Photography is a job that you have to invest. As many others I was working on different job so I would be able to buy my cameras, my lenses etc. Once I collected the money I needed to buy some equipment I was putting all my effort to my studies. As I am still at the beginning of my career I still face the same difficulties. I am not living just from the assignments but I am trying to do other side projects so I can keep going. To be honest I don’t know how long It’s going to be like this but I hope not for long.

2. What should a young photographer do in order not to get hired by anybody?

Not picking up your phone could be a very good reason not to be hired by anyone.

In news, photographers have to act fast and efficiently under pressure. A good relationship with your client is the one which will make him/her comfortable, that he will get what he expects from you and on time.

3. Are there any things you wish you knew at the beginning of your career?

To be honest I don’t wish I knew something earlier than I did. This job is transforming so fast that the photographers of previous generations could not really advice young photographers in terms of the market.

4. Are there any rules or habits that help you do your job more efficiently?

I believe a photojournalist have to make people feel comfortable with him/her so I always give myself sometime to speak with the people I photograph to know more about them and also to make sure I find a way to keep in touch with them if possible. This is something I enjoy because in that way I learn new things and I make new friends.

5. Would you recommend some books that young designers might find useful?

I would recommend the book of Roland Barthes “Camera Lucida”, the “On Photography” by Susan Sontag and the “About Looking” of John Berger. These books are not about photographic techniques or arguments over its status as art but they present a different angle on photography such as the relation between photography and death, photography and memory and much more

6. What is your favourite photograph/photographer and why?

My favourite photograph is the image of Earth taken by two NASA interplanetary spacecraft on July 19 show our planet and its moon as bright beacons from millions of miles away in space. This is not an amazing photo but it shows how small we are and how short our lives are. So it shows us that we should think again about our priorities and our behaviour.

A Fantastic New “Pale Blue Dot” from NASA

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I think my biggest difficulty was thinking I was better than I was. I think I started to understand the art form after about my first 10 years. I would say there was one factor if I could change I would, I was extremely undercapitalised. I really lived from assignment to assignment, while that is a technique it’s not the preferred technique.

2. What should a young photographer do in order not to get hired by anybody?

The best way to not get hired is to assume that because you have a camera your photographer, and that somehow the person you want to give you work cares about you. to get good paying work in today’s hyper image saturated landscape, you’d better stand out and not in. Here are three questions I always try and ask myself, and answer on behalf of the person that I’m trying to get work from 1. Why me 2. Why now 3) Why care. If I can answer those three questions I am very close to building a solid relationship with this person and my ideas.

3. Are there any things you wish you knew at the beginning of your career?

I wish I’d known that there is actually more bad photographers then good ones, that most photographers are highly uneducated and often operates from a very self inflated sense of importance and quite frankly have egos so large I don’t know how to drive to work or assignments. We take pictures, we don’t save lives like a surgeon, were just photographers, if you make an amazing photo that is the catalyst for change, consider yourself lucky, most of it ends up being mediocre drivel.

Photography like most of life is not a meritocracy.

4. Are there any rules or habits that help you do your job more efficiently?

Being efficient is more about taking the time to build a cogent workflow for the kind of photography you do. It really is a thinking game with a little bit of emotion put in. I work hard at creating automation wherever I can find it, that way my creative output can reside in the structure that is a workflow and automation.

5. Would you recommend some books that young designers might find useful?

I would read books about narrative, mythology, art of story, learn the basics of colour theory, study the Fibonacci mathematics, and just explore your world. Art is a byproduct of life and life is derived from experiences, those experiences shape your reality, Thus the breadth of your reality is defined by the breath of your experiences.

6. What is your favourite photograph and why?

To pick only one photograph, how is this possible, it’s like taking only one dish to eat for the rest of your life, no matter how good a dance eventually one will become tired.

So I shall answer what some of my favourite photographs are versus just picking on.

I think Bressons decisive moment photograph is a physical representation of an interior sense of consciousness and awareness that only happens when one balances in motion with logic. It takes great insight to prepare oneself for a moment like that, but one has to be emotionally in touch with oneself to know how to make it happen.

