(Photograph by Ryan Hyde.)

(As was noted in the first comment, the CD who was the focus of this flap has replaced the website with something less onerous. That may take the heat off of the current situation, but it does NOT change the underlying situation,  does it. I am not much about forgiveness when it comes at the point of a gun, or in this case, the sudden awareness that it was ill conceived. It was ill conceived because of the attitude of the people involved. That, as far as I know, hasn’t changed. If you know better, then great. Non- apologies like “I am sorry if I offended…” crappola carry no weight with me… actions do. The actions of this person and those who have perpetuated the divisiveness are the reality. Not mea-culpas after being castigated.

And, actually, I have always considered it my job to run down from the hills and kick the wounded. So…)

I was going to write something very vile today. Got halfway through it before I bailed. I was letting my anger trump my indignation. Anger may be too strong, but indignation is about right.

I was writing about the flap last week regarding a Creative Director who had decided that he had been tormented enough, and went on a full frontal assault against the photographers who had “spammed” him, making his life a miserable hell with no sunshine and yellow flowers and those pretty little clouds that have the cool lit edge that…. Sorry, that is my little world.

So he built himself a website. And he stated that he would NEVER use the photographers who had spammed his little world into something resembling a third world capital under siege.

No. He had had enough.

And he even decided that others must be at that short end of the reality scale and would need encouragement from him to join the righteous and destroy the enemy. (A lot of that ‘destroying the enemy’ talk going around these days, so it must have felt hunky dory to him to consider the scorched earth approach toward the feral photographers.)

So, where was I, oh yeah… he built himself a cool little website and posted up the names of the ratbastardlensfolk and got on his iPhone (yeah, in NY what else…?) and found compatriots. And they signed on and the stand was made.

The road to good intentions, being constantly under construction and over budget, is paved with pain, bad concepts and ill conceived headline kerning (which drives everyone in the creative community simply bonkers – I mean, to kern a T at the same spacing as an I… LOL, I mean WTF? You know… you know!).

Others have had their take on it:

A Photo Editor states his opinion with the headline featuring the word “bully”. Yeah, that about covers it.

Agency Spy with a short, provocative post complete with a snippet of the highly offended really really creative people who give us great commercials like big plastic headed monarchs carrying hamburgers and gerbils jiving to hip hop while driving cars… you know – that really creative stuff. (Yeah, I know I haven’t a clue which ads the names did actually, I didn’t look that close nor will I bother looking up the real stuff they did because, well, I don’t give a shit.)

Heather Morton ( please come back, Heather, the photo blogosphere misses you) has a very nicely done article for you.

Jasmine DeFoore politely scolded both sides with a well-measured post. She takes a kinder, gentler approach than I will.

You should take time to read all of them. And read the comments as well – that is where the action is.

This kerfuffle had to happen at some point. It just did. It is a full on indictment of where we find ourselves as members of a creative community. Not in solidarity, but in full on combat. Full on hate. Full on vitriol.

The actions of one person has done a lot of damage to an already fragile alliance. And that is a shame.

It is a shame that the CD apparently had no idea how to deal with the deluge of – in his words – 10 – 15 spams a day.

10 – 15 – well, damn. That is, uh… heh, no really it is terribibble to be, uh, slammed like that. I can (coughlaffcough) feel your pain. No…. seriously dude.

10 – 15.

OooooKaaaa…

Look. Here is the friggin’ reality.

Photographers are hurting. Read this article in Washington Post. And of course it is riddled with inaccuracies and innuendo (hey, it IS the Washington Post) it still delivers a pretty good glimpse into the pain the photographers are feeling these days. (And no. David Hobby did not start the fire. To even imagine that is totally without merit.)

And to complicate it, photographers get mixed signals at every turn. I watched a round table of AD’s and CD’s as they patiently explained what they MUST see from photographers marketing:

1. “Email is the only way to get ahold of me. I am way too busy for one-on-one’s.”
2. “I want to see portfolios and meet the photographer. We have open call days once a month to see new talent.”
3. “Send me a link to your website, I will get back to you.”
4. “Direct mail is the way I find all my talent. I rarely look at websites.”

Thanks… got it. Wait….

More after the jump.

There is no way to know, of course, how one ‘creative’ person likes to get their marketing delivered. Nothing says ‘creative’ like narrow, constricted, anal preferences… ya know.

“Should I direct mail? What if I get a list and do some Email? So, I should cold call with my book?”

Hey – just do what that round table of ‘creative’ people told you to do… or – well – didn’t. You see, there is no one way that anyone likes to get content. You, as a photographer are just supposed to ‘know’ what the specific AD wants to see. Choose wisely… death is instantaneous to those who don’t. Well, maybe not death, but you will find yourself on a list telling others NOT to use you. Hey, attorneys… “restriction of trade?” or “collusion?” – anything we can get to hear the word “perp” – I love that word.)

