Korean Photography Blog

Living in Korea or elsewhere as a photographer, you will no doubt get a few photo gigs here and there. While the attraction of earning a little money from your hobby (at this point) may be enticing, you must be careful while you are working here. Here are a few tips (made from the mistakes that I have made over the years)

1. Keep Your Business a Business and Your Job a Job
Too often we photographers in Korea blur the line on what violates our visas. Be careful because if you are a working photographer (making an income from your photography) you could get nabbed by immigration. While the likelihood of this is rare, all it takes is a phone call from a jealous co-worker to put you into hot water.

Awhile ago, I was doing a charity gallery for a group that helps orphans and one of my co-workers blatantly asked me if this violated my contract and visa. I looked dumbfounded for a second, I never even considered that this would interfere with my job, but looking around, the place was filled with my co-workers and bosses, the photos were also hanging with price tags and sold stickers. Nothing was made of it and I told my curious co-worker that I was making no profit off the sales as it was going to charity. I dodged a bullet there, but for the rest of you, be careful.

This also goes for self-promotion too. If you brand yourself as a photographer, you may get into trouble as immigration may see you as “self employed” and thus violating your visa. I would suggest keeping all promotional material out of the office.

2. Set your prices up front
One of the things that I still have a problem with is setting a price for my work. It seems everyone has a different price and I find that each job has a different one too (depending on travel and whatnot). One of the biggest problems that I have had is not being clear on the price because I was not confident of my own work.

What I recommend is that you have a sit down with your clients and the first thing that you discuss is the price and what they get for that price. Then state the time frame for payment, which should be before the shoot. Why I say this is that many times clients that I have had and did not pay before the shoot will use that as leverage to get a bargain from you or extra editing/reshoots or what not. You’ve done your work, your are giving them the quality and photos that you agreed on, it should be a done deal.

3. Be Firm with Pricing and Packages
There is that old saying about “give an inch and they take a mile” and it is true in the photography biz as well. When I first started I had no confidence in my work. This worked to the advantage of the clients and many times as they got a lot more from me than they would have normally received because I was afraid of upsetting them.

To give an example, one time I did a photo shoot and threw in a short slideshow of the work as an added “freebee” Well it soon became extra work for no extra money. I had to re-edit the photos and rework the entire slide show. When I was finished, the clients ask for “a deal” because the work took so long. I was annoyed but because I knew them, I reluctantly accepted. I was a huge mistake. Make sure your clients get what they pay for and nothing more.

4. Be wary of Friends asking for your services
If you have a nice camera and take decent photos, many of your friends and family will ask you to do some work for them. It is a simple thing that when people see that you have passion for your hobby or work, they well want to utilize your services. I would stay away from these jobs unless you are very clear about the above topics.

I have been burnt by this a few times where I would do a portrait shoot or engagement photos for some friends and then have them gouge me on the price because you find out that they were not coming to you to give you some work, they were coming to you to knock of $500 from the regular photographers price. While this may be fine for good close friends, often it is friends on the periphery that will do this to you.

An example of this was a few years ago I did a wedding shoot for a friend of mine. I gave him a discount because I knew that he was strapped for cash and couldn’t afford my usual rate. However, I neglected to talk to his would-be wife about it and soon received numerous emails later about styles and poses and locations. It was a slap in the face. She was asking for stylish shots like the ones she saw from websites that were charging $3000 and they were paying a lot less, only a few hundred actually. The reason was that they knew I could pull off the shots and I was eager to please because they were “friends”. Set your prices and set your packages, EVEN WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

5. Be Confident
Some people can just smell weakness and will use it to their advantage. Many times I have felt that I wasn’t worth the price that I was charging because I was just starting out. Be very clear in your initial meetings and be confident in your ability. If your clients feel that you are confident and professional, they well see that in your photos later. However, if they get a sense that you are nervous, weak and not confident in your own work, they will use that to their advantage.

Here is something to think about. The people that hire you, hire you because they have seen your work, heard of you (good stuff usually) or both. They would not have hired you if they felt that you were a horrible photographer and are hoping for the best. So with that in mind, when you show the final work, make sure that it is the best work that you can do and make no excuses about it. Do not say “well, this is the best that I could do because the lighting was bad” or “The pictures are a little off because of the conditions at the shoot” stuff like that will always take the power out of your hands no matter how good the photos are.

People have a strange way of acquiring a new skill set when it comes to saving money. Clients who have no idea about photography suddenly become more critical than the editors of National Geographic or GQ magazine. Just like the parents of the children you may teach some how become very knowledgeable about English education and the latest teaching styles (without actually speaking the language) when they think that they can save a few chon-wons on the newbie teacher.

Be confident and tell your clients that these are the best photos from the shoot and that it fulfills the agreement that you’ve made. After that, there should be no more arguing (unless the shots are sh*t). Stand up for your work and don’t make any excuses.

6. Don’t Take Jobs If You Don’t Have the Time
I have often overbooked myself and paid for it in the end. You think that if you can squeak out for a bit and get some shots that you are done. However, many of us here, are juggling our primary job, a blog or something, and then the photography business. You have to realize that you need a certain about of time for each job. So even though you may think that stacking jobs is cool, often times it affects your creativity and post processing as well.

