Five Scenarios For Web Site Production

Getting your photography onto the Internet involves making choices.  How you define your audience, for instance, will speak volumes about how you’re going to present your photographs on-line.

For example, if the primary audience for your on-line photographs is your Blue Earth Alliance advisor, then you may not need anything more than to open an account with a photo-sharing site.  This gives you the ability to upload your images privately and discreetly, and to have them reviewed, with captions, by those to whom you have provided access.

On the other hand, if you’re trying to persuade National Geographic to partner with you on your project, you probably want something that is a richer, more inspiring presentation.

There are many ways to get your photographs on-line or build a web site.  Here are some scenarios that range in cost from “free” (except for your time, of course) to seriously expensive.

1. Build It Yourself

Not too long ago you had to be the adventurous type to build a functional credible web site?  Learning HTML and Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) and CSS and Flash and Dreamweaver and maybe Fireworks and Cold Fusion isn’t impossible.  People do it every day and those are the types of tools you need to know to hand-build really cool sites.  But the learning curve does take time - the commodity we just can’t seem to make more of.

So if you are time challenged but still want to be I the driver’s seat there are an ever growing number of templates and simple web utilities that will help you build a site that might suit your needs admirably well.

Many Mac users already know that a .Mac account buys you not only server space but nice template tool to build your own site.  Being Mac, it is easy and works great.  Microsoft, not to be outdone, has introduced its Expression Media suite that includes a well-reviewed Expression Web authoring tool, which is really set up more to compete with Adobe’s Dreamweaver.

Rapid Weaver is a good example of a fairly sophisticated web utility that lets you avoid the alphabet soup of web authoring tools but gives you an opportunity to build some pretty cool stuff.  Plug into this some slick modules created using shareware or very cheap Flash templates (Simple Viewer make marvelously optimized customizable image shows while Soundslides lets you do true multimedia).  Options of this kind are all over the web.  Check the professional forums first.

You’ll need to also subscribe to a web hosting service but this has become amazingly cheap, with gigabytes of space, unlimited email addresses, multiple domains, useful site visit statistics, FTP and a bunch of other features available for under $10 a month.  The Achilles heel of these services is, well, service.  There are many bogus “web host ratings” on the web so again, check professional forums for advice on who is best and call the final candidates to see if a human being actually picks up the phone and knows what they are talking about.

2. Pay For It, Part I:  Custom Designed Web Sites

Commissioning an individual web designer, or a company, to build your web site provides greater insurance that a professionally programmed, functionally solid site will be built.

You will be paying top dollar (think “thousands”) for a good designer so be prepared and be demanding.  Consider the concept and design variables already discussed in this article.  Know what you really need.  Make some sketches of what you envision.  Create a list of sites you like and don’t - and articulate why.  Avoid “project creep”.  Often designers will make all sorts of way cool suggestions that are irrelevant to your needs and will run up the development costs.  Also, designers often just design the “skin” and (sometimes unbeknownst to their clients), subcontract the back-end functional development to a propeller head you never meet.  Make sure this chain of command doesn’t interfere with you getting the functionality you need.  If you play your cards right you’ll get a unique package that will stand out on the web but it won’t come cheap.

Another cost many site owners neglect to consider is site management.  Who will be the site administrator, you?  A staff member (if you have one)?  The design firm?  One way or another the site will need to be updated, which takes time, skill and familiarity with the associated tasks and, of course, money.

3. Pay For It, Part II:  Templated Portfolio Services

In recent years the number of database driven templated web portfolio sites has jumped dramatically.  While these used to be cookie cutter affairs new vendors seem to jump into the game every day and many of the template sites now available offer very sophisticated Flash capabilities presented in handsome designs that can be modified so that in many cases it is hard for the audience to realize they are looking at a template.

The cost and range of services and requirements varies a great deal.  Some sites allow personalized URLs while others tag your name at the end of their URL.  Some offer multimedia some don’t.  Ditto FTP for image transfers.  Many offer some e-commerce component.  There is usually a set-up fee (sometimes waved or discounted as a promotional deal) and these vary wildly-from a couple hundred dollars to a couple of thousand dollars!  There is also usually a monthly or quarterly subscription fee which is invariable much more expensive than simply signing up with a web host and managing your site yourself.  Server space is also typically more limited on these sites than the web hosts offer (but can be increased for a price, of course).

The big advantage to these services is they are turnkey and customer service is good.  Typically you simply upload jpegs (in some cases Tiffs or raw files are OK too) that are managed in a simple (i.e. no HTML skills necessary) interface.  When you want to update the site simply loads your images to your password protected user page, reshuffle your images in the vendor-provided utility and repost.  If you want to delegate the tedious work of site development but have a tight budget (and maybe go take pictures instead…) and can live with the upfront costs and the possibility that your site may look a lot like the rest of your vendor’s customers sites then this is a good way to go.  Some examples: Live Books, Print Room, Folio Link, Site Welder, and ImageCulture.

4. Hosted E-Commerce “Stock Photo” Sites

New wrinkles in the fabric of online communication for photographers are hybrid sites that allow photographers not only to display their work but also to distribute it and make transactions.  Sites like Photo Shelter combine some of the features of templated personal sites with the functionality of stock photography web portals like Getty Images and Corbis.  For a modest monthly fee plus a modest commission on sales users have a tool that gives them easy, user-friendly access to markets they might never have reached at costs a fraction of what the big stock purveyors charge photographers.

The down side is the individual photographers’ sites all look the same - a usability convenience for browsing potential clients but not necessarily the best way for an image portfolio to stand out.  One reasonable approach is to use these e-commerce services in conjunction with (as a link off of) a more uniquely branded portfolio site.

5. Blogs And Photo Sharing Sites

These days everybody has something they want to share, as the proliferation of blogs and other user generate content attests.  There are countless sites available to channel this creative juice from Flickr to YouTube to Blogger to Wordpress to Facebook.  All of them allow for the posting of visual content but none really do it in a way that will make a professional impression.  So why mention them in this context?  Search Engine Optimization!  Many cagey photographers have glorious portfolio web sites and also have a blog and Flickr and Facebook pages.  On all these free and simple to use web locations they plug their “real” site and their projects.  This is the heart of Web 2.0 - the viral dissemination of digital information, the proverbial data cloud.  If I am a photo enthusiast and see your recently update site on Flickr I might just visit the site for your great documentary project.  I send the link to a few like-minded friends and after a while your Google ranking starts to soar.  This is cheap and easy promotion.  Just do it.

And speaking of search engine optimization (SEO): We can’t begin to cover SEO adequately here.  For a good primer see ASMP member Blake Discher’s site.  The thing to remember is that SEO is REALLY important.  You may have the coolest looking site in the world but if nobody is there to see it…  The most useful tip we can offer is while Flash sites look really cool to you and me they are invisible (really) to the web crawling “bots” that help bring eyeballs to your online images which helps determine Google rankings, which helps bring more eyeballs which… you get it.  Web crawlers read characters not image pixels, so in order to get your site seen you need to get some words on it.  They need to be the right kind and quantity of words in the right places on the site.  There is a lot of strategy involved in this and it is a moving target, like everything in “new media”.  The best bet is to read what you can and befriend an expert.  The professional associations like ASMP are good sources as well.

Good luck and, most importantly, have fun!

Russell Sparkman

Download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!

During the heady days of the Internet revolution everyone had a dotcom business plan in their back pocket and a plan to retire as a millionaire within a few years.  I was bitten by the bug, too.  My casual interest in the Internet became a passion that resulted in the creation of One World Journeys in 1998.  My goal was to utilize the tools of the web to bring people inspiring and educational stories about our world.

By 2002 One World Journeys had produced six expeditions with six teams of photographers and writers.  Our expeditions explored topics from global warming to the importance of salmon to the eco-system.  Our teams have traveled from Alaska to the south sea atoll of Palmyra.  Almost 2 million people have visited our site since its launch.

It is an exciting time to be a documentary photographer.  Digital publishing provides opportunities for reaching large audiences that in the past were only available to big circulation magazines like National Geographic and newspapers like the New York Times.

Unlike traditional forms of print publishing or broadcasting, the cost of digital publishing on-line is minimal.  Computers and software are relatively inexpensive and readily accessible to all.  With a few good resource books and a little bit of time just about anyone can build their own web site.  That’s the good news.

Today a web presence is essentially mandatory.  It is the first place people go to research most topics and if you aren’t there… you aren’t anywhere and just about anyone can build a web site.  The bad news is that the desire to build one’s own homepage sometimes means the principles of design and function are overlooked.  Of the gazillion web sites published, only a fraction employ the right kind of planning that results in a great web site.  Since your web site is going to be number gazillion and one, I’d like to offer a couple of useful points:

1. Your web site must be designed to achieve your goals AND satisfy the needs of your audience.
2. The difference between creating a so-so web experience and a great web experience will be a result of planning, research, analysis, and at least a working knowledge of the arcane language of web site development.

