The customer is right even when they’re not

1 Comment

This photo has nothing to do with this post. It’s another view-from-my-office photo.

If you thought your home office was small or ugly, here is someone’s “vintage” 42-square-foot home office before it gets renovated. It has no functioning lights or heat. But it does have lots of nails in a wall, a very sloping floor and a sewage pipe in the corner. I didn’t ask about the dark red stains on the floor.

A small financial consulting company last week sent me four business portraits they wanted fixed. Another photographer shot these portraits three months ago and I don’t know why he or she didn’t fix the photos.
Continue reading →

A Tale of Two Houses

No Comments

(With apologies to Charles Dickens)

It was the best of houses, it was the worst of houses, it was the age of beauty, it was the age of squalor, it was the epoch of style, it was the epoch of simplicity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of disrepair . . .
Continue reading →

Kilometric Rates For 2019

No Comments

Just wanted to point out that the Canadian government has posted its 2019 kilometric rates for car travel by government employees.

These rates are the bare minimum of what photographers should be charging for use of their vehicle.

Your situation may require you to charge more. For example, it costs me about 85¢/km to drive my car. This is much higher than the government’s 57¢/km (including tax) for Ontario.

 

Please check the date of this article because it contains information that may become out of date. Tax regulations, sales tax rules, copyright laws and privacy laws can change from time to time. Always check with proper government sources for up-to-date information.

 

An OK Photographer

No Comments

You might be thinking that you can save a few dollars by hiring a good enough photographer. After all, good enough is okay, right?

US phone company AT&T did a series of commercials about hiring just okay people (and here and here).

But would this apply to photographers?

Many companies shop price first because they assume that all photographers are the same. They wrongly think that it’s the camera that makes the photos.

Hiring an experienced, professional photographer is about finding a photographer who has enough experience with customers like yourself so they can understand your photo needs and can do the work confidently.

Professional photographers should have enough experience to know what the risks might be and what problems might arise and then know how to minimize those risks and prevent those problems from happening. This level of experience is necessary to make your photography project a success.

Experienced photographers charge more because they know more and can help you more. Or would you rather save a few dollars by having an okay photographer “figure it out” at your expense?

 

How not to get arrested for counterfeiting

No Comments

The full face of the twenty dollar bill is shown at actual size but it has a large watermark. (Bank of Canada)

You might someday have the need to photograph banknotes, coins or postage stamps. Do it wrong and you or your customer could get a visit from the RCMP or be on the receiving end of a lawsuit. Copying currency and stamps isn’t just about counterfeiting, it’s also a copyright issue.
Continue reading →

Photo Gear Purchases 2018

1 Comment

If you’re like me, you probably buy too much photo gear. Not so much cameras and lenses but things like bags, light modifiers and various accessories. Here are some of my purchases in 2018:

Rock-n-Roller cart

I’ve been meaning to get a half-decent cart for some time. A homemade dolly-style cart with a bright yellow mat ($55 in parts and plywood from Home Depot in 1985) has served me very well. An over-priced Tri-Kart 800 is something I regret buying about 18 years ago because it was of limited use to me. But many local TV crews use the Tri-Kart.

This year I bought a RocknRoller R12RT. It’s pretty good but it takes up extra space because it’s not small and it weighs 33 lb. Fully extended, the R12RT won’t fit in some elevators.

A RocknRoller R12RT Multi-cart is shown in its smallest configuration. (Photo source: rocknrollercart.com)

Continue reading →

css.php