am call time. Models get sick the day of the shoot in the morning when you have a full team in place. Shit happens. Everyone has different schedules, and everyone has the opportunity to take a paid gig over a non-paying one and that's the way it goes, unless you have the money to pay your team. That's why it's good to have relationships with a few hair and makeup artists that are down to test with you so you can call on them if one happens to flake on you. Finding people that are in a similar place to you career wise also helps. Find people that you can grow and develop with. My stylist and I get together as much as we can to dream up new projects that we both want to do. We're both at very similar stages in our careers.

The bigger your tests get the more they will cost. Typically it's up to you if it's all your vision to fund the shoot. Sometimes that even means paying people if that's what it takes to commit. We are the ones that get paid the most on a normal job, so creating a better product is part of our marketing. Paying to create is part of the game. If I'm collaborating with my stylist, she will usually invest in her part of the project. She too realizes the significance and investment of creating new top notch work. This last test in Hawaii, I did the styling, so it was done at my cost. Every shoot is different. The fact of the matter is, do what it takes to get it done.

Lastly, I give everyone who worked on the project a CD of Hires images in jpeg form. It may be just of their selects, or all of the images. That's why everyone does it. It's up to them from there to print them and resize them for web or whatever they are using it for.

A reader asked if I always shoot my 1Ds MKIII at the 21.7mp all the time, and the answer for me is YES, I do. A the very rare time that I'm shooting something that will never have the possibility of getting blown up to a billboard.

I shoot mostly assignment work, but a lot of random side stuff I end up shooting can be submitted for stock . Stock agencies always need the largest file possible, and with all the new cameras coming out these days the standard keeps getting raised and raised. Every snap I take has that possibility, so I shoot at the highest res possible. I try to think as forward as possible when I'm shooting. The space gets eaten up quite a bit, but the possibility of making money with images makes that thought very minimal especially with how cheap storage is becoming. I'm in the process of building a new DAM(Digital Asset Management) system with internal hard drives and a multiple bay enclosure. 500gb internal hard drives are only $85 now.

The 1Ds MKIII does have a small RAW file that spits out files that are about 6×9@300dpi, which for most wedding and portrait uses is a great size that you can upres for regular prints. The image quality of the files is pretty amazing actually. You always have that option if you're concerned about saving disk space.

That said, whether you choose to shoot at that resolution depends on what you shoot. If you're shooting weddings and portraits, it may not be worth it to spend $9K on a camera. If you're shooting images that have the possibility of being used in POP or Billboard then it's a definite necessity.

Ok, I confess, it's been a few months since I dropped a monthly desktop, and I was recently asked if I was going to do it again. Well, it was a good reminder. The last few months have been spent mostly on the road with little time to spare. All good things.

This desktop is from the previous post (The PCH & Elena). This is my favorite shot from the whole shoot. I love the esoteric feel of the windblown sunburst. It seems like blissful dream, and now it's actually a favorable memory.

Enjoy…

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