Digital Publishing Overview

The following explanations provide a broad-brush overview of how to plan a project for digital publication on the Internet.

Part One: Define your audience

Before building your web site you need to answer yourself a question.  Who am I building it for?

A web site can be simple or amazingly complex.  Complexity increases as you add degrees of functionality to your site.  What these functions are depends on what you and your audience need.

For instance, a web site that simply displays your name, address, phone number, email address and images is infinitely less complex than a web site full of interactive multimedia including Flash animation, audio and video.  Add the ability to gather data about visitors to your site and you are talking about a major escalation of planning, development and cost.

Define your audience and their needs before you begin building your site.

Yes, defining your target audience, and their needs, sounds like something that only marketing and advertising people must be concerned about.  But the fact is that your own web site is your own magazine, your own TV channel and your own radio station.  You have to think not only in terms of who is it for, and what will they get from it, but also how are they going to find out about it in the first place.

Part Two: Establish a process for planning, building and maintaining your web site

Whether you decide to build the web site by yourself, or collaborate with a web site developer, it’s imperative to establish a process that incorporates research, documentation, project management and evaluation.

There are many approaches to managing web site development.  If you are working with a professional individual or organization you will be led through this process.  However, you’ll be ahead of the game by having at least a working knowledge of this scope of the process.  One book that I recommend is Web Project Management by Ashley Friedlein, published by Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.  I’ve adapted the following work stage overview from Web Project Management.

Work Stage #1: Preproduction

In a preproduction stage you define your digital publishing project through a process of project clarification, solution definition and project specification.  During the project clarification stage you must answer the question “Why create the web site?”  Here, you’ll define what your audience will see and do when they come to your web site.

In solution definition, you answer the question “How will I build my web site?”  This will depend on the functionality you determine will meet your audience’s needs, as well as your budget.

In the project specification stage you will answer the question “What exactly am I going to build?”  Is it going to be an all Flash presentation, or is it going to be built in basic HTML?  This is where you identify the specific production needs including information architecture and navigation, graphics, text and colors.

Often, the information architecture and navigation overview are spelled out in a diagram referred to as a site map.  A site map looks a bit like a family tree, where the home page is the head of the “family” of information that will become your web.  Branching off from the home page is the information hierarchy, with each level of information typically diminishing in importance the further away from the home page it gets.

This means, for instance, that your portfolio of images will have a much higher level of importance to your audience than the “About Me” page where you share tidbits about your personal life, such as the love you have for your collection of PEZ dispensers.  Decisions like these will drive decisions that affect site design and site navigation.

Work Stage #2: Production

During the production phase, the planning that was laid out in the preproduction phase is implemented.  For example, site design based on site maps and navigation schemes finalized in preproduction takes place.  Fonts, graphics, photographs, etc., are selected in advance of, and concurrent with, programming.

Programming is usually done by an experienced web site developer who is well versed in a variety of ways in which a web site can be developed.

At the basic end of the programming spectrum is HTML (hypertext markup language.)  It is the backbone of web site development.  With a basic knowledge of HTML you could easily put together a simple web site.  However, you’re probably going to want a bit more than that.

Most of the bells and whistles you see used on web sites today - animated graphics and photos, portfolio slide shows, pop-up windows and menus, information gathering entry forms, database queries, and much, much more - are created with a mixture of tools that programmers pull from their tool kit of skills.  These skills include proficiency with advanced programming methods such as Flash, Cold Fusion, Java script, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and DHTML (see glossary at end for help with these terms).

Testing follows programming.  During this time, it’s also important to begin promotion of your site by learning about search engine optimization, search engine placement and by developing strategies to build on-line awareness of your site.

Work Stage #3: Maintenance

It’s tempting to think that once the web site is launched, everything’s all set, and you can breathe easy and move on.  Think again!  How the site will be maintained - from the monthly server fees for hosting the site to how new content will be added - all become post-launch issues.  Oh, and don’t forget that marketing and promotion of the site will be an ongoing task.

Work Stage #4: Review And Evaluation

When it comes to understanding the full meaning of the expression “it ain’t over until it’s over” nothing beats putting up a web site.  By its nature it is seldom over.  Immediately upon launching the fruits of your efforts, you’ll begin to evaluate the site as to how well the end result achieved the objectives established.  By analyzing this you will be able to make what changes are necessary.

Russell Sparkman

(To be continued in Part 2)

This series features selected articles from Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference, our highly regarded handbook for photographers developing documentary projects.  If you can’t wait for the full series to be published, feel free to download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!

The rapid growth of digital media has given rise to an ironically expressive acronym.  DAM stands for digital asset management and it describes a huge and often frustrating new territory for photographers and indeed all media content producers and publishers.  Unlike traditional photography, which creates physical artifacts (negatives, transparencies, prints), the basic stuff of digital photography is, like all binary code, just a sequence of ones and zeros - lots and lots of ones and zeros.  How photographers should best handle their own digital data and how they pass them along to their publishers has shaped up to be the greatest challenge in the shift to “new media”.

With top of the line cameras generating between 12 and 16 megapixel files (34 to 46 megabytes to make a TIFF each time the shutter button is pushed) the greatest and most important challenge of digital photography is how to manage all the data.  Consequently, DAM has become the hot button issue for photographers in recent years.  A number of software packages have been introduced to help make photographers’ lives easier.  Apple’s Aperture software and Adobe’s Lightroom have greatly simplified image workflow while cataloging software like Microsoft’s Expression Media (known pre-buyout as iView Media Pro) have made organizing work far more efficient.  Other competitors of note in this field include ACDsee, Canto Cumulous and Extensis Portfolio.  A number of authors have written and continue to revise useful guides on how to manage all these workflow aids.  Prolific Tim Gray, now with Microsoft’s Rich Media Group, has written a number of useful books, as have perennial Photoshop helpmates Scott Kelby and Martin Evening.  Perhaps the best of the breed is Peter Krogh’s The DAM Book (Peachpit Press).

As digital image files get bigger and more numerous the issue that still has everybody wringing their hands is how photographers should best manage the long-term storage of all the images they make.  There are a variety of schemes (outlined very well in Krogh’s book), but all of them are subject to the Achilles Heel of all computing-obsolescence and the rate of technological change.  Anybody with a box full of old floppy disks knows what we’re talking about.  DVD standards are a battleground of giants at the moment.  Off-site server based storage is fine for your mom’s jpegs but usually too slow and limited for professional use.  Hard drives are an enduring technology and they are getting cheaper but they seem to fill up faster every day (thanks to the larger image files) and they can fail at inopportune times.  At the moment there isn’t an obvious, simple solution of the horizon and the fact is that creators of digital images are simply going to need to adapt to changes in the digital storage landscape by migrating their data as needs, circumstances and technology dictate.  The approach endorsed by most savvy, appropriately paranoid photographers today is to back up all images onto at least two hard drives, one of which is stored off site and also write copies onto DVDs.  Thankfully, new operating systems (Apple’s 10.5 Leopard and Microsoft’s Vista), take this need into account and make the process far simpler and more automated than it once was.

In the early days of digital one of the most vexing imaging issues was the lack of industry standards for managing crucial elements like file protocols, color management and metadata.  In recent years a consortium of professional associations led by the American Society of Media Photographers created and continue to refine The Universal Photographic Digital Imaging Guidelines (UPDIG).  Building on known prepress and color management standards and the traditions of the International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) that long ago established captioning and transmission guidelines for wire service photos, these rational new “rules” have articulated a common sense approach to digital asset management, giving photographers and image users alike a set of shared standards that speed workflow, enhance consistency and encourage product development.  To encourage adoption UPDIG has made the standards freely and readily available.

While it seems there is no summit on the climb up the digital learning curve eventually most photographers at least reach a plateau and as industry standards have evolved and workflow has become more efficient independent “content producers” have the opportunity to reap some of the benefits of digital media that had publishers salivating way back in the early 1990s - namely the ability to “repurpose” digital content.  Once the investment has been made to create them, digital media content assets can be mixed and matched and copied without loss of quality and distributed extremely cheaply through a variety of channels (print, online, broadcast, etc.).  The potential thus exists to scale the cost of production across many distribution income sources.  This becomes particularly relevant in an era where opportunities for lavish display of photojournalism in magazines have gotten noticeably slimmer and traditional book publishing contracts have become few and far between, while digital technologies have enabled a plethora free media outlets that have the potential to generate small but numerous increments of income.

Photographers usually get into major documentary projects because they want their important message to reach an audience but the audience is becoming increasingly fractured, their media usage split among many media types and outlets.  Reaching a broad audience in ways that respond to their diverse needs, media expectations and learning styles can be a complicated thing.  To be successful a documentary photographer needs to adopt new approaches and learn even more new skills.

