Just When I Thought We Couldn't Get Any Busier....
Why does having a large camera setup make people think you're on some commissioned assignment? Last fall I took some photos during a neighborhood "Octoberfest" and while walking around with a 70-200mm/D750 albatross around my neck, the editor of a local magazine approached me and asked if I would send her some of my shots. I did. They made the next issue. Hurray for me.
She contacted me again in November and asked if she could do a feature story about our family (because we are so very interesting, after all) and we obliged. I took some photos of us, which made the article, but I was really surprised when one of those pictures made the cover as well.
Febuary 2016 cover
Fast forward a few months where I was snapping away at our local July 4th picnic. I sent in a few photos to that magazine as requested, and the new editor wrote back she wanted to meet for coffee. Hmmm. Remember a few blogs ago when I mentioned you just never know where your journey as a photographer will take you? Well...
Long story short, (too late?) Denise and I are now "on-staff" of this regional magazine. I'm in charge of a couple of monthly segments, "Home of the Month" and "Garden of the Month." and Denise will be providing healthy living articles including Feng Shui tips and healthy recipes. In exchange for our time and contributions, we are getting a huge discount on a half page ad each month. Bartering is a great way to collaborate.
We're not sure what the print ads will yield or if the contacts we make along the way will lead to customers, but we're giving this a try. Marketing is a funny beast. At the very least we are meeting some new and interesting neighbors.
The magazine lay-up folks really butchered my images with terrible crops.
Talk about baptism by fire. After we agreed to all this the regular photog, who shoots the family spotlight articles, had a conflict so I ended up doing that shoot this time around as well. As I'm typing this blog, I'm also putting the finishing touches on three articles, including photos, and wrapping up our advertising lay-up. All of which is due tomorrow for the September issue.
Wish us luck!