ASMP Seattle held a panel discussion with four ad agency art buyers tonight, moderated by our VP Kate Baldwin. Rick Hutter from Cole and Weber lamented that his agency doesn’t permit portfolio drop-offs anymore, and really hopes that will change. Anne Kleinhenz of Sedgwick Road impressed on us how much art directors are inspired by seeing portfolios. Every one in the agency looks at every book that comes in, she said. With the loss of Washington Mutual, there’s a lot less work though. Shayla Miller of Publicis said the book has to have the goods. At the highest level, for the big jobs, it has to communicate a vision unlike anyone else’s. And those jobs nearly always go to out of town photographers. "Art directors like to travel. When there’s the budget, the first thing they do is book a plane ticket."
"Stock is your biggest competitor," was the word to us assignment photographers. And all the stock business is going to Getty and Corbis. Or Istockphoto (the $5-a-photo site), one buyer sheepishly admitted. There’s a lot less work now because of it. "We all would rather commission photography, but once the client sees the ad with an image in it, it’s hard to convince them that it’s a concept. It looks finished."
"Art directors keep a list of photographers they want to work with." So how do we get on that list? Show up in Communication Arts. "The phone will ring off the hook," said Lore. "It’s the Bible."
Rick likes direct mail, even if its job is direct him to the website. Shayla likes booklets that can function as a portfolio. She added, "The website has to be fast. If I see a load bar, I’m out of there." Simple and clean is what works. Email is often deleted if it’s from someone unknown.
During the Q&A, the panel was asked about estimates, and how to find out what the photography budget is. I immediately liked Shayla when she confessed, "Well, I was trained to lie."
See, that 2nd paragraph should be posted on the fence outside photo schools, as a warning: starve ye most who enter here...
Posted by: Josh Wand | June 15, 2006 at 04:01 AM
Try lorenzomancini.it
great photos, female beauty and fitenss is the main focus... Huge amount of of photos in digital bank, 1.5million!!!
Very well known photographer in Italy and France!
I love his stuff...
you will need a screen name and password to view the whole collection pls email bguarienti at gmail . com!!!
Posted by: bartozzo | March 26, 2007 at 05:05 AM
Try lorenzomancini.it
great photos, female beauty and fitenss is the main focus... Huge amount of of photos in digital bank, 1.5million!!!
Very well known photographer in Italy and France!
I love his stuff...
you will need a screen name and password to view the whole collection pls email bguarienti at gmail . com!!!
Posted by: bartozzo | March 26, 2007 at 05:34 AM