Sorry for not posting a bit more frequently…it’s the busy season!

Inspired by my fellow anonymous blogger, A Photo Editor, if any of you out there are interested in becoming a photography agent, here are the sure fire ways to become a powerful agent to the world’s greatest photographers.

There is no sure fire way. Our business is one that is relatively obscure to the world at large. When I tell people what it is I do a common question I get back is “Oh, like paparazzi photographers?”. I can’t actually think of a worse association but it is a reminder that we work in an industry that serves a very particular creative niche.

A Photo Editor joked that photo editors are failed photographers…I am not sure what agents are. A good number of agents are actually former models (Marek of Marek & Associates and Walter Schupfer come to mind) but obviously that is not a career track to follow. Perhaps you have a degree in art history, perhaps you were a photo assistant who never intended to be a photographer, perhaps you are someone who wants to get involved with talent management but can’t stand the thought of dealing with celebrities. I guess my point here is, there is no real traditional path towards becoming a photography agent, although there are ample related opportunities. (If you’re near a Uniqlo store, wherever you are, there’s a good interview in Uniqlo Paper No.3 with Annemiek Ter Linden, an agent from Art + Commerce.)

Another good thing about our business is that jobs tend to be pretty translatable. A producer friend of mine at a prominent agency said that her agency really likes to hire from the editorial world when possible, as they tend to be very knowledgeable types used to working with tighter budgets. A fair number of art buyers (the people at advertising agencies that deal with agents in commissioning projects) have been former agents, and photo agents have covered the market from being model bookers to hair and make-up agents.

Do your research. This might sound self evident but it’s pretty important. What type of agency do you think you want to work for? Like any other industry different agencies in our business serve different markets and purposes. Art Partner, Jed Root, Art + Commerce…largely fashion driven agencies. Stockland Martel, Bernstein & Andriulli, Bransch…serve more traditional advertising markets. Bill Charles (who represents the likes of Stephen Shore and Larry Sultan) and AFG (Ryan McGinley) are a little more art focused, and places like Magnum, Agency VII and Redux focus on photojournalism/reportage. One thing to note is that many of these agencies do not serve their photographer’s fine art pursuits..those are the domains of galleries.

Know what an agent does. And that is to SELL. They have to make the photographer money, the agency money and themselves money. Thank goodness we are selling a creative person’s output and not insurance, but it is selling nonetheless. First and foremost the photographer will look to you for guidance…what magazines to shoot for, what jobs to take or not take and they will be hoping to leverage the contacts you already have or the ones that you can make. This doesn’t mean you have to be on the phone 24 hours a day cold calling clients but this is not a business for the timid either. And in conjunction with selling is developing a photographer’s body of work. This may be more applicable in the fashion world than commercial but it’s important to point your photographer in the right direction, helping them to develop stories and ideas, and in turn helping them target the right clients.

Ask yourself why you want to be a photographer’s agent, versus being an art buyer or a photo editor..or for that matter being a studio manager or producer, or other things that I am forgetting. Being a photo editor I’d argue is a far more creative task, helping to develop story ideas and working with many different types of talent. Being an art buyer is for those who love the world of advertising and (hopefully) working with big budgets and productions. Being an agent is about developing and selling talent and dealing with different types of egos. All are rewarding in different ways.

I was personally never a failed photographer (I wish..!) and I came into the business in my own way, but I think first and foremost you have to have a love for photography, and a strong working knowledge of the business…you really do.

Thank you! Next up will be “Agents and Photographers: Symbiotic Or Parasitic Relationships?”.