Jain Lemos » Photography and Publishing

I Shall Return

Thursday, November 5, 2009

I am going to be busy with something else for awhile, at least until the end of this year. I may post from time to time, so if you care to be notified of those, please scroll down to the bottom of the page and add your email to the “subscribe” box. Until then, stay on the good course and if you drift downwind too far, remember to go back to basics: One photo, one post, one call per day! ~ Jain

photos by Jain

by Jain

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ellenherbert@roadrunner.com - Hi sweetheart - thinking of you! ox EllenNovember 6, 2009 - 9:58 am

Susie Fitzhugh - Hi Jain, I hope everything is all right with you. I will keep track of you no matter what, though...good luck, SusieNovember 6, 2009 - 4:27 pm

Roberto Soncin Gerometta - You are in my thoughts RobertoNovember 11, 2009 - 7:32 am

Hoiyin Ip - Hi Jain, just thought about remaining our "happy holidays" tradition. No matter where you are, what you are doing, I wish you a lot of fun!November 24, 2009 - 11:16 am

1750 Images to Look Through

Sunday, October 18, 2009

I’ve finished viewing the entries of the 175 top finalists for this year’s Photolucida Critical Mass. Each artist submits 10 images and a statement. This year the judging scale was:

NO (= 0) “Someone may be interested in this work but it’s not me.”
YES (= 1) “I’m glad that I’ve seen this.”
YES + (= 3) “Strong work, but not quite wowed by it.”
WOW (= 7) “Amazing — I can’t wait to show this to someone.”

I like the work of Jason Demarte, Lauren Henkin and Ara Oshagan. I’ll share more artists with you and explain what I liked and didn’t like about their submissions in some future posts.

BROKEN LINKS FIXED!

photographers

by Jain

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Lauren Henkin - Hey Jain! Thanks so much for taking a look at my work... I'm enjoying reading your blog. Best to you, Lauren HenkinOctober 20, 2009 - 2:05 pm

A page for every species on the planet

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Twirling Saguaro. Photo by Jain Lemos.

Can you provide a few images to help build the Encyclopedia of Life? It is an incredible global partnership between the scientific community and the general public to record every species on the planet, about 1.8 million. (This is NOT the type of image they are looking for.) As of late August, almost 40% of EOL’s 33,000 images are from five photographers: from Portugal, Australia (2), Spain and Austria. You can see a showcase of the best here.

If you want to provide images you agree to do so under a Creative Commons license, so be sure to read the Licensing Policy first. I suggest selecting CC‐BY‐NC (Attribution‐NonCommercial). Start by viewing the instructions on contributing photos via the EOL Flickr group on their How To Slideshow. There are 18 slides; open to full screen mode. Let me know if you decide to participate and what you will be contributing. I am going to submit some shots of the friendly, small white lizards that hang out by our front door.

just a suggestion, photos by Jain

by Jain

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Field Trip!

Friday, October 2, 2009

Toward Los Angeles, Calif., March 1937. By Dorothea Lange.

Yesterday, Jamie Williams and I arranged for a private print study session at The University of Arizona’s Center for Creative Photography. We selected a box of gelatin silver prints by Dorothea Lange, and a Magnum group portfolio. This image was one of my favorites of the whole lot we viewed, about 50 in all, with the patient help of Art Historian Shana Lopes. I say patient, because Jamie and I wanted to see many of the prints in the best light and position, and Shana was more than accommodating.

The Center has 80,000 works by 2,000 photographers. We know we’ll be back for another session soon. The Center is also exhibiting a large Robert Mapplethorpe show in the main gallery and we toured the walls with plenty of opinions!

highly recommended, photographers

by Jain

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Copyright Alliance’s Letter to the White House

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

I’m passing on this call to action from the APA and the Copyright Alliance and I hope you will pass it on, too. I also suggest watching the video “Copyright in the Classroom” on the homepage. If you teach or have children in school, their study courses and teaching aids are excellent.

