aipp journal - april 2016
DESCRIPTION
The official journal of the Australian Institute of Professional PhotographyTRANSCRIPT
Issue 240 April 2016
What To Do If Your Photos Are Stolen?
Do You Charge By The Hour Or By The Shot?How To Control Your
Light QualityThe Art Of Creating Something Original
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AIPP JOURNAL is the official newsletter of The Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP).
Editor Peter Eastway
APP.L, G.M. Photog., FNZIPP, Hon. FAIPP, Hon. FNZIPP, FAIPP
Disclaimer The information provided in The Working Pro and associated publica-
tions is made in good faith, but is general in nature. Neither the editor, the publisher
or the AIPP accept responsibility for or will be under any liability for any recommen-
dations, representations or information provided herein. The AIPP JOURNAL presents
information, opinions and suggestions for subscribers to evaluate in coming to their
own decisions in the light of their own individual circumstances. The information
should not be relied upon without readers first obtaining independent advice from
their own financial and legal advisers.
Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Peter Eastway.
Publication The newsletter is published 10 times a year – monthly with November/
December and January/February being combined.
The AIPP JOURNAL newsletter is published by Pt 78 Pty Ltd,
ABN 75 003 152 136, PO Box 351, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097, Australia.
Phone: (02) 9971 6857; Fax (02) 9971 6641.
E-mail [email protected]
AIPP Membership Contacts
Suite G.02, 171 Union Road,
Surrey Hills, Victoria 3127
Phone: 03 9888 4111
E-mail: [email protected]
Cover
Peter Rossi APP.L, G.M. Photog.
2015 AIPP AUSTRALIAN CREATIVE
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
4 Insights from the National PresidentRoss Eason APP.L, M.Photog I, Hon. LM, National President, introduces the new look communication system for the AIPP (the AIPP Journal), invites nominations for the AIPP’s Luminous Award, and welcomes Leica as a Platinum sponsor of the Australians Professional Photography Awards.
8 School Photographers Within The AIPPSchool photographers within Australia are now able to join the AIPP through a new corporate membership for Professional School Photographers.
10 Steve Scalone APP, AAIPPThe AIPP Australian Travel Photographer of the Year, Steve Scalone, has a precise approach to capturing his images out in the field, and a couple of clever post-production techniques that give his final images a little extra zest. And his portfolio of favourite images is simply striking in their sense of design and timing.
18 Super Saturation With Lab Color ModeElsewhere in the AIPP Journal, Steve Scalone mentions using the ‘a’ and ‘b’ channels in a Lab Color image to adjust the colour saturation for his award winning images. Here are the steps you need to follow to create these super-saturated results using any version of Photoshop.
20 How To Control Your Light QualityWhether photographing people or objects, appropriate lighting is critical for a professional result. Careful use and control of flash, studio and window lighting can change the ordinary into something extraordinary - and it’s easy if you know what to look for. The first trick is to control the size of your light relative to the subject. Here’s how.
CONTENTS
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22 What To Do If Your Photos Are Stolen?The idea behind copyright is that it’s an international law and although there are differences from country to country, some basic principles apply. Here’s a website that outlines graphically the steps you need to take if your photographs are stolen.
24 The Art Of Creating Something OriginalWhat did AIPP Ambassador Tony Hewitt APP.L, GM.Photog., FNZIPP, Hon. FAIPP learn from entering our AIPP photography awards? It may surprise you that it’s not the big wins that are so important for a professional photographer- read why.
32 Why Do 4 Silvers Beat 4 Golds?At the end of each category in the AIPP’s Awards process, the top three portfolios are assessed by the judging panel to determine the overall winner. Why is this system better than simply giving first prize to the set of prints with the highest score?
38 Should I Keep Receipts?Keeping paperwork is incredibly boring until the Tax Office hits you with a tax bill simply because you can’t substantiate what you have spent. However, these days, the burden of proof is probably a little easier, but you still need to keep those receipts for GST and tax.
40 What Happens To Copyright On Facebook?The results of the latest report by the Embedded Metadata Manifesto are not too good, stating that many social media sites are not doing everything they can to support your ownership of your photographs. How do your social media sites rate?
44 Will Privacy Laws Stop Public Photography?Chris Shain represented the AIPP and photographers at a recent inquiry into privacy and how it may affect photographers and other visual artists. Is this the beginning of the end for street photography, or will the legislators in NSW see sense?
48 Do You Charge By The Hour Or By The Shot?When you are hired as a photographer, are you hired by the hour or are you paid depending on how many photographs you create? For commercial photographers, there can be great benefits in charging by the shot as it sets a value on what you produce, not the time you spend. Here’s why.
52 The Luminous Awards 2016There are four aspects to the AIPP’s Luminous Awards: the person we recognise, the recipient of the grant, the photographers who contribute their work and the future of our profession. Who do you suggest we consider for the Luminous Awards this year?
54 Leica SL - The New Professional CameraThe new breed of mirrorless cameras has most if not all of the features of a fully blown DSLR, but less size and weight. Are they only designed for enthusiasts, or are they now truly contenders for a professional photographer’s camera bag? Leica’s SL suggests the latter!
ISSUE 240 / APRIL 2016
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Insights from the National PresidentRoss Eason APP.L, M.Photog I, Hon. LM, National President, introduces the new look communication system for the AIPP (the AIPP Journal), invites nominations for the AIPP’s Luminous Award, and welcomes Leica as a Platinum sponsor of the Australians Professional Photography Awards.
Welcome to a new era in AIPP communications:
the AIPPJournal!
YIPPEE!So, why did we phase out The Working Pro and
introduce the AIPP Journal system - and it is a
‘system’ rather than a publication.
The success of the AIPP and what we
offer our members hinges directly on
communications. Our communication
methods need to be relevant, up-to-date, easily
accessible and, where possible, searchable.
Our research showed that each member
wants their news and information in different
formats and a different levels.
Some who are time poor simply want the
basic facts; others want all the details; some
want an email, others want an online option
they can look at when they have time.
We also have some members in remote
communities where internet access is limited
and we need to ensure they have easy access to
relevant information as well.
Importantly, you must also make the
commitment to stay informed and to read
about what we are doing as a body.
The online AIPP Journal will be updated on
a daily basis as required and the AIPP Journal
publication, which replaces The Working Pro,
will still be delivered in its past format, but with
some subtle differences:
• It will include content tagged articles on
news, features, education, awards and events;
• There’s a detailed contents page with hot
links to allow you to skim and quickly seek out
what is important to you;
• And there’s a low res versions which is
easily downloadable for members with limited
internet.
The online AIPP Journal will follow the
same system of tagging articles. At first glance
on the home page, you can get an overview
of the most recent news and articles - and if
it is relevant, you can click on the article for
the full details. And the online AIPP Journal is
searchable, too.
NEWS
TAGSAIPP Board
PHOTO BY ROBYN HILLS
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PROUDLY SUPPORTING THE AIPP
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NEWS
This new initiative is all about allowing our
members to pick the information model that
works for them, but it will only work if you as a
member embrace these changes and commit
to keeping yourself up to date with what we are
doing.
NEW APPA SPONSORWe also welcome our new platinum sponsor
for APPA, Leica. As one of the most respected
camera brands in the world, with a long history
in quality, their support of the AIPP is greatly
appreciated.
Leica’s commitment to the AIPP and APPA
shares the maturity and trust of our other
major sponsors, Nikon and Epson, in adopting
a collaborative approach with sponsorship that
allows us to bring The Nikon AIPP Event and
APPA together as one major event. Importantly,
they support this concept for the better good of
our members.
With three AIPP Epson State Awards run
to date, the entry numbers have been overall
higher than past years and if this maintains
around the country, this year’s APPA could be a
record breaker.
LUMINOUS AWARD NOMINATIONSLater in this issue of the AIPP Journal is some
information about the Luminous Award, our
way of recognising members who have given
in an altruistic sense to the industry or their
community.
If you know a member who has stepped
outside the commercial world and used their
skills to contribute to a community cause or
charity, please consider nominating them to be
considered for the Luminous Award - and yes,
you can nominate yourself.
