***What is the Nature Photography Business Model?
(January 21)
By John Latta
As frequent readers of the WAVE Report know we are increasingly
using photography to communicate about the trade shows we attend
and places we visit. Given that at 4th Wave, a central element of
our business is strategic market assessment, we decided to look
into the business models around photography. In San Francisco, I
attended a lecture series by John Shaw, a well know nature
photographer. His presentation was informal, open to questions at
any time, and laced with pictures to show points. This provided
the foundation to dig into photography as a business.
www.johnshawphoto.com/
This lecture series was actually put on by the Rocky Mountain
School of Photography.
www.rmsp.com/
The first day of the lectures were devoted to technique. Topics
such as exposure, composition, flash, filters, camera, lenses and
tripods were discussed. The nuts and bolts of how to was eagerly
devoured by the audience. Much of the presentation was based on
slides to illustrate a point.
John has been a professional photographer for 30 years and his
experience depth is enormous. He has 100,000 transparencies
deposited with agencies and 100,000 unique transparencies in his
home studio and, with duplicates, holds. 400,000 transparencies.
Slide after slide brought an exclaimitive response from the
audience. The slide technical execution was outstanding. Concepts
such as merges - the merge or overlap of elements in the scene
which distracts from the composition - and the zone system - as
he explained with the use of his hand to show light levels -
became simple. He sought to change our notion of photography with
the use of words to stress that we shoot not photographs but
Photo-Graphics. That is, Graphics expressed photographically. A
number of his examples had very simple line elements such as
shadows in snow where the shadows are long graphic elements which
dominate the frame. He began his lecture stressing that
photography is all about shooting light. Again a simple concept
but when seen in slides the point was dramatic.
John's style is also quite simple. The image typically has one
key element and the rest of the frame draws ones visual attention
to this element. This could be a plant in sand, a bird in air or
an animal posed on a rock. Some of his photographs emphasize
color and he showed many images of fall leaves that presented a
splash of color or a montage of colors. The result of this style
is the ability to draw the viewer into the image. Depth of field
was used to blank out the background in a close up shot and used
in other pictures to show a landscape like one would expect to
see it - everything is in focus.
John is not an advocate of digital imaging for nature
photography. Again his presentation style and explanation was
elemental. Information content in the photo is based on the size
of the file. A slide can be professionally scanned that results
in 100MB, a high end desktop scanner will result in 60MB but the
best digital camera today, the Nikon D1X, results in files of
only 16.9MB using RGB TIFF format. John stressed over and over
that digital cameras just cannot match the image and color
quality available from film. Digital is getting better but
against his criteria it falls short.
Some of the points he made included:
Nikon is the photographic system of choice. Fuji is the film
of choice. "The best thing that ever happened to Kodak was
Fuji."
Much of his pictures are taken with 100 speed film and in a
few cases the film was pushed to 200. The emphasis was on the
highest quality image and to the extent possible film grain
was not to be an issue in any of this photographs.
Pictures are shot using the depth of preview button on the
camera. First compose the image, determine the correct
exposure using spot metering and then use the depth preview
button to set what is in focus within the frame. A tripod is
used virtually all the time for two reasons. The first is that
it makes for the sharpest image by reducing vibration. Second,
it allows long exposures when small apertures are used to get
depth-of-field. It seemed that the only exception to tripod
based pictures was when he had no choice but to use handheld.
When shooting animals seek to get at the eyelevel of the
animals. This had a dramatic effect of making the animals a
part of the frame and not remote from it. In his Antarctica
images I could only imagine him in penguin goo as he got
superb ground level shots.
The most interesting environments are at sunrise or before and
at dusk and sunset. Example after example was shown of the
impact that dew has on the landscape to droplets on leaves.
Impediments to early morning photography are, as John stated
bluntly, mates and meals.
One of the striking aspects of John's photographs was their
clarity and background color depth including striking clouds
or clear skies. However, this is not the normal environment we
live in on a day to day basis. Most days are overcast, have
haze, the weather impedes good photography and/or the sky has
condensation trails from overhead jet airliners. The only way
to overcome these practical issues is to go back over and
over. Even on a single trip it may not be possible to get even
good pictures. Thus, what happens is that the photographer
knows the best places to go for certain types of pictures,
goes on the right time of year and goes multiple times. We saw
such a theme in many of John's pictures. What is interesting
is that his business model of participating in photo tours
also allows him to return multiple times and thus get top
quality pictures over time. Something the casual photographer
finds difficult to do.
