A good photo is hinged on trust

Another successful AMPed Up session took place today at The Glenbow Museum. George Webber, local renowned photographer, thoughtfully and openly shared many stories relating to his 'Hutterite Traditions' series of photographs on display at The Glenbow until April 13, 2009. These photographs stretch beyond mere documentation of a private colony unfolding as stories of relationships -- to places, peoples and traditions. The personal relationships Webber has established with many of the Hutterites from the Little Bow Colony are that of poignancy.

It is in these relationships between photographer and subject that trust develops and good photographs result. "A good photo is hinged on trust," Webber notes during his presentation. "Sometimes it's given before we've earned it, and other times it takes time to build."



As an extension of this trust, he sees great value in the working relationship between art directors, editors, photographers and the like. To have open dialogue and parameters set ahead of time avoids unnecessary tension and work. When possible, having an art director on location for a photo shoot can be very useful for both parties involved. He also stresses the importance of knowing where your images come from -- know who the source is.


Session attendees had the chance to share with George and the group some of their experiences and magazine samples for feedback. Great discussion ensued including image manipulation concerns, model release ethics, appropriation questions, publication rights, stock photo usage and cover layout/design. Following are brief notes on some of these issues:

Image manipulation: for assignment based work, photographer assumes there will be some manipulation to accommodate logistics. For example, if shooting a cover, it is necessary to be mindful of text and other information intended for the image. Some compromise is needed; sometimes things are removed or added. It is important to be truthful about the intent of such work, and to make it known to readers to maintain journalistic integrity.

Model release: can be broken down into two main categories -- one is made up of editorial/artistic/documentary and the other commercial. If an image is used for editorial, artistic or documentary, it is not necessary to employ model release forms (although, it's always best to check the latest on FOIP and with the publication in question). If model releases were needed for all of these purposes, the whole media world would essentially collapse; no newspapers, documentary films, magazines, photos or any other type of cultural creations would be possible. Still, if possible, it never hurts to ask for permission, just to be safe.

For the purposes of commercial, written release should be sought.

Publication rights: one-time production rights or first print rights are the most commonly used for photos in magazine publishing. George sees this as good practice. It allows magazines to showcase the work, but still allows photographers the opportunity to sell to various clients to increase exposure to a body of work.

See more of George's works at: georgewebber.ca.

-Stef Wong

Cover Innovations

Esquire has come up with yet another cover gimmick designed to get people talking, get newsstand sales and generate ad sales.

In the past year, Esquire has introduced a cover flap in the middle of the page, with advertising on the underside; and an electronic paper cover that allowed the cover copy to flash to comemmorate their 75th anniversary. 

Now they've created a perforated cover that allows the reader to easily rip the cover in two places as well as to rip the following two "covers" and then make up to 27 combinations of the faces of Barak Obama, Justin Timberlake and George Clooney. Not sure what I mean, check the video on Esquire's website. The cover is for Esquire's "How to be a Man" issue, and will be on stands on April 10. 

The underside of the three "covers" have ads on them and because the pages will generate so much attention from readers, this is likely the bet ad placement ever, even if the ads do get ripped. 

We haven't seen too much of this kind of cover innovation yet in Alberta (although some publishers have offered z-fold and gatefold covers) I think this envelope pushing is likely to become the norm.
— Käthe Lemon

Off-the-page content?

Elle Canada "steps off the pages" with a day of seminars with fashion and beauty experts and runway shows as well as a trade show. The way of the future for magazines as content providers or just another revenue grab? Or both? You decide.

MagCloud: Further clouding of the magazine medium?

Hewlett-Packard is offering a new service called "MagCloud" that essentially offers anyone a vanity press magazine. The per-page cost is higher than regular printing, but also doesn't require high print volumes. Read more about it at the NYTimes site.

What do y'all think of this? DIY magazines?

Conference photos on Flickr. Finally!

I think I've finally "recovered" from the 2009 Alberta Magazines Conference. I know news travels fast, and when it comes to blogging, "instant" is expected. So I must apologize for the delay! There are so many things to take care of post-event, i.e. work on upcoming events, evaluations, clean-up (and it doesn't help that our computer has been acting all wonky)...

So, conference photos have finally been posted to our Flickr (with more to come so keep checking). Thanks to photographer Don Molyneaux for his lens and awesome sense of humour.

In the meantime, Marco Ursi of Masthead has done a stellar job of posting conference news on the Masthead site. Thanks Marco!

-Anh

Photography session with George Webber

George Webber is a renowned photographer who resides in Calgary. His portraits reveal a depth that makes a photograph transcend the ordinary. To me, the art of a stellar photo is one that captures a moment in time, but also speaks to how the subject got there--all those past moments that make up a lifetime, imprinted on a snapshot.

Webber's Hutterite Traditions exhibit is running at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, and he has so graciously agreed to hold a photography session for AMPA members and public alike. The event is open to magazine publishers, designers, photographers, hobbyists, art-lovers. Whatever your pre-occupation, I am certain you'll be pleased with Webber's presentation and critique. You can tour the rest of the Glenbow with your admission. Plus, word on the street is that George is one of the nicest people around.

And who said that nice guys finish last?
-Anh


To attend, RSVP to ampa@albertamagazines.com by April 6, 2009.

$10 – AMPA members
$20 – non-members

Thursday, April 9, 2009
10:00 a.m to Noon
Glenbow Museum, 130 9 Avenue SE, Calgary

Magazine growth can be summed up using a four letter word: hope.

Al Zikovitz, publisher of Cottage Life and Quarto Communications (which includes TV, radio and web properties), gave a luncheon keynote at the Alberta Magazines Conference on Growth in a Tough Climate: Surviving and Prospering in Turbulent Times.


Cottage Life's success story is impressive, but Zikovitz emphasized that this success can be replicated here in Alberta, or anywhere. In regards to the economy, Zikovitz says, "I believe we got ourselves into this because we have relied too much on advertising for our success. We've been chasing circulation for our advertisers, instead of our customers."

Zikovitz started Cottage Life after he got fired from a job (good news for those considering a career change). Having a cottage and many questions that came along with it, he saw the need for a publication that could provide answers.

Key findings:
- Direct Mail. The magazine itself is the best direct mail piece a magazine can have. It's the cheapest and the most effective.
- Create Value. Cottage Life was created on the premise that it would be a magazine that cottagers could not live without (as opposed to a pretty coffee table book). Any magazine's job is to be experts in their field, and know more about their readership's wants and needs than anybody else does--and then communicate that to people, through various media.
- Credibility. "We couldn't have extended our brand without credibility," says Zikovitz, who expanded Cottage Life, first from merchandising (puzzles, cribbage boards, etc.); to radio (Cottage Life radio, a radio program on 165 stations in Canada); TV (Cottage Life TV, programs were produced in-house and sold to networks); exhibitions (trade show has become the largest three day consumer show in Canada).
- Web.Zikovitz expanded Cottage Life's offerings during a down market in '91 - '93 when unemployment was 12%. He compares this to today's unemployment rate of 7.7%. Clearly, much can be done in times like these.

Zikovitz ended by saying this: "We are more than publishers--we are market specialists. And so are you."

-Anh Chu