Jeff and his wife, Allison, opened Allison Rodgers Photography in 2004, and in four short years their business has exploded!  Their growth has forced them to move four times, and they presently occupy a 3600 square foot building with six people on staff.  Since opening their studio, they have managed to double their sales each year and are presently regarded as one of the most profitable studios in the United States due to their design skills and marketing strategies.

After years as an Art Director/Web Designer for several agencies in Memphis, Tennessee, Jeff  took his vast computer knowledge to ARP.  Now he oversees all post-processing, file management, orders, quality control, online marketing via twitter, Facebook, and the ARPblog.  Of note, Type Pad, the largest commercial blogging software company, has featured Allison Rodgers Photography on its home page and has listed their blog as one of its Top 10 sites.

Because of his commitment to the idea of creating buzz with viral marketing, clients and peers really get to know ARP before they ever step in the door.  And they do create a buzz!  Just today Allison Rodgers Photography was featured on the front of Marathan Press blog for their work on the show Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

Now YOU can get to know Jeff a little bit more.  Jeff, thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions, and I really loved what you had to say.   Oh, and thanks for the pennies (you’ll see when you read further).  We start off the interview with some critical insights:

Since you are a superhero in your mind you have to answer this:  Would you rather be able to fly, turn invisible or have the ability to read people’s minds and why?

Good question and an important one. If I turned invisible I suspect that would lead to way too much trouble on my part. Does the invisibility extend to my clothes? Might be awkward in cold climates. Reading peoples minds? That would be very cool but I don’t think my ego could withstand that level of brutal honesty. I would rather live in my fantasy world where my wife actually thinks I am a cutey and comic books are cool. Flying is definitely the best way to go. What better way of getting around than to fly?

LEARN:  What’s something that you feel like you’d like to learn more about, something you are continually learning?

Something I want to learn more about? Photography, videography, bookkeeping, running a business, teaching, speaking, social media, being a better husband and father, God, and maybe one day poetry. These are all things I want to always be improving on. Well, all of them except the poetry.  I can’t really back that one up.

I view photography from a Graphic Design perspective so the things that intrigue me are the more artistic design driven works–surreal photo illustrations, unique lighting techniques, innovative uses of composition and color. This is just what I am personally drawn to. When I was in art school the thing that influenced me the most was seeing the opening credits to the movie Se7en. Kyle Cooper (Imaginary Forces) designed them, and I remember sitting there in awe! It changed the way I looked at design. I have been thinking about this recently because of the hype over the 5D markII and all the talk about the merging of photo/video. I have a lot of photography friends who laugh when someone says “fusion.”(If you listen closely, you can here them laughing right now! )  I think that there is a way to make video more integrated with photography. You just have to be open to new technology and not dismiss new notions because it pushes you out of the little bubble of what is comfortable to you. I don’t know what the future holds for this. I believe it is something everyone needs to be at least familiar with even if it is partnering with someone knowledgeable who can offer this skill set.

What is something that you wish someone would have told you before you had to learn it the hard way?

A happy wife equals a happy life.

Oh, you probably mean photography related. OK!  Get software to track your business. It should be something that tracks your cost of sales, invoices, billing, client database, and some type of scheduling calendar. I don’t care how good you are at Excel spread sheets– that just does not cut it. Maybe it will work for the first six months, but the system you start out with needs to be flexible and able to be easily scaled up to accommodate your growth.  There are a lot of nice apps for this out there. We have been using Successware at the studio for 4 years and are happy with it.

GROW:  How have you grown in the past five years in your business, in your own personal quest for growth, in your awareness of the world around you?

We have grown a LOT over the last 5 years. People tend to get caught up in only focusing on shooting and not even thinking about all the other things you have to do in order to have a successful business. If you want to have a serious viable business that will be around for a long time, then you should join PPA and attend the IUSA pre-con meetings, as well as going to hear the platform speakers during the convention. This is the most cost-effective way of hearing all the big workshop speakers for a fraction of what it would cost to see them at workshops outside the convention. Shooting pictures is maybe 25% what is involved in running a business. Allison and I will be speaking at IUSA2010 in Nashville. I would love to meet all your readers there.