©©©©©©©©©©

September 29, 2009
Dear Friend of APA,

Advertising Photographers of America is partnering with the Copyright Alliance in asking you to sign a letter that is being sent to President Obama and Vice President Biden. APA’s advocacy efforts to support strong copyright protections for photographers and all owners of intellectual property are a vital component of our mission. With the threat of further erosion of copyright protections on the horizon, sending a message now to the President is an opportunity that should not be missed.

The Copyright Alliance is a non-partisan coalition of associations, creators and copyright industry leaders that give a voice to individual authors of creative content including photographers. This letter allows your voice to be heard in cooperation and inclusion with creatives from all areas of intellectual property.

Let the White House know that their support is critical to the protection of the rights of artists and the continued value of creative efforts in today’s society.

Go to www.copyrightalliance.org/letter/ to sign the letter. It is an easy process of entering your name, city, state, type of artist and email address. Click the sign button and you’re all done.

Once you have signed the letter please forward it on to your colleagues and friends in all areas of creative output.

Thank you.
Theresa Raffetto, President APA National
Stephen Best, CEO APA National

highly recommended, photo industry

by Jain

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My Organic Competitor is Paul Michael Glaser

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

I believe we’ve reached a point of Internet Osmosis.

My website, www.jainlemos.com appears on SpyFu. Their motto is “Spy on Your Online Competitors.” An alert this morning led me there for the first time.

This is the link to my site’s listing on SpyFu. Notice the webpage’s tab header is my URL. Towards the bottom of the page, there are two boxes with information. One is for Organic Keywords, obviously gleaned from my posts. The other box provides a list of Top Organic Competitors. A bar next to each of my competitors measures the overlap. Today, my highest competitor site is the Official Website of Paul Michael Glaser. No surprise that David Soul would be second.

In 1987, I worked on the feature film, The Running Man as an assistant to actor Yaphet Kotto. Paul was the film’s director (he was called in to take over the project as director a few weeks into production). I remember the moment he arrived on location. We were at California Steel Industries in Fontana, Calif. on a hot and dusty day. More chaos than usual. The movie is set in the year 2019, only 10 years from now.

So anyway, that is a coincidence. But why else would my site overlap so high with Paul’s? The movie is based on the Stephen King novel (written under his pseudonym Richard Bachman).

In 1997, I worked for Headland Digital Media, a division of Penguin Putnam (Pearson, PLC) in Novato, Calif. Our project team created online communities surrounding major book launches, including Tom Clancy’s Politika and… Stephen King’s Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass. Here is a press release announcing the site we built.

In 2007, I updated my LinkedIn profile. I know this because of a recommendation date. This is one of the few (I think) places where I list my full resume details. It reads:

Content Strategist Consultant, Headland Digital Media, Pearson PLC: Developed and launched effective and innovative online marketing Web sites to rollout and promote new books by authors Tom Clancy and Stephen King, increasing site stickiness with the Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass trivia game, exclusive screensaver, and sweepstakes, and the Politika exclusive online game that allowed readers to enter Clancy’s world and encouraged repeat site visits with online prizes.

In 2017, I will check back with SpyFu.

Meanwhile, I will watch the 1977, Season 2, Episode 13 of “Starsky and Hutch” for some clues.

things you might not know

by Jain

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Unclear About Copyright?

Monday, September 14, 2009

Mask Warning. Photo by Jain Lemos

Apparently some folks still are. Beate Chelette, who continually amazes me with her capacity for having her eyes on all things photography, gives us this Noteworthy Update on her Photosecrets blog. It’s the tale of an LA Times reporter, an attorney from Getty, a Long Beach travel agency owner, a website design firm and a “generic shot of a woman sitting in front of a computer.”

I took this photo at an antique mall last weekend, considering a new mask for my collection. I was wondering how I might use it in a little post.

by Jain

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Prepare for Chance

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Lighting Essentials for Photographers is building their article archives about all things lighting. I like the tech sheets section. Their recent interview with photographer Daron Shade mentioned me and I’m happy to reciprocate.

