view from the office

Getting Better All The Time

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New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi (L) argues with home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman in the eighth inning of their American League East MLB baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto, 06 June 2010.

This is another view-from-my-office photo.

When a photo job doesn’t work out the way you wanted, who do you blame?

If you blame your tools then the solution is to get better tools.

If you blame your customers then the solution is to get better customers.

But if the blame rests on you then the solution is to get better.
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Retouching Wedding Photos

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Textile conservators uncrate Lady Diana’s 1981 royal wedding gown in preparation for a celebration of her life in Toronto, 09 December 2003.

This is another view-from-my-office photo.

A large portion of my photo retouching is fixing and polishing business headshots so the person looks their best. I’ve done some commercial retouching where the work was more technical than creative. For examples: placing images onto TV screens and computer displays, changing a company’s logo in its marketing photos, and adding drop shadows to various products. I also retouch photos of completed house renovations.
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Photo Retouching – Higher Rates Can Be Better

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During a long day of photographing the same thing over and over again, such as shooting five or six tennis matches in a day, it’s good to find something different to photograph. Often I will shoot the players’ shoes as they serve, their hands as they hold a cluster of tennis balls, or their towel-covered face as they wipe off the sweat.

This is another view-from-my-office photo.

Someone recently asked for a price to retouch two business headshots. I said my rate is $140 per hour but I would first need to see the photos. After reviewing the two pictures, I quoted them 20-minutes per photo or $93 total plus tax. They accepted the quote, I did the retouching, and they were happy with the results. Another normal day of photo retouching.
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Creating A Photo Estimate

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In BMX cycling, if you want to nail your landing, you first have to nail your launch. These cyclists were competing in the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, July 2015. This is another view-from-my-office photo.

If a photographer wants to properly complete a job, they first have to properly start the job with a well-written estimate.

(This post is for new photographers.)

A potential customer asks you for a price to photograph something. What do you do?
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Low Prices: A Cautionary Tale

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This isn’t just a picture of nearly frozen waterfalls in Niagara Falls, February 2015. The photo shows science in action! Normally you don’t see clouds being created right in front of you because the point of creation is much higher in the atmosphere. But here, with the relatively warm mist from the falls, warm sunlight and ice cold air, clouds quickly formed at ground level (okay, at water level) and rose into the sky.

This is another view-from-my-office photo.

A photographer asked me to take at look his recent food photos (mostly photos of product packaging). His customer wasn’t happy with the pictures. The photographer wanted a second opinion before replying to his customer.
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Contractually Obligated

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Two tennis fans wait for the rain to stop during a Canadian Open tennis tournament in Toronto, 2017. All other spectators left their seats to find shelter inside the stadium. These two were prepared for a rainy day.

This is another view-from-my-office photo.

Yesterday I was exchanging e-mails with a photographer who shot a commercial job two months ago. The photography has been completed, the photos have been delivered, and the customer has paid. Two months ago. His customer is using the photos in transit ads. The photographer asked if he should now charge more for this usage.
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Saving For The Future

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This is another view-from-my-office photo from a Canadian Open men’s tennis tournament in Toronto, 2012.

How long should you save image files after they’ve been delivered to the customer?

A photographer should inform customers about their photo archiving policy. How long will you keep the photos? Can a customer depend on you, for years to come, to redeliver the photos? If you promise to archive photos but you lose them, can a customer sue you?
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