Nomination forms will be available shortly -
keep an eye on the AIPP Journal!
0412 108 362
PHOTO BY ROBYN HILLS
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N a d i n e S a a c k s A P P, A A I P P
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School Photographers Within The AIPPSchool photographers within Australia are now able to join the AIPP through a new corporate membership for Professional School Photographers.
AIPP membership has traditionally been an
individual membership, and AIPP accreditation
is a status awarded only to an individual
photographer, not an entity.
School photography in Australia, however,
is different. It is managed by a relatively
small group of organisations who employ
photographers on a part time and casual basis
as demand dictates. It is for these organisations
the AIPP has created the PSP corporate
membership category.
Representatives of school photographer
organisations have been working with the AIPP
for several months, agreeing on the parameters
of this new membership category. The key
benefits to PSP members have been identified
as:
• In the case of PSP corporate members, the
ability to promote themselves as part of the
AIPP through the use of a new logo.
• A channel and pathway to work with the AIPP
for their advocacy and representational needs.
• Through the promotion of AIPP Emerging
Photographer membership to their
employees, a structured approach to general
upskilling of photographers working in the
school photography area.
• The ability to take part in the annual AIPP
trade show and conference (The Nikon AIPP
Event) and to target content at the needs of
PSP members.
• The ability to use the AIPP system for targeted
EDM’s and campaigns as appropriate.
PSP MEMBERSHIP AND AIPP ACCREDITATIONCorporate membership does not come under
the umbrella of the existing AIPP accreditation
program.
Corporate members are not in any way
Accredited and cannot promote themselves as
such.
Corporate members cannot enter the AIPP
awards, unless they do so as individual working
photographers.
If you have any questions regarding the
corporate PSP membership or would like to
apply to become part of the AIPP community,
please contact Randal at the AIPP national
office.
TAGSPSPA
NEWS
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M a r k Z e d A P P, A A I P P
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Travel Bug With Steve ScaloneThe AIPP Australian Travel Photographer of the Year, Steve Scalone, APP, AAIPP, has a precise approach to capturing his images out in the field, and a couple of clever post-production techniques that give his final images a little extra zest. And his portfolio of favourite images is simply striking in their sense of design and timing.
Steve Scalone made a name for himself at the
Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photography
Awards last year, winning the coveted AIPP
Australian Travel Photographer of the Year Award
with a striking portfolio of images. However,
he was already well known in his home state
of Victoria, winning the Epson Victorian Travel
Photographer of the Year in 2014 and the 2015
AIPP Victorian Professional Photographer of the
Year.
Steve is a commercial photographer, which
includes portraiture, some video and a strong
interest in the art side of photography.
“Most of my commercial work is done on
location nowadays, so working from home is a
great choice for me. Whenever a larger studio is
required for a client, there are plenty of quality
hire options available here in Melbourne that I can
choose from – and this keeps my overheads low.
“I enjoy working most with smaller businesses,
helping them brand their product and service
visually through my images and really enjoy
sessional teaching at Melbourne Polytechnic
one day a week. Teaching and observing the
next generation of talent grow and evolve is very
satisfying to be a part of.
Steve says he discovered photography as
an early teen, playing with his father’s Paxette
rangefinder camera. “I used to love developing
and processing my own B/W film and prints, and
the ‘magic’ of seeing a print appear before you
in the developer tray. “After this, I was a busy
wedding photographer in Newcastle, NSW for a
decade and even though I adored my work and
clients, I was far too overworked and needed a
change.
“Now, I’m loving the flexibility commercial
work allows, as well as continuing tertiary teaching
here in Melbourne.
“However, I’m aiming to focus more on my
travel photography and starting to build a great
network of interior designers who might require
my work. I was incredibly humbled to have won
the AIPP Australian Travel Photographer of the
year at the APPA awards in October. It was an
amazing honour and something I never thought
TAGSAPPAProf i le
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I could have achieved. Winning the AIPP Victorian
Professional Photographer of the Year as well
made 2015 a fantastic year for me!”
Steve shoots with a couple of Nikon D800s and a
range of zoom lenses which he says covers almost
any situation. “The Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 is an
amazing lens which has very little distortion and is
excellent for interiors and environmental portraits.
“I also love my go to lens, the 24-70mm f2.8 as
it covers most of my day-to-day work, as well as
the 70-200mm f28 VR II which I adore for portraits
and any commercial work that I do which involves
people.
“For a great camera I can carry with me
everywhere, I still love my little Panasonic Lumix
GX1 with a 14mm (28mm equivalent) pancake
lens. It’s an incredibly sharp and fast little lens
which helps capture unobtrusive street scenes
without fuss.
On Location
“I love to shoot when I travel and you’ll always
find me walking the streets with a camera in
hand. When I choose a scene, I first look at the
architectural elements and break the composition
down into simple shapes. Next, I make sure the
lighting will compliment what I have composed
and lastly, I wait for a human element to either
walk through or compliment the composition.
“Sometimes this approach works, but there are
other times when the elements may not come
together cohesively. For instance, I try to find the
rhythm of the person walking through the scene
and press the shutter when they step, which
usually results in a pleasing stance. Sometimes it
works perfectly, other times it can be hit and miss.
“When travelling, I have one rule when
shooting and that is I will wait in a scene for 10
minutes or until I’m happy with either the human
element or another characteristic to change or
present itself. After that, I will move to discover a
different location or composition and the process
starts again.
POST-PRODUCTIONFor asset management and to catalog his images,
Steve uses Lightroom. “It’s the best system I’ve
found and I have been using it since it was
introduced. It makes organising, labelling and key-
wording a breeze, as well as cropping and colour/
tone adjustments. Approximately 90 per cent of
my travel work is done in Lightroom.
“When I’m ready to refine an image further,
I’ll export into Photoshop and use Nik Software’s
Silver Efex to enhance with contrast, tone and
grain, then blend that layer (using Luminosity)
with a colour version below. I have found that this
approach gives me a more satisfying result, far
more so than just adjusting curves, and I have the
option to save my favourite presets too.
“Another technique I use a lot with my colour
images is Lab Color mode saturation, where you
enter the Lab colour space and adjust the a and b
channels for a deeply saturated effect.”
CONTAC TSteve Sca lonew w w.stevescalone.com
instagram.com/
scalone_photo
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Super Saturation With Lab Color ModeElsewhere in the AIPP Journal, Steve Scalone mentions using the ‘a’ and ‘b’ channels in a Lab Color image to adjust the colour saturation for his award winning images. Here are the steps you need to follow to create these super-saturated results using any version of Photoshop.
Whether using Lab Color mode will produce
more saturated colours than RGB Color
mode depends on a lot of things, not just the
technique, but with this caveat, there’s no
doubt that switching your image into Lab Color
mode and tweaking the ‘a’ and ‘b’ channels can
produce different results from your standard
HSL (Hue/Saturation) adjustment in RGB Color
mode.
It’s not a difficult process, but I do
recommend you have a high quality colour
monitor that is correctly calibrated and profiled
so you can see the results as accurately as
possible (which is in itself another story!)
TAGSPhotoshopTechnique
STEP 01 Chances are your file is in RGB Color mode.
When changing modes, Photoshop doesn’t like adjustment layers, so to be safe, let’s save a copy of this file first (as backup), then flatten the file.
Now, with the flattened file, go Image > Mode > Lab Color.
Your file is now in Lab Color mode.
STEP 02 Working with layers is almost exactly the
same, but some adjustments will work a little differently in Lab Color compared to RGB – and this is what we want.
Add a Curves adjustment layer to the top of your Background layer in the Layers panel. If you haven’t done this before, go Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves.
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STEP 03 In the Curves dialog, change the channel
from Lightness to ‘a’.[In RGB mode, the three channels are red,
green and blue. In Lab Color mode, the three channels are Lightness, ‘a’ (magenta/green) and ‘b’ (yellow/blue).
Lab Color is just a different way of creating a colour image, separating the tonality (how light or dark) from the colours.
