it's business sense...
Superstar Agents; Bill Stockland and Maureen Martel, together are STOCKLAND MARTEL, based in Manhattan and one of the world's most respected and leading photographer agencies, representing international award winning talent; Nadav Kander, Lauren Greenfield, Jim Fiscus ... Maureen Martel very kindly spared some time to share her thoughts on ...
AD: how did you get started as and agent and how long have you been producing for photographers?
Superstar Agents; Bill Stockland and Maureen Martel, together are STOCKLAND MARTEL, based in Manhattan and one of the world's most respected and leading photographer agencies, representing international award winning talent; Nadav Kander, Lauren Greenfield, Jim Fiscus ... Maureen Martel very kindly spared some time to share her thoughts on ...
AD: how did you get started as and agent and how long have you been producing for photographers?
MM: In the early ’80s, I was making a transition from being a schoolteacher and had decided that I wanted to work with artists and still make money. For me, commercial photography was about the blend between art and commerce. One of my transitional jobs was working at a color lab, and that’s where I met Bill. He was coming in to get prints for one of his two photographers. After meeting with commercial photographers and with other agents, I knew that the person I wanted to work with was Bill Stockland. I pursued him for what seemed to be an eternity, which was actually just two months. And then one day, we ran into each other in an elevator of a building in what was then the photo district [in the 20s near the Flatiron Building in Manhattan], and I collared him and told him that had to hire me that day. And he did! It was serendipitous.
AD: what do you consider are the essential skills a great photographer's agent should have?
MM: Being organized, persistent, detail-oriented. Having a love of photography, of course. Being social—it’s an incredibly social business. You also have to have a great eye for talent. And you have to enjoy creating teams. I don’t sell my own personality—I sell by introducing the talent’s photography and their personality to the creatives and the buyers. Providing high-quality service is also very important. We were very conscious about building a reputation for having a very high level of service.
AD: what are your favourite parts of the job?
MM: Working with artists. It’s what motivated me to get into this business, and it continues to motivate me. I haven’t sold for years—I manage now— so for me today, it’s about helping organize the photographers’ work and coming up with marketing strategies to support my sales team.
AD: how do you bring new faces into the commercial world of photographer or assist photographers in making the transition from low budget editorial photography to advertising photography?
MM: We utilize our extensive network in combination with an edit of the photographer’s editorial work (I believe I have a great eye for what the ad community is looking for). And then we just apply our various marketing and sales strategies.
AD: how do you discover new talent and what sort of things do you look for when you consider taking on a new talent to represent?
MM: All of our photographers come through recommendations, so they’re vetted through someone we respect in the industry. Martin Sigal came through a creative director at an ad agency, for example. What we look for is a unique photographic point of view, personality, understanding of business, and a belief in how we promote.
AD: do you approach photographers for representation or do you wait for photographers to get in contact with you? what is the best thing a photographer can do to "get noticed"?
MM: We do not approach photographers. For a photographer to get our attention, they have to—in addition to having been referred to us—have been recognized within a photographic community. For example, even though Nadav [Kander] was incredibly young when I met him, he had been recognized already by the London advertising community. He was already wining awards. Timothy Greenfield-Sanders had had a show at the Mary Boone Gallery. Walter Iooss had more than already been recognized by the sports photographic community when we met him, with more than 20 years working with Sports Illustrated. They really have to have been recognized. And it doesn’t have to be the U.S. advertising community. Kai-Uwe Gundlach and Uwe Duettmann were recognized by their German-speaking communities as the best.
AD: do you think there are more photographers than ever before and more great photographers than there ever has been?
MM: Yes. The difference between now and the ’80s is it’s now an international market.
AD: how many photographers do you represent and do you have an ideal number?
AD: how many photographers do you represent and do you have an ideal number?
MM: I do believe that there’s an optimum ratio between Stockland Martel employees and the photographers we represent. I think we’re probably at the ideal now—we have 35 photographers.
AD: do you represent hair & make-up artists and stylists as well?
MM: Yes. That said, I do not insist that my photographers work with them, but I do believe the quality of our hair and makeup artists and stylists complements the quality of our photographers.
AD: what services do you offer the talent on your books?
MM: We market them, we sell, we bid, and we collect. And we adapt our services depending on the needs of the photographer. Some need more support in one area than another.
AD: what is your relationship with the photographers and how do they contribute to the marketing process?
MM: Bill and I are in constant communication with the photographers via phone and email and texting. We have a mandatory marketing contribution that supports an extensive marketing plan. The photographers can also choose to supplement that with their own ideas, which is separate and apart from that budget.
AD: how has web, email etc changed the way you market and present photographers work? How needed is the photographers ‘book’?
We use social networking, and we launched a blog last spring. We are also in the process of a major website redesign, which will include motion and will bring together all of our assets: stills, motion, our blog, social networking, and our stock site, Stockland Martel Archives. Portfolios are absolutely needed. We’ve reduced the number we need by 30 percent in the last 18 months because the first line is websites and PDFs, but the portfolio is still used to seal the deal.
AD: is there a difference between being a good photographer and having a career in photography or is the mix a necessary?
MM: In the past, a commercial photographer would just show up for the job and do beautiful work. Today, that does not work. A commercial photographer also has to be shooting their own work on a day-to-day basis. They have to have a personal flow of imagery that was not required at all when I started in the business.
AD: what has been one of the most memorable shoots you have ever work on?
MM: Two come to mind: the extended Camel international campaign with Walter Iooss in the mid-80s, which lasted over a 5-year period, and the Timberland campaign for Eric Meola in 1984.
AD: what advice could you give photographers on improving their portfolio and what mistake/s with folios do a lot of photographers make?
MM: Know your market, know who you’re speaking to, and have a unique voice. Also, your portfolio has to speak a clear message—it has to stand on its own, and people have to understand who you are by looking at it. If I don’t know who you are by looking at your portfolio, then your book is not doing its job.
AD: is it all about awards?
MM: I think awards are just one vehicle in identifying greatness within the community. There are categories that never win awards, like lifestyle, but it doesn’t mean it’s not great photography.
AD: what do you see are the differences between different country markets, ie. USA v's Europe V's Asia?
MM: The appetite for photography is based on their culture. There is crossover internationally in the beauty, landscape, and conceptual categories, but not in portrait and lifestyle.
AD: do you have much knowledge of photography in Australia?
MM: Yes, I do, in relationship to how I compete with the Australian market. For example, I can’t compete with Australian photographers in Australia. And if a client there wants a “Western look” for a campaign in Asia, their more economic solution is an Australian photographer because stylistically, Australian photography is closer to American style than an Asian style.
AD: what sort of changes have you noticed in recent years in commercial photography?
MM: The economy has impacted on photography, obviously. And the media buys have changed because of technology. We do a lot of work in the entertainment category, and there’s an enhanced, hyper-real style of image that is very much in demand. That didn’t exist until the post-production became an industry norm.
AD: what is the secret to your success in developing a great reputation and keeping the photographers happy?
MM: Hard work. Love for what we do. A great eye for talent, both photographically and in the team we have here at Stockland Martel. Our agents have been with us for more than 10 years. That consistency makes a difference. We also really have a deep understanding of high-end service to our photographers and our clients.
AD: what advice do you have for young emerging photographers?
MM: I would say to go to a great photography school, as well as apprentice with your idol. At the very least, you have to apprentice. One of the most important things to succeed in this industry is understanding the business.
STOCKLAND MARTEL
