American Indian Woman© Laurin Rinder

Laurin Rinder had done it all: from music and writing books to painting and photography. Stunning colours, amazing compositions and powerful themes, these are all features of Laurin’s work. He is a veteran in stock business and he shares his secrets with us in this interview.  

Where are you from? Tell us a few words about yourself.

Born  in Los Angeles in 1943. I graduated from Hollywood High School, and I was a Glendale College Art major. Then I studied at UCLA Extension Art Classes. Currently I live in West Hollywood.

Why did you choose photography?

Started Taking Pictures and built a darkroom at 12 years old, one of my neighbours was a very famous WW2 photographer and I was always at his house listening to great old stories. My Dad was also  friends with George Hurrell, the famous Hollywood movie star shooter and I got  to hang out at his studio as a kid. He actually taught me how to retouch 8X10 negatives and it was my first job. Photography and art kinda choose me.

Could you tell us more about your work?

Well, it’s all about art: painting, music, producing, composing, lecturing and teaching have always been what I do. Regardless of the medium I was very, very lucky. Then started playing drums at 14 and became a highly sought after session drummer in rock and roll's infancy and got to play on literally thousands of records and quite a few of the biggest recordings of all time. Years later I went on to produce 46 top selling Jazz and R&B albums, composed and produced the music for over 400 TV shows and 30 Films in a 37 year span in Music. I always took pictures and shot most of the album covers I produced and a lot I didn’t produce. I shot the west coast catalog test work with models from The Eileen Ford Agency in the mid to late 60's and early 70's out of my studio In Laguna Beach, Ca. I've done commercial product work it seems for decades for many top clients from Seagrams to Maytag and I still have a few of my clients going back 30 years, mostly doing high end furniture work. I've pretty much shot just about every subject there is and used every format of camera in the last 50 years.

What stock agencies are you working with? 

Well, I sold my first "stock" shot in 1968. It was a cactus image on 4x5 Chrome for Arizona Highways Magazine and then started doing commission stuff for the Auto Club and their Travel Guides. Joined microstock in late 2004 and wrote a piece for PopPhoto about this "New  Business" which at the time I thought would never work and the truth is I was  quite embarrassed at what the commission was then, and still am. Back in the early days, we had what I called "the isolation wars". How many girls with cellphones and stuff could you submit as fast as you could. I almost went that route because to me, we had been doing isolations for decades and it was a no brainer technically.  I choose variety instead and tried to give quality also. I also saw a business opportunity, A completely new group of photographers sending in stuff “from their hard drives" as the slogan went. What I discovered was very few of them knew anything about the basics of photography, i.e.: DOF, WB, composition and so forth. I started teaching one on one classes in product and portrait lighting in my home studio, here in Los Angeles in 2006 and then started doing group workshops and lectures around the country.  This has been by far the most rewarding decision I ever made. I absolutely love to teach and my classes are extremely successful. Then partnered up with my cousin Dave Smith, got him involved and quickly he has become one of the most successful food photographers out there. We wrote the popular book "The Beginners Guide to Microstock Photography" and just released the second in the series "The Beginners guide to Food Photography" then portraits, then landscape, then a large coffee table hard cover. In my time doing microstock I've submitted to 26 agencies, most of which no longer exist  and today I’m with Shutterstock, Bigstock, Stockxpert, Dreamstime, Fotolia, Mostphotos, Vivozoom, Mystock, 123Royalty-free, Veer, and USPhotostock. And I've been a reviewer at one of them for nearly 3 years.

What equipment do you use? What equipment would you like to have?

My  first camera was a Leica M2, then a 4x5 speed Graphic, then so many I can't even  remember but I've pretty much stayed with Nikon, Hasselblad, Mamiya and large format. My Favorite was my 11 X 14 Canham which I recently sold.  Day to day, I shoot the Nikon D3, my wish list right now is the Leica M9 and if it's as good as I think it will be that might be the last camera.

What are your favorite types of photography?

All of it from bugs to buildings. I do specialize in portraiture.

What are your favorite subjects?

Peoples faces with character.

What inspires you? 

Good question... Everything from dance to film, any creative medium. I have a huge library of the history of Art and I often look at the masters of painting.

Are you a full time photographer/illustrator?

Yes, Photographer.

A message/advice for starting photographers? 

Oh, quite a few. #1. Learn the basics; #2. Study the  ones that came before you; #3. Learn manual everything, never let a camera think for you; #4. Composition, composition, composition; #5. Get a inexpensive film camera and learn exposure instead of trying to "fix it later". At the best photo schools in the world, it's mandatory you learn film and I agree; #6. Have a complete understanding of DOF, it is photography.

What other interest do you have beside photography?

Music, dance, film, anything in the arts.

What is your best accomplishment as a photographer?

Being able to teach others how wonderful this medium is.

Can one make a living from selling stock images?

Yes, absolutely, but you better have a very commercial mind, it's getting harder and  harder to sell with the vast numbers of images these sites have, hobbyists and  amateurs find it very tough going until they realize what it takes. Huge commitments of time, talent and an extreme work ethic are mandatory to see any meaningful return on time and equipment costs. You must be proficient at editing, perfect exposures, great composition skills, fixing technical issues as they show up and understanding what they are, retouching and a very strong efficient workflow. The days of "Send your Pictures on your hard drive" are over; the competition is fierce with so many good shooters now. And most important is being unique not same as. What makes you unique instead of copying over and over? Shooting what turns "you" on, mix that with a commercial "stock" style and you win. Quality and being unique is what brings buyers to you, quantity does not.

How do you see the evolution of the photostock market in the next years?

I hope it will expand, I hope are commissions increase and I hope everyone raises their personal bar to this end.

Your favorite artists?

Stock  Artists? There’s a few hundred I admire a lot because they continue to stretch the boundaries. General Artists? Edward Weston, Margaret Bourke White, Dorothea Lange, Capa, Bresson, Newton, Burton, Penn, Karsh and hundreds more.

What do you think about microstock versus macrostock (traditional stock) photography?

Different market all together. Style wise, professional commitment wise and production value wise. Not too many brick walls or ducks in RM. But I have noticed a lot of them coming over to microstock.

Do you have a personal website where you advertise your work?

Yes, for at least 15 years: www.rinderart.com and www.rindersmithphotography.com (for info about classes and ordering books).

Anything else you would like to add?

Of course! Slow down and look for the light, that's all we have folks. Take care, any questions, just contact me or google my name. I’m always here to help for those that want it. Laurin Rinder.

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