ok, please, no more phone calls or e-mails to Karen Mullarkey!!! the woman is overwhelmed…Karen says her e-mail is on total overload…her computer is smoking!!! she cannot handle any more portfolios or inquiries from us at this point…
from now on , if we get a request like this, i think i will have to select a few of you to submit…an "open call" will just create chaos…. this should now lead to a discussion on how to approach an editor, how many pictures to show, etc etc….actually, i know Karen’s frustration….most of you have websites with just way way too much to view…maybe this is terrific for your friends etc., but busy editors trying to see what a photographer can do, just is not going to "edit" for you…
there should be a big difference between your web presentation and your archive…two totally different animals….many fail to see the difference…..
rather than really seeing the good pictures you do have, many editors will just exit in frustration over just too too much miscellaneous material…they do not want to go on a treasure hunt…they want to see the really best work …fast, concise, clear…period…
this will lead me now to interview two or three professional editors for you, so you can hear it directly from them…
this is a topic that comes up from time to time…or maybe even all the time…EDITING, PRESENTATION….
do most of you feel that editing/presenting is your most formidable task???
Medium format camera not working. All pictures high over exposure.
I will begin from start tomorrow.
ku…wa… ku…wa… ku…wa
bedzie ok.
peace
MARCIN…
Panos as Larry Burrows?? i would not have thought in that direction…but interesting observation on your part….
by the way, when i was a grad student and Larry Burrows was the Magazine Photographer of the Year, my job was to be his “student guide” at Univ of Missouri where the awardees were awarded…you know, to show him around campus, be his local assistant..make him comfortable with the students…a nicer man , a gentleman, you cannot imagine…a few weeks later he was killed….his daughter, Bobbie Baker Burrows was for many years an editor at Life Magazine and she has helped keep her father’s legacy alive…he was certainly one of a kind…
cheers, david
DAVID:
1) Living in the Shadows is a current project of mine. I began it this winter and have shot it off and on since then. When I initially responded about assignments for this month, I mentioned that I live in Barcelona but was prepping for a trip to Mexico City (now two & half weeks away), but since I am now tight on time (AND if I do anything at all right now), I’d like to continue improving the Living in Shadows story. When I get back in July, I’d be happy to start up a new assignment in Barcelona.
2) When you responded to me last week you mentioned the following: “in some of the other essays you just need to please take out some of the cliche pictures to make your work really sing…in about 10 minutes with you in person i could edit your work down and make your whole presentation absolutely fly….”
If there is anyway of getting that ten minutes from you, either here, by email, phone or chat, that would be ideal, but I understand you have time constraints. I’m also attending Look3 and was planning to try to get some meetings and show Living in the Shadows, but if I’m not ready, that could be a terrible mistake. Maybe I’m better off not worrying too much about printing this week and get out and shoot more of the African immigrants. Aiiiiii me han enterado las dudas!
3) I’d also like to know which images were the 4 or 5 images that you liked in Living in the Shadows.
4) Finally, you asked earlier “i am curious to know where you want to go with your work”. I’d like to do editorial work and some travel work with an edgy editorial style.
I hope that all helps.
all the best,
Charlie
Hello David,
Funny thing is that I’ve been looking at my site feeling that there is far too much work on there. I think I need to take out some projects that don’t relate to the kind of work I am doing right now.
Srini
http://www.srinivaskuruganti.com
Wow, Panos, really impressed at the microcosmos of life and characters, and activities in Venice Beach. Your distance is perfect, quite inside, but not too much, so spinning in and out, and that heightens the experience that there is still humonguous life in that dying (your words) microcosm.
I am reminded of Pattaya in Thailand, but with the free-spiritedness added, and the American Freedom, that both graces and strikes the Venice denizens.
Rafal, I hope David guides towards a selection that privileges one emotion, not too many. If we convey or awake one feeling, this will help your work stick with people better than an overall synopsis.
From everything David tells us, Editors, looking for new talents, value emotion (I don’t mean sentiment or touchy-feely stuff), more than good coverage. It’s harder of course, but unmistakably ours.
James (Chance), Enjoyed that too, a lot, with one thought. Seeing your images, all the shadings, moisture, details,hourn of the day, etc… I crave to see them in color, and for many, caught myself adding hues.
DAVID, ALL…
I have thinking that while I photograph my ” mixed heritage “, the others are already publishing or editing theirs assignements (and it looks good). Your are too fast for me. ;). I don’t even want to think about editing right now. Maybe I’m wrong. I just do my thing. But I feel a kind of good pressure.
