027: Shari Goetz, Freelance Art Producer

Shari Goetz comes on the podcast today to talk about what being a freelance Art Producer means in today’s advertising market and she shares important tips on how to be hired back by an agency.

Key Takeaways

[:31] Heather introduces Shari and asks her guest to talk about who she is, where she is from, how she found her way into art production, and how much technological evolution and industry changes have shaped the way we work and the kind of work she does today.

[6:13] Shari shares that the relationship with the client today is very different: there is a lot more client contact and they want a lot of assets and material for all sorts of usages with more and more limited budgets. So, an important part of her job today is communication to establish priorities.

[8:05] Heather and Shari touch on greay areas in terms of roles and responsibilities that were created by this new client proximity which the client accounts people used to take on.

[12:34] Heather emphasizes the importance of communication and prioritizing, especially when you have a client on siteon-site asking to add shots as you go! Shari shares some tips on how she handles these kinds of situations.

[16:52] The producer hired by the photographer should Iideally be Shari’s complement, but depending on the person this doesn’t necessarily happen,; it’s not always what she calls a “magical shoot.”.

[19:35] Shari walks us through the different ways the process can go from finding a photographer to getting a bid approved on her side.

[22:11] Grabbing her attention primarily goes through agents and reps, but she still does use sourcebooks. Photography is very emotional and subjective so it’s often about how the images make her feel.

[25:39] Heather and Shari share on what it means to be a professional photographer today, doing client service and managing teams…  How many “B” people you can have without ruining your “A” team.

[27:40] Shari talks about the defining influence of broadcast on the escalation of photographers’ workload, notably treatments which she finds to be an enormous time expenditure.

[32:14] Shari will share who is bidding but it does make her uncomfortable sometimes: she tries to get all of the bids equal so that it’s only a creative call.

[34:45] Shari asks Heather a question about talent agencies which leads to a discussion on usage and NDA’s and union and labor laws.

[39:18] Is freelancing difficult? Shari touches on some of the challenges as well as the perks of freelancing.

[41:20] Shari shares a tip for photographers — meet everybody from the agency that you can and make sure you make magic shoots happen: they will want you back again.

[42:48] Heather thanks Shari for coming on the podcast, and invites listeners to tune in for the next episode.

Thanks for listening.

In an industry where the rules are always changing, it’s helpful to hear from those on the front line. Heather Elder is the visionary behind NotesFromARep’sJournal.com; visit her website for industry updates, stunning photography and video, and the artists behind the work.

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