I imagine Scott Jordan, the CEO of the stylish, yet very functional ScotteVest is on a mission to be heard and seen by everyone. Yes, including photographers.

I received a direct message from him on Twitter asking me to check out a link regarding a ScotteVest advertisement that Delta Airlines had rejected. It was a similar advertisement to the one his company published in The New York Times.

Here is the advertisement in its original form:

You can only imagine why the advertisement was rejected by Delta. It calls out a spate of US airlines that have opted to charge additional baggage fees if you decide to fly with them. And it gives travelers a very viable solution – the ScotteVest – to “beat the system.”

Let me be clear – I do not own a ScotteVest product (yet). And this isn't a paid or unpaid advertisement for Scott Jordan or his company. I have received nothing in exchange for blogging about this issue. I used to love getting on a plane and traveling. I have traveled to Europe, East Asia and to just about every state in the US. Well, the airlines industry in the US have found ways to make it intolerable (save for one airlines called Southwest).

When the “extra baggage fees” were announced, I knew I would be flying less. Not that I carry a stack of suitcases when I photograph domestic or international weddings, but the very fact that airlines in the US had found a way to essentially tax me over and above what it costs to fly with them, well, irked me to no end. Note the distinction – we are referring to these new charges for “extra” baggage not just “excess” baggage. From my understanding, one is charged “excess” baggage if and when one goes over a certain amount of weight per suitcase AND also has an additional bag to check in. Fine. We've lived and put up with that for a while and it makes sense. You can't have one person flying with 10 suitcases all filled to the brim. “Extra” baggage charges, which I am lamenting about now, is when an airline deems it necessary to charge you for ANY checked bag; weight and dimension limits also remain in full effect, of course. If you were traveling for just an overnight trip, you may be able to get away with a duffel bag or a carry-on suitcase (though there are rumblings already that those TOO may be incur a charge!!). However, if you are traveling for a week or more, you will want to carry more with you. Add traveling with children to the mix and you parents know that things become quite a production.

In my opinion, this nickel-and-diming is surely the first step towards a very slippery slope for the airline industry. I wonder if charging us to use the bathrooms on their flights, where we would be required to swipe our credit cards to open the door, would be the next logical step. I am sure some bean-counter is already salivating at the very thought. Where and when airlines should be encouraging travel, they have found innovative and asinine solutions to tax passengers, disrupt and frustrate people's lives.

In again a Twitter exchange, my friend Steven Frischling (whose blog Flying With Fish you must read), says:

So do you think Delta or any other airline will want to turn away nearly $735 million every year? No way! Airlines have forgotten that traveling by air used to be a positive experience. Now, it's more of a nightmare, especially with necessary security checks and other unforeseeable delays. So here comes an innovative company with a great product to make people's lives a little bit easier when they travel. But no, the airlines will have none of it.

Scott Jordan's appeal is simple. This is a David vs. the Goliath, he says. And I agree. This is about the little man/woman being constantly stepped on. ScotteVest products may provide a traveler the ideal solution to carrying a lot of the things one would normally check-in, but I somehow doubt every traveler will opt for a jacket in lieu of checking in a couple of suitcases. To that end, I think Delta is being just plain silly for rejecting the advertisement in Delta Sky, their in-flight magazine. By denying ScotteVest's advertisement to appear in their magazine, they have inadvertently (and to Jordan's glee, I am sure) created a maelstrom of interest in his offerings. Isn't all publicity, still good publicity?

Read Scott Jordan's official statement on Delta's decision to reject his “Beat the System – how to avoid extra bag fees” advertisement.

What do you think? Is Scott Jordan's appeal much ado about nothing or are you also frustrated by the baggage fees that airlines are charging you when you travel and want a solution you can use? As a photographer how have the new baggage allowances affected the way you travel and ultimately your business? Send a message to the airlines by commenting below!

This blog post is by Taiwain-based culture & travel photographer Craig Ferguson. You should follow him on Twitter.

