making a bid

A couple weeks ago I was asked to submit a bid for an intl company with offices in DC. They wanted interesting images of the city (DC) for their website. I was given a 5 day deadline to submit the estimate, and final images were due exactly 12 days after the bid was sent in. I called my friend and AU classmate Tanya, who is a freelance photo producer in NYC. She recommended I use BlinkBid to create the estimate (also recommended by A Photo A Day blog, and was super helpful in helping me breakdown the pricing, especially the usage terms.

This part proved to be the trickiest because no photographer wants to give up the rights to the images they created. However, in this instance, I was encouraged by several photographers to include a buy out option, which basically means the client buys the rights to the image. This is often costly to the client. Again, I got some great advice from APAD - one of their Google group members suggested that photographers ask their client(s) if they want to be able to sell the photos to a third party. More often than not, they don't. That essentially means that they do not really want the buy out, but just freedom to use the images. The opposite of a buy out would be rights managed. In the bid I put together, I gave a usage term of 2 years, with renewal due at that time. This would require diligence in keeping up with your books and going back to the client to negotiate this renewal. For me, I thought that a buy out would be most appropriate for this job.

So I created the bid, broke down the usage terms in plain English and provided a cost of how much the buy out would be. The entire bid was submitted for $5000, perhaps too under-competitive. A few days later, I followed up with the point of contact - the due date for final images was fast approaching and at that point, I had about 10 days left to shoot, not including my full time job, Artomatic, and prepping my prints for the AOM show. I received a polite email saying that the deadline had been pushed back and that they would get back to me with more information.

It's now been a week and no word. I don't mind since it was a really good learning experience to put this thing together and understand how BlinkBid works. However, it does frustrate me especially since I can imagine the client balking at the price bid - which according to my NYC counterparts, is pretty damn reasonable for a short time frame and buy out. I'll post updates to this story if I hear anything back from them.

artomatic

Woohoo! I just accepted an invitation to be co-chair of the Artomatic Marketing and Development Committee. As much as I love creating art, I think that arts administration and advocacy are an incredibly important support structure for artists. I'm learning a lot from the past few months I've been working with this organization; from reaching out to potential sponsors, and applying for my first arts grants, to social networking - a lot of very cool stuff going on behind the scenes to bring together DC/MD/VA area artists.

This year's show is taking place from May 9 through June 15. You can see my work on the 9th Floor. I'm heading to NYC tomorrow to print the images I'll be exhibiting. Super exciting!!

f*ckin awesome

best photo essay i've seen in a LONG time. felt like i was on the boat getting seasick while at the same time stifling my giggles at the irreverent portraits (checking out photographs is not in my corporate job description).

sadness tinged with beauty

Is it so terrible of me to think that this photo is beautiful when the subject is suffering? Tyler Hick's amazing photograph of the effect of the global food crisis in Haiti makes me feel like a hypocrite. Is it through gorgeous imagery of terrible situations that we can focus attention on global issues, or does it serve as another beautiful photograph to admire and move on from?

busy sunday

1) I woke up this morning at 7:30AM in a total panic about whether or not to frame my photos for Artomatic. I still haven't come to a decision, but I did select my space (as well as Marisa's) on the 9th floor. We got core wall space (sweet!), and the best thing about our spots is that we won't need to buy additional lighting - a green and frugal move. All that's left to do is finishing the touch ups, send images to the printer, and hang em up.

2) Finished editing the Saks Beauty Bar images for DC Magazine. Hope to see them published in next month's issue.

3) SONGKRAN!! Thai New Year is probably the most festive and crazy Thai holiday. Over there, traffic is blocked for hours because of the water fights in the middle of the streets. Also known as the water festival, water is used to wash away the bad luck from the previous year - most typically from the monks, but the water fights could suffice. At Wat Thai DC there were no water pistols, just stall after stall after stall of food. I did some shooting, but mainly ate. Am feeling very full and very happy.

Flickr contest

So I kind of mentioned in yesterday's posting that my two submissions to Rob Haggart's A Photo Editor Flickr contest didn't make the cut. Boo hoo. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed; I went in with a let's see what comes of it/probably not much attitude though secretly, of course, I was hoping to make it through to the final selection. I just came across Liz Kuball's blog and I really like her writing style - down to earth and a touch sarcastic. I especially love her posting on not making the cut for the same contest.

So here's the posting, all I can say is "word."

photo blogs

It's become a daily habit of mine to check out the following photoblogs. I'm sure they are quite well known in the industry but for those who are like me and just starting to realise the wonder of cybercommunities, here's a quick synopsis:

[EV +/-] Exposure Compensation
This site is becoming one of my favourites. Miguel Garcia-Guzman covers a broad selection of photographers and styles, tips, and resources that always brings me back to his blog.

A Photo Editor
Rob Haggart's tongue in cheek site is very very informative about editorial photography. He recently held a Flickr photo promotion effort (my submissions didn't make the final cut, but its ok), which according to him "connect(s) photographers with buyers for FREE". I also really enjoyed his posting on photographers' websites.

Mrs Deane
A European take on the photo industry, and features a more international spectrum of photographers out there.

Conscientious
Jorg Colberg has some great insights, particularly on portraiture. However, the more I access this site, the more I notice that it is quite narrow in focus. The photogs profiled have feature aesthetics and subjects, particularly desaturated, low contrast portraits and landscapes. It's indicative of the market - lifestyle photography is huge right now and it seems like everyone is jumping on this bandwagon. My concern is that such profiling drives a very particular look which then affect the acceptance of other styles and visions.

The Year in Pictures
Hosted by James Danziger. Has interesting fodder, especially his insights into the industry as a leading New York City gallerist. As an aside, I personally believe that he has had a strong influence on the success of The Sartorialist.

Subjectify
I don't view this blog often, but it does feature some interesting photographers and I like her discussions.