Brooklyn born and raised, Kevin Mazur started shooting live concerts in his teens. He later progressed to staff photographer at Rolling Stone magazine shooting everyone from Bob Dylan to Nirvana. In the 1990s, he became the official concert photographer for an elite group of superstars including Sting, U2 and The Rolling Stones. In 2001, he co-founded WireImage.com, a digital photographic press agency focusing on celebrities, music and the entertainment industry. WireImange as well as Mazur’s Countour Photo, which specializes in high-end celebrity portraiture, were acquired by Getty Images in 2007 for an alleged $200m.
Reuel Golden: You started out primarily as a live music photographer, what are your early memories of those days? At what point, or at what concert did you realize that you had really nailed it?
Kevin Mazur: The early years were some of the best times of my life. It was exciting. I was scalping tickets so I could get front row seats at the concerts. Then I started sneaking my camera in to the shows to get photos of my favorite artists. I nailed it on my first show, which was Fleetwood Mac. I had a huge crush on Stevie Nicks and got amazing photos of her.
RG: What are the most common mistakes people make when they shoot live concerts? What advice would you give to people who want to go into this type of photography?
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We’ve all seen photography subjects or techniques get recycled, repurposed and endlessly reappear like an uninvited houseguest. We asked some of the photo industry’s greatest, a collection of famous shooters, photo editors and creative directors, what photography clichés, subjects, styles and techniques, they really don’t want to see anymore.
This is what they said in no particular order and very anonymously:
1. Faux Polaroid looking images. Bring back the real Polaroids!
2. Photographing little [uninteresting] towns that nobody’s ever heard of. [click to continue…]
Listen up, those of you working intensely on personal projects that have nothing to do with the world of commercial photography: Fotovisura is offering $2000 in cash and the opportunity to present a five -day workshop in Guatemala City at La Fototeca, to the winner for Outstanding Personal Photography Project, while $1000 is available to The Spotlight Grant for Outstanding Student Photography Project, and an invitation to join the Lucie Foundation. Other prizes include certificates at Beth Schiffer Pro Photo Labs, an inviation to publish in Visura Magazine, and a portfolio consultation.
The deadline for both categories has now been extended to November 1 and details on entry requirements and competition details can be found at www.grant.fotovisura.com. Judges include amongst others: legendary New York photographer Larry Fink, and James Estrin, photographer and co-editor of Lens Blog for the New York Times. [click to continue…]
Alan Rapp works with authors, visual artists, photographers, and designers developing books and other projects. As the editor overseeing the art, architecture, design, and photography lists of the San Francisco publisher Chronicle Books, Alan Rapp acquired and developed more than 100 titles over the course of ten years, collaborating with such artists as David Maisel, legendary music photographer Jim Marshall, Elinor Carucci, and Justin Guariglia. Based in Brooklyn, Rapp is a frequent panelist, portfolio reviewer, workshop leader, and lecturer. He discusses the appeal of photography books and offers advice on what you need to do.
Reuel Golden: Why do you think so many photographers want to see their work published in book format?
Alan Rapp: Almost all photographers have favorite books that are hugely influential in how they think about photography and maybe even their practice. As much as the state of book publishing seems to be in flux, books are still probably the most faithful and convenient way to present and absorb photography. What’s more, even people unfamiliar with the history and conventions recognize that the book is a unique form with vast potential unto itself, and can maximize the possibilities of photography in a way that makes a photo book a real art object.
RG: Photographers now have the option of self-publishing through channels such as Lulu and Blurb what are the advantages and disadvantages of taking this route? [click to continue…]
Since 2008, Steve Mayes has been the managing director of VII, whose members include photographers such as James Nachtwey and Ed Kashi. In a career spanning over 25 years, Mayes has held a number of high profile positions including group creative director of Getty Images, CEO of Photonica, COO (Americas) for Image Source, creative director of Eyestorm.com, and director of the Image Archive at Art + Commerce. He is a frequent lecturer, writer, and has been Secretary to the Competition Jury of WordPress Photo since 2004.
Reuel Golden: Could you please tell us a little bit about VII’s mission and how it differs from other photo agencies?
Steve Mayes: VII derives its name from the number of founding photojournalists who, in September 2001, formed this collectively owned agency. Now owned by ten photographers and representing an additional fifteen Network affiliates plus nine developing talents in the Mentor Program, VII has expanded considerably but remains true to its core mission of using photography for positive change.
RG: Describe a typical working day. [click to continue…]
The British fashion photographer Corinne Day, who will be forever associated with an early shoot featuring a 15- year old Kate Moss, died of a brain tumor at the age of 45 over the weekend. Day was a key member of the “grunge” fashion photography movement of the early 1990s, that emerged from the influential style magazine The Face, and included other shooters such as Juergen Teller and David Sims.
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Daryl Lang, blogger, senior copywriter at ShutterStock, and (full disclosure here) a former colleague at PDN Online, was increasingly perturbed by the mounting public hysteria and opposition to the proposed plan for an Islamic center near Ground Zero in Downtown Manhattan. Armed with a Canon PowerShot SD600, he spent a couple of hours one Sunday afternoon photographing the streets and storefronts operating near the supposed hallowed ground and posted them to his blog.
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Email blasts, blogs, etc. are great weapons in your marketing armory, but sometimes the most effective way of getting a client’s attention is an old- fashioned promo card sent in the mail. It is simple, cuts to the chase, and if it really catches the attention of a client, then they will pin it onto a board in their office as a visual reference for a future job that they might have in mind for you.
Last week, Brenda Milis, the director of photography at Men’s Health magazine, offered insights about what she does and the sort of photography that she uses. Below she talks about five recent promo cards that caught her eye and remained on her mind. All of these promos had more than one image.
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Brooklyn born and raised, Kevin Mazur started shooting live concerts in his teens. He later progressed to staff photographer at Rolling Stone magazine shooting everyone from Bob Dylan to Nirvana. In the 1990s, he became the official concert photographer for an elite group of superstars including Sting, U2 and The Rolling Stones. In 2001, he co-founded WireImage.com, a digital photographic press agency focusing on celebrities, music and the entertainment industry. WireImange as well as Mazur’s Countour Photo, which specializes in high-end celebrity portraiture, were acquired by Getty Images in 2007 for an alleged $200m.
