hiring a photographer

Mission Creep

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A potential commercial client e-mailed to say they needed “a few product shots” and they’d do all the post-production work on the images. Their budget for “a four hour photo shoot” was quite small but it could be doable if there was only a few products and the production value was kept low (no assistant, no big lights).

I called the company to get more information.

Yes they wanted a few product shots. In fact, they wanted all of their products photographed with full studio lighting. Since some products were big and heavy, the lighting would have to be moved from location to location within the building (i.e. at least one assistant would be needed).
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Electing a photographer

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In less than two weeks, the province of Ontario will have municipal elections. Here in Toronto, there are 65 candidates running for mayor, (19 others dropped out). In my area, there’s also eleven candidates for councillor and seven for school board trustee. With so many candidates, how do you choose?

Maybe it becomes a Paradox of Choice [and here]: the more choices you have, the less likely you are to make a choice. And if you do make a choice, it tends to be based on irrelevant criteria such as how a candidate looks rather than, for example, their economic policies.

Deciding on which candidate you should vote for can be like deciding on which photographer you should hire for an upcoming photo assignment.
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Braking for photography

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Have you been shopping for car tires recently?

The cost of new tires for my car, here in Toronto, ranges from $80 to $220 each. The higher priced tire is almost triple that of the cheaper tire. What’s the difference between the two?

The more expensive tire is made better, handles better and lasts longer. Another key difference is that more expensive tires stop quicker than cheaper tires. Better quality tires have, by design, better braking performance.

Higher priced photography also has, by design, better braking performance. High quality photography will stop people’s wandering eyes faster and get their attention quicker. Getting attention for your business is the goal of corporate photography.

If potential customers are speeding through your web site, zipping past your newspaper or magazine advertisements, or not bothering to slow down to read your content, then you might need to improve the braking performance of your marketing materials by using better photography.

 

Photography Sandwich

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Different breads, various vegetables, a number of cheeses, an assortment of meats and a selection of dressings. There are many ways to combine these ingredients to produce a sandwich. And each sandwich would taste quite different.

Different ideas, various lenses, a number of camera angles, an assortment of lighting styles and a selection of editing techniques. There are many ways to combine these ingredients to produce a photo. And each photo would look quite different.

Just as every restaurant has a different recipe for common foods such as a club sandwich or a grilled cheese, every photographer has a different recipe for common corporate photography services such as a business headshot or a product shot.

While some customers may shop only for the cheapest sandwich, most people will prefer to order a good-tasting sandwich. Similarly some people may shop for the cheapest photographer but others will prefer the photographer who can produce the best pictures.

When looking to hire a professional photographer for your next business project, instead of shopping price, why not shop photography? After all, when the work is done, you’ll be displaying a photograph not a sales receipt showing what you paid.

 

Authentic photography for corporate social media

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Press junkets are common in the newspaper industry. A junket is a third-party-sponsored event where that third party is looking for some free publicity. For example:

• A car manufacturer will take a group of writers to an exotic location where they can test drive a new vehicle. Of course, the car company will pay all the expenses.

• A travel company will pay for everything when it flies reporters to a series of tropical destinations so they can experience the locations firsthand and then write about their adventures. (Although I’ve been told by one such travel writer that these excursions can often visit a number of destinations in as many days and it can become a gruelling endurance test.)

• An entertainment network will fly writers to Hollywood, New York City or the location of a movie shoot so they can meet and interview the actors and director.

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Cheap photographer strikes again

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Today I received an e-mail from someone who runs a small clothing store. The subject title of the e-mail was, “I was mislead by a photographer.”

This person had hired a photographer to shoot some advertising pictures for their store which sells children’s clothing and accessories.

It appears that the photographer didn’t deliver any usable images or even the promised number of pictures. The photographer also didn’t deliver the promised, model-released pictures of children wearing the store’s clothing. So at this point, the business has nothing it can use.
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Photo Editing Skills

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Customers know which pictures they like to look at but they may not understand why. Very few people understand the art and craft of photo editing.

Few publications today have a real photo editor. It would be surprising if any non-media business has a photo editor. Instead, photographers are left to edit their own work and then someone at the client-end selects the pictures they like to look at.
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