Danielle

Jackson
Eng. 201
Research paper

The Importance of Communication

As I sit in front of him in silence waiting for the interview to start I think to

myself I hope this goes well, and not be nervous. He stops what he is doing on his
computer, looks at me, and smiles. I take a deep breath in and relax, because I know
I have his full attention now. Ive known Greg for almost a year now he was one of
my first teachers here at Brooks, he taught the History of Photography class. Having
him again two semesters later in Lighting Studio I really got to know him better and
form a connection. I found out that he was a still life studio photographer before he
became a teacher, which is the type of genre of photography I wish to pursue a
career in. As we talked through out the interview he kept repeating similar things
over and over again, he kept going back to how important communication is with
your clients.

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:39 PM

Comment [1]: DJ, this is kind of a
blah/unspecific title doesnt really juice
me up for the piece. L
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:40 PM
Comment [2]: I have two gripes with this:
(1) it sounds too similar to the sample paper
we read in class, and (2) the , and not be
nervous is a bit clunky. See if you like this
better:

As I sit in front of him in silence waiting for
the interview to start, I think to myself I
hope this goes well and remind myself dont
be nervous.
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:43 PM
Comment [3]: Youre switching gears
here, which is usually a place to consider
starting a new paragraph. Youre moving
from the in-the-moment interview to your
previous history/background with this
dude.

I think Id like you to rework the Intro
also, DJ, Id like you to take an opportunity
to use more of your own voice in this.
Right now, it seems very dry and
assignment-y. You can spice it up a bitas
long as you have evidence/data (your
interview and artifacts), you can win over
your reader with your own personal style.
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:44 PM
Comment [4]: OK, with all due respect,
this is the first real piece of meat-y
information. For your next/final draft, I
want you to get right to it. Say what you
have to say. Keep this train rolling, sister.
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:45 PM
Comment [5]: Two things:

1, about what? Be specific.
2, things is one of the worst words you can
use in a ~formal written piece. Its
suuuuuuper vague. Again: be specific.
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:46 PM
Comment [6]: Who are his clients? How
does he communicate with them?

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:46 PM

Comment [7]: FYI: I added space here so
my comments wouldnt be super-jumbled.

Communication is the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or
information by speech and writing- [dictionary.com]. In the interview he explained
to me how communication is the key to good business and how all photographers
use writing in little things like contracts, emails to clients, and as simply as jotting
down ideas. In this essay I will talk about the different conventions photographers use to
communicate with their clients and how writing is involved.
The first interaction you have with a client is most likely going to be them
viewing your work on your website. Your website is based off of who your potential
clients -your audience- may be. There they can read your artist statement and other
writing that explains your work and who you are as a photographer. If they like your
work they will contact you by email. This is one of the first steps in the process of
working with a new client where you use writing. In week 5 reading it talks about how
email is one of the most important forms of electronic communication [excellence in
business communication pg. 175-195]. Emails back and forth between clients and the
photographer lose the connection you get when you talk to them in person, thats why its
important to schedule a meeting in person if the client is serious. There you can
reevaluate what you talked about in the email, making sure everything came across
clearly to both parties.

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:48 PM

Comment [8]: The dashes arent working
heretheyre not off-setting extra
information from the main thought/idea of
the sentence. Remember the dash rule if
you take the dashes away, you still have a
complete sentence standing. If I take the
dashed information out, all Im left with is:

Communication is

I think this is what you want:
Communication is the imparting or
interchange of thoughts, opinions, or
information by speech and writing
[dictionary.com].
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:48 PM
Comment [9]: X

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:48 PM

Comment [10]: Great! This is nice and
specific! J
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:48 PM
Comment [11]: Youre not talking. Youre
writing. Be precise with your words.
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:49 PM
Comment [12]: OK, this is the 1st time
youre mentioning conventions which is a
big idea. You might want to introduce this
earlierlike, maybe even the first 3
sentences of the whole paper. Remember:
people want to know what theyre reading
about from the get-go.

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:50 PM

Comment [13]: Who is you here? Me?
Using pronouns can be tricky, and you might
want to steer clear of using too many
yous/wes.

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:50 PM

Comment [14]: Id like you to elevate
your language here. Nerd it up!
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:52 PM
Comment [15]: Youve got a lot of ideas in
this parageaphwhats the main one?
Emails or websites? Whatever it is, I think
you might want to include it in the topic
sentence (your idea anchor for the
paragraph).
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:53 PM
Comment [16]: Everything you wrote in
this paragraph is true, but my issue is that
you seem to just be an armchair
philosopher herethis info isnt tied to any
evidence.

