working pro 238
DESCRIPTION
The official journal of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography - February 2016TRANSCRIPT
1
Working ProThe
Issue 238 • January/February 2016
PROUDLY SUPPORTING THE AIPP
Working ProThe
C o n t e n t s# 2 3 8 - J a n / F e b 2 0 1 6
The Working Pro is the official newsletter of The Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP).
Editor Peter Eastway
G.M Photog., FNZIPP, Hon. FAIPP, Hon. FNZIPP, FAIPP
Disclaimer The information provided in The Working Pro and associat-
ed publications is made in good faith, but is general in nature. Neither
the editor, the publisher or the AIPP accept responsibility for or will be
under any liability for any recommendations, representations or infor-
mation provided herein. The Working Pro presents information, opin-
ions and suggestions for subscribers to evaluate in coming to their
own decisions in the light of their own individual circumstances. The
information should not be relied upon without readers first obtaining
independent advice from their own financial and legal advisers.
Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Peter Eastway.
Publication The newsletter is published 10 times a year – monthly
with November/ December and January/February being combined.
The Working Pro newsletter is published by Pt 78 Pty Ltd,
ABN 75 003 152 136, PO Box 351, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097, Australia.
Phone: (02) 9971 6857; Fax (02) 9971 6641.
E-mail [email protected]
Copyright © 2015
AIPP Membership Contacts
Suite G.02, 171 Union Road,
Surrey Hills, Victoria 3127
Phone: 03 9888 4111
E-mail: [email protected]
Cover
Lisa Saad APP M.Photog. III
2015 AIPP AUSTRALIAN COMMERCIAL
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
4 Ross’s RamblingsRoss Eason M.Photog., Hon.LM, National President
8 Canon APPA: The End of an EraA stalwart supporter of the Australian Professional Photography Awards for many years, the AIPP wishes to thank Canon for its great support.
1 0 Reflections Hard Work ContinuesAIPP Reflections project director John de Rooy reports that although we have closed registrations for photography sessions, there’s still a lot of work to be done by our selfless AIPP photographers.
1 2 Pathways For Entering APPA In 2016Do you want to enter APPA this year? The AIPP has two levels of profes-sional photography awards, beginning with the Epson State Awards and then leading in at a national level to APPA. Which awards are you eligible to enter? Do you have to enter both? Read on!
1 4 The AIPP Awards Team - A History!One of the most challenging roles any AIPP member can volunteer for is to be a member of the Awards Team. Peter Myers reveals the evolution of a very special species!
1 8 Should I Register For GST Anyway?A lot of professional photographers run small businesses with a turnover of less than $75,000 and so they don’t need to register for GST. However, even if your turnover is less than $75,000, you can elect to register for GST. Is it a good idea for professional photographers, or should you stay out of the GST system as long as possible?
2 0 Uses, Term & Territory = More MoneyAll photography jobs should use an agreement which sets out the ar-rangement between you (the photographer) and your client. The AIPP provides sample agreements that members can use, but what does it mean when talking about ‘uses’, ‘term’ and ‘territory’?
2 4 William Long: LongshotsYou must be doing something right if you can survive as a professional photographer for over four decades! William Long reveals some of the secrets of his success in the world of commercial photography.
3 6 Keeping Birth Photography ProfessionalThere is a lot more to birth photography than just the photography itself, from high emotions to hospital restrictions. Explains Victoria Berekmeri, a special Code of Conduct has been introduced that will help not only our clients, but birth photographers as well.
4 0 Using Music In Your BusinessAs photographers, we don’t like other people using our work without our permission. Musicians and composers feel the same way, so how do we do the right thing when it comes to using music in our businesses?
4 8 Phase One XF 100MPAs professional photographers, should we be buying or hiring a 100-megapixel camera to ensure we give our clients the best quality pos-sible? For some high end photographers, this is undoubtedly the case, but whether or not it’s for you, we should all understand the technology and what it means to the profession.
4
Ross’s RamblingsR o s s E a s o n M . P h o t o g . , H o n . L M , N a t i o n a l P r e s i d e n t
The Change of Guards
It is inevitable in any business that changes
in long term relationships will happen from
time to time. Different directions, opinions
and attitudes will influence and change these
relationships. However, it is not the outcome,
but rather the integrity and professionalism in
accepting change that is important.
We sincerely thank Canon for their support
of the last 13 years. Notably their support of
our professional photography awards has
been invaluable, greatly appreciated and will
hopefully continue in some way in the future.
Change is the law of life. We should not fear
it, but embrace it as an opportunity. And I can
assure you that we have and that you will see
some new and exciting changes with APPA this
year.
There is a more detailed article by Peter
Eastway later in this issue.
Buy, Conscript or Join?
What is a member’s relationship with the AIPP?
I guess most of us think that we ‘join’ the AIPP
and that we become members.
We pay a subscription, but we are not really
buying membership and certainly no one is
conscripted or forced to join. We join because
we want to and because we see value in the
many benefits and initiatives.
The AIPP exists to provide value and benefit
to its members and the greater fraternity in
which we all work.
My dictionary describes join as, ‘to bring
together, combine, to act together’ and that is
what we are. We are an alliance of like-minded
professionals, combined for the greater good of
our industry.
As a not-for-profit-company, many of those
initiatives are driven by our incredibly dedicated
volunteer members who each day contribute
their time to run a large number of our events.
For obvious reasons, I asked three of the
most knowledgeable members involved
with APPA how much time it takes each year
to organize and run our awards system. The
figure varied a tad (I think one may have been
counting bar time), but on average volunteers
contribute between 2500 and 3000 man hours
each APPA. That does not include the time that
Kim Harding and the event team contribute,
at a guess another 1000. And that has been
happening in varying forms for the past 36
years.
It is a big, big legacy and as members, we
have a responsibility to protect that legacy and
to respect that contribution.
APPA and the benefits it as bought to many
5
I t ’ s H a p p e n i n g .T h e W o r k i n g P r o i s u n d e r g o i n g s o m e m a j o r c h a n g e s t o m a k e i t e a s i e r a n d q u i c k e r t o r e a d a n d d e v o u r , n o m a t t e r h o w y o u l i k e t o g e t y o u r i n f o r m a t i o n .I t w o n ’ t b e l o n g n o w !
T h e n e w l o o k f o r t h e A I P P
6
of our members is part of our DNA. We’ve
inherited that DNA and responsibility when we
‘joined’ the AIPP.
We are professional photographers and all of
us should always act for the better good of the
institute: endorse and support it, and be proud
of it and what it has done for the industry and
each of us as individuals.
Medaling in History
Our Reflections Project continues to amaze me
with the different tangents in which it heads.
I attended a medal presentation last week
brought about by one of our Reflections
photographers. Greg Larchin, an accredited
photographer in Queensland, photographed an
Australian Veteran last October.
In the process, the veteran mentioned
he had another medal from the Dutch
Government, but refused to wear it as he had
never been officially presented with it and had
no paper work.
The veteran, Bev Ponton, had been
seconded to a Dutch Airforce unit in Indonesia
during WW2.
Greg contact the local RSL, who in turn
contacted the Dutch Government with the
story.
The end result, after an extensive search of
the archives the Dutch Military, confirmed Bev’s
service. The necessary citations were created,
along with a new medal, and both were flown
to Australia - there was an urgency as the
Veteran was not well.