I think Helmut Newton’s black and white work is by far some of the most compelling compositions and narratives. He had the incredible talent for changing power and dynamic roles in images and making us uncomfortable yet connecting the dots so we also had a bit of arousal. they were images you could not look away from, which is the whole point.

Don McDonald the English war photographer, who looks at his career with a bit of remorse was incredibly talented at sharing with us the horror of modern warfare. He reminds us to never glorify death derived from violence, I’m reminded of a quote I read somewhere that I think verbally epitomizes the visual impact of Don’s work, “ there are no winners in war only those that lose less”.

I’m also a fan of Jock Sturgis his ability to use an 8 x 10 view camera and compose portraits of family members in a way that isn’t about them being naked it’s as if he’s photographing the gentle spirit inside in a raw way that an stylised that is truly free. I think he could teach a lot of us how to build relationships with subjects and photograph them the deepest respect.

I don’t have the names right now but there are few Latin American photographers in the early 20s and 30s whose work is absolutely amazing I have to look them up what you can’t do at this very moment don’t forget there are people in Mexico and Central America and parts of South America and great.

Selgatos work is so well-known and so prolific and thankfully so, it deserves every bit of recognition. There’s nothing else to say.

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Keira Rathbone is joining a long list of typewriter artists with The Typewriter Museum claiming that the earliest example of this art form dates back to 1898 and it was a picture of a butterfly typed on a Bar-lock typewriter. Among the more recent masters was Paul Smith, an American suffering from severe cerebral palsy, who created hundreds of pictures.

Here are some of Keira’s amazing images. Hope they leave you inspired to start typing away some of your thoughts.

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A “fixer” is journalism slang for a local production coordinator – someone who assists a visiting journalist with translation, logistical arrangements such as appointments, transportation, accommodations, and security. Visiting journalists may need a fixer because they’re trying to get a lot of work done on a very tight schedule, they don’t speak the language, because of security concerns or for other reasons.

Who Is A Fixer?

A fixer is very often a professional journalist, or they may be someone else with good connections, good organisational skills, good people skills and good translation abilities. They know the place and/or the local people very well.

A fixer is a communicator who provides access – to local culture, to the subjects, to the people you need to have access to in order to make a project happen. He or she needs to know local culture, customs and regulations to get the visiting journalist in the door and keep them out of trouble.

Key Responsibilities

Generally, the fixer is responsible for:

• The visiting journalists security
  This means helping the journalist get their job done safely. It also means looking out for them from start to finish, as long as you’re with them. They may not be aware of what’s dangerous and what’s not or what’s socially correct or inappropriate to do. Sometimes they may be aware and need to take risks anyway, but it’s important that you as their fixer always express your concerns and suggestions. Also you need to understand that a foreigner – especially a foreigner carrying expensive equipment – is much more of a target for criminals or militants. So keep your eyes and ears open. Generally speaking, you should plan to accompany the journalist from the time they leave their hotel in the morning until they return to their hotel at night.
• Appointments
  Some visiting journalists will know who they want to meet. Others will look to you for ideas and contacts.
  Appointments should be made in advance whenever possible. If the visiting journalist asks you to make appointments in advance, it’s not acceptable to get things done at the last minute. Often the timeline is very tight, and if one interview or appointment isn’t going to work out, another will need to be made. Sometimes (depending on the circumstances) the visiting journalist will even need to postpone or cancel the trip if the people can’t confirm they’re definitely going to be available.
• Cultural and contextual support
  Share your knowledge! Show off your knowledge of your city or region.
  Also let the journalist know if they’re going to need to bring gifts, inform them of any important customs, etc.
• Transportation and accommodation
  Check with the visiting journalist about their needs and budget. They may only be able to afford bicycle rickshaws and a cheap hotel, or they may want luxurious accommodations and an air-conditioned car with them all day. Once you know their requirements, present the options for hotels – things to keep in mind are usually price, location, how clean the place is, how quiet it is, service and facilities, and security. Once the visiting journalist decides, make a booking. Be sure you have a plan for transportation and leave enough time to arrive on time for each appointment.
• Translation
  The visiting journalists needs will vary, but for radio the procedure is outlined below.

