Ask an Art Buyer: Talent Scouting
Wednesday is Ask an Art Buyer day. Send your questions to heather@heathermorton.ca with the subject line Ask an Art Buyer. I’ll answer as many as I can every Wednesday.
I’ve addressed this before but it keeps coming up. Lincoln writes:
I have a question for you. What Source Books/Websites do you look at and how often do you use them to find talent for a job? I recently started advertising in Workbook and I’ve been getting inquires for big jobs left and right. In addition to that, I also advertise in AltPick and Creative Hotlist. I also spend about $4 day in Google Adwords. I’m getting a lot of client direct inquires from that channel.
Would love to hear your thoughts on what you use to find talent other than being marketed to.
Well Lincoln, I thought I’d show you a selection of books I use for inspiration and sourcing- note the post-its.
And since you’ve all heard from me on this issue (I don’t use sourcebooks. I look at PDN, Archive etc. and also have about 10 mag subscriptions- The Walrus, MacLean’s, Toronto Life etc.) I thought I’d ask some other AB’s for their feedback on this question. Here are their responses:
To be honest, I barely use the traditional books; workbook, blackbook, those are collecting dust in my office. But I do use reference annuals such as Archive’s 200 best illustrators, [sometimes pull out their photography annual as well], illusive [another huge illustration collective] and a few other reference books I’ve acquired. PDN, print, CR[photography annual], The Walrus, are all some of my favorite mags for both reference and inspiration. I mostly search on line; use blogs, and links from artists who I love to do the bulk of my research. Net net, I use my own resource books but those never include Black Book or Workbook. Even CA and Archive sometimes get trumped by the others I’ve mentioned.
In terms of sourcebooks, I primarily research on the web (directories: ie. pdnonline, lebook, archive, portfolios.com, go through my bookmarks, etc.) When I do use sourcebooks, it’s mostly for Illustration but here are the ones I use:
LeBook
At Edge
The Art Book
Directory of Illustration
Archive
In terms of printed reference I find the award annuals and Communication Arts more useful. The only one I do check out the odd time is Workbook.
I almost never look at sourcebooks – I tend to troll magazines or if something like Tokion or Juxtapoz or whatever puts out a compendium I will pick that up
Now and then I might flip through “Workbook” for sourcing Illustrators if anyone here needs some help/inspiration! That’s about it though. With photography, a lot of it comes by word of mouth……or internet of course! Thanks to the web, generally all it takes is typing in a “keyword” and more often than not, if you need to source something/someone, presto! No need for books!
I use Lebook once in a while to scan all the names to see if I missed an agenct/photographer when I am thinking of someone for a job.
I think it also depends on the kind of work you shoot and the kind of work you want to get. I can’t comment on Google Adwords, I’m not sure what it is but if you are getting clients from it, then it’s working for you. The photographer who inspired this post last week told me that Craigslist “has given me some interesting, albeit very small, shoots” But, I think you need to consider the context of your advertising- that will dictate the kind of work you will get. Basically, to get the good work, you’ve got to be in the good books and although there isn’t complete consensus in the lists above, they are mostly consistent.
One of the things I think APE was trying to circumvent with his free promo- Folio Browser was the riff-raff that gets in to Workbook. No slight on you Lincoln but in theory, anyone can get into the sourcebooks as long as they have the entry fee. The legit contests are much more attractive for us to troll for talent because these people are culled from the best of the best. Likewise with Rob’s initiative, it’s juried by him- presumably you’ve got to have talent to make the cut. I think this has the power to be an amazing resource.
In terms of other ways to get noticed, AVS linked to an article recently in the New York Times about the Flickr phenomenon and it’s corresponding photographic look. One of the biggest practitioners of this style was recently awarded a job for Toyota Prius in Iceland after having been found on Flickr. I have yet to look around fully on Flickr but I’m hearing anecdotally that people (AB’s, AD’s) are using it to troll for talent.
And then there are the Blogs, the miles and miles of Blogs. But tread carefully, I feel that I know Thomas Broening, Timothy Archibald and Andrew Hetherington very, very well from regularly reading their blogs. This is likely a good thing (although it might be bad too) and I do like their work. Plus, the Blog lets me see how they work, how much personal work they are doing, what they think of their work- this can really go a long way to convince someone that you are a good collaborator. All of the photographer’s I’ve linked to in my Blogroll are doing great things with their blogs.
PDN recently did an article on social networking. From the article:
Wood, a recent graduate of Syracuse University with more than 500 Facebook friends, got a freelance assignment this past August to shoot a portrait for The Globe Sunday Magazine because Mike Swartz, a designer at the magazine, happened to be one of his Facebook friends.
“Three years ago I worked with [Mike Swartz] on a few stories for our school newspaper The Daily Orange,” Wood explains. “This past spring he found my Web site through Facebook [and] when a shoot came up in Central New York this August he referred his creative director to my Web site and she gave me the job.”
While I think this situation is rare, sites like Linked In and Facebook provide good opportunities to stay connected with clients and to publicize shows.
So, good luck to you Lincoln. And many thanks to the AB’s who took time to help out with today’s post.
15 comments
Hi Heather, thanks for the insider views as usual. Just curious, I noticed you didn’t mention CMYK Magazine and was wondering if you ever pick up an issue or what your view is on CMYK magazine’s aspiring talent issues?
Great info here, Heather!
Time for more submissions before summer engulfs me here in Phoenix.
Rocksteady,
Danno~
I would invite you to write a follow up post to this one on collaboration. That, in my opinion, is so much more important than this business of finding talent.
Trolling for talent is an ugly term and denotes motivation by an art buyer that is anything but collaborative.
I usually use LeBook and Workbook. I love LeBook because it not only helps me source photographers and illustrators but also crew/stylists/location scouts and it’s international so it’s not solely US based.