One step forward and two steps back seems to be the pattern for a lot of photographers lately, particularly in the area of cultural travel photography. Falling editorial rates and increased competition make things tougher for all. For me personally, potentially beneficial long-term opportunities in the world of travel photography have recently opened up (one step forward) but at the cost of tougher times in the short-term (two steps back).

Choosing to forgo immediate gain in order to focus on the medium and longer term future isn't always easy. I recently sent off the last of a series of photographs to a publisher. It's unlikely that I'll see any licensing fees from this until 2011 at the earliest, even though putting it all together took the best part of the summer. Other than a couple of small and quick portrait shoots and a little bit of editorial travel photography for a regional magazine, the past couple of months have been lean. In the long run, it will be worth it but that doesn't necessarily make it easier to stomach now.

2010 was always going to be a year of major transition for me as I move my photography business away from the general and into a much more specialized direction. That transition is still ongoing and becomes frustrating at times, as the bulk of my time is now spent in front of a computer rather than behind a lens. This recent project was a vital step in that process but it was only a step. Completing one major task would, in a perfect world, be cause for celebration and signify time to take a break. In reality though, it's just another box to tick and task to cross off the list. Almost as soon as the DVD's full of photographs were dropped off at Fedex, it was back to the grindstone. Seeking out, researching and reaching out to new potential clients. A day full of crafting individualized, cold email introductions to a market that is not covered by Agency Access and the like. When that day is over, I end up with a stack of further possibilities for the future to investigate and approach. It's not a task for the impatient but at the same time, it's a task that must be done sooner rather than later.

So why do it? Why not take travel photos for fun and work in something else, something that provides a regular salary? I know plenty of photographers who have done just that. They work a full time, salaried job and save photography for the weekends. For some people, that's the best thing to do. Not for me however. Why? It's quite simple.

I am a photographer. More accurately, I am a cultural travel photographer. It's what I do. It's who I am. It gives me more than I could ever hope to repay. It's a passion. I have no choice. I can't not do it.

Short term pain may well be necessary for long term gain, and if that is the case, then so be it. Photography is a calling and when you've been called, you have no other options.

This guest post is by Daniel Milnor who splits his time between the chaos of Southern California and the spiritual landscape of New Mexico. He is happiest with his notebook, Leica and trusty leather boots, sizing up whatever situation is happening in front of him.

Milnor is the author of the blog, Smogranch, which allows him to speak his mind, post his mother’s poetry and bring together like minded people around the globe. Connect with him on Twitter.

For being a “creative industry” we sure love to conform.

A trend develops, no pun intended, and suddenly the industry publications, blogs, advertising, seminars and trade shows are filled with what is hot, new and temporary.

I’ve never completely understood this.

This isn’t unique to photography. Look at television. One reality show becomes a success and suddenly three or four similar shows pop up, all slightly less relevant than the original. Within a year or two the public is saturated, bored and searching for a new thrill.

Today’s photography world is filled with more photographers than ever before as the barrier for entry into the professional world falls lower and lower.

So what gives? How do we look to the future with a positive glow in our eyes?

Well, to me it comes down to finding our individual vision and refining our style, and accomplishing this isn’t possible by following industry trends or what’s hot.

Finding your vision comes from intense soul searching, time in the field and mastering the basics of photography, things like light, timing and composition, not to mention actually having something to say, something unique and native only to you, or me, and not simply what the industry wants us to say.

Often times, words like “vision, soul, passion, style,” are thrown around with reckless abandon, but most of the time this is only for show. These things, these traits are easy to talk about but very difficult to actually acquire. The good news, you already have them and all you have to do now is find them inside yourself.

Why do you need vision? Style?

Well, in essence, your vision is the most valuable thing you have. Making unique imagery, instantly recognizable imagery, is what will create the demand around your business.

Yesterday I received an email from a potential portrait client who said, “I had another photographer booked to photograph my kids, but after I saw your work I canceled with them and knew you were the photographer I was looking for.”

If I followed the industry trends, used all the same tools that the masses of photographers were using, then how does the client differentiate between my work and the masses? What do I have to negotiate with?

