Festival time in Sapporo

Well even though it's cooling down here in the southern Hemisphere (although Cairns is still a balmy 25), up north things are warming up. Sapporo up in Hokkaido never really gets hot. In fact their summer is kind of like a north Queensland winter. But it's warm for them after six foot snow drifts and freezing all winter. So that's when you want to get the festivals happening and it's a time of year I love in this fabulous city.

One of my favourite festivals is the Yosakoi - a giant street procession with competing teams of dancers from all over the country, and even a few international ones. They all have to dance to the same traditional fishing song - although they can arrange the song however they like. So you have the teenagers dancing to rap versions and the oldies dancing to traditional versions. It really is a great party and one not to be missed.

It's great to photograph events like this because people are happy, have usually had a couple of beers and are more than happy to ham it up for the camera like these two. Whenever I'm shooting at night I usually put my camera in to Manual Mode. I set my shutter speed for something that will let enough ambient light in while not being so slow I can't hand hold it. Somewhere around 1/20 second or so at ISO400 or above. I set my aperture at about f5.6 and use my flash. My little secret is on the flash I have a little bit of orange gel to blend with the ambient tungsten lights on the parade street. Then it's just a matter of getting out there and looking for opportunities.

Hop on over to my website to see some more hams at the Yosakoi Festival in Sapporo.

Wallaman Falls - Queensland's highest waterfalls

Wallaman Falls is one of those places that truly blows you away the first time you see it. And to be honest I'd lived up here in Cairns for a long time before I ever got a chance (ie off my lazy butt!) to go and photograph it.

Mareeba - definitely worth a day trip up from Cairns

One of the advantages of being a Cairns photographer is that there is so much to see and do in a small area. One place I love to get out to on a spare day is Mareeba - up on the northern end of the Atherton Tablelands.

It's full of amazing places like the Mareeba Wetlands bird sanctuary, Granite Gorge with its cute rock wallabies and this place. Beck's Military Museum. I have to admit I'd driven past this place a zillion times and never knew what it was.

On assignment for Qantas, this place was on my list to photograph and I got the shock of my life. A giant hangar full of military planes, helicopters, jeeps. You name it, they've got it! The owner, Sid Beck, even let me get up on the roof of one of the bombers to take some shots.

"Don't fall off though, the bloody public liability wouldn't cover it!"

Good ol' far north Queensland humour. If you some spare time next time you're up this way definitely pop up for a look. It's only an hour or so from Cairns and a world away. To see more of what Mareeba has to offer take a look at my Mareeba photos.

Why you need to keep the copyright in your photos.

 

This image was part of a series shot on assignment for Weldon Owen Publishing. It was used to illustrate a school book on festivals around the world - I was in charge of the Japan book.

I chose the festival, lined up the models (my wife's sister's family!) and organised the day of the shoot.

Not that they at any time had asked for it, but if I had given away the copyright for all the photographs I took I wouldn't be able to show this one to you. It wouldn't be mine any more. I could actually get sued for showing it to you, or using it in my portfolio to show potential clients the kind of work I do.

If I had given away the copyright my assigning client would then own all the rights to that picture, meaning that they could then license it as stock and make a profit off of it and wouldn't have to pay me a cent.

As it is they have used it in another couple of books and I, of course, get paid every time it gets used. I have licensed it to accompany articles on Japan written both by myself and other writers. It's even been used in an ad for a major Japanese travel agency (I needed signed model releases for that one).


All in all my income from stock sales of this image have far outstripped the original assignment fee. And none of that would have been possible if I had relinquished my copyright.

I saw an ad for a wedding photographer the other day boasting about the fact that he gives the copyright to the couple. Does he realise that he can no longer use those pictures in his own portfolio? Does he know that he could get sued for putting it on his website? Methinks if the couples he photographs knew this and they were in any way dodgy they could leverage this legal loophole.

Chances are that your clients have no intention of selling your photographs to third parties. But if they're a major publishing house they might think about using it in others of their publications. They might think they need copyright to prevent you licensing it to their competitors. They might think that if they own the copyright it will save them having to come back to you to pay for extra rights that they might need down the track.

These are all legitimate concerns but you can argue against any of them and reassure your clients that they will get what they need while protecting your own business interests. Have something in your contract that promises you won't license the images to competitors. Put in your contract what you will charge them for any possible future licenses that will go beyond the initial contract. Explain to them that there's no point in paying extra money for usages they may never need. Show them how it's cheaper to just pay for what they need now.

The photographer-client relationship should be a collaboration. We provide great photographs at a price the client can afford with a license attached that they need. This isn't necessarily always what they want but such is life - I want a new Ferrari but I'm sure the dealer isn't going to give me one for cheap just because I want it. Work with your clients and if they're interested in working with you and willing to see your side of the coin as well as their own then I know you can see a way beyond the 'we have to own it' argument.

And remember that as soon as you give your copyright away you have no rights whatsoever to show those pictures anywhere in your own portfolio or website. Think about that one for a minute. I can't imagine any client wanting to put that kind of a restriction on their photographer, or any photographer who would knowingly admit to those conditions. But that's what you're doing every time you agree to hand over your copyright.