Once they had confirmation, the RSL passed
on the news to Bev that he had been officially
recognised and that he would be presented
with the citation and a new medal. On the same
day, Greg presented the official AIPP portrait
showing Bev wearing his Dutch Medal! Greg
had taken an extra shot back in October, just in
case
Whether it was closure or coincidence,
Roy died two days later and so the Medal was
presented posthumously to his Daughter.
Reflections was designed to raise the public
awareness of the importance of the professional
image and make a significant contribution to
society and in this case, without a doubt, it did
just that.
0412 108 362
(Left to right)
Greg Larchin, Bev’s
daughter Robyn Mc-
Donough, Colonel
Harold Jacobs, Neth-
erlands Ministry of
Defence, and Tony
Ferris, Queensland
RSL.
Bev Ponton
7
How much will you earn in the next 12 months?
Use Peter Eastway’s free online Photo Income Estimator to find out.
It’s easy to use.
Visit www.betterphotography.com
Click on the link to the Photo Income Estimator page
Enter your information and see the results immediately.
Don’t spend the next 12 months fluffing around.
Have a look and set yourself some goals!
www.betterphotography.com
8
Canon APPA: The End of an EraA s t a l w a r t s u p p o r t e r o f t h e A u s t r a l i a n P r o f e s s i o n a l P h o t o g r a p h y A w a r d s f o r m a n y y e a r s , t h e A I P P w i s h e s t o t h a n k C a n o n f o r i t s g r e a t s u p p o r t .
Since 2002, the AIPP’s Australian Professional
Photography Awards have been sponsored by
Canon Australia and it’s a relationship that AIPP
members have greatly valued.
However, with changes in the market and
different priorities, the AIPP and Canon have
agreed not to continue the naming sponsorship
for 2016 and are instead looking at category
sponsorship as an option.
Explained AIPP National President, Ross
Eason, “It is never easy bringing to an end a long
term relationship and we know from the length
of time it took, it was a difficult decision for
Canon to terminate their sponsorship of the AIPP
Australian Professional Photography Awards”.
Since 2002
Canon became the AIPP’s first major sponsor when
AIPP National President Eric Victor announced
the agreement back in May 2002, just before the
Awards event which was held in Perth, W.A.
Since then, every APPA has had the familiar
red logo as a key part of the Awards’ furniture.
Canon and the AIPP worked closely together
with the AIPP providing feedback to Canon
about its market, and Canon supporting the
AIPP to help it grow the Awards system into one
of the world’s best.
In fact, professional photography
organisations from around the globe have
travelled to Australia to observe how the APPAs
have operated. APPA has been at the forefront
of many of the processes and structures that are
now considered fundamental to a successful
professional awards system.
It is only natural that over the years, the AIPP
and its members have built strong relationships
with Canon and many of its key staff members.
We trust we will continue to see them at future
AIPP events as they remain an integral part of
our professional family.
Why the Change?
APPA is a complex mixture of accolades and
professional achievement. For some entrants,
the aim may be to first earn a Silver Award and
then to amass sufficient ‘merit points’ to earn an
Associateship or a Master of Photography. For
others, perhaps more experienced, it’s a challenge
to earn a major award or a category win – or
maybe just to do better than they did last year.
The AIPP Board has a very clear vision of
what it requires APPA to look like, what it needs
to offer its membership and the outcomes
9
desired by all the stakeholders.
Over the last three years, the AIPP has
invested heavily in software, hardware and
training to ensure APPA remains one of the
best globally. These investment decisions are
aimed at giving its members better outcomes
and feedback in the awards process. As a
membership body, any investment decision is
aimed at benefiting members.
The Board believes the Awards should
be open to a wide cross-section of industry
sponsors, in keeping with the ideal of being a
‘professional family’ and the promotion of APPA
for the industry as a whole.
The AIPP Board also believes that by taking
back responsibility for the promotion and
marketing of APPA, it can increase the public
visibility of the national Awards and all its category
winners. In fact, by attracting a higher component
of cash sponsorship in the future, rather than the
‘in kind’ support previously received, the Board
is hoping to increase prize money and subsidize
entry fees, making APPA more desirable and more
accessible at the same time.
Future Funding
Some members have asked how the AIPP can
afford to run APPA in the future without Canon
sponsorship – or that of another major sponsor.
Explained Peter Myers, the AIPP’s Executive
Officer, “Four years ago, I undertook a risk
analysis for the AIPP Board and one of the key
observations was how dependent the AIPP was
on sponsorship - and not just that from Canon.
“If a major sponsor had withdrawn its
support back then, the AIPP would have had
some serious funding problems.
“It’s a risk that remained very serious with
the state of the economy and changes in the
industry, so as a consequence, the AIPP has
been gradually changing the way it runs its
awards and events so they are not dependent
on sponsorship.
“Of course, the AIPP still wants and
welcomes sponsorships for all of its initiatives,
but we are not dependent on it.”
Closely Involved
Continued Peter, “I think it’s important that
members understand why fees are what they
are, so we can handle situations when sponsors
inevitably move on.
“On the other hand, APPA and the AIPP still
have a large number of highly valued sponsors
and we will continue to work with them closely
for the benefit of our membership.”
As it releases a new professional DSLR body
this month, it’s clear that Canon will continue
to be closely involved with professional
photography and we trust that at some stage in
the future, the AIPP and Canon may once again
join forces.
But for now, the AIPP wishes to extend its
thanks for the many years that Canon has been
a key member of the APP Awards program –
and the wider professional family.
Peter Myers, AIPP
Executive Officer
10
Reflections Hard Work ContinuesA I P P R e f l e c t i o n s p r o j e c t d i r e c t o r J o h n d e R o o y r e p o r t s t h a t a l t h o u g h w e h a v e c l o s e d r e g i s t r a t i o n s f o r p h o t o g r a p h y s e s s i o n s , t h e r e ’ s s t i l l a l o t o f w o r k t o b e d o n e b y o u r s e l f l e s s A I P P p h o t o g r a p h e r s , a n d t h e m a m m o t h t a s k o f c o l l a t i n g t h e c o l l e c t i o n , r e a d y f o r p r e s e n t a t i o n t o t h e A u s t r a l i a n W a r M e m o r i a l .
The AIPP Reflections: Honouring our WWII
Veterans project is one of the highest profile
exercises ever undertaken by the AIPP. And
although at the heart of the project is an
altruistic desire to put something back into
our community, the publicity for what a
professional photographer can offer has been
extensive.
Explained John de Rooy, the Reflections project
director, “Since March 2015, AIPP photographers
have engaged with nearly 7,000 WWII veterans.
With the help of 420 Accredited Professional
Photographers, we have done our profession
proud, making a positive difference to the
veterans and their families who we have come
into contact during the photography sessions.
“The Reflections Project marked
Remembrance Day, 11 November 2015, to
officially bring the project to an end and was
the last date for Veterans to register to be
photographed.
“Photographers across Australia used the
gathering of veterans on Remembrance Day to
capture many more portraits and promote the
project on National ABC television.
“With pride, we highlighted Australia’s
largest ever portrait project by the Accredited
members of the Australian Institute of
Professional Photography.
“The photographers are not quite finished
as we collect the remaining registered WWII
veterans into our studios across Australia,
with some areas still having many veterans to
photograph.
“But we couldn’t have done it without the
support of our members. Thank you to all the
participants for generously giving your time
and showing patience as we complete the
photography and send out the printed images
to each veteran.”
