The Editorial Industry • Jason Lock

Jason Lock gave us an inspirational presentation today, about his tips, tricks and experiences within the editorial industry, and what he recommends to do, and not to do. He had four main areas of exploration; research, notes and archiving, the contact sheet and the feature.

Research

Jason started by explaining that to produce a inspired and good body of work, one must understand the subject well. For example, for my circular narrative, I have done extensive research into the symptoms and signs of OCD and how it can effect someones everyday life. A knowledge of the subject, paired with a personal interest can help in producing a excellent body of work that is inspired from the offset. He also spoke about the photographer Mark Power, whom if he saw a photographic project already completed and published, he would not do it. His ideas needed to be original and not explored, or he didn't consider himself to be a photographer. However, upon reflection, I feel that every idea that could be explored about photography has been explored and exhausted. My job, as a photographer, is the explore the idea and make it better than every other set that has been produced.

He also spoke about scheduling your events and keeping a diary of shooting days. Keeping a diary of where I was on a certain day at what time is difficult for me, as although I would love to be organised with my life, I struggle. Jason told us about clients taking work without copyright, and when the question is raised as to if he met the client on a certain day, he could quickly refer back to his diary or work journal and produce an answer on the spot as to exactly where he was at what time. This would be helpful for legal situations.

Notes/Archiving

Notes and archiving also relate to the latter section of the subject Research that I just spoke about. Making notes of where you was on a certain day is helpful for discussing deadlines for briefs from clients, it also makes you look professional if you can come to a second meeting remembering everything that was said at the first meeting. A photographer working within the editorial industry must remain professional, as the money from jobs such as working with advertising and the like gives us the food to eat and the roof over our heads.

Jason also explored the subject of metadata and how that can come in handy for retaining copyright of an image, and how it can also helped with the unfortunate event of suing someone if they happened to use the image without your consent. Metadata can hold all sorts of information relevant to the photograph; time it was taken, where it was taken, what computer it was edited on, what camera it was taken on and by whom.

Jason also stressed the importance of Model Release Forms and how they can be useful to keep a track of clients and have all their numbers and addresses stored in one place, almost like an address book. It is also helpful for if you want to use the images from a particular shoot for stock purposes, the model has already signed to say that that action is acceptable.

The Contact Sheet

Photographers in the 90's, especially those who used to work as part of Magnum (my dream!), used to use contact sheets as a main way of eliminating images from the final count, and evaluating the images as a whole. There are digital equivalents nowadays, and they can be made through Photoshop or Bridge easily. I never use contact sheets as forms of elimination for my photographs, but after seeing the process well recognised photographers went through after they had their film developed, I can see why it would work. Why should I look on a screen when I can see the photographs right in front of me in the flesh?

This Contact Sheet was produced by the photographer Peter Marlow when he visited the press conference that Margaret Thatcher led during her time in power. Out of all the photographs, there are so many emotions conveyed, such as the photograph fourth from the left at the very top row, conveys a strong sense of friendliness and humour, however, the photograph that Marlow chose to publish shows her as a strong headed woman, a no nonsense character, which suits her media personality very well.

Elliot Erwitt added humour to his photography, and this contact sheet shows him shooting a whole roll of 35mm film on one subject, and reaching a final decision on the final shot. It seems he was so confident he had a good shot, he scrapped the rest of the film? Confidence is key as a photographer, and is something I really need to work on if I want to be successful.

The Feature

I have worked on some editorial and commercial projects recently, I had my work presented on a billboard outside the Trafford Centre, as well as in Drapers Fashion magazine, which is a fantastic achievement, however, Jason's advise was still relevant, even with experience. Remember the key elements; don't get carried away with the things YOU want to get out of the brief, concentrate on what the brief setter has asked and fulfil it as much as possible. What the editor wants is not always who you would want, but remember who is paying you!