If I’m using camera A, lens A, Photoshop action A, Filter A, and you are using all these same things, then where is the value in my work? Why would anyone hire me over the photographer down the street?

When photographers conform and follow the masses, what typically happens is the job comes down to price and how much the photographer is prepared to give away. What gets lost? The photographs.

This is NOT the situation you want to find yourself in.

When you produce unique imagery clients recognize they are seeing something they can’t get everywhere. This doesn’t’ mean you are going to book every job, the reality is far from this, but what becomes the focal point of the negotiation is the IMAGERY.

My point with this little story is that finding your vision isn’t easy and might require time alone and asking some serious questions.

“Who am I with a camera in my hand.”
“What am I trying to say?”
“What do I REALLY want to do?”

You might think this last question is an easy one but I can’t tell you how many photographers I’ve spoken with who have simply followed what the industry has told them to do, or what they feel “They have to do.”

How did I find my vision?

I found my vision by NOT working as a photographer. I began working as a photographer, full time, around 1993. By 1997 I knew something wasn’t right. I was working but I wasn’t particularly thrilled with what I was producing and after looking back at what I had produced over the entire year I realized I didn’t have anything to show.

So, I took a job working for Eastman Kodak and signed a non-competition letter stating I wouldn’t accept any assignments during my time working for the company. I sold all of my equipment except for one Leica M body and one lens.

Over the following four years I learned much about the industry, other photographers, but more importantly I had the time to learn about my own work.

Over the four years I worked for Kodak I shot extensively on the side, not for anyone else, strictly for myself. When I picked up a camera I had only my own vision in mind.

After four years I looked at what I had accomplished and finally recognized who I was with a camera in my hand.

I made the decision to leave Kodak and become a photographer once again only this time I had a personal vision to lead my way.

Had I NOT stopped working as a photographer I don’t think I would have ever come close to finding my vision. The industry and the controls being placed on me were just too powerful. There was little room to explore and what was expected of me was cut and dry.

My jobs today come more from me making suggestions than from a client telling me what to do. This is a very liberating feeling. When I book a portrait shoot or a wedding I book it because my work looks different and I have a clear vision of what I want to accomplish. Working this way feels like you are part of a creative collaboration as opposed to having to adopt to someone else’s idea of what images should look like.

My advice? Think about studying photography, really studying. Take classes, go to bookstores, go to galleries, museums and study what photography really has to offer. Learn who the masters were and are, and not just those in your genre. I’ve learned FAR more about how to photograph a wedding by looking at documentary work than I ever have from the wedding industry.

Also, think about taking on a long-term personal project, a project that is entirely controlled by you and preferably something outside your normal comfort zone.

And finally, approach one of your best clients and suggest a new direction.

We can make all kinds of excuses about conforming, about not taking the time to find our unique point of view, but ultimately we simply owe it to photography to continue to explore the limits of our vision.

Finding your vision can be frustrating, confusing, sure, but when you begin to see a pattern or begin to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel the positive feeling will far outweigh any struggles you had to endure.

So go forth, take chances, break some eggs and keep your eyes open for the spark that can set you free.

Milnor is a former newspaper, magazine and commercial photographer who now tries to work solely on his own projects, projects that allow him to work in the fashion he feels most likely to produce images that go beyond the temporary. Milnor is also a member of the advisory board at Blurb, a print on demand book publishing company comprised of some of the most creative and talented folks he has ever encountered.

He has taught at Art Center College of Design, The Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, The Julia Dean Workshops and is scheduled to teach in Peru, California and New Mexico in 2010. He has also found considerable success with his portrait work, which is represented by the agency Masterfile.

Sometime this afternoon, on Twitter, I came to know about a gallery of images on Brides magazine's website called Real Brides' Favorite Wedding Moments.

Let me be very clear at the outset that I have nothing personal against Brides magazine, its editors and publishers. I am just voicing my opinion here and being pissed off doesn't come easy for me.

Now have you had a chance to look at the gallery? What did you find? Or, rather, what did you NOT find?