STEP 05 Now change the channel from ‘a’ to ‘b’
and repeat the process.The further you move the black and white
points, the greater the saturation.You can also desaturate an image by
moving the black point up and the white point down. And if you move the black and white points different distances, you can introduce colour casts or corrections.
STEP 04 With the ‘a’ channel open, grab the Black
point (small black triangle on bottom of graph) and drag to the right. Now grab the White point (small white triangle) and drag to the left, but drag it exactly the same distance.
When you look at the curve (the straight line), it should still intersect in the absolute centre of the square as shown above.
STEP 06 The main purpose of Lab Color mode
is to adjust the Lightness channel as this allows you to make tonal changes without introducing the unwanted colour changes experienced in RGB Color mode.
When you’re finished, save the file, but then make a copy and convert it back to RGB or CMYK as most other people will not wish to work with your file in Lab.
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How To Control Your Light QualityWhether photographing people or objects, appropriate lighting is critical for a professional result. Careful use and control of flash, studio and window lighting can change the ordinary into something extraordinary - and it’s easy if you know what to look for. The first trick is to control the size of your light relative to the subject. Here’s how.
Professionals understand the usefulness of a
softer light, compared to the harsh nature of
direct flash or sunlight. This is why they use
softboxes, umbrellas and indirect window light
to change or control the directional quality of
the light reaching their subject.
However, there is more to it than just using a
softbox or umbrella.
A typical flash light produces very directional
illumination. It is a ‘hard’ light with sharp
shadows. However, this same light when
fired through a softbox or into an umbrella is
scattered and the resulting quality of the light
reaching the subject is non-directional and a lot
softer.
The reason is because the light is reaching
the subject from a wider angle, filling in the
shadows. The wider the angle of light, the softer
the shadows. Think of an overcast day when
there are no shadows compared to a sunny day.
The size of the softboxes and umbrellas we
use need to be large relative to the subject.
However, when photographing larger subjects
like cars in a studio, oversized softboxes and
light sources are needed to keep the same
light-to-subject size ratio.
Looked at another way, a large softbox
moved to a great distance from the subject will
have a similar effect to a small softbox placed
much closer. Can you see why?
When photographing families or models, it
is common to use a softer light source. While
shadows are created, these shadows are not as
distinct (sharp) and the depths of the shadows
are often not as dark. The result is softer.
However, when you move this light further
away from your subject, you are reducing
its size relative to the subject. And a subject
receives more directional light, the further the
light is from the subject.
So, if you have a soft light, but you want to
make it a little harder, move the light further
away from your subject. On the other hand, if
you have a small light and you want to make
it softer, take it closer to your subject (or your
subject closer to it).
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S u b j e c t
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With the light closer to the subject, the transitions
between highlights and shad-
ows are much wider and the
light appears 'softer'. Compare
this with harsh or hard light-ing.
Note that this is the
same light source, a light-
box, but at different distances
from the subject. Distance
can have a big effect on the
quality of your light.
Notice with a smaller light
source how the shadow transi-
tions become harder and the
shadows darker as the light is
moved further away from the
subject. Distance affects the
light quality.
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What To Do If Your Photos Are Stolen?The idea behind copyright is that it’s an international law and although there are differences from country to country, some basic principles apply. Here’s a website that outlines graphically the steps you need to take if your photographs are stolen.
Did you know that adding the copyright
symbol (© ) isn’t necessary to have the
copyright? Although there are moves to
change the law in this regard in some limited
situations, the basic premise for someone using
a photograph should be that if they don’t own
it, they need to find the copyright owner and
ask or buy permission first.
Usually that copyright owner is the
photographer.
Of course, with social media and the ability
to share images, the position concerning
copyright isn’t always clear. People will argue
that they believed the image was available for
use under what is called ‘creative commons”
licence, or they didn’t know who the copyright
owner was. But neither argument will work.
So, what do you do if you discover one of
your photographs is being used illegally?
Mike Ryerson contacted me from the www.
whoishostingthis.com website with news about
a cool graphic his business has developed for
photographers.
Sensibly titled ‘Here’s what to do if your
images are stolen’, it covers the basics of
copyright ownership from a USA point of view.
As explained earlier, the USA law isn’t exactly
the same as Australian law, but there are a lot
of similarities and if you’re chasing a copyright
breach in the USA, then this is the information
you’ll need.
Explains the website, “Luckily, there are
countermeasures you can take to keep your
photos from being stolen, and measures you
can take to recover losses if they are stolen. If
you do find your photos being used without
your permission, you can try to get the photos
removed, get compensated for your work, or
even bring a lawsuit against the guilty party.
Violating copyright is a crime, and those who
do it should have to answer for it, whether they
did it knowingly or not.”
The basic information in this website
applies to Australian photographers and is
certainly worth a quick perusal - or if you have
a copyright issue to deal with, it will explain
things very simply. Click through to:
http://wiht.link/stolenimage-guide
TAGSBus inessCopyr ight
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The Art Of Creating Something OriginalWhat did AIPP Ambassador Tony Hewitt APP.L, GM.Photog., FNZIPP, Hon. FAIPP learn from entering our AIPP photography awards? It may surprise you that it’s not the big wins that are so important for a professional photographer- read why.
Most members of the AIPP will have seen or
heard of Tony Hewitt. He’s the bloke who stands
up at the official awards dinners and does a
sterling job as master of ceremonies.
An AIPP Grand Master of Photography and
an Honorary Fellow, he is incredibly passionate
about the Institute and, particularly, the
Australian Professional Photography Awards
system.
SELF ASSESSMENTAfter winning the 2013 AIPP Australian
Professional Photographer of the Year, you’d
imagine Tony is pretty happy about our
awards, but interestingly, it’s not the win that
has changed his life, rather the annual ritual of
preparing and submitting his four best images
for the year.
“The Awards provides me a yearly self-
assessment of where I’m at within the
profession and while it’s encouraging to enter
with the possibility of winning an award, the
real reward is a deadline that forces you to
produce something. It allows me to measure
myself against what I was doing last year and it
encourages me to look at my work on a regular
basis.
“With a busy life, we often don’t get around
to as much self-education as we’d like to.
By being a part of the Awards process and
attending the judging, I can see what other
photographers are doing.
“It exposes me to new trends and I believe
attending an APPA judging is one of the best
seminars or educational processes you can go
through.
“When I first entered the Awards, I pushed
myself to extend my skill sets and developed
new ideas and directions with the intention
of doing well. It was something that I thought
about all year.
“Now, with a little more experience, I don’t
think about it so much and I have been really
pleased to discover that it’s my commercially
successful work that is earning the Awards.”
In the past, there has been some criticism
of the Awards system that it’s a showcase for
personal work, with little recognition of what
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Blue Lagoon is one of Tony Hewitt’s most recognised images and was part of a set of four images that earned him the 2013 Canon AIPP Austra-lian Professional Photographer of the Year, and the 2013 AIPP Australian Landscape Photographer of the Year. It is taken above Shark Bay, West-ern Australia. Turn the page to see the raw file and the raw file conversion before Tony completed his post-production.
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professionals do day-to-day. On the other hand,
the Awards hierarchy has always known that if
you push yourself through the Awards process,
the outcome should be an improvement in
your day-to-day work, not just once a year, but
on every shoot you do. Tony’s experience bears
this out.
“Many people entering the Awards target
images specifically for the judges and while
that’s fine, I have enjoyed the transition to
seeing my commercial work being rewarded as
well.”
ORIGINALITYOne of the challenges for the AIPP is
encouraging photographers to enter new and
original work.
Too often, the photographs that win major
awards one year are duplicated the following
years by other photographers trying to do as
well.
While copying the work of masters and
successful photographers is an excellent
way to learn and develop your skills, it is
never appropriate to enter these images into
competitions, or indeed post them on social
media without proper attribution.
In other words, if you closely copy another
photograph, it is unethical to enter it into a
photography competition as your own work,
and if you display it publically, you should
always attribute the photographer you have
copied (assuming that what you are doing
is not breaching copyright, in which case
you have no right to exhibit or publish the
photograph at all).
