Yesterday I shared several NY Times assignments I’ve shot in the last month or so. I saved this story for its own post.

On occasion, I am lucky as a photographer to be placed in unique situations and meet people that I simply would not experience otherwise. The Times were doing a story on family members of serial killers and how their lives were changed by events beyond them. Obviously this was going to be an intense shoot.

I was photographing Danyall White, the sister of Richard Paul White, and the one who eventually turned him in to the police. Richard confessed to murdering six women in the Denver area.

From the article: “It wasn’t just the guilt of my brother being behind bars, but the guilt of watching everybody’s life falling apart because of what I did, the phone call that I made,” said Ms. White, 37. “Some of my family shunned me, and it ate away at me.”

Danyall turned to drinking after her mother died, but has been sober for some time now and is working on moving forward with her family. The other women seen in the clip is Maureen Rein, the sister of Danyall and Richard.

Well it’s been a lot of New York Times as of recent. I’ve enjoyed freelancing for the Times for several years now. It’s always nice to see a clip from them. Better still, is seeing someone reading an article with you photo attached.

Below are some clips.

My Photoshelter Homepage

There comes a point in a every photographers workflow. You’ve downloaded photos onto your computer and into a hard drive. Hours are spent editing away to make the perfectly contrasted portrait. Images have been sent to your client, or your mom, and finally you’ve archived everything to a second hard drive. As a photo pro, you eagerly move onto your next shoot, forgetting the 40-50 selects from your last shoot. The hard drives pile up and the images get lost in the void of metal enclosures which, of course, are themselves enclosed by a dark closet next to your guest room.

Then there was the time you needed that one image of a long lost friend or that important portrait of that business man you photographed back in 2005. You file through dozens of hard drives finding the one you actually remembered to label – “Summer 2005″. Have you have been restarting your drive to run the motor and fan every 6 months? Alas, you have not, and your drive doesn’t boot up. You’ve now lost ALL those images. The day, and likely the week, is ruined. Everyone is sad.

That is one way to handle your old images. There is another way! I use Photoshelter and I love it. Now hold on just one moment as I put on my salesman hat.

I still use hard drives. It’s crazy, but I even still use DVDs! Yet, Photoshelter has now become a necessary and easy part of my photo workflow. Just before my hard drive goes into the closet, I simply upload my favorite 40 images from each shoot to my online archive. Now my images are backed up online. Think of it as an extra safety net for your images. Most importantly, my images are now online.

I’ll say it once more…my images are now online! That means that I can access them and download them to my hard drive from anywhere, and so can other people. That’s the key. Other people can now find my images. With proper keywords and captions, Photoshelter has become THE way to sell stock. I can honestly say that at least twice a month I sell an image that would normally be hidden inside that dark closet (which really isn’t that dark.) That means I am making money from simply uploading my old images. Hello sushi dinner!

So now, I am making money and safely storing my old images. Great. But wait, there’s more! Photoshelter also has great social networking capabilities and has become the number one gateway to my portfolio website. I have received more that five jobs after being found directly through the Photoshelter directory. Clearly editors and art buyers are hip to the trend.

So, let me put my Madmen hat back on the rack.

No matter how you archive your images or what service you use, having them online is an absolute must. Here are the top reasons why:

1. Online archiving is close to a guarantee for safe photo preservation. Of course, don’t stop with hard drives, but when they fail you still have them online.

2. Get noticed: Your photos will be online and others can find them through proper keywording and captions.

3. It’s all about SEO: Simply put, adding links to your blog and portfolio helps your search rankings and helps people find your photos.

4. Social networking through archiving: Get your old photos circulating through the social web world.

5. Sell, sell, sell: With your photos online, you will make money. It’s only a matter of time.

6. Find your images quickly, easily, and anywhere!

7. Look professional: An archive can be your portfolio. Don’t present yourself as a photographer if you only have a flickr.

Have I made my point? Get your images online.

Now, let me plug my portrait photo workshop which will take place in Oaxaca, Mexico the first week of April. In addition to portraits, during the workshop, I will be talking about the business of photography and will be going into greater detail on selling images and using an online archive. Join us.

UPDATE: I’m happy to announce that Photoshelter will be offering a discount membership for those attending my workshop. If you needed the extra incentive…there it is! Big high five to the fine folks at Photoshelter!

Once A Day photo postings now on Tumblr.

Did I mention there will be a photo posted once a day?

Come on people. Follow.

http://mattnager.tumblr.com/

Here is yesterday’s post:

Got a call, accompanied with a neat little interview, from a reporter with Wired UK regarding my experience shooting NASA’s new Orion Spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin here in Colorado.

Not sure where the interview ended up, but this photo was recently featured in WiredUK.

Be sure to see more photos of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle on my Archive.

As many are compiling their “Best Of 2011″ images for contests and what not, I had a great opportunity to photograph Denver’s own Best Of list for 5280 Magazine’s 2011 Game Changers issue. The issue ran in December and had a great look and design.

