Level 5 photography
Professional Studies
Week 19
Job search

Job searches 
a process of research, networking and prospecting for employment and freelance contracts. Makes use of many media and involves significant self-promotion. 

- hard work, particularly in the current climate.

- make your life easier if you focus on what you want and do your research.

 - The Folio Employability Service will help with research and advice, and you should use your Professional Studies modules to develop a strong understanding of the market you want to work in.

- Keep records of your research as you go to save time later.

-Speak to staff on your Programme as they have a wealth of information and contacts as many of them continue to work in the sector.

- Folio has a pool of web links relevant to programmes of study plus some general links covering the arts and related organisations. These are available through the VLE.

 Sign up for alerts from the ‘jobs’ sections of websites – Arts Jobs, Guardian Culture and Media, Creative Choices.

 Sign up with company web-sites

 Find and join social media groups associated with your chosen field

 Find and follow key people on twitter

 Get seen – go to events, openings – work your contacts to get invitations

 Get noticed – make sure you have a speed pitch you can use when you meet new contacts; make sure your online profiles are professional and match your CV

These are a few of the general vacancy sites:

 http://www.artsjobs.org.uk/ http://www.creative-choices.co.uk/jobs-opportunities/jobs http://jobs.theguardian.com/jobs/media/5/ http://jobs.theguardian.com/jobs/arts-and-heritage/ http://4talent.channel4.com/

Job Interviews

- The main point to remember about a job interview is that you have to sell yourself and your skills

-  PREPARATION - Research the company or organisation  and Prepare a list of questions and plan your answers

 - PRACTICE

- PERFORMANCE

Interview questions:

 “Tell me about yourself”

“What are your strengths?”

 “What are your weaknesses?”

 “Do you know anything about our company?”

“What would you like to be doing in five years time?”

 “What do you think you can offer this company?”

What influences the Interviewer?

 • Your personality and how you present yourself

• Your relevant experience

• Your relevant qualifications

 • Your background and references

• Your enthusiasm for the post in question

What Employers expect of you at interview 

 • Dress smartly/appropriately

• Arrive on time

• Relax and be yourself

• Listen carefully to questions

• Be enthusiastic

• Emphasise your skills and experience

Remember- when answer questions say ' I did...' not ' we'. The interviewers want to know about your contribution. If you keep saying 'we' this makes them unsure if it really was you who did something.

Answers to interview question (and the way you present to evidence on application form_ can foow a simple rule. learning, work experience, in your personal life which will demonstrate your faults and tell them :

Why? ( did you do something? what was the problem or challenge you faced?

What? (did you do)

How ( did it work out? what was the outcome?)

When? ( was is time limited, to a tight deadline?

Level 5 photography
Professional Studies
Week 12
Marketing

what do top photographers have in common

- Interests, knowledge and reading into the photographic economy and the world differentiate themselves on personality.

- Personality helps build relationships with clients, buyers and curators and understanding the ethic work and good business and able to commit to it long term and have a strong motivation and a range on craft and ideas, work that gels, resonates, reflects, surprises and approaches to marketing


Marketing definition

- management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customers requirements if it is profitable

The 4 'Ps or 7 'Ps' 

- Product

- Price

- Place

- Promotion

 -Process

-Physical evidence

- People

Research the market

- Consider the current market and opportunities analysis

-Secondary and primary research

- Understand your place in the industry

Create an identity

- Register a domain name

- Design your brand identity

- Use your brand consistently

- Become visible through an effective approach to marketing ' be the person behind the brand'

The marketing tool kit and action plan

1. Have the best website or online presence possible

2. Make the most of search engine optimisation

3. Prepare the best portfolio you can

4.  Do some 'go sees' example look around for jobs, exhibitions, talk to other photographers, travel

5. send out some printed mailers

6.Get a small print run of business cards

7.Get listed

8.Send direct mail

9.Blog

10.Twitter and other social media

11.Book a stand at a trade show

12.Exhibit

13.Place an ad

14.Publish a book

15.Enter competitions

16.Get some press attention

17.Network

18.Talk

19.Send a gift

20.Keep shooting!

