# What do you put in your professional biography?



## Ilovemycam (Mar 26, 2013)

What do you put in your professional biography? My bio is not for getting a job, it will just deal with photography.

Should I put my birth date and place of birth? I have no eduction as a photographer, just self taught. Should I put my schools that didn't apply to my photography? Family life? How much non photo BS is good to put in the bio? 

I have 12 projects pending that will be completed in the next 2 - 4 months. These involve very prestigious institutions that have accepted limited edition bound portfolios of my work.

I was going to list 5 of these in the bio. Should I list them with a ' * ' explaining that they are 'under production' or 'pending delivery?' Or should I just list what has been completed in the section on public collections? I only have 5 completed listings for this section, so I'd like to use a few of the pending orders to boost this area.

If you care to share your biography, please post it.

Thanks


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## kathyt (Mar 26, 2013)

I would put any and all education. It is all relevant. Show your creative side in your bio.


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## tirediron (Mar 26, 2013)

Avoid phrases such as "pending" or "unfinished", rather say that you are "involved with" them.  The only "bio" I have  is my 'About' page on my website, which reflects my personal taste for minimalism.


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## Ilovemycam (Mar 26, 2013)

tirediron said:


> Avoid phrases such as "pending" or "unfinished", rather say that you are "involved with" them. The only "bio" I have is my 'About' page on my website, which reflects my personal taste for minimalism.




Liked the wet darkroom info. I forgot about that as a background, even though I'm all digital now.

Bio is kinda a pain in the ass though. Pix should speak for themselves, with a minimum amount of personal info needed. (Unless some person is really admired and the people crave evry little bit of info on them.)

Last year, one photo charity event was all gung ho on me donating work. They didn't want my color street work, only my BW. They asked for a bio. I wrote up some odds and ends. More of my photo phiolosphy on color vs BW prejudice than anything else. They must not have liked it and they declined after they got it. Bio must be important if it trumps the pix.


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## Ilovemycam (Mar 26, 2013)

kathythorson said:


> I would put any and all education. It is all relevant. Show your creative side in your bio.



OK, not much there. Just BA Cal State L.A. Back when it was $63 a trimester for all you can take.


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## pjwarneka (Mar 26, 2013)

'worked with' is a very good phrase.

And don't forget your bio page is for them,not for you.


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## imagemaker46 (Mar 26, 2013)

I put everything I have done in my career and then cut the ten pages down to a few paragraphs.  I tried to keep it a short read, to the point, what I can offer, and a few of the jobs I've done that I consider the most important career wise.


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## runnah (Mar 26, 2013)

Do people even read these? I feel like it is an outdated convention that few people actually read. Like "About Us" on websites. 

What is going to sell me if your work and your prices.


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## bunny99123 (Mar 26, 2013)

runnah said:


> Do people even read these? I feel like it is an outdated convention that few people actually read. Like "About Us" on websites.
> 
> What is going to sell me if your work and your prices.



Yes they do. My father-in-law had his own gallery, and read everything!!! Some people want to talk about a photographer or painter, etc. when showing their work. I guess if you pay that much you want too share every bit of info available.


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## Ilovemycam (Mar 26, 2013)

runnah said:


> Do people even read these? I feel like it is an outdated convention that few people actually read. Like "About Us" on websites.
> 
> What is going to sell me if your work and your prices.



I'm with you. But they ask for a bio, so I have to give them what they want.

Prices are zero. All they have to do is say YES. It is hard enough donating for free.

Museums and top, top rare book libraries of the world wont buy photography unless they really wanted something. Libraries like Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Oxford, Toronto, Cambridge, Columbia generally wont accept modern loose print portfolios. But they _may_ accept the same portfolio if it is bound and in small format. If a photo has historical worth, then the library may make an exception to loose prints. Very, very hard to give away $5000 in work for free. And it is not like it is crap work...my work is museum quality.

On the other hand I'm kinda happy more instituions don't accept the offer. It is a pain printing it all up. I even started to refuse some instituions where I didn't like their offers. Unless it goes in their permanent collection I say NO. (At least that is a NO for my limited edition hand printed, hand bound book. Too much work to print them up.) So be careful of the fine print with any donations you make.

