A little help from your friends.

Does your career look like this?

Even though I’m sitting here in New York barely working (for the last couple months) photographers seem to think I know what’s going on in the industry. I get a few calls/emails from young/emerging photographers every week asking me for help with estimates or help with their books or help with getting clients (that’s funny) and I always refer them to one of four people. I can give them kind words and I can tell them what I think but there are actual real experts out there to give them advice that will advance their careers.

So here you go emerging and fledgling photographers, here’s my list of people to help you. I’m not saying don’t call me. Please do. I like helping people. I’m happy to be a mentor, though for the life of me I can’t imagine why!

1) Mike Davis: http://www.michaelddavis.com/  This guy is amazing. Full disclosure, he’s a good friend. Mike was the first editor who I think really got me. He was my editor at the Oregonian, one of my first jobs in the industry, and he always took the time to help me through edits of personal work. He made my work sing (off key of course). He also hooked me up on my first trips to NYC by not only editing my portfolio but he also emailed all his contacts and got me in the door. I really can’t say enough good things about him and now that he’s left the Oregonian and gone freelance his services are available to one and all (for a fee). So if you want the weirdest, coolest, most poetic edit you’ve ever seen for your new coffee table book, portfolio, website, contest entry or if you just want to see how your work SHOULD look…. call this man. 

Oh yeah, and if you need that book designed or if you need a new brand, or a new look, or a new life plan you can talk to Mike’s amazingly talented wife Deb Pang Davis. She’ll hook you up (again for a fee… ain’t no free lunch here).

Jasmine DeFoore:  http://jasminedefoore.com/  When Mike and Deb called around to help me with NYC meetings one of the people they called was Marcel Saba at Redux Pictures (my rep to this day). When I sat down with Marcel to look through my book Jasmine was there. She was tough. She had some serious critique of my work and it made sense. Jasmine knows what she’s doing both editorially and commercially and I take what she says very seriously. A lot of the best things that happened at Redux happened because of Jasmine. She knows the business.  She knows the editors and the art buyers and she knows what works. Since she went freelance less than a year ago she’s worked with a ton of photographers I know and everyone has given her rave reviews.

Kids With Candy:  http://kwcproductions.com/ Casey and Monique are amazing. With backgrounds as commercial photographer reps and magazine editors they are taking NYC by storm. They can go through your work, rebrand you, make a new portfolio edit, website edit, life edit and they can tell you where to eat and drink and help your social life at the same time. I’m serious. Amazing. Oh yeah and they can produce the fuck out of your commercial or editorial shoot. They can also negotiate deals for you if you don’t have your own agent. I really dig this whole freelance agent revolution that’s been going on lately. Hire them when you need them, work by yourself when you don’t! I’ve seen them work and I’ve worked with them. There is no one better in NYC. No joke. These two don’t have their finger on the pulse of the industry, THEY ARE THE PULSE. 

OK fledgling photographers, go forth and hire these people to help you. You won’t regret it.