It’s a tad heart-wrenching when you hear someone is picking another photographer instead of you. There’s no malice toward the other photographer, maybe just a little bit of envy. After all, business is business, and if you’re not getting the work, at least someone else is.

If anything, I can only blame my inadequate marketing skills. We all know any business needs good accounting, pricing and marketing sense to be successful, no matter how good you are at the trade. Having never taken any business classes, I rely on people’s advice and books to learn. Obviously it hasn’t been enough as I’m not getting enough clients.

Some of you probably aren’t aware that I hold a full-time writing job in a local newspaper (wanted to be a photojournalist but they’re full on places now). It brings in the money I need but it’s not what I love. I want to shoot but I need to get the business skills right for it to work when I do take this business full time. Sometimes I can hear the spirits of consciousness haughtily saying “I told you so” for refusing to take business class when in college.

Apart from reading more (still a good way to learn), I should sink more money into real advertising in ads or posters. If I take a loan, maybe I can have a studio as well to provide storefront marketing. So far I rely on word-of-mouth and my photos to speak for themselves. Many times I wish I was a more obnoxious and shameless person, who would boast of his skills and invincibility without being a jerk.

There’s always this fear that things won’t work out. No matter how well you shoot, if you can’t get the business, you can’t survive. Still, “don’t stop believing,” as I hear so much in the song by Journey, from Glee and movies. Have faith that it’ll work out, even if you won’t become a millionaire in the process. Doing something I enjoy has always been my aim, and that something is still photography.

Someone could have mistaken this year’s Halloween theme to be Chinese. But none of the estimated 450 participants of the China Entrepreneur Forum 2009 were dressed to shock. More like they were dressed to impress.

Held in the Ross Business School’s Blau Auditorium, this annual event’s focus is always on China, its future, and how those who are concerned — citizens or not — can be a part of it. The day started surprisingly early (considering it’s a Saturday) at 8:30 a.m. and keynote speeches, panels, and networking lasted the whole day. That’s how the Chinese do things – hard and furious!

I wasn’t the only photographer there, but I was for sure the most experienced and most focused. Others took a few shots here and there, but I was the only one running around the entire day. The Blau Auditorium is in the new wing of the Ross Business School, so lighting was quite good for a lecture hall. It was also the first time I used the Canon 7D for a real shoot. It performed marvelously.

Although I have good things to say about the high-ISO performance, what really blew me away was the improved focusing system. Now there’s the luxury of using other focusing points apart from the one in the center. And the point-expansion (the system I use) really helps in locking on. Even in an indoor setting, the focusing speed was near instant. Now I know how the 1D users must feel. After using the improved auto-focusing system of the 7D, it’s hard when I go back to the 5D (and every model below it).

Here’s a selection of the photos you’ve been waiting for! Many were shot with the 7D. Feel free to leave comments!

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I’ve been paid for covering events — many times — but I had never actually sold a print. That changed yesterday when a friend of mine bought a 12″ x 16″ print of Mt. McKinley! It was matted in a 16″ x 20″ frame. On the photo is a heavily obscured Mt. McKinley, which is the highest peak in North America. “Denali,” as it is traditionally known, towers above the mountain range, and a sliver of its peak can be seen peeping from the clouds.

The shot was taken in June, 2009, on my trip to Alaska. We’d climbed Thorofare Mountain to get an elevated view, only to find McKinley still obscured by the clouds. Undeterred, we  stayed on top for 3 hours in the hope of catching it before the last bus departed. And cleared it did.

Mt. McKinley / Denali

According to statistics at the Eielson Visitor Center, McKinley is only visible for 4-5 days every June (because clouds gather around mountains) so we were terribly lucky indeed. The view is made all the more majestic because McKinley really stands out like a king on a throne. Even though it’s not even in the top-50 list of highest peaks in the world, here in the Alaska Range nothing else beats it.

And if anyone else would like a print, please don’t hesitate to ask for pricing!

Meet Herman Chiu — my new partner in amassing beautiful images to make clients gleefully happy. Our plan is to bring together a small team of photographers/videographers and charge camera first into the highly competitive pool of wedding and portrait photography. We’ve got a few details worked out, including pricing and shooting arrangements, now all we need are clients to stroll right in. Currently our working name for the ‘company’ is Perfect Shutter, but since I’m all for creativity without the cheesiness on top, I’m open to any wacky suggestions.

A one-man show is tough. You’re a shooter naturally, but you also take care of marketing, administration, and finances. Photography I can do well; I’m not so sure about the rest. Having a small team or a business partner does make sense in this regard, as responsibilities can be distributed. Bear in mind that neither of us have a business degree, so we’re still in experimentation mode. But at the very least we can share gear and offer clients the luxury of two shooters.

Although another friend has asked me to join her event photography business in NY, that’s more of a part-time job for them. Since I’m here in the midwest, there doesn’t seem to be any harm in doing a little entrepreneurship. Small overheads and a close team of like-minded individuals should lessen the risks. Of course there is no guarantee of success, and that level of success is highly dependent on who comes looking for our services. My hope is they’ll come, but we also need to have a veritable marketing plan to make that happen.