Important Points to Keep In Mind

1. When you’re working as a fixer, work only as a fixer.
   Though you may normally work as a journalist, a stockbroker, a farmer or a computer programmer, while working as a fixer please give the job your full attention. Don’t try to carry on with your other work at the same time. If you’re normally a reporter or photographer, leave that work at home. If you’re trying to shoot your own photos or report your own story, it’s difficult to give your full support to someone else doing the same. On the other hand, you may be able to make use of the contacts to do your own story at some later date.
2. Be aware of different expectations
   In some countries, it’s normal to plan everything in advance, to confirm, and to follow an exact schedule. In other countries, that rarely happens, and it’s normal to work without a formal schedule, or to confirm everything at the last minute.
   Be aware of which working style the visiting journalist prefers, and adapt to that style. If they ask for a plan, do your best to make a plan. If they ask you to do a lot of work far in advance when it seems unusual, try to do so anyway. If things can’t be confirmed, explain why and offer alternatives if possible.
3. Be on time
   Again, in different countries there are different expectations about what it means to be on time. To avoid uncomfortable or embarrassing situations, take the journalist at their word. If they ask you to meet at 9:00am, try to be there at 8:55am and not later than 9:00 sharp.
4. Have a meeting upon arrival
   Set a time to meet with the visiting journalist on the first day before the interviews and travel start. Allow at least half an hour or one hour for this meeting. Together, go over details of the plans: appointment times, how you will get there, how much time to allow for travel. Talk about any cultural or security concerns. Review the costs of any accommodations or transportation you will need along the way. Generally make sure you both understand the day’s (or week’s) schedule and plans.

Interview Translation Technique for Radio

• Power off your mobile phone
  Besides causing annoying interruptions, mobile phones (cellphones/handphones) can interfere with the recording process by making buzzing sounds on the recording, even in silent mode. This can ruin an otherwise perfect interview. So switch of your mobile phone before going into an interview situation or any situation where you are recording.

• Encourage your interview subjects to speak their native language.
  Actively discourage them from trying to speak English if their language skills are not strong — it doesn’t work for radio! Tell them people can express themselves most fully in their native language.
• Explain the procedure
  Tell the interview subject it will work like this:
  • Journalist asks a question in their own language
  • You will translate
  • They answer in their own language. Tell them you may stop them after a few moments to translate, and then they can continue
  • You will translate
  • Repeat.
    
  • They talk. PAUSE. You translate.
    When translating for radio, you must leave a pause of at least 1 second between the time the person stops talking and the time you do your translation. That’s because the audio will be edited later. Do not talk over the interview subjects!!! Train yourself to wait 1 second after they stop. This also goes for the journalist’s questions. Pause 1 second before translating them.

• Keep it short
  Don’t let the person talk for more than 30 seconds at a time. If they do, you’ll have trouble remembering what they said and you’ll end up giving a summary. But you need to translate exactly. So stop them after 30 seconds, translate, and then go on. It’s best to use a hand gesture to stop them, because you need to do it silently. Then wait 1 second, then translate.
• Avoid “Yes” … “Uh huh” … “Ah” … etc.
  Normally when we talk with people or interview them for print media, we make lots of little sounds like “Uh huh” etc. But during a radio interview, we need to keep absolutely silent. We need to get only their voice on the recording. It can be difficult or impossible to remove these little “uh huh” sounds, so train yourself to react only by nodding your head silently or changing your facial expression. This is important.
• Remember it’s not your interview
  Don’t answer the person before you have translated for the reporter. In other words, don’t get into your own conversation with the interviewee.
  When you answer, do so only translating for the reporter. Act only as a go-between. If you want to say something to the interview subject, it’s best to check with the reporter first.

Photography

• Help keep it natural
  The visiting journalist is probably looking to catch people looking natural. Help explain to the subjects that they shouldn’t pose. Instead, they should just go on doing what they were doing.
• Etc.

Payment

The journalist should pay a fair wage based on the prevailing local wages for journalists. Depending on the length of the assignment, this may be a daily wage or a monthly salary. It should be agreed in advance. In the case of a daily wage, you may be asked to make a few advance arrangements, but typically you will be paid only for the days you work together in person (unless agreed otherwise beforehand).