11
12
Pathways For Entering APPA In 2016D o y o u w a n t t o e n t e r A P P A t h i s y e a r ? T h e A I P P h a s t w o l e v e l s o f p r o f e s s i o n a l p h o t o g r a p h y a w a r d s , b e g i n n i n g w i t h t h e E p s o n S t a t e A w a r d s a n d t h e n l e a d i n g i n a t a n a t i o n a l l e v e l t o A P P A . W h i c h a w a r d s a r e y o u e l i g i b l e t o e n t e r ? D o y o u h a v e t o e n t e r b o t h ? R e a d o n !
Photography awards are an exciting part of
the AIPP’s calendar, beginning at a local level
with the Epson State Awards and culminating
in APPA as the preeminent competition for
professional photographers at a national level.
In the past, it has been possible to enter
APPA without entering the Epson State Awards,
but for some photographers this may no longer
be possible in 2016 and future years.
At each Awards event, there is only a limited
number of hours and a finite number of judges,
so we have to limit the number of entries to a
manageable level, allowing sufficient time for
debate, critiquing and feedback.
The fairest way to control entry into APPA
is through our new system of seeding and
qualifying.
Existing Entrants
All members are eligible to enter the Epson
State Awards, but the ‘seeding level’ determines
if you are eligible to enter APPA.
For 2016, if you are currently an Associate,
a Master of Photography or a Grand Master
of Photography, then you are automatically
‘seeded’ to enter APPA, although of course
many will also enter the Epson State Awards.
New Entrants
If you are not seeded, the pathway to enter
APPA is through the Epson State Awards
qualifying process.
If you enter your state awards and two or
more of your entries achieve scores of 80 or
above, this will qualify you to enter APPA. It is
possible to enter up to 12 entries in the state
awards (across three or more categories), so
if you’re keen to enter APPA, you have every
opportunity.
Special Cases
Of course, from time to time there will be
exceptions and so there is an opportunity to
apply for a wild card entry into APPA.
Valid reasons for applying for a wild card
could include an illness that prevented you
from entering your state awards, financial
hardship (you can discreetly let us know) and
prior business arrangements.
For full details, visit the AIPP website and log
into your Dashboard.
13
•
14
The AIPP Awards Team - A History!O n e o f t h e m o s t c h a l l e n g i n g r o l e s a n y A I P P m e m b e r c a n v o l u n t e e r f o r i s t o b e a m e m b e r o f t h e A w a r d s T e a m . P e t e r M y e r s r e v e a l s t h e e v o l u t i o n o f a v e r y s p e c i a l s p e c i e s !
The Awards Team was created in 2014 as a
replacement for the old style APPA Committee,
but with a different remit.
The Awards Team was asked to look at all
aspects of the AIPP’s various photography
awards from a holistic perspective, including
the state awards and APPA. Equally, the Awards
Team was asked to make plans and decisions
looking at the long term future of the awards,
rather than just the immediate short term.
Looking For Experience
When the decision was taken to create the new
Awards Team, the AIPP looked for experienced
members who knew the intricacies (and
challenges) of running the awards, together
with younger members who could offer fresh
insights into the views of new and younger
members.
We also introduced the concept of Category
Advisors, Awards Seeds, and an APPA entry
qualifying requirement.
The initial awards team comprised David
Paterson, William Long, Kylie Lyons, Tony Hewitt,
Sue Lewis, Jackie Dean, Mark Zed and Melinda
Comerford, along with input from Robyn Hills
and Greg Hocking.
David Paterson took on the new role of
Category Manager with the prime responsibility
of liaising with the newly formed category
advisor groups (CAGs). David’s responsibility
was to take the input from the CAGs and
propose new categories or changes to existing
categories based on that input.
This is still David’s current role and
as suspected, it is proving to be quite a
challenging role, although the new categories
and changes introduced since 2014 are
testament to his success.
William Long took on the initial role of
Seeding Manager, helping to define the
seeding process and seeding requirements,
and establishing the process for setting state
qualification levels, and managing applications
for wild card and direct entries into APPA.
At the end of 2015, William decided for
personal reasons to step down from the Awards
Team and concentrate on his business activities.
We want to thank William for his tireless efforts,
not only in helping set the new Awards Team
15
•
16
on the right track, but also his many years of
service, in particular with the Queensland State
Awards.
Melinda Comerford and Mark Zed were
asked to divide the previously singular role of
Chairman of Jurors between them, whilst at the
same time defining and setting up a new judge
selection and development protocol. Mel and
Mark were ably assisted in the early transition by
Ryan Schembri, and later were able to rely on
the wisdom and guidance of Greg Hocking and
Robyn Hills.
Greater Linkage
Kylie Lyons was instrumental in some of the
changes to the awards system and the creation
of the new Awards Team.
When Kylie became National AIPP President,
one of her pledges was to restructure the
awards system, in particular to facilitate a
greater linkage between the state awards and
APPA, to provide a commonality between state
awards and APPA, and to ultimately make the
awards recognised as “the best of the best”.
The creation of the Awards Team was the
culmination of Kylie’s efforts and she was able to
step down from her direct involvement in early
2015.
Sue Lewis has, since the beginning of time,
just before the earth’s core started to cool, been
known as the woman who makes APPA tick!
Sue was very eager to accept the challenge of
making the state awards tick just as smoothly.
With two highly successful state awards and
two APPAs behind her, we can all agree that Sue
has continued serenely to be the engine room
of the awards (ably assisted of course by Kim
Harding).
Tony Hewitt was happy to stay involved
with the new Awards Team. Many people see
Tony and know him as the face (and voice) of
APPA, particularly at the Gala Dinner. But Tony’s
involvement and input is much more wide
ranging. Tony provides invaluable input to all
Awards Team debates and discussions, and in
2015 and beyond has assumed responsibility
for successful delivery of the judge training
program.
Jackie Dean was a long-time member of
the APPA committee and was also delighted to
provide her help and guidance during the early
days of the Awards Team. Time commitments
elsewhere have prevented Jackie from greater
involvement in 2015 and beyond, but like
William, we want to acknowledge her massive
contribution in the past.
And so things have continued to evolve.
In mid-2015, Rocco Ancora as a current
National Board Member, was encouraged to
take on the role of Chairman of the Awards
Team. Rocco brings his considerable knowledge
and passion to the Team and provides a direct
conduit to the AIPP Board if he feels any
decisions need Board approval.
17•
18
Should I Register For GST Anyway?A l o t o f p r o f e s s i o n a l p h o t o g r a p h e r s r u n s m a l l b u s i n e s s e s w i t h a t u r n o v e r o f l e s s t h a n $ 7 5 , 0 0 0 a n d s o t h e y d o n ’ t n e e d t o r e g i s t e r f o r G S T . H o w e v e r , e v e n i f y o u r t u r n o v e r i s l e s s t h a n $ 7 5 , 0 0 0 , y o u c a n e l e c t t o r e g i s t e r f o r G S T . I s i t a g o o d i d e a f o r p r o f e s s i o n a l p h o t o g r a p h e r s , o r s h o u l d y o u s t a y o u t o f t h e G S T s y s t e m a s l o n g a s p o s s i b l e ?
Generally speaking, small businesses are
advised to stay out of the GST (Goods & Services
Tax) system as long as possible.