DERIVATIVE“Original ideas are hard to come by and some
people will argue that all photography is
derivative!
“However, like the alchemist, I believe
we all have the opportunity of using the
same resources in different ways and it is
this philosophy that drives my creativity and
imagination.
“Like a chef who uses the same ingredients
as all the other chefs, but comes up with a new
dish, I enjoy producing work that may not be
necessarily completely original, but is a new
way of viewing that content.
“Perhaps originality is as much about a new
way of seeing old things as it is about finding
something completely new.
“Having travelled nationally and
internationally as a judge, I find the images that
excite me the most are not necessarily brand
new concepts, but new ways of using the
techniques available to us and done to a high
level of excellence.
“Each of us sees the world in a different way
and no two visions are exactly alike. I’m excited
watching new photographers come through
with new ways of seeing and new ways of
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TOP: This is the raw file out of Tony’s Phase One 645DF camera, using an 80-megapixel Phase One IQ180 back and a Schneider Kreuznach 80mm f2.8 prime lens. Exposure was 1/1000 second at f5.6, ISO 200. BOTTOM: Within Capture One raw processing software, Tony brings up the blues in the lagoon and intensifies the reds in the desert sand. The balance of the post-production is handled by Photoshop.
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expressing their vision.”
TAKE US SOMEWHERE NEWOne of the most disappointing aspects of
our Awards system is discovering after the
event that a winning image is a direct copy or
extremely close in vision to an existing work of
art.
Had the judges known of the existence of
the earlier piece, they would be unlikely to have
scored the entry so highly - simply because
high scores invariably include a component for
originality and concept.
This underscores the need for judges to be
well educated, but given how many images are
easily available on the internet, it is a difficult
position to be in.
It’s simply not possible for judges to be
across every genre of photography and so they
must rely on the integrity and honesty of the
entrant.
“I can’t speak for all judges, but I find that the
images I like to reward the most take or stretch
photography beyond its current boundaries.
Sometimes the stretch is a little, sometimes it’s a
lot.
“Some images demonstrate a good grasp of
what has been done before, but they don’t take
us anywhere new.
“I personally believe that the highest
awarded images should not only demonstrate
a unique point of view, but take photography a
little further than it has been before.
“The Awards should recognise excellence
in professional practice, but also the capacity
for an entrant to absorb and develop the skills
that have been demonstrated by others before
them.
“It’s about exploring your own personal
boundaries in image making and taking us all
somewhere we haven’t been before.
HIGHER EXPECTATIONSTony observed that just because a photograph
did particularly well one year, doesn’t
automatically mean it will do well the following
year - or ever again, for that matter. The judges’
expectations rise every year and it’s interesting
to look back on our old AIPP awards books and
note that many of the Silver Awards would no
longer earn Silver today.
“When photographers begin their progress
through the Awards system, they are inspired to
follow the lead of others, but at some point we
owe it to ourselves to break away and to apply
more of our own thinking and philosophy to
our work. It’s only by this process that we can
establish ourselves as artists and stand-alone
professionals.”
As an AIPP Ambassador, Tony says he is
proud to be a member of the AIPP.
“The Institute has given me the opportunity
to learn from some of the country’s best
professionals and provided me with support
FEATURES
29
One of Tony’s more recent aerial images which earned third place in the recent WPPI 20x16 Print competition. Oh, and he also won second and first place as well in the Landscape category! It also earned a Silver with Distinction at the 2015 APP Awards.
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in many areas of my business, but most
importantly it has provided me with a network
of like-minded people who are sharing the
journey of photography.”
SQUAERIALSIn recent years, Tony’s winning images have
featured aerial photographs with a distinct
abstract slant to them.
“I love finding the geometry and elements of
design hidden in nature, and I also like the idea
of looking down and seeing something that
can’t be seen from a normal perspective.
“It provides a way of seeing that is different
to what people are used to seeing and the
simplicity of design lends itself to illustration
and décor styles of work. It feels very natural for
me.
“I guess I also find it easier to see my
compositions from above. It’s a plan view when
looking down and I look for shapes and balance
that makes sense for me.
“I can look at aerials in a more abstract way,
whereas when I’m shooting from the ground,
somehow I feel obliged to produce something
that is a little more realistic.”
Many years ago, a young Tony Hewitt used
to write poems and verses for greeting cards,
so it is perhaps not surprising that today his
photographs take inspiration from words.
“A lot of my photography is presented with
prose or poetry which provides a background
for the imagery. It’s almost like an artist’s
statement.
“In my image Blue Lagoon, when I first saw
it from the air, I was reminded of the birth of life
and I summed it up in words as follows:
AS IF THE EARTH ITSELF WERE CHARGED TO PROTECT AND EMBRACE…THE PROMISE OF LIFE ENCASED IN A DESERT WOMB.
“In the original shape, I saw echoes of a
womb, a crucible of life being the blue and
what is going on in the water.
“The life source is symbolised by the creek as
an umbilical cord and all is surrounded by the
warmth of a red desert.
“Writing these words helps remind me why
I took the photo and what I wanted to say,
and those thoughts drive the post-production
workflow and how I present my images the way
I do.”
Tony Hewitt is a Licentiate Accredited Professional
Photographer, an AIPP Grand Master of Photogra-
phy, and works from Perth, Western Australia. He
runs both a portrait photography studio and a com-
mercial and fine art division to his business.
You can see more of Tony’s work at www.tony-
hewitt.com
FEATURES
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Tony is looking for simplicity and elegance. At first glance, there’s not a lot to see in this aerial, but a closer inspection reveals a wealth of subtle detail and texture. Silver with Distinction, APPA 2015.
32
Why Do 4 Silvers Beat 4 Golds?At the end of each category in the AIPP’s Awards process, the top three portfolios are assessed by the judging panel to determine the overall winner. Why is this system better than simply giving first prize to the set of prints with the highest score?
The reason the top three portfolios (where a
portfolio is a set of four prints) in each category
are re-assessed to determine the overall winner
is to ensure fairness.
This must sound quite odd to someone
who wins three or four Golds, only to discover
a portfolio with a lower aggregate score has
beaten them. How can this be fair?
NOT ABSOLUTEJudging a photography competition is not like
timing a running race. It’s a subjective process
which we try to make as objective as possible,
but at the heart of a score are five subjective
opinions.
During the judging process, you can have
two or three different judging rooms with
different judges and panel chairs. And prints
can be judged at the beginning of the day or at
the end of the day, by experienced judges and
those not so experienced.
How a print scores can also be dependent
on the prints that came before it. It is only
natural for the judges to be enthusiastic about
a good print following a run of below average
entries; and if your print comes up immediately
after a Gold award, it is a challenge to get the
judges giving two Golds in a row.
As careful as the organisers are, there are
many variables in the judging process. Our
judges are human (thank heavens) and the
judging process has its limitations.
INITIAL RESULTSo, at the end of a category judging, we have
a range of scores with variable consistency.
In most situations, this isn’t a major problem
because the entrant has received a fair
assessment of their work.
It’s true that a print scoring 78 or 79 might
get 81 or 82 on another day, and similarly a
print earning 82 might get 77. And we also
see even larger variations between state and
national judging. There is variability in the
judging scores.
However, when it comes to the Gold and
Silvers with Distinction, there can be even larger
differences in the scores. There aren’t as many
TAGSAPPAAwards
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THE RIGHT WAY TO GO ABOUT ITRecently at the 2016 AIPP NSW Epson Professional Photography Awards, Alison Lyons earned three Golds and one Gold with
Distinction in the Illustrative category, a remarkable achievement. Yet her set of four prints did not win the category, even
though they were the highest scoring prints on the day. As you can imagine, there has been a lot of discussion about this
outcome and other similar circumstances in previous years. The purpose of this article is to explain the background behind our
existing system. And to Alison’s credit, her response has been a mature and considered letter to the AIPP Board, congratulating
the winner, but also outlining some suggested improvements for our system, which will be considered by the Awards
committee at its next meeting. Alison also re-edited her entries (shown above), which clearly express her dismay at the final
outcome - we are, after all, only human!