Professional Memberships

The Association of Photographers (AOP) 

British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP) 

The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) 

The Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP)

Master Photographers Association (MPA) 

British Press Photographers Association (BPPA)

Bureau of Freelance Photographers (BFP) 

Editorial Photographers UK (EPUK) 

National Union of Journalists (NUJ) 

North East Photography Network (NEPN) 

Redeye

Networking Links or useful organisations Networks

North East Photography Network http://www.northeastphoto.net/ 

Redeye http://www.redeye.org.uk/ 

Photoworks http://www.photoworks.org.uk/ 

FESTIVALS Format http://www.formatfestival.com/ 

Photo London http://photolondon.org/ 

Brighton Photo Biennial http://www.bpb.org.uk/2012/ 

Les Rencontres D’Arles http://www.rencontres-arles.com/A11/Home 

Noorderlicht http://www.noorderlicht.com/en/ 

Chobi Mela http://www.chobimela.org/ 

PUBLICATIONS British Journal of Photography http://www.bjp-online.com/ 

Source Photographic Review http://www.source.ie/index.php 

Hotshoe http://www.hotshoeinternational.com/home.do 

Professional Photographer http://www.professionalphotographer.co.uk/

1000 Words http://www.1000wordsmag.com/ 

Visura http://www.visuramagazine.com/ 

Lens Culture http://www.lensculture.com/ 

Burn http://www.burnmagazine.org/ 

Photography Now http://photography-now.com/ 

Magnum http://www.magnumphotos.com/ 

VII http://www.viiphoto.com/ 

Panos Pictures http://www.panos.co.uk/ 

GALLERIES The Photographers Gallery http://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/ 

Open Eye Gallery http://www.openeye.org.uk/ Ffotogallery http://www.ffotogallery.org/ 

Side Gallery http://www.amber-online.com/sections/side-gallery 

Impressions Gallery http://www.impressions-gallery.com/ 

National Media Museum http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/ 

Site Gallery http://www.stills.org/ 

Michael Hoppen Gallery http://www.michaelhoppengallery.com/

Level 5 photography
Professional studies
week 3
Competitions

Lens culture portrait awards 2014

International competition that aims to showcase the best photographs from all over the world to discover  great range of 21st century photo portraits. Competition is open to everything from all points of view, all level of expertise and ideas of portraiture as photographic portraits are part of everyday life from fine art to spontaneous selfies, perfect photoshopped portraits (fictitious) social media profile pics, to mobile photne snaps altered with digital filters.


Awards and prizes:


PORTFOLIO AWARD
1st prize: $1500 | 2nd prize: $500 | 3rd prize: $250


SINGLE IMAGE AWARD
1st prize: $1000 | 2nd prize: $500 | 3rd prize: $250


Home page spotlight: winners will be highlighted on home page for six weeks


High-Profile Exposure to our global audience of over 200,000 influential enthusiasts in the global photography marketplace including editors, curators, gallery owners, collectors, publishers, and festival directors.


An Exclusive Feature Article in LensCulture.


https://www.lensculture.com/portrait-awards-2014

The AOP open awards 2013
It is run by association of photographers and was the only AOP competition where professionals and amateurs compete on equal terms. there were no categories or themes so the choice of worl submitted was up to the photographer. The competition was running for 13 years and each year actracted approximately 1,500 entries from around the world, with a pubic vote that had around 4000 voters each year.

Level 5 photography
Professional Studies
Week 14-16
Tutorials

On Friday 6th Febuary I had my tutorial with Jill Cole to discuss my report and my competition entry at 15:15 as I have switched my time and date with Rachel Luckley as she couldn't make it to hers. During my professional studies tutorial I have told her I am doing research on the advertising career which she thought was a good idea but didn't like the layout of my questionnaire as I am creating a survey on survey monkey which will be posted on my facebook which students and some photograpahers I have on contact as friends could take some time in answering but tutor wants me to do a personal interview with professional advertising photographers so i can get experience in contacting a professional that can advice me on the career I am interested in for future. I have told her that I have entered an lens culture portraits award and tutor has told me that there is a helpful competitions guide on the ccad VLE which could help me fill my word count on my report on the competitions section for reference.