Most businesses need to have an ABN
(Australian Business Number), but unless your
business turnover (gross sales) in Australia is
over $75,000, there is no obligation to add GST
registration to your ABN.
GST Refunds
When you buy a new camera or computer
system in Australia for, say, $11,000, it invariably
includes a GST input tax credit of $1000. If you
were registered for GST, you could claim back
that $1000, making your purchase seem less
expensive. (If you are not registered for GST, you
cannot claim back GST input tax credits, even
though you’re in business.)
Registering for GST is attractive when you
look at this transaction in isolation, but let’s look
at the consequences.
First, you need to do paperwork every
quarter - a BAS return. In most cases, you will be
paying some GST to the government, even after
you’ve claimed back your GST on purchases.
Net Payments
Of course, once you are in the GST system,
you are adding GST onto everything you earn.
Or are you? A small photography business
charging $995 to wedding clients cannot
always put their price up to $1094.50 including
GST and expect their potential clients to think
that’s okay. Chances are the clients will look for
a photographer who is not charging GST!
And over a year, if you were charging
$55,000 to your clients, that would be $5000
GST you pay to the government.
The $1000 GST saving on the camera doesn’t
look so attractive now.
This analysis doesn’t work in every situation,
but it’s a good start.
And the transition to GST pricing is an issue
for all businesses that grow (how do you keep
your clients when your prices go up by 10%),
but in the meantime, if you don’t have to pay
GST, then stay out of the system.
There’s certainly less paperwork.
This is general information only. We do not know your specific financial or legal situation and we are not providing you with advice. As such, this article should not be relied upon as legal, financial or accounting advice. Please use this article as a conversation starter with your own adviser.
19
•
20
Uses, Term & Territory = More MoneyA l l p h o t o g r a p h y j o b s s h o u l d u s e a n a g r e e m e n t w h i c h s e t s o u t t h e a r r a n g e m e n t b e t w e e n y o u ( t h e p h o t o g r a p h e r ) a n d y o u r c l i e n t . T h e A I P P p r o v i d e s s a m p l e a g r e e m e n t s t h a t m e m b e r s c a n u s e , b u t w h a t d o e s i t m e a n w h e n t a l k i n g a b o u t ‘ u s e s ’, ‘ t e r m ’ a n d ‘ t e r r i t o r y ’ ?
A photography agreement might seem a hassle
to do for each job, but if it becomes a normal
part of your business workflow, it will save you a
lot of aggravation in the future.
There are always little disagreements with
clients, but if there is something written down
on paper, my experience is the problem simply
goes away.
The more organised you are, the fewer
complaints you’ll need to deal with.
The Concept of Usage
When you hire a model from an agency,
certainly for most advertising shoots, there are
two components.
There’s the time the model spends with you
for the shoot, and then there’s the use of the
resulting photographs.
The use or ‘usage’ is based on where, for how
long and in what media the model’s face will be
seen. The more exposure, the higher the price.
Photographers can charge the same
way. Rather than just being paid a fee for the
photography, you can be paid a usage fee as
well.
Is This Fair For The Client?
If someone hires a photographer to take
photographs, shouldn’t the photographs be the
client’s to use as they wish?
In some situations, this is certainly very
reasonable. For instance, a couple hiring a
wedding photographer would expect that the
photos they receive can be used forever. That is
reasonable.
However, if that same couple then sells
some of the photos to a business for advertising
purposes, is it fair that the photographer misses
out on part of that revenue?
Usage is a two-way street. It helps protect
the arrangement. Let’s look at another situation
to explain why usage is so important.
A builder asks you to take a few photos
for his website. He says he doesn’t have much
money and he only wants to use the photos
down small on his website. You do the job for a
commensurately small fee.
The photos on the website are very
This is general information only. We do not know your specific financial or legal situation and we are not providing you with advice. As such, this article should not be relied upon as legal, financial or accounting advice. Please use this article as a conversation starter with your own adviser.
21
22
successful, so the builder decides to use them
in television and magazine advertising. He also
distributes the photos to several of his suppliers
- the roofing company, the pool company, the
lighting company. They all get to use the photos
for free, or they pay the builder.
How is this fair for the photographer who
was told the photos were just going to be used
for a small job on a website?
The usage details in a photography
agreement keep everyone honest.
If the photographer has an agreement that
says the photos can only be used by the builder
on the website, then two things happen.
First, the builder can ask the photographer
to change the usage terms before the job
begins, explaining the other uses he may
want the photos for. This in turn will let the
photographer adjust her fee (and the way she
approaches the shoot to ensure she provides
a professional job in line with the builder’s
requirements) if she wishes.
Second, if the builder later changes his
mind and wants to use the photographs more
extensively, he can approach the photographer
for an additional licence. The photographer
can choose whether or not an extra fee is
appropriate.
Note, the photographer can agree to give all
usage to the builder (or client) up front if he or
she wishes to. The point we’re making is that by
considering the usage of the image, everyone is
being kept honest.
What Is Usage?
The AIPP Photographer Services Agreement
talks about Uses, Term and Territory.
Uses can be thought of as the media
in which the photograph will be used - e.g.
magazines, website, television – but it can also
include other uses such as point-of-sale, labels,
merchandising etc. So, if the builder wanted
to use the photos on a website, the usage fee
might be $100. If the builder wanted to use the
photos on a website and in trade magazines,
the usage fee might be $200.
What Is Term
The Term is for how long the client can use the
photographs. In some cases, in perpetuity or
‘forever’ is quite appropriate, but in other cases,
the photos may really only be needed for a
short period - one, two or three years.
What Is Territory
The Territory describes where the photo can
be used. For the local builder, Australia might
be all the territory required, whereas a large
international construction company may ask for
worldwide rights.
Consider Your Options
There is nothing wrong in specifying a client
can use the photos for any purpose, for as
long as they like and world wide. What’s more
important is that you and your client consider
what it is they are buying, before you take the
photographs.
23•
24
William Long: LongshotsY o u m u s t b e d o i n g s o m e t h i n g r i g h t i f y o u c a n s u r v i v e a s a p r o f e s s i o n a l p h o t o g r a p h e r f o r o v e r f o u r d e c a d e s ! W i l l i a m L o n g r e v e a l s s o m e o f t h e s e c r e t s o f h i s s u c c e s s i n t h e w o r l d o f c o m m e r c i a l p h o t o g r a p h y .
William Long is having his 15th birthday this
year. Born on 29 February 1956 in Rochford, UK,
before coming to Australia in 1992, he had a
very successful career first as a principal dancer
with Scottish Ballet and then as a photographer
of the performing arts. Dance and performance
are still two of his major loves, but he has taken
his photography much further.
In 2013, he was the AIPP Australian
Commercial Photographer of the Year and
he has been the Epson AIPP Queensland
Commercial Photographer of the Year in
2013, 2014 and 2015. And he’s run a successful
commercial photography practice for over 40
years.
So what makes William tick? And why after
so many years being closely involved with the
AIPP has he decided to step down from his roles
with APPA and the Queensland State Council?
The short answer is that it’s time to look after
William. “Three million Australians are living
with depression and/or anxiety. On average,
one in eight men will have depression and one
in five men will experience anxiety at some
stage of their lives. On the basis that I never
do anything by half, it would appear that I
experience both.”
So William has taken on himself as his next
project, completing a cognitive behavioural
therapy course and looking at his life more
holistically.
