Category Archives: Richard Schultz

Sharing information about Richard Schulz, his work and his studio

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I learned something new that caused me to rethink the photographer face to face meeting. Thank you Richard Schultz.

© Richard Schultz - http://www.rschultz.com

For the last few years we have been really pushing for our photographers to go out on appointments to show their portfolios.  It is so important for them to hear the feedback for themselves and make their own relationships.  We have always believed that a face to face meeting with a photographer goes a long way towards fostering a long term relationship.

Besides shooting new work, making personal connections is the single most important thing that they should be doing.  We remind them that if they can mirror the marketing that we are doing for them, the effects are exponential.

Of course not everyone in the group enjoys this aspect of marketing or even has the time for it.  Those photographers tend to find other ways to make their connections. Regardless, we never stop encouraging.

Before a recent trip to LA, I was asked by Richard Schultz to help make appointments for him.  Our relationships in LA are strong and his reputation precedes him so they were fairly easy to schedule.  We were excited because he had a full schedule.

Since Richard and I were both in LA at the same time, I offered to attend his  appointment at Chiat Day.  Jigisha Bouverat is an old friend and I thought it would be beneficial for me to be there.  Besides, I of course wanted to see her myself to say hello.

The appointment was great.  Jigisha and I chatted and got caught up before she reviewed the work.  Other art buyers came over as well to say hello and look through the portfolio.  They asked Richard questions and everyone was very interested in the stories behind the images.

Exactly how I would have scripted the meeting.  I left feeling like it was a success.

Later that night, Richard let me know that while he too thought the meeting was a success, he thought it would have been better had I not been there.  His point wasn’t that I was a distraction but that on his own he would have had a greater chance of making his own connections.

I was silent at first because I had never considered this before.  I had always been of the mindset that it was important for either Lauranne or myself to be there to help guide the meeting or facilitate the connection.    I had never considered that on their own they would have more of a chance to shine.  Or, that without one of us they would have to own the meeting and make it their own success.

I was very appreciative of Richard’s observation and point of view.  And, more importantly I appreciated that he felt safe in our relationship to let me know what he was thinking.

I am not sure everyone in our group would agree or share his preference but I was glad that he spoke up. I learned something new because he did.

I see huge value in his approach and will make sure to encourage more independence among the group in the future.  Thank you Richard.

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Notes from a Rep’s Journal. Observations from Le Book’s Connection NYC

For those of you who do not know Lauranne Lospalluto, she has been working with me for almost 15 years now.  She and I are the perfect compliment for each other.  There is no one that could compare to Lauranne.   So, when I found myself unable to attend the recent Le Book Connections event in NY, it was natural that she would pair up with Henrietta Pertuz (our NY associate) and handle the event without me.

Lauranne of course came home excited about how it went and wanted to share her observations.  Here is what she had to say.

“After our recent success at LeBook’s Connections LA event in January we decided to jump on board for LeBook Connections NYC.  It was hosted in a beautiful light-filled loft in SoHo and did not disappoint. I would consider it a huge success for our group.

Here are some of my observations at the event:

New work is still crucial

New work was again a big request and thankfully most of our photographers had recently updated their portfolios.  The Connections show in NY is larger than LA so creatives that are familiar with your work already will easily pass by your booth if new and interesting work isn’t front and center.  It was not uncommon for visitors to our booth to ask to show them “just what was new.”  David Martinez‘s portfolio was a big hit because he upped the ante and installed a video page to his portfolio; which was a huge success and draw for the entire group.

Shifting trends in photography

I heard from many creatives that they were “looking to shake things up for their clients”.  I heard that so often that it began to feel like a trend.  I found several high-end fashion companies wanting to move away from high fashion and get more “natural and down to earth.” We wouldn’t typically target our photographers to high fashion so I was surprised and excited when these clients asked to be added to our lists.  When a representative from Perry Ellis International asked to be added to Richard Schultz’s mailing list, I knew things were changing out there.  As a result, I walked away with a new experience once again due to the power of good photography.\

IPads or Portfolios?

From my NY experience nothing beats the printed book.  We were fortunate to have Richard Schultz’s large 18”x24” book with vivid colors as a centerpiece and it drew in many people.  Once we had the captivated audience it was easy to share other work as well.  We used the iPad to show video skills of our photographer and also categorize them in groups (food, product, lifestyle, cars, etc).  This was helpful when someone only wanted to see car work for example and didn’t have time to look through multiple portfolios.   Seeing how many exhibitors were present, I am sure the variety of presentations at each booth was appreciated.

