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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Help with mentoring young music photog
Harrison Shull, Photographer
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Fayetteville, WV | Asheville, NC | | Posted: 9:26 AM on 02.05.11 |
->> I need some help from some of the many SS shooters that regularly shoot music stuff.
I have been approached by a friend's son who is a young college-aged photog eager to work in the future as a music photog.
I know next to nothing about the music niche other than the low-pay and rights grabbing doom-and-gloom stories that I glean from the periodic posts here at SS. So I feel a bit out of my element with dispensing advice other than to be very very careful with what kinds of contracts one signs.
I am working to get him up to speed on the universal business basics (CODB, contracts, copyright, EP, ASMP, Fotoquote, Harrington's book, and the like...) but am coming up dry in my search for any online resources that are specifically geared towards business issues particular to music photogs.
Can anyone provide some insights that I can pass along? Are there any regular music shooters here that might not mind being an online mentor of sorts to an aspiring photog? Thanks! |
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Kelvin Ma, Photographer, Assistant
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Harrison Shull, Photographer
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Fayetteville, WV | Asheville, NC | | Posted: 10:34 AM on 02.05.11 |
->> Kelvin - Thanks.
APE is a daily ritual so I have already sent that blurb his way. That was actually what got me started with thinking that there must be more resources out there. He seems willing to listen and learn so I want to get him a good dose of info to pick through. |
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Patrick Fallon, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | USA | Posted: 10:44 AM on 02.05.11 |
->> A mastery of creative lighting and portraiture work will likely go much farther than simply a portfolio of concert shots. Concerts are set-up events, created by the art and lighting directors of the concert. The performers are that - performers. A photog in the scrum just snaps a pic of what has already been created for you.
There are some exceptions to this, however. Documentary coverage of musicians behind the scenes can be really quite cool - but giving a publicist free concert snaps won't get you that as a paid gig. Often companies/bands/etc. when looking for someone to "document" them - will look for a PJ with a style of work they like...
Of note is Robert Caplin's recent work as the official tour photog for Justin Bieber. I'd bet Caplin did not get to where he is now by giving everything for free to everyone. |
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Juerg Schreiter, Photographer
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Fort Lauderdale | FL | USA | Posted: 11:35 AM on 02.05.11 |
->> http://robertmknight.net/
there's also a movie about robert knight |
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Harrison Shull, Photographer
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Philip Johnson, Photographer
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Garland | TX | USA | Posted: 1:08 PM on 02.05.11 |
| ->> Why don't you have him read John Harrington's book as a start. |
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Harrison Shull, Photographer
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Fayetteville, WV | Asheville, NC | | Posted: 5:46 PM on 02.05.11 |
->> Harrington's book is a good resource and is mentioned in my lead-off post and also linked in my last post.
I am looking for info specific to the music biz. I have already provided him a ton of info pertaining to general photo biz principles (see above post for some of them). For example if you shoot travel and outdoor adventure images - you can join TOPA (an EP split-off) and have access to a "business-only" forum with 600+ members who can share all kinds of business advice. Or if you shoot sports, SS is the place to go get good business advice.
Does such a beast exist for the music world? |
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Jack Howard, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Central Jersey | NJ | USA | Posted: 8:26 PM on 02.05.11 |
->> Get in touch with Chris Owyoung at http://onelouderphoto.com and Todd Owyoung at http://ishootshows.com These brothers are great concert shooters with good business heads. There's lots of great info on their websites and they might know of a TOPA for musicians scene, if it exists.
And Chris works for Photoshelter, too.
And Harrison, I've got an extra 1st edition of Harrington's book I can part with if you're interested in it. |
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John Strohsacker, Photographer
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Mark Loundy, Photo Editor
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San Jose | CA | USA | Posted: 3:16 PM on 02.06.11 |
->> The only way to make money in a single market is to either shoot something that is obscure to the general public or for your talents to be so tremendous that they cannot be resisted.
"Music" is a generally popular genre with an unending supply of acolytes willing to shoot for free. It's probably why your friend's son is so eager to shoot in that industry.
So your friend's son is faced with either getting insanely, irresistably good at it, or finding something that nobody else wants to shoot.
--Mark |
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Jamey Price, Photographer, Assistant
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Charlotte | NC | USA | Posted: 4:57 PM on 02.06.11 |
->> I know nothing that will really help you about music photography but I'd like to commend you, Harrison, for being willing to mentor this guy.
So few photographers are even willing to go out of their way to say hi to a young shooter much less help point them in the right direction. So well done. I wish there were more like you out there. |
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Harrison Shull, Photographer
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Fayetteville, WV | Asheville, NC | | Posted: 5:28 PM on 02.06.11 |
->> Mark - Ha! That was my advice to him almost exactly. I told him - "don't be like me and be back in school at 40 for a career change - lay that foundation now." My honest advice to him has been to get a solid and marketable degree now and then go try and make a living as a music photog. You're only 22 once, right? If it does not work, then you have a fallback option. My goal is not to quash his dream but rather to send him out there with a VERY realistic view of the lay of the land with all the pitfalls that he can avoid from the outset cause he is armed with good intel.
Jamey, thanks! I have always looked at mentoring photogs as paying back those that did it for me and paying forward the debt for the future. If every photog spent a bit of time mentoring a young shooter on business issues, we'd ALL be better off.
On that note... if YOU have not done so before, visit the Outreach EP site (http://www.editorialphoto.com/outreachep/) and volunteer your time to their efforts to help educate young photogs. Remember these are the shooters that are going to come out into the workplace and undercut you and their own future earnings out of naivete. |
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Chris La Putt, Photographer
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