Daron said, “By chance meeting, I met portfolio consultant Jain Lemos and happened to have a few prints with me. She saw clear consistencies across a number of very different images, helping me realize and refine my own style. She really set me on the right path to redefining myself.”

Daron gives a good reminder to keep some type of portfolio with you at all times.

clients and projects

by Jain

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:-)

Friday, September 4, 2009

House, Photo by Jain Lemos.

photos by Jain

by Jain

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Michael - A haiku photograph! Some images are fairly straight forward in meaning; others invite you to supply the story, as it were, but are often quite convoluted and contrived. Still others (the cream of the crop, as far as I am concerned...) offer the viewer an opportunity to create the rest of a story. Deceptively simple. Well done!September 5, 2009 - 6:32 am

I Heart Good Spreadsheets

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Sept. 4: Speaking of what things cost, my Bay Area writer friend, John Joss, pointed me to this article on SF Gate by Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll. Note the cost of one NYT story was $400K. The editing cost of that one story was $70K. All the costs are outlined in the article. Also, read Jon’s conclusions as to the worth/merit of the story!

Photography Director Rob Haggart, over at his industry must-read blog “A Photo Editor,” posted two actual estimates for recent advertising shoots (click on the Full Screen button to view). To me, they appeared fair and right in the sweet spot of what all parties can comfortably manage. I shared them with one veteran corporate/advertising photographer and she agreed that these look like nice jobs!

I’ve produced big shoots for documentary books with million dollar photography budgets. Since I started working in photography publishing in 1988, I’ve seen prices go up and down and all around based on the “economy” but all along the way, it’s been mostly about the value of what you deliver in the end. Most clients will accept a reasonable bid (or near to) when you have solid explanations that accompany your estimate outlining specifically what they will receive for the price or why certain costs they might not have anticipated are really needed. Budgeting is both a big task and an art. Pulling numbers out of the clouds rarely works. There needs to be a formula behind all figures, including creative fees and how they relate to the rights granted.

Sharing budgets and pricing in a public forum as Rob has provided == not all the time, but every once in a while == I think helps photographers become more confident about their own estimating process. It’s great information and thanks to Rob and his network for sharing them with us.

photo industry

by Jain

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The Reinvention of Stephanie Diani

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

About eight months ago, Los Angeles-based photographer Stephanie Diani hired me for one of my super-duper Comprehensive Brand Reinvention Consultations. Stephanie’s portfolio was solid. Her notable list of clients and awards told me she was established.

But now, Stephanie was ready to kick her profile up several notches. We made a plan! To begin, I wanted to know:

What makes Stephanie tick? What makes her rattle? I put her through some fun (but not overly woo-woo) exercises.
Which words “fit” Stephanie? We came up with a big list of concepts that more accurately introduce Stephanie and her work to clients.
Did Stephanie’s existing images fit these concepts? I analyzed her various portfolios. Armed with our new “idea” of Stephanie, it was clear to see what was working and what wasn’t.
How would her portfolio benefit if we pulled it apart, reorganized the mix, and applied stronger sequencing to her best images?

Once we had the essentials together, it was time for action. I helped Stephanie complete two new self-funded projects for her portfolio. Here is one of the images from her “Man Made God” study:

"An Ending" from the series, "Man Made God" by Stephanie Diani.

During this process, positive things started happening for Stephanie.

Stephanie’s second new project, “Scenes from a Marriage,” immediately received recognition and won a Jurors’ Selection Award in APA’s 2009 “Tell us a Story” annual photo competition.

We obtained credentialing for Stephanie to continue shooting on her project, “Dames: Legends of Burlesque.” She was hired for new shoots, foreign publications licensed her images for excellent fees, and she’s been approached by top-tier agents for representation. Her phone is ringing.

Ta da! Stephanie’s new website is launched and looking terrific.

