Doug Birnbaum, professional photographer, shares his insight on why it's better to rent equipment then own, along with work he's done for American Express, Marvel & other major companies. Read up on Birnbaum's crucial tips on landing major industry clients that keep calling (and hiring) you back for more.**
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*** How were you able to land clients like Banana Republic, Levi Strauss and American Express?**
I've had a chance to produce a couple shoots for Banana Republic a few years ago and we just did a bunch of creative lay-down shoots for a few of their holiday seasons. Banana Republic found me because I was testing for a local talent agency in SF, JE Models, who put my name out there as a good person to help them organize together a local creative team for a number of photo shoots. I've gotten hired by their sister company Old Navy a couple of times to rig some lights on bigger advertising jobs and I have a little bit more fun on these types of jobs that go out on location and we get to do big lighting set-ups, I'm a geek for this type of thing. Old Navy found me through word of mouth around the industry a couple of friends recommended me each time. San Francisco is a small community and the importance of networking and having a good reputation is as important as anything.
I've shot a couple things for Levi's; I shot some lay-down and some more editorial work for a specialty product that they launched. I'd like to do some bigger stuff with them in the future as I think they are a good fit for my style of photography. That one came about through both a local talent agency and later a friend of mine that works in their marketing department.
American Express found me right on ProductionHUB. They were traveling through the San Francisco Bay area on a project called American Express Passion Project and they needed a second camera man who was strong with stills. They stumbled upon my profile and booked me for about a week to travel around with them. It was a very worthwhile project as we had the chance to shoot some nice documentary work of some people who were really making a change in there community for the better. I've also used ProductionHUB to land jobs with ESPN, Marvel and University of North Carolina as well.
*** What piece of advice would you share with other photographers on how to land clients and become successful in this industry?**
Be realistic about where you are in your career. Be modest about where you are in your ability. And be honest with yourself about what your goals are and how you are going to achieve them.
Be easy to work with and a great communicator, this will surpass any technical ability. Treat everybody with respect - the young assistant today is going to be the art director or executive producer tomorrow. This will happen more often and faster than you'd imagine...and besides, you want to create a comfortable and happy work environment.
*** What is something about pursing a career in photography that most people might not know?**
I think that there is a lot of work out there for those who are willing to do it. Most of the work that I get a call for isn't all of that glamorous but it is very important none the less. Your first couple assignments likely won't be the biggest assignments of your career but it will establish how you work with clients and how you value your work. Take a lot of pride in your early smaller assignments, as you do start to shoot more you'll realize how much these experiences informed everything that you do. Surround yourself with a peer group or a professional organization that keeps you motivated and teaches you more about the industry.
*** What camera do you use to shoot? Why do you choose to use it over others on the market? **
My day to day camera in the Canon 5D Mark II. I've shot with many, many others on the market but this is the one that I know the best right now and it can get me through about 75% of the jobs that I end up on these days. I'm in the market for a newer high end video package these days as my production demands are growing and I need a dedicated cinema camera.
*** Do you use any other camera equipment? If so, please share. **
I've used a lot of different camera equipment. My camera has the newer 5D Mark III which I'll rent from time to time if I need a second body. I've done a couple jobs on a Canon C300, and I fiddled around on both an Arri Alexa and a Sony F55. With so many great rental houses that we have access to here in the Bay Area, it's pretty easy for someone to operate with a lean and basic kit and get by on renting until you find yourself using the same tools over and over again. So much of our workflow in the bay area is going straight to the web, so with that there isn't always the biggest push to work with the super high end cameras, I'm often surprised to see that some clients request me to shoot on a DSLR.
I'm watching the 4k market and I think I'll end up with some type of cinema camera in the next year but it's an ever changing market and there are new players entering the field that are really shaking things up with the big named camera manufactures who have been around for a couple of decades. I drool over the Arri's, the high end Sony's and the Red's but when I see AJA and Black Magic Cinema are making at what seems like such a good value I think I'll wait until the end of the year before I make a real decision. **I can't stress enough the importance of renting over owning. **Unless you are shooting every single day at a very high level one can't be expected to own every piece of equipment on the market, it's just never ending. There are some really great and knowledgeable rental houses in every major market who are our best friends in this industry. The best cameras in the world are available on a rental basis only so it's sort of a job to job basis that informs how I 'gear up' for a shoot.
It's color space and tonal range that are pushing me toward a better camera. I'm finding myself really needing more bit depth in the files but at this time I'm not to into the pixel race of going very far beyond HD resolution. In the end it just slows down my workflow with cumbersome file sizes.
*** Where do you find your inspiration? **
I can honestly say that I've had the very best training. I say this to point out the great, great photographers along the way who have really taken the time to so generously teach and share the medium. My parents were photographers so I started shooting as a little kid, I went to film school at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, and my cinematography teacher pulled me aside because he saw something in me, or more importantly he made me believe that I could do this. I worked with some very talented people in Television for a few years, that pushed me to pick a specialty and when I choose cinematography I wanted to know everything that there was to know about it. When the economy slowed down in 2008 I went back to school to pursue an MFA in Photography from Academy of Art in San Francisco where I joined students with a real passion for photography from all over the world. In the past year I was invited to join the American Society of Cinematographers Master Class as they are creating a new way to inspire the next generation of Cinematographers from around the globe. This is an outstanding organization who's mission it is to educate. The reason I point out all of these educational experiences is that I get inspired to create by living and breathing photography for the past decade or more. Everyday I feel like my skill, knowledge and experience is increasing and I'm excited just to shoot more. Photography has taken me to so many great places and lead me to meet so many great people.
*** Any upcoming projects/clients you have on deck that you can share with us?**
I've gotten a couple of phone calls lately so there are some big opportunists on the horizon as a Cinematographer...but I don't want to jinx them. I'll keep an eye on ProductionHUB and try to land something really big. Actually I've been working a lot lately and I need a little slow down to update my reel and portfolio. ****
*** Anything else you would like to add?**
This is a tough industry to break into but it's a very rewarding one. Surround yourself with a team that is better than you in their individual roles and you can't fail.
