Trade Secret Taps You for First Project
Trade Secret Cards, a new company based in California, approached me last fall with a pretty cool idea. They wanted to create a series of cards (think high-end baseball cards -- thick, glossy, etc.) but with an added twist.
That twist is where you come in. Hit the jump for the deets.
__________
It's Not Me, It's You
They at first wanted to do a series of cards featuring my work, with a photo on front and some On-Assignment-style info and diagrams on the back.
"Boring, Sidney."
Anyone who reads the site sees my stuff all of the time. What can we do to add a little more cowbell?
What about the readers' stuff, we thought. The Strobist Reader Gallery boasts some of the coolest ALT_Lighting_Flash_Off-camera stuff around. That's who you'd wanna showcase.
So that's exactly what they did. Their very first series of cards comprises 24 images chosen from the reader gallery. They licensed the photos and interviewed the photogs about how the photos were made.
In the deck you'll find shots from people like auto-wunderkind Ken Brown, Danny Ngan, Joshua Targownik and others. In all, 24 flashes of inspiration from the coolest group of open-source lighting guys on the net -- you guys.
The stock is thick, the finish is glossy and the repro is art book quality. They used the Strobist name, and I wrote the forward. But beyond that the spotlight is on you.
FWIW, I am not tied to them financially. Didn't think it was appropriate, seeing as you guys did all of the work. (I knew I shoulda gotten that MBA.)
What's next for them? Maybe a deck on reading body language at a singles bar. Or a field guide to identifying zombies. Who knows. I just know we were first.
If you are interested, give 'em a look, here.
That twist is where you come in. Hit the jump for the deets.
__________
It's Not Me, It's You
They at first wanted to do a series of cards featuring my work, with a photo on front and some On-Assignment-style info and diagrams on the back.
"Boring, Sidney."
Anyone who reads the site sees my stuff all of the time. What can we do to add a little more cowbell?
What about the readers' stuff, we thought. The Strobist Reader Gallery boasts some of the coolest ALT_Lighting_Flash_Off-camera stuff around. That's who you'd wanna showcase.
So that's exactly what they did. Their very first series of cards comprises 24 images chosen from the reader gallery. They licensed the photos and interviewed the photogs about how the photos were made.
In the deck you'll find shots from people like auto-wunderkind Ken Brown, Danny Ngan, Joshua Targownik and others. In all, 24 flashes of inspiration from the coolest group of open-source lighting guys on the net -- you guys.
The stock is thick, the finish is glossy and the repro is art book quality. They used the Strobist name, and I wrote the forward. But beyond that the spotlight is on you.
FWIW, I am not tied to them financially. Didn't think it was appropriate, seeing as you guys did all of the work. (I knew I shoulda gotten that MBA.)
What's next for them? Maybe a deck on reading body language at a singles bar. Or a field guide to identifying zombies. Who knows. I just know we were first.
If you are interested, give 'em a look, here.
__________
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Posted at 11:10 AM.
30 Comments:
FWIW, I am not tied to them financially. Didn't think it was appropriate, seeing as you guys did all of the work. (I knew I shoulda gotten that MBA.)
Ha! Somewhere a banker just dropped dead! :-)
Strobist trading cards. What a cool idea. Thanks for keeping so humble and posting such great info.
wow, awesomesauce :) would be cool to have more of them, divided by subjects: portraits, product etc.
Now that is a cool idea. Lighting diagrams in an easy size to stuff into a camera bag. Very nifty!
There is an Australian wedding photographer that has several sets of cards like this. They are really expensive. I don't know if I would buy them but I think it's a great idea.
While its a great idea, I think they should go the route of the thousand other print services lately—go digital.
Similar to the idea of a mobile lighting file, if Trade Secrets developed something like an iPhone Application or a mobile site, where concentrated information like this was available quickly, they would have me in a moment.
Know what makes this post for me? The humility? Sure, that's cool. How about the lack of self-interest that it shows? Yeah, yeah, that's fine. No, what I love about this post is that you used the word 'comprises' correctly.
-J.P., the English teacher Strobist
Cool thing, like 'em a lot!
I'd totally pay a few bucks to have the trading cards as an iPhone app. This way I could "pack lighter".