As we start on the next marketing phases, expect to be seeing and hearing a lot more about Stephanie and her work!

clients and projects, photographers

by Jain

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Sonny Mills - GREAT Image - The series "Man Made God" is out of this world!! Wonderful work... SMAugust 26, 2009 - 2:07 pm

E R M - Great Images from Stephanie. Excellent play of lighting and character positioning! As always Jain, you have the eye for reinvention!August 27, 2009 - 6:48 pm

Hoiyin Ip - Great post! Love Stephanie's photo stories, and the twists! And Jain, this is a very good explaintion of what you do. Let us know more.September 2, 2009 - 10:10 pm

Alex Long - Much more fond of the 'Scenes from a marriage' series, which for me was far more intriguing, imaginative and well thought out. Saw it at Host Gallery (Old St. London) and flipping loved it!September 4, 2009 - 1:44 pm

California’s Coast: Why it’s Hot

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Once again, wildfires are raging in the Golden State. My readers know I was born and raised in the coastal town of Mendocino, Calif. I call myself a beach baby, especially now that I’m currently based in Tucson, Ariz. I’ve lived near the Pacific Ocean for the vast majority of my life in many coastal areas throughout the state including Tiburon, San Francisco’s Marina District, Santa Cruz, Pismo Beach, Montecito, Malibu, Venice Beach and Laguna.

Over the years, I’ve heard many complaints about the California Coastal Commission’s restrictions on individual property owners who want to make improvements or changes to their land and buildings, even for homes located far away from the coastline. What was once a plan to temporarily protect the Coast’s fragile environment has turned into a bizarrely-run group of bureaucrats bent on making sure you don’t fix a road, build a fence or cut down a tree without their arduous permission and permitting process.

What’s more, the prohibition of property owners and firefighter authority’s ability to clear Commission-protected California Chaparral (essentially dry brush) to prevent fires from spreading and jumping has caused home–and even life–loss throughout the state.

I want our beaches to be as clean and accessible to all as possible. It is also important to protect any truly endangered species in our coastal areas. I like hugging trees, too. Yet even former Coastal Commission members and executives agree that that the checks-and-balances such a Board should be bound by are so completely out of whack that something has to be done.

To that end, I applaud the efforts of Richard Oshen, a documentary filmmaker whose compelling exposé, “Sins of Commission: The Politics of Fire,” opened my eyes and my mind. If you only see one more film this year, make it “Sins of Commission.”

highly recommended

by Jain

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Sonny Mills - JL: Very important subject matter! Thanks for the shout out... Glad you are SO aware. SonnyAugust 17, 2009 - 7:04 am

Jain - I received several direct emails regarding this post, including one from the film's creator, Richard Oshen. I wanted to share them via comments so here are a few: "Jain, thanks for writing the great story and posting the Sins of Commission website on your website. You write so clearly making it easy for the reader to understand. The Commission recently had the State Attorney General’s office issue and serve Richard Oshen with a subpoena for all of his film. Richard refused to give them the film and a suit has been filed in Court regarding the First Amendment. He has more film than what is on the DVD and they wanted it all. Our government is getting pretty bad. There are two bills in the legislature--AB 226 and AB 291--that would let the Coastal Commission fine property owners up to $50,000 a day for what they deem is a violation of the Coastal Act without the benefit of a Court ruling. They should be going to the Governor for signature or veto soon." =============== Jain, great site!!! Thank you for writing about Sins of Commission. Think it is a chilling development for all reporters, photo-journalists and documentary filmmakers."August 17, 2009 - 10:23 am