In the parlance of the times, that means using “multimedia”, which is more than the simple remix of an image set into a web slide show.  Rather it is a sophisticated blending of different media types (still photos, text, audio, video, graphics) selected and utilized in ways that make a story richer, more informative and more exciting.  A great source for stories of this type can be found at Mediastorm.  Launched in 2005 by former MSNBC and Corbis exec Brian Storm, the site is a showcase for cutting edge multimedia photojournalism and storytelling.  Under its “submissions” link the site provides an excellent series of tutorials on multimedia production using tools like Final Cut Pro.  Other organizations, from the BBC to NPR’s This American Life generously offer similarly useful tutorials for aspiring multimedia practitioners.

Those limited staff job opportunities that still exist for photojournalists invariably require some multimedia expertise and professional groups like the National Press Photographers Association and private workshops from Maine to Santa Fe have discovered that their multimedia course offerings can’t keep up with the growing demand.  Beyond new skill development (in audio, video, web authoring programs, etc.), the take away message is that in new media documentary photojournalism is a team effort - there is simple too much to know and do for one person.  So the savvy project photographer needs to be multi-skilled and must consider being part or creating a team.

During the many years it took to produce his epic work Life: A Journey Through Time Blue Earth sponsored photographer Frans Lanting rode the breaking wave of digital imaging and multimedia, adapting new media tools and technologies during the course of the project.  In the end Lanting worked with collaborators to produce not only a beautiful coffee table book but also a sophisticated web site, video programs, numerous magazine articles and even a stunning audio/visual musical collaboration with noted composer Phillip Glass.

For Gail Mooney shooting her BE sponsored Delta Blues Musicians project had to be both stills and video.  Her video incorporated both media to tell a visually and aurally engaging story.  Benjamin Drummond and Sara Steele have collaborated from the beginning on their project Facing Climate Change.  He is a photographer and also a web designer; she is a writer with production and project management skills.

Gallery walls and small circulation magazines are certainly satisfying venues for photography and digital technology presents documentary photographers with inevitable and sometimes frustrating costs and challenges but through the use of digital technology we now an opportunity to share our message inexpensively, conveniently and convincingly on a global scale.

Dan Lamont

This series features selected articles from Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference, our highly regarded handbook for photographers developing documentary projects.  If you can’t wait for the full series to be published, feel free to download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!

When the Blue Earth board was considering the need to revise Shooting From The Heart, the first and most compelling issue driving us was the tremendous impact and rate of change in digital technology.  In the few years BE has existed, photography has evolved from mostly analog to almost entirely digital technology.  Even traditionalists who lug view cameras into the field are significantly touched by the flood tide of digital technology.

This change is so rapid and complex it is really impossible in this document to be completely current and comprehensive.  The target is moving too fast.  Online forums, professional association and the large and growing technology training industry are excellent sources of up to date information.  Our job here is to consider some of the specific needs and issues confronting documentary photographers and to look at some ways digital technologies can be used and managed to make documentary projects more successful.

Digital imaging is neither necessarily cheaper nor easier than traditional processes.  The fact is digital photography has simply shifted the burden.  A lot of the work that used to be handled by others (photo lab technicians, editors, prepress people, etc.) is now the responsibility of the photographer.  The initial expenses associated with digital capture can be quite high (when one considers cameras, computer hardware, software, etc.) and there are all sorts of the other secondary costs and issues associated with digital imaging.  Software and hardware must be updated, training is an ongoing need, systems fail and require troubleshooting and repair.  Then there is the most significant issue-time in front of the computer doing the “digital workflow”.  Photographers who forget to build these variables into their schedules and budgets will find themselves easily bogged down by the demands of digital imaging.

That said, one of the greatest potential virtues of digital imaging is cost containment.  Properly managed, digital imaging costs are predictable and fixed.  Once you’ve mapped out your digital imaging budget it doesn’t matter if you shoot one frame or a thousand, the cost is essentially the same.  For a documentary photographer scraping by on tight money, this ability to control image production costs can make the difference between continuing a project or being forced by expenses to delay or give up mid-stream.

Because shooting more doesn’t seem to cost more, many photographers seize the opportunity.  “They go NUTS!” exclaims National Geographic Senior Editor Ken Geiger.  According to Gieger, who was hired to usher the Geographic into the digital age, Geographic assignments can now generate terabytes of image data - tens of thousands of pictures - on a story.  But despite more images to sift through digital technology has been a boon to picture editors.  He describes the physically exhausting work editors faced when reviewing the hundreds of rolls of film photographers would send from the field.  “At the end of the day we’d be wiped out,” Geiger said.  “Now (editing digital files) we can easily go through the equivalent of 100 rolls a day.”

The photographers themselves are lifting a good deal of the editors’ burden.  The myth of the globetrotting photojournalists spending evenings in an exotic hotel bar has been replaced by the reality of spending evenings in hotel rooms downloading, editing and captioning.  “Editors are reaping the benefit,” Geiger admits.  “All the back-end work has gone to the photographers.”  This new reality is both good and bad.  On the up side, photographers now have instant gratification.  They can see the results of their work to make sure they are on the right track.  BE co-founder Phil Borges, who spends a great deal of time photographing indigenous cultures in far off lands, benefits significantly from the instantaneous feedback he can get using digital equipment - first by being able to see the shot he’s just made on his camera’s LCD and later in his tent or hotel room being able to look at the whole take.  “I love the ability to see how I’m doing,” Borges explained.  Like many other digital photographers Borges carries a “digital wallet” - a small battery powered hard drive that incorporates a card reader.  He can download cards in the field and then at the end of the day transfer those image folders through a laptop to redundant mini hard drives.

Wise use of technology helps simplify this work.  Many photographers use handy tools like memory card readers that can be snapped together in daisy chains so multiple cards can be simultaneously downloaded.  They also use software like Photo Mechanic, which allows captions and other metadata to be preset and attached automatically to each image file on download.  Software can also automatically make backup copies of all image files to a second hard drive.  Still, despite continuing improvement in workflow tools, the fact remains that shooting digital means more of the photographer’s time is spent at the computer.

Of course digital gizmos consume electricity and finding a power source in the remote areas some documentary photographers traverse can be a real challenge.  Geiger’s power solution for Geographic’s photographers reflects a budget rarely available to independent documentary photographers.  While in the field Geographic shooters “usually plug inverters into the power on our Toyota Land Cruisers,” he said.  The rest of us have to be more resourceful.

The Seattle Times has sent photographers to Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia and Africa in recent years and their solution to keeping the photographers’ cameras, computers and satellite phones working is rudimentary.  “We round up as many batteries as we can,” laughs Manager for Newsroom IT Greg Anderson.  Phil Borges has a similar solution.  “I travel with a suitcase full of chargers,” he admits.  Borges, whose work rarely has him away from some electrical outlet for more than a day or so, also carries a number of plug adapters that work in different countries.  In really remote areas photographers can use solar powered chargers like those sold by Brunton, but these can be bulky, expensive, slow and not very useful if the sun isn’t shining.

Another concern is how to keep complex computerized cameras operating in extreme conditions often encountered by globetrotting photojournalists.  Dust is the principal enemy.  It gets into the camera bodies and is attracted to the charged surface of the image sensors.  Minimizing lens changes and carrying cleaning kits helps.  The newest generation of cameras has self-cleaning sensors that vibrate the dust off.  But despite the confidence expressed by the camera reps some skeptical independent camera repair technicians question the long-term durability of such systems.

The new digital-dedicated lens also present some challenges along with their convenience.  Zoom mechanisms and electronic connections are far more prone to failure than the robust brass of a bygone era.  And with the heavy lenses and the battery-laden camera bodies weight has become an issue.  Many photographers (of a certain age) complain about sore necks after a day of shooting.

Fortunately, failure rates are far lower than one might expect for such complex machines and most photographers have been pleasantly surprised by how robust, weatherproof and generally convenient the leading DSLR cameras can be.

Dan Lamont

(To be continued in Part 2)

This series features selected articles from Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference, our highly regarded handbook for photographers developing documentary projects.  If you can’t wait for the full series to be published, feel free to download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!

A continuous and well-focused publicity effort is essential for the success of any photography book or project.  The strategy below is the one I’ve followed to publicize several recent photography books by Blue Earth Alliance cofounder Phil Borges.

The first step is to brainstorm as many story angles as possible.  Think of leads that might be of interest to the different media-newspapers, magazines, radio, and television.  The key is to get beyond focusing on one main story idea and tailor the story’s “hook” to the particular medium and audience.  Photo District News magazine might be most interested in a profile of Phil Borges the photographer and a survey of his photographs.  Common Ground magazine, in contrast, would most likely prefer a story about the main theme in Phil’s Tibetan Portrait book: the Tibetan belief in compassion.  A small-town newspaper in Napa, California, would almost certainly be interested in hearing about a photography student from their local community college who succeeded in publishing a book of his photography.  Radio stations almost anywhere can appreciate Borges’s vivid accounts of adventures during his travels around the world to create images for his books.

