In this episode of Beyond the Image, host James Patrick discusses why repetition is the most important action a creative business owner can take.

The episode covers how reps can beat out talent, creativity and luck using the example of learning to sell and how to sell effectively as an artist.

Be sure to subscribe for future episodes discussing how you develop your brand, market your brand and further profit from your brand as an artist! Episodes will feature interviews with creatives as well as clients themselves discussing what they look for when hiring artists.

Also if you are interested in the free lighting tutorial from James Patrick Photography, or his digital download lighting workshop, please head over to JamesPatrickWorkshops.com

For those interested in working with James Patrick for coaching, please visit JamesPatrick.com/coaching

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I have a challenge for you today and it is NOT an easy one.

What is one thing you could do today that would DRASTICALLY move you, your brand in the right direction… but once you do it, you cannot take it back?

Is it a email you should be sending?

Is it a tough call you need to make?

Is it a conversation you need to have?

Is it a purchase you need to make?

Is it a program you need to publish?

Is it a project you need to release?

Is it something you need to quit?

My challenge for you today is to decide what that is… then do it. No turning back now.

James Patrick
IG @jpatrickphoto
jamespatrick.com

A number of years ago I authored the e-book Fit Model Guide: How to Get Published and since then have sold hundreds of copies to fitness talents wanting to learn what it takes to get featured in magazines.

The book included interviews with a variety of top magazine editors, communication specialists and marketing gurus each giving their insights, best practices and resources to help you get published in your favorite magazines.

I’ve decided that I am going to be making a long overdue sequel to this book! But, before I crack open the laptop to start writing a new guide, I want your feedback first.

What are your main struggles in getting published? What are your questions? What do you want to specifically know about getting publishing in magazines?

I will take your questions directly and find the answers and put that into the sequel to Fit Model Guide: How to Get Published

Please connect with me directly to share with me your thoughts and questions. Thank you so much!

James Patrick
IG @jpatrickphoto
jamespatrick.com

Author’s Note: If you enjoyed this article or found it helpful – please share it with a friend or colleague. Also, please contact me when you are ready to level up your professional photography, graphic design or video needs!

Our parents have tried to instill upon us that we are not to judge a book by its cover. Perhaps they meant this literally as we would go through a library or bookstore and want to grab the flashiest looking book. But they also meant it metaphorically by not judging others by how they appear.

But to the literally meaning I have to ask the question, if we are not supposed to judge a book by its cover, then why do books have covers? Why did publishers hire cover designers? Why did they pay cover photographers? If we are not supposed to judge a book by its cover – why are the best books or magazines on the shelves placed with the cover facing out instead of the spine?

In my own career I’ve photographed literally hundreds of magazine covers. Why would I get hired to shoot as many covers as I have and be paid what I was paid if the cover did not matter?

The reality is, we do not live in a utopian society. We will by nature always judge a book by its cover. What that means is we will always judge people based upon what they show us.

Thus, how you present yourself is important. You showing up on time is important. You showing up often is important. You showing up as a professional is important. How you display yourself online is important. The things you say are important.

If most people never get past the cover you are showcasing – the question becomes are you showing a cover worth looking further into, or are you showing a cover that people will just pass up?

James Patrick
IG @jpatrickphoto
jamespatrick.com

What follows is a quick snapshot from our full interview we did with the Editor of Women’s Health & Fitness Magazine, Katelyn Swallow, on what models and contributors need to know when pitching to magazines. If you would like to read the full interview, please head over to the FITposium online network!

I am responsible for everything from editorial planning, marketing strategy, events and talent sourcing to writing, editing and image sourcing (including covers).  

Primary goal is to create original, science-backed and useful content for readers.

In regards to industry experts, I am looking for people who are articulate and knowledgeable (go beyond your basic personal trainer qualifications and get educated/experienced), and go above and beyond in terms of content and timeliness.  

For models/trainers, it’s all about their quality of images, having a clear point of difference, their social following/brand success, how they align with our own brand values and how well they present themselves to camera.  

For magazines, images are nearly everything and tells me a lot about:

1. a) how well you have researched the brand you are pitching to and
2. b) how your personal brand aligns with the Women’s Health & Fitness brand. 

Images need to be high-resolution, of good quality and aligned with out brand values. For example, there is little point figure competitors sending images of themselves posing to Women’s Health & Fitness – we aren’t a body building magazine and those images do not appeal to our audience.

Mountains of dense text with no spacing is a big no-no. Editors are extremely busy people – we need the short and sharp facts in an easily digestible format.

Don’t tell editors your life story: make it about them and what you can do for their brand, rather than over-selling yours.

Your social media needs to align to our brand values in a similar way to your pitch.

Get a photographer on board who knows his/her stuff and create content for specific media genres. Make sure images are well lit, of good quality, high-res and not too ‘busy.’

Get content to editors in a very timely fashion without compromising quality, and I guarantee you they will come back time and time again!

Make sure you never take your success for granted and keep pushing toward your next goal. Stay humble and never burn a publishing bridge.  