The size was manageable and the event well attended

You would think this would not need to be an observation but we had never participated on the NY event and people often talked about how “it is a bit overwhelming.”  After our positive experience in LA we were curious to see  how and if NY differed.

We must admit the days started off slow but eventually people started to arrive.   Maybe it was the 95+ degree that caused the slow start , but as the day progressed, there was always a steady stream of people.  There was never a time we felt unable to attend to our booth fully.   As for the attendees, many of them mentioned that it was the best one yet!

Visual cues at your booth are important

When Heather and I designed our banner, we did so choosing images that worked well visually together and represented the most interesting of the work of that particular photographer.  We chose the most creative and graphic images that we thought would stand out on the banner best.  The result was that our food photographer’s image wasn’t a plated food image, our car photographer’s image wasn’t  a car and our product photographer’s image wasn’t a literal product image.   We noticed that on a few occasions, creatives would look at the banner as a literal guide to what was in our group.  If we hadn’t engaged them to determine what it was they were looking for and then redirect them, there was the potential they would pass us by.  Next time our imagery will be more literal for sure!

Europe was well represented

After our experience in LA, we knew that people traveled from all over to attend.  At the west coast event there were not as many European visitors as were in NYC for obvious reasons.  We made several new connections from Europe, Mexico and South America.

The variety of attendees was appreciated

There was a great mix of advertising clients, client direct, editorial, graphic design, freelancer, interactive and digital media companies.   Since many of these clients are hard to research we were grateful for the opportunity to meet them.  It was nice to be in the position of being approached rather than the other way around as is typical.

Once again we were given the opportunity to connect with friends, clients and collegues and make new connections.  And, in this ever changing industry having direct access to all of those people under one roof was powerful.  Thank you Le Book.”

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We have launched our stock inspiration site; a whole new way to approach looking for stock.

Over the years, art buyers and clients have reached out to us in the hopes of finding unique imagery to purchase for their projects.    Thanks to the branding we put into our original stock website people thought of us as a resource and we often got calls.

What we realized over the years was that in order for a stock website to be successful, it had to be updated constantly.  There were many times we would get requests that we fulfilled directly rather than online since the group did not have the time to keep up with the necessary updates.

Add to that the fact that Andy Anderson and Ann Elliott Cutting started their own stock site and Richard Schultz, Ann Elliott Cutting and Leigh Beisch all had images with other stock houses.  It became harder and harder to maintain a site with enough images to make an impact.

It became apparent to us that we did not need our website to be the place where someone could see every one of the available images.  We only needed to communicate that we had strong imagery for consideration so that we could get a call for a custom search.

Understanding this led to the evolution of our site from a searchable site to one that offers access to the photographer’s own image collections; even if they are available for license through independent stock agencies.

Since our site is not searchable by keyword and all searches are custom, we call our website a stock inspiration site.   It was designed with the understanding that you want deeper access to our photographers libraries and the understanding that it is difficult to search each of their personal and stock websites independently.  The purpose is to inspire clients with our images and motivate them to contact us for a customized stock photography search.

To demonstrate that we understand how clients choose imagery, each portfolio on our site illustrates a different word.  For example, in the Denial portfolio, we included images that showcase each photographer’s interpretation of that word.  Scrolling over the Licensing Info option, reveals the availability of the imagery, any relevant stock house notes and where to find more information.

When clients have a request, it is easy for them to reach us.   They are directed to click on the Contact link on the bottom of each page anywhere on the site or on the email link within the Licensing Info.  We then will create a custom search by pulling from our photographer’s images available in all of their different stock libraries.

Some have asked why we would want to send the sale away from us and to the independent stock houses.  My response to that is simple.  It is more important for us that our photographers are considered than it is for us to make the sale.  The easier we can make it for our photographers to be considered, the more it will happen.

For us, it is all about exposure for our photographers and how better to do that than to inspire the very people who are needing the imagery?

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More QR Code Fun

As I mentioned in a previous post, the photographers in our group have a new perspective on their businesses and are constantly looking for new opportunities to showcase their ever evolving creative talents.  Last week, I wrote about how many of them are enjoying playing with QR Codes to hopefully engage creatives on a different level.  Hunter Freeman was the first to send out his postcard with the QR Code as part of his photograph. He has been receiving a steady stream of print requests so it has been a fun way to get instant feedback.