“People call me passionate about what I
do, but possibly it’s because I fall into the ‘over-
achiever bracket’ which in turn contributes to
massive anxiety. That possibly explains why I
became a principal dancer with Scottish Ballet
because I wanted to be good at it. It was the
same when I started horse riding and then
photography.
“I used to catastrophise - which explains why
people might think I am so passionate about
things. For instance, I worry about the work I
send to my clients so much that if they ring
me up, my heart races and I have a little panic
attack because I’m sure they are going to tell
me off. Even when I see my work published, I
think they must have hired someone else to do
the job because the photos look too good for
me!
“I don’t expect this level of performance
25
26
Wil l iam Long
27
28
from others, just from myself. I guess it means
I’m the type of person who believes in doing
things as well as I can.”
From Dance To Photography
Before joining Scottish Ballet, William used
his holiday pay from his previous employer
to purchase a camera. “I’d never owned one
before, so I went down to my local Dickson’s
camera store and bought a Nikkormat FTN with
a 50mm standard lens and four rolls of film for
118 pounds. I’m good at remembering figures.
“The sales assistant thought I was insane
because I had no idea how to load a film, but I
soon learnt. In fact, shortly after joining Scottish
Ballet we toured Paris with Rudolf Nureyev. On
my sixth roll of film and the tenth frame, I took
a shot of Nureyev which I sold a couple of years
later in a small exhibition. It was a 16x20-inch
print and it sold for 25 pounds.”
William said he was very chuffed when
a couple of years ago, Canon Video Master
Abraham Joffe purchased the same print at the
AIPP Nikon Event auction for $1200.
“When I took that image, I knew very little
about photography, but I believe someone,
somewhere was guiding me. I’m not a
practising Buddhist, but I follow that approach
to life.
“Back in Scotland, I was sharing an
apartment in an old Edwardian Victorian house
which had been converted into a number of
flats. The other tenants were upset with me
because I kept taking over the bathroom in
order to develop my films. I’d bought myself
the classic Paterson development tank, but
obviously I needed to work somewhere that
didn’t have the only toilet in the building.
“I’d noticed a large cupboard on the first
landing of the stairs and wondered if it would
be big enough to work as a small darkroom, so
I contacted the building manager who in turn
talked to the landlord. The landlord asked to
meet me and when he opened the cupboard
door and switched on the light, I discovered
a set of stairs leading up into a purpose built
darkroom that hadn’t been used for 30 years. It
even had an ancient enlarger!
“It was fantastic and when I asked the
landlord how much, he said nothing and that
he’d be delighted for me to use it. So I had my
own darkroom - and that’s what I mean by
having someone looking after me.”
Leaps of Faith
“Working as a performance photographer
taught me some great lessons - such as
speed and processing. In the UK, it was quite
common to photograph the dress rehearsal
in the afternoon, then rush home to process,
dry and contact print the images in time for
the opening, when I’d get the press people to
order their prints. Then I’d return home to print
them and get them back by the time of the
Wi l l iam Long
William today (top)
and (below) as a
principal dancer with
Scottish Ballet.
29
30
second interval. I’d shoot around 10 rolls of film
and make perhaps a dozen prints of six of the
best negatives. I became very effective at bulk
printing.
“I once had an American woman turn up
at my door saying she needed a wedding
photographer. I explained that I wasn’t really
a wedding photographer, but showed her my
portfolio anyway, which was full of performance
work. She asked if I had any wedding shots
at all, so I showed her some standard shots
of a wedding I had done recently. Then she
explained she’d hired this castle at Fort William
and wanted a range of shots from documentary
to posed studio portraits.
“I asked if she had a picture of her fiancé
and she showed me one of him standing under
the United Artists signage. I just thought he
was the manager of one of the many theatres
that screened UA films, but in fact he was the
managing director of UA itself! It turned out
to be a huge production and I scared myself
shitless when, on the way home after the
wedding, I realized I was carrying 120 rolls of
unprocessed film and I had no insurance should
something go wrong. I thought I am never
going to do something like that again and
that’s why to this day I am so passionate about
good business practices - and insurance!
“When I came out to Australia, the first
thing I did was target all the performing arts
organisations and within a week, I had booked
a shoot for Queensland Ballet. And a few weeks
after that, I secured a year long contract with
the Queensland Theatre Company.”
This is how William met Andrew Campbell.
“I felt I needed to shoot something other than
performance photography, so I started ringing
up other professionals and asking for some
assisting work. Andrew Campbell said to come
and have a chat and when he looked through
my portfolio, he said he could understand
why he had just lost the contract to shoot the
Queensland Theatre Company!
“He was very good about it. He said he didn’t
really have much assisting work and thought
I was too advanced to be an assistant anyway.
However, he was wondering how to get some
of the money back from the Theatre Company
contract and why didn’t I rent some space from
him in his studio?
“So I did and I learnt so much just by looking
over his shoulder. It was a large domed studio
with upstairs offices that looked out over the
floor, so I could see him working, watching
how he would light his subjects. Sometimes I
would lend a hand and he was very generous - I
think that’s why Andrew and I have such a great
friendship to this day.”
The Man In A Suit
William says it’s important to be remembered
by potential clients. Although he believed
he didn’t have the right portfolio to get him
Wi l l iam Long
31
32
commercial work in Brisbane, he still went
around the agencies to introduce himself.
However, he also wore a suit and tie! There
weren’t any photographers dressing like that,
certainly not with a briefcase in their hand!
“However, it worked”, laughed William. “I
got a call from Queensland Tourism asking if I
had done any aerial work. Well, remember the
wedding at the castle I shot back in Scotland?
While I was there, I had asked one of the
chopper pilots if he could take me up to shoot
a few aerials, so he took me up for a short circuit
of the castle and straight back down. So when
Queensland Tourism asked, I could answer
honestly that I had done aerial work!” And
William secured an eight hour helicopter shoot!
Earlier in his career, before Google, William
used the Yellow Pages to research his prospects.
One day, when he wasn’t getting anywhere,
he looked at the front of the Yellow Pages and
noticed the Getabout Guide for Brisbane. Each
edition of the Yellow Pages had a separate
Getabout Guide for the local area and William
noticed they used stock photographs to
illustrate them.
“When working back in Scotland, I’d dealt
with stock libraries and I knew they could be
challenging to deal with - you’d ask for six
photos and they’d send you fifty. I also figured
that the Yellow Pages was spending around
$4500 on each edition of the Getabout Guide, so
I approached them with a proposal: hire me! For
each Getabout Guide, I offered a two year licence
for 80 images for $10,000.” So while William was
a little more expensive than the stock library,
the Getabout staff didn’t have to worry about
dealing with a stock library and they received
many more photos.
“They accepted my proposal and my first
job was in Adelaide. My approach was much
the same in each location. I’d visit the local
newsagents to see what postcards they had
and then I’d shoot with one of three cameras,
35mm, 645 or 6x7.”
The publication needed the larger 6x7
size because they had a number of what they
called ‘long shots’ which ran vertically down the
edge of the page. “In fact, they kept on asking
for these ‘long shots’ so much that eventually
it hit me: what a great name for my business!
Longshots!
Cold Calling
Cold calling is the art of ringing up or visiting
someone, unannounced, and offering them
your services or products. Think of a travelling
salesperson or, today, a call centre operator.
