Jain Lemos » Photography and Publishing

Tosh liked the story about my grandfather. She wrote, “Yikes! I wouldn’t want to chase my DNA. Probably my relatives still owe people money.” Ha. I hadn’t thought of that.

I heard consumer Hummers will soon be extinct. Four GMC truck and SUV plants are closing. New autos sales are down 65 percent across the board. I no longer drive a Pathfinder, but I miss her. I enjoyed the elevated view, on-the-fly 4WD and the overall feeling of security.

TAKE NOTE: There are unique photo opportunities across the nation to convey these stories. Chris Verene-style portraits of car salespeople, chain-smoking as they wait for their next Up, comes to mind.

Tomorrow, I’m going on a road trip for a few weeks in my 2006 Acura with navi and XM, so I won’t be alone. I found a Fuel Cost Calculator. Wish me luck. I will be posting here and there along the way.

A tranquil moment at the top of the island. Lagoa Funda, Flores, Azores. Photo by Jain Lemos.

My grandfather was born in 1869 on the island of Flores, Azores. He had 14 older siblings. At birth, he was named in memory of his elder brother, Antonio Ignacio Lemos, because my great grandparents thought this first son named Antonio was lost at sea. My great uncle Antonio, born circa 1842, had left Flores by sail as a young man, heading for America. En route, he shipwrecked off the coast of Italy, survived, married and started a family. I guess he didn’t have time to notify the folks back home that he was vivo. Eventually, Antonio made it to the New World, arriving around 1882 in Mendocino, California, the town where I was born and raised.

In 1877, back in Flores, my eight-year-old grandfather, Antonio, left the island with a family group and landed safely in Massachusetts. By age fifteen he had become a master barber. Because he also spoke four languages fluently, he was a sought-after court interpreter in Boston. Eventually he moved west to San Francisco, then made his way north to Mendocino by the turn of the century. On arrival, he was amazed to find another Antonio Lemos in town. Yes, it was his long-thought-dead brother. I can picture this surreal and emotional scene! My grandfather promptly changed his name to Antone Braga Lemos, or “Mr. B.” as our family refers to him. The brothers lived out their lives in Mendocino along with many Portuguese families from the Azores. Antonio died in 1913; Antone in 1938.

I wish I would have known my grandfather in person. In 2006, I made my first trip to Flores. Two years later, I still feel the impact of being there. I believe my footprints fell on top of at least one of the Antonio’s. I understand the great need my grandfather and his brother must have felt in order to leave the island in pursuit of potential fortunes. Their dream to come to America parallels my dream of living my final years on Flores, painting, photographing and writing novels about old times and journeys. It is a life I imagine as one full of bliss, amongst loving and kindred people.

Today we’re serving up Beckham on a Malibu beach for you. Uh huh. Armani. And by photogs Mert & Marcus. When you hail from Turkey and Wales, you can team up and straddle vault with David out at Zuma. Quite a trio of technicians at work. It may be time to revert to a coming soon site. At least for the summer. Either way, the heat is on.

Soon this high-gloss posting stint of mine will be over. I know I’m in my own little world, but it’s okay. They know me here…

While we’re on a heat wave, student photographer Emeline Rodelas M. sends me this photo from her current California shooting tour. She’s at my home beach and I’m getting down there after work, dang it.

For temporary refreshment, take a look at this sizzling video short from M.A.C. Cosmetics. Bring on summer!

According to this article, “Palm Springs has always been a jewel for still photographers.” So I called Locations Unlimited to find out who has been out there shooting recently. Oh, Ben Watts.

Now that we have a photo selected for our shoe client, this month we need to calculate a usage license.

For purposes of this quoting exercise, you work for the stock agency representing this image, which falls under a Rights Managed agreement. Your agency receives 60%; the photographer receives 40% of the total license.

The art buyer has told you (under the radar) that the pick-up photo budget for this advertising campaign is USD $18,000. They have asked for Industry Exclusive for North American (NA) footwear companies. He’ll need to see your breakdown for each usage so he can present it to his boss who will determine what she may want to adjust or drop. But everyone really loves the photo .

