This coming Friday is my gallery opening at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center. My gallery will be on display in the downstairs exhibition hall. If because of work or you are out of town feel free and stop in anytime. It runs now through August 19, 2017. More information can be found on my artist facebook page as well as pertinent information for the gallery (https://www.facebook.com/BrianKrecikVisualArtist/)
Back in 2015, I was approached by Danielle McClelland from the Buskirk-Chumley theater for an advertising and promotional piece that would help showcase the signature drinks during the contest. I met Danielle at a local art council meeting held hosted by our local city government. She pitched to me the idea real quickly and I was promised more details. Over the next couple weeks I contacted the three bars and the bartenders – Emmie O’Connor from the Malibu Grill, Andrew Wind from the Uptown Cafe and Nick Matio from C3 Bloomington.
A Night at the Crazy Horse Restaurant
The results of a photo shoot from The Crazy Horse that ran in Bloom Magazine’s Distinctly Bloomington and is running in this next years edition of Visit Bloomington. All of this was done in part due to the wonderfully gracious and beautiful Crazy Horse ladies that tend bar and help manage this fine organization and the wonderfully talented Patrick Siney that pulled the advertisement together.
This was a fantastic chance to work directly with the staff on site while the bar was still open. While there, my assistant and I had to set up soft boxes, strobes, meter the lights, and work over the din of a game that was on at the time all while our gracious models were served free drinks. The shoot itself started off with the food so that we could have this arranged before we started in with our models.
It was a tough shoot to pull together as we were in a dimly lit room with little room to navigate. At times I had considered photographing and simply layering the image but in the end I am glad that we worked the shots the way we did. The warm glow of the copper bar really adds a unique color to the image that draws the eyes.
Off in the wings were the managers and servers that were watching while I and Patrick discussed how the food looked and arranged the scene, first with a drink infused with basil, next came the beer. In the end it was a blast creating still life images with another artist as the push/pull from our own creative perspectives really added volumes to the final work.
Exceptional food, one of the largest choices of beer in Bloomington, an impressive selection of alcohol, and service that simply can’t be beat. Why wouldn’t you want to hang out and grab a bite to eat at the Crazy Horse Emporium.
About copyright, licensing, and rates.
In these tough economic times it is hard for small business to survive. Perhaps they can not compete with larger business models that have a diverse portfolio allowing them to undercut costs and forcing small business to close their doors. Perhaps they simply cannot offer the necessary goods or services their clients need and they shop elsewhere. Or perhaps it simply boils down to a depressed economy where high unemployment, low wages and banks not lending that cause a stagnating local economy. This in turn leads to very little extra capital for clients to spend on advertising, artists on portfolios or families on portraits. During these times it is important to keep in a mind a few key concepts to offer both value to your clients and keep your business profitable – they are rates, licensing, and copyright.
With regards to rates, – there are a few misconceptions these days – the first is that rates are definable. This is largely an inaccurate measure since photography is not a simple formula that allows one to plug-in a set amount of costs and come out with a value for what one’s time is worth. A shoot in a studio with two assistants, five lights, and hours of editing and layering of various images to complete the final image is simply not the same as a head shot that comprises of 30 pictures, two outfit changes and 45 minutes of time with one assistant. While I enjoy working on the later image more, and not because they cost more, the reality is that few either have the time to do something as creative as scouting locations, discussing visual ideas, purchasing or making outfits, and one to two weeks of shoots and edits, let alone the cost involved in such a production. Acuity with angles, lighting, body language – even color plays an important role in evolving a dialogue that is both meaningful and effective. As an artist I appreciate the nuances that it takes to make great imagery exceptional and I continually look for new ways to work within the budget of my clients.
The second misconception is that how fast one works is a definable value for how much one should charge. This gets back to the age-old question of hourly rates which is an all too common occurrence these days and, in itself, is a fallacy. A few years back when I started out I used to do this same thing where I would sell my time and not my creative talents and my images. To put it bluntly – I simply do not work for hourly rates as this is counterproductive and sets a real bad precedence. No working professional if they wish to have a productive studio should charge by the hour. The reason for this is simple, the more experience you gain in composing, lighting, and working with your subjects the less money you will receive for your experience. This is the opposite of how value for skills should work as eventually you will find yourself making less the faster you become. Like any business it is necessary to break down costs of doing business from fixed costs (your time, insurance, rent, etc.) to variable ones (i.e. rentals, assistants, permits, etc.) Time, after all, is something they are not making more of and it is the one commodity, as artists, that we treasure the most. Use it wisely and be certain to charge properly.