How would you recommend others grow—do you have a favorite marketing tip, workshop suggestion, or convention to attend?

My marketing tip is to get a free twitter account and put a twitter badge on your blog where your clients can choose to read what you are doing.  This tends to add more personality to your blog. You can even carry it a step further and make your twitter feed replace your Facebook status which again spreads your name around. Social media is a broad term, and people HAVE to understand it. Do you want your competitor knowing more about what the “kids” are up to than you?

SHARE:  How do you feel that you contribute to the industry?

I don’t know if anyone has noticed this or not, but I have been going around putting a penny on your front doorstep every Monday morning–just my attempt at getting all my photography buddies excited about the often maligned Mondays.  Beside the Monday morning penny treats, I enjoy speaking on Webinars, speaking at IUSA, and next year’s super secret multi city tour thing for a large non-profit photographer organization that I like a lot but I can’t really talk about that yet. I have been really pushing the whole social media thing for the past year. I feel it is just something that is here to stay, and it IS reshaping the old ways of marketing everyday. Investigate it.

Allison and I offer one on one phone consultations. It is called “He Said : She Said, The Creative Consult”. Consultation time is offered in 1 hour increments. Consults can be weekly appointments with screen share. Topics we cover: Viral Marketing, Shooting, Sales, Marketing, Post-processing and Studio Management.

What is something you would like to share with your follow colleagues?

Sort of playing one tune here BUT get on Facebook and twitter. Seriously, if you have a question, you ask it and in real time get answers. It’s really that easy. I was in a store the other day and ”twittered” a question about an off-brand battery for Canon. I immediately started getting friends’ opinions and ideas about cheaper places to buy them.

How can they turn around and do the same for others?

When you do get a twitter account, don’t just lurk around. Join the conversation, make it your own. This really applies to any of your favorite forums or online communities. Don’t be afraid of getting involved. Your opinion does matter.

Here are a few twitter playground rules to remember: Be nice, treat others how you want to be treated, use appropriate language, and don’t always be negative. Now, for my pet peeve.  When you reply to someone make a complete sentence out of your reply. I mean stop with the one word replies. How is that helpful for me to read?

Favorite charitable contribution?

A television producer friend of mine, Billy Roberts, has a charity that I am wanting to get more involved in. It’s called 5multiplied.

http://www.dropinthebucket.org/5multiplied

Excelsior!

Thank you Jeff!  I am already addicted to twitter and facebook, so I concur with everything you’ve said!  Join the conversation, people.   If you are looking for some help with your studio and want to bump it up to the next level, check out their consulting work here!

I really love Jeff’s perspective and the way that he sees life through his photography.  Check it out for yourself:

Charis Wilson – Photo by Edward Weston – Public Domain

This is the third in my “Photographers That You Should Know About” series - the first was Lange, the second was Strand.

His work spanned nearly six decades and he was primarily known for shooting landscapes and natural forms such as shells and rocks. His work often received attention from Ansel Adams who said Weston was one of the “few creative artists.”

His photography world included a successful portrait studio in California but his work really took shape when he started shooting simple forms, landscapes and nudes. He also photographed for the WPA and was the first photographer to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1937.

One of the things I particularly admire about Mr. Weston is the fact that he battled Parkinson’s disease but still tried to make compelling images. I have had recent medical challenges of my own so I understand just how big an impact illness can have on your desire to make serious photographs. In Mr. Weston’s case, it did eventually stop him from making images, but his sons Brett and Cole went on to be very successful photographers in their own right and helped to protect the legacy of their father.

Some of his best work was done at Point Lobos, Ca. He also made amazing images of one of his muses – Charis Wilson.

