Solving Mysteries – 5 Questions for Kellie Bingman, Art Producer at McKinney

One of the greatest parts of my job is that I get to travel around the country visiting ad agencies to meet art buyers and creatives.  I love that our goal is to go to every major market every year.  Even with that goal, there are still a few places that we have not been able to visit.  McKinney in North Carolina is one of them.

When we cannot visit,  we host Portable Shows.  This is when we send the portfolios and schedule a food delivery so that the art producer can host for us.  Although not our preference, it is a great way to show off the portfolios in places we are not able to visit.  Kellie Bingman, the VP, Art Production Supervisor, at McKinney has always been so enthusiastic in hosting them for us and for that we are grateful.  We recently asked her to submit answers to our Solving Mysteries series.

See below for what she had to share.  Thank you Kellie.

1) How do you search for photography nowadays?

My ‘go-to’ resources when I’m looking for photographers are rep websites, Workbook and PDN’s Photoserve. Occasionally I may refer to a mailer I’ve hung on to. I still get excited to find a really unique, creative, well-designed promotional piece in my mailbox.

2) Are you noticing any trends in photography that you find exciting?

Usually you can spot a trend or two but I haven’t really noticed anything new in the past few months. An old trend, and one I’d like to see change, is the frequency of being able to do shoots. There are so many amazing photographers I want to work with; I just need more occasions to do so!

3) What are you reading online?   

I’ve been spending a lot of time on Pinterest. I find all kinds of inspiration from artists who I was previously unfamiliar with. I also check out various art, photography, design and industry web sites. A Photo Editor and Feature Shoot are two I check regularly.

In addition to online “eye candy” I’m still passionate about print and I devour 20-30 magazines every month. I always jot down the names of my favorite photographers and photo stylists so that I can look them up and bookmark them when I’m back in front of the computer.

In addition, I try to stay on top of all the PDN’s, Archive and Communication Arts that pile up in my office.

4) What is the last image that got your attention?

I can’t narrow it down to just one. What’s important to me is that a photographer has a developed sense of style that offers a unique viewpoint.

5)  What does your client value most from a photographer?  Does that differ from what you value?  And, has that changed over the years?

I think most clients value a ‘good deal’, a sense of teamwork and a photographer willing to go the extra mile. These are important to me as well, but in these days of extremely tight timelines and ever decreasing budgets I’ve come to value a good producer almost as much as the photographer. The collaboration between the photographer, producer and myself to find creative solutions to make the budget and timing work is paramount.