The last aspect with regards to rates that I will discuss here is the concept of who owns the final image. Most hobbyist or non-professional simply toss all the images on a CD and let their client head off to Wal-Mart for prints. I have even come across some working professionals that have no idea that their work is protected under the US Copyright Title 17. What this leads to is a work made for hire without the benefits, the salary, or protections that come along with the job. This not only affects your ability to earn a living wage, it also undermines our ability and that of other photographers to demand a competitive rate that allows them to stay in business. Understanding what the Copyright Law provides to you, the artists is not only important to managing your assets; it is the first step in becoming both independent and solvent. Once one learns what value their images have it becomes easier to offer licensing to their clients, business, and private collectors, that allow us to value our work and time at a premium and give us both the revenue and time necessary to work on our own personal projects and to grow as artists.
The Copyright Law reads,
(a) Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following categories:
(1) literary works;
(2) musical works, including any accompanying words;
(3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
(4) pantomimes and choreographic works;
(5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
(6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
(7) sound recordings; and
(8) architectural works.
What this all boils down to are the following:
- Know your market. Knowing your true worth to your clients allows you to offer services and goods that meet their expectations.
- Never be afraid of exploring new genres. The days of specializing are long gone. These days it is necessary, to be marketable, to have a toolkit if skills and artistic interests. This isn’t selling your soul but freeing you as you will have the time and money to do those personal projects that you have wanted to do but have not had the time, or more importantly, the money.
- Educate yourself. Simply put this means never stop learning or exploring new perspectives or paradigms. Learn from others and when you have the time help educate those around you. And always be open to new perspectives.
- Learn what it takes to run a business. I know this is counterproductive from creating art since we did not fall in love with our profession because we wanted to get bogged down by money. The truth however is that if one does take ownership early on it become that much harder once you start building a client list to make the switch-over. Understand ROI and CODB by being aware of insurance, rent, equipment costs and replacements, salary, utilities, and all other overhead that is both tangible and intangible.
- Get signatures. This is important since having these protects you legally in case it is necessary to enforce licensing – a handshake simply is not enough!
- License every image (and register it with the Copyright office.) – this is hard at first to understand the value or how best to do this. Fortunately there are some great software and books out there that can help us understand the value our images give our clients. Some of my favorites include:
- Cradoc Software fotoBiz
- Blinkbid quote software
- Best Business Practices for Photographers
- ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography
Update (9/11/2014)
After spending the last year with Bloom Magazine I found myself bringing in new clients through referrals from Bloom Magazine. This was great news as I was working a lot of hours completing new projects. However I started to find my work being re-purposed early on and spent a lot of time on phone calls and in meetings with clients trying to smooth out contracts that had been breached.
Because the images were often being used for advertising in Bloom Magazine, once my images landed in their hands my creative rights on more than one occasion were usurped. I was never aware if it was Bloom Magazine that was selling my images to their client or if it was their designer, Kay Lee Johnston, looking to use artwork created for one project and to then re-purpose the artwork. The clients and the Editor, Malcolm Abrams were not very helpful. Instead, when I brought up the issue of licensing I was pressured by the editor to either give my work away or to sell it for a fraction of the cost else I would never find work in the industry again. Needless to say I made the conscious decision to make a clean break with the magazine since I could no longer trust their leadership.
To any writer or photographer tempted to work with Malcolm Abrams or Bloom Magazine I suggest use cautious optimism when it comes to any business dealings with the editor or the designer. Be certain to always clearly state purpose of images, file your copyrights early and often, and check to make certain that magazines, designers, or clients are not using your images without permission, and always be certain that licensing and agreements are properly signed and dated.
What is a comp card (and why do I need one?)
A comp card, also known as a z-card (pronounced zed card). Whether you are in dance, acting, singing or getting into modeling they have been an industry standard for some time. This is a 6″x 9″ card with a head shot on the front and 3-5 images on the back that showcases your talent and is used with agencies, auditions and self promotion. Their purpose is solely to show as much variety as possible and help the casting director envision you in the role that you are applying. As expected these cost money and need to be done professionally. If you wait until you are in Chicago, New York, or LA you will spend upwards of $500 – $1500 (and up) just for the session/sitting fee. Unlike musicians that only need their portraits updated about every 5 years, performing artists need to update more often. This is because we all age and your portfolio needs to be kept up to date and updated every 1-2 years especially if you put on/take off weight, cut or dye your hair. Any change in appearance will require an updated zed card.