To give you another reason to research the work of Mr. Weston, read one of his more famous quotes and one that has always intrigued me.

“Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph; not searching for unusual subject matter, but making the commonplace unusual. Edward Weston”

I have no doubt that a serious study of Edward Weston’s photography will help improve your own.

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1. I have really long lenses (Sigma 300-800 f/5.6) and Canon 800 f/5.6
2. I use my car as a blind

For whatever reason, most wildlife (birds included) won’t spook or flush when they see a car. Open the car door, step out of the car, now that’s a totally different situation. But as long as you stay in the car, your chances of getting close enough to wildlife to get the shot are improved by 90%.

You have two options for shooting from the car. One is to use a bean bag. This is the least expensive. There are many different brands around. I like large ones that provide the most support. You simply lay your long lens across the bag which is forked over the car door. I use the Kirk Khaki Fat Bag FILLED – found here at $42.95.

The other option is to use a window mount. Kirk makes my favorite called the Kirk Window Mount found here at $249.95.

The window mount provides a steadier base, but takes longer to set up.

Both can be used when shooting prone to offer more support for long lenses outside the car.

If you’re trying for wildlife, give this set up a chance. It will get you closer than you’ve ever gotten before and with practice, you’ll be surprised at how easy it becomes to work with these tools.

One caveat to note is not all cars work well with either a bag or a window mount. The window mount in particular works better in cars with very wide door/window openings like an SUV. In my Jaguar XK convertible, neither is much help

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Rich Harrington shows you how to use perspective cropping in Photoshop.

DISCLAIMER: This post isn’t intended to be definitive – we’re not claiming this is the ONLY way or even the BEST way to accomplish this task in Photoshop, Aperture, iPhoto or any other post-prodcessing program. We’re merely offering it as A way you might accomplish this task. These tips are free, offered only because they might be helpful to someone.

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Guest Post by Rich Harrington - Follow Rich on Twitter

Rich Harrington shows you how to use the Saturation Tool(s) in Photoshop.

DISCLAIMER: This post isn’t intended to be definitive – we’re not claiming this is the ONLY way or even the BEST way to accomplish this task in Photoshop, Aperture, iPhoto or any other post-prodcessing program. We’re merely offering it as A way you might accomplish this task. These tips are free, offered only because they might be helpful to someone.

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What I find galling in these 2 cases is that the ‘artist’ Shepard Fairey would consider it fine to steal the work of other artists to create his work. Fairey took the work of 2 different photographers and transformed these works to his liking, then claiming it was his original work. The 2 cases are different in many respects, they do share a common theme, the unauthorised or non-credited use of someone else s work. He then did everything possible to avoid or hide the fact he’d stolen the work in the case of the AP image or avoided giving Dina Douglass her due credit for her original work. In Dina’s case, that’s all she asked for.

Dina Douglass's original work

In researching this article, there have been many sites that claimed there was no foul since the original artist in the case of the Obama image didn’t know the image had been used. In the case of the Douglass image, it seems although he asked at first to use the work and provide credit, he then failed to do so and I would guess because he thought the photographer wouldn’t find out or follow up. Wrong, she did and I’m glad.

Photographers have only one thing, the copyright to their images. That allows them to continue creating and earning a living. In the Case of Dina Douglass, she wasn’t looking for money, since she donated the work. In certain situations such as this, she was only interested in the added exposure and to support the charity (Lance Armstrong auction for cancer). Even though she’s named as one of the “Top Ten Wedding photographers” by American Photo magazine, a little exposure doesn’t hurt and in the process, supporting a cause she believes in.

Well it seems Mr Fairey has been caught twice now, stealing other peoples work and transforming it, then claiming it as his own or at the least, not providing credit to the original copyright holders. He now faces up to 6 months in jail in the AP case as well as settlements with both AP and Dina Douglass in her case.

