Online meetings

PEER HANGOUT 3.10.24

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Another useful catch up. Lots of discussion around Sues upcoming post graduate exhibition.

I shared my progress and asked how others had approached assignment 5. Matt shared that he reverse engineered his blog to link to Learning Outcomes rather than the other way around.

Peer hangout: OCA level 3 & postgraduates

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27.8.24 (Sue faith Neil Rob Miriam Michelle Sarah Matt & myself)

This meeting there were 6 Students and 3 postgraduate OCA photographers.

I took the opportunity to ask my postgrad and undergrad peers to review my A4 draft submission, book dummy, press releases and publicity material. I posted these on an OCA Padlet and sent them by PDF to the post grads.

There was some feedback on the padlet prior to the meeting:

From Jonathan:

  • “think the work will look beautiful with the green cover, Niki. A few minor comments on layout, etc.:
  • The location of the title on the title page is similar but not the same as that of the cover page so jars slightly – could be either the same location or more different? I agree I asked at the meeting and will move the title page down in line with the cover title
  • Introduction. Typo: smething (should be something?). Corrected..
  • Disharmonious/harmonious(try a synonym?). I like the empahasis have left as is
  • Also repeat of societies ? Have left as is.
  • Some of the images are full single page spreads and some are just slightly smaller – again more differentiation might help. Other peers didn’t agree though one suggested increasing the white space around the smaller images, I’ll try this
  • Not sure you need the poem twice? I asked the group and consensus is to move the poem to the back of the books.
  • The small images at the back could be four on a page RHS to match the RHS images through the book. This wouldn’t then be large enough but I asked at meeting for other ideas: see below comments.
  • p.31 image twice could use a synonym. Changed one to’photograph’.

From Miriam:

  • I’m not sure about the black text on dark green on the cover – more from a readability perspective.
  • Press release – after a period of reflection, rather than ‘over’  (and don’t ask me why exactly!). Changed.
  • Drop the quote marks on locals. Done.
  • Time spent ‘there’ rather than ‘in a place’. Done.
  • The ‘this situation’ sentence really need to follow the bit about locals rather than the bit about woods. Changed.
  • you could drop ‘over two pages’ on the Suboart thing, it seems to do that thing of drawing attention in a way that makes me wonder why it’s included. Done
  • For further information and For additional info could be one? We discussed this at the meeting and I’ll change it.
  • Postcards look great! Do the lines at the bottom show?  if so, can you have one more, because it looks like an exercise book, which I like, but if it is, it feels like it needs another blank line for balance. No its okay they won’t.

Comments at the meeting:

Book dummy:

  • To put the cover text in cream to increase readability.
  • To echo this on the section (Tabacco) pages
  • Try the smaller images with just a little more white space around them
  • Move the entire poem to the end of the book
  • Asked about fonts and sizing and all thought was good
  •  Intro place the date below my name.  Done
  • Line the couplet start points up. Done
  • Footnotes:
  • Name something else, suggestions: under the microscope, inhabitants. Changed to constituents.
  • Place the 2 images on a page vertically. Done
  • Take them off of borders and place definitions in wrapped text by the side of them. This will make them more readable. Done
  • Place on white page. Done

We had a lot of discussion about the footnotes. A couple suggested I give them more dominance even equal to the main images. Most agreed with me that they are a supplement to the main images and also that it is my main images that I have been successfully “putting out there”. However I welcome the suggestions for reformatting them.

Further thoughts of my own: Try dark green section pages- have done this.

Press release:

  • Only have contact details once -done on artist talks
  • Include dates for Artist talks Change my blog. Done  and material on talks testing the water

Following on from reviewing my work we had a long discussion about the huge benefits of our peer collaborative/support group. Our thoughts are that it goes a long way to correcting the physical benefits (darkrooms, printing facilities, technical support) that a traditional rather than online university has.

Sue shared the challenges of setting up her postgraduate exhibition.

