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20 Comments

  1. Hey Rob

    How about from the Photographers point of view also?

    But which desk – the imaging station, or the Mac Book or possible the desk that holds the Mac Mini and the keys to the kingdom?

  2. Could we ask them to send in pictures of their cats too?

    Seriously, other than documenting that photo editors and art buyers are actually capable of taking a snapshot without the help of a professional photographer (debatable in some cases), what does this prove?

    • @Slo Day, how about just for fun? Sharing? Something to relate to, or not? An insight into the other side? If you’re having a slow day, I’d have thought you might enjoy the distraction!

    • @Slo Day,

      “…..what does this prove?”

      Were you referring to your post?

  3. WoW, I had no idea the Improper Bostonian was even still around. I shot 6 covers for them about 18 years when they were printed on news print. doesn’t look like they’re being created out of someones aprtment near Kenmore square any more.

    • @James, Maybe not, but they definitely kept the phone from the start up days.

  4. I was sort of shocked as to how much his desktop looks like my desktop…I am a working photographer though and not an editor. I do however have a cat named Birdie.

  5. This really struck a cord with me as my own work station looks pretty amusing for first time viewers. I think we should start a contest where we pair off 2 photographs of two desks – one a photo editor/art buyer with a photographer sort of like a blind date and see what happens. Its just so much easier to start talking when you have something to laugh about together first……

    • @Joe Holmes, Thanks for sharing- loved this link and the other galleries! I like the way you open your eyes to see the world around you. And capture it!

  7. Fun post, thanks Rob. I think the desks of creatives are more alike than not…

  8. I have an idea. How about magazines commissioning photographers to take photos of editors desks! Best not to encourage editors to take their own pictures!

  9. Always nice to see how the other half lives…

  10. I think this is actually an important post because it helps photographers see the limited space of the buyers hence why you should not make your portfolio too large or bulky. Too many cases or shells to get to your portfolio is hard for the buyer with limited space. So while slo day may not think this is useful, it is. This photo shows what the buyer kept and put on their wall and it also shows that this buyer doesn’t work in a cubicle so magnetic promos wouldn’t work. And while you may have extra large monitors or toggled screens, this buyer does not.

    So Rob, I think this was not only entertaining but informative too!!

    • @Suzanne and Amanda,

      And if they all send in pictures of their cats, then we’d know catnip-scented scratch ‘n sniff cards will be definite keepers.

      A bunch of random data points doesn’t prove anything. One random data point proves even less. Those cards might have been stuck to the wall since the Nixon administration. She might have a giant table in her office directly behind her desk. Some people might throw all the promos they like in a drawer. Some might bookmark the sites of photographers who’s promos they like then toss them. Some people have big offices. Some don’t have a office. Some days are sunny. How is any of this really helpful?

      This exercise is about as useful as the photo challenges you find on amateur photography sites. If photo editors and ABs send in shots of their kids, bathtubs and garden gnomes it will have just as much value.

      • @Slo Day,

        STFU already

  11. Something tells me “Slo Day” has a LOT of slow days….

    Who else has time to care that much about a perfectly benign blog post? Dude, save your energy for something that’s actually bad.

  12. I like your desktop. It looks like a typical creative freelancer’s workspace )

  13. Okay, so we all agree our desktops are surrounded by images………..very fun to see………we are all connected by some weird cosmic collective transference of visual DNA required to breathe!

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