During the interview Greg mentioned how its important to always be prepared.
When he has a meeting with a client he likes to make a list of questions that he is going to
ask so he can have a clear idea of that the client wants and what their expectations are. Its

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:53 PM

Comment [17]: In what way(s)? Can you
be more specific?
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:55 PM
Comment [18]: Smart

important to be upfront with your client, so no one is confused [excellence in business

communication pg. 208-213]. In the written artifact he gave me showed different genres
of questions he prepares, ranging anywhere from breaking the ice, project descriptions,
budget, all the way to scheduling. From there these genres of questions break down into
different conventions of questions. He makes sure he gets specific with his questions so
that everyone understands. He makes sure he makes this list of questions prior to the
meeting so he doesnt forget to ask or clarify with the client questions he may have. This
is important so you have time to re-read the questions and make sure youre covering
everything you want to talk about. After the meeting and all the questions are asked he
sends a email to client that goes over what they talked about in the meeting, this email is
taken as their written contract. The written contract clarifies what is expected out of both
parties and if anything changed or there are any questions during the project they would
return to the email which should resolve any potential questions.
Writing doesnt stop there when it come to photography, photographers use
writing to help sketch out and plan how they are going to set up a shoot. After talking to
the client the client may give them a layout of the project. Then the photographer has to
sketch out how they are going to shoot it and may have to email/ call incase they need
props or other supplies to accomplish the look. During the shoot, Greg mentioned its
important to take notes during the shoot and to keep all the receipts. All of the
information you take should go in a file, that way if the client hires you again you can

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:55 PM

Comment [19]: What written artifact?
(Before you get into the details of
something, it usually helps to give your
reader a broad overview of it first.)
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 2:56 PM
Comment [20]: Hell yeah! Juicy stuff
right here! Can you give me specific
textual examples?

Again: win me over with evidence, then
analyze that evidence to explain how it
answer your bigger
points/claims/argument.

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 3:00 PM

Comment [21]: Commas separate parts of
a sentencesometimes, the preliminary
part from the main part.

After X, Y.

After the meeting and all the questions are
asked, he sends aN email to THE client that
COVERS what they DISCUSSED in the
meeting. This email BECOMES their written
contract.
Also: if you can convey something in 1 word
instead of 2 or 3, choose 1.
Also: goes over is pretty casual. Get your
nerd verbs in here.

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 3:01 PM

Comment [22]: Semicolons (;) separate
two complete sentences/thoughts. I think
you should use it here.

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 3:01 PM

Comment [23]: Big time! J
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 3:02 PM
Comment [24]: 2 words. Dont forget to
re-read your work once or twice after
writing/revising it.
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 3:02 PM
Comment [25]: What kind of notes?

pull out the folder and recall the work you did. Keeping your work in a folder is
important if a client contacts you again because they may want you to shoot something
similar or shoot or using the same lighting. Keeping records is a great way to help you
duplicate a shot for a client.
The final step in a job is writing the invoice at the end of the shoot. During the
interview with Greg he gave me an example of an invoice he would use. He helped
explain typical things you would charge for and how different jobs you charge for
different things. The artifact he gave me was very organized and would be clear for the
client to read. When writing a invoice you have to make sure that you and your client
understand how much you are charging and what you are charging for. This deals with
communication, its important that your client knows what our charging for so that
nothing is a surprise when they get the invoice. In the writing artifact I received from
Greg shows things you would charge for, like production charges, fees, prints, studio, etc.
The invoice is a different writing genre that is simple but very important. Its one of the
most important writing genres because you cant make any mistakes, since youre dealing
with money it is very important to get everything exactly how you and your client agreed
upon.
My interview with Greg showed me that communication is the key to good
business, all photographers use writing in things like contracts, emails to clients,
and as simply as jotting down ideas. In this essay I talked about the different
conventions photographers use to communicate with their clients and how writing is
involved. Writing is an important part of photography as a business that most people look
over. Even though writing isnt a major part of the business it is at the core and has to be

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 3:02 PM

Comment [26]: So does this get at
organization? Is organization a component
of success? And/or
writing/communicating?

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 3:02 PM

Comment [27]: Why is this important?
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 3:03 PM
Comment [28]: In a job? What job?

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 3:03 PM

Comment [29]: X
Zack De Piero 7/28/15 3:03 PM
Comment [30]: Ahhhh!

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 3:03 PM

Comment [31]: Word choice.

Zack De Piero 7/28/15 3:05 PM

Comment [32]: Which one?

Think about the big picture-ness of your
paper: when/where might it be best to
introduce these artifacts? At the beginning?
One at a time? (Not at all? Definitely not)

There are different approaches here, but I
think you definitely want to build in some
overview time so I have a better idea of
what youre analyzing here.

Id also like more direct evidence too
specific language/descriptions of the pieces.

well constructed so that the rest of the job runs smooth. Communication with your clients
is very important and typically done through different writing genres found in each step
of the job.