While some independent journalists may be able to pay immediately, it is very common that journalists on assignment will ask you to submit or sign a written invoice. That invoice will be sent to their home office for payment, and you will be paid within a specified time frame.

As for incidental expenses such as your own meals within your city, circumstances vary, so don’t assume everything will be covered. Keep some cash with you. On the other hand, if you are traveling together outside your city, the visiting journalist should take care of your accommodation as well as food.

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The Rise and Falls of Lollywood a story on Pakistani Film Industry from the view of a dance training institute. The dancers here come with the hopes of becoming stage stars who if unsuccessful are forced to entertain not the public audience but private parties in the Red Light area of Lahore.

With hopes to find interesting stories in growing gay culture of Lahore I accidentally ended up at Khawar’s Dance School located in an alleyway around the film hub of Lahore.

Entering into a small green gate I find a big poster of Nadeem plastered high on the wall looking down at floor below which staged the dances and acts as their practice floor.

Sisters Nausheen and Amber moved to Lahore to become two of the best dancers of Pakistan. Their inspiration is non other than the famous Stage performer Deedar who has played in numerous stage roles and is famous for her sexy Mujra (vulgar stage dance) moves. Though her moves have earned her a huge male following but those staring eyes, when she moves her legs, show no respect or admiration of her talent.

Nausheen and Amber told their parents about the life in Lahore, their studies, room mates but skipped the part of the hardships they are facing during their stay in Lahore. They cant support their education or the fee’s of this institute but hope one day if given a chance they will repay all their debts and support their ageing father.

Pakistani film-industry, often referred to as Lollywood has been in a steady decline. With shrinking budgets, increasing popularity of cable television, modern cinema complexes and an onslaught of Bollywood movies from India and an increase in threats from Islamic militants to actors, directors and producers has forced many productions to re-locate to Pakistan’s cultural capital Lahore and it’s last two remaining studios. Bari Studios and Evernew studios. While the performers, technicians are forced to either change their profession or rely on the inadequate methods of earning livelihood.

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My daughter, he proudly boasted “She is the queen of all tribes living here. One day she will be the best snake catcher of all Pakistan”.

Shazia was barely 4 − 5 years the youngest family members of the clan who had their tents parked outside Lahore in an abandoned plot.

Snake charming is an art and a profession. It originated in India where it was more or less a religious requirement. Before Hinduism, snake worship was one of the ancient religions. Snake worship had special temples and gods and deities. Hindus practiced the arts of charming which included treating snake bite victims and herbal treatments for various ailments. Charming was a Hindu discipline but later other castes and groups in Sindh, Bengal and Punjab also acquired this skill.

The professional art of snake charming is dying and charmers are becoming a rare breed. In Pakistan it is dying because it does not pay. Forty years ago charmers walked the streets and were invited into homes and children and adults enjoyed the show. On Eid, Saperas (snake charmers) dressed in long kurtas, colored turbans, necklaces made of beads and shells, would show up and perform with their beens and snakes.

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Kushti is particularly famous in the Punjab which has bread and flourished many famous internationally renowned players of the last century. One of these is Gama Phailwan who was awarded World Heavyweight Champion in 1910 by India. He also remains the only undefeated Kushti player in the history of Pakistan during his whole career. Interestingly, Kulsoom Nawaz, the wife of Nawaz Sharif (President of Pakistan) is the grand-daughter of Gama Phailwan.

Lahore is one cities where Kusti seems to be thriving. The sport is as popular as ever in the villages that surround the city. When matches are held, as many as 20,000 spectators attend. Despite its popularity there are only a handful of known Akhara’s in or around the city, where both young and senior enthusiasts from different sects of the society come together irrespective of their cultural setup.

Gruelling daily training, strict diet and celibacy for the duration of their careers are necessary if they hope to ever achieve their dream – to become a champion ‘phailwan’ (wrestler). But as modernity sweeps Pakistan and Western sports like cricket become more popular, some Akhara’s are being abandoned and left without any financial help.

After prayers are said and the pit prepared, the wrestlers rub their faces and bodies, and those of their opponents, with red dirt, which serves both as a blessing and to improve grip during the bout. The wrestlers spar for several hours. They eat and rest and, in the evening, the routine is repeated.