It was a challenging shoot with interesting portrait concepts. At my meeting with Photo Editor Sarah LaVigne and Art Director Dave McKenna, we discussed ways to best illustrate moving forward or making change. The idea we came up with was to shoot each subject in front of a white backdrop, but still show the surrounding environment.

Working within a tight budget and an even tighter deadline, I was somewhat limited on assistants and location scouting which made for, how should I put it, fun logistical moments. That said, I think we pulled it off rather well.

Beyond the shoot, it was great working with these fine people in my new home town of Denver. I had worked with Daniel Epstein and the Unreasonable Institute before and it was great to finally get his portrait. It is always great when you can work with actual makers of change within your community.

I’m sure this was just the first of many shoots with 5280 Magazine. They were great to work with and really do cool things with photography.

Laura Merage - RedLine Gallery

Daniel Epstein - Unreasonable Institute

Laura Merage - RedLine Gallery

Jörg Drews -Re-Inventing America’s Urban Water Infrastructure

Crissy Fanganello - Director for the Department of Public Works Policy and Planning and Denver Living Streets

Chris Gibbons (left) - CEO of West Denver Prep & Cynthia Gallegos - Executive Director of the Focus Points Family Resource Center

Way back in February I was assigned a fantastic – and an equally important – story to photograph a bunch of guys recently exonerated in Texas. Many of these guys had been in prison for 15-30 years for crimes they didn’t commit. I can’t even begin to imagine.

It’s a story that is has become more and more prevalent as DNA testing becomes cheaper and more accessible for inmates in the prison system. North Texas has seen the largest number of exonerated prisoners in the country. The reason being Dallas DA Craig Watkins. Watkins has been an outspoken supporter of granting DNA testing in the state. It was a refreshing thing to sit with, talk, and photograph a person of power and influence who is actually working for the people.

I only had two days to photograph the guys, so the idea was to take portraits of each man. I felt that doing a close up of each face was the best option, as you can almost feel their stories just by looking into their eyes. After setting up my lights, I had the chance to listen to each of their stories as they spoke with the reporter for L’Express – Philippe Coste. As imagined, each story was heartbreaking. It’s stories like theirs which makes you really realize, and reflect upon your own freedom. It also raises serious questions on the justness of the legal system.

I was able to spend an extra day with one of the guys – Johnnie Lindsey. He was the 19th exoneree in Dallas Country. Johnnie was wrongly convicted of aggravated rape in 1981 and served 26 years in prison before being exonerated and being released from prison on September 19, 2008 when he was 56 years old. He invited me into his home where he showed off his piano skills on his brand new piano. You could see the pride he has in literally owning his freedom. You could also see what 30 years in prison does to a man.

When I asked what the strangest thing about being out of prison was, Johnnie told it was strange to hear cars beep at you when you don’t attach a seat belt.

This is a story I will remember for some time. I had – and still have – thoughts of making this into a larger documentary film. We’ll see where it goes. Also you can see the photos that ran in a slide show on the L’Express site.

Below is the clip from the magazine followed by my favorite portraits from the series and two quite moments spent with Johnnie.

I’ve always wanted to shoot for Inked Magazine. Not only because they run cool photographs with cool layouts, but because I have always wanted a tattoo. I still don’t have one, but one day the right one will come to mind. I just know it!

When Todd Weinberger, the creative director at Inked, gave me a call to shoot pro-snowboarder Janna Meyen-Weatherby for their sports issue, I was super excited. I did a bit of research on Janna, but couldn’t find too much beyond a few old images (and a bunch of pics of her snowboarding). So, not knowing exactly what to expect, I knocked on her door in Breckenridge and took her to an old mining museum. Janna was damn cool…and damn tough. She plays hockey too. I’m glad she didn’t check me!

Here are some images I liked as well as the clip.

So, yeah, the conclusion to this three part series comes late. Way late. Three months late. I got side tracked with mountains and photo fun. Sorry.

In Part 2 of the series I discussed developing a portfolio, defining your vision, and presenting yourself online. So great…I now had a portfolio. I knew what it is I wanted to shoot and how to create a presence online. But what next? I don’t care how good your images are, simply having a website does not create work and get the phones ringing. This brings me to possibly the most important part of running a successful photography business: Marketing and Promotion. At the end of the post will be a fancy list of links to my favorite marketing resources.

To begin, my main philosophy on marketing is that NO ONE METHOD will get you work. To me, successful marketing comes from putting your name out there as much as possible. Successful marketing is simply being that photographer an editor, art buyer, or creative directer thinks of first when they need a project shot. Come to mind first, and you will likely get a call. This post is not about how to land one-on-one meetings, participate in conferences, or how to gain attention through social media.

That being said, I know many successful photographers who say they have never marketed before. “It’s all word of mouth,” they insist. I have to argue they have likely done more marketing than they know. Simply making friends and having a strong presence in the social media world are all great examples of Marketing and are easy ways to drive people to your site.

