© Kevin Twomey - http://www.kevintwomey.com
Alison McCreery of Photographers on Photography blog reached out to me after my Dear Art Buyer letter in the hopes that I would provide her with an interview about my thoughts on marketing and repping. I was familiar with her blog and thought her recent interviews were very informative. I appreciate how she asks questions that get people thinking so I was more than happy to oblige.
Below are the questions that she asked me as well as the link to her blog to read the answers.
And, if you actually read through the whole thing, be sure to keeping reading because her interview with David Jay of the Scar Project is powerful to say the least.
LINK HERE FOR THE FULL POP BLOG INTERVIEW
Here are the questions:
1) You’ve been a rep for 15 years. What is your background and what do you enjoy about being a rep?
2) How important is it that your photographers market themselves in addition to your efforts?
3) How often is video included in the brief and are you encouraging all your photographers to build a motion portfolio?
4) I want to ask you about your blog. It’s the only rep blog that is used to foster conversations and an openness between art buyers and reps. You also feature in-depth discussions by your photographers about the stories behind their personal and commercial projects. It stands alone as a much appreciated resource. What was your inspiration for taking this approach and what feedback have you gotten?
5) Many of the ways in which you run your agency are about furthering the conversation. How has this impacted the relationships you have with art buyers and the dialogues between your photographers and agencies and clients?
6) With blogging and an interest in personal work, there is a deeper understanding of the photographer and their creative process. Have art buyer’s expectations changed as a result? And has this had an effect on the way photographers contribute to the creative process? And are photographers producing different work?
7) You represent nine photographers, several with overlapping specialties but all with differing styles. What was the strategy behind building your roster?
8) The Specialty section on your site is an innovative way of presenting your photographers. Are art buyers finding this helpful?
9) You’ve been a rep for 15 years, how have you adapted to the challenges of tighter budgets and evolved how you work with clients and agencies?
10) There are a lot of agencies and many talented photographers based in San Francisco. What percentage of the jobs you bid on are for out of town agencies and for local agencies?
11) What is a recent project that one of your photographers shot for a Bay Area agency?