ASSIGNMENT TWO: Setting a day rate

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In order to set my budget I should set a day rate, and analyse my business running costs. The semier ‘The business of being creative’ with Nick Dunmur (advisor to the AOP) was very helpful with this, see my post: https://nkssite6.photo.blog/2024/07/23/research-oca-creative-conversation/

Annual professional subscriptions:

  • AOP currently free (rising to £40 pa after graduation).
  • Shutterhub £87
  • Adobe creative plan pa £100 includes hosting of website
  • Artist network £36pa  Total £363pa Allow £500 to allow for extras to come

General annual running costs:

  • Equipment depreciation £7000 over 5 year replacement cycle £1400pa
  • Equipment insurance £40 pa
  • Public liability £100pa
  • Professional indemnity insurance through AOP membership (extra £120 pa for associate membership
  • Cyber and data protection guesstimate £50 pa
  • Insurance for goods in transit guesstimate £40 pa

This without physical office running costs = £1750 allow £2K for safety. So reasonable but limited photographic ongoing annual costs (without office space cost): 2.5K

The following is a theoretical exercise for the purpose of setting a day rate. I do not plan to make an ongoing income earning business from photography, however I should calculate a day rate for my time, should I want to undertake a photographic paid task. This should allow for holidays (30 days) and sickness (4 days), leaving say 200 days as potential working days.

My reasonable income requirement if I was working as a full-time photographer full time would be 50K pa. Add to that the annual cost of 2.5K means I would have to earn 52.5K pa to cover my needs.

This distributed over 200 working days would be £262.20 per day. Apparently £300 per day is a going rate for editorial photography so this is not a bad thumbnail to start from, should it be needed.

I would call this a creative fee as Nick Dunmar suggested, it sounds more encompassing and not so easy for someone to challenge.

Peer hangout: OCA level 3 & postgraduates

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Today four attendees were postgraduate and three of us still completing SYP.

Those who had just graduated shared their graduation stories and what they are doing now. Most are signed up for masters courses.

Neil (SYP) shared how he found his exhibition has opened up lots of opportunities for disseminating his work.

Miriam has been interviewing postgrads for her A3 (including: Sarah Jayne Field, Jack Delmonte, & David Fletcher – see his copy:, Sarah Gallear https://tracesofexistence.co.uk/, Helen Rosemier: , Anna Sellen too busy

I asked some specific questions of the group on publishing and self-publishing:

  • Has anyone used book design software adobe idesign or affinity? Sue and Lynda used affinity a USA product, but some time ago – there is a 6 month free trial (https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/trial/?utm_source=affinity_subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign ) so it is tempting. I need to investigate whether adobe idesign has a free trial.
  • Has anyone used Mixam, youlove print.co.uk, exwhyzed, Blurb, Lulu books, self publish be happy to publish photo books? Some have used exwhyzed, Jack used Blurb for OCA work but not SYP, but used says their top-quality lustre paper and hardbacks are good. The advantage of Blurb is that the design software is built in. I am unsure whether it is acceptable quality for SYP – but I don’t see why I can’t explore that and exwhyzed and mixam and then maybe make a case for it on a cost basis.
  • Moo was suggested as a good place to get post cards publicised: https://www.moo.com/uk/
  • Has anyone used Artrabbit to publicise their work? They think was Matt who wasn’t here tonight who did- I’ll follow up with him
  • How have people used Issuu? No one had.
  • Has anyone any experience of obtaining funding from Arts councils? Sue tried but found it too challenging.

Once again a useful meeting for bouncing ideas around, support and provking some excitement about life after the degree!

Next meeting 22nd August

RESEARCH: The Business of Being a Creative

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With Nick Dunmur Wed 19th June: online seminar

I attended this seminar to increase my knowledge of working in the photographic industry

Nick Dunmur, Commercial Photographer, Advisor to the Association of Photographers (AOP), and chair of the British Photographic Council.

