hiring a photographer

Imagining a better image

No Comments

When searching for a supplier or vendor, many companies automatically seek the lowest bidder or the cheapest price. But imagine what might happen if these companies instead searched for the best supplier, the one who could do a great job rather than just good enough.

Imagine what might happen if a company chose the best they could afford rather than the least they can get away with.

Imagine what might happen when the best they can afford helps enhance their corporate image.

Imagine what might happen when this enhanced image earns more attention.

Imagine what might happen when more attention means more business.

Imagine hiring a professional photographer next time.

 

You’ve got the cutest little baby face!

No Comments

There was a time when headshots were only for models, actors, politicians and CEOs. For better or worse, those days are long gone. The world is now more photo-orientated than ever before.

If you’re planning to get a new business portrait then get in front of a mirror and practice your best baby face.

According to a study by The Hebrew University of Jerusalem:

Previous studies have shown that viewers can form judgments of trustworthiness after as little as 100 ms exposure to a novel face, and certain facial features evoke feelings of warmth, trust and cooperation while minimizing feelings of threat and competition. People with relatively babyish facial characteristics such as proportionally large eyes, a round chin, and thick pudgy lips are perceived as kinder, warmer, more honest and more trustworthy…

Continue reading →

More than meets the eye

Many photographers charge a minimum fee for their location work. This minimum might range from a couple hundred dollars to much higher, depending on the situation.

Before you scream “Unfair!”, keep in mind that most tradespeople and some other types of businesses also charge minimum fees.

Locksmiths, plumbers, electricians, furnace repair, moving companies, carpet cleaners, etc., all have minimum fees just for showing up at your front door. This minimum often goes up on evenings and weekends. My locksmith charges a minimum $90, my plumber has a $140 minimum. At a newspaper where I once worked, to get a technician to come service the film or print processor cost a minimum $600.

Businesses charge minimum fees to help cover the time and cost of travelling to the customer’s location, setting up equipment (if applicable) and providing at least a minimum amount of service.
Continue reading →

Choosing less satisfaction

No Comments

Would you:

• buy a pair of shoes based only on price?

• buy a book based only on price?

• decide on concert tickets based only on price?

• choose a restaurant based only on price?

• plan a vacation based only on price?

Why would anyone choose a photographer based only on price?

A 2013 study by J.D. Power looked at customer satisfaction with North American car rental companies. A key finding was that customers who chose a car rental company based on lowest price were the least satisfied.

This parallels a similar 2013 North American hotel study which found that consumers who chose a hotel based on lowest price were also the least satisfied.

Would any customer be satisfied with the lowest-priced photographer?

 

When is the price of photography expensive?

No Comments

“Aren’t your photography prices too high?”

Compared to an amateur photographer, a Craigslist photographer, or an inexperienced photographer then I certainly hope that my prices are much higher than any of those.

But I’m not expensive when compared to a photographer with similar experience and knowledge.

I quoted $1,560 for a job last month that required eight business headshots. A few days later, someone from the company called to let me know that their project was cancelled. She said that she had received quotes from four Toronto photographers, including myself, and all were within $300 of each other. Unfortunately, she continued, “My boss budgeted only $500. I told him it wasn’t enough!”
Continue reading →

Underspending is overspending

2 Comments

Charles Mortimer was the CEO of the former General Foods from 1954 to 1965. During this time he doubled the company’s sales and tripled its earnings. Mortimer’s background was in marketing. He was once quoted as saying:

The surest way to over-spend on advertising is not to spend enough to do a job properly. It’s like buying a ticket three-quarters of the way to Europe; you have spent some money, but you do not arrive.

If you replace the word “advertising” with “professional photography”, the saying would still hold true.

When a company seeks the lowest cost corporate photography, that company is shooting itself in the foot, or more accurately, in the wallet. When spending on photography for business marketing, it’s not what you pay that’s important but rather it’s what you get.

Cutting corners and paying just enough to get ineffective or low quality business photography is a form of overspending because you’ve bought a ticket to nowhere.

If a job is worth doing then get someone to do it properly. – anonymous

 

Picture Perfect

No Comments

Pictures interest people more than text.

People get information faster from pictures than text.

People can get more information from pictures than text.

People understand pictures better than text.

Pictures have greater emotional impact than text.

People trust pictures more than text.

Pictures have more credibility than text.

Emotional impact + trust + credibility => pictures influence people more than text.

People remember pictures more than text.

 
So what should your company use for your marketing, more pictures or more text?

 

css.php