After mapping out story angles, determine who should receive the information.  While researching the media is time consuming, it is not difficult.  My favorite method is to visit a good magazine stand and copy the contact information from the publications that have potential.  (editor’s note: mailing list services, most notably Ad Base and Agency Access, keep up to date lists of editorial contacts and most publications.  These lists are available by subscription)

A visit to the library reference center can produce publications with information on magazines, newspapers, and television and radio programs, along with the names of individuals to whom you can direct your press kit.  Once you have identified potential contacts, call ahead and confirm with the company’s receptionist that the person is still on staff, and, if not, who has replaced him or her.

Once I have identified the individuals I want to approach, I begin the publicity process by sending a press kit.  I automatically assume that these people are (1) very busy, and (2) inundated with hundreds of press releases and media kits annually.  Because of this, it is essential to make the exterior of your folder inviting and keep the written information interesting yet simple and short.

My press kits include a short, handwritten cover letter, information about the book or project, a biography of the photographer, clear copies of previous press, and high-quality color copies of the photography.  All of this is placed in an attractive folder with a photograph affixed to the front.

So much for the easy part.  The next step is the phone calls.  Most publicity efforts don’t succeed without a heavy dose of persistence. When I follow up on a press-kit mailing, I expect to speak to a machine on the first four attempts.  If and when I do get someone on the line, I try to say as much as possible with as few words as possible-again, these people have heard it all before.  I often review my notes before making calls, reminding myself of the key points that may appeal most to this particular media person.  Frustrating as it is, speaking directly with a contact rarely generates coverage.  However, I will have succeeded by simply introducing one more person to the photography and projects of Phil Borges.  Obviously, there is much more to obtaining publicity than just this basic outline.  The books I refer to the most on the subject are 1001 Ways to Market Your Books by John Kremer and Guerrilla P.R. by Michael Levine.  Both are excellent sources of education and ideas.

Julee Geier

This series features selected articles from Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference, our highly regarded handbook for photographers developing documentary projects. If you can’t wait for the full series to be published, feel free to download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!

Stock Photography

While your long-term goal may be to have your photographs published in a book, there is no reason you can’t license the use of them before that time.  In fact, there is every reason to try to license the use of your photographs while you are shooting your project.  We all have to eat pay the rent and support the costs of our photographic pursuits.

Stock photography has become an increasingly important source for funding personal projects.  The stock photography market is complex and we can’t adequately dissect it in the space available in this document.  Both the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), and the Stock Artists Alliance (SAA), two leading professional associations, provide excellent and detailed information and advice about this industry.  Use their resources or, better still, become a member to receive professional benefits and support our industry.

During the years since Reaching Home was conceived, shot and published, both imaging technology and the stock photography industry have gone through revolutionary change.  These changes have increased the number of markets for photography and made distribution easier than ever before but the proliferation of images has caused a significant collapse in the price structure of some sectors of the stock photography market.

Museum And Gallery Exhibitions

Magazines and newspapers are not the only places to show a project.  Increasingly I have turned to gallery and museum exhibits as a way to have my message heard.

Exhibits educate and thrill people.  Original photographs communicate directly with the viewers.  It is a more intimate and powerful experience than looking at the same photographs in books or magazines.  The best exhibits elicit an emotional response in viewers, in addition to educating them.

My foray into traveling museum exhibits began after the salmon book came out in 1994.  I realized that the publisher would promote it for just a year or two.  I didn’t want this 10-year project to fade into memory.  A friend recommended that I talk with the Burke Museum in Seattle about having an exhibit.

I was thrilled when the exhibit manager, Scott Freeman, said yes.  And then I did a panic dance.  I had never put together a major show.  I hadn’t a clue how to design it.  I didn’t realize how expensive the prints, frames, and shipping crates would be.

Slowly, ideas began to form.  I wanted the traveling exhibit to support the book, and the book to act as a catalog for the exhibit.  I named the exhibit Reaching Home: Pacific Salmon, Pacific People, which is also the name of the book.  I selected only book photographs to include in the exhibit.  I used captions I had written for the book as caption cards for the exhibit.  I adapted the short essays I had written for the book into banners that explained each section of the exhibit.

In consultation with Gary Wingert, an exhibit designer at the Burke, I grouped the photographs into five sections: salmon biology and wildlife, indigenous cultures in North America and Japan, commercial fishing, Japanese and Russian fishing, and habitat destruction.

An exhibit is a story with a beginning, middle, and end.  The design of the exhibit should lead a viewer from one element to another in a seamless manner.  With a simple glance around the room, the viewer should be able to see where to go next.

This can be done in a number of ways.  Walls can channel the viewers through the exhibit.  Photographs can be placed at a location that invites the viewer forward.  Banners and information boards can mark a change of topic.

I used all of these for Reaching Home.  The entrance framed a large salmon photograph that marked the beginning of the exhibit.  Large photographs began and ended each section.  Banners gave people more information about the topics of the story.  And Gary’s skillful placement of ancient artifacts beckoned people to move through the room.

Putting a traveling exhibit together is an expensive proposition.  I looked for support in the professional photography community and in the seafood industry.  A&I Labsin Los Angeles and its co-owner David Alexander printed the photographs at a discount.  Icicle Seafoods donated money toward the cost of the frames.  I made up the difference between the hard costs and the donations with my own funds.  This difference amounted to thousands of dollars.  I invested this money because I believed in the importance of the salmon story, and I calculated that by charging museums a leasing fee I would make back my investment within two years.

Remember, there is no rule that says you have to go broke doing a good thing for the causes you support.

Marketing The Exhibit

I market the exhibit the same way I market myself.  My assistant or I send out a packet of information about the exhibit to museum curators we think will be interested in leasing Reaching Home.  The packet includes a description of the exhibit, insurance values, photographs of the exhibit installed, a recommended layout, a contract, and letters of recommendation from other curators.

My assistant makes a number of follow-up phone calls to discuss the fee, shipping expenses, and schedules.  We have the curators send us a condition report and coordinate any repairs that need to be made.  My assistant makes at least 10 phone calls for every museum she books.

We have leased the salmon exhibit to 21 museums since 1995.  At least a million people have seen the exhibit in the last few years.  The exhibit went on permanent display at a venue in Seattle after 2001.

Traveling Exhibit Services

While I chose to represent the exhibit myself-and am glad I did-you may decide the expense and time it takes is not worth it.  There are many exhibit services across the country.  These companies offer a range of services that may include the design and fabrication of an exhibit in addition to leasing it.

Call your local museum and ask if they can give you a list of these companies, or search for them on the Web.  Make sure you read the contract, know the reputation of the company, and understand what you are getting into before signing with any of them.

Natalie Fobes

This series features selected articles from Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference, our highly regarded handbook for photographers developing documentary projects.  If you can’t wait for the full series to be published, feel free to download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!

If you really want to push a button with a marketing expert, just whisper, “If you build it, they will come.”  He’ll shoot back, “No they won’t.”  And, unfortunately, he’ll be right.

People who are passionate about their work expect others to be just as passionate.  They are not.  Your job is to get them to be.  Getting your work and your message out will take just as much time and effort, if not more, as getting the photos.  Marketing has to be an integral part of your work plan.

Book Publishing

Most photographers dream of seeing their projects published as a book.

First the bad news: books are seldom financially rewarding.  Advances and royalties are usually small.  If you make back your expenses and the time you’ve invested in the project, you are lucky.  Few books sell more than 5,000 copies.

The profit margin for publishers is small, too.  Each proposal is scrutinized carefully.  An editor or editorial committee looks at the proposal first.  If they like it, they send it to the sales and marketing staff.  Many fine book proposals have been rejected because the numbers have not penciled out in the sales and marketing commit-tee.  It is not uncommon to get five, 10, or 15 rejections.

So why pursue a book contract?  It is simple.  There is nothing to compare to seeing your work published in book form.  You’ve spent a chunk of your life pursuing a story you believe needs to be told.  And, through the book, others will experience the story you are telling.

There are three ways to find a publisher: using a literary agent, working with a packager, or finding one on your own.

Literary agents take proposals to publishers and negotiate con-tracts.  Over the years they have developed relationships with publishers that allow them to get in the door.  Their experience guides them to publishers that would be a good fit with a project.  They normally receive 10 to 20 percent of the advance and royalties.

Packagers will work with you to develop the content, design, and approach of a book.  They will take the proposal and mock-ups to publishers and negotiate the contract.  They pay the writer and/or photographer, design the book, and supervise the printing.  They then present the completed project to the publisher for distribution.  Because they design and supervise the entire project, packagers receive a higher percentage of the advance and royalties than literary agents.

Finding a publisher on your own is time consuming and frustrating.  You must first research publishing companies and editors to determine who would be interested in the book.  Then you have to get in the door.  In the hectic world of book publishing, this is a major obstacle.  Timing is everything.  If you are lucky enough to find an interested company, you then must negotiate the contract, a process that can take months.  You will receive all of the advance and royalties, but you might not have negotiated the best deal.