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of these awards given out and the judges can
struggle to be consistent. The best work doesn’t
always end up with the highest score, but let’s
face it, if you end up with a 90 or a 94, does it
really matter?
WHY WE HAVE AWARDSIn the context of the Awards, it is not so
important whether you get 90 or 94, what
matters is achieving a Gold Award (or a Silver,
Silver with Distinction, etc).
This might sound contrary to what we see in
the media and on Facebook!
However, the Awards system exists for one
important reason: to raise the standard of
professional photography.
If you enter the Awards, then whether you
earn an award or not really doesn’t matter.
It’s the act of entering, of testing yourself, of
producing your best work that improves you as
a professional photographer.
But it is nice to earn an award, isn’t it!
At this stage, the AIPP’s job as a professional
organisation is done. This is what the AIPP
Awards have been based on from the very
beginning – raising the standard of what we
produce, via Silver and Gold Awards.
Not individual print scores.
Of course, after you’ve entered the Awards a
few times and earned some Silvers, your goals
change. Rather than a full house of Silvers, you’d
love to win a category and the accolades that
brings. However, the way the prints are judged
isn’t set up to determine the best portfolio, but
more about that in a minute. There’s another
aspect to the Awards we must consider.
LOOKING FOR DIVERSITYIf we are looking to raise the standard of
professional photography, then the Awards
system also needs to reward variety and
diversity.
You will notice that successful prints
photographed a particular way do well the
first year, but over time their success dwindles.
The judging system rewards innovation and
diversity, not copying and repetition.
So we need to encourage a range of
different skills, techniques and approaches. This
will make you a better photographer.
Think about it: If you are a professional
photographer, you need to be able to
photograph your subjects in lots of different
ways. You need to problem solve visual
challenges for your clients.
So in the Awards, there is no point entering
the same head shot on a white background
every year as this is not going to improve you as
a photographer.
Under the rules, you can’t enter two
photographs that are essentially the same
anyway, but you can enter a series of
photographs that use a similar technique or
style. If you have a strong technique or style,
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this can certainly help you get multiple Silver or
Gold awards.
However, the risk in this approach is that
the judges will look at this series of prints and
be concerned that the photographer has not
demonstrated an ability to problem solve a
variety of approaches.
In the history of the AIPP Awards, there
have been sets of very similar prints winning
categories – and subsequent outrage from
other entrants. How could the judges be
so stupid to give first place to a set of four
photographs that are exactly the same?
In the old days, the judges weren’t to know.
They scored the prints individually – they may
have only judged one of the prints themselves.
However, at the end of the day when the scores
were added up, the ‘wrong’ portfolio may have
been deemed the winner.
The system worked really well for Silvers and
Golds, but it didn’t give the judges the ability to
fairly assess an overall winner.
SPECIAL PRIZESWhen we are looking for first place in a
category, we have a different paradigm. Instead
of assessing prints against an external standard
(is it a Silver or is it not), we are comparing one
set of prints against another set of prints. Which
set is best?
This is hardly fair on the judges or the prints
to take the highest aggregate score as these
scores can be given by different judges and the
prints are assessed in isolation, one at a time.
Using the highest aggregate score to
determine the winner did not always produce
the portfolio that the judges themselves
considered the strongest or the best, and nor
were they given the opportunity to compare
one set against another.
When you analyse our old system, the
unwanted outcomes were not unexpected
given the subjective nature of the judging
process, so the new system is as follows:
Take the top three portfolios and re-assess
them. If the highest scoring portfolio really is
the best, it will still win. On the other hand, now
that the judges can compare one portfolio
against another, they will be able to deliver a
verdict based on the direct comparison of the
prints.
IS THIS FAIR?Hopefully the way I have presented this
argument shows that it is fair, but it can still be
devastating for a photographer who gets three
or four Golds, only to be beaten by a set of four
prints with lower scores.
It’s not that the Golds are undeserving, it’s
more likely that on balance, the other prints
were underscored. It can also be because one
set of prints shows more diversity than another,
something which is considered by many of the
judges to still be extremely important.
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Should I Keep Receipts?Keeping paperwork is incredibly boring until the Tax Office hits you with a tax bill simply because you can’t substantiate what you have spent. However, these days, the burden of proof is probably a little easier, but you still need to keep those receipts for GST and tax.
The tax office doesn’t trust us. Actually, that’s
not true because the entire Australian taxation
system is based on trust, and the possibility
somone in a grey suit will audit you one day!
GST INVOICESIf you are registered for GST, you are entitled to
claim back the GST you have paid on business
supplies and equipment, but there are some
rules: No tax invoice = no claim for GST.
The tax invoice (as opposed to an ordinary
‘invoice’) includes information that allows you
(and the tax office) to establish the GST that has
been paid and to whom.
So, everytime you purchase something
for your business, you are required to obtain
a tax invoice before you can claim it on your
quarterly (or monthly) BAS report.
Note, this requirement is separate to the
need to keep invoices and receipts for income
tax purposes.
UNDER $82.50 RULEFortunately, the ATO is realistic and even if they
did send the auditors out to check on you,
there would be little point worrying about small
items.
For this reason, there is an $82.50 rule that
states any payments under this amount don’t
need to have an associated tax invoice in order
to claim GST. This means that your bank or
credit card statement is likely to be all you’ll
need to record and remember the GST for small
items.
INCOME TAX RULESIncome tax rules are a little different and a
little more complicated. For intance, there are
specific rules requiring individuals to keep all
receipts for motor vehicle and travel expenses,
but other expenses may still be deductible even
if you can’t find the receipt or invoice.
But that’s not the point. Make it a habit to
keep the paperwork and here’s how:
Find a shoe box, a folder or a spike on your
desk and at the end of each day, put all your
receipts in it or on it. Then once a quarter, file
them in an envelope. At least you have them!
TAGSBus inessReceipts
This is general information only. We do not know your specific financial or legal situation and we are not providing you with advice. As such, this article should not be relied upon as legal, financial or accounting advice. Please use this article as a conversation starter with your own adviser.
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What Happens To Copyright On Facebook?Th e re s u l t s o f t h e l a te s t re p o r t by t h e E m b e d d e d M e t a d at a M a n i fe s to a re n o t to o g o o d, s t at i n g t h at m a ny s o c i a l m e d i a s i te s a re n o t d o i n g e ve r y t h i n g t h e y c a n to s u p p o r t yo u r ow n e r s h i p o f yo u r p h o to gra p h s. H ow d o yo u r s o c i a l m e d i a s i te s ra te ?
According to the AIPP’s past national president,
Robert Edwards, the Embedded Metadata
Manifesto initiative has published the results of
its latest survey on popular social media sites.
Said Robert, “Metadata includes the EXIF info
your camera generates, but more importantly it
can include a Caption, the Creator, a Copyright
Notice and a Credit line that you add.”
We’ve all heard that posting photos on social
media websites like Instagram, Facebook and
Flickr can have challenges when it comes to
copyright. It’s not that we necessarily lose our
copyright, rather we lose control.
Open up a photo in Facebook and it is as
easy as pie to download it to your computer
(even if the quality is questionable).
WHO OWNS IT?When someone downloads your photo from
Facebook (or another social media site), you still
own it. The question is, do they also download
the Exif/IPTC data (the metadata) attached to
the photo?
There’s nothing we can do to stop thieves
taking our photos from social media - that’s the
risk we take for the promotional and marketing
benefits we receive in return.
However, most of us take care to embed
photo files with our copyright information -
saved in the IPTC metadata - so that if someone
does download our photos, there’s potentially
a notice that says the photo is subject to
copyright.
If there is no copyright notice and no one
knows who took the photo, then there is
little chance someone will approach you for
permission given they don’t know who you are!
To be fair to Facebook, it does appear to
retain both the creator and copyright owner in
the metadata when an image is downloaded,
although most of the Exif fields are stripped out.
