Photographers in tandem

Press, 1 March 1984, Page 19

Photographers in tandem

They did not plan it that way, but two young photographers who approached the City Council separately for business advice are now partners. Robert Bishop says they have spent the recent weeks learning how to play the system. There is still plenty to learn, and he and John Hocking will take some time getting used to the idea of being businessmen first and photographers second. With help from a small-business counsellor, they have set up the South Island’s first photo decor studio. “It has been very tight,” says Mr Hocking. “Some banks liked the idea, they just didn’t like the security.” The men pooled their camera equipment and used it for most of the company’s paid-up share capital. They also received, after negotiations that involved their volunteer counsellor, a $5OOO bank overdraft. They were told that a “bread and butter line” would be needed to help bring in some money for the studio’s photo decor activities. That line will be the production of souvenir placemats and coasters topped with photos of South Island scenes. Printing on the souvenirs will be done in both English and Japanese, and information sheets will be published to go along with the souvenirs. Photo decor, the use of large photographs as wall decorations, has caught on overseas. “We are getting lots of bites, but it takes a long time to get this thing moving,” says Mr Hocking, who did a wide range of commercial photography jobs out of Wellington for two years. “We are selling ourselves now, letting people and companies know we exist,” says Mr Bishop, who did free-lance photography while travelling overseas. He specialised in landscapes. He has also done some photographic work for the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

It has taken about six weeks to get the business, with its studio in St Asaph Street, under way. Their business counsellor sent them to the right places, then left it up to them to do the deals. Without help, they probably would have used old cars and made the mistake of not having reliable transport to get themselves to and from jobs that are often far away. “You have got to be sort of three steps ahead of everyone else, thinking of what you are going to do next all the time,” says Mr Hocking, “regardless of whether it will work out or not. “For every four exports you try, you might dip out on three and get one.” It is that kind of uncertainty that keeps most small businesses on edge until the money starts coming in regularly. They will have salesmen working on commission who know the tourist market. That is another result of advice from their counsellor. “We. wouldn’t have thought of doing it that way,” says Mr Bishop. “We would have been out there running around and trying to sell products. “Now, we have ended up being businessmen first and photographers second. It’s only drip-feed photography at this stage.” Any money from the souvenirs or other future lines will be put back into the photo decor side of the business. “We have to work hard now to support what we want to do — travel the country and photograph,” says Mr Bishop. Even though they had never thought of teaming up with anyone else in a business, they “would have been cutting each other’s throats” if they had each gone out on their own. “We have got to look at everything, even branching out into other businesses as revenue earners,” says Mr Hocking. “That is basically what all the businessmen in town are doing.” Manufacturing coasters will mean buying the wood, getting it

printed and setting up a production line, so it will have to be more than just a temporary move. They will make sure one thing works before they try to diversify. Other photographers are being allowed to use the studio. They can hang their work on the walls, and the company will take a percentage of whatever is sold. They are also selling film and doing framing work. “The name of the game is to survive,” says Mr Bishop. “There is a little lull now, time to concentrate on our navels and wonder

what’s going on.” “When you get it all set up, you start to think,” says Mr Hocking. If the coasters sell, they will approach the bank for more money. With the right financial backing, they could employ two more people before long. With a bit more money, they could have set up a more central studio and retail outlet in the city. They have a photo library with 4000 transparencies that could come in handy when the business starts to grow.