Some photographers and writers decide to self-publish.  This means you take on the role of publisher.  You hire the writer, designer, and printer, and you supervise the production and printing.  You also cover all of the costs.  But the job isn’t finished when the book is printed.  You must then set up a distribution system in order to sell the book or get it into the stores.  And you will have to warehouse the unsold copies.  Self-publishing gives you total control.  And a major financing headache.

Book Proposals

While every literary agent, packager, or publisher has his or her own guidelines, a book proposal should include the following.

1. The book’s title
2. The author’s name
3. A brief description of the book’s content and theme
4. The proposed format of the book, including dimensions and number of pages
5. The number of photographs and words
6. A description of the potential audience
7. A description of similar books and sales figures, if known
8. A chapter outline
9. Writing and photography samples

One last tip.  Make it easy for the overworked, underpaid editors to see the essence of your book idea.  Don’t beat them down with superfluous facts and figures.  Let your excitement shine through, but show them that you understand business, too.

Magazine And Newspaper Publishing

When I work on personal projects, I try to find funding along the way.  My salmon project is a good example of finding multiple sources of funding, many of them based on magazine and newspaper publishing.

My experience can serve as a case history.  When I began my salmon project, in 1983, I proposed the story to National Geographic magazine.  Bob Gilka, then director of photography, wrote a very nice letter of rejection.  While he thought the proposal was very interesting, he asked, “Who gives a damn about fish anyway?  I realized I had written the proposal in such a way that he didn’t realize the importance of the fish to the cultures of the northern Pacific Rim.  I rewrote it and applied for the Alicia Patterson Fellowship, which is given to journalists to pursue stories of importance.  In 1986 I received one of six grants of $25,000.

I went back to National Geographic to see if they would be interested in the story.  Rich Clarkson, the director of photography at that time, congratulated me on winning the grant.  But he had a suggestion: “We think you should change your topic.”

I didn’t take his advice, and for the next 14 months I traveled around the Pacific Rim to photograph and write about the salmon and the cultures of the salmon.

When my fellowship was over, I again contacted National Geographic.  Tom Kennedy, then the new director of photography, regretfully turned down my proposal.  My employer, The Seattle Times, published my work in a special section.  I was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in a writing category for those stories.  At the same time, a similar story National Geographic was working on fell through, and Kennedy hired me to continue work on the salmon story.  The story ran in July 1990.

After three years of searching, my determined literary agent found a publisher for the salmon book.  I completed the work by using my personal funds.  Reaching Home: Pacific Salmon, Pacific People, was published in 1994 by Alaska Northwest Books.

I share this story for two reasons.  First, if you believe in what you are doing, don’t take no for an answer.  When one door closes, look for another that may be open.  Second, don’t expect to get all of your funding in one place.  I used my own savings, assignment fees, a grant, and stock photography fees to fund my 10-year project.

Magazine Proposals

Write magazine proposals the way you write grant proposals.  Begin with a short introduction of the subject.  This one-page treatment includes why it is an important story, the themes you intend to explore, the places and people you anticipate photographing, and why you are the photographer for the job.

Follow this page with an abbreviated list of photo possibilities that are divided into the themes discussed on the first page.  This list allows the editor to quickly pick up on the visuals of the story.

The third page is devoted to the proposed budget for the story.  Include your fees for the number of days or weeks you need to complete the story, the amount and cost of film and processing, travel, phone, and other expenses.  Unfortunately, this page has become increasingly important in this day of belt-tightening.

Include a cover letter with a one-paragraph summary of the proposal.  Remember that editors have little time to dwell on proposals.  At the very least you want them to read your cover letter.

Follow up with a phone call to make sure they have received your package and see if they have any questions.  Listen to their comments.  Don’t argue with them if they say no.  Thank them for their time and go on to the next editor on your list.

I suggest that you approach one editor at a time.  While the chance that two magazines will want to hire you to do the story is slim, it does happen.

Natalie Fobes
(To be continued in Part 2)

This series features selected articles from Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference, our highly regarded handbook for photographers developing documentary projects.  If you can’t wait for the full series to be published, feel free to download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!

UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said: Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.

Failing to prepare and present your proposal materials correctly may also cause you to fail in securing the funding you want.

Think about how you would present yourself when going for a job interview.  You should consider many of the same things when mailing off your proposal to seek funding support.  Your proposal materials may be the first and only impression someone will have of you as a photographer, and as a businessperson.

Ask yourself these questions: What kind of impression am I making with my material?  Is it the correct one?  Will the person who receives my proposal know I am organized, work in a professional manner, follow directions, and pay attention to details?

Here are some tips to help you make the right impression.

Organization And Presentation

Start with the envelope or package.  It should be new and easy to reuse for return mailing of your materials.

Make the package simple to open.  Use enough tape to ensure that it will remain closed, but don’t get carried away!

The address should be typed or printed so that it is easy to read.

Give your package its own identity by attaching to the outside a high-quality color copy of a photograph with your proposal title.  This will help your package stand out.

Remember, this is the first impression someone will have of you.  Take the time to create an attractive package.  Believe it or not, some people will even notice if the stamps are straight!

Proposal Letter

Your letter should be neatly typed, and written with correct gram-mar and spelling.  Ask a friend to read through it to make sure it is clear.

Be focused and to the point.  Provide all of the requested information in a concise manner.

Before you write the letter, research and plan your project.  Make sure your ideas are practical, obtainable, and realistic.

When estimating costs for your project, be realistic and honest.  For example, don’t budget $10,000 for film and only $100 for annual living expenses.  This will red-flag your proposal.

Do not be misleading!  You should be able to back up what you say.

Resume

Again, this should be neatly typed, and written with correct gram-mar and spelling.

Limit yourself to one or two pages.  Cover the highlights of your career, not everything you have done in your life.

Design your résumé in chronological order.  This makes it easy for the recipient to locate information.

Visual Materials

Do not send original slides or prints.  Do send professional high-quality copy slides.  Remember, your skill as a photographer will be judged by the quality of your copy slides.

If you cannot produce high-quality copy slides, hire someone who knows how to do it.

Label your slides clearly, with your name, phone number, and required information on each slide.

Present only the number of slides requested.

Other Materials

Put your name on everything you send.

Send only the requested information.  Sending information that is not requested will only get in the way of the required materials and may slow down the process.

Visual Continuity

Give your entire proposal a cohesive and professional look.  Use a computer and a word-processing program to create your proposal materials.

Use the same typeface throughout your proposal materials, one that is easy to read.

If possible, print all of your materials on the same paper stock.  Remember, when you mail off your proposal materials, the first impression someone will have of you is the look of your presentation.  You want it to say you are professional, trustworthy, creative, and talented.

On the other hand, don’t send a slick presentation with fancy logos and cool graphic design that is devoid of any substance.  It may be considered nothing but window dressing.

Personal Example

When I interviewed for my last teaching position, one of the first things the department chair said was “We’re very impressed with your teaching credentials and the presentation of your materials.”  I got that teaching position!

David D. Johnson

This series features selected articles from Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference, our highly regarded handbook for photographers developing documentary projects.  If you can’t wait for the full series to be published, feel free to download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!

In this world of limited funding, you have to be creative.  Don’t overlook small funding opportunities.  I learned the value of soliciting small donations when I was trying to raise funds for a trip to China to photograph an international conference on women.

A grant from the Mother Jones Foundation covered my airfare and lodging.  But I needed film and money for food and transportation while in China.  I turned to my friends and business associates for help.

It’s very important to ask your friends who they know and if they can refer you to their connections.  When I described my upcoming trip to a friend who works at Microsoft, he went to bat for me and convinced the company to donate a computer.

Because I buy almost all of my photography supplies from one store in Seattle, I asked them if they could donate film.  They did.

One of the most successful fund-raising techniques I used was my postcard campaign.  I needed money for incidental expenditures.  I offered to send friends and acquaintances postcards from China if they donated $5 or more.  I was surprised and pleased that the average donation was $25.  As an extra incentive, I offered a photograph of their choice from the trip if they donated $100.

My grassroots postcard and print effort raised more than $3,000 from more than 120 people.  Not only did these people feel as if they were part of a team ensuring my success, they also received something in return.  People want to help.  I gave them an afford-able way to do it.

So remember that requesting items such as film and processing and offering small things such as postcards can do a lot to increase your funds.  Sure, it’s nice to get a $10,000 grant, but the reality is there aren’t as many of those grants as there are good projects.  Your fund-raising efforts should utilize both.  Don’t be afraid to ask everyone you know for support, and be clever in the way you ask!

Marita Holdaway

This series features selected articles from Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference, our highly regarded handbook for photographers developing documentary projects.  If you can’t wait for the full series to be published, feel free to download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!

Writing grants can be a useful way to raise money, especially for larger projects. However, don’t rely solely on grant writing for all of your funding, especially because grant makers like to support projects that other people are also supporting. It is a good idea to seek money and goods from friends, business connections, and other individuals who are connected to your work.