William rightly points out that the art of cold
calling has been given a bad name with
people receiving so many unwanted calls from
overseas operators who struggle to speak
English. However, when it comes to a series of
targeted phone calls, it’s something too few
photographers do today.
Wi l l iam Long
33
34
“You have to do your research first”,
explained William. “I research what the company
does and its main people. There’s no point
chasing a company that’s in receivership and
you want to work with businesses that you’re
interested in. So, if you like photographing
mines, you’d target a series of mining
companies.
“From my experience, you have about
an hour in the morning between 10.30 and
11.30, and then another hour in the afternoon
between 2.30 and 3.45. These are the best times
to cold call using the telephone.
“The first thing I say when I call is who I
am, what I am and why I am calling. I also say
it while I am smiling because this changes the
tone of my voice and it has a big impact on
how people respond to me. If I talk while I’m
frowning, it produces a completely different
tone in my voice and I don’t get as positive a
response.”
In the cold calling process, William suggests
the most important person is the gatekeeper
- the receptionist and the secretaries who sit
between you and the people you need to talk
to. “The receptionist is the person you really
have to be nice to - and you should remember
their name. When they answer the phone, I
write their name down straight away and then I
use it in conversation.
“I also keep a list of people who offer to ring
me back. If I haven’t heard from them after a
couple of days, I ring them back and try again.
However, if they still don’t ring me back, I don’t
chase them further, unless there are exceptional
circumstances. You have to accept you’re
making a cold call and not everyone will be
interested.”
William says you also need to be sensitive to
existing arrangements - and think of the long
term.
“If they say they are happy with the
photographer they are currently using, I say
thank you and smile. If they say go away, I say
thank you and smile, but very few people are
really grumpy. Most are very friendly.
“To me, the call is really very simple. I prepare
a little bit of a script and I practice it a few times,
but it’s important to keep it sounding normal.
You need to get through who you are, what you
do and why you are calling in the first five to
seven seconds, but without rushing. You have
to sound professional.
“And the aim of the call isn’t to get a
photography assignment straight away, rather
to open up communication and to send
someone your details.
“Ideally, if the business has a need for
photography, you’d like to set up a meeting and
show them your work. Things have changed
a lot in terms of communication, but meeting
in person remains one of the most powerful
things you can do when looking for work.
“And I never say no to an opportunity. The
Wi l l iam Long
35
other day I was asked if I knew anyone who
could photograph some certificates in a frame
- the sort of small job that can be more trouble
than it’s worth.
“However, I said I can look at that and when
the woman arrived, it turns out there are over
150 certificates to be photographed and it’s a
solid two day job! You simply never know where
a call can lead to.”
After posting about his depression on Facebook,
William received a lot of comments and queries and
requested that the following links be provided:
Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/depres-
sion/signs-and-symptoms
Mindspot is a free online assessment and treatment
for anxiety and depression with phone support
https://mindspot.org.au/wellbeing-course
36
Keeping Birth Photography ProfessionalT h e r e i s a l o t m o r e t o b i r t h p h o t o g r a p h y t h a n j u s t t h e p h o t o g r a p h y i t s e l f . T h e r e a r e m a n y s p e c i a l i s s u e s t o d e a l w i t h , f r o m h i g h e m o t i o n s t o h o s p i t a l r e s t r i c t i o n s . E x p l a i n s V i c t o r i a B e r e k m e r i , a s p e c i a l C o d e o f C o n d u c t h a s b e e n i n t r o d u c e d t h a t w i l l h e l p n o t o n l y o u r c l i e n t s , b u t b i r t h p h o t o g r a p h e r s a s w e l l .
Congratulations to everyone who entered
the Birth Category in the 2015 Canon AIPP
Australian Professional Photography Awards,
and in particular the overall winner Selena
Rollanson, APP AAIPP.
Appropriate Behaviour
Back in 2014, the AIPP’s Birth Photography
SIG discussed the norms and behaviours
appropriate to conducting professional
photography, specific to the genre’s unique
setting.
From these discussions, a genre specific
“Code of Conduct” was written to compliment
the AIPP “Code of Professional Practice”.
Please refer to the Birth Photography
additions to the codes of practice
accompanying this article.
The Code sets an expectation for clients
about how a professional photographer
should behave in the birth environment. It is
a resource to help members overcome some
of the barriers photographers may face, along
with providing a potential marketing tool for
members.
I would like to personally encourage all AIPP
birth photographers to familiarise themselves
with the additional code points.
They have been created to help protect
us, our clients, other birth workers and also
hospitals.
The points will serve you well as an overview
of items to discuss in client meetings, in
addition to the terms of your contract.
Be Pro-active
Since the birth environment often involves
clinical staff and facilities, it’s particularly
important to be aware of policies and
restrictions that affect you as a photographer.
Just as importantly, photographers should
be proactive in seeking the necessary approvals
well before their client’s labour begins.
A fabulous professional acumen would be
to provide a copy of these additions to the
Code of Professional Practice, along with a letter
A W A R D S
37
Birth Photography
Suggested Additions to the AIPP Code of Professional Practice
In addition to the AIPP Code of Professional Practice, AIPP APP Birth Photographers agree to
abide by the following additional codes of practice.
General Matters
1. I will reserve judgement, accepting women, the diverse decisions they make and the
path they’ve chosen to bring their baby into the world.
2. Due to the special nature of birth photography, confidentiality will be discussed with
consideration to marketing, social media, discussing past clients and birth announcements.
3. If required, I will arrange a replacement photographer who abides by this code of
practice.
4. I will educate clients on the role of the birth photographer, including the manner
in which photography is conducted, equipment used and any circumstances where the
photographer will be absent from the birth suite.
Hospital Matters
1. I shall not impede the activities, consultations or medical procedures conducted by
hospital staff in any way. I will respect the role of midwives, obstetricians, doulas and other
birth workers.
2. I will cooperate with and be under advisement of all attending medical professionals in
regards to safety, privacy and procedure at all times.
3. I shall not offer any medical advice if acting in the role of photographer only. I will
advise parents and appropriate medical professionals of any relevant qualifications (i.e. if you
are an experienced doula or trained midwife).
4. I will seek permission before photographing any hospital staff. I will also seek
appropriate introductions, permissions and exclusions from all others present at the client’s
birth, prior to the photography and as required throughout the session.
5. I will leave the birthing room to allow privacy during medical procedures if requested
by parent/s or medical personnel.
38
of introduction and intent from you and your
client, addressed to your client’s care provider
and facility.
Working Together
Many of my clients directly hand over my letter
of intent to their care providers at an antenatal
appointment, affirming their desire to have me
document their child’s birth as a part of the
birth plan.
Where care providers are unfamiliar with
this service, the letter provides reassuring
information about my conduct and my client’s
motivation to have me there.
The letter will be added to the patient’s file
and when the exciting day arrives when my
client delivers her baby, any staff on duty for her
have access to my details and intent.
With the popularity of birth photography
ever growing, the risks photographers and our
clients face broaden.
The potential for unprepared photographers
and uninformed care providers to cross paths
is threatening to undermine our services as a
whole.
A fear held by many experienced birth
photographers is that it will simply take one
false move from another photographer to bring
the bars down in hospitals, shutting us all out
and leaving women with another gaping hole
in their birth choices.
So, instead of letting the worst happen,
let’s all share these points with all birth
photographers, clients, care providers and
hospitals to get everyone on the same page.
