Operations Manager Introduction; Hello

As a form of introduction, this is contributed by Lori Gebbie, my wife and partner.

We started RGP on accident. Robert was working at a j.o.b. and needed an outlet for his creativity. Jim decided he wanted to buy a camera, and started asking Robert about photography. The bug was planted. They discussed theory and practical matters. Jim did some research and found Microstock, and this is where I come in. I joined a forum, found a few stock sites, read their forums, looked at legal documents, read through submission requirements, and wondered what the heck I was reading. While considering myself a photographer, I am more of a hobbyist. And I had no idea what overblown highlights, purple fringing, or artifacting was.

Through a severe downsizing at work, Robert was laid off in the second wave of layoffs. This is significant, because I wasn’t working, either. I was devoting my waking hours (literally) to learning Microstock and what the heck this keywording thing was all about. We decided we had been given a gift of opportunity, and took it. We went full time into Microstock.

It has been a very trying time. We’ve had great successes, and severe disappointments. We’ve almost thrown it in a few times. We’ve almost thrown our relationship in a few times, too! But we’ve grown stronger and more determined in every way to make our company, and our lives, successful.

I’ll be contributing from time to time on this blog, sharing information about our workflow and tracking systems. And giving out some of the information that I wish I had found quickly and easily when I was first starting out. Like the importance of a good title and accurate keywording. And how to embed information into your image. And what was required with a model release. And so on, and so forth.

I’ve learned a lot in the last year. I still don’t know how to set up lighting or how to work the F-stops, but I’m confident in my job as final pass/fail before the image goes up on a site. With over 80% acceptance rate with the Big 5, Robert is confident as well.