As a wedding photographer, I immerse myself in a couple's celebration regardless of their background. It's what makes my pulse beat a little faster. There are times when two different cultures come together. I recognize there are all kinds of people in the world who wish to have nothing more than a great celebration of their wedding and work with a photographer who is mindful of their presence to document their event in an elegant manner. And some even want me to find those real moments and capture them as they occur without being obtrusive.

Yes, couples come in different hues and shades of color, with very different expectations. When I saw this Brides magazine gallery, I was quite frankly, appalled. No, the images were spectacular. In fact, I was happy to see two of my friends – Scott Lewis and Robert & Kathleen Trenske‘s images were part of this selection (they are truly great people). What got me in the gut was what was missing. The magazine had not picked even a single bride from a different cultural or racial backgroun, for their selection of “real” weddings.

Chelo Keys, a photographer in New Jersey responded by saying: Wow! I guess Brown/Black/Asian women cannot be “real brides”.

That was my reaction as well. My question to Brides magazine and others in the industry is a simple one – how accurate or “real” of a representation do you have in your magazine of couples from different backgrounds, faiths, sexual orientations? Is Brides being inclusive or exclusive when it chooses not to acknowledge other types of brides?

Denying the presence of other cultures is nothing short of a travesty. No, I am not asking that magazines shift gears and start publishing images of just a few Indian weddings from time to time. That would be patronizing. What I am demanding requesting is that magazines, blogs and other outlets that claim to showcase “real” weddings take a bit of time to understand what that might mean to people across the spectrum before laying claim to the term “real weddings.”

“What to Look For In a Photographer” is directed towards photographers, but I suspect the message in that blog post can be reiterated to magazines that fail at every turn to showcase brides and couples from all walks of life.

Are the rise of magazines like South Asian Bride or blogs like Maharani Weddings a direct response to how most of these widely read publications are shunning multicultural, ethnic or gay couples? I understand the need to focus on your niche, but is that just a clever way of saying “I am going to segregate and serve only one type of client over another based on their skin color or sexual preference?”

As publishers of magazines and bridal blogs that are read widely, you do have the power to dictate what is truly happening in the wedding industry. And you also have the responsibility to represent all brides in an equal manner. But will you?

Imagine the African American bride or the Indian bride or the Chinese bride who may just stumble onto your magazine and website, only to find what you have published simply does not relate to them. Or, that all they have access to when planning their wedding is what you supply to them. It scares me that a couple's or culture's visual history will be but a fading memory, while clearly only one dominant culture continues to highlight its celebrations all the time.

Why is it that other cultures get sidelined? What perverse rationale is used to NOT acknowledge that other people exist among us? I ask these questions not to point fingers but to really figure it out. I am sure other people have these thoughts running through their brain too.

Even I am not infallible. My galleries were once segregated to “Eastern Weddings” and “Western Weddings”. My website has this on the front – “Seshu Is A Documentary Wedding Photographer Serving Multicultural, Ethnic & Interfaith Clients In Connecticut, New England and Around The World”. This will be changed pronto to make it more inclusive. I am a documentary wedding photographer of ALL people. Period.

A good friend and I have talked about this a lot. A wedding is a wedding and the documentary approach I use isn't going to be any different because the clients are different. Makes sense to me, so I thought about it and have decided to display the very best images from all my weddings, regardless of what traditions my clients have chosen to follow. In the end, it's about telling everyone's story – not just Indian, Japanese, Iraqi or French couples. Get my drift?

Perhaps I have been naive all along. But folks, it's 2010 and I say let's mix it up. It's more fun that way!

*The above image was created by Jigar Champaneria, a photographer in the Bay Area. Check out the covers. Isn't it indicative of what this blog post is about? Thanks, Jigar!

This guest post is by Livingston, New Jersey photographer Chelo Keys.

If you’re a part-timer working hard to be taken seriously, save yourself from some of the mistakes I’ve made.

