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Create Your Own Destiny - The way we see the world -
DEFINING YOUR VISUAL INTEGRITY
and MAKING A COMMITMENT

© 2001 Selina Oppenheim

Final Part of the three part series.

* The dividing line between success and failure - CREATING SUCCESS
* Success is not earned, It’s created - EXAMINING YOUR WORK ETHIC
* The way we see the world - DEFINING YOUR VISUAL INTEGRITY and MAKING A COMMITMENT

Every photography business has two common elements. Assignments and clients. As photographers, you are in a position to directly effect the type of assignments you are given. As business owners, you have the opportunity to create the type of relationships with your clients that will please you. Successful photographers accept the responsibility of defining their "visual integrity" while they develop healthy, positive relationships with their clients.

"Visual integrity," is the way you see the world, the defining tool that
separates you from other photographers. It is your style. It is the
one element that makes a photo yours.

It is also the key to obtaining the type of assignments you want. Clients need to be taken by the hand and shown exactly what it is you do and most importantly, how you do it. The way to take a client by the hand, is to make sure your "visual integrity" is evident in every creative piece your potential client views.

Your portfolio is your most important selling tool, making it the first place to do a "visual integrity" check. Examine your book. Is every shot in it an example of how you see? Is it the best photo that you can produce? Is it the way you want to photograph?

If you have answered no to any of these questions, pull out the shots that aren't examples of your "visual integrity" at work. Ask yourself why they are there. Don't be fooled into the outdated idea that you to have filler shots. Filler shots are images you have chosen to put in your book because you think clients want to see them. Your portfolio should include only shots that are clear examples of the way you see. If you feel you need to have a computer shot in your book, make sure it is your way of shooting computer. If you feel you need to have a formal bridal shot in our book, and you don't like doing classic formal shots, challenge yourself. Create a new version of a classic bridal shot. Your version!

Once you have pulled out the photos you feel represent your style, start to examine them. What elements do they have in common? What tools do you use most often? Try to articulate why the photos work? Is it light, mood, composition, or a combination of techniques. At the same time, examine the work of other photographers whose work you enjoy. What is it about the images they create that pleases you? What tools have they used?

The process you are going through is the beginning of defining your "visual integrity." Most photographers unconsciously develop their way of seeing to define the way that they create. It is not an easy process, nor is it a quick one. But it is possibly one of the most important responsibilities you have.

If you are unsure about committing to this process, keep in mind we are told every day that we work in a highly competitive market. The reality is that photography is ONLY competitive in numbers. Certainly, there are more photographers than assignments. However, when you crunch the numbers, about 15% of working photographers understand and utilize the concept of "visual integrity."

It is your vision, the way you choose to photograph that motivates a client to call you. In essence, if you showcase your visual integrity in your portfolio, you will be immediately cutting out a good portion of the competition. If you need more enticement, please remember that successful shooters define, showcase, and refine their "visual integrity" on a regular basis.

In addition to showcasing "visual integrity," successful photographers develop
healthy, positive, and productive relationships with their clients.

Classically, when talent starts out, any paying client will do. The goal is to bring in assignments that pay the bills. After all, we are running a business. Usually about 3-5 years down the line, talent will question their visual direction and review the quality of their relationships with clients.

In order to define your ideal client relationship, sit down in a comfortable chair and start to dream. Focus on the perfect client. What would they be like? How much creative involvement would they ask of you? What does their payment history look like? Are they someone you want to be friendly with or are you interested in only their professional respect.

If the idea of creating relationships is new for you, keep in mind that one of the terrific benefits of owning your own business is you have the opportunity to work with the kind of people you choose. Are you doing that now? Examine your client roster. How many clients are repeaters? Have you enjoyed working with them? How much creative input have you had on each assignment? How much do you want? Do you want to develop long term relationships with clients, or are you looking for fast turnover of accounts? There is no one answer for everybody, but there is an answer for you.

Using the information you glean is not difficult at all. Create a list for yourself of qualities you feel are important in each client. Then create a list of qualities that would be evident in dream clients. Look at each list and get a sense of what is important to you. Refer to your list after portfolio visits. See how and where your contacts fit in. People that fit into your dream category might get more attention from you, if their projects are appropriately matched.

Look at your system for attracting clients. Do the systems you now utilize speak to the type of relationship you are looking for? For instance, if you want clients to look to you as a creative collaborator, your portfolio should be full of work that shrieks visual integrity. After all, why would a client ask you to collaborate on a project if they saw little indication of creativity in your book? Do you take time during the portfolio review to examine work that has been done before for your client, asking them questions that would give you valuable information about their tastes and needs? If you are interested in developing long term relationships you would. Simple steps, but ones that allow you to "walk your talk."

Look at current relationships. Are there ones you would like to develop more? Start today to define the changes you would like to see. If there are relationships you would like to replace, make note of that and start to actively seek other clients that might fit into your vision.

I am not advocating you end relationships. What I am suggesting
is you accept the fact you deserve the type of relationships you
want. No one will give them to you. You must define and create
them for yourself.