Kevin Twomey and Richard Schultz both also embraced the idea and have direct mail cards arriving this week.  I encouraged them both to think of an idea that was relevant to their photography and the image they chose to promote.  Here is what they came up with:

Kevin Twomey

© Kevin Twomey-www.kevintwomey.com


As is the case with many photographers, Kevin is embracing video and learning how it is relevant to his still life clients.  He has been having fun learning the technology and is looking for new ways to share what he has learned.

When he recently stumbled across Mar Glusker, a man who collects calculating machines, he knew this was the perfect opportunity to shoot both film and video. He liked the idea of not just photographing the machines but concepting an idea with the machines and the owner that utilized photography, video and sound.   He knew that together, the film and video would make for the perfect mailer and QR code reward.  With the help of Sirius Sound he directed a video that has a bit of a “STOMP” feel to it.   He is hopeful that his video is a fun payoff for those who try the scanner.  To see the link, click here.

Richard Schultz

© Richard Schultz-www.rschultz.com


Richard Schultz’s images are about finding what is most unique in a situation and capturing a moment that feels true and authentic.  He uses what he finds to create a photograph that perfectly captures the emotion of the person in their environment.  He is the true definition of a “real people” photographer.

Therefore, it was not a surprise that his idea for the link from the code centered around the people he photographed for his mailer. On a recent shoot to a girls camp in New Hampshire he photographed the campers in their own setting.  He explains that “their gift to me was forgetting that I was there.  By giving me nothing, they gave me everything.”

Therefore, it is natural that Richard’s QR code links to a note from him about his experience and a more of the photographs that he took while he was there.  It is a special glimpse into a private world.  A perfect way to get us all thinking about summer.  Link here to see where the QR code takes you.  

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Playing around with QR codes- our photographers try to engage with creatives on a different level

©Hunter Freeman-www.hunterfreeman.com

As I shared in a previous post, our group has evolved their mindsets to embrace the changes happening in our industry and has begun to look for new opportunities to keep their businesses evolving.  We committed to moving forward with a entrepreneurial mindset and approaching each project with a new perspective. 

 We have new glasses on and we are ready to use them.

We recognize that it is important to evolve not only our work but how we share it as well.  So, with these new glasses, we examined each of our marketing tools and tried to find unique and interesting ways to inspire creatives to engage with our work.

One tool we examined closely was the direct mail piece.  We reviewed what the current ones in our group looked like without our new glasses and then examined what they looked like with the new glasses.  If the ultimate goal is to excite the viewer and inspire them to view our websites, then we wanted to think of something that not many other photographers were doing; even if it was just for a mailer or two.

Many ideas were discussed and we decided that it would be fun to experiment some with the QR Code.  We researched the technology and realized that it was quite easy to incorporate them into the mailers.

While the codes have been successful for many companies, we wanted to be careful and not just embrace the technology for the sake of trying it out.  We didn’t want to chase a trend but find a way to make it relevant for the people who would be scanning the code.  More than anything, we knew that the user had to be rewarded with something for taking the time to participate.  We didn’t just want the code to send them to our site – they could do that on their own.  It seemed like a lot of effort for little pay out.   So, we got creative and thought of different ways to reward the viewers who took the time to engage.

Hunter Freeman’s mailer will be the first in our group to arrive on your desks.  Kevin Twomey’s and Richard Schultz’s are not far behind.  Each thought of an idea that was relevant to their photography brand and the image they chose to promote.

Hunter decided to play off of his wildly successful astronaut series and create an image that incorporated the QR code.  His quirky sense of humor made it easy for him to think of a concept that played off the original series.  When you scan the code, it takes you to a site that offers you a free print of one of the astronaut images.  Seeing the amount of emails he gets daily for prints, this seemed like a relevant reward.

For those of you who don’t want to wait for the card, click here.  Be honest though – please do not order a print if you didn’t actually scan the code.  Let’s save them for those who played the game.  (But of course, if you really must have one, let us know and we can see what we can do.)

We of course have no idea how many people will actually try out the code, but we are excited to find out.  And, please do spread the word if you like what we share with you when you scan the code.

For those of you who do not have a QR code scanner – you can easily get one in the App store if you search QR Code.

Thanks for be open minded!