An Editorial Optimist

[by Shawn Henry]

Many photographers question the viability of a career in editorial photography these days. Magazines and newspapers especially have been hard hit not only by the economic decline of the past several years but by the shift in media consumption away from print to the web, as well. Ad pages are down, editorial pages are down, budgets are down, and, in many cases, fees are down relative to just five or six years ago.

But I remain optimistic about the general future of the editorial market.

Certainly, the traditional venues for quality photojournalism are pretty dismal — the news magazines are shells of what they once were, publishing minimal material even from those industry stars who once filled their pages. However, other venues are emerging. There are numerous new online “magazines” dedicated to high quality photojournalism and reportage, many organized by photographers themselves. And there are platforms for multimedia and motion work such as Mediastorm that hold tremendous promise for a bright future for dedicated photojournalists.

While traditionally thought of  less glamorous or prestigious than their consumer brethren, there are many trade and corporate publications that continue to thrive, and these publications very often have budgets larger than those of the mainstream magazines. Your mother might not gloat quite as much to her friends about your two page spread in Nut & Bolt Review as she would about a 1/4 page picture in People magazine, but your bank won’t care when you deposit the check.

Finally, editorial work remains a wonderful means of introduction to potential corporate clients. I’d wager that 90% of my corporate work through the years has been a direct result of a prior editorial assignment. Entering a company with the backing of a respected magazine helps inspire instant credibility. It also demands responsibility on the part of the photographer to treat the assignment as the number one priority and resist any inclination to turn the visit into a sales call.

Shawn G. Henry is currently a national board member of ASMP. He’s survived for more than 22 years as an Editorial Photographer…

My Terms & Conditions

[by Shawn Henry]

We all hate receiving “those” contracts — the multipage monstrosities, with line after mind-numbing line of legal jargon and syntax seemingly designed to confuse and obfuscate rather than clearly define the simple terms of an agreement.

Is it any wonder that clients hate receiving that type of contract as well? And is it surprising then that too many photographers shy away from getting paperwork signed upfront, relying instead on the terms and conditions of the invoice delivered after the shoot to help spell out the scope of the job?

Unfortunately, that’s a recipe for disaster and ill-will, and the TOC on the invoice will have little impact in governing the transaction because they weren’t presented to the client for consideration prior to the work being completed.

Over the years, I’ve reduced the “boilerplate” language in my paperwork to a minimum because I’ve found that it’s often the paragraph after paragraph of boilerplate terms and conditions that frightens the client or in many cases prohibit the frontline editor of corporate contact who’s hiring me from signing the agreement. Once I reduced the boilerplate, I found that I had very little resistance to getting my contracts signed, while I still felt adequately protected.

My terms include just three easily understood topics. 1) Payment: no rights are granted until payment is received in full. 2) Usage: the only rights granted are those specified in the contract. 3) Warrants & Liability: I promise that I have the authority to convey the rights, while the client agrees to hold me harmless for their use of the work. Everything else — the description of the job, the rights granted, the fee & production — feature prominently on the paperwork and are specific to the individual job.

ASMP has a wonderful Terms & Conditions section on the website, with sample clauses to cover most any consideration.

Shawn G. Henry is currently a national board member of ASMP. He’s survived for more than 22 years as an Editorial Photographer…