So photographers, who only get paid if they actually work, are now going to be forbidden to actually seek, or – if this manifesto had stood, even work – period. Think about that. Photographers get no paid vacations. No paid days off. No company provided childcare. No agency furnished car, laptop, hotel room in the city, bonuses or… well, there are more. YA KNOW! All they want is a chance to work. (“These are good hands, they’re strong hands. All I want is a chance to work” or something from some old Christmas movie…) Let’s not politely ask them to stop sending us email, let’s destroy the bastards… yeah. That’ll lift us up – somehow. Maybe. (“Are there no workhouses, are there no… workhouses with studios and natural light…?)

It should be pointed out that the irony in having someone who is in ADVERTISING hate it when others advertise to him… well, that is so beyond rich that it will be spoken of no more.

I come to this article from a unique perspective: I was once a CD of a very successful agency that I owned. Seventeen employees, Fast Fifty Participant, award winning, and dealing with photographers and illustrators who wanted to show their work.

And yes, it was a tad bit annoying to get mailers of car shots and glamor shots and fashion when it was clear that we focused mainly on health care and health care technology. But we didn’t hate the photographers, just felt like they had maybe listened to some OTHER marketing guru who gave them the “print about 20K cards and send them to everyone who breathes” sort of crap. And that “marketing guru” crap is still out there.

Photographers put their trust in others, and get burned. It happens.

We saw every photographer who called for an appointment. Third Thursday of the month was new talent day. If they called, we would see them. No portfolio drop-offs at my agency. I actually acknowledged the photographers as being people.

And – this was policy – we paid them on delivery. Every damn one of our artists were paid on delivery. NO 30 – 60 – 90 – 120 day payment. (Hey, ad agencies, WTF is that anyway. I KNOW how the agency business works. I KNOW you have the money – you got it from the client when you took the gig. We did. We had the retainer and the creative costs when we did the creative… you do too. So the holding of the money is simply what, a strategic policy designed to …? Talk about BullShit.

(Yeah, then the totally hip art directors will meet in coffee shops and deride “eeeevil corporations” and the totally terrible ways they treat the world while their agency is letting a photographer sit on thousands so they can make a few sheckles in interest. Pot – meet kettle.)

So it is a shame that ignorance, ego, and smug self importance has now put so many in the same game at odds. And I should maybe have let it go. But it pissed me off and this had to be some sort of cathartic post.

When it comes to photographers, I take their side. Damn near EVERY time, and it is with great joy that I do so.

I have seen studios close. I have friends who are scrambling to find ways to keep their business going. Competing against micro-stock, declining ad placement, the gradually failing magazine business, a self-inflicted inability to organize and the changing realities of this business can take its toll. Younger shooters are everywhere, and the older guys/gals are finding some ageism raising its ugly, pierced and tattooed head.

So now this guy, one of the good guys supposedly, throws an unexpected volley that does nothing but to serve for more divisiveness and hostility.

Great.

So I offer this for all the folks who are currently being inundated, deluged, overcome, attacked and debilated by as many as 10-15 unwanted emails a day…

1. If using Gmail, hit the spam button at the top. You will never get mail from them again. Every other Email program has something similar. If you have the knowledge to build a website (with precisely kerned headlines) you can master this simple technological wonder. You can… don’t panic… breathe… breathe…

2. If you are currently on a list, take your name off. It really is simple. Really simple.
(and if the listing company doesn’t remove you, call THEM and bust their chops… not the photographer who was trusting that all was on the up-and-up.

3. Take a moment to write back and say “I am quite busy, and THIS is the best way to get your work in front of me. Do ________________________”

4. That little unsubscribe button, hit that. No really. It means Un – subscribe. Like the opposite of when you actually, you know, subscribed.

5. Understand what SPAM is. Not hard, actually. SPAM is email that is unwarranted and sent without regard of industry or interest. Like the difference between cold calling a business and telemarketing. Business DO retain the right to do sales calls between themselves and people who would be interested in their offerings. Emailing you a Viagra email is spam, sending you an email with photography – since you buy photography – is NOT considered SPAM.
Look it up.

6. Take a moment to look around you and ask yourself if the position you hold is really all that important – I mean in the grandass scheme of things. Yes, we are Creative Directors and Art Directors and such… but we ain’t saving the world, we are trying to sell them Mentos or suppositories. Come on…

So that is my little rant for Friday. You can disagree, but you will NEVER change my mind. The world does not have to be filled with conflict. We don’t have to send someone off the island. Let them ALL sing.

Pop culture madness should remain simply that. We should be above the desire to ‘flame’, destroy, kick around and demean.

Yeah, I may have done a little demeaning myself. I didn’t start it, and I am not gonna be all sweet and rosy and happy while watching others be attacked. It is not my nature.

And if it was, there would not be a category for Rants and Raves on the blog. It would state “Moderate Opinions” – which usually suck.

Follow me on Twitter, check out the lighting workshops at Learn to Light, and find out about me any way you want. Just don’t send me no damnable email. I hate that shit…