Writing grants requires talking with funders. The more direct contact you make and the better your relationship with a funder, the better your chances are for getting money. Just as in asking for gifts or donations of goods or labor, personal connections and relationships help. Don’t worry if you don’t have relationships with funders now: you will develop many after you begin the grant-writing process.

Grant writing is time consuming and not an easy or fast way to get money. You must invest time in building relationships with funders and gaining experience in writing proposals. Be prepared to put in your hours. And be prepared to write and rewrite your proposal several times. After you’ve completed one grant application, the others are easier.

Not every grant is funded. You will almost certainly have proposals rejected. Don’t take it personally, and don’t let it slow you down. If your proposal is not funded, ask your foundation contacts why and inquire if they have other suggestions of where else you might apply.

Following is an outline of the grant-writing process, some tips, and a copy of a grant application, complete with suggestions to guide you through filling it out.

Describing Your Project And Educating Funders About Your Project

One of the most important parts of grant writing is talking to funders and describing your project concisely and easily. This is just as important as writing a good proposal.

Before you begin, you should compose a clear and concise description of your project and the amount of money you are seeking.  You will need this when you are talking to and writing to funders.

Develop, and practice saying, a 60-second statement that describes your project. In addition, write a 100- to 150-word written description. You only want to hit the highlights, not tell the whole story. It shouldn’t be a memorized speech, or even the same each time, but should flow easily and quickly. When you phone a funder or send an e-mail, you won’t have a lot of time to get your idea across. Most foundations are understaffed, and many are family run. They get lots of calls, e-mails, and letters requesting funding. It is important to make your points in a brief and friendly way. You have to make a quick impression.

Because funders receive many grant applications, your project will stand out if they have heard of it or talked to you before they read the proposal. Each call, letter, or e-mail helps to develop a relationship between you and the funder. Most funders know each other, so, if they cannot fund a project, they may send you to someone else. Remember that funders will be more likely to fund projects that are familiar to them or relate to their personal or professional lives.

Identifying Funders

Writing grants is time consuming, so limit your applications to funders who might actually give you money. Don’t waste your time writing a grant proposal if there is only a slim chance you will get it. It is well worth your efforts to identify funders that are likely to be receptive to your proposal.

Make a list of connections you or your project might already share with prospective funders. Consider location, broad content areas addressed by your work, affiliations, friends, gender, age, and so on. It always helps if you can find some sort of connection.

Identify potential funders through recommendations from friends, arts commissions, or foundation directories such as the Pacific Northwest Grant Makers, Forum Directory or the Foundation Center Directory. Cross-reference the information as many ways as possible. For example, reference the listings by region, subject matter, age, gender, arts, environment, education, health, etc.

Make a list of any and all funders that seem likely to fund your project. The list should be long and varied. If possible, do this on a computer so you can add notes as you go. If you don’t have a computer, use index (recipe) cards. The goal of this process is to start with many possible funders and narrow it down to a few.

Look up the funders’ profiles in foundation directories. Each foundation and corporation has its own mission statement and funding guidelines; make sure your proposal fits these guidelines. The profiles will list any limitations, such as geographic location, content area, economic limits, size of project, etc. If your project doesn’t meet the criteria, cross the foundation off your list. (You can keep it in mind for another project or pass it on to a friend.) Now you have a shorter list.

Call or e-mail those on this list to ask for funding guidelines and an annual report. When you call or e-mail, use the short and clear description of your project. State your name, address, and phone number clearly. If you don’t hear from them within a week, call back. You are beginning to educate funders about your project and establish a relationship.

Once you have received the guidelines and reports, read them carefully. The annual report will list projects previously funded.  These will give you a sense of how and if your project fits their mission. If you know anybody they have funded, call and discuss your project. Ask if they think you have a chance. If you have questions, call the funders.  Take the opportunity to give a short statement about your project. Then ask your questions. Write down what the funders say. Listen to their advice about funding.  Don’t ask things that are already explained in the guidelines or reports. You want to develop a relationship but not waste their time.  If your project doesn’t match the guidelines for any reason (cost, time, content, medium, etc.), simply cross it off the list. Don’t try to talk funders into funding you—just move on. Sometimes they will say that all of their money for this year is gone but will suggest that you reapply next year. Be sure to make a note of this for next year! At this point you should have a list of eight to 10 foundations that may be a match for your project.

Now, reread the guidelines. Call each foundation on your list and ask to speak to a grants specialist. Give your name and (again) briefly tell them about your project. Ask if you can discuss it to make sure it meets their guidelines. Tell them you have read the guidelines and the annual report. Be brief. Some grants specialists are more open than others; you might even have a chance to describe different aspects of your project. This conversation will help you determine if it is worth your while to write the proposal or suggest ways to slant your proposal to make it fit the funder’s interests. For example, you might find that a funder doesn’t pay for exhibits, but may fund a research portion of your project. If it doesn’t seem like a match, ask the grants specialist for recommendations of where to go next. Funders usually know and talk to each other.

Based on these conversations, choose three to five funders that will be your prime targets. You will by now know quite a bit about each funder and will likely have established a relationship with them. You should be reasonably sure that your proposal will be in the running for funding. When you begin writing, you will be better able to tweak the proposal to meet each funder’s guidelines and mission.

Filling Out The Grant Application Form

• Each grant application is different, but they all have the same basic elements. Follow the directions for each grant.
• Before you begin, make a clean copy of the application form so you have one to write on and one for the final copy.
• Read the application carefully. Make notes about any questions or requirements that are unclear. Call the grants specialist at the foundation and ask for clarification. Again, when you talk to them introduce yourself and give a very brief description of your project.
• Follow the directions carefully. If the directions say they want only four pages, don’t write six. If they ask for slides, don’t send prints. If something seems silly, unclear, or unreasonable, call and ask about it. Don’t skip things or change the order without asking.
• Many proposals are thrown out because the applicants didn’t follow the directions. You want to make it as easy as possible for the funders to read your proposal, and following the foundation’s format helps

Judy de Barros

This series features selected articles from Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference, our highly regarded handbook for photographers developing documentary projects.  If you can’t wait for the full series to be published, feel free to download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!

There are two widely shared misconceptions about fund-raising: (1) corporations are the biggest givers, and (2) the essence of fund-raising is writing grant proposals.  It is true that corporations give money away, and grant writing is important.  But to get anywhere you need to modify both of these ideas.

Why?  I once had the opportunity to work for George Archibald, a founder and director of a conservation organization called the International Crane Foundation.  Archibald started this group from scratch 20 years ago; it now has a 160-acre campus and a full-time paid staff of 27, all supported exclusively by private donations.  The MacArthur Foundation awarded him a “genius” grant; an aunt of mine who has served on foundation boards for 30 years uses the same word to describe his facility with fund-raising.  I hope this background will encourage you to pay attention to what he describes as the first rule of fund-raising: “People give money to their friends.”

Think about it.  If you had money to give away, to whom would you give it?  Someone you’ve never met or heard of, who writes you a proposal?  Or someone you know and trust, and who is doing work you believe in?  Here’s another way to think about fund-raising: in essence, you are seeking venture capital for an extremely high-risk project.  Venture capitalists consistently declare that they do not invest in a product as much as they invest in a person.

What does this mean to you?

Fund-raising is a four-step process: you identify prospects, cultivate them, make an “ask,” and follow up.  Let’s look at each phase in turn.

Identifying Prospects

Donations in the private sector come from three distinct sources:  individuals, charitable foundations, and corporations.  Of the three, individuals are far and away the most important.  Individuals often want to support a hobby or a personal passion.  They want to be part of a community, and donating to a cause can offer them that opportunity.  Because of this, individuals are responsible for more than 70 percent of private giving in the United States.  Additionally, 80 percent of all individual donations come from families who have a household income of $70,000 or less.  Contrary to what most people believe, you do not have to know a lot of “rich people” to do fund-raising.

In contrast, corporations and foundations combined routinely account for less than 20 percent of private giving.  Foundations usually direct contributions to solve specific social or environmental problems identified in their mission statement.  Corporations give away money to better the lives of their employees, build name recognition among customers, or add to their status as community leaders.

Another major source of funding is the public sector, or the government.  This can include support at each level of government, including city, county, state, and federal.  Government agencies try to fill gaps by funding community services that are not supported elsewhere.

It is critical to recognize, however, that every source expects some-thing in return.  In other words, your project has to fill a need that an individual, foundation, corporation, or government agency has identified.  When you start to think about potential prospects, ask yourself, “Will this project align with their interests?”  To begin identifying prospects, then, list funders from each of these four sources whose concerns match up with your project.  You should be able to write a sentence declaring why your project would be of special interest to them.

Cultivating Interest

Next, cultivate each of these sources.  Remember that people give money to their friends; to be successful you have to make personal contact with potential funders.  If you are a big-name photographer, your reputation may make this contact for you.  But if you are just starting out, you need to sell yourself.  Be creative.