Your task: Determine the costs (break it down) for all six elements of usage. Can you get to $18K without one usage being under priced if it was a standalone quote?

1. Three consumer and three trade magazines, single placement on any interior page, up to full page image, one insertion per publication, one year, total circulation all magazines up to 12 million
2. Art display, up to 4′x6′, one version, in-store poster at 150 locations, two years
3. eNewsletter usage, three electronic issues, six months, total 2 million circulation
4. Company website, home page for six months up to ½ screen, home page spot/link for six months up to 1/8 screen, secondary pages for one year, up to ¼ screen
5. Web banner ads, all Internet distribution formats, multiple placements on any pages, size up to 300 x 600 pixels banner, single version, two years
6. Trade show presentation, projected display at booth, single placement on screen, looped, up to full screen image, single version, any quantity of shows up to six months

You can use online pricing or other tools to check each individual license. There is no deadline or winner, but if you have questions or want to show me what you came up with, my contact info is over on the left. As always, should you or any of your force become caught or killed….

That’s $10,800 for the stock agency and $7,200 for not having to figure all of this out.

The May Mentoring Assignment is closed. Thanks for participating .

I’ve combined the best selections. Here are the lightbox links:

Art Life Images
Stock Shop
Digital Railroad Marketplace
Jupiterimages

Corrine Geertsen is the winner, not so much for her image selections but for this alternate tag: Celebrate Life! Celebrate Yourself! Buy Shoes!

Based on Corrine’s headline, I selected the winning shot from Jupiterimages. It has an imaginative feel and good ad space composition. Many thanks to Jessica Stewart @ Jupiter for permission to post the comp file.

Place and Show? Which do you like based on the final selects? The June assignment is coming tomorrow so please join us for some fun.

There is a method to the madness of naming online galleries. Most photographers name slideshows based on common search engine terms. They use sticky labels: Lifestyle, Travel, Portraits, Architecture, Advertising, Corporate, Editorial, Food and Fashion.

So when a potential client plugs into Google: Architectural photographer Alexandria, Virginia, they are going to find you. Right?

In the above search today, Dana Hoff, who has a sponsored link, shows up in the top three, even though he is based in South Florida. His gallery categories include most of the stickies I mention. A client would need to drill down through many pages of results to find a decent (IMHO) architectural shooter in Alexandria. Showing up on a search depends on proper metatags, regular resubmission of your URL, tweaking flash code so it can be crawled and so on.

For those who don’t give a doubletruck about being found by Google-handicapped clients, consider these catchy gallery names:

Have you made out a check to yourself for $3 million from the Universal checking account? How is that Vision Board coming along? Did you write on a Post-It note “I am a success” and stick it to your mirror? Don’t try to figure out how the Law of Attraction (LOA) works. In fact, attempting to do so will mess things up.

For years I have looked at this photo of my parents, taken when they were first dating. Sometimes I think I was there. Actually, I was, but in the future. Photographs are instant LOA tools. Think of that when making your next images. Watch the transformation that happens internally and in your photos when you freeze a moment with the consciousness that you are also documenting infinity. Photograph an impression that resonates with your innermost desires and manifest in perpetuity.

Watching music videos is a lesson in mass marketing. Producers know how to blend universally appealing elements and at the same time, maintain individual artist branding. I am intrigued when I remember to turn on VH1. In an hour I get a sample of the latest and greatest high-value visual styling techniques. However, trying to assess the audience demographics for each artist/style/sound/message is like tracking an ant through a cornfield. There always seems to be an ingredient in each video that guarantees wide appeal.

Leona Lewis’ voice in “Bleeding Love” is impossible to get out of anyone’s head. Just watching her sing is spellbinding, so the video story is insignificant. The director wisely doesn’t make too much of it. Madonna’s superelastic workout with Timberlake while Timbaland supervises is “4 Minutes” to make everyone feel it’s time to get their butt to the gym. Lenny Kravitz’ message in “Love Love Love” is one we all need to hear daily. The director uses retro-colors and a mirror effect that drives Lenny’s point through the plasma into every home.

