L.A. Scores Shoots

0
L.A. Scores Shoots
Photo shoot at a production property managed by Image Locations near downtown Los Angeles.

Magazine photographers have long loved Los Angeles for its shots of mansions, celebrities and palm tree-lined streets – the healthy dose of sunshine doesn’t hurt either.

But when the recession put a crimp on print advertising, local still photography took a big hit. Some in the business had to cut their rates just to keep shooting.

Now, a new photo boom is under way in Los Angeles as local shoots have snapped back. On-location photography production increased by 51 percent to 2,561 days in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, according to permitting agency FilmL.A. It was the best first quarter for L.A. photography since 2007 and activity more than doubled compared with the same quarter in 2009.

Many point to a resurgence in print advertising work, specifically for automotive and fashion brands.

Alice Kim, an agent at location services firm Image Locations near downtown Los Angeles, said she’s seeing more advertisers shooting more days on location of late and making the shoots more extravagant while they’re at it.

“I’ve seen a big influx of photo shoots this year,” she said. “They’re incorporating models and dogs. It increases the production costs.”

Image represents commercial and private properties around Los Angeles, such as a concrete garage that was used for a T-Mobile advertisement and an unconventional dome-shaped house in Topanga that was used for an album cover for pop musician John Mayer.

Image’s properties can be used in TV or film, but the preponderance of work has always been for still photography shoots. Image had booked about 500 shoots through mid-April – up about 20 percent compared with last year, according to Paul Kim, the company’s founder. About 80 percent were for still photo shoots.

Image is part of a cottage industry across Los Angeles that works behind the scenes to put together the photo shoots that will end up as glossy magazine covers or features for the likes of Elle, Bazaar or Rolling Stone.

And while an editorial job such as a cover shoot or celebrity spread is desirable to put in a portfolio, it’s the advertising work that really pays the bills, said Steve Bauerfeind, owner of L.A. photo production company Bauerfeind Productions.

The firm’s work includes making financial estimates and coordinating shoots. Its recent clients include clothing company Gap Inc. and car brand Chevrolet.

Bauerfeind said he’s also seeing the benefits of a busy year so far.

“Advertising has been what’s really great so far this year,” he said. “Things have gotten a little bit better and people are more confident about spending money.”

But not everything in the photo world is back to how it was before the recession.

Bauerfeind’s firm has continued to keep its fees about 20 percent to 30 percent lower in some cases than in prerecession days – an adjustment made a couple of years to accommodate advertisers’ and magazine editors’ lower budgets that keeps business coming in.

But a producer’s services are just one of many expenses that go toward making a shoot happen. There is also the cost of renting a location, hiring a crew as well as paying a photographer and models when needed.

Photo vs. film

At the very high end, a single day of still photography can cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. On the low end, it can be done on a shoestring budget of a few thousand dollars. Rates for advertising work can be significantly higher than for editorial work.

Although a typical photo crew for a single day of shooting an advertisement might employ 15 people, the work doesn’t come close to having the impact on the local economy as a day of film production, which will typically have several dozen people on set.

“You won’t see the return you would with a film production,” said Philip Sokoloski, vice president of integrated communications at FilmL.A., which grants permits and supplies data for the city of Los Angeles, unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County and other areas. “You’ll see fewer people employed and not as many vendors on the payroll.”

Still photography isn’t the only type of shooting on the rebound so far this year. Television production days increased 19 percent and feature film production days rose 26 percent in the first quarter, according to FilmL.A.

Photo shoots can’t match movies and TV shows when it comes to paying top dollar for the use of locations, said Image’s Paul Kim. However, he said the number of photo shoots makes his firm’s emphasis on still photography worth it.

“The volume is amazing,” he said. “It doesn’t pay as much, but we like photography.”

A photo shoot’s smaller footprint can also have the added benefit of allowing a crew to shoot in a residential area without disturbing neighbors as much as a film might with the use of a noisy power generator, or trucks or other street obstructions.

Kim said he sends employees to knock on doors, occasionally with cupcakes, to approach homeowners to ask permission to shoot in their neighborhood.

His company even pitches some of those same people on the possibility of renting their property for a day or two at a time. He said there’s more and more acceptance of the idea, which in its own small way may be boosting the photo scene by increasing the location offerings for photographers who come to shoot in Los Angeles.

“More and more people are letting their homes be used for locations,” he said.

No posts to display