For Photographers

Recycling The Trash

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Here in Ontario, we’re in the early days of a provincial election and the three political parties are on the campaign trail.

This post could’ve been about the fact that the Conservatives don’t even have a business portrait of its leader and that several of its candidates also don’t have headshots. No portrait = invisible.

Or this post could’ve been about the NDP which had to cut-and-paste its candidate headshots onto a matching background since the party couldn’t figure out how to organize consistent portraits in the first place. [Edit May 13: It appears that the NDP’s first attempt at cut-and-paste onto a high-school blue background was so bad that they did the cut-and-paste all over again.]

Or this post could’ve been about the media handout pictures from the three parties. Those photos have no captions, no IDs, no information whatsoever. They are useless as media handouts.
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The Average Photographer

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Last week, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released its semi-annual Occupational Employment and Wage Summary based on survey data collected in May 2013. This provides an estimate of the average wages for most occupations in the USA.

It’s important to remember that statistics often tell only half the story.

According to the survey, there are 54,830 “employed” photographers. This seemingly does not include freelance or self-employed photographers (more on this in a moment). The average annual pay for these employed photographers was $37,190.
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Do you look like your business?

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Do you look like your business? Does your business look like you?

A business is judged by its various appearances: appearance of the store, appearance of the web site, appearance of the employees. A less than favourable appearance will create a less than favourable impression on the customer.

A “good looking” appearance encourages a customer to trust that business. A poor appearance makes the customer suspicious.

You look like your business:
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A confused customer always says no

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There’s a well-known saying that states: “A confused mind always says no.” This also applies to customers who are confused about a sales offer. They will always take their business elsewhere.

When searching through commercial photographers’ web sites, a potential customer can become confused when they don’t understand (i) exactly what the photographer is offering, (ii) the benefits of hiring that particular photographer, or (iii) any of the claims made by the photographer.

A photographer’s web site can create confusion by:

• having too much information or too little information. Oddly enough, the correct amount of information might be related to the photographer’s prices.

• offering too many choices.

• using too much technical jargon.

• showing a lack of consistency in presentation or message.

• having no differentiation from other photographers.

Some businesses intentionally try to confuse their customers. This is done so that one company’s products or services can’t be easily compared to its competitors. This practice can be common among companies that sell a commodity in an oligopoly such as telecoms and home energy companies. How much do you enjoy dealing with these companies?

A confused customer is always an unhappy customer.

Many photographers use one of those dubious haze filters on their lenses to eliminate “haze”. Perhaps putting a clarity filter on their business might be more effective.

 

More is not always better

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Some photographers offer their customers a disc with all the pictures they shot on that particular job. Similarly, some customers want a disc containing all the photos taken. Why?

To me, this suggests that the photographer can’t edit, the customer can’t make a decision, or the customer doesn’t trust the photographer to do the job properly.

Certainly there may be times when having all the photos might be a good thing, for example, when the pictures are used as evidence in a trial. But quantity is not quality.
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Credibility and Trust

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While shopping in a Toronto grocery store today, a woman approached me and simply asked, “Donate?” She held up a laminated piece of letter-sized paper which had the headline “DONATE DISASTER RELIEF” along with some small, generic pictures of people who may, or may not, have been in disaster-stricken areas. I turned her down.

The woman continued walking the store aisle, asking everyone else the same thing. As far as I could see, everyone turned her down.

Although she may have been legitimate in her request, she had no credibility. The flimsy piece of paper she held was obviously cheaply printed and her “presentation” was unconvincing.
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