For Customers

Publicity photography minus the publicity

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A few nights ago, I was assigned to photograph celebrities arriving for a fundraiser at an exclusive home in Toronto. The event had set up an arrivals area in a small parking lot off the front driveway of the home, (did I mention it was a large house?). The red carpet was nice and wide, and the area was covered, lit and heated. Perfect, considering it was a cold, dark November night.

Canadian composer and producer David Foster arrives to host a fundraiser for his charity foundation in Toronto, Canada, 19 November 2010.

The three largest wire services in the world were there specifically to photograph the two main celebrities attending. The headlining entertainer for the event would also make for a usable news photo. Other photo agencies and TV were there as well.
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Why You Should Avoid Cheap Pictures

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In case you missed the memo: it’s a waste of time and money for your business to use cheap stock photos.

A company that chooses cheap pictures is fooling no one but themselves. Cheap photography can harm both your business image and your bottom line. In other words, “cheap” actually costs too much.

Here’s some proof pudding:

An eye-tracking study, released by Jakob Nielsen, titled Photos as Web Content, concluded:

• Bland stock images on web sites are completely ignored by users.

• Feel-good images that are purely decorative are mostly ignored.

• Stock photos of generic people are intentionally disregarded.

• Photos of real people, (as opposed to stock pictures of models), are viewed as important information.

• Pictures of key people at a business are very important. Business portraits are always a win for the company.

Conclusion of the study: “Invest in good photo shoots: a great photographer can add a fortune to your Web site’s business value.”

Do your business a favour and call your local corporate or commercial photographer today. A professional photographer is worth much more than what they cost.

 

More Useless Media Handouts

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The view of the Dalai Lama from the photo position. You may notice that this position is far, far away from the stage.

The Dalai Lama’s Toronto visit has come and gone. Some of his events were open to the media and some were closed to the media but open to the public and their cameras. Some closed events weren’t really closed; organizers just forgot to include them in the media itinerary.

The organizers released almost five dozen handout pictures all at once, covering all three days of the visit, at 11 PM on Sunday, the last day of the visit.
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The Four-letter F-word

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Search for the most powerful words used in marketing and the most cited word is the four-letter F-word, Free. The word Free gets customer attention but is it really effective in making sales?

The F-word is so overused these days, that we almost automatically tune it out. We know nothing is really free, there’s always a catch. Free will get attention, but it’s never taken seriously.

It’s important for a business to remember that your customers are not looking for Free. Rather, they’re looking for good value for their money.
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Another Public Relations Failure

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Canadian company Communitech today launched its Communitech Hub in Kitchener, Ontario. From its press release:

The Hub . . . is now home to start-up companies, small-medium enterprises, and global multi-nationals all aiming to accelerate the pace of development of new ideas and products in the digital media sector.

…leading-edge facility…

…will help launch more made-in-Ontario companies…

…state-of-the-art facility for digital innovation…

…the commercialization of innovation in Waterloo Region…

…dedicated to establishing Canada as a world leader in Digital Media…

Sounds good so far.

So how does this company promote the opening of its new, multi-multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art facility dedicated to Canadian innovation in digital media?
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What photographers need you to know

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Many clients may already know these things but here’s some information that photographers need you to know (in no particular order):

• When a photographer doesn’t answer the phone right away or doesn’t respond immediately to your e-mail, it usually means they’re busy on a job. The photographer is not ignoring you. Some photography can run all day or longer. We devote 100% of our attention to the client and job at hand. Please leave a message. Your call really is important to us.

• Depending on your proposed photo project, it might take from 30 minutes to several days to produce a full and proper photo estimate. Photographers cannot give an off-the-cuff or ballpark price because it’s meaningless. We have to figure out every step of the proposed work before completing the estimate. This benefits you. We put everything in writing. This benefits you.
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!,.? – “…” [ (;) ]

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Yes, you guessed it. Today, Friday September 24 is National Punctuation Day in the USA. Someday, maybe Canada will realize the importance of punctuation and adopt this as a new national holiday.

Here are some official tips on how to celebrate.

 

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