Using the soil to reduce impact and improve movement, wrestlers intertwine their bodies in complex techniques.

Before training, the floor is raked of any pebbles or stones. Buttermilk, oil, and red ochre are sprinkled to the ground, giving the dirt its red hue. Water is added every few days to keep it at the right consistency; soft enough to avoid injury but hard enough so as not to impede the wrestlers’ movements. Every match is preceded by the wrestlers throwing a few handfuls of dirt from the floor on themselves and their opponent as a form of blessing. Despite the marked boundaries of the arena, competitors may go outside the ring during a with no penalty. There are no rounds but the length of every bout is specified beforehand, usually about 25-30 minutes. If both competitors agree, the length of the match may be extended. Match extensions are typically around 10-15 minutes.[5] A win is achieved by pinning the opponent’s shoulders and hips to the ground simultaneously, although victory by knockout, stoppage or submission is also possible. In some variations of the rules, only pinning the shoulders down is enough. Bouts are overseen by a referee inside the ring and a panel of two judges watching from the outside

For many Kushti is a route out of poverty, a striving for status, for the rural poor. “Nearly 90 per cent of them are from poor farming families,” says Kadam in Kolhapur. “The rest are the children of landless labourers, carpenters, and so on. Only a handful are from the educated classes. Wrestling is also a passion. Barely five per cent of pehelwans make it to higher levels.”

Wrestling competitions, known as dangal, are held in villages and as such are variable and flexible. The arena is either a circular or square shape, measuring at least fourteen feet across. Rather than using modern mats, South Asian wrestlers train and compete on dirt floors.

Despite the many champions they’ve produced — and despite top political leaders heading their federations — the gurus of kushti have received little support from government. It’s a complaint across western Maharashtra that Punjab and Haryana treat their wrestlers a lot better.

Changes in society and culture, the decline of small-holder farming, a recurring water-crisis and State neglect have combined to undermine what is perhaps the most deep-rooted sport in the rural economy. “A wrestler’s life,” says Andhalkar, “is a kind of invisible tapasya. A small injury to a cricketer will play a thousand times in the media. A wrestler dies, no one cares.”

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The only difference is some of us live by these habits and make them their rules of life while others only try to practice, do and forget.

– They are humble. Their success doesn’t consume them.

– They are on time. On time for work, on time for meetings, on time for the train. They hate wasting their own time, and as a byproduct, anyone else’s.

– They always appreciate what they have. And as a result, they usually get more.

– They are universally respectful—to their friends, their boss, or to the person that makes their sandwich for lunch.

– They don’t let work consume them.

– They make sacrifices for the benefit of others.

– They are patient.

– They put in the extra effort when it’s needed, without any strings attached.

-They resolve issues or conflicts directly.

– They respectfully push back. It’s easy to push back. To do so with respect takes skill.

– They trust their colleagues.

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It is a simple B2B SaaS marketing plan which can be tailored anyway to suit your business needs. B2B is factored in because of the high CPL cost and high subscription cost of the solution.

For a non-SaaS business it might have be tailored heavily and could possibly not be any useful at all other than showing a structure of building a more sophisticated business marketing plan.

Its a simple plan for a B2B software solution where the monthly price between £1000 − £4000 a month reoccurring. I have averaged it out to £1500 a month.

Reoccurrence of the revenue is not taken into account for this model. The projections are calculated only on the assumption that each of the subscription is paid only once including training and setup fee’s.

I will repost a more sophisticated model which takes churn rate, operating cost and reoccurring revenues.

Here’s the plan as a Google spreadsheet. Feel free to download it and leave any comments you have which will help in building this into a better marketing plan.

The model is self-explanatory but here are a few notes that can be helpful:

Total markeitng budget given is 50,000 which generates 546 leads.

20% of these leads are converted into paying customers.

Each of the customer pays an additional £500 of setup fee’s.

Each customer pays a £1000 one time training fee. This can be further expanded into running regular sessions.

I have not considered the operating costs of the business, which I will add later into the model so that the projected marketing budget covers the cost of business operations as well as additional revenue.

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