Birth photographers are a part of the team!
Now for the shameless plug!
If you’re interested in learning more about
birth photography, please head to www.
birthphotographyworkshops.com.
AIPP members who enrol into the 2015 Birth
Photography Workshop in Brisbane will receive
the early bird discounted rate ($1250 – saving
you $350).
To take advantage of this offer, email hello@
birthphotographyworkshops.com and
include your AIPP membership number to get
the special promo code.
A W A R D S
39
•
40
Using Music In Your BusinessA s p h o t o g r a p h e r s , w e d o n ’ t l i k e o t h e r p e o p l e u s i n g o u r w o r k w i t h o u t o u r p e r m i s s i o n . M u s i c i a n s a n d c o m p o s e r s f e e l t h e s a m e w a y , s o h o w d o w e d o t h e r i g h t t h i n g w h e n i t c o m e s t o u s i n g m u s i c i n o u r b u s i n e s s e s ? W e b u y a l i c e n c e . H e r e ’ s h o w .
As photographers, we take the issue of
copyright pretty seriously. We like to think the
bride and groom won’t make illegal copies
of our images, or that people won’t steal our
photos from a website and use them without
our permission.
Copyright Is Important
Musicians feel the same way - and they are a
little more established than photographers
when it comes to being paid for the use of their
work by others.
For instance, there are some uses of music
that you mightn’t have considered ‘commercial’
and therefore subject to payment:
1. Playing music in your studio while your
staff or your clients are working;
2. Playing music on hold for your telephone
system;
3. Playing or adding music to AVs used to sell
your images to clients; or
4. Adding music to an AV or video sold to a
client.
The fact you have purchased a music CD or
downloaded it only gives you the right to play it
‘privately’.
As soon as you are using the music in your
business (and you’re working with staff or
customers), it is a ‘public’ performance and is
in breach of the ‘licence’ you have purchased
when you bought the music.
It’s a bit like when someone buys a photo of
yours in a book or a magazine - it doesn’t give
them the right to use your photo anyway they
like.
Fortunately, there is a way around the issue -
and all it costs is money and more paperwork!
Businesses, such as photography studios
and video production houses, can often buy
licences which give them permission to use
the music, without having to contact individual
musicians directly.
There are two bodies they need to approach
for licences, APRA AMCOS and PPCA.
For a small business with staff or playing
music for clients, annual fees will be from $100
to $500, roughly (depending on what you need
and how large a business you are).
This is general information only. We do not know your specific financial or legal situation and we are not providing you with advice. As such, this article should not be relied upon as legal, financial or accounting advice. Please use this article as a conversation starter with your own adviser.
41•
42
APRA AMCOS
APRA AMCOS represents over 87,000 music
writers and publishers in Australia and, as part of
a worldwide network, links in with over a million
other copyright owners and similar
organisations.
APRA AMCOS collects licence fees from
many different sources, the major ones
being radio and television stations, but also
includes businesses which play music for their
customers.
The licence fees are then distributed to
the copyright owners according to surveys
and analysis. For instance, television and radio
stations must provide play lists to APRA and
these provide the basis for the distribution of
much of the revenue collected.
Not all music copyright owners are part of
APRA AMCOS or its associated organisations
and some music is no longer copyright
protected. However, it’s fair to say this music is in
the minority and chances are any popular music
you are playing or using in your business can be
covered by a licence from APRA AMCOS.
PPCA
In addition to paying the copyright owners for
the music, there are the owners of the recording
itself and this is covered by PPCA.
As PPCA explains on its website: There are at
least two copyrights in any recording:
(i) The copyright in the song, being the
composition and/or lyrics (i.e. the “musical work”
in copyright language). APRA grants licences for
the broadcast and public performance rights in the
musical work and distributes licence fee income to
songwriters and their publishers.
(ii) The copyright in the recorded version of
the musical work. PPCA grants licences for the
broadcast and public performance of recordings
and distributes licence fee income to record labels
and directly to registered Australian recording
artists.
The practical effect of this distinction is that the
broadcast or public performance of a protected
recording usually requires two licences - one from
APRA and one from either PPCA or the individual
sound recording copyright owners.
To deal with these two licences, you should
contact the two organisations separately. Start
by visiting their websites which are very helpful
(naturally):
http://apraamcos.com.au/
http://www.ppca.com.au/
Music In Business
The APRA licences that most photography
studios need are Music in the Workplace,
Background Music and Music on Hold (for the
telephone). These can be applied for on a single
licence form called Corporate Music Use.
PPCA has a Commercial or Professional
Premises Licence and a separate Music On Hold
licence.
43•
44
As there are many variations to how the
various licences work and integrate with each
other, you are advised to contact APRA and
PPCA for advice.
If you have just one device and a small
studio, the APRA licence may be just $77.06 per
annum (in 2016), but it increases depending
on the size of the business premises and the
number of devices through which you’re
playing the music.
The PPCA licence appears to be determined
primarily on the size of your premises where the
music is played.
Although the licences are not going to break
the bank for most studios, it is an extra expense
for a small business - and extra paperwork.
However, not paying these licences is
the same as stealing photos from other
photographers, so the option is not to have
music playing for your clients. (Or you hire your
own musicians and composers - perhaps you
can compose and play yourself!)
If it’s not worth $4 - $10 a week for the extra
sales you could achieve or the entertainment of
your clients, you can choose not to play and not
to pay!
Music On Wedding Videos
Video producers are often asked to add music
of their clients’ choice to their wedding videos.
To do this legally, you need a licence and the
easiest way to obtain a licence is to purchase
one from APRA AMCOS (in association with
ARIA).
It’s called a Domestic Use Video Licence
and it allows you to include music on videos
of weddings, birthday parties, personal
holidays, etcetera, or when home footage or
photographs are transferred to video.
Essentially, the licence covers private
individuals for private home viewing, and does
not including corporate, training or educational
videos or any video made for sale to the general
public (there may be other licences for this type
of use). Nor does the licence allow you or your
customer to upload the video to social media
sites like YouTube or Vimeo.
Reproduction of music without this approval
is usually an infringement of copyright, but
as long as the videos or AVs are made for the
personal use of your clients only, this licence is
the cheapest and easiest solution.
Domestic Use Video Licence
There are two types of Domestic Use Video
Licence. The Single Event licence starts at
$61.93 (depending on the number of copies
produced).
However, most video producers in business
with 10 or more clients a year would purchase
an annual licence because there is no limit to
the number of events you can do per year.
There is also a limit on the number of copies
of each video you can produce. The standard
45•
46
licence allows up to 20 copies of each event,
or 30 copies for the Plus licence. The annual
licence fee starts at $546.74.
It has been suggested that as no advertising
is permitted with this licence, make sure when
you run the credits for your photography that
the music is not playing at the same time! I’m
not sure how valid this advice is.
AVs As Sales Tools
Problems may arise when we create a
presentation or video with popular music and
want to use this to market ourselves to our
clients. As this is a sales tool we are using, not
something our clients are using personally, we
appear unlikely to fall into the Domestic Use
Video Licence mentioned previously.
You might also notice that YouTube removes
posted videos if they breach copyright. This is
often because it’s popular music being used
(usually out of ignorance) and so they have no
option but to prevent it being streamed.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a general APRA
style licence to cover commercial or advertising
use of whatever music we want to use. We can’t
just automatically add in our favourite musicians
because we want to - that would be breaching
their copyright. We have two choices.