Tamra Dempsey - Hi Jain, Thank you for posting this article — this is indeed a very important issue that needs much more publicity. My family has lived on property here in Santa Barbara, which has been handed down through generations for over half a century. There has never been a lot of money, but there has been arduous caretaking of the land. This past year, the ravage Tea Fire destroyed everything. Not a day later, as family members are left homeless, it was shocking to find out that A PERMIT WAS NEEDED JUST TO CLEAN UP; we're not talking re-build, we're talking a permit to remove the ashes (this is on top of the cost to pay for the bulldozer). As family, friends and the community waited in line for FEMA help, one frustration was that the relief money was going right back into the state, county and city's bureaucracy. It's an all too vicious cylce that has been witnessed first hand by far too many people. And to think this is only a sliver of the pie. Bravo to Richard Oshen for his documentation of much more of this non-sense.August 21, 2009 - 9:53 am

Cute sells

Friday, August 7, 2009

A kitten helps with panhandling requests in Mendocino, Calif. Photo by Jain Lemos.

photos by Jain

by Jain

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Sonny - Great Photo - seems like an ad for the blue clamp because of the way it jumps out in the image. It would be a great campaign for selling hiking/camping hardware and zip lines.August 8, 2009 - 7:01 am

Cindy Miller Hopkins - Great photo. I really like this one. I agree with Sonny ... with the hiking boots and clamp it would be a great ad for camping equipment.August 14, 2009 - 5:30 am

Who is Scott Kelby?

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Laurel poses for shooters on the Scott Kelby Photowalk in Tucson.

Baton twirlers from the 2009 National Championship Synergy Twirling Team practice in downtown Tucson, AZ. Photo by Jain Lemos.

Baton twirlers practice in downtown Tucson.

A baton twirler from the 2009 National Championship Synergy Twirling Team practices in downtown Tucson, AZ. Photo by Jain Lemos.

A baton twirler practices in downtown Tucson.

The Tweet that produced the above photos!

@suprspi via @jeremycowart re Photowalk 7/18: You’re not alone, never heard either! Thanks #togs http://bit.ly/11iR0M #SKPhoto
1:39 PM Jul 15th from web in reply to suprspi

Thanks to Twitter, I learned about Scott Kelby and his Worldwide Photowalk. This was the Second Annual, held on Saturday, July 18. I joined the morning group in Tucson led by Barney Streit, who did a fantastic job of organizing everything.

Laurel was one of the several models who came along and withstood the heat. I like these calm, “chalky” images of her.

I also want to give a shout out to the 2009 National Championship Synergy Twirling Team. I came across their practice during the walk and had a great time shooting these terrific twirlers. My shot with the baton in the air is my favorite. I like how the twirler with her hand on her hip has the light hitting her skin giving the cast of a baton.

Those of us participating on the official list were invited to upload our two best photos. Barney has made his final selection, which is this shot from Francis M. Tan. Congratulations, Fran! The Photowalk is Social Networking at its best: We get to play outside, search for photo ops scavenger hunt style, meet new folks and share visions—all with a little friendly competition added in to keep us on our toes.

highly recommended, photos by Jain

by Jain

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Daron Shade - Wonderful meeting you at the photo walk. I learned quite a bit from our short conversation. You have reinvigorated my focus on rebuilding my portfolio and business model. Thank you so much!July 31, 2009 - 9:13 am

Eric Neilsen - Scott Kelby is certainly a mover in the world of NAPP, and Photoshop in general, but I would not confuse him as a long toothed photographer. Scott is indeed one of the problems with photography. many of his books are just rehashing of old info. My first Nikon camera came with more useful information about picture taking and camera use than his books.September 3, 2009 - 8:08 am

Jain Lemos » Photography and Publishing

I Shall Return

1750 Images to Look Through

A page for every species on the planet

Field Trip!

Copyright Alliance’s Letter to the White House

My Organic Competitor is Paul Michael Glaser

Unclear About Copyright?

Prepare for Chance

:-)

I Heart Good Spreadsheets

The Reinvention of Stephanie Diani

California’s Coast: Why it’s Hot

Cute sells

Who is Scott Kelby?

The Tweet that produced the above photos!

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The Tweet that produced the above photos!

What I Do, How I Help

Memberships

Visuals on this Site

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