He claimed that:

‘Violating the court’s trust was the worst thing I have ever done in my life,’ said Fairey, 42, of Los Angeles. ‘I was ashamed as I did all these things, and I remain ashamed.’

Well he couldn’t have been that ashamed as he did the same thing again with the Dina Douglass image, “Jessica” after he created ‘Hope”. He’s ashamed that he got caught, plain and simple.

You can read the full background stories about both here:
Artist behind iconic Obama poster faces six months in jail

Dina Douglass v Shepard Fairey

This is one “artist” (term used loosely) that I ‘hope’ (pardon the pun) fades into the distance, never to be famous again. If he does pop up again, check your portfolio against his.

Cheers and good shooting
-Peter Zack

Related posts:

1. Dear Photograph – A Great Project I Hope will Continue Growing

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No, not us, nobody’s gonna lend us a Leica S2; we had to cry and beg just to get a JPEG of it to show for this article! No, what happened is that Leica wanted to showcase their medium format digital camera and hired Jarmo Pohjaniemi to shoot something that would show off the camera’s awesomeness. The choice was obvious: A naked girl and some huge soap bubbles:

I’d like to see the amazing photographs taken at this shoot, so amazing that they couldn’t have been taken with any other camera but the Leica S2.

Good light and good luck,

    —Miserere

Related posts:

1. More Small Cameras: Leica X1 Field Report at Luminous Landscape
2. Leica to Branch Out into New Digital Venture
3. Leica to Release an Affordable Camera?

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When it comes to social media sites, this isn’t new. They own your images the second you upload them and can do whatever they like with them. Facebook’s terms have changed so many times I can’t keep up with the terms of use but it’s often been discussed that you take your chances when uploading content there. If you read the Terms of Service (TOS) then you see you’ve lost control of how your images are used.

Facebook’s TOS:

Sharing Your Content and Information

You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings. In addition:

For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.
When you delete IP content, it is deleted in a manner similar to emptying the recycle bin on a computer. However, you understand that removed content may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time (but will not be available to others).

Now comes Pinterest. The hottest new social media site. Actually I like the concept, it’s easy to navigate and easy to use. I’ve found quite a bit of interesting stuff there I probably wouldn’t have been exposed to. Yes I do have a board there with a couple images and that will be deleted today or at the very least, drastically modified. Why? Because their terms of service also grants them total control over what you post. As a wedding photographer, I would like to upload some samples of my work to display and promote the business. With these terms, I could potentially see a recognizable bride wanting to sue if one of her images was used in someone’s advertising campaign as an example. Unfortunately, once I’ve uploaded the image, I’ve lost total control over it’s use.

So when dealing with any social media, keep this in mind. Once you upload your photos, they are no longer in your control and they can do whatever they like with them, including sell them to a third party.

In case you didn’t take the time to read it, here’s the Pinterest TOS clause regarding content use:

Member Content
We may, in our sole discretion, permit Members to post, upload, publish, submit or transmit Member Content. By making available any Member Content through the Site, Application or Services, you hereby grant to Cold Brew Labs a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast, access, view, and otherwise exploit such Member Content only on, through or by means of the Site, Application or Services. Cold Brew Labs does not claim any ownership rights in any such Member Content and nothing in these Terms will be deemed to restrict any rights that you may have to use and exploit any such Member Content.

You might like to read this article in The Verge: Pinterest’s uneasy relationship with copyright law: what happens next.

Update Feb 2th, 2012: It seems Pinterest is reading all the interest in their TOS and have provided a “No Pin” metadata tag for your web site or blog. This goes part way to a solution at least for those who don’t want their work on the site and don’t even have an account. You can see the details here “Forbes”.

Cheers and good shooting
-Peter Zack

Related posts:

1. F-BoM May 2009: Pixelated Image
2. Free Image and Photo Editing Software Resources
3. Review – Canon S90, Part 3: Image Quality

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