AIAP Newsletter 07/05/05

AIAP Newsletter

Dear AIAP Member,

It's with great pleasure that we introduce this month's newsletter contributed by Mr. David Luria, a charter member of the AIAP.  David operates a very successful architectural photography business in the Washington D.C. area with a unique and successful sideline known as the Photo Safari.  

Best regards,
Alan Blakely, Director
AIAP


LOCAL PHOTO SAFARIS AS SIDELINE INCOME

Professional architectural photographers can earn a very decent sideline income between assignments by teaching the techniques of travel and landmark photography to amateurs.

One photographer who has done it successfully is E. David Luria, a Charter Member of AIAP from Washington DC and a member of the American Society of Media Photographers whose images have appeared in 95 domestic and international publications, including TIME, Prevention Magazine, Washingtonian, Tokyo Shimbun, the Washington Post, and many others.

Six years ago Mr. Luria began an informal enterprise in the nation's capital called the Washington Photo Safari. His approach was to teach people the photographic skills they need on their travels by taking them around the monuments of Washington DC, showing them how - and where- to take great pictures.

Sandwiching occasional photo safaris in between his regular architectural photography assignments, in 1999 he took a total of 72 clients on a standard half-day itinerary that included the White House, the Lincoln, Korean and Vietnam Memorials, the US Capitol, and Union Station.

This "sideline business" has increased dramatically. In six years, Washington Photo safari has grown from 6 clients a month in 1999 to 170 clients a month in 2005, employing six professional photographer-instructors and offering 75 different itineraries all over the Washington DC area and even as far away as Paris, France, Quebec, Canada, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Since 1999 Washington Photo Safari has trained over 5,800 participants in 780 safaris - averaging 7-8 people per group -with hundreds of clients returning over and over again on different itineraries in such photogenic locations as the Washington National Cathedral, the Library of Congress, the US Botanic Gardens,  the Franciscan Monastery, or to photograph  fall foliage in the nearby Shenandoah National Park.

About 75% of Mr. Luria's clients are local DC-area residents, while 25% are tourists or visiting conventioneers.  Over 100 clients have been on 5 or more safaris, and one apparently satisfied client has been on 41 of the 75 itineraries offered!

The skills taught by Washington Photo Safari, taken from the architectural photographer's bag of tricks,  are basic to good travel photography, such as composition and lighting, exposure, framing, use of flowers trees and bushes for color; how to pose people, how to take pictures of people you know and people you don't know, how to use the various features of your camera, even how to hold the camera for maximum sharpness when a tripod is not available or practical.

Trained at the Parsons School of Design in Paris by a protoge of Henri cartier Bresson, Mr. Luria stresses that great pictures are taken by photographers, not by cameras.

Current safari prices range from $49 to $69 for half-day excursions, $79 for specialized training in safaris in digital photography, to $119-$149 for full-day safaris, and $325-$395 for long weekend safaris to other domestic and international locations.

Washington Photo Safari advertises its services through Penn Camera, a local chain of camera stores in the DC area, also in the Internet and through the Washington DC Convention and Tourism Corp.  It has also received considerable press attention through a segment on the NBC Today Show and through articles in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chicago Tribune, and AAA Magazine.  It is also listed in the "Time Out Guide" to Washington DC and in the Shaw Guide to photography workshops.

Now the DC area's largest provider of photography training excursions, Washington Photo Safari offers regularly scheduled photo safaris 3-4 times a week, all year long, rain or shine, to photographers at any skill level with any kind of camera, film or digital.  Most of Mr. Luria's clients classify themselves as intermediate or beginner point and shoot photographers, but his safaris also attract many serious amateurs and professional photographers who appreciate a local pro's knowledge of where all the best photo ops are located in the DC area.

Clients also appreciate Washington Photo Safari's variety of offerings in many categories of photography, such as architecture, digital photography (they even offer camera-specific safaris to users of the Nikon D-70, the Can 20D and the Canon Digital Rebel), interior and museum photography, informal candid portraiture of adults and children, nature and wildlife photography, nighttime photography, travel and landmark photography, and special photographic techniques such as macro, flash and filters, F stops and shutter speeds, pet photography, still life and abstracts, Polaroid transfers and greeting card photography! They even offer a seminar on how to make a smooth transition from amateur to professional photography.

As a result, Washington Photo safari revenues and profits have increased dramatically since 1999 at an average annual rate exceeding 80%.  Gross safari bookings in 2004 topped $79,000, and they are expected to exceed $110,000 in 2005, not bad for a program that just operates on Wednesdays, Saturdays and occasional Sundays!

More information on Washington Photo Safari is available at their website which is www.WashingtonPhotoSafari.com

Mr. Luria is convinced that this successful model can be replicated in other cities by enterprising architectural photographers who love to teach their craft, and his services are available to help them set up similar operations.

"Granted that Washington DC - with its many landmarks and historic places - is not a typical city, "Mr. Luria comments.  "But I believe that any community with photogenic sites can establish regularly scheduled photography training excursions for that HUGE market of people who love to take pictures but never received any formal training."

"These are the intermediate and beginner-level photographers who admit to taking blah and boring pictures, posing their friends and relatives too far away in that familiar 'sign-on-the-Men's-Room-door' stance, " he says.  "These people - who represent 95% of the picture-taking public - do not have the time, money or interest or equipment to go on one of the many excellent photo safaris led by top-notch magazine photographers.  But they CAN spare a half-day or a full day or perhaps a weekend to get the basic travel and landmark photography training they need before they go on that next big trip!"

In Mr. Luria's opinion, cities with the best potential or success in conducting regularly schedules photo safaris for local residents and visitors would be such photogenic locations as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Savannah, Charleston, Miami, St. Louis, Chicago, New orleans, Vancouver, Seattle, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Santa Fe and many others.

"But" he added, "I believe that any community with good photographic potential such as statues, memorials, museums, old barns, waterfalls, historic places, winter scenes, fall foliage, spring blossoms, etc. can establish popular photo training excursions that operate on a regular basis or by appointment.  "

Mr. Luria recommends advertising on the Internet, promoting the business through local camera stores (who stand to benefit from increased equipment sales and processing costs), through local camera clubs, and through the local visitors' bureau to attract the tourist trade. Most of the clientele and the highly valuable repeat business, however, will come from local residents of the area.

Washington Photo safari has developed a comprehensive how-to manual that can help architectural photographers establish and run photo safaris in their own communities.  Available at www.washingtonPhotosafari.com for a fee of $179, it includes tips on designing safaris that sell, suggested topics of instruction, advertising, promotion, website design, how to handle communications with clients, record-keeping, operations, pricing and costs.

Mr. Luria is also available to come to the photographer's community for turnkey  consultation on setting up and operating a photo safari.
he can be reached at info@washingtonphotosafari.com or at 202-537-0937.