If we want to use this popular music, we
can approach the music copyright owners
directly - but the time and expense of making
this contact may be difficult. It could also be
expensive and the answer could be ‘no’!
So, scratch using popular music for your own
(or your clients’) promotional videos and look
at the second option, what’s called ‘production
music’.
Production music is specifically written and
recorded for use in film, video and audio visual
productions.
There are a number of suppliers of
production music and a quick Google search
will reveal lots of vendors.
Before online music became so easy to
deliver, film and television producers would
register with AMCOS and were issued with a
Production Music Client Number (PMCN). Then
you visited a production music library to find
the music you wanted to use, before submitting
a Licence Application and paying the invoice.
However, it could be (and still is) expensive.
For a short five minute production, the music
could easily add up to $500 or more. Of course,
this is a lot cheaper than commissioning
someone to compose a music track for you, but
if you want to upload a new video every month
or so, it makes production expensive.
A number of businesses have now filled in
this gap. For example Triple Scoop Music (www.
triplescoopmusic.com) aims itself squarely at
photographers and offers basic licences for
music tracks for self-promotion for US $60 - and
this includes the right to upload to YouTube and
your website.
47
•
48
Phase One XF 100MPA s p r o f e s s i o n a l p h o t o g r a p h e r s , s h o u l d w e b e b u y i n g o r h i r i n g a 1 0 0 - m e g a p i x e l c a m e r a t o e n s u r e w e g i v e o u r c l i e n t s t h e b e s t q u a l i t y p o s s i b l e ? F o r s o m e h i g h e n d p h o t o g r a p h e r s , t h i s i s u n d o u b t e d l y t h e c a s e , b u t w h e t h e r o r n o t i t ’ s f o r y o u , w e s h o u l d a l l u n d e r s t a n d t h e t e c h n o l o g y a n d w h a t i t m e a n s t o t h e p r o f e s s i o n .
The chances of a wedding portrait client asking
you to shoot with a 100-megapixel camera are
slim, but according to the recent AIPP survey,
many of us shoot a variety of work, so if we
have an advertising or business client, do we
need to shoot with maximum resolution?
For many photographers, it’s not
always a matter of whether a client needs
100-megapixels. Some clients simply want the
best quality possible and a few are prepared to
pay for it. And some photographers want to be
seen with the highest quality possible - a part of
their positioning and marketing regime.
However, even though the reality is that
100-megapixels is a very small part of the
market, Phase One has stamped a new standard
against which all other cameras will be judged:
100-megapixels.
Of course, medium format is more than just
lots of pixels and indeed, there are DSLR and
CSC cameras which match the pixel count of
some smaller medium format models.
Rather, medium format offers extensive
dynamic range, 16-bit capture, no anti-aliasing
filter over the sensor and shallower depth-of-
field due to the physically larger image format.
It is also a larger, heavier camera system to
use, autofocus and frame rate are not as fast as
a DSLR, and it doesn’t have as extensive a focal
length range as some DSLR and CSC cameras
(although arguably it offers other choices not
available on a DSLR).
As has always been the case, there is no
single camera for every job. If you only shoot
for a narrow range of portraiture and wedding
clients, your business probably doesn’t want
100-megapixels, but then again, I’m sure around
the world somewhere a wedding photographer
will shoot with this camera system and obtain
clients because of it. Marketing is a wonderful
thing.
I was able to review a new XF 100MP on a
trip to Antarctica late last year and it is a delight
to use. The files do not disappoint you in any
way, as long as you get your focus right and
there’s no camera shake.
49
50
51
This can be challenging when you’re
working on location. In the studio, you just
increase the flash power to solve your problems,
but out in the field, you need to rely on ISO.
Higher ISOs
One of the biggest challenges with medium
format CCD sensors (as opposed to the new
CMOS sensors) is the ISO rating. To get the best
out of a CCD, you’re usually on ISO 35 or 50. You
might be able to push it to ISO 100, but much
past that and noise becomes visible.
With a CMOS sensor, the XF 100MP has a
base ISO of 50, but it will happily shoot at ISO
200 and 400 without any noticeable noise (and
you can push it up to ISO 12,800). This is a big
improvement.
My first impressions are that there is little to
no difference between ISO 50 and 400, but this
does depend on there being sufficient light.
As expected, if there isn’t much light around
(or you underexpose your shots), noise is more
easily seen, no matter what your ISO setting.
From ISO 800 and up, noise is really well
controlled although I think this is at the expense
of some image sharpness. The default settings
in Capture One 9 raw processing software
did seem to soften the image a little. Image
sharpness and detail could be recovered in the
software, but at the expense of more visible
noise - but I’m simply stating the obvious as this
is how noise reduction works.
Noise suppression will no doubt be refined
by the software engineers, but you also have
to be careful about what the noise on a
100-megapixel sensor really means. Will it be
visible in the final reproduction?
My experience is that when you’re making a
print, a lot of the noise you see at 100 percent
magnification on the computer screen simply
isn’t noticeable in the final reproduction,
especially if you’re not making exhibition size
prints. And if you’re not making big prints, then
noise isn’t going to be a problem once you
downsize the file for screen viewing!
During development, Phase One was very
aware of how well the Nikon D800 worked
in terms of noise and, given Sony makes the
sensor chips for both companies, it feels the
noise performance of the XF 100MP matches
the D800, but is perhaps a whisker behind the
newer D810.
This is a difficult thing to compare, but if
you were to re-size your 100-megapixel file
down to 33-megapixels (similar in size to the
36-megapixel Nikon), then based on the files
I have taken to date, I think the claim is very
reasonable, even at ISO 3200!
However you look at the 100MP digital
back, Phase One has established itself in a
leading position. Medium format isn’t for every
professional, but for those who can benefit
from the sensor quality, it’s an impressive step
forward.
52
This contemporary photography workshop is for anyone who has ever wondered ‘what lies beyond’ the mastery of software and hardware, and what lies beyond the production skills, workflows, clients, competitions, and associations. In other words, this workshop is for anyone who has ever wondered ‘how do I get to the next level’ and beyond? This is so much more than perfecting your workflow or making lasting impressions with your pictures, it is also about your confidence and sophistication as an artist.
The Daintree Photography Workshop 201611th to 17th May
Presented by Les Walkling with Peter Eastway
Register for this workshop now at:http://www.leswalkling.com/bookings/
www.leswalkling.com www.petereastway.com
My co-presenter is the remarkable Peter Eastway (APP.L, GM. Photog., FNZIPP, Hon. FAIPP, Hon. FNZIPP, FAIPP). Peter is an incredibly gifted educator, mentor and communicator, and one of my closest friends. We encourage, inspire and support one another, and aim to do even more for you.
The venue is the James Cook University Daintree Rainforest Observatory education and research centre in far North Queensland. It is one of the few areas in the world where the ‘reef meets the rainforest’ and the only place where two World Heritage Areas, the Daintree and the Great Barrier Reef, sit side by side providing an unforgettable experience in a unique and inspirational learning environment.
With our chefs and support staff taking care of everything else, you will be free to explore, refine, and extend your photography, and thereby change not only your relationship with your ‘hardware and software’, but most importantly take your pictures and yourself to the ‘next level and beyond’.
Enquiries Ph: 07 4725 4860 E: [email protected]