Remember, the pro’s usually have an assistant or two working for them. They handle a lot of the editing and whatnot. Most of us here in Korea, it is a one-man (or woman) show. Keep the jobs simple and finish them in a timely manner.

7. Get Credit for YOUR Work
In this age of digital files, people email and/or post everything to facebook. Make sure that if you take photos for your clients that they give you credit for your work. I have seen a number of my shots pop on facebook with no mention of who took the shot. People assume that if it is in one person’s profile, that they possibly took it. It also takes something away from the professionalism when the shots get mixed up with party shots or “lesser” portraits. By Lesser, I mean shots that maybe don’t have the same quality or time that you put into your work and then people will just naturally assume that it is less professional.

Another thing that you must make your clients aware of is that while they are the models and perhaps purchase the photos, you still own the rights to those photos. If they have a problem with that, they may ask to purchase the rights to the photos. I include this here, because often times especially when making photo slideshows for my clients, I have had the request to include some of their shots in the video. While this may seem innocent, it does take something away from the body of work. If you have the rights to the photos, you maintain the rights to use the photos as you see fit. The video also represents you and your work.

You may wonder about this, but people usually do this when they want to pass the video off in emails as something “they did”. With a few shots of their own, people will pay no attention to who took the rest of the photos. You need to make sure that the photos you give to your clients are a representation of you and your business, not just a reflection of the people in the photo. With this being said, you may want to write up some release form or wavers for your clients.

That is it for today. Have a great weekend and get out there and shoot!

First of all, let me thank all of those who came out for last weekend’s photo walk in Ulsan Grand Park. In total we about 10 or so people come out and I was very happy with the turn out. The feeling that I got from a lot of people was that they wanted to take time to really just focus on learning how to use their new camera.

The group stayed sort of close together as we walked through Ulsan Grand Park and then beat the heat as we relaxed at The Reason. We were so lucky for once we got to The Reason, the skies opened up and it poured! Thankfully only one of the walkers got wet but I think he needed a shower anyway.

For the walkers, please up load your pictures for the international competition on Ulsan’s page and the Flickr group that I just created. and if you want to enter the international competition, head back to the Ulsan page at the photo walk site and upload your photos there.

Thanks again for everyone coming out. I hope to have the event running again next year and hopefully it will be a success like this year.

The big day is here! July 24th has finally arrived and it looks to be a rainy day. Don’t worry! this means that you can get some moody rainy day shots, black and white shots and some interesting slash effects.

Remember, we will be meeting at the East gate of Ulsan Grand Park at 4 pm, rain or shine. IF it gets too wet, we’ll head right over to the reason for some good food and coffee.

See ya all tomorrow!!

That is right! 4 days to go before the Photo Walk! Please make sure that you have all of your gear ready and prepped. Scott Kelby has a lot of great tips for “surviving” the photo walk. Please remember that it this week is any indication of what the weekend is going to be like, then sunscreen and water are a must!

If you haven’t already told your friends and family, please do! The more we have out to this event, the stronger our community will be. I am hoping that we can build a sort of “Photo Club” here in Ulsan with the people that come out to this event. If not, well it will be a great day anyway.

In other news, Pohang is having an international fireworks demonstration. Thanks to a friend of mine who “graciously” planned an event the same weekend, I found out about this event… not bitter… not… at… all… At any rate, if you are feeling adventurous and want to head out of the city, Pohang is a great place to go. Just know that I hope it rains… just in Pohang.

I have been a little busy this days so I must apologize for the lack of posts and information. With that compounded by the fact that I missed mentioning a few photo contests around Korea with some pretty large payouts, I am truly sorry.

Yesterday, concluded the entry period for the Korean Tourism Photo Contest. This sneaky little contest was buried deep in their site and I just managed to get a few shots in yesterday before the deadline. For future consideration please keep an eye on their website for future events.

I am not sure why they haven’t put the word out on this one. This year they also dropped the top prize down to 5 million won. In previous years, it was as high as 10 million won, which is a fine chunk of change to get from your hard work. However, I am not sure why it is so hard to find. The uploading and everything was written in superb English and everything went very smoothly and quickly.

After reading this month’s issue of Groove Magazine I came across a photo contest that ends well… tomorrow. The photo contest is for Cheongshim and the theme this year is “Family”. Again, the top prize is fairly substantial, 5 million won will be given out for the top prize and another 10 million won will be handed out for other prizes. Here is the event link for that Unfortunately, the site is in Korean and I haven’t had time to pick through it and see what the requirements are.

While reading I came across the blog of another awesome photographer in Korea. Welkinlight Photography is responsible for the great cover shot on this month’s Groove Magazine and for writing an excellent (and very informative) blog.

If you read blogs like Welkinlight, Flash Parker, and Hermit Hideaways you will see the dedication that they have to the craft and also realize that there is a great photographic community here in Korea. I hope some day to learn from them all to improve my own skills.

