Here’s an example of what happens when an organization cuts corners and goes cheap. The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants is promoting its Toronto cricket tournament which benefits school cricket teams. Good for them.
But by looking at the promotional poster for the event, it’s painfully obvious that the organizers didn’t bother to hire a professional photographer or designer. Is this poster supposed to be taken seriously or is it meant as a joke?
The poster has at least six amateur photos carelessly cut-and-pasted together along with some added fake shadows. This Photoshop disaster has:
• sunlight magically coming from both the left and the right.
• shadows that don’t match the subjects or the lighting.
• extra shadows (or missing people).
• incorrect scaling of each picture.
Maybe the poster was created by students involved with the tournament?
Corporate image and business reputation extend to all company activities. If a business is careful to protect its brand during office hours then why wouldn’t it do the same during “off hours” (e.g. when sponsoring community events)?
The low quality photography and retouching say, “We’re cheap. We cut corners. We’re happy with good enough.”
This poster is being widely published in Toronto newspapers and other local media. With this amount of exposure, why wouldn’t the organization be more concerned about its business image? Is saving a few bucks more important?
Post-processing and retouching are not something invented by photographers so they can pad their bottom line.
Good post-processing and professional retouching cost money because of the time and expertise required. But the time (and money) spent is always a good investment. Properly finished photography helps protect and even enhance corporate image.
Cutting corners may save money but being laughed at is always expensive.