It’s no secret that part-time and emerging photographers have to work hard to shake off the “weekend warrior” label. First, it’s hard to be taken seriously when there are so many part-timers entering the market at super low rates. Second, it’s very difficult to form good relationships in the photographic community when both your weekdays and weekends are taken up. With that said it’s easy to find yourself in a place of isolation, stumbling in the dark and making mistakes as you try to build a sustainable business. But even if you’re thinking of throwing in the towel, the good news about being a part-timer is that it’s never too late to start over, reassess your business and earn respect amongst your colleagues.

I’ve made some whopping mistakes starting out. But, I’m in the mist of a huge overhaul and can say that the following helped me chart a path to starting anew.

Practice Humility

Picking up a camera for the first time and thinking you know everything about the business is seriously obnoxious. I did this, so I know. If you’re doing this, stop it. I once worked for a prominent photography studio. Their practices were “old school” but the clients were rolling in and the sales were piling up. I was convinced that they were doing it wrong because they didn’t blog, Facebook or have a fancy flash website. Instead of soaking it in and taking notice of what they were doing right, I was pig-headed, left the job and thought I could do it better myself, but far from it. I failed and flailed. Lesson learned: Never rebuff anyone that is successful.

Accept Critique

I don’t think there is anything more anxiety provoking than taking critique from colleagues. But if you have the ear of a successful and trustworthy professional, take advantage of her or him. I recommend face-to-face critique. But remember, there is nothing more frustrating than advising a person that has selective hearing. Make sure to be open and don’t take it personally. If their advice is sound and you rebuff them, it will only bolster the idea that part-timers are Uncle Bobs with no regard for building skills.

Be Respectful

Things are hard when you’re just starting out, working part-time or transitioning to full-time. You need advice, but maybe you’ve found that other professionals are reluctant to speak with you. First of all, it’s my belief that good teachers should be paid for their time. Personally, I don’t mind answering questions because I don’t think I’m a super star. But I have contacted prominent photographers in the past and expected them to spend their precious time divulging everything to me. How rude! Don’t do what I did. Instead, contact the person that inspires you and make it clear that you are willing to pay for their time. Most importantly state that you are looking for advice on your business and not wanting to know every detail about theirs. Who knows, maybe they won’t want to be paid – but don’t make the assumption that they owe you anything. I’m happy to say that I’ve found a great teacher thanks in part to being respectful of their time.

Don’t Be A Groupie

This goes along the same vein as being respectful. I’m very eager to learn anything I can from successful professionals and it took me a while to learn that prominent photographers are real people. I remember second shooting for someone I really admired. I spent so much time star struck that in the end my photographs of the day left little to be desired. I may have also made the person uncomfortable. Needless to say, they never called me back. I also remember landing a small part-time job with a studio I was completely enamored with. I was so blinded with admiration that I exaggerated my skills, asked way too many questions and found myself fired 2 weeks later. Remember, fawning is not always taken well by others.

Don’t Brag

It’s unbecoming. There is nothing wrong with posting that you’ve booked another wedding on Facebook or Twitter. However, when colleagues state that they are having a difficult time in this economy, don’t counter with “Don’t know what you mean! I’m doing better than ever!!” Especially if your prices are still relatively low and you’re not able to fully sustain yourself on your photography income. Remember, part of this business is about building good relationships.

Be Professional

This should go without saying but you should be paying taxes and have insurance, even if you are part-time. You should develop a sound business plan and formulate rates that adequately cover your expenses and don’t undermine the industry. We’ve all heard the “you have to start somewhere” excuse. But believe me, after undervaluing myself for close to 3 years I’d rather the “somewhere” I started from was an educated and sound place!

Take it Easy

This is the last and most important point. Don’t rush into things like I did. You’ll find yourself paying for mistakes long after they are made. I’m excited to say that there are some great changes coming to my photography business and that the path ahead is promising. That’s the other great thing about being part-time – you can take the time to do things right. But, if you’ve stumbled around like me you can always, always start over.

Your comments below will inspire a dialogue. We want to hear your opinions. So, step up and speak up!