Speaking of learning, please pop by and check out The Seoul Photo Club on Flickr. Their group regularly has contests running with Groove Magazine and also has a lively community on Flickr. I like the fact that you get some honest appreciation and tips on your photos rather than the ubiquitous comments of “nice shots” or those flashy things that pop up every now and then.

Have a great week and get out and enjoy the rainy weather!!

As I said before, pre-registration is up and running! Sign up here The cool part is that so far we are the only photo walk in KOREA. That makes me happy that I can put Ulsan on the map for something besides whaling and petrochemicals.

So far, we are waiting to hear back from a number of people. Please remember that pre-registration is a must, but also that it is free. So you don’t really have to commit to too much, just sign up and check your schedule. It is that easy.

I have been talking to the guy down at PIX-DIX to see if he can dig up any more free stuff for the event. If he does that will be sweet! Imagine a great day in the park, a chance to win some stuff that you only drool over in magazines (thanks to the international sponsors), free stuff from the local shops, great food and coffee, ALL FOR FREE!!!

A quick post here about a cool case for your iPhone. In a weird “Great minds think a like” moment, I picked up a cool case for my iPhone at the same time Griffin Stewart (great photographer and designer) posted about it on facebook.

The company is called SwitchEasy and their line of cases for the iPhone are great. If you are wondering what this has to do with “Korean Photography” then you need to pull your head away from your DSLR and see what the locals are shooting with, their cell phones. Also in the words of Chase Jarvis, the best phone is the one that’s with you.

The thing that prompted this post was the fact that this case is awesome! You get a two-part case that has a sweet “exo-skeleton” that locks everything in place along with a cover for the port on the bottom. The port cover is sweet because that is the one place that will fill up with lint and dirt. Think of your belly button…

The other thing is that it comes with two extra screen guards and a dock adapter. The dock adapter is important because nothing is more annoying than having to take the case off every time you want to dock your iPhone. Over all for the price that I paid, it is a sweet deal, but it doesn’t end there.

Now, I didn’t order this from the site above, I ordered it through Gmarket. This is the sweet part of the deal. This is Korea and man do I love this place! I ordered the case on my lunch break and by the time that I got home, it was already shipped. It arrived at my school the next day at lunch. It also came with a bonus accessory which was a pen for use with the iPhone when you are wearing gloves. Suffice to say now I am addicted to Gmarket and I will be posting some more on how to order and where to find some good deals in the future.

Click here to register for the Photo Walk. It is free and easy to do!
1)GO to the Ulsan page, above the map there will be a big green button on the right side that says “Join This Walk”
2) CLICK IT
3) Fill out the short form
4) Show up on July 24th

That is it! See how simple that was?

Other good news is that I got my photowalk t-shirt today. Now, the cool part about these shirts is that 100% of the profits goes to the Springs of Hope Orphanage in Kenya. I got mine right away after hearing one! Here is the link Orders should take about 2 weeks to get to Korea and will cost little (like $26 or something…) but again 100 % of the profits goes the the Springs of Hope Orphanage in Kenya!

I can’t say enough about this event and the people running it. Not only is Scott Kelby and his team of awesome people working hard trying to make sure that all of the walks go well around the world but they are also getting some darn good prizes as well! Think about how many of Scott’s new lightroom 3 book are going to be sent around the world… FOR FREE! I have to give a huge thank you to all of them for that.
I hope to see you all out there on July 24th at 4 pm.

Here is the link again for the pre-registration (it is a must)

I just renewed my membership to the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and started a year long membership with Kelby Training. Now these were a little pricey and I understand that it is a huge chunk of change (a little over $200 for both together) to hand over to Mr. Kelby, but trust me when I say that it is worth it, especially for struggling photographers in Korea.

Why I say that it is worth it is because of the sheer amount of information that you receive from “qualified” instructors. Sorry, I can’t say the word “qualified” anymore without thinking about the idiotic debate over English teachers here in Korea. Anyway, like most, these guys really really know their stuff. This is an asset when living in Korea and help with photography, web design, and photoshop techniques are hard to come by in English.

These sites are helping me right now, as I redesign my own site. The videos and full screen shots allow you to see exactly what to do. I can’t even put it into words how much the team from Kelby Training have helped me this weekend. Kelby Training is a virtual library of the most relevant material for today’s photographer.

Photoshop User Magazine comes with your membership to NAPP and is a great read. Each issue comes packed to the teeth with tips and tricks to help you get the most out of photoshop. Now, I am not getting any kick-backs from Scott Kelby on this, I am just stating the obvious, these sites are worth the investment.

Even if you think you know your way around a camera and photoshop, pick up a month membership and watch a few tutorials. I know you will be shocked at how much you didn’t know and how helpful the tutorials were. Like my Dad always said when I got too cocky for my own good, “Son, there is always someone better than you out there and if your are not careful, they’ll take ya to school” Well the team from Kelby training certainly did and I am grateful for it. Please take a look at the sites linked in the first paragraph.

Go here to get your gear for the photo walk. I just ordered mine and it should be here in a few weeks. I am in the process of setting up the official blog on the worldwide photo walk website and I will send a post once that is finished. The blog will be where you will sign up for the walk and get updates as well.

Until then the important date to remember is July 24th!