By NovaStorm
Wow I joined in on chat here last nite with professional photog Tony Nelson. What a great venue for networking and learning from the pro’s!
Being able to ask questions and get responses from someone with Tony’s background can really shorten the learning curve and keep you from heading in the wrong direction with your own work. I came away with some great information which I plan on using in the near future.
Tony in pointing out his own experiences certainly dispelled some ideas I had for my work and I would like to extend a big thank you to Tony, Jason Jones-DYKWIA founder and Babette for giving us such a great opportunity.
Here are some excerps from last nites meet and greet :
(11:09:10 am) Babette: Ready? Tony Nelson: ready if you are’ NovaStorm: :) perfect
NovaStorm: should I print or send out
Babette: whatcha mean Nova?
NovaStorm: If I want to put work into a shop
NovaStorm: should I print and frame it or do they
NovaStorm: I am pretty new to this as you can tell
Babette: ah, i understand your question. any thoughts Tony? if he wants to display his work somewhere, how does one go about that?
Tony Nelson: I’d think you’d want to submit samples digitally first before going to any printing expense
NovaStorm: ahhh ok that is great to know
Tony Nelson: Though galleries will like to see the actual print eventually
NovaStorm: How did you start shooting for magazines. Did they contact you initially? or Is it a good idea for me to be contacting them introducing myself and maybe directing them to my web site or here as I do not have my own site…
Tony Nelson: You have to contact them first. Some sort of direct mail piece is best. I know some email out promo stuff but you don’t want it to look like spam.
Tony Nelson: Maybe make some simple promo piece to mail and have a web site you can direct them to to see more.
Babette: Who do you send it to at the magazine? like “attention photo editor?”
Tony Nelson: Best to find out names first
Tony Nelson: some mags the Art Director is the guy. others its the photo editor, others some other editor. big ones have assistant photo eds that cull out stuff first
Babette: so how did you get into it, after you graduated?
Tony Nelson: Got a job in a pro photo store & learned more about commercial biz & equipment as my degree was pure fine art > Met a lot of photographers there who would free lance as assistants & started getting that kind of work while building a better portfolio.
Note: At this point in the chat, I had to leave for short while. So left Tony with a group of questions in case it was over before I got back! Here are the questions, Tony’s responses and any other relivent info ~
NovaStorm: 1. How do I know what to charge to do a wedding for example. Computer time + Shooting + materials?
2. Can I work freelance without having a studio. I live in a small apartment.
3. Should I be paying a model, to add another perspective to my portfolio. Would that be an advantage. Also might it be a good learning tool for wedding and personal shoots.
4. Should someone have a web site for there photography right away starting out. Or should you get a few commercial shoots under your belt first.
Tony Nelson: 1. weddings – prices are all over the map. time & expenses are a factor. your time is the variable. you have to gauge the market you’re in first
Tony Nelson: If you have something unique to offer, you can charge more.
Tony Nelson: I’ve seen work that’s virtually identical to others but the fee can be 5 times more if they’re really busy & popular.
Tony Nelson: look for sites online that list their fees for a start.
Tony Nelson: 2. no studio, no problem Some work requires it, others might not.
Tony Nelson: I do 90% location work. I have a studio that I share with 2 other shooters, for that one day a week or so that I need it and to store bulky gear but most of my work doesn’t require it.
Tony Nelson: No one in NYC has a studio but they have many options there for day rentals
Tony Nelson: 3. Models – Depending on the kind of work you’re looking to do, you may or may not need to hire someone. Most people building a portfolio tend to find models who are at a similar stage of their career & swap their services with each other
Babette: Do you recommend building a fairly specialized portfolio, or something that shows a range?
Tony Nelson: People will always tell you to specialize and I generally agree
Tony Nelson: It’s good to have a range though
Tony Nelson: I sometimes see sourcebook ads that have one portrait, a product shot, a food shot, etc. They may be good but it doesn’t say anything about who you are Or so the theory goes
Babette: Yes, I think of you as “rock and roll” guy, but you actually have some amazing fine art pieces
Tony Nelson: Thanks, I try to keep doing art for art sake but sometimes get overwhelmed with the trying to make a living part, so I have to motivate myself sometimes
Babette: So what was your first big assignment? how did you get into the major magazines, i imagine it’s pretty competitive?
Tony Nelson: First big jobs were through word of mouth or references from other photographers who were on to bigger jobs sometimes
Tony Nelson: I got a little known through the rock & roll shooting as a guy here in Minneapolis so when national mags needed someone here for some reason they found me
Tony Nelson: I always tried to follow up any magazine work – for the music mags at least – by sending promo stuff to the publicists or mgmt or record label people and they all move around to other magazines & labels & such so that would lead to more work.
jasonjones: tony is most your work in mn
Tony Nelson: Yes, most of it is here. Some travel but most of my national clients use me as more of a regional person
Babette: what has been your favorite assignment Tony?
Tony Nelson: Shot GWAR on location for a wedding themed issue of a music magazine
jasonjones: what r you working on now
Tony Nelson: Just finishing up on a big brochure/ad/catalog for a local music college
Tony Nelson: Working on some “art” for my studio when they have a sort of open studio art crawl in a few weeks
Babette: Who was the Viking that you were taking pics of today Tony?
Tony Nelson: Jared Allen for the tattoo mag last week. then I had to shoot him & Adrian Peterson when they made some appearances at the Mall of America – another client of mine
At this point I had gotten back, but due to some technical issues we had to cut things short.
So as you can probably see it was a very rewarding experience. Again thanks go out to Jason, Babette and especially Tony for there time and energy. Look forward to being envolved in some more of these. Rgds Robin ~