• If you are targeting individuals, invite them to an exhibit of your work.  Send them cards or letters when you are traveling; send copies of newspaper or magazine articles you’ve produced.  Go to events that they have sponsored and thank them.  Are they interested in photography as a personal hobby?  Offer to help them with technique, or take them with you on location.  Are they interested in a particular cause?  Send them photographs you’ve taken on the subject.  In short, show them how helping you can be a rewarding experience—something that they will feel good about and that will make their own lives better.

• If you are targeting foundations, read their mission statements and the grant application questions carefully.  Think about whether your project aligns well with what they are looking for.  Are you helping to solve the specific problems they’re concerned about?  Study other projects or organizations they have funded in the past.

• If you are targeting corporations, find out who is responsible for making decisions about charitable contributions.  Do they have a corporate giving officer?  Would a friend of yours who works for the company be willing to pass your name along to them?  Would the company be willing to hang your work in a lobby or work area?  Could you give a workshop on photography to their employees, or to kids of employees?  Perhaps your photographs could support a project that the company already has under way.  You might call the company’s giving officer to inquire about deadlines and get a copy of their latest annual report.

• If you are targeting government agencies, study their proposal guidelines.  Get on all of the mailing lists you can find for arts agencies at the local, county, state, and national level.  They will let you know about funding opportunities and make you part of the community of artists being supported by these programs.  Go to openings and other events where you can meet people and learn about projects that are being sponsored.  Agency staff members may be willing to grant a brief informational interview or take phone calls.

Asking For Support

How you ask for funding will vary dramatically, depending on the source.

• In general, individuals do not want to read a lengthy report on your project.  Don’t snow them with paper!  It is always better to start off with a brief, concise presentation and provide them with more information when they request it.  A classic approach is to make “the ask” over lunch (make sure that they aware this is a meeting where they will be asked for a donation; don’t surprise them).  After the ask has taken place you can follow up with a brief written proposal.  Be extremely specific about what they are funding and why; make it clear that this is interesting and important and that you can pull it off.  Individual “asks” are also where you can be the most creative.  You can put together a house party, a gallery showing, a movie screening, a car wash, or anything else you can think of.  Just re-member that you need a platform where you can let people know about your project and an opportunity to make the ask, and then make sure they know how and where they can donate.

• Foundations almost always have a specific form that you will need to fill out.  Read through the grant application carefully.  Make sure you are aware of all the deadlines and understand all the supplemental materials they ask for.  Additionally, make sure that your proposal is concise and clearly shows how your project aligns with their aims.  Board members have dozens of proposals to review and will appreciate a clear and compact presentation.  If you are not comfortable with writing, get a friend to help.

• Depending on how big they are, companies may ask you to draft a proposal based on a specific form or set of guidelines.  Also, larger companies usually have set deadlines for proposals to be submitted.

• To the best of my knowledge, all government grants are form based with extremely specific guidelines about the materials required, length of presentation, and even format (font size, mar-gins, etc.).  Sweat the details.

Keep in mind that it’s crucial to do a lot of asking.  Every person or agency you contact funds just a tiny fraction of the proposals they receive.  Furthermore, few people or agencies like to be the sole funder—most vastly prefer being part of a diverse base of support for a project.

Following Up

After submitting a proposal, make a follow-up call to confirm that the proposal was received and to clarify when a decision will be made.  Whether or not you are funded, be sure to thank the person or agency for considering your proposal and for contributing to the community.  Above all, do not take rejection personally.  Expect to struggle a bit when you’re new at this, and learn from each experience.

If you are funded, begin planning how you can continue the cultivation process.  This begins with the thank-you note.  Any time you receive any type of donation from an individual (or even from a foundation, corporation, or government agency), always follow up with a thank-you note.  After people donate to your project you have one chance to make them feel like their donation was welcomed and appreciated.  This is the thank-you note.

After you have sent your thank-yous, acknowledge your funders in every way you can think of.  If you promise a print for a specific contribution, make sure it gets delivered promptly.  Many foundation boards and companies ask for a formal report, either partway through a project or upon completion; most government agencies require this.  Even if this is not required, do it.  Send copies of your photos, newspaper clippings, and/or notices about your progress.  Build confidence that their money is being put to good use.  And whenever possible, provide specific, quantifiable evidence that you are making an impact.  Platitudes like “I feel I’ve increased public awareness about the plight of immigrants” doesn’t have the same impact as “The enclosed clippings, featuring my photographs, are the first time that a regional newspaper has featured a story on the Laotian community.”

Scott Freeman

This series features selected articles from Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference, our highly regarded handbook for photographers developing documentary projects.  If you can’t wait for the full series to be published, feel free to download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!

This is it: sooner or later you will have to bite the bullet and raise funds to develop and complete your documentary project.  If you are like most of us, asking for money is something you don’t want to do.  To be successful, you first must get over this reluctance to ask for support.

Is your project worthwhile?  Do you believe your project will add value to people’s understanding of its subject?  Do you believe that spreading this knowledge is important?  Is your project truly meaningful?  Your answer to these questions is already yes or you would not be working on it.  The next step is to help others understand why this project is valuable.  Fund-raising is more than just asking for money; it is about building relationships with people who care about your work.  When others learn about the valuable work you are doing, you have created an opportunity for them to participate in your project by providing financial support.  If you are truly convinced of the benefit of your work, you should be able to be your own best missionary.

Blue Earth project photographers who were successful fund-raisers each believed their project was so important that people would love to have the opportunity to contribute to something that valuable.

Do you need to be a nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status to raise funds?  The answer is no, but it may affect the way you go about fund-raising.

You may be able to get contributions from a business even if you do not have 501(c)(3) status if the contribution is for a legitimate business expense.  The most usual business expense category is promotion.  You must, however, offer a promotional benefit to the business, and that should be stated up front.  Recognizing the business as a sponsor in publications, exhibits, or promotions for exhibits is a typical way to create an advertising and promotion business expense.

If you do have 501(c)(3) status, individuals can take a charitable deduction for contributions made to your project.  However, this contribution is limited to the amount by which the contribution exceeds the fair market value of anything received in return for the contribution.  For example, if your fund-raising involves the usually successful method of giving a print in exchange for the contribution, the donation will not be tax deductible if the fair market value of the print equals or exceeds the amount of the donation.  In this case, 501(c)(3) status is not relevant.

As an example, a now very successful photographer in the North-west funded 10 of his photographic trips by asking individuals to contribute to his anticipated trip expenses in exchange for the right to select a print from images taken on the trip.  The donation for each print was set at a price slightly below the photographer’s usual selling price.  When the photographer returned from his trips, he would set up a special exhibit so the donors could view the images and select their print.  This also whetted the appetite of the donors for the next round of prints from the next trip.  This method was successful in funding the trips without 501(c)(3) status.

However, if you have donors who contribute to your project with-out receiving anything in return, their gift will be tax deductible only if they make that donation to a registered nonprofit.

If you have 501(c)(3) status, charitable contributions by corporations and businesses are also tax deductible, and likewise are subject to the limitation that the contribution must exceed the fair market value of anything received in return.  In-kind contributions are also tax deductible.  It is important to remember that individual charitable donations by employees are oftentimes matched by their employer if the donation is made to a registered nonprofit.  This is another way in which businesses can help contribute to a project.

Frequently, a business entity or an individual may be unwilling to give money but quite willing to give in-kind contributions.  Be aware of what types of things such individuals and organizations may sell or produce to see if any are usable by you directly or through an auction or other fund-raising device.  It’s also important to remember that in-kind donations, and cash contributions, can be used to match funds raised through a grant.

Additionally, if you have 501(c)(3) status you will be able to apply for grants from more foundations than if you were applying as an individual artist.  Most foundations are required by law to each year give away 90 percent of their income to nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status.  They cannot meet this obligation by giving funds to individuals.  Thus, this fund-raising avenue is not available to your project unless your project has 501(c)(3) status through a nonprofit organization.

Some foundations do give funds to individuals.  The method of applying these foundations is usually similar to that of applying to foundations whose contributions may be made to nonprofit organizations only.  Several government agencies also will provide funding for worthwhile projects.  These agencies may or may not require that the applicant be a nonprofit organization.  Thus, the material in this book about applying for grants has universal application.

All foundations and some businesses have specific procedures to follow in seeking funds.  Before you apply, make sure your project is of the type that the funder is interested in.  That information is readily available from potential funders.  Don’t waste your time, and theirs, applying for funds for a project that does not meet the funder’s interests.  Once you have found a grant source that aligns well with your project, read through the entire application (paying special attention to deadlines and application procedures).

Surprisingly, one of the most commonly cited reasons for rejecting a proposal is that the applicant failed to follow the organization’s rules about applying for funds.  Another common difficulty is that the applicant does not directly answer all of the questions in the grant application in a clear and concise manner.  You must be compelling and concise if you expect your application to be seriously considered by the individuals who decide who will be funded.  Foundations are usually flooded with funding requests, and you have to  draw attention to the uniqueness of your project.  If you need it, get help writing.  The clearer your application can be, the better chance you have of receiving funding.