EMBEDDED METADATABegun in 1965, the International Press
Telecommunications Council (IPTC) establishes
and maintains the metadata standards used
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by photographers and the media industry. It
launched the Embedded Metadata Manifesto
in 2011 to draw attention to the importance of
retaining important data embedded in image
files.
The website, www.embeddedmetadata.org
also includes Embedded Metadata Manifesto’s
five guidelines for how metadata should be
handled and preserved in digital media.
“There are many important reasons to
embed and preserve metadata – to protect
copyrights, ensure proper licensing, track
image use, smooth workflow, and make them
searchable on- or offline,” said Michael Steidl,
Managing Director of IPTC.
“If users provide captions, dates, a copyright
notice and the creator within their images,
that data shouldn’t be removed when sharing
them on social media websites without their
knowledge.”
TEST RESULTSSo how well did your favourite social media site
go?
According to Robert Edwards, “It’s a mixed
bag of results with most sites improving their
metadata handling over the last few years, while
a few like Dropbox faired much worse. Adobe’s
new Behance service was the only site that
received full marks.
“You can see a graph of the results here:
http://www.embeddedmetadata.org/social-
media-test-results.php”
Continuted Robert, “The AIPP is a founding
supporter of the Embedded Metadata
Manifesto and it’s an issue all professional
photographers should be aware of.”
WHAT CAN YOU DO?So, what are the options? Do you stop posting
photos on social media?
That is probably not going to be helpful if
you wish to market yourself successfully.
The first step is to ensure you are
embedding your four ‘C’s (Caption, Creator,
Copyright Notice and Credit line) in all your
photographs so that you don’t have to think
about it. This can generally be set up when you
first ingest your files, or even be written by your
camera when you press the shutter button.
Once it’s done, it’s done forever (or until you get
a new camera).
The second thing you can do is to include
a watermark on the front of your photos. Yes,
these can be cropped off or even retouched
out - we can’t stop people who are determined
to be thieves, but we can make it obvious that
our photographs are not to be used freely, and
certainly not to be used without crediting us as
the photographers.
You can also read the Photo Metadata Test
Results media release here: https://iptc.org/
news/many-social-media-sites-still-remove-
image-rights-information-from-photos/
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Peter Eastway’s
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L a n d s c a p e P h o t o g r a p h y M a s t e r C l a s s - C o n t e n t s
FINE ART MOVIES1. Monte Fitz Roy, Pa-
tagonia2. Mount Nemrut,
Central Turkey3. Cape Palliser,
New Zealand4. Cappella di Vitaleta,
Tuscany, Italy5. Elephant Island
(Iceberg At Sea)6. Pilbara Storm,
Western Australia7. Steeple Jason,
Falkland Islands8. Nevis Tree, South Island,
New Zealand9. Zabriskie Point,
Death Valley, USA10. Oxer Lookout, Karijini,
Western Australia11. Segovia Castle,
Central Spain12. Great Barrier Reef,
Australia13. Western Macdonnells,
Central Australia14. St Gregory’s, Ani, Eastern
Turkey15. Weano Gorge, Karijini
National Park16. Clinging Tree, Dales
Gorge, Karijini17. Ishak Pasha – The
Mosque Behind18. Stirling Ranges, South
Western Australia
KNOWLEDGE1. Which Cameras Are Best
for Landscapes?2. The Best Lenses For
Landscapes3. What Is The Best Aper-
ture To Use?4. Camera Support For
Maximum Clarity5. Camera Bags - Sensible
Approaches6. Landscape Photography
Accessories7. Colour Temperature &
How It Works8. Correct Exposure And
The Histogram9. Using The Light For
Landscapes10. How To Stitch
Panoramas11. Archival Landscape
Prints12. How To Shoot Aerial
Landscapes13. Composition Part 1:
Subject Matter14. Composition Part 2:
Framing & Cropping15. Composition Park 3:
Viewpoint16. Composition Part 4:
Placing The Horizon17. Composition Part 5:
Centre of Interest18. Composition Part 6: Rule
of Thirds
JOURNEY1. Patagonia, South
America2. Favourite Places In
Turkey3. Favourite Places in
South West USA4. Favourite Places
In Italy5. Central Spain
for Castles 6. The Pilbara, Western
Australia7. Easter Island, Paci� c
Ocean8. Niseko, Hokkaido,
Japan9. Shooting The
Pyramids, Egypt10. Hamilton Island,
Australia.11. Queenstown, New
Zealand12. Ancient Ani, Eastern
Turkey13. Amazing Papua New
Guinea14. Karijini National Park,
Western Australia15. Cruising For Landscape
Photographs16. Reaching Your Destina-
tion17. Scotland & The Isle Of
Skye18. Antarctica & The South-
ern Islands
ACUMEN1. Potential Markets for
Landscape Photos2. How To Price Your
Landscape Prints3. Creating Landscape
Prints For Sale4. Publishing A Book of
Landscapes5. Publishing A Book -
How Finances Work6. Presentation: Why It’s So
Important7. Setting Up Your Own
Website8. Setting Up An
Exhibition9. Shooting For Books &
Magazines10. Limited Edition Print
Sales11. Computer Power - Do
You Need More?12. Landscape Print Sales
Paperwork13. Print Sizes And Paper
Surfaces14. Shooting Landscapes
That Sell15. Getting Photos Pub-
lished With Words16. Do You Need A Business
Plan?17. Which Photo Editing
Software?18. Where To Now That
You’ve Finished?
POST-PRODUCTION1. RAW Conversion
Technique2. Darkening & Lightening
With Soft Light3. Multiple RAW Conver-
sion Technique4. Luminosity Masking
Technique5. Colour Balance – Get-
ting It Right6. Local Contrast – Two
options in Photoshop7. Vignetting – How It Can
Improve Images8. Lab Color - Full Control
in Photoshop9. Nik Software - Using
Viveza Plug-in10. Photomerge For
Stitching 11. Channels for Hue/Satu-
ration Adjustments12. Making Selections In
Photoshop13. Sharpening In Photo-
shop14. Black & White Conver-
sions15. Focus Stacking (Helicon
Focus)16. Lightroom Catalogs for
Landscapes17. Big Black & White -
Punchy Landscapes18. High Pass Filter For
Landscapes With Pop!
SPECIAL FOR BP READERSSave 20%Use Coupon Code: BPMAGO� er Expires 31/12/2016
44
Will Privacy Laws Stop Public Photography?Chris Shain represented the AIPP and photographers at a recent inquiry into privacy and how it may affect photographers and other visual artists. Is this the beginning of the end for street photography, or will the legislators in NSW see sense?
In France, you cannot publish a photograph of
someone photographed in public without their
permission. Although there are some narrow
exemptions for news and current affairs, it
seems strange that a country so renowned for
its street photography should end up with what
appear to be tyrannical restrictions.
There’s nothing to stop you taking the
photos, the problems only begin when you
want to use them!
Will Australia follow suit? Or will it be worse?
NSW INQUIRYThe AIPP’s Chris Shain APP, AAIPP, an Advocacy
Board Advisor, represented professional
photographers at a Standing Committee on
Law and Justice Inquiry Into Remedies for the
Serious Invasion of Privacy In New South Wales.
Arts Law has made many submissions over
the years opposing a new law for the invasion
of privacy because of the (perhaps) unintended
consequences for artists and photographers
working in public places.
Commented Chris Shain at the inquiry, “...it is
a day-to-day problem with misunderstandings
mostly. You can walk down this street here, for
instance, and you might get a private security
guard come up to you and say, “You cannot
take pictures here”.
CHILLING EFFECTContinued Chris, “Now I am not entirely sure
why that would be the case. One of our
concerns ... is the potential for this legislation,
if it is too far reaching, to have a huge chilling
effect on people going about their daily
professional activity, let alone artistic activity.
There would be lots of pictures that would not
be able to be taken if the privacy legislation was
ramped up.
“The State Library next-door is just
completely chockablock full of images of our
social history. Let us not put a chilling effect on
that.”
Added Chris, “Already we have trouble with
people misunderstanding what ‘privacy’ means
to the general person in the street. Let us not
introduce more stuff that is going to make it
TAGSBus inessAdvocac y
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even more difficult. I am not a lawyer, but I am
advised by a lot by people who understand
these things that there are perfectly adequate
remedies at the moment for people to deal with
privacy.”