After wrapping with Jasmine Defoore, we established a year long marketing plan. I try to reach as many people as possible, so my marketing is fairly far reaching. I send out an emailer newsletter every 2-3 months. Some send emails every month…I think that is too many and can overstep the line. My newsletter contains news about recent assignments, upcoming projects, and general news about my life (I try to include something personal to let people know I have a life as well!) Since emails are cheap, I send 4,000-5,000 emails each time to a large group of selected recipients. One thing to always include on an emailer are many links driving back to your site, blog, or other gallery. A Call to Action is a must. Click here to sign up for my Newsletter.

I also send post cards 3-4 times a year. These are generally small (I especially like 6X8 cards as 5X7 seems to get caught in the mix.) These cards have one photo on front, one on back, and help drive people to my site.

Once a year, I create an extra special mailer package which I send out to a very select group of my “Favorites”. These are people who I most want to work for and whose opinions I value most. Two weeks ago I sent out 15 packages. I made specialized boxes with foam inside containing items from my recent photo project in Naples, Italy. The box included a 35 page Blurb book, a DVD of the documentary, a biscotti, and a hand written note. I’m quite pleased with the box and the response I got from editors. Many very much liked the package.

I often hear that mailers are no longer needed in the digital age. As with my Portfolio Book, I believe mailers are more and more useful as emails become the standard.

In addition to these marketing methods, I make a trip to New York City for personal meetings twice a year and I keep up with my facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as much as possible. Oh…and I also try to actually take photographs on occasion. As I said, I don’t think any one of these methods will get work. But over time, a combination of everything in a comprehensive marketing campaign will result in more work from better clients.

Oh, yeah! If you have other marketing techniques I didn’t mention? I’d love to hear about them.

My Promo Box:

My Blurb Book:

My last emailer sent out in September:

Marketing and Promotion Resources:

Agency Access: Great service for contacts, emailing (with great statistics), and all around email helpers. Their blog is also a great marketing resource.

Blurb: Make your own badass book…and then send it to editors!

Seth Godin: All around marketing wiz.

No Plastic Sleeves: Check out some awesome promos on their blog.

Jasmine Defoore: Consultant and marketing extraordinaire.

Paper Chase: Where I get my mailers made. Great selection of mailing materials.

Moab Paper: I print my images using Moab paper. Great stuff.

APhotoEditor: Great advice for marketing and photography.

Photoshelter Blog: Photoshelter is my photo archive. Their blog has great information on SEO and marketing.

Back when I was filming video for the Unreasonable Institute in May, I found myself inspired by the many young entrepreneurs who truly had developed business that were affecting or had potential to affect huge populations of people. I noticed that many of them did not have proper images for their sites, so I offered to take head shots and portraits for them to use on their websites, press releases, and other PR related items. Here are a few of my favorite portraits from the shoot. Below the photos are descriptions of their ventures as well as links to their websites…go check them out!

Moses Sanga & Raj Janagam

Morris Matadi

Hemant Nitturkar & Gaurav Manchanda

Saba Gul

Tiago Dalvi & Megha Agrawal

Scot Frank

Moses Sanga: ECO-FUEL AFRICA LIMITED – to stop deforestation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Impact Area: Agriculture, Clean and Green Technology, Climate Change. Website: http://www.ecofuelafrica.com/

Ran Janagam: Cycle Chalao! -Establishing Bicycle Sharing Systems in the places where they are needed the most. Operating in: South Asia. Impact Area: Civic Participation, Clean and Green Technology, Climate. Website: http://cyclechalao.com/

Morris Matadi: Initiative for the Development of Former Child Soldiers (IDEFOCS). Restoration of peace & security in West Africa through Former child soldiers’ rehabilitation & reintegration. Operating in: Sub-Saharan Africa. Impact Area: Agriculture, Children and Youth, Conflict Resolution. Website: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=46358845641

Hemant Nitturkar: JUGNU – Facilitating first generation entrepreneurship in India. Operating in: South Asia. Impact Area: Enterprise Development, Financial Inclusion. Website: http://unreasonableinstitute.org/profile/hnitturkar/

Gaurav Manchanda: One Degree Solar – Energize & Empower. Operating in: Central America & Caribbean, East Asia and Pacific. Impact Area: Clean and Green Technology, Climate Change, Consumer. Website: http://www.onedegreesolar.com/

Saba Gul: BLISS: Business & Life Skills School – Entrepreneurship training for girls previously driven by poverty to pick work over school. Operating in: South Asia. Impact Area: Education, Enterprise Development, Fair Trade and Organic. Website: http://www.bagsforbliss.org/

Tiago Dalvi: Solidarium – We fight poverty by connecting local producers with major retailers through an innovative and inclusive network. Operating in: South America. Impact Area: Consumer Awareness, Fair Trade and Organic Products. Website: http://www.solidarium.com.br/content/default/

Megha Agrawal: Unreasonable Institute Director

Scot Frank: One Earth Designs – Community Inspired Innovations. Operating in: East Asia and Pacific. Impact Area: Children and Youth, Clean and Green Technology, Climate. Website: http://www.oneearthdesigns.org/