Judy de Barros, Malcolm Edwards, and Marissa Chavez

This series features selected articles from Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference, our highly regarded handbook for photographers developing documentary projects.  If you can’t wait for the full series to be published, feel free to download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!

As photographers launch into major documentary projects they face a conundrum.  Most photographers are artists and storytellers.  Few are also planners and project managers.  Yet designing and executing a large, long-term nonprofit documentary project demands all four of these skills.

To successfully secure funding for a project the photographer must meet a range of planning, budgeting, and documentation requirements typically stipulated as part of grant applications.  Following the disciplined, well-organized path this implies will not only enhance the photographer’s chances of getting the money but will also surely improve the overall quality and effectiveness of the finished project.  In so many ways, it pays to be organized.

The temptation when creating a budget is to simply open an Excel file and start plugging in numbers, but before one creates ledger sheets some careful planning is in order.  Rational analysis of project needs will give a clearer picture of true costs and help to avoid the missed details that can bleed a project to death.

Start by defining the obvious elements: your “mission” (presumably the creation of the images and other content elements you have in mind for your project) and your goal (to successfully complete the project and disseminate it through various publishing and exhibition channels).  Between those two points is a continuum of complicated and challenging activities.  Each is associated with costs and resource needs that you will have to identify and accommodate.

To manage all those activities, break them down into a series of linked task areas.  For instance, at the beginning of the process comes topical research: learning about your subject so you know how to photograph it.  Then comes funding research and grant proposal writing.  During the preproduction phase you will need to gather resources, book travel arrangements, set up shoot dates, and line up all the other details.

During the production phase you’ll be out in the field making pictures (a surprisingly small percentage of your time on most projects).  This phase involves many obvious—and some not so obvious—needs and costs.  These include transportation, accommodations, meals, subcontract labor (assistants, “fixers,” translators, etc.), perhaps shipping or baggage charges, specialized supplies, and rentals (don’t forget the cost of the dugout canoe and the mosquito netting): a whole host of expenses need to be accounted for.

But once you return from that wildly successful adventure in the field, the real work begins.  In postproduction you’ll have to process all those images.  Be they film or digital, they will all require work.  You’ll need to caption and catalog images, perhaps make prints or prepare digital files for distribution, contact publishers, contact galleries, frame images, and on and on depending on the nature of your project.  Each of these steps requires time, materials, and other resources.  Add them to your budget.

Then there are the business management issues and infrastructure (the phone, the computers, insurance, etc.) that support the whole endeavor.  Those too will demand your attention and your resources.

As you go through this planning process, think carefully.  Who will do each task?  You?  An assistant, collaborator, or volunteer?  What sorts of resources will the completion of each task require?  On what timeline?  What will it really (really) cost?  Be specific.  Be detailed.  Be honest with yourself.  Now is not the time to be starry-eyed and delusional.  Many a well-intentioned and worthy project has failed because a photographer allowed him- or herself to ignore these details.

Amazingly, one of the most frequently overlooked expenses in a long-term documentary project is income for the photographer.  Don’t forget you’ll still have to eat and pay the rent while you work on your opus, so build in a reasonable stipend for yourself

The budgeting worksheets in the appendices section at the end of this book, are useful planning resources.

Once you have completed some type of useful “total project analysis” you will be in a much better position to create a more traditional budget spreadsheet that reflects what your real costs are going to be.  You’ll need to include this budget in most grant applications.

But creating a budget is not just about costs; it is also about income.  Now that you know what you’ll need to spend to achieve your goal, consider what revenue sources might be available.  Make a realistic projection of sources and amounts.  What grant funding organizations will you apply to and how much will you request?  How much is coming from private funders?  How about corporate in-kind contributions (equipment, travel expense, etc.)?  Print sales?  Publication usage fees?  All of this should be factored into your budget.

In general, you should manage your project with the same (or greater) diligence and oversight you use to manage your business.  Board members and staff from granting agencies and many independent funders look at a great many project proposals and are highly skilled at recognizing padded, underfunded, or incomplete budgets.  The budget is something that you must get right.  It must be carefully thought out and comprehensive.  When in doubt, consult an accountant or bookkeeper.  Such an adviser is likely to offer a dispassionate, hard-nosed and useful opinion about your financial assumptions.

Once you’ve identified all of the variables and nailed down the necessary information, create a set of books for the project.  Make it easy on yourself by using bookkeeping software such as QuickBooks, QuickBooks Pro, or Microsoft Money, or, if you prefer, simply use a database such as Excel to create spreadsheets.  Either approach will allow you to modify your budget numbers as the project evolves without constantly having to erase and recalculate totals each time something changes.  Financial software also generates splendid reports that will not only help you track expenses and keep tax records, but will also be a valuable tool to show potential grant funders how well organized your project is.  If it all seems too daunting, hire a bookkeeper (and add this cost to the overall budget).

Be meticulous about record keeping.  You do not ever want to visit the IRS with a shoe box full of receipts.

Remember, financial management and budgeting may be difficult and tedious, but the success of your project absolutely depends on how well you manage it.

Edited by Dan Lamont

This series features selected articles from Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference, our highly regarded handbook for photographers developing documentary projects.  If you can’t wait for the full series to be published, feel free to download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!

Today we begin a new series on the blog featuring selected articles from Shooting From The Heart: Photography That Makes A Difference, our highly regarded handbook for photographers developing documentary projects.  Over time this series will include most of the articles from the handbook, but if you can’t wait for the full series to be published, feel free to download a free PDF version of Shooting From The Heart and have a copy to keep as your own!

Beginning The Process

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

You have an idea for a documentary project.  You find yourself thinking about it all the time.  It is a story that has to be told.  One that no one is telling.  One that you want to communicate through your photographs.  You decide that you have to act on your convictions.

Now the hard work begins.  Decisions have to be made: how best to photograph the story, who to talk with, where to go, when to go, how to fund it.  You are overwhelmed.

I know the feeling.  I’ve been there.  In 1983 I had a burning desire to tell the stories of salmon and the cultures that depend on the salmon around the Pacific Rim.  Sure, there were plenty of stories in the newspapers about salmon.  But they were stories about one small aspect—such as the closure of sport fishing seasons for lack of fish.  No one was looking at the story in its entirety.

For the next year I researched the story and requested all news-paper assignments relating to salmon. I knew this would be a good project for the Alicia Patterson Foundation.  I had heard about this nonprofit when I first started in photography.  Each year six to eight journalists, including photographers, are selected for these fellowships.  In 1986 I received one.  The grant allowed me to take 14 months off from my newspaper photography job to pursue the story.  I was ecstatic.  But I soon realized that, although most people make a plan and then look for money, I had the money and no plan.

The story was huge, and complicated by the fact that salmon return to the rivers of their births just once a year. How was I ever going to cover it all?

After a month of sleepless nights and anxious days, I realized that it just couldn’t be done. I had to find situations that would rep-resent different aspects of the story.  I took a week to concentrate on writing the general theme of the project.  Then I divided it into different categories, such as life cycle, logging impact on streams, gillnetting, and marine mammal interception.  In those days before computers, I wrote everything I knew on index cards according to subject and organized the cards in piles on the floor of my bed-room-turned-office.

As the piles grew, the project seemed to divide itself into five main areas: the incredible life cycle of the salmon and the creatures that feed on the fish; commercial and sport fishing; Indian fishing and ceremonies; salmon farms and ranches; and habitat destruction.  I examined each set of index cards to determine what situation would make the best photographs and when the best time to photograph was.  I then made hard decisions about what not to photograph.

For example, I could have photographed Indians fishing anywhere in the Northwest, Canada, or Alaska.  I decided that the dip-net fishery on the Klickitat River in Washington would exemplify not only the current dependence on salmon of the Yakama Indians, but also the traditional fishing that members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition wrote about in the early 1800s.  As they did in the old days, the fishermen stood on platforms hung from the walls of the river’s canyon.  Using nets on long poles, they caressed the bottom to find the hidey-holes where the salmon rested. Most important, the Yakama Indians had agreed to give me access, the spring chinook fishing was just beginning, and the Klickitat was only a five-hour drive from my Seattle home.

After I had decided what and where to photograph, I transferred each subject onto Post-it notes.  I placed those on a 12-month calendar.  I then had a visual outline that could be adjusted as my plans changed.  (Today many software programs make this organizational task even simpler.)

As soon as I made these hard decisions, I felt a weight lift from my chest.  Although I did not have every single decision, trip, or con-tact finalized, I did have enough to begin doing what I love: photographing real people living their lives.

I had discovered that by dividing the overall story into smaller stories I could get my arms around it.  Instead of planning my whole year, I took one month at a time.  My 10-year project began with a theme, piles of index cards, a calendar, and one small step.

Natalie Fobes