A RANGER TOLD THEM...Added Robyn Ayres, Executive Director, Arts Law
Centre of Australia, “I suppose one of the issues
for clients we advise is there is an enormous
amount of legislation they already have to
navigate and they come to us asking for advice
as to whether or not they can do something.
An example would be a photographer who
was proposing to take photographs of kids
or people at the beach and a ranger told
them they were not allowed to do that, but
actually they were allowed because in terms
of the legislative framework in place, there is
nothing to stop them doing that. So there is
misunderstanding—”
Continued Chris, “There is Federal legislation;
there is State legislation; we even have local
councils trying to set up regulations about how
a photographer can work in a public park. There
are layers of stuff that make it very difficult for
us to go about our daily activity, which for 99.9
per cent of the time is not causing anybody in
society any issues at all.
“I think in the case of photography, it is how
the pictures are used, rather than trying to have
a policeman or ranger walk down the street and
say to a photographer, ‘Don’t take that photo’.
That would be a really bad scenario.”
Added barrister and MP David Shoebridge,
“The current arrangement is confusing for many
people. I too have seen security guards saying
you are not allowed to take a photograph and
ignored them. We have seen instances when
police effecting an arrest say to people around
that they are not allowed to film them. We
know both those directions have no legal force
because if you are in a public place taking an
image of an event occurring in a public place,
there is no restriction on it.”
DIFFERENT PROBLEMSOf course, it’s easy to tell the police or a security
officer that they don’t know what they are
talking about if you’re a barrister, but a little
harder for a professional photographer.
Concluded Chris Shain, “There is the act of
taking the photo and then the act of using the
photograph. They are two completely different
problems.
“I am concerned that if legislation is not
crafted really well, there will problems with
respect to the act of taking the photo, because
those photos will not be taken.”
Chris continues to follow the development of
this legislation which will no doubt eventually
have an impact, one way or another, on all of
Australia and potentially New Zealand as well.
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Do You Charge By The Hour Or By The Shot?When you are hired as a photographer, are you hired by the hour or are you paid depending on how many photographs you create? For commercial photographers, there can be great benefits in charging by the shot as it sets a value on what you produce, not the time you spend. Here’s why.
Providing clients a quote or an estimate based
on the number of photographs they require
can be a much more profitable and sensible
approach. It puts a value on what we produce,
rather than the time we spend behind the
camera.
COMPARING HOURLY RATESWhen you provide a quote or estimate with
your hourly rate, the person who is hiring you
may not have a good undestanding of what is
required to run a business.
Instead, the extent of their financial acumen
is taking a wage cheque at the end of each
week where they might be paid $30 or $50 an
hour.
Then they look over your estimate which
charges $150 or $300 an hour. What do you
think their immediate reaction is? Naturally
they want your job! It must be better than the
hourly rate they are getting, even though they
ignore all the hours you work in marketing and
promotion for which you get paid nothing.
Nor do they take into account the cost of your
equipment, running the studio, doing the
accounting, maintaining a vehicle and so on.
For an employee, a high hourly or day rate for
photography can get some getting used to!
In comparison, a charge of $50 or $500 per
photograph may not seem unreasonable -
simply because they have less of an idea what
goes into creating a professional photograph.
Of course, if the per shot rate is too high, then
they may think they can do just as well with
their smartphone or compact camera, so this
isn’t a licence for us to charge what we like. We
still need to be competitive.
Nor are we trying to be deceiptful or tricky.
Our price may well be based on an hourly rate,
but we don’t want to present it in such a way
that our clients think we are ripping them off,
no matter how ill-informed they may be.
CONTROLLING EXTRA WORKHow often have you been on a commercial
shoot and been asked to take a few extra
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This is general information only. We do not know your specific financial or legal situation and we are not providing you with advice. As such, this article should not be relied upon as legal, financial or accounting advice. Please use this article as a conversation starter with your own adviser.
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QUOTE ON TIME BASIS20 EMPLOYEE PORTRAITS2.5 EMPLOYEES PER HOUR8 HOURS @ $250 PER HOURTOTAL: $2000
QUOTE ON PER SHOT BASIS20 EMPLOYEE PORTRAITS(2.5 EMPLOYEES PER HOUR)$100 PER PHOTOGRAPHTOTAL: $2000
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photographs?
It might be a job photographing 20 staff
members and the client just adds in another
five employees who were only hired the day
before.
How do you handle it? Or more importantly,
how does the client handle it?
If you are shooting on a time basis, your
client simply gets you to speed up, or you hang
back and work an extra hour or so for nothing.
For example, you’ve quoted $2000 for a day
shoot and in that time, you have calculated you
can shoot the 20 employees.
Many photographers would feel awkward
about charging more than this and instead
would just work a little longer to keep the client
happy. Is this fair?
THE PIZZA SHOPNaturally it depends on your relationship with
your client, but let’s say your client makes pizzas
and after the shoot, you put in an order for 20
pizzas. When you drop down to pick them up,
you’re a little hungry so you ask for five more
pizzas. Do you think your client would give you
the five extra pizzas for nothing?
Of course not!
On the other hand, if you’d hired in a caterer
for a party and told them you needed 20 pizzas,
only to discover you needed 25, surely that
would be alright because you’re already paying
the caterer $1000 for the five hours they’re at
your premises?
Chances are the caterer would not be happy
- and chances are the caterer would not have
enough ingredients.
PER UNIT BASISCaterers normally charge you on a per meal
basis, with a minimum number of meals. They
may calculate their costs using an hourly rate,
but they charge per meal.
In the same way, photographers should
charge per photograph.
Charging per photograph protects us
against being asked to do extra work for
nothing.
Let’s return to the case of our twenty portrait
photographs. If instead of charging them one
day at $2000, we had charged them $100 per
portrait, professional lit and fully retouched,
when the client adds in another five employees
the chances are you won’t be asked to shoot
them for free.
The client already knows it’s going to cost
$100 per employee, so any reasonable client
would expect to pay another $500 for five more
photographs.
It’s a matter of creating expectations in such
a way that it is reasonable for both parties.
The per shot rate also protects you if it takes
less time to shoot the photographs - they don’t
feel ripped off because it only took you half the
time. Perception is important.
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The Luminous Awards 2016There are four aspects to the AIPP’s Luminous Awards: the person we recognise, the recipient of the grant, the photographers who contribute their work and the future of our profession. Who do you suggest we consider for the Luminous Awards this year?
In 2015, the inaugural Luminous Award
recognised the great work and services of past
AIPP National President Ian McKenzie OAM,
APP-L, M.Photog., Hon. FAIPP, FAIPP. At the other
end of her career, Silvia Tomarchio from Victoria
received the Luminous Grant.
FOUR TIER APPROACHThese are the first two of the four tiers in the
Luminous Project. In addition, there is the
funding for the grant which comes from the
auction of photographs which are supplied by
AIPP members.
While last year it was an invitational, this
year’s prints may be taken from the highest
scoring prints. Or do you have a better
suggestion?
The fourth and final tier remains a little
distance off, but it is hoped that the print
auction will generate more income than is
required for the Luminous Grant which can be
used for other altruistic purposes.
At this stage, the Board plans to extend
the concept to larger issues, both within and
outside the profession. It is designed to be a
philanthropic exercise and something that all
members can be proud of.
2016 SUGGESTIONSThe Board is currently working through the
details of the next Luminous Award and is
inviting members to make suggestions and
recommendations for two aspects of the
Luminous Awards:
• Who should the Luminous Award be given in
honour of this year?
• And whose prints will be auctioned?
One of the challenges in auctioning off the
highest scoring APPA prints is whether or not
they are appropriate for public auction.
For instance, some of the Family and Birth
category entries may not be ideal candidates
for a bidder’s home wall.
So, is there another way of sharing around
the opportunity to contribute to the Luminous
Awards?