“The Business of Being a Creative’ deals with the nuts and bolts of getting started as a creative business. In this Creative Conversations session, Nick Dunmur walks us through the foundations of getting set up properly, such as business structures, insurance, tax and probably most importantly, knowing how to set your rate properly, to make sure you make money and start a business which not only survives but thrives”. (At: https://learn.oca.ac.uk/mod/book/view.php?id=27053&chapterid=10018 (Accessed 29/06/2024).

My Learning:

This was an excellent seminar, where I learnt much about the business elements of operating as a commercial photographer. I gained detailed knowledge of professional contexts, such as my collective responsibility as well as own (fee setting, use of AI).

This learning supports my own practice as I disseminate my work and operate in the professional dimensions of the photographic industry. It is also timely as the knowledge I have gained will support the writing of my project resolution plan (assignment 2).

I made detailed notes, further down, which I will return to for specific information as needed but here is my top line learning:

If developing a commercial practice:

  • Consider how you could carve out a niche for your photography?
  • I have a responsibility to myself and to others, and to the industry. When quoting if you pitch yourself too cheap you won’t have a long career for very long and it lowers cost expectations for other professionals.
  • Set a creative fee not a day rate (see below)
  • Consider funding sources

MY NOTES:

Best practice in business basics – Its ‘commercial’ if you’re making a living from it.

  • AOP promotes connections between organisations and photographers.
  • Reminder that my AOP membership gives me a 3 years access membership for £40. This keeps me in touch.
  • Importance of collective responsibility (eg. AI).

Useful information:

Clients often want a day rate. He suggests you pitch as a creative fee so not specifying a length of time but to an outcome, which can’t be compared to other’s day rate, and can be increased as your work becomes well known.

How to fund your life if regular income is needed? This requires setting a day rate, :

  • Do you need to make money from it?
  • Are you wedding, portrait editorial photographer, Fine art photographer?
  • My reasonable requirement + costs of doing business (office costs: Insurance, rent) he suggested 12k office costs 48K as reasonable salary.
  • Allow for holidays (30 days)  illness 4 days, maybe allow 200 days for editorial work which with 60K income needed, divided = £300 a day, apparently this is the going rate today.
  • Consider the number of shooting days available to me/Number of bookings I’ll get = number of opportunities. Divide what I need annually by this for each event.
  • Some market sectors you can charge more such as advertising, but the expectation of the value that the photographer can bring is high, as can stress levels.

Consider overheads for your business:

  • Equipment: Buy hire lease?
  • Insurance: these define professional photographers, esp first two. Tell your clients that you are properly insured.
  • Public liability? Covers you against causing injury (say a trip) to others and being sued against their loss of earnings. Cheap approx. £100 a yr.
  • Professional indemnity (PI) (AOP): covers against infringing someone else’s copyright, but can be messy, against your own mistakes like loss of images/data when you have to reshoot. Can get it through AOP if associate (£160 pa )/accredited member then they provide a blanket group professional indemnity cover (would probably cost £200 pa)
  • I won’t need  employer liability
  • Portfolio (can be expensive to produce and insure), goods in trust (eg goods photographing), hired in kit & accident and health.
  • Can get insurance on a shot by shoot basis. Good insurance brokers: Williams and Carson, Glover and Howe, Hancella Canworth….
  • Cyber and data (data protection cover/breaches, hacking, ransoms eg. Instagram). Office/studio
  • Doing workshops – overhead CPD

Business plan: needed if making a funding bid eg arts council. Templates for these in the AOP member dashboard. Also consider:

  • Profit and loss outline
  • Cash flow forecast – when’s your money coming in?
  • 1/3/5/yr plan
  • Raising funds: long term/short term

Think how you will fund your own bodies of work – how many  average pa, where do the sales come from are they through book sales or gallery, online print sales

The paperwork trail:

  • Own Terms and conditions (AOP 5 pages long bullet proof T&C that covers most eventualities -geared to business to business, rather than business to consumer, which are less contract heavy)
  • Estimate (general overview of expectations and outcome: encouraged as give wriggle room) or quotation (avoid as can be legally binding) include terms of use.
  • Confirmation of commission: to get in writing what has been verbally agreed, as recollections can vary .
  • Their purchase order
  • Model release/property release form –if photographing people or on location. (there is an app called ‘easy release’ if want to do on your phone)
  • Third party/crew agreements- if working with others, assistants, lighting etc.
  • Issue your invoice and licence to shoot (aka usage agreement or terms of use of your work). You are not handing out your intellectual property/copyright you are renting the use of it out. Eg exclusive licence only they can use this work, cheaper is an non exclusive licence where you can sell the work to others.

Other tips:

  • Check AOP resources of documents
  • Artists network £36 pa lots of information and resources on funding opportunities esp useful for fine art practice.
  • Plus see beyond the lens resource

LO1 demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of the professional context(s) relevant to your practice and have an understanding of the professional dimensions that underpin a successful photographic practice.

PEER HANGOUT: OCA level 3 and postgraduates

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Peer hangout 20.6.23

A good mix of OCA post grads and undergrads.

Faith was able to direct me to OCA Creative conversations where I can access the session which I couldn’t attend live, The Business of Being a Creative, with Nick Dunmur, Wed 19th June, 2 pm – 3.30 pm: https://learn.oca.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=354

I shared my success with the Glasgow Gallery of Photography and August Suboart magazine. I learnt that Suboart will tag me in their Instagram posts and then I can follow others who have been published – and they will publish me.

Join shutter hub and they share your good news and include your work in their yearbook

Miriam shared that here A3 assignment was role related to the photographic industry

During our discussions I thought for Assignment 3 using the question, why are you doing a photography degree? What were your intentions? Or did you intend to take your work beyond graduation? Or how are you taking your work forwards?

Lynda suggested as contacts Rob Townsend, Sarah Jane field?

We discussed assignment 2 for which its just theoretical how I’m going to publicise

For Assignment 3 Michelle suggested a zine would be cheaper maybe combined with a virtual exhibition -Kunstmatrix

Matt suggested use Art rabbit to publicise

Leaflets: Mixam printing use for quotes, or local printers?

Shutter hub book fair – use for contacts

Sarah Gallear suggested a handmade book: https://makingaphotobook.co.uk/

Susan used: https://exwhyzed.com book publisher

We discussed how on or own we feel during SYP, in terms of little OCA support; we wondered if this is intentional as we should be almost independent now and how valuable our peer support is now.

18th July next meeting

PEER HANGOUT: Level 3 and OCA photography post graduates

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This group formed and ran over the past few years and has continued as some have graduated for the others at the final stages of their careers. It is both highly critical and supportive, and has been invaluable to all involved. We also support each other by email outside of the monthly hangouts

Student led hangout 18.5.24

  • Michelle (postgrad) is enrolled for MA at Falmouth
  • Neil about to exhibit
  • Miriam is preparing her exhibition
  • Sue is preparing for her post grad exhibition

We had a long discussion about assignments 2 and 3.

Assignment 2: I asked how when for various reasons I had little desire to engage with an audience, and therefore how I could meet that criteria.

Suggestion that it just needs to be seen that I have been through the thought process for organising and costing my end product, and explored how I could maximise my photography if I want to. Ultimately I can explain why I feel my work is sensitive and I don’t want to put it out there.

I had these thoughts during the meeting:

  • I could explore crowd funding and then discount the idea. See shared files for Helen’s stuff on crowd funding and interview Helen- she found it more difficult than she thought she would.
  • Explore various book publishing companies to get comparison qualities and prices (dummy quotes). Book companies: ExWhyZed suggested as helpful in answering questions and giving advice. For costings try Mixam, Blurb, Lulu books, Mpix.

Ultimately I could explain why a scenario is too costly and rule it out. Apparently it is about showing the problems I encounter and how I overcome them or change the plan.

