Today I had the chance to sit in with Harry on a meeting with a client to discuss the use of his work for an upcoming campaign. It was a good opportunity to learn the essentials of business relations, including strategies for image layout and selection, and communication with the client before, during, and after the meeting.

Learning the business of business is a really important process for a student like myself who’s coming out of a technical educational program, so I’m very excited to be helping out at Harry’s upcoming Creative Business Seminar this weekend.

I look forward to gaining more practical experience while working in conjunction with Harry during my time here.

A couple of weeks ago Dave phoned me in the middle of the night – it was 1:30am. He was phoning from India to say “hi” where he has been for months.

David Trattles spends most of his time with cameras and his bike seeking out people stories all over the world. He is, without hesitation, the best documentary – story teller – people – photojournalist I know. He’s also very humble and shies away from promoting his work well, despite his list of awards and clients!

If you ever get a chance to hear him talk about his work – DO! His stories, photos and passion will make your head spin. Buy one of his prints if you can convince him to show them – they are, indeed, gems – and your purchase will help fund his work.

In usual Dave style he sent me an e-mail with no message whatsoever, just a link to his upcoming photo presentation in Toronto.

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This blog deals with my life of photography work. Today, I am straying on a tangent
of food, zen and veganism.

A group of friends goes out regularly for dinner to explore different restaurants and food. There are no rules – we have had some good experiences but the last one was fantastic. Really. So much so that I had to share it here.

Last night we visited the Zen Kitchen‘s monthly vegan dinner at the Chelsea Club with chef, Caroline Ishii. I am not vegan or vegetarian and do enjoy a good slice of beef now and then. I was not sure what to expect.

It was an amazing evening – a group meal for the first 40 (?) people who signed up – we couldn’t get in last month. Of the 40 attendees only one was vegan. We had four courses paired with wine from Antonio Mauriello. Chef Ishii, who is not vegan herself, was introduced at the end and answered many questions about her philosophy on food.

Highly recommended.

Now back to photography…

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Harry the Judge will be working tonight.

InterClub Photo Competition

The annual Ottawa-Gatineau region 2008 inter-club competition is launched tonight! Three judges are invited to evaluate the collection of entries. It’s a daunting task – based on my judging last year there will be many good entries! Next week are results and a presentation to the clubs.

Photo Business vs Photo Hobby

Much of the work that comes from camera clubs is excellent. So what is the difference between a good camera club member and a working photographer?

Business.

Often, taking the photos is the easier part of a photographer’s job. A photography business is a tough game that requires good marketing, sales, finance and networking skills above and beyond the photography.

Better Business Skills

Good business skills will take you further than good photo skills in the working world of photography. I am fortunate – years ago I attended Western (UWO) for finance and economics. I also learned practical business skills while running a business while at university. This gave me some good base skills when I started my photo business. My background was diverse before starting my career in photography!

I also have a father who spent a successful career in sales and marketing for IBM, Systemhouse and Nortel. My last 2 days skiing were punctuated with business development ideas and reports with my Director of Business Development… my Dad.

I now run the Creative Business Seminar to help other creative businesses get off the ground!