Please forward suggestions and ideas to
Ross Eason - [email protected]
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Leica SL - The New Professional CameraThe new breed of mirrorless cameras has most if not all of the features of a fully blown DSLR, but less size and weight. Are they only designed for enthusiasts, or are they now truly contenders for a professional photographer’s camera bag? Leica’s SL suggests the latter!
Leica’s history as a high quality professional
camera is legendary. People automatically
associate it with Cartier-Bresson and Magnum
photographers in general – and with good
reason, but sometimes it is hard to agree
whether they made Leica famous or it was the
other way around.
ALWAYS PROFESSIONALWhile Leica cameras were practically
indestructible, the reputation for Leica lenses
was perhaps even more well deserved. You
could tell that a photograph was shot with
Leica glass simply by looking at it. There was a
distinct quality difference and the professionals
knew it.
In the mid-20th century, Leica didn’t jump
on the SLR bandwagon quickly enough and
for many years, it found itself sharing the
professional’s camera bag with other brands.
It always kept its place in photojournalism,
but sport and wildlife gravitated to the new
Japanese SLRs.
Leica has been manufacturing high quality
cameras continuously, but it is in the last
decade or so that it has been quietly making
a very strong comeback. As more and more
people valued the quality differences presented
by Leica cameras, it introduced the medium
format S series camera which wasn’t that much
larger than a DSLR. Combined with Leica optics,
the quality is simply jaw-dropping.
However, the very first Leica cameras were
ground-breakers. Leica’s name was made by
providing professionals with something they
needed to take them to the next level and I
can’t help wondering if Leica is about to do it
again.
Is the new Leica SL that camera for the 21st
Century?
MIRRORLESS DESIGNWhen Canon and Nikon recently launched their
20-megapixel professional workhorses, many
photo magazine editors asked why they weren’t
mirrorless. As amazing as these cameras are,
they ignore the trend to smaller, lighter camera
designs that can take advantage of a mirrorless
TAGSEquipmentCamerasM ir ror less
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design. The Leica SL weighs 847 g, compared
with 1530 g for the EOS-1D X Mark II and 1405 g
for the D5.
If you’re happy to use an electronic
viewfinder (or perhaps more accurately, if
you can build an electronic viewfinder that
outperforms the optical viewfinder on a DSLR),
many other features such as faster autofocus,
rapid frame rates and better lens design
automatically fall into place.
In other words, if you don’t need the reflex
mirror and pentaprism in your camera, you can
do a lot of really cool things – as long as you still
have a good quality viewfinder.
EYERES VIEWFINDERAnd the SL does. With a latency time below the
threshold of perception and a resolution of 4.4
million pixels, the EyeRes viewfinder is incredibly
sharp and clear. And as its image can be
electronically brightened, the EyeRes viewfinder
is even better than an optical viewfinder in low
or unfavourable light
The advantage for a professional (or any
photographer for that matter) is that the
viewfinder can show you exactly how your
final picture will look: exposure, depth-of-field
and white balance are simulated and can be
assessed, even before pressing the shutter
release.
Now add in the cool electronic functions
like a dual-axis levelling aid, various grids and
Focus Peaking and suddenly your camera is
working the way it should. Professional video
producers will also welcome the zebra function
for avoiding overexposure, and the EyeRes
viewfinder is activated in the simplest possible
way – by looking through it.
HIGH SPEED AUTOFOCUSOne of the challenges previous mirrorless
cameras have faced is high speed autofocus on
moving subjects. It has probably been more a
matter of priority than capability, but until now
mirrorless cameras have struggled to match the
sheer speed and power of the Nikon and Canon
systems.
The new Leica SL is now challenging that. In
combination with the Leica APO Vario-Elmarit-
SL 90–280mm f/2.8–4 zoom, the Leica SL is
claimed to have the fastest autofocus of any
professional camera – including DSLRs. The
full travel of the lens, from infinity to its closest
focusing distance, takes place in less than 110
milliseconds. That’s blindingly fast!
Leica states that its new telephoto lens
construction features double internal focusing,
in which two lens elements move towards each
other. This enables extremely fast and almost
silent autofocus.
The Leica SL uses 49 AF focusing segments
and for very detailed work, the camera offers
the ability to set a single AF focusing point
anywhere in the viewfinder image. Focusing
FUR THER DE TAILSh t t p : / / a u . l e i c a - c ame ra .com/
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can be set either by a simple tap on the touch
screen on the part of the subject you wish to
focus on, or automatically, by enabling the face
detection feature (it focuses on the face nearest
to the camera).
4K VIDEOSo far so good. The 24-megapixel sensor is
backed up by a Maestro II processor and you
can shoot as high as ISO 50,000.
However, there’s no doubt the professional
photographer of the future will be doing more
and more video and the new Leica SL offers
what has become the new standard, 4K.
Professional videos can be output in 4:2:2
10-bit format with 4K cine resolution.
As soon as the Leica SL is in video mode,
the viewfinder display shows only relevant
information for video recording, such as
safe area, aspect ratio, zebra function, or the
recording level of the microphone.
An optional audio adapter allows you
to connect an off-camera microphone and
the audio recording level can be set without
accessing the menu.
BRING ON THE LENSESHowever, as with all Leica cameras, and as
magnificent as they are, it’s the lenses that make
the images sing! And dance!
Leica will tell you there are over 100 Leica
lenses to choose from and, if you use one of
four different adapters, this is very true. The SL
camera will accept M, S, R and cine series lenses
and that will be refreshing for photographers
who already have an investment in Leica glass.
Many of these lenses are manual focus and that
will be a limitation for some applications, but
naturally Leica has already thought about that.
Accompanying the new Leica SL are three
new SL-System lenses and the SL can also
accept the existing T/TL mount lenses without
an adapter. The three SL lenses cover from
24mm to 280mm, beginning with the Leica
Vario-Elmarit-SL 24–90 mm f/2.8–4 ASPH. This
backs onto the Leica APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90–
280 mm f/2.8–4 mentioned earlier. No, it’s not
an f2.8 300mm, but this is available as a manual
focus R-Series lens. No, you can’t go wider than
24mm, but you certainly can with the M-Series
and R-Series optics.
However, you may be tempted by the third
lens, a Leica Summilux-SL f1.4/50 mm ASPH –
which is also a true 50mm lens on the full frame
sensor.
IS IT FOR YOU?A Leica SL system is not inexpensive. The
camera is similarly priced to the top of the range
Canon and Nikon pro DSLRs, but the lenses can
be easily double that of their competitors.
However, if you’re looking for a way to
distinguish yourself from your competitors, the
Leica SL may be just what you need.
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This contemporary photography workshop is for anyone who has ever wondered ‘what lies beyond’ the mastery of software and hardware, and what lies beyond the production skills, workflows, clients, competitions, and associations. In other words, this workshop is for anyone who has ever wondered ‘how do I get to the next level’ and beyond? This is so much more than perfecting your workflow or making lasting impressions with your pictures, it is also about your confidence and sophistication as an artist.
The Daintree Photography Workshop 201611th to 17th May
Presented by Les Walkling with Peter Eastway
Register for this workshop now at:http://www.leswalkling.com/bookings/
www.leswalkling.com www.petereastway.com
My co-presenter is the remarkable Peter Eastway (APP.L, GM. Photog., FNZIPP, Hon. FAIPP, Hon. FNZIPP, FAIPP). Peter is an incredibly gifted educator, mentor and communicator, and one of my closest friends. We encourage, inspire and support one another, and aim to do even more for you.
The venue is the James Cook University Daintree Rainforest Observatory education and research centre in far North Queensland. It is one of the few areas in the world where the ‘reef meets the rainforest’ and the only place where two World Heritage Areas, the Daintree and the Great Barrier Reef, sit side by side providing an unforgettable experience in a unique and inspirational learning environment.
With our chefs and support staff taking care of everything else, you will be free to explore, refine, and extend your photography, and thereby change not only your relationship with your ‘hardware and software’, but most importantly take your pictures and yourself to the ‘next level and beyond’.
Enquiries Ph: 07 4725 4860 E: [email protected]