Michelle suggested if cost is an issue is to look at getting a zine published instead (A4/A5 booklet).

Assignment 3: Miriam and myself asked for advice on Assignment 3.

Recommendations given:

Very difficult to get industry professionals to answer surveys, Sue had 3 responses from 60 and Lynda 11 responses from 180. Sue researched curating and Lynda book publishing. Lynda has one F:F by zoom.

Lynda did a domestika photo book course and formed her 18 survey questions from there.

My thoughts:

  • I could look back for exhibitors at the Bristol photo book fair I visited last year – find list of contributors.
  • Shutterhub may consent to sending a survey out and ?….Harvey might take part. See Dec?23 open exhibition at Cambridge for list of contributors.

Again a useful meeting which propels me on

PEER HANGOUT: Level 3 and OCA photography post graduates

/ niki / Leave a comment

This group formed and ran over the past few years and has continued as some have graduated for the others at the final stages of their careers. It is both highly critical and supportive, and has been invaluable to all involved. We also support each other by email outside of the monthly hangouts

4.4.24

I shared my pdf publicity draft for A1 with the group.

All were happy with the format/layout. Jack commented that my intro didn’t explain the work as well as I did to him verbally. He suggested a simple, What, why and why now. I have taken this on board and rewritten the intro, artist statement and bio, being more explicit about the work.

I expressed again my reluctance to put my work out there, especially due to the sensitive nature of the concept and my accompanying poetry. Jack was strong in his opinion that it is an important story to tell, and common to many places. Michelle based in New Zealand and Lynda based in Canada shared that this is a global issue. Others concurred that it is sadly not unusual in communities. The suggestion is that I should share honestly the back story, ‘lift the covers’ – possibly I can do this outside of my locality! It left me feeling more confident about the work I am doing.

I had some suggestions where I could send it to – Anna Sellen , a successful Post graduate OCA photographer . Some shared that they’d not had any responses to theirs, and if so it was okay to say that this was the case.

We discussed reviews again and advice was to be clear what we want from reviewers. Probably not their thoughts about the work, but how to get the work out there.

Competitions: I asked opinion on the worth of lens culture competition and reviews. The group said both were worthwhile and gained exposure from them.

Other suggestions were:

  • Exposure – but this is in February so was too early for me.
  • Shutter hub which I have on my list to do – you get a free review if you join (£87).
  • Suboart magazine which is online and free – I need to wait for another call.
  • Source magazine- watch out for calls for work, the May 12th deadline is one image only and I’ve already identified that that doesn’t work for my work. We have discussed as a group  entering the Source Graduate group entry (12th May deadline).
  • Impressions Gallery – subscribe to get open calls.
  • Pictor website – I need to check it out.
  • PH museum – list of paid reviews/reviewers?
  • Photo Gallery
  • London Independent Photography
  • LensScratch photo magazine – Sue and Lynda follow and look at resources

I asked how others use Instagram. It was suggested that I post at one item a week, and like and follow others and others will do the same for me.

I should look at the OCASA enterprise hub for a small grant £100 towards expenses.

PEER HANGOUT: Level 3 and OCA photography post graduates

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This group formed and ran over the past few years and has continued as some have graduated for the others at the final stages of their careers. It is both highly critical and supportive, and has been invaluable to all involved. We also support each other by email outside of the monthly hangouts.

29th February 2024

Several who have now graduated were in the session: Lynda, Sue & Michelle, this is really useful to those of us still working on SYP.

Matt shared his experience at the Format portfolio review: He suggested have back up material ready as well to show if needed. He felt it was useful even if not all reviews were useful. Discussed reviewers to avoid (Micheal Weir). Suggested to get the reviewers email addresses.

Miriam and Neil shared experience of exposure reviews, found them challenging.

We discussed SYP assignment 3 and other shared that they had presented theirs as bullet points.

We talked about life after OCA, and short courses at institutes such as Domestika and West Dean College.

It was suggested that Linkedin is a good way to network – I should update mine.