Hopefully you’ll enjoy this series of Q & A’s that I am starting, with various people who work in, or with, photography in one way or another.

My first willing subject is Aeli, a Producer for Art & Commerce.

1. How did you get your start in the business and was it something you knew you wanted to pursue from early on?

I was always interested in art and fashion and I guess it was pretty natural for me to sort of be lured into it professionally. I started out in fashion show production (grueling hours) and then went on being a creative directors assistant for a design and fashion magazine, did some casting, and just sort of always remained in the industry.

2. What do you currently do as a producer and what traits do you think are most crucial to the job?

You are responsible for overseeing everything, i.e. estimates/budget, hiring of all crew - hair, make up, styling, models and props etc…organizing all travel and basically being the liaison to and for everyone. Sort of like an ambassador.
I think in order to be a producer or at least a good one you need to have a level of anxiety. That is my motto. Because you are responsible for every detail - grand and minute you have to stay on your toes and without that ounce of anxiety that I keep about my jobs at all times - I think more things would fall into the cracks.

3. How do you think being a producer, especially one who works in-house at an agency, differs from being an agent?

In a lot of cases it can be the same but the main difference is that the agent gets the job and the producer pretty much deals with everything afterwards. If you’re an outside producer you solely produce but when you are in-house you are much more involved in the entire process and you really get to see and hear more of the nitty gritty on the client and photographer’s end. The in-house producer is usually really integrated with everything that an agent does and a lot of times the lines blur very often.

4. You’ve worked in both the commercial photography world as well as the fashion world. What are the differences as well as the pro’s and cons between the two sides?

In commercial photography it is a lot less attitude and more of a “let’s get it done attitude”. In fashion you are dealing with a lot of personalities - all the artists. The process is different, more lengthy because there is a lot more creative freedom and less cooks in the kitchen. Everyone is really invested in capturing something unique. With commercial stuff - there is that entire system of creative/client hierarchy that slows down the process immensely.

5. And how do the editorial jobs differ in that regard? Is there a big difference producing a shoot for, say, New York Magazine versus a shoot for a fashion pub like Self-Service?

NY Mag usually assigns or plans their shoots very last minute as they are a weekly and generally have a bigger budget than a publication like Self-Service that comes out only 2-4 times a year and is much more art focused. I don’t think there really is much of a difference - the only difference would be the photographer you produce it for, to be honest. Also because editorial jobs don’t have big budgets the likelihood of them killing a story is much more probable than with advertising.

6. Biggest/Coolest celebrity you’ve ever worked with?

Eh on the celebs!

7. Not playing sides, who are some of your favourite photographers today? Is there a dream photographer you’d love to
work with?

IRVING PENN.

8. This job is one well known for freelancing…would you ever branch out on your own?

Doubtful. The idea of freelancing sounds too unstable for me and I really enjoy being in-house. You really get to see all sides of the production and be really involved throughout the entire process well after the job has wrapped. Plus I like
health insurance!

9. What are some of the crucial tools of the trade for a producer?

Hands down a PDA! Without it i’d be 50% less efficient and carrying a backpack everywhere.

10. Lastly, do you have any advice to aspiring or experienced producers out there with regards to planning the ‘perfect shoot’?

RUN NOW!