Just ordered mine - very awesome idea! Thanks for sharing.
Cards! That is a good way to market yourself and your ideas!
Just orded a set, looks cool, hope that its worth the $20 price tag.
I must have been out when they tried to contact me.
Excellent idea. I just ordered a pack. Hopefully, they'll be successful. If they are, maybe they'll do another run.
Just ordered mine, hope they are worth the $20
Punch a small hole in one corner and string them all together!
Very cool, DH!
Um yep! I second the iphone apps idea - please!!
Very cool idea and just ordered my set!
I think it's a great idea and I ordered a set!!!
I'll probably order these, but I'd rather have it as an iPhone app. I don't like carrying around a ton of this stuff.
I make my own.
I wonder about the price point they selected. At $20 they're competing against decent quality photo books, which potentially display more than 24 lighting diagrams. Sure a book is not as portable, but if portability is a key element then going digital could make more sense.
From a commercial point of view I would indeed recommend having a subscription to lighting diagrams sent electronically. Lower production costs and greater use.
Blaise
David,
I think you should have considered accepting at least some sort of stipend for allowing them to use the Strobist name. You could easily have used the proceeds to offer prizes or something other of value to your legions of fans. Say, for example: all expenses paid to Gulf Photo Plus 2010? Just sayin...
I 2nd the notion that you should get paid *something* for using your name and for the photographers all being "students" of your wisdom... and like that other guy said, if you don't want the money then use it for prize money or something for strobist contests or something.
wow! those are so cool!
Another vote for the iPhone app! I'd buy it... :)
My cards arrived today - awesome ideas from some awesome photographers.
FWIW for others buying...I bought the little jewel box to hold the cards, but the cards weren't cut correctly (they are too large for the box)
I had to unwedge a few from the box, and as carful as I was, I still dented and scuffed up a few card edges...grr...
i recieved the cards today also. i have to say that when i first looked at it i was a little dissapointed. the card stock is thick which is great. the images are printed beautifully. but there are a few minor gripes.
i think the quality control could use some work. all the cards are not cut exactly. its looks like they were cut individually and then put together in a set. just like the previous commenter said. one of my card is way too big and it doesnt even fit in the box i bought it with. i actually had to trim it down myself. that card actually isnt even cut straight with the image. u can see a slant on the back when u track along the lines.
the box itself is kinda cheap and i know if they buy this in bulk its worth less than a quarter. i wouldnt have mind it if they just charge an extra dollar to the set and put in the box.
also the first and last card has crimped lines at the bottom edge about an 1/8inch up. no clue where that could have come from. actually theres one other card like that too. maybe a got a batch that the machine needed to hold it down when its cutting. a good number of the cards have frayed edges on them. maybe i just have too high of expectation for quality of the cards and thought they were more of like playing cards where the edges were much cleaner.
this is just aesthetics but what would happen if we rounded off the corners. will that affect the image? i'm only saying that because im afriad that when im using these cards(which will be alot) that they will bump into something and the corners are gonna be smashed.
sorry to nitpick but i feel for the price i paid it coulda been done a bit more professionally. also these are very minor things even tho its seems like im bashing the cards. im pretty anal and like most of us, we want products to last forever. the cards themselves are remarkable and done cleanly and easy to read. lets hope its just the price i pay for being an early adopter and that when more orders are coming in and they are upping their production that the QC will be better. i know a lot of capital is needed to start something as i dont know how long this company have been around.
First we wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful emails. Overwhelmingly the reaction to both the quality and the educational content of the cards has been very positive. We have only received one email about the cards being cut incorrectly and that was from Drew who commented above. We sent him replacement cards right away. Tuan didn't contact us. Please do. After seeing that at least two cards sets went out that were not right we did a manual check and it looks like a small percentage of cards were cut incorrectly. They have been pulled. This is our first project and we are sorry that a couple of sets slipped through in the first batch that went out. We'll be keeping an extra close eye from here on out. Thanks again! --TSC
i have to say that i got in touch with deena and they sent me a new set right away and i didnt even have to send mine back. now that's great service. the new set just came in today and they are so much better than my previous one. all the cards are perfectly cut the same. no crimps on any of the cards. i will definitely pick up the next set. hopefully soon. hehe
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