First Steps on the ladder!

[ekkl]

The company I work for (Firstgroup) have a monthly staff newsletter that gets sent out to every employee. They also have a weekly newsletter that goes out by email and gets printed and put on our noticeboards at work.

They have a good website and a staff 'Intra-net' too. Mostly these have lots of pictures of people being presented with awards, stations, our trains and general shots of our network.

I have noticed though that a lot of the pictures in these publications are all of other areas which is surprising as we here at Brighton have a huge depot but nothing hardly ever gets written about us. I queried this and I offered my services. This is the reply!

Thank you for getting in contact with us. We do have a professional photographer from an external company who has worked alongside the rail companies for a number of years, but we are always looking for staff to become involved in internal publications and activities. If possible, please could you send us in some examples of photography that you have taken and we would be more than happy to contact you in the future if we need some help gathering some photos for future issues of Get Connected or enews.

It's especially handy that you are down in Brighton as it is sometimes difficult to send Peter down south and tie this in with other stations on our network.

Thanks again for offering your help and hopefully I will be back in contact with you again in the future.

So, I am a little excited by this as you can tell! I am not expecting to be paid for any pics but I do expect they will have to cover my rostered work in return for me to cover events down here which is alright by me!!

Sorry for waffling but I am quite pleased about all this

[Stephen]

Re: First Steps on the ladder!

So, I am a little excited by this as you can tell! I am not expecting to be paid for any pics but I do expect they will have to cover my rostered work in return for me to cover events down here which is alright by me!!

ekkl, I can understand your excitement at the prospect of being able to offer some photography for Firstgroup. However as a Pro Togfa who, as it happens also does a lot of work for First Bus, I think I would be upset if I thought I was losing income from an employee of the company who was doing the job for nothing.

Now I wouldn't have a problem if in the course of your work, you were safely able to take unique shots, unobtainable by the average Pro, and then submit them to the Marketing Dept. However, doing good PR work at events is not as easy as you may imagine, and it is quite possible that you may be asked to attend an event and not come up with the goods.

I did a PR job for First last week, it involved the launch of some new buses on a particular route. There were several dignataries there and I had to get some shots for press releases. There were several other people with cameras there, but I was the only one who was able to set up the shot and get the ones I knew would be OK. No one else came forward and consequently got what I got. This is what the PR/Marketing dept want from a Pro togfa, and they rely on someone with a proven track record so they don't have to worry that they won't get a suitable shot. I was able to travel home, process and edit some 120 shots, make a selection, upload them to my webspace so the Marketing Manager, the Press/PR manager and the local MP could download them, and send them to local press that afternoon. Not to mention cut a CD to put in the post that day.

I was today asked to quote for a similar job tomorrow, by a PR company. It sounded like the opening of a new educational establishment. The PR company needed some shots for Press releases and the files to be available the same afternoon. They have just emailed me to say the client has decided not to have photography on this occasion. Sounds to me as though someone else is doing it for nothing. The thing is, everyone has a dSLR these days and they think they are all photographers
No offence intended ekkl I hope you can supply them with something their regular man can't, but please don't try to do him out of making a living

[devilgas]

Re: First Steps on the ladder!

i don't think it's a case of doing the regular guy out of a job. everyone these days is after something for nothing. no exceptions. if first can use an in-house photographer at a fraction of the cost of a pro and get acceptable results, then the chances are that's exactly what they'll do.
ekkl - you'll need to agree terms of usage and copyright etc. if they are supplying the equipment and paying for your time then they will own the images and have full rights over them (you will effectively be a staff photographer). if you are using your equipment, but being paid your usual salary to attend then the situation is blurred. iirc, the copyright would be yours, however your employer would expect results.
go for it, do the best that you can and see if anything else comes from it. if you get offered stuff that you feel is beyond your current experience, let them know rather than make a hash of it.

[jojo]

Re: First Steps on the ladder!

The thing is, everyone has a dSLR these days and they think they are all photographers
No offence intended ekkl I hope you can supply them with something their regular man can't, but please don't try to do him out of making a living

It is understandable that Ekkl is excited about the prospect of possibly being asked to do some photography for the company he works for, which may be used in internal publications. So, whilst I understand where Stephen is coming from I think his comments are a little harsh and could be somewhat demoralising to someone (Ekkl) who no doubt aspires to Stephen's ability, experience and profession.

jo

[ryme-intrinseca]

Re: First Steps on the ladder!

I understand what Stephen is saying, but I also understand why Ekkl feels so pleased about the prospect about seeing his photos in print. If the photos are for articles that would have otherwise been printed without pictures, then hopefully this isn't taking work away from anyone else. Also, if your shift is covered whilst you're covering events, Ekkl, then in a way that's paid photography, IMHO.

My husband used to work for Firstgroup as a bus driver. He works for a different bus company now, and he's had one of his photos printed in the internal magazine. It really pleased him that they used it.

[Autumn]

Re: First Steps on the ladder!

Well done Ekkl, you must be delighted. Let us know how you go on.

Do you think your firm would like any trains of Worksop Station?

[ekkl]

Re: First Steps on the ladder!

Thank you for the replies , they are very much appreciated.

Stephen. I read what you say and I know the golden rule of not doing work for free thus taking away someones living. I agree strongly with that but this guy is stretched hence why I asked.

He never comes south of the river Thames, I do believe he lives up around Stevenage and a trip to Brighton is a good few hours and a few train changes.

He has missed a few presentations and a few other things to do specifically with our depot that should have been photographed but he hasn't been seen. I have no idea why and I appreciate him being a pro so he may be busy and that is why I have offered to take a few pics when he is not available. It's a shame our depot always misses out on pictures because it takes him so long to travel down here. All we get is a few lines in the mag and no pictures at all. He tends to favour the GNER side of things and often neglects south side of the river.

Needless to say that last comment in your post I found really rude. I remember two weeks ago reading that exact same comment from another photographer in an article somewhere being we all have DSLR's and think we are photographers.

I have been taking photographs since around 1980 with an Olympus OM4ti being my second camera mid eighties. I have had several since and even stopped for a few years when I got all my stuff stolen, from a train ironically, but have always been into taking pics for a long time. My enthusiasm will never leave me.

To summarise now I have offered to 'fill-in' for when the pro can not get there and by this and using my 20 odd years railway experience I hope to get some pictures in our publications. Being a Railman (Driver/Footplate) for almost 20 yrs I have access to trackside, sheds, sidings train cabs etc and hope to use all this to get pictures of mine published in our local publications. Pictures that normal people can't get to, exclusive to me because I am allowed to go any where I like on the network. There are not many rail specific photographers about and don't forget, we all have to start somewhere.

As a result of this I am now considering buying a Canon 5D. I was considering upgrading anyway and now this has spurred me on to make a purchase.

Again Stephen I repeat, I am not out to do the guy from getting any work, he has more than plenty on all the time with us I just hope to fill in the gaps south side of the river where he doesn't often venture.

[Jocelyn Walker]

Re: First Steps on the ladder!

What are the rules of Free Enterprise again? Sorry Stephen, I don't mean to tread on your toes & appreciate your comment here, however, it seems a case of 'supply & demand'! If anyone with a dslr can come up with quality work, then good luck to them when offered the opportunity!

[mib2]

Re: First Steps on the ladder!

Hi Guys
Interesting thoughts from both sides of the fence here. I have taken pictures for my company which has been a learning process for myself. I would love to have the skills to take the next step to be a professional and i think getting the chance that Ekki has may be the push to move into a new adventure.

Good luck to both sides of the fence.

Dave R