Country joins hard rock as Tim McGraw and Def Leppard survive more than “Nine Lives” showing off their superhero energy on a roaring and skillfully edited stage show video. Anyone watching can imagine a backstage pass thrill. And nineteen-year-old Adele weaves in so many nostalgic visual and auditory notes (that Etta James influence is killer) that she likely won’t be “Chasing Pavements” but will be running from venue to venue. No doubt she’ll be attracting every demographic bracket.

Revamping your bio, resume and artist statement will invigorate your career. Doing so will also compel you to pay closer attention to what’s next. Do you have all of these About Me documents ready to send out right now? If not, get busy with them, and have a professional editor or proofreader add some touchups.

Three bios: 250 words, 500 words, and one as long as it takes to showcase your career highlights. Use the long bio as a document for adding new accomplishments as they happen, and for unusual/cool sounding personal notes such as your creative children’s names and the geodesic dome you live in. When updating the shorter versions, extract only the vital credentials. We usually have one or two major claims to fame, so create the smaller bios around these, adding lesser notes as room permits. Read all versions of your bio out loud as though someone was introducing you to an audience.

A traditionally formatted resume: Be ready if a position comes along that offers you special opportunities. A resume details where and how you gained the experience you have. The point is to communicate what you have been responsible for. Add a section that includes a list of tools and software technologies you have mastered. These are strengths, but they probably don’t have a place in your bio or artist statement. A resume can also list projects you have worked on in detail, and any unique training.

Artist statement: This is your story and your path. Writing out your vision can take many forms but the goal is to define your individual aspirations. Pick one day a year, your birthday for example, to revisit your personal statement. As the years roll by, chances are you will want to make some changes.

It’s wedding month so I’m thinking about those down-on-one-knee or Jumbotron popping moments. For wedding shooters, such scenes can rarely be documented but recreations could become fashionable new lead shots for a couple’s album. As I will explain, I’m just getting around to reading April’s PDN wedding issue. Jose Villa’s cover image of a Belize wedding is a mini-course. Also, PDN designers must have been giddy with the shot’s space for type possibilities. Jose apologizes for not updating his blog because he’s been so busy. Hey, we totally understand .

Earlier I was researching fine art photographic papers for a client. I went straight to the site of trusted Ilford where they mention Dan Havlik’s review of their Galerie Gold Fibre Silk paper (alongside four competitor specialty inkjet papers) in the April PDN! Ilford has since announced their premounted Galerie Boards in sizes up to 20×24″. These are ready to pop into frames. Could be quite the time saver for those in-demand wedding photographers.

Lately the catch-phrase is Stay in the Now. But I hear the American Past calling. Last week, an editor from DK told me she was looking for global titles. I didn’t have one in my back pocket to show her.

Photographer Paul Mobley and Lena Tabori’s Welcome Books will issue American Farmer: The Heart of our Country this fall. I have recently mentioned two other noteworthy new projects: American Cowgirl and A Journey Through Literary America.

When the present moment of our country appears so bleak, I understand how preserving noble bits of our nation feels urgent and important to do. There is a surge or an urge or a purge happening. Though American stories may not be a fit for big One World (but in the meantime, pick-your-flag) publishers, on this day I see a need to document What It Was Like, What Happened, and What It’s Like Now.

Welcome to the American Recovery Group. I am an American, and my name is Jain.

…how abysmal keyword searching has become. That was a top topic at lunch yesterday with PACA Exec Director, Cathy Aron. Maybe to the rescue is Shannon Routzahn and her new Words for Images venture. The topper topic was PACA’s incredibly successful test drive of their find-the-owner-of-this-Orphan project. The Orphan Search service uncovered the rightful owner of an image in under an hour. And without a keyword in sight.