For the past month or two, I’ve been silently (and secretly) building up the tools needed for a rather modest set up to take good portrait photos. This of course, is loosely following the business plan to dive into portraiture. Even though I’ve dipped my fingers into the numerous honey pots (events, news, weddings), I feel portraiture is so universally accepted that I have to offer this service as well.

This inaugurating series is a mixture of both natural and urban shots, stylistically a cross between and fashion and senior photography. My goal has always been to come home with one great shot, and this is probably it. That doesn’t mean all the rest were mediocre. Truthfully, I’m very pleased with most of them.

But the day started horrendously, with me not accounting for the swarm of mosquitoes at the Ann Arbor Arboretum. Half the time was spent whacking or scratching myself rather than hitting the shutter button. Lu, who was equally frizzled, still came up with some great poses, to her credit. We had brought along additional clothing to change, but the biting put a damper to that, and the photos weren’t half bad that we needed to switch out.

As this is my first time with portraiture, I went into experimental mode, despite reading lots about how to shoot and looking through hundreds of photos prior to this day. I brought two lights with me, but we most only shot with one. Without an assistant, all the work is on me, from creative concept to cheap labor to execution. While the both of us tried to come up with new ideas, much of my inspiration stems from Joe McNally’s Hot Shoe Diaries book, which I’m still in the middle of devouring. A review of that book will come soon enough.

In total we spent about 2+ hours shooting, over maybe five locations around the Arboretum. No way did we manage to cover the whole place. That concluded part one (the natural environment) of the photo shoot. Come back soon to look for part two.

PART TWO

The hiatus was longer than expected, but the wait was quite worth it. As said earlier, “urban” and “posh” were two critical words used as the creative force behind this second shoot. This time we had less time (it rained on us unexpectedly) and we stuck to one on-campus location for four of the five photos (the last one was in a residential house).

True blue Michigan Wolverines can probably recognize the urban background, but for everyone else, that’s the new wing of Michigan’s Ross Business School. This glossy extension to the old building of clay and bricks sticks out like a blinding light to the eye. The new building is more glass and concrete than perhaps any other building on campus. In terms of campus aesthetics, maybe not a good idea. But excellent for our choice of shooting that day.

However when we got there, the light was quickly fading. I tried to get the images to play more with the mighty pillars at the school’s front porch. Some worked, but it was also disappointing. Some ideas I’d envisioned in my head were a lot tougher to execute. Gear-wise, I didn’t have enough control over the lights. Sure makes my to-buy list longer by a foot! On my part, I do need to do more planning and preparation, rather than fly by wire and hope some inspirational lightning strikes me while on assignment.

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One year at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism was such a whirlwind. For financial reasons, I would not do it again if I could turn back the clock, but during that year I did nurture a passion for photography that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Taking Advanced Photojournalism class was among the best decisions I made in that school, and in taught me how to be an effective shooting machine for the press. Although technicality and vision cannot be taught, cold-blooded tenacity and a grittiness to grind out the  best images in the toughest situations usually come from photojournalism training. Even though I’ve graduated, no offers for permanent positions await me, and I am stubbornly holding out for only photography work. My 10-day post-graduation, Alaska trip was an excuse to put off a serious sit-down session to evaluate how I can become a successful, money-making photographer, and to utilize the 1-year work permit fully.

The puzzle is still a messy box of pieces, but I’m piecing them day by day. First priorities is to get this website back on track, update the blog frequently, find clients, and most importantly, keep shooting to raise my skill level.

Ever since the Omnilogy Concert (mentioned in the last post), I had a couple of other paid assignments in New York. Now that I’m back in Ann Arbor, I’ll have to find new clients. That, to me, is the toughest part of running a nascent and independent business.

Starting a business is certainly tough, as tough as juggling a small stone at Union Square! Not only do I have to worry about the service (photography), taxes, bills and profits all eat at my brain in every other moment I don’t spend behind the camera. But it’s a life I am dedicated to from here on, far removed from a young adult’s feeble wanderings, unsure of what profession to take.

And the first hurdle is to get this website up and running like a seasoned athlete. Right now I’m doing multiple tasks at the same time: building a credible portfolio, designing the front page, creating a new blog, and acquiring the level of expertise that is required of a professional.

It’s hard, even though it’s spring break in Columbia University‘s  journalism school.  I’ve got two assignments due right at the restart of school, and I’m struggling to set up my front page using Dreamweaver. It’s funny how I have to dedicate so much time to writing, even though I’d rather focus that energy on photography. But it’s only two more months before graduation, and those writing skills will stay with me for life, so I’m not whining.

Please use this blog to follow my adventures through this new phase of my life. School’s almost done, and I’ll be graduating to the working world. Sad as that may sound, I’m pleased the path is photography, something I thoroughly enjoy and can spend endless hours doing. To read more about my background and passions, please see my bio.