Level 5 
Professional studies
week 20
Examples of photography  web hosting and template providers

 123- reg https://www.123-reg.co.uk/

Sites to use to get your domain name for your own website:

Fasthosts

Layerspace/Layerweb 

Amazing Internet 

Clickpic 

The Image File 

Vhoto 

1&1 

Online Picture Proof 

Template websites

Zenfolio 

Layerweb

WIX

questions to ask when choosing a photography website provider

 - what purpose will the website serve (archive, blogging, sales, portfolio)?

- Do you need a selling function?

-Will you use a pre-designed template or design it yourself on dreamwave?

- Does the provider have a good reputation for customer service?

-Does it fit within your budget?

- How secure are your photo's online

-Do your images load quickly

- How do you want to showcase your photos online (full bleed, slideshow, other)?

- Do the images look good on computer screen (sharp, colour balance correct)

-Is the website optimized on mobile?


Photoshelter's 11 secrets to a great photography website

- Consider full bleed images

- Don't be poet

- Edit your portfolio tightly

- Get social

- Be responsive

- Be ready to sell

- Faster is better

- Act like a roadmap

-have search engine optimized ready

- keep it clean and simple

-Put your contact information everywhere

Level 5 photography
Professional studies
week 8

Self employed v Employed

Self employed 

- Have more than one client

- Determine their own hours

- No contract of employment, no set projects sent and no service contract

- Receive no holiday or sick pay

- Provide own equipment

- Required to work to very tight schedules and deadline and know how effectively edit for projects

- Work in their own time and bear risks of their own business

- Essential that you network and promote work

-  Taken up by workers who have been laid off, who cannot find full time employment

- Report the ongoing hassle of dealing with employers who don't pay on time and the possibility of long periods without work

- Have at least ten years of experience to working independently, being experienced do not always earn an income equal to full time employment

- Working from home is often an attractive feature to self employed but from home introduces constraints for the process of doing work, particularly when married with families as child care despite increases in their paid work time

Employed

- Responsibility for works taken by someone

- Regular hours of work

- Weekly or monthly of hours per week or days per month

- Entitled holiday or sick pay

- Contracts or letter employment ( contract service)

Level 5 photography
professional studies
Week 8
Career Paths

Advertising
is taking photographs that are used to describe and sell a product or idea on the other hand editorial photographs are used to illustrate and enhance a story or report, used in magazines, newspapers, newsletters and books. Advertisers produce images that support a market to answer a brief given by a client or designer. The best route to start going to an advertising career it is best to work as an assistant to build up knowledge on the job. Advertisers choose to be self employed and operate their own studio, advertising involves any subject matter but often  categorised into specialist areas such portraiture, still life and landscape.

Jknowles- award winning advertising photographer based in London specializing in graphic still life, liquid and people. In the past 8 years he has featured  in ' 200 best advertising photographers in the world' books.

Advertising Liquids
   

Advertising Clothes
  

http://jknowles.co.uk/drinks/portfolio/


Retouching Academy

They focus on the technical and artistic aspects of the craft  and teach the business relationships and the communication and productivity skills to make the employees as a pro.

Their goal is to establish an skill base, help develop a business mindset on to inspire people to successfully transition from student to professional.

A retoucher specializes in taking an image and enhancing it or creating a whole new image. Retouchers generally work in digital formats such as photoshop, they are often used to edit or extend backgrounds, adjust colour tones and retouch skin texture and clean up an image,  Often retouchers build experiences from a creative Artworking role where they end up doing more and more and more retouching to the point where they are over seeing all of the retouching for all projects the come through the studio. Retouchers refers to the process of manipulating photographs to slightly change the looks of a subject, this includes erasing pimples or making complexions appear even.

Education requirements for a career in photo retouching will need a degree  from an university and photo retouchers may want to consider taking graphic design or computer courses.

Fashion magazines  often work with photo retouchers or work with freelancers on a regular basis, retouchers often chose to work anywhere including at his own home, some work in studios. Companies invest in the services of a professional photo retoucher may include advertising agencies and graphic design firms.