A comp card is an important resource in addition to a head-shot. It allows you to introduce yourself to industry professionals in a much more diverse way than with a head-shot alone. If you’re looking for a commercial agent, submitting with a comp card will give you a much better chance of meeting them, because you’re showing them a variety of looks. They’ll see you as significantly more likely to book a job, be it print or on camera. If you already have a commercial agent, a comp card will allow them to submit you for print work as well as on camera and voice overs. This opens up an entire new avenue to generate income.
Comp cards are NOT just for models as every actor should have one. Generally an models comp card is much like a spread in Vogue Magazine while an actor is lifestyle that can include any form of action style images to help the person seeing your comp card to envision you in the role being cast. Ideally the images should look like tear sheets from a magazine ad. While fashion work is reserved for models there is a lot of print work available for actors to help sell their products. Click here to see day rates for print work, specifically for actors and “real” people.
~ ACTOR RATE SHEET FOR PRINT WORK~
Commercial Print
Advertising/ Product Print
Swimwear/ Bikini Modeling Print
Full Figure/ Plus Size Print
Parts (hands, feet, teeth, etc)
Ethnic Modeling
Fit Modeling
Promotional Modeling
Trade Show Modeling
Convention Modeling
This past summer a neighbor asked if I could step in and take portraits of their family and their 6-month old child. Now to say that babies are not my thing is not true. I love babies to death, though they are a conundrum of emotions that one simply can’t direct and it requires loads of patience and an eye for detail. To say that I prefer to stay out of cliché or the images that are simply overdone and become almost formula-based these days is an understatement. So… here I am, asked to do this shoot and I ask myself, “How can I make it both meaningful and endearing…?”
To that end the logical response was to apply my artistic vision to how I viewed babies. Emotional, questioning, seeking, seeing the world through a whole new and unexplored vantage – one that we could never in a million years recapture. To do this I let the baby do what babies do best, play, have fun, make up their own rules and choose what they want, and when they want. I then took a page from Henri Cartier-Bresson and waited the long hours for the decisive moment when all clicked into place. Four hours later and I think I came approached my moment of zen.
I hope you enjoy this short yet enjoyable time that I spent with this family. To say that I relish the time spent is an understatement. My one true wish is that they enjoy the images as much as I had in creating them.
One of the various things that I enjoy working with are scenes that we travel daily yet often, in our haste, overlook the beauty that exists. It doesn’t matter if it this is found in the woods, a park or town. All too often we spend our lives working or traveling from one place to the next while we rarely take the time to enjoy the world around us. I started this series in the hopes of coming to terms with this world that goes by almost unseen in the hopes of revealing the overlooked beauty that, in our haste, we overlook. “Buskirk-Chumley Fusion” is, in an effort to slow down and experience a location, an exemplar of how one can look at the world with a fresh set of eyes.
It has been an interesting two months working with one of IU’s Greek chapters as they prepare for and compete in the Little 500. With a full load of classes and working on my thesis for my MFA I agreed to help document Beta Theta Pi Cycling this semester pro bono as a thank for helping out last semester year on my documentary piece – The Beta Project. While I wanted to cover their training and behind the scenes it seemed their busy schedules and mine simply precluded us finding the time we needed to work on anything outside of the events and qualifications. During the time I was able to etch out I covered their wins and missteps along the way to seeing both the pole position secured for the second year in a row and their taking of the green jersey in the IUSF competition. In all, it was a hectic time with 40+ hours per week devoted to capturing and editing down images to best capture this intense event that for each and every one of them was a personal race that together as a team they excelled and pushed through to winning the 2013 championship this year.
This next year I will be offering up my services to help other fraternity and sororities document both the Little 500 including any additional fund-raising events during the fall, spring and summer months. As an avid cyclist and weight lifter I have a passion for the sport. If you would be interested in discussing how my artistic documentary style can be used to help promote your organization contact me early in the school year so that we can begin planning.
Enjoy the images!
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