Reaction Paper #1

                                               

This past week I got the privilege to be invited to the studio of Jim Lennon, a Long Island based photographer known for his location photography. Along with some classmates we were shown the front office along with the small kitchen area that Jim and his wife, who works along with Jim, have provided to make their guests feel at home. Then towards the back of the studio is Jim’s office and where he sets up his shots. Jim talked about how he started out on the local newspaper taking pictures of what was needed, and then some of his images got noticed by big famous companies. These companies wanted Jim to photograph their products as an advertisement. Jim explained to us the importance of consistence and making sure you as a photographer are prepared at all times, being on time for a photo shoot, having all your equipment, making sure everything is charged and you don’t need any batteries. He also discussed how as a professional photographer you can’t let people tell you the worth of your work. You need to be firm and stand up for your work; you shouldn’t get paid for less then what you did. If you are making a living out of selling your work then you need to emphasize that to your clients and that’s how you average out the cost for your work. Another interesting point Jim made was that you can make a living from your photography if you have at least three consistent clients. If a client is willing to use you as their photographer you should work on trying to build a special relationship with these clients because they will be the people who will always give you money for your work and enable you to keep shooting photos. I would love to be a freelance photographer with my own studio one day, or made even a product photographer for a new company. Either way I will take what Jim Lennon spoke about in his studio and use it to my own advantage.