Workbook is what I find most photographers and illustrators register/post their work with.. the issue that I’ve found is that everyone uses workbook and the promo image used to place in workbook is not always representative of the photographers work. I’ve also found some photographers list themselves as capable to shoot everything (essentially they check every box with a listed genre.)
I do have to say I like trolling through PDN, Creativity, CA, and general magazines for work
Thanks for your comment Sean, unfortunately we are not always in a situation where we need a “collaborator” in the way I think you mean it. We need people who can bring a look or a style or an approach to something that has been art directed and approved (by focus groups as well as clients) very specifically. And so, we look for photographers whose style is appropriate to our layout. And then we hire them to collaborate with us to execute that ad.
As I’ve said before- in theory, an Art Buyer is trained to see what she’s looking for. I think you are reacting to the superficiality of the way you think we do our job. Make no mistake, when we are on the hunt, we pour over our resources, contemplating the work seriously. But, just as the term “trolling” implies, most of the time, we need to be grabbed by something in order to bookmark it or tab it with a post-it note- and this is consistant to our medium.
Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s safe to say that we all love deeper “collaborations” with our photographers- I’ve had these experiences more often in design or major branding work than on strictly advertising jobs. And, I think it’s a great suggestion as a follow up post. I will consider it for the near future.
@ Sean — I remember getting a nice insurance campaign about two years ago. The agency sent marker comps for us to estimate. We were to then have a conference call about the job. I thought that what they wanted from me was to take that idea and really expand on it, and even make it better. I was up late, doing all kinds of new comps on my end, based on the spirit and feel of the marker comp. Then we go on the phone for the conference call. It was at that point that I realized — they wanted EXACTLY what they’d send and nothing else. The concept had been tested in focus groups, and had been approved by a zillion committees inside. There was to be no deviation whatsover.
Remember, this blog is about advertising; not editorial or fine art. The rules can be really different! I too thought they were looking for collaboration. In fact they were, but not on concept — just on execution. In their eyes, they were hiring a specialist to execute their concept. I was a hired gun. But at least a specialist in the hired gun category. It was a learning experience for me.
@6 - Heather Fan - agreed. My $.02: Once we know how to take pictures (I think I had most of that covered about 15 years ago) the next step is to learn how to take advantage of opportunities. Finding those “gaps” in the marker drawings the agency sends where we can take it to the next level without losing your audience. The best know when to push and when to lay back; when to insist on your vision and when to simply satisfy the assignment.
From my experience, this is the tough part. Most photographers - given an opportunity - can satisfy the assignment but at the highest levels, commercial / advertising photographers know how and when to make something happen.
Excellent additions to this post Bruce @7 and Heather Fan @6 (love the name). Much appreciated.
I don’t pretend to be a photographer catering to art buyers. But I am a photographer who caters to buyers that are not that sophisticated. There are commonalities.
From what I can pick up here and other places about finding a photographer or ‘Talent Scouting’ it is this:
1. Buyer motivation: “One of the most common reasons we go to the States is that we need to shoot for summer in the winter. In these cases we will likely consider American photographers rather than flying down a Canadian.”
2. Focus of the creative artist: “it also depends on the kind of work you shoot and the kind of work you want to get.”
3. Real Value: “A photographer might be able to better his game by learning who he lost out to and why.”
4. Relationships are more important than people think, from APE’s recent post on finding the right photographer: “there’s actually a fifth that’s like a recommendation or an impression we have of you and informs us what it will be like to work with you…”
From my point of view, there’s a real divide between an Art Buyer and the artist. It’s been pointed out many times on APE’s blog and I think to some extent pointed out here.
Some questions that come to mind: Why should I try to fashion a marketing strategy towards an art buyer or the publications they read? Shouldn’t I make my own connections (economically and creatively) to those people who are most relevant to me and my work? Can’t I trust that you will always find the photographer you’re looking for?
The message I get from your post is that we will find you. Whether that is through flickr or some source book, it matters not.
Great info, Heather. And a good reminder, it would seem, of the importance of continuing to do editorial work. I had no idea that commercial art buyer’s used magazines so much as source books for new talent.
Here’s one I like to have a boo at every once in awhile…
http://adsoftheworld.com/
Thanks for taking the time to answer my question Heather. I’m sorry I missed your original take on it.
It was very helpful to know that web marketing is more effective than print. I think the key to any marketing though is repetition. The more places your name is seen the better. That’s why Google AdWords seems to work. Even if no one clicks on it, your name is on that page, then they see your name in Workbook, then in AltPick, then in Blackbook, etc. etc. It starts to become familiar and associated as a professional. Not just someone with a flickr account.
Anyway, keep up the good work and thanks again.
-lincoln
I know a photographer in LA that is mid-level all around shooter and he swears by Google Adwords. His name comes up all the time when you punch in ‘photographer’ + …..
He’s told me that he gets work all over the country from this. It was an eye opener for me and just goes to show that the times are changing and we have to keep up with a pretty coordinated marketing campaign and not rely solely on the tried and true venues of source books. It is so difficult with all these options now to know where to put your marketing dollars but it is important that we do that spending. I tell my assistants that ask to forget about buying cameras and lighting, spend your money on marketing yourself and that will be the most important money you can spend to get into the photography game. You can rent all that other stuff when you get a job but your not gonna get a job if no-one knows who your are.
It would be interesting to ask successful photographers what they would do if you gave them $20,000 to market their work, how they would spend it most efficiently?
Thanks for this great discussion
hiep
What a fantastic idea Hiep! Any takers?
[...] of repeating myself in tonight’s rant, I’m going to point you to two other AanAB posts, here (Talent Scouting) and here (Sourcebooks [...]
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