One important job at large entertainment events is to let the photographers know who they’re photographing. This is when sign holders come in handy.
How to find the right photographer
It should be easy to find the right photographer for your business photography, right? After all, every city has many, many professional photographers.
Recently, I was reading a web site for photographers who are new to running a photo business. These amateur(?) photographers were apparently hired by various clients to shoot corporate work, advertisements, business marketing or editorial assignments. Yet these photographers didn’t know how to price their work or, in some cases, even how to do the assignment. Why would any business hire an amateur photographer?
How should a business find the right professional photographer?
The best way is by referral from another business or a colleague. If this isn’t possible then a search engine is your best friend (or enemy).
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One price fits no one
One problem when a photographer charges a one-size-fits-all photo fee, (i.e., an hourly fee or a day rate), is that the photographer ends up providing a variety of services to their clients all for the same price.
For example: an editorial customer may require the photographer to use one camera to cover a one-hour press conference. A corporate customer may need the photographer to bring four cases of equipment to produce several studio-quality executive portraits within an allotted one-hour period.
Those two assignments require different equipment, different skills and different talents. So why should both clients pay the same price (i.e., the same hourly fee or day rate)?
Charging by the hour can even penalize the customer.
For example: a certain photo might take one hour to shoot or it might take four hours. Either way, the benefits to the customer are the same. Charging by the hour would mean that the customer pays more for the “slower” photographer yet gains no additional benefits.
Pricing based on photography and usage may be confusing to some customers but it allows the photographer to customize the price to suit each customer’s exact needs.
A Small Discount
At my favourite buffet restaurant, people under 12-years-old pay only half-price. Kids get the same quality of food and the same service but pay only half the price.
People under 12-years-old pay half-price for movie theatre admission. They sit in the same seats and watch the same movie but pay half the price.
At a hair salon, people under 12 years of age pay half-price for a haircut. They sit in the same stylist chair and get the same service but for half the price.
On Toronto public transit, people under 12 years of age pay one-quarter the price. They ride the same bus and travel to the same destination but pay a quarter of the price.
What’s going on here? Are the rest of us being over-charged?
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Enhancing corporate image
While browsing through the corporate site of Canada’s largest newspaper chain, a few things stood out:
• The corporate site uses free WordPress blog software. On one hand, this makes the site look very current and easy to read. But at the same time, it screams “we’re using a free WordPress blog” because it looks exactly like a, uh, WordPress blog. (Or maybe that’s the point?)
• The site has no pictures of its directors, just text.
Colourful Year
Are you feeling stressed? Does your spirit need to be lifted? Do you need a healthy glow? Then have we got the cure for you: a big dose of Honeysuckle 18-2120.
The colourful folks at Pantone have declared that this is the colour for 2011. Please adjust your life accordingly.
Best ways to waste your marketing budget
Here are some of the best ways for a business to waste its marketing efforts. These have been proven to produce poor results and push customers away. If your business has too much money and you need to waste some of it, these tips should help you accomplish that goal:
• Send out press releases without any pictures. This is the best way to let editors know that your press release isn’t really important and you don’t want attention.
• Use stock photography. Nothing says “we don’t care” more than the use of cheap, stock pictures. Custom photography won’t waste money since it provides useful information to customers.
• Make sure your About Us or Contact Us web page doesn’t have any pictures of your key employees. Why risk gaining credibility and trust with your customers when you can be another impersonal business?
• Use only low-resolution pictures on your web site. Large pictures have the problem of attracting and holding customer attention which can encourage them to open their wallets. Going small is a great way to waste your web efforts.