The possibilities facing my clients have always excited me. What a gift to be able to create the kind of relationships and develop the type of work you want. What an honor to create with someone you like and respect. What a joy to end the day knowing you worked your creativity to the max, and it was appreciated.

What an opportunity you have, make the most of it! CREATE SUCCESS !

© 2001 Selina Oppenheim

MAKING A COMMITMENT

In the first installment of Creating Success, I shared with you traits and actions taken by successful creatives. In this, the final chapter, we will examine the most significant part of the success equation, commitment.

Commitment. The big "C" word is the last action key taken by all successful creatives. After all, you can set your goals, develop your visual integrity, and work on creating healthy, enjoyable relationships with your clients. However, if you are not committed to success, you will not be able to consistently put forth the effort needed to complete your tasks, and you will not stay focused.

The mechanism of commitment involves two separate actions.
The ability to take risks and the willingness to embrace success.

Risk, looks different to everyone. To some, the idea of showing a portfolio to a client is a big risk. What if the viewer does not have an overly positive reaction? Throw in the equation of showing only images that are examples of your visual integrity, and we are talking big risk factor for many creatives. To others, it is simply the idea of defining goals and creating a marketing plan around them that causes palpitations. The risk factor here is that you know what you want, how will you feel if you don't succeed?

In order to minimize the risk factor, determine what risk means to you. List the areas that you have determined set off the alert button. Become conscious of them and check on those areas periodically. If you start to second guess yourself, stop and take a moment to do an inventory check. Is the doubt a credible one? Or are you creating blocks because the risk feels too great? Remember, it's okay to be afraid. It's not okay to act on your fear.

It may be helpful to equate how we feel about risk, to the way children sometimes react to a dark room. Small children are often afraid of the dark. When the lights are out, they may see strange creatures in the corner. However, when the light is turned on, the creatures disappear and the children see only a pile of clothes. Listing the areas of risk that you are sensitive to may turn the light on, allowing you to challenge yourself to take the leap.

The willingness to embrace success sounds easy. After all, don't most of us wish to fulfill our dreams and aspirations? The answer may be yes, but the real question is, are the goals we have truly ours? Or do they belong to someone else? Review your list and be certain you want everything there. Make sure your goals don't belong to a competitor, your mother, your spouse or significant other. They need to be yours. You are going to be working long and hard to achieve them, make sure they are genuine. After you have determined the goals listed are true, ask yourself how hard you are willing to work? For how long? To what end?

Becoming conscious of your goals, making them your own, determining a time line for completion and knowing what you are willing to risk is all the preparation you need. Once you have completed these actions you will be ready to embrace success.

Now that you know how to handle risks and embrace success, let's examine the word commitment. When I punch up the thesaurus in my computer, the words that can be substituted for commitment are: promise, assurance, and guarantee. So, it's safe to say that when you are committing to success, you are promising, assuring, and guaranteeing results! In addition, the act of commitment creates magical events. What follows is one of my favorite statements. The author is unknown, however the truth within has been proven time and time again.

COMMITMENT

Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in ones favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance,which no one could have dreamt would have come their way.

Whatever you can do,
or dream you can,
begin it,
Boldness has genius,
power and magic in it.
-Goethe

Selina Oppenheim Biography

email: selina@1portauthority.com

Having begun her professional career as a representative for some of Boston's leading photographers, Selina has spent the last 20 years as a consultant to creative professionals, as a nationally acclaimed lecturer and as the developer of several professional workshops, the most popular being "CREATING YOUR OWN DESTINY." She has served on the Board of Directors of the Boston Graphic Artists' Guild and is a former correspondent for Photo District News. She has been profiled by Boston Magazine, ADWEEK, The Boston Globe Magazine, Photo District News, ADCOM, and Capital District Business Review.

Port Authority, Inc.
25A Stow Road, Boxborough MA 01719
Phone: 978.263.6822 Fax: 978.263.6439


Read the beginning of the 3 part series in WIPI previous Quareterly’s

* Part 1 Success is not earned, It’s created - EXAMINING YOUR WORK ETHIC
ARCHIVE #8, October - December 2001

* Part 2 The way we see the world - DEFINING YOUR VISUAL INTEGRITY and MAKING A COMMITMENT
ARCHIVE #9, January - March, 2002

About the Publisher
Tad Crawford

Allworth Press publisher and founder Tad Crawford is an author, attorney, and artists' rights advocate.

Born in New York City, Crawford grew up in the artists colony of Woodstock, New York. Interested in writing both fiction and nonfiction, he majored in economics at Tufts College and graduated from Columbia Law School in February 1971. ("That explains the unusual amalgam of my activities," Crawford says. "A lot of legal skills are crucial for helping the artist and for running a publishing company. Of course, writing is an excellent background for publishing. So it's come together very well.")
Crawford clerked for a judge of the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, then went to work for a small general law firm in New York City while writing and teaching writing and literature at the School of Visual Arts. Until he took the teaching assignment at the School of Visual Arts and learned of the need for materials to help artists understand their rights, he had not envisioned being an advocate of artists' rights.