Special thanks again to Katelyn for the great interview. Be sure to head over to FITposium.com to read the full interview!

James Patrick
IG @jpatrickphoto
jamespatrick.com

III. DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING AND PAYING FOR COVERS

The FTC has issued an enforcement policy on deceptively formatted advertisements to attempt and combat “unfair or deceptive acts or practices affecting commerce.” The 16-page policy comes down to one simple rule; advertisements should be clear that they are advertisements.

In his book, Trust Me I’m Lying, author Ryan Holiday goes in depth on how the shifts in our economy and how news is consumed have pushed publishers to focus on traffic by any means, and are driven by the markers, thus compounding the issue further.

“We take it as self-evident that journalists shouldn’t be paid off by people they write about or have financial investments (like owning stock they’re reporting on) in their field. The conflict would shape the coverage and corrupt their writing.” – Ryan Holiday

It is an era he confirms is the death of subscription and the birth of media manipulation.

So to come full circle to the question that was posed as the title of this article; should models pay to be featured on a magazine cover? Let us explore this question from a few different angles.

First, would anyone pay to be on a magazine cover if the magazine itself was open and transparent that the cover was entirely for sale?

Locally there exists a 100% commercial publication geared towards real estate professionals and their listings. Everyone in the publication, from the cover to every article to everyone ad was bought and paid for. The publisher and the magazine are very clear, open and transparent about it and it indicates as such inside the magazine.

So when someone posted on social media how “surprised and honored” they were to be featured on the cover when it came out – it begged the question, at what point were you surprised?

Where you surprised when you wrote the check for the feature? Where you surprised when the photographer the magazine sent, that you paid for, showed up to photograph you? At what point did this catch you off guard?

The result was a bit of online embarrassment for this subject who wanted her audience to believe she earned the editorial feature, when in fact all she did was pay for an advertising feature.

Consider your favorite fitness magazines. How would you feel if your favorite covers you’ve seen, or the influencers or icons you follow bought and paid for every single one of their media features and nothing about it was earned or merited other than sending in a check? It would change your perception wouldn’t it?

Let us now take it even further. Suppose this became the norm for every magazine that featured models. If everyone was aware that the covers were up for sale and that anyone with the right amount of money could buy their ticket onto it, at what point what you stop paying attention to covers altogether?

That is perhaps the final and most important question in this overbearing topic. Although it is not permissible in the states due to the FTC regulations, it does happen overseas.

Thus will the short-term solution of publishers being able to profit by selling the covers turn into a long-term issue when they lose subscriptions as a result?

That we will find out much sooner than later.

James Patrick
IG @jpatrickphoto
jamespatrick.com

The James Patrick Photography team is opening our new photo studio! We have partnered up with Imprint to open up the new Imprint Studio in Scottsdale, Arizona.

For the past 15 years we have simply rented locations when we have photo shoots; but now are entering the realm of ownership!

This opens up nearly any date for your photo shoot project! Please contact us for your shoot needs and stay tuned for further details on the studio grand opening celebration!

James Patrick
jamespatrick.com
IG @jpatrickphoto

It doesn’t happen often, but every now and then a model will send me a message to inquire if I am willing to offer them a TFP photo shoot. Their responses vary slightly calling it “Trade for Print” or “Time for Print” or “Trade for Photos” but the gist is always the same – they are inquiring if I am willing to give them a photo shoot at no cost.

My response, albeit slightly snarky, is unwavering. “Okay, you get photos, what are you trading me?”

Typically a bit surprised or taken back they reply with “Well, you get the photos too.”

But I always get the photos. Regardless if I charge someone or not, I still get the photos. As a photographer I own copyright of anything I photograph as soon as my finger clicks the shutter button. So why, as a professionally, would I forgo making money in exchange for getting someone I would have already which is the rights to use the photos?

I get and understand that amateurs may be willing to hire professionals or trade with others to grow their portfolios. I did that when I started. But here is the key – they are getting images they are not presently being hired for.

When someone contacts me and asks for a trade, they are asking me to give images that thousands of others are already paying me for. Why would I offer that for free, ever? How does it ever benefit me?

Images I am willing to shoot without payment, more often than not, don’t really involve models at all. I started a personal campaign of photographing portraits of veterans. There is no exchange of finances – but I am doing work that satisfies the artistic side of me. When I go camping and make images of the scenic landscapes I find, once again there is no exchange of revenue. I am just making images I could not otherwise.

I am not saying I will never, or have never, given a free photo shoot to a model. But there has to be something in it for me to make it a trade. If the model is getting photos, what is the photographer getting? Offering what I get anyway is not the solution. It is like one kid asking to trade baseball cards with another but really just wants to get more cards and give none.

So what are you offering? Quick hint, it is not offering sexier images. That is a sure-fire way to get your e-mail deleted. If that works on a photographer – I’d encourage you to be worried at their motives.

Perhaps offer a style of photography they want to try but never have that you could provide for them. If that doesn’t work – consider just paying them for the images you personally want.

James Patrick
jamespatrick.com
IG @jpatrickphoto