One of the inconveniences of being a nature photographer is
carrying all the gear. John described his recent trip to the
Antarctica which included a suite of lenses and 3 camera
bodies. A typical nature shoot would include 30 - 40 lbs on
his back. Yet, he took this in stride. Above this weight level
he felt it is time to seek lower weights in the various
components, such as a carbon fiber tripod. By the way, he
generally does not like these. Lower weight means less
stability in windy situations.
Relative to the potential for theft John follows two rules -
keep a low profile and stay out of major cities which are more
risky that the wilderness or even national parks.
Duplicates of the slides are to be avoided. The best way to
make copies is to shoot more than one original. On many images
he described when the best shot of the day was in the frame
the camera rolled through 2 rolls of film. Two of the best
features of modern cameras are the depth-of-focus preview and
the motor drive.
JPEG, in a digital context, is a file format for e-mail not
professionals. Only shoot images with the highest possible
dynamic range and quality be it film or digital.
At the end of the first seminar day "bad" slides were shown.
However, nearly all were bad from a composition standpoint. It
was assumed that the technical execution was correct.
I estimate that the audience was 120 but what was more
interesting was the composition. About 60% were at or near
retirement age. There were virtually no youth, < 25, in the
audience. It seemed that all were passionate about photography
and some were very sophisticated. I spoke with one who also has a
Nikon D1X and he shots his pictures to capture the maximum
information content, i.e., only the use of NEF files, and he has
done considerable work with blended photographs.
The second day was in two parts. The first was a 2 1/2 hour
discussion on digital photography. However, this was not on the
camera but on printing and Adobe Photoshop techniques. The second
part was about marketing and making money using photography. He
began the day by spreading out color prints from his Epson 1280
and Epson 2000P printers. The prints were stunning. The
combination of excellent images and good technique with the
printers created images that leapt from the paper. He also had
several panoramic images, some that had been stitched together
from multiple images in Photoshop. He challenged the audience to
find the seams.
Many of the points made during the digital part were interesting
but this did not have the impact of the first day. John does not
shoot any digital images and as a result he only sees digital in
the context of scanned images and what he does in his studio at
home. Thus, there was no parallel in this lecture with the
technique side of the first day and how a digital camera can be
used to take pictures in the field. Even the specifics of
printing were light. I asked John to explain the tradeoffs
between pigment inks and dye inks in terms of color gamut and
longevity. He gave only a top level response. The discussion of
ICC Profiles was also superficial.
The second part on the business side of photography, was at least
for me, the most interesting. John began this by asking the
questions: What do you want to get published? When? What is the $
amount you seek from being published? This netted many
interesting responses from the audience. It also showed John's
predisposition to his business model. That is, selling images he
has shot for publication in magazines, calendars, articles, books
and other print media. I asked him - what about other business
models. Examples include: photography as an art form where photos
are sold as framed pieces of art, usually from a gallery, and
photography done on assignment. He drove the point that each of
these makes no sense. John claimed that only 3 photographers are
making any kind of living selling prints to the public and even
this is a struggling business. Second the assignment business
model, at least in nature photography is dead. He also trashed
the stock photo agency. The rule of thumb being getting $1 per
slide on deposit per year is a good recovery. Their fees begin at
40% of the gross. Even with 10,000 slides on deposit this hardly
is an income.
The emphasis in his business presentation ranged from how to
submit photos to a prospective buyer to how to run the business.
The photo buyers spanned the range from specialty publications to
calendars to jigsaw puzzles. Such items as the submittal letter
were discussed in detail. Other topics included asking for
submission guidelines and indexing one's library of
transparencies (using a PC data base and file cabinets). To make
it in this very competitive business John emphasized two factors:
you must be as good as your competition and a gain factor is to
have a subject that no one else has. On the competitive side, if
one submits poor quality images, the editor will remember these
and this will black mark future submissions. To be competitive it
is imperative to edit transparencies ruthlessly, that is, do not
submit anything less than the very best you have. In fact, if it
is not good do not keep it.
Some points made in on the business side include.
This is a volume game. The more volume of transparencies the
more sales and the more sales the greater the interest and
again more sales. It is not unusual to sell the use of a photo
multiple times spread over many years. He showed a raccoon
image that was sold 4 times over 20 years.
A good publication seeking nature photos is Ranger Rick which
has one of the best fee schedules. A cover shot nets $1,000.
Everything else is down from here. Again this illustrates the
volume nature of the business. Very little in the way of work
nets high income. To make a top income level, assumed to be
from $120k+ per year, there must be many small sales.
One of the best publicity elements is a byline on a story or
with photos. John does not advertise as it is too expensive
for the return.
Photos are sold on a one time use basis. Photos are leased to
be used not sold. All photographs are copyrighted when taken
and owned by the photographer unless the rights are sold.