"I found nothing in print to help artists deal with such legal matters as copyrights, contracts, income taxes, the 'hobby loss'problem, estate planning, or even how to get grants," recalls Crawford. And so, responding to what he saw as "an extreme need," he wrote a book dealing with those and other relevant issues, titling it Legal Guide for the Visual Artist and using it as a text for the "Law and the Visual Artist" course that he taught at the School of Visual Arts. Published in 1977, Legal Guide for the Visual Artist is now in its fourth edition and has nearly one hundred thousand copies in print.

He followed this with The Writer's Legal Guide in 1978 (recently updated and reissued with Tony Lyons, the publisher of The Lyons Press, as co-author). With Arie Kopelman he wrote Selling Your Photography in 1980 and Selling Your Graphic Design and Illustration in 1981. At the same time Crawford served as Chairman of the Board for the Foundation for the Community of Artists, legislative counsel for the Copyright Justice Coalition (which had many arts groups as members), and general counsel for the Graphic Artists Guild. In 1982 Crawford was asked to help publish books for some of the organizations that he had represented as an attorney. In response, he became publisher of Madison Square Press, which issued annuals for such artists'organizations as the Society of Illustrators, the Society of Publication Designers, the Art Directors Club of New York, and the Art Directors Club of Los Angeles.

In 1988 he decided to strike out in a new direction, "to create a press that would offer the kind of information that was more like what I had taught, written about, and lobbied for." Crawford saw the need for a publishing company that would provide practical information to creative professionals, such as artists, photographers, designers, and authors. He knew first hand the issues faced every day by such creative people and could envision a spectrum of books to help them survive and prosper professionally.

In the Fall of 1989, Crawford published Allworth Press's first book, a revised edition of his classic Legal Guide for the Visual Artist. Ten more titles followed in 1990, offering information about marketing, promotion, pricing, copyright, contracts, health and safety, and much more. "The information in these books,"Crawford says, "can make all the difference in terms of success and prosperity."
Crawford's last involvement as an active lobbyist was in 1986, and he's given up active practice of the law to devote his energies to his publishing and his writing. He continues to write books and articles, and he is the Legal Affairs Editor for Communication Arts magazine. publishing 36 titles annually with a full-time staff of ten.

visit and check out ...What's New at

Business and Legal Forms for Photographers
Third Edition
by Tad Crawford

Forming New Strategies for Photographers’ Success

Attorney-Author Crawford Updates Industry Classic for Apprehensive Age
Both the manner and business of photography have changed in recent years. Technology has opened the door to new equipment and opportunities, as legal and economic changes have altered the way photographers find and perform jobs. Today’s uncertain financial climate has emphasized the age-old need for photographers to negotiate and meet deadlines and budgets, while legal tools for protecting their work have assumed a new urgency. Help is now on the way. Attorney Tad Crawford has fully revised and expanded the industry classic Business and Legal Forms for Photographers, third edition, to help photographers organize and promote their businesses as well as minimize legal vulnerability.

For all of the most important transactions any photographer is likely to undertake, this volume contains thirty-one business and legal forms, step-by-step instructions, advice on standard contractual provisions, thorough discussion of contractual issues relevant to the industry, and unique negotiation checklists to help photographers operate with the highest standards of professionalism. “Attaining the knowledge of good business practices and implementing their use is an important step toward success for any professional,” Crawford observes.

The third edition of this esteemed guide has been updated to cover electronic rights’ issues and includes five new forms for trademark application, employment application, employment agreement, restrictive covenant for employment, and project employee contract. All of the forms are included on a CD-ROM to aid in customizing for use in the practice of the profession. The thirty-one forms also include:

* license of rights
* application for copyright
* invoices
* sale contracts
* nondisclosure agreements
* stock agency agreements boo

Business and Legal Forms for Photographers, third edition, also contains information on photographers’ organizations, how to contact volunteer lawyers for the arts, and much more. In a time of rapid change, this book is an essential resource for photographers—well-established or beginning—seeking the path to success.
Business and Legal Forms for Photographers can be found in better book stores, or it can be ordered directly from the publisher by calling: 1-800-491-2808, or order online from our catalog page where you will also find a full description, a table of contents, and reviews.

$29.95, 8 1/2x11, 192 pages
(includes CD-ROM)
Paperback, ISBN 1-58115-206-X
Publication Date: January 2002

ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography
Sixth Edition
by American
Society of Media Photographers

This classic guide is the ultimate source on key business practices and industry standards from the foremost authority in professional photography.

From standard practices in stock and assignment photography to special one-time decisions such as acquiring a digital workstation, this “business bible” provides the latest answers to any legal or business question an aspiring or professional photographer can ask. In eleven in-depth chapters, over two dozen industry experts offer practical guidance on such topics as estimating prices, formalizing agreements, using electronic technology, and much more. This completely updated Sixth Edition also features dozens of ready-to-copy legal and business forms, helpful checklists, and an extensive cross-media bibliography.

6 3/4 x 9 7/8, 416 pages; Paperback, ISBN 1-58115-197-7;
List Price  $29.95    SAVE 20%    You Pay $23.95