Interview with Camilla Stoddart from Whiteroom Pictures
Following on from last weeks Commissioning a Pro Photographer post, we have the interview itself.
Here’s Camilla Stoddart in the witness stand, ready for questioning…
Hi Camilla, thanks for making the time for this interview. Can we start with a brief run down on your experience behind the lens?
“As far as experience goes, I did go to a swanky top London Art School (St Martins) but I didn’t study photography. I am all self taught, and really believe in getting out there, shooting as much as you can and rolling with it. Sure there are lots of technical things that I should know, but over the years I am slowly teaching myself out of trial and error and reaping the benefits, making mistakes, learning from them and experimenting. I find this has helped me grow into a more creative and free-thinking photographer.”
Nice. So a lot of people fancy themselves as a bit of a photographer. Tell me, why should someone commission your services rather than shoot it personally?
“This is where I try not to sound like a ponsy photog right? I really believe that you have an eye or you don’t. As harsh as this sounds, I think it is very true. A singer is born with a good voice, as much as an illustrator is born able to draw. You can teach yourself how to become better at these things, and learn how to get the skills, but to truly thrive in your field I think you have to have natural born talent. Having never been taught how to shoot photos, I feel that I have developed my own style, taste and way of seeing. There are many people out there who can take photos for sure, but to be able to get an image ‘that speaks a thousand words’, takes more than just point and shoot. Told you I was going to sound ponsy…!”
That’s not too ponsy, just say it how it is. Anyway, all these compact point-and-shoot digitals have pretty high mega-pixel ratings nowadays, can you tell us about some of the main differences when compared to your setup?
“Megapixles are a very good selling point for a camera. ‘ooh mine has 10 megapixles, and yours only 7!’ When it comes to SLR (single lens reflex) cameras vs compact cameras, it’s hard to compare things like megapixles. On an SLR the sensor is much bigger than a compact, therefore you can fit a lot more information on there. That combined with professional lenses (they can make all the difference to a crisp clear image), manual settings and accurate focusing, the SLR will always win. That’s not to say that you can’t take a good snap with a point and shoot!
I have a Canon EOS 1D mk III with a bunch of Canon and Sigma professional lenses and strobe flashes. Professional camera equipment doesn’t come cheap and I am always eyeing up what I want next.”
Expensive hey? So what makes a photographer like yourself different to the everyday wedding photographer out there?
“I find a lot of work out there is stale, unimaginative and seen a million times before. It depends on what you are looking for out of a photograph, be it advertising for your company, shots in magazines, or images to tell a story, there is no excuse for boring and shabby images. A lot of photographers I find forget to put their shot in context. Take, for example, a shot of a skier, if you take the skier away from the photograph, is the image still interesting?”
How would your average Joe go about finding photographers with suitable snow and adventure experience, as opposed to your average photographer?
“I would contact me! haha…. It’s a good idea to note photographers names when you are looking through a magazine, or notice a shot you really like. They will usually have a website and contact details on there. I have a bunch of photographers I really respect and I aften find myself admiring their work. It’s good to know what you like, and then you can research to what photographer will suite your needs.”
Okay, so when someone has made the decision that they want to use a pro, what should they be looking out for when selecting their photographer?
“They should like their work first of all. Look at their style, experience, client list, and previous work, from commissioned to published work. Check that their images appear professional and are right for the job in hand.”
What’s the going rates for commissioning a shoot and how does the payment structure work?
“I’m not too sure how other photographers work. But I work on a freelance basis. I can either be commissioned for the day or half day. An hour isn’t usually enough time to get anything done. I also get out there and shoot a lot, and then submit my shots for advertorial or publication. I then sell shot by shot, and each case is usually different as to what the client needs. Magazines are pretty straight forward, and getting into advertorial gets more complex. It all depends on printing numbers, circulation and size of image.
For the day rate the client can use all the shots from that day, but the photog retains copyright to the shot, unless paid for outright but this never really happens.”
How about contracts? Do you often find yourself signing on the dotted line, or are most of your gigs ‘in good faith’?
“I have signed a bunch of contracts, for magazines and companies etc, but usually work is done out of trust. I sell an image for a use outlined in my invoice and I trust that the client doesn’t steal the image for anything more. Photography theft is huge, and the most annoying thing is that the photographer may never find out about it! But it’s the game we play really… I am very careful to always send low resolution images out with my copyright plastered all over.”
And how do the copyright legalities behind the images themselves work, i.e. who owns the rights to the shots afterwards?
“I have never sold the copyright to one of my images. This can get very expensive for the client as they are saying that the image can never be used by the photographer again. As I said before, I usually sell an image to a client with the use outlined in the invoice so there is no confusion over what they are allowed to do with the image.”
Okay that’s pretty clear. Finally, if one of our readers wants to use you for a shoot how should they get in touch and what’s your availability like?
“Please take a look at my Whiteroom Pictures website for examples of my work, portfolio, client list and published work. My contact details are on there so please don’t hesitate to contact me. I am based out of Wanaka in New Zealand from May to Oct and Edinburgh or the Swiss Alps from November through April. I am available for commissioned-based work as well as individual image sales.”
Some final thoughts
There’s a traditional marketing concept called the Purchase Funnel where prospective customers go through a number of different stages before they commit to a purchase. Most often those stages are described with the acronym AIDA: AWARENESS > INTEREST > DESIRE > ACTION.
If you’re web site and and other promotional materials already achieve the Awareness and Interest steps, then consider this; do you think they create Desire?
If not, maybe a pro-shooter can help your site create this third desirability stage in your product or service. This photo of Camilla’s certainly makes me think ‘desire’…