You see words like this and it is a crapshoot if your work will stay in the museums collection.

"Donations are accepted with the understanding that they are unrestricted gifts and offered without limiting conditions." 

So that is something I make clear upfront. No one can say if an item will stay in a collection for ever. But if a museum plans on disposing of an item 'as they see fit' before they even aquire it. I'd like to know what their plans are for disposing of my work. 

Before I got a foot in the door, I didn't care about where my work would end up. But now that I have fair amount of prestigious placements I'm more choosy.


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## imagemaker46 (Mar 26, 2013)

runnah said:


> Do people even read these? I feel like it is an outdated convention that few people actually read. Like "About Us" on websites.
> 
> What is going to sell me if your work and your prices.



People still want to know a little bit about who they are looking at hiring.  The bios that start off with "I'm passionate about"  "I have spent the past 2 years perfecting" Also if they sound like a "mom and her camera", or a "dad and his camera", don't do it for me.  These are what state amateur. 

A professional puts only enough information that is required, so the potential client can spend less than a minute  finding out a little bit about the photographer.


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## Ilovemycam (Mar 26, 2013)

imagemaker46 said:


> runnah said:
> 
> 
> > Do people even read these? I feel like it is an outdated convention that few people actually read. Like "About Us" on websites.
> ...



Yes, good point.


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## runnah (Mar 26, 2013)

imagemaker46 said:


> runnah said:
> 
> 
> > Do people even read these? I feel like it is an outdated convention that few people actually read. Like "About Us" on websites.
> ...



True but you have to remember that the photographer is the one who wrote it, not some objective 3rd party. No one is going to put anything but glowing things in their bio. 

Reading your bio I wish you had put some photos from the time period you mentioned on the right. That way I could see not only proof of your claims but proof of the quality.


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## imagemaker46 (Mar 26, 2013)

runnah said:


> imagemaker46 said:
> 
> 
> > runnah said:
> ...




By adding just a few photos next to the bio would draw people away from the bio, I want them to know what I can do for them, if they like what they read they will spend more time looking at the galleries.


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## runnah (Mar 26, 2013)

imagemaker46 said:


> runnah said:
> 
> 
> > imagemaker46 said:
> ...



Disagree 100%. The first thing I wanted to do was see the photos you mentioned. But When I went to your gallery I had no idea where to look. I strongly suggest either linking the text in the bio to the specific gallery or have a select few thumbnails.


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## pjwarneka (Mar 26, 2013)

Bios are also influenced by your brand, your ID and the industry you are in. 

If you put, I have my Masters from the Chicago Art Institute  and I worked with Boeing's Chicago office.... and you shoot weddings.... no bride cares.

If you say'your heart jumps everything you see a couple kiss'  in your bio, no Corporate event planner cares. 


A bio is not really your bio. It is not a CV.  it is an extension( not all, but some)  of your brand identity and marketing. 

My 2 cents


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## KmH (Mar 26, 2013)

Yep. In other words your bio is absolutely about 'getting a job'.


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## DiskoJoe (Mar 26, 2013)

attributes: Kick ass dude


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## skieur (Mar 26, 2013)

Depends on who your bio is directed toward.

If it is an academic institution, I would emphasize my academic credentials and perhaps my presentation work.  If it is a television station, I would emphasize my production work and experience directing tv programs.  If it is a media production house, I would go with my script writing, editing, and audio work. I would of course, also have a portfolio of my photographic work as well,....to put the icing on the cake, so-to-speak.


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## Steve5D (Mar 27, 2013)

A bio is, in no small part, sales. You're selling yourself. Put down the pertinent stuff, and leave the fluff out.

I would put where I'm from, my level of experience; maybe some background on working with film, etc, some notable projects, and leave it at that. I might or might not mention my military service.

Nobody is going to care that I was born on July 16, 1962 in Queens, NY, or that I went to this high school or that grammar school. None of that is going to matter when someone's deciding to hire me unless, and this is the only scenarion I can think of, they share my birthday or I went to school with them. And, if those are the reasons they're hiring me, they're hiring me for the wrong reasons...


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