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Why These Forms are Critical to Your Business By Victor Perlman and Richard Weisgrau Every business day, photographers have a need to communicate transactional information to their prospects and clients. It might be the information in an estimate, the agreement expressed in a confirmation, or the verification of a delivery of photographs. Regardless of the nature of the communication, records of your communications are important, especially when they set the terms, conditions, price, and license to use your work.

Terms & Conditions for your business paperwork Good paperwork is of the utmost importance in your business. It helps prevent misunderstandings, protects your legal and financial interests, and conveys a crisp, businesslike impression to your clients. Every few years, ASMP publishes a new edition of its manual Professional Business Practices in Photography. The sample business forms in that book represent the best business practices in our ever-changing industry. The medium of print, however, is entirely static and cannot convey the vast range of options that good paperwork must encompass. The Web, in contrast, provides a malleable medium in which the text can be varied to reflect the choices made by users. Hence this module.

Knowledge is power! Keep your business education in top form. Learn from experts who share their business knowledge with ASMP. Make them your experts and benefit directly from their vast experience. ASMP publishes information and advice on all aspects of the business of publication photography. You can profit from the experience of others by tuning into this resource and applying its lessons to your own experience.

Read our business articles online This section contains a variety of articles on the business of publication photography that cover topics ranging from legal and marketing matters to the intricacies of doing business in the digital environment. Periodically, we will be adding new articles, so please visit again.

Digital Images and Fair Use Web Sites Maryly Snow Librarian Architecture Slide Library University of California, Berkeley I'm going to discuss digital images on the World Wide Web using three fair use web sites as examples: SPIRO, the visual public access catalog of the Architecture Slide Library at the University of California, Berkeley; the Vincent Van Gogh Information Gallery; and the Art Imagebase from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. This presentation is structured into three segments: introduction to the notion of fair use web sites; presentation of the three fair use web sites; problems and idealized solutions for the use of digital images in fair use web sites.

A primer on invasion of privacy Celebrities, politicians and other sought-after sources of news would appear, by their routine claims that members of the media have violated their privacy, to understand precisely what is private and what is public, or newsworthy, information. Journalists, however, often possess different notions of privacy and newsworthiness, and know that the question is more complicated. Reporting news stories in a way that serves and informs the public will often entail publicizing facts or displaying images that will embarrass or anger someone.

Digital Imaging Imaging and imagebases General resources Technical resources Standards, Specifications, Formats Bibliographic resources Resources at other sites

Business Links Below are links that can help you in your business. By linking to these private sites, the ASMP is not endorsing its products, services, or privacy or security policies. We recommend you review the business's information collection policy or terms and conditions to fully understand what information is collected by this private business. Visit Industry Links for links to manufacturers, suppliers and other resources that could help you in your business.

Winds of Change: Is it hurricane season in the photo business? Q&A with creative consultant Carolyn Potts Carolyn Potts was a featured speaker at the ASMP member's meeting held in New York during PDN PhotoPlus Expo. An article with insights from her presentation was published in the ASMP Bulletin's Year End issue. As a complement to the article in print, this online Q&A features more of Potts's marketing insights.

Business Tips for the Freelance Photographer By Ira M. Gostin, MBA, © 2008 www.gostin.com This article, and the others in the series, will provide you with tips for establishing, building and growing your photography business. Like any consultant, opinions are presented based on my own experiences and a great deal of research gleaned from 25 years of running a photography business along with an MBA education. Collect data from multiple sources and make decisions that are best for your individual business. The smarter you operate your business, the more opportunity to be creative and have fun. I hope these articles help.

Bill Miller's Strategy for Working with Nonprofit Organizations For a print article on pages 22 - 24 of the ASMP Bulletin's Winter 2007 issue, Sarah Coleman interviewed eight photographers who have worked with nonprofits on various levels. She described the obvious benefits, the potential pitfalls and reported on how photographers have managed these relationships, and to what extent their normal business practices were appropriate. Here, Oregon-based photographer Bill Miller provides additional insight into a strategy he's developed to make his nonprofit work a financially viable enterprise for his business needs and a win-win situation for all.

From Pixels to the Printed Page Eight photographers discuss the pros and cons of digital photography in their businesses: How they use it, what they like and hate, what the clients think, how to bill for post-production time, where the technology is going and where it needs to go.

Photo Annual Awards You Gotta Play to Win. Photo Competition Call For Entries - Deadlines and Web Links The accompanying PDF contains names, organizers, deadlines, eligibility requirements, fees and Web links for over sixty leading photography competitions and grant programs held in the US and internationally. The details listed have been compiled from information currently available and may include deadlines and costs from past years' events. Please be sure to consult individual competition Web sites for up-to-date information before submitting. It may also be advisable to contact competition organizers for further details or to answer specific questions. Many professional organizations have additional listings of competitions for categories such as advertising, graphic design or broadcast media that may also apply to the work of certain photographers. Here are some additional Web links to pages with these listings:

Words of Wisdom from Women Photographers

Taking Stock By Angela Wolff Back in the 80s and 90s, "stock" was the name of the game. The economy was good, the market was hungry, and agencies hustled to get their photographers the biggest clients at the best rates. But then came agency consolidation. New contracts were issued, and many photographers felt their "agents" had become vendors, chipping away at prices, demanding higher sales percentages, and leaving their photographers to fend for themselves. Some photographers have become frustrated and have left the stock game altogether. Others have simply decided to take matters into their own hands. Many are collecting fees from images still represented by the big agencies, while cultivating profitable stock models of their own. They have found ways - by creating their own e-commerce sites, by capitalizing on niche specialties, by maintaining hands-on relationships with buyers, or by turning low-profit deals into moneymakers - to make the most of the current stock market. The photographers we talked to all said that, when licensing their own images, they garnered higher fees than agencies would have. Not just higher than the percentage split they'd usually see on their commission statements, but fees higher than what agencies typically charge their clients in the first place. The reason: As the big agencies gobbled up more and more small agencies and subsequently cut their image libraries, they not only offered lower revenues to their photographers, they also gave their clients fewer options and fewer services.

Assistance Wanted Photographers and Assistants have their say. Wanted: Hard working, energetic, responsible person able to carry 90-pound bags and rewire small electronics. Must not be afraid of heights or susceptible to motion sickness. Be equally as enthusiastic about working with fashion models and celebrities as with livestock, inanimate objects, mops and brooms. Must be able to wake up early, work long hours and function on little sleep. Valid driver's license and passport required; multiple languages a plus.

Going Digital By Angela Wolff It's the question every photographer asks when making the switch from film to digital: Which camera is right for me? It should be no surprise that the answers are as varied as their subjects and work styles. For many, the decision boils down to the equipment already in use; sticking with the same manufacturer can shorten the learning curve and cut costs. For others, a close examination of business needs balanced with camera capability will help clarify the choice. But whatever you do, don't make the decision based on cost alone. "A lot of people are buying on price, and with [these things] you just can't do that," said Lon Atkinson of Atkinson! Studios in San Diego. "You need to carefully define your specific needs and pick based on what best fits your business."

Attitude Counts Guidelines for Assistants By Pamela Kruzic The following is a compilation of responses that the author received after posting an inquiry on the ASMP members-only forum at [www.asmp.org] combined with her own experience as an assistant. Information providers: David Budd, Alan Farkas, George Fulton, Ira Mark Gostin, Tom Hussey, Jeffrey Jacobs, Deborah Gray Mitchell, Harrison Northcutt, Michael Sharp. Edited by: Ira Mark Gostin and Michael Sharp. Special thanks to Jerrianne Lowther and Roy Buckner.