Oh and if you needed any more persuasion, a recent survey of professional photographers in the UK showed that photographers who kept their copyrights made an average 33% more income than those who gave it away! Now doesn't that appeal to your hip pocket?

A new resource for professional photographers in the developing world

One of my all-time favourite pieces of software is Expression Media. I've blogged about it before and probably will again. Anyway I found the software through the wonderful book on Digital Asset Management by Peter Krogh. Peter has a website and a blog which you can find at The Dam Book site and on today's post he mentioned what looks to me to be a great resource.

Put together with a number of prestigious photographic bodies, including the World Press Photo people, the just-launched Shutha site has a host of really instructional videos on professional photography. As they say in their blurb, you already know how to take pictures, their site is designed to help you turn it into a profitable career you will love.

So if you're an aspiring or newly-minted professional photographer, especially if you're living in the developing world, then I would definitely recommend you pop over for a look because there is a lot of really valuable information there. Great to see somebody looking out for the rest of the world, and let's hope it helps photographers from all over the planet to show their own visions of the world around them.

Daintree looking lush, green and tropically tantalising.

Daintree National Park Photos - Images by Paul Dymond

The wet season in this part of the world is long, hot and very, very wet. Plus there's usually a  couple of cyclones and the humidity levels go through the roof. But when it's all over and far north Queensland has had its life-giving top up of water then we find out what it was all for.

At this time of the year the forests are lush and green. The creeks and rivers are clear and flowing with all the run-off from the surrounding tropical rainforest-covered mountains. And it just looks spectacular.

Arguably the jewel in the crown of our tropical rainforests is the world-heritage listed Daintree National Park. Enjoy these images and if you're local consider popping up to take a look - the ferry over the Daintree River is free for us! Yay. If you're from out of town then now would be a great time for a flying visit. My one tip for rainforest photography - leave the polariser on and don't forget the tripod.

Photographer - choose your clients with care, and vice versa

I hear a lot of negativity around the traps these days. Horror stories about the client from hell. Or the photographer who just didn't come up with the goods.

I'm happy to report that I don't really have too many horror stories of my own and I think that partly comes from being picky.

Yes I know that for many of us times are quiet and beggars can't be choosers. But if you don't actively choose who you work with then I think you're letting yourself in for some heartache, or at the very least a sense of dissatisfaction.

I mean would you let the guy who took this photograph shoot your wedding? You might end up looking like a camel? And yet I often get people asking me if I'll shoot their wedding when I've never done one in my life. My first question to any client I haven't met before is "Have you seen my work?" It often amazes me that people would even think of hiring a photographer without having an idea of the style of their work but it happens all the time. If their answer is no then the first thing I do is send them to my website. If they're sitting in front of a computer or their iPad then I do it there and then on the phone.

Often if the subject they're asking me to photograph is like nothing on my site at all then the first thing I hear on the other end of the receiver is "Ahhh. I guess you don't do weddings then?" Nup. But I can recommend some great wedding photographers for them to go and have a look at - and I place the emphasis on look before they bother to call.

I always know that if somebody hasn't looked at my work then they're not invested in having ME as their photographer. They'd basically be happy to have any shutter-pushing monkey who will charge them the least amount of money. And they will mostly likely get something that doesn't live up to their expectations if they give me the job. I don't want that and the client certainly doesn't want that.

I was chatting to a graphic designer friend of mine the other day and we were lamenting the fact that anybody with a new dSLR (in my case) or a MAC and inDesign (in his case) can hang out their shingle without having any idea of the costs involved in running a professional business. And how many of these people run themselves out of business and take quite a few more-established professionals with them.

And it occured to me that in order to not have to compete on this level you need to pick and choose your clients carefully. And to do that you have to know what it is you want to shoot and how you want to shoot it. And you have to be confident that every job that comes in you will be able to put your heart and soul into and create the type of images that will have clients knocking down your door. Not just any clients mind you, but the clients who choose you. The clients who love what YOU do and are more concerned that they can work with you then what you charge.

I have clients that I have collaborated with for more than a decade. We're more friends that clients now. Many of them are interstate and overseas but we always make it a point to catch up socially when in each other's neck of the woods.

When Cyclone Yasi hit many of them called me up to make sure I was OK and whether there was anything I needed. One even offered me free accommodation in one of her hotels if my house was damaged. They're the type of clients you need to cultivate. The ones that love you and love what you do and wouldn't dream of abandoning you for the next cheap wunderkind that knocks on their door.

But you only get that by being great at what you do and only choosing to work with the clients who fit in with your vision. And clients, beware that you're only going to get mind-blowingly fantastic work when you work in collaboration with your photographer and come together as creative minds and friends. Take any old client that comes along, or work with any old creative who can meet your budget, and you'll never experience the absolute joy of being in total harmony with the other creatives on your team. Let's get rid of the negativity and concentrate on cultivating our own great relationships people.