Toronto editorial and portrait photographer

Last-place finish

July 2, 2012 No Comments

During the past few weeks, there’s been much criticism over some portraits of US Olympic athletes shot by an AFP photographer. Let’s just say that these portraits won’t win any medals. All of the pictures can be seen here on the Getty Images site. While some of the pictures are okay, many are definite last-place finishers.

To be fair, these types of portrait sessions are usually done in an assembly-line fashion whether it’s Olympic athletes or players on a pro sports team. A number of photographers will each set up their own mini-studio, all in the same room, and the athletes will rotate from one mini-studio to the next, spending only a few minutes with each photographer.
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Importance of Business Portraits

May 25, 2012 No Comments

A company logo is very important to a business since it represents that business. Similarly a business portrait acts like a logo for that person. So why do some people use holiday snapshots or other amateur pictures for their business portrait?

An article written by personal branding expert Daniel Schawbel talks about the importance of having professionally produced portraits:

…get the best possible photo of yourself. For if logos are quintessential to commercial brands, photos are quintessential to personal ones. … pictures – when they display a lucky blend of originality, quality, artistic merit and manage to capture the essence of what you stand for – send a powerful message about you and your brand that colors the perception other parties will have of you across the board. Underestimate the importance of a portrait picture at your own peril.

…today even home-made pictures can have astounding quality and do the job for us – at least temporarily. If you ask me, however, I would never recommend trusting such a crucial piece of your personal brand to luck and my advice has consistently been to always engage the services of a professional photographer…

Here’s another article on the importance of business portraits.

Some information about knowledge

May 15, 2012 No Comments

A company recently hired a Toronto corporate photographer to do an executive portrait of its president.

While watching the photographer set up his camera equipment, the company’s communications manager asked, “Did you know that the sensor in your digital camera is just like a solar panel? Both convert light into electricity.”

The photographer answered, “That’s interesting information.”

As the photographer positioned his lights and made a few test flashes, the manager said, “The xenon gas in your flashes is also used in laser eye surgery.”

The photographer replied, “That’s interesting information.”
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How to save on business portraits

March 19, 2012 No Comments

How to save money on business portraits:

1. Go to a department store or grocery store photo studio and get their $29.95 special. While you’re there, you can also pick up some shampoo, socks, cereal or any other supplies that you need. Sure, this will take a couple hours out of your work day but who doesn’t like to skip work?

2. Have the lowest priced photographer on Craigslist come to your office to do the photos. Hopefully this $79 photographer will show up and won’t leave you stranded because they couldn’t get time off from their day job.

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Choosing a business portrait photographer

March 16, 2012 No Comments

If you buy a cheap pair of shoes and they turn out to be uncomfortable, you stop wearing them. The money you paid for these shoes was wasted.

If you buy a more expensive pair of shoes and you enjoy wearing them, you’ll wear these shoes often. Over the life of the shoes, the additional money you paid, compared to the lower priced shoes, will be inconsequential becasue the value received is high.

Business portrait photography is a common offering from corporate photographers. Here in Toronto, business portraits can range from $50 to $1000. Even $2000 for a single portrait is not unheard of.

Why is there such a wide price range?
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Hire the right photographer

October 5, 2011 No Comments

I received a copy of an e-mail today, originally sent from a graphic designer who is advising their client on how to hire a photographer to shoot a book cover portrait along with an environmental portrait and some publicity pictures.

Regarding the photographer, I have worked with several photographers in corporate communications & public relations situations and have some suggestions about the photo session for you to consider:

Look in the business section of the paper for photos of business people that look natural, then call that photographer and book a session with him or her. …

Rationale: using a photographer who is known to the media may give you a slight edge in getting publicity for your book. (If the photographer’s newspaper work shows the subjects looking natural, that means that s/he is good at putting people at ease, and you will get a better photo.) Also, the photographer may know of particular types of poses or shots that the papers like to use. The extra photos taken can be used on your website and in your marketing campaign, even on your bookmarks.

News photographers are mobile – they can come to you.

Their rationale is right on target. When a business needs pictures for press releases, media handouts or other types of publicity, the best photographer for the job is the one with direct news media experience, someone who has worked for a daily newspaper or wire service. This photographer’s experience is well worth the money.

Lines of Sight

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