Trying to catch up with all the posts and the forum dynamics…
Congratulations to James and Panos work (the latest I could see)
I couldn’t find the link to Jarle assignment photos yet (despite visiting his site)…
Cheers
Jean Sébastien…
NO, NO…do not worry about what others are doing!!!
just do your thing…everyone works at their own pace……please do not feel under pressure….
some photographers may not show us anything until the very end…maybe this will be your approach….fine.
others will want a running critique and discussion…
either way is fine from my point of view…
i always tell photographers to work hard, but relax at the same time…seems contradictory , but it is not…you must concentrate, be “on the case” and yet be totally tranquil….
if you get “uptight” you will not be able to do anything…turmoil and frustration of some sort are normal and good…but, do not “lock up”!!!
enjoy, relax….
peace, david
HERVE…
you are right on….
cheers, david
DEAR DAVID
if you do want to give me a crit here, could you possibly email and tell me when you do? Otherwise I’ll probably miss it. That would be very nice and save me from the tenterhooks I’m on ’til I hear your worst. Thank you, Amy
David
LOL Ill put things back in and wait hah
Ok everythings back in the set. The first 10 is what i edited thanks to input from some others, after that its what was in there before.
JAMES CHANCE! :))))
Wow, love the essay very much!…breaks my heart…that pic of people inside “room” with TV and gravestone is harrowing stuff…i’ve never heard of this play nor even apprehended such a place could be possible, even amid the squalor that exists around the world….
great job…
cheers
bob
ARI..
thank you much..
HERVE..
“MICROCOSMOS”?!!!!…
now you talking..!!!
. I mean , now you talking Greek to me..
thank you for your care and support..
especially last week..
peace..
are you going LOOK3??
Herve, yes….for sure…for me Im much better simply shooting in the moment…trying to later organize things is a challenge and tryong to organize things for the consumption of professionals even more so…theres a lot of pressure to hit the ball out of a park which might lead to a fly out to third base….
Formidable? Yes. But what part of photography isn’t formidable. Editing your own work is as important as shooting. No, it’s more important. (Well, except for the fact that you need to shoot before you can edit.)
PANOS, KAT…..
I NEED FOR YOU TWO TO MOVE FAST…PLS SEND YOUR BEST EDIT TO MICHAEL COURVOISIER….courvoisierm@hotmail.com
i totally thought Katharina work was already in…my mistake…..again, not sure whether i will use both of you for Look3, but there is a good chance i will….
when putting together a slide show , i like to have “balance”….you cannot go black if you do not go white…
HURRY PLEASE PLEASE…MANY THANKS
PANOS…
still looking for your second page and a link with my first edit…please please…..we have one or two more rounds of editing to do….
peace, david
A TIP FOR ALL:
To get to the last page of comments you don’t have to be a math genius like Herve and Paul;-) Just pick a high number and it automatically defaults to the last page.
As this discussion has been so much about showcasing your photography for the purpose for being hired, I felt I should share some recent experiences.
As some of you know I am starting a documentary photography “magazine” or website. As we have put out requests for photographers I have received hundreds of e-mails. Most of the photography isn’t even close to anything I could vaguely call “documentary”.
As I saw another photo editor post above, follow the directions of the request, don’t waste the time of the editor with things they are not interested in, it only wastes YOUR time.
When I do get a good photographer, there are a few things that seem always to be true:
1. They have a personal website (not Flickr, Carbonmade, etc) that is easy to use.
2. The website has galleries that are descriptive and I know quickly what it is I am interested in. I.e. “Documentary”, “Reportage”, “Art”. Often when I get into that gallery I am given options of their recent work, say an essay on the 2008 Presidential campaigns.
3. The e-mail is short, it has a few links, and offers advice on how to view their work and usually, it tells me what I might be most interested in.
4. They have full contact information included.
Of course, when I get bad photographers, they usually have some things in common too:
1. Flickr account or similar
2. No contact information
3. Attached images of weddings, children, pets, trees, or homeless.
4. The message is something to the effect of “whats up? check out my links. let me know if you want to buy stuff. -xoxo”
5. The e-mail was sent from an e-mail address like seXXXykitten69@hotmail.com
Essentially, the level of professionalism in their communication (whether it be via e-mail or on their website) often equals the professionalism of their work.
Sorry for the long winded message but, I sometimes get a little worked up about it.
As for editing, I am terrible at editing my own work. Never been able to. I like to think I am alright helping others with their work though.
Matt
Hi David,
I’m not sure if this question has been discussed elsewhere in the forum. I have not seen it yet.
You mentioned earlier that when editing you have two choices, how many and which photos. I understand all the comments about how many, I see the value in it, but I’m still working out the “which ones” part :-)
When you are putting a story together do you include less strong photos because then are important for the story, or do you just stick to the best of the best? My guess is that you would answer to show only your best photos, but what if that doesn’t complete the story? Some documentary work must just happen as the story unfolds before you and once that moment is gone…
thanks for your advice
I guess editing is a life-long process and I have to grow into my own anwsers.
Matt Blalock, I like your site and found your advice useful. I hope I can produce photo essays as interesting one day.
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.