I was first introduced to Brendan’s work when I read a profile about him on Strobist. Shortly afterwards he was the first person to ask for my copy of Seth Godin’s Purple Cow. After I spent some time on his blog, I knew that I had to profile him on Blog on Photoblogs. I wasn’t disappointed! Brendan’s insights on photography are amazing, not to mention the quality of his work!
Make sure that you read this profile, and then I suggest you read it again! Take particular note about Brendan’s comments about marketing his work.
BOPB: When did you discover photography and at what point did it become of a serious endeavor?
Brendan: I’ve worked as a graphic designer since about 1996, so I’ve got some aesthetic sense, especially when it comes to composition. As a designer I’d often use photography as a design element, rather than as a central focus. Not really what a photographer would want to hear. As a result, I’ve got a good idea of how a designer may possibly use my shots in a layout, so when I’m composing a shot I might include a large low contrast area where a designer could place text for the story, and the shot could then be used as a featured double page spread rather than just as page decoration. One of the turning points for me was when I was watching the Oscars one year, and all these people were pushing past Erin Brokovitch so they could get to see the actress who had been PRETENDING to be Erin Brokovitch in a film. A more physically attractive and idealised Erin Brokovitch perhaps, but totally fake nonetheless. I was aghast!
It occurred to me that photography was pretty much the same. People don’t want the truth. They don’t want to see how they really are. They want an idealised more attractive version of themselves. They want lies. And a great photographer has the power to decide which lies are told, and how big those lies will be. In a classic Karsh photograph, Churchill isn’t thinking “I’m gonna kick your ass Hitler!” he’s thinking “The goddamn photographer just took my goddamn cigar, and boy, am I grumpy now!” Photographic manipulation starts long before the picture even gets to Photoshop. That’s when I thought this could be WAY cooler than designing posters and CD covers! It’s easy to make someone look really good in a photograph, and it’s even easier to make someone look bad. But to take a photo and have the true essence of a person emerge from those 2 dimensions, now that takes superhuman skill. I think I’ve managed it with only one of the photos on my Flickr page, but then, if nobody else can see it, maybe I haven’t. In the meantime, I really enjoy making people feel good about themselves. By making them look cool, I can say “hey look at all these cool people I hang around with; I guess that makes ME cool too!” Yeah, right.
BOPB: What was your first camera and what are you currently using?
Brendan: I bought a Canon 30D for a trip to the USA back in March 2006. I’ve now also got a 5D.
BOPB: What’s the one piece of equipment currently in your bag that you couldn’t do without?
Brendan: My business card.
(ED: Brendan’s answer to this question is short and sweet - and hits the nail on the head! Nowadays it’s all about your marketing plan!)
BOPB: Can you tell me a little bit about your decision to separate your blog from your portfolio?
Brendan: I’ve learned so much in the last two years, and it’s entirely due to the generosity and knowledge of the online photographic community. My blog is so I can give back some of that knowledge, and I hope some people find it informative. My website is for my business, so potential clients can get an idea of what I can do for them. I’m in the process of getting 3 or 4 domains happening to specialise more. Separate the categories. The musicians see the wedding photos and think I’m too conservative, the brides see my product shots and think I can only do furniture and so on. You need to make it easy for the client to choose you.
BOPB: If you were able to give one piece of advice to a photographer who was considering starting a blog what would it be?
Brendan: Hey, just do it because you love it. If you want to be successful though, you need to be doing something that nobody else is doing. Or at least doing it better than anyone else. It might be better to just read some of the great blogs already out there. And what they’ll be telling you is to just go out and take photos of stuff.
BOPB: If you could gaze into a crystal ball and see the future of photography what would it look like?
Brendan: I think creatures from another planet will invade our world, and they will become our photographic overlords dictating styles and trends to suit their evil agenda.
BOPB: One of the biggest challenges that I see for today’s photographers is copyright protection. Would you mind telling us about your strategy for protecting your digital images online?
Brendan: The biggest challenge is having someone even bothering to look at your work, never mind stealing it. If I was a landscape or fine art or wildlife photographer I’d certainly go to a lot more effort to protect my images, but most of my shots are quite specific in their purpose. Anyhow, the Flickr community is like an extra few thousand pairs of eyes if any of my work shows up in someone else’s folio.
BOPB: I know that in addition to your blog and portfolio site you also have a Flickr feed. What was your motivation behind creating a Flickr feed, and do you feel that it has helped your blog
Brendan: Well, it makes me feel better about myself having people say nice things about my work, but that’s about it really. I’ve had well over 100,000 views, lots of positive feedback but I guess photographers don’t hire other photographers all that much. Surprisingly little traffic to my site comes via flickr. >
BOPB: I think that one of the biggest challenges that faces photobloggers is getting enough eyes on their work, would you mind telling us about one of your strategies to drive traffic to any of your sites?
Brendan: Networking and word of mouth. Advertising just doesn’t do it unless you do it big. The trick is getting people to start talking about you. If you tell someone how great you are, that’s not gonna work. If someone else tells someone how great you are, that’s a different story.
BOPB: Could you tell us about a few of your favourite photography sites (photoblogs or otherwise) and why?
Brendan: Strobist is where I came to the realisation that I don’t have to spend big bucks to get quality results. I’d love to get a portable Profoto lighting rig, but as long as you don’t compromise the final image, what’s the difference? Besides, I’d rather spend the money on my children’s education. So I guess David Hobby at Strobist has saved me thousands of dollars! As far as wit and pure entertainment, Jeff Singer, a San Francisco photographer has my kinda humour. And the photographer David Friedman has a great blog called Ironic Sans. He really must have a lot of spare time on his hands. Or maybe no kids.
BOPB: One of the most important aspects of digital photography is an efficient digital workflow, you would mind telling us a little about how you manage your digital photographs?
Brendan: My new digital workflow is this: I plug my 5D into my G5, Lightroom opens up and starts downloading, and I go and make a cup of tea. I spend a good deal of time planning a shoot, setting up my strobes, metering the light and getting things right before I start, so there’s not much to do in post. If I come across something that would benefit from some Photoshop work, or if a client specifically requests it, I can spend hours tweaking just one shot. And I’d be loving it!
BOPB: Where do you see your photography in say 3-5 years?
Brendan: I’ve only been shooting for just on 2 years now but it’s already very clear that unless business skills are a major part of my strategy, I won’t be going any further. There are younger guys coming up all the time who are more talented, work cheaper and are better looking than me, but they haven’t yet figured out that you also have to play the game. They will eventually, but by then I need to be on the next level. When I was a musician I was totally obsessive about perfecting my technique and musicianship, and sure, I ended playing with some world class artists. However I was oblivious to the fact that it was always the worst musician in the band, the guy who owned the PA, the guy that booked the gigs, he was the one driving around in the brand new BMW. I saw music as an art rather than a business. I need to get the balance right with photography. That way, I can still be doing this in 3-5 years time. >
BOPB: Finally, when you’re not busy with your photography what do you like to do with your time?
Brendan: Rock climbing, sky diving, practicing wheelies on my motorcycle, you know, the usual stuff. Seeing the world with my family. But mostly, I like to take photos of things.
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