The advance time from submission to use varies by publication.
A magazine ranges from 6 to 9 months while a book is 2 - 3
years.
The discard rate, when editing the slides, varies greatly by
the subject. When taking scenics the keep rate is 100% while
birds flying the keep rate is near 0%.
John's operation in his home office/studio is quite simple. He
submits images for publication and responds to requests for
images. The management elements are centered around the
management of the business, some part time workers and the
photo inventory. I asked, when you are on the road do you lose
business by not being in contact with the requests which come
in for stock photos or other requests - Yes. This is the way
we do business, was his response, and the costs of working
every opportunity, vis-à-vis the requirement for a full time
employee, do not justify the labor costs.
It was very clear, from his descriptions of the slides, as
they were given, that John is very knowledgeable in what had
been taken, the location, animals and flowers. This was very
much a part of the business model. Take superb pictures and
know what was taken. However, the technical aspects, including
exposure, lens, film and the like, are of far less interest.
Selling photography as framed art is difficult because:
everyone is a photographer and it is hard to convince others
of the value when picture taking is so easy. This does not
imply that all can take such pictures but this is immaterial
in setting the perception of the value of the market. Painting
has more value, if for no other reason, than most individuals
cannot paint.
This is a personal identity business. Ones name is the brand.
Time is the critical commodity. Shooting pictures to expand
the stock is a continual process. To accomplish this one has
to go to the ends of the Earth seeking outstanding
opportunities in landscape, animals and plants.
John travels 50% of the time over a year, while some other
well known photographers, travel up to 9 - 10 months a year.
Although he teaches seminars and photo tours, the majority of
his time away is spent taking pictures.
He does not carry a notebook computer on his travels. After
completing a days shoot he has no interest in working a
computer.
The comment was made during his presentation - this is so hard!
John then responded:
"It is beginning to look like a business. We are here because
we find photography fun and enjoyable, yet, to make money it
is hard work."
What are the requirements for business success in such an
environment, he asked? John described the three factors:
initiative, initiative and initiative. Thus, he put the burden
back on the attendees.
What then is a means to success? Much to the surprise to many he
expanded the skill set to include writing. That is, move up the
publication food chain. Rather than just submit pictures submit a
complete article. This requires a theme, story line, something
appealing to a broad audience, targeting publications with
something their readers will find compelling and all of this
results in even more work. At the same time, it made a lot of
sense. Selling photographs is much easier when they tell a larger
story. He used a number of examples such as selling to the
magazines given away in airlines and by the automobile companies.
There are many places to sell stories and one must be both
creative in seeking these and also take initiative in ones
marketing. Part of his technique was to create examples which he
assured the audience that would sell. One would be a story on
this seminar. We are giving this away. So much for that business
model!
John ended the day with 45 minutes of slides. Another superb
example of photographic excellence and skillful presentation.
A lingering question left open was - What is John Shaw's business
model?
He did not address this but we can draw much from what he said,
the web site and how he operates. John Shaw's business is based
on selling his name which includes presence at seminars and photo
tours. His web site shows 4 tours including: Svalbard, Iceland
and Acadia National Park, Maine and 11 seminars in 2002. When he
stated that the return on hiring a person, to manage the sales of
his photo library when he is out of the office, does not merit a
hire, this indicated that stock sales are not a priority. Thus,
just as John advocated that the seminar attendees go up the value
chain to supply articles with photographs he is doing something
similar. The value chain John has is his audience which is
interested in his views on technique and the business. Thus, the
most valuable service that John can offer is his experience. As
he goes on tours this provides both an opportunity to take more
pictures, build the library and at the same time gain income from
those paying to get access to him.
We feel satisfied with our understanding when market perception
synchronizes with experience and expectation. As we integrate the
business models John presented, the characteristics of
photography image market and our assessment of his model, the
market dynamics make logical sense. Photographs, at least in the
nature segment, are a commodity. To rise above the noise,
differentiation is critical to survival. John advocated to the
audience - write articles with photos to make the submitter
different. In John's case, his differentiation is himself. We
participated in one element of this business plan and paid for
the privilege.
Two days well spent.
WAVE Comments
No matter how good the picture looks it is still a commodity
business. Being unique helps but this may dramatically truncate
the size of the interested audience to satisfy the uniqueness
criteria. Technique and photographic excellence is the entry
point. Marketing and brand development are two critical business
points. But just like businesses everywhere, it is personal
drive, commitment, management, marketing, brand name and product
that set the playing field and differentiate the players.
Photography may be fun but to be a business it is no different
than other businesses.
Wave Issue 0202 1/24/02 Article 2-01