Nice People
I have said it before and I will say it again. I love my job!
OK, OK. I know not another post on how wonderful it is to work for yourself doing what you love, blah, blah, blah. Nope. This one is about the people I work with and for. And believe me, they are great people.
I have been lucky in that the people I work for are very nice people. They are friendly and engaging. Some of the portraits I have done are of some of the nicest people in Philadelphia (and the surrounding areas). This woman for example.
I went to do business portraits of Anne and her friend Melody and these two women were fantastic. They offered me coffee, we chatted about what images we were going to do and then when it can time to shoot they were both happy and smiling and cheerful. We had a great time! Continue reading
Excellence
If you ask anyone what excellence is to them you are going to find a different answer from everyone. Thursday evening however, I went to an awards dinner put on by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and they were able to narrow it down to only 10.
At the 28th Annual Excellence Awards the chamber honors small businesses for their achievements and contributions to the Philadelphia region. The fact that there is an awards dinner is not news. In a way it’s not even what the businesses did that make what they have done a matter of Excellence. It’s the attitude of each and every recipient. Every single person accepting an award took the time to thank their employees and the other companies that helped them get the award. Continue reading
Gotta Give It Away To Keep It
So there you are and you have all these questions. What type of images are going to help my website? Why do I want to get my execs to have their portraits updated? Why do I need an image of our office building? What is the cost of a photography for this project? How is offering staff portraits for free at the holiday party going to help my company and/or my staff? Who do I ask about all of this!?
Answers cost money don’t they? Not always. Continue reading
Made You Look
If you are a client of mine you are probably hiring me to get the attention of your clients. That is what imagery does; it captures the attention of viewers faster and hopefully, more powerfully, than the written word.
With the addition of the internet as a strong marketing tool all, marketing has changed. Your clients paging through a magazine, online or in print, make choices in nanoseconds. Images, text, and all marketing, needs to capture their attention in a maximum of 7 seconds. Online advertising is getting bolder with pop-ups and flashing ads that tend to annoy more than they attract. All this does is make potential clients more and more jaded, in turn making it harder and harder to get your message to them. Continue reading
Coming Soon! Fall Colors!
It is officially fall! Time for the leaves to start changing and the time for sweaters and long sleeves. Well, in the Northeast US we are holding off on the sweaters; it’s going to be 90 degrees today. But before you know it the leaves will start to change and the wonders of nature will show the blush from the cooler air.
Why am I pointing out the obvious? My wife calls me ‘Captain Obvious’ and as per my rank, I thought I should mention that this is the best time of year to have all your images created. Think of the beautiful, natural backdrop of the warm colors of autumn. It is as if you can feel the cool breeze on your cheeks. But it’s not just you that looks good this time of year. Everything looks wonderful with the red, yellow and orange leaves complimenting them. Continue reading
How To Retire At 11
Some of my regular readers may already know that I am on vacation this week. My wife and I are taking our time exploring the beautiful state of Vermont. My wife Amy has become very accustomed to stopping in the oddest places as we drive from point to point because I may see something and say, “Oh! Great shot!” and I pull over. In fact she has even started looking for places for me.
Stopping at beautiful vistas and along lakesides has its advantages too. I have met some wonderful people and made new friends too. Monday we were driving along VT 30 (I think) and I saw a beautiful lake view that I had to shoot. Conveniently there was a boat ramp that provided a place to safely pull over.
Transformations
In the news lately you have heard that in many ways our economy has to transform itself, it needs to morph into something new. I have also heard that each of us has to transform ourselves too. It is said that the careers of our parents and grandparents, where you could look forward to finding a position with a company and spending your entire career there, are gone. With the world as it is today each person just starting out can expect to change employers 13 times in a 40 year career. Each time they may have to transform themselves into something new.
Transformation has become the norm rather than the exception. For each new client your company has to change and adapt to the needs of that situation. As the driving force to those adaptations you have to think in ways that are challenging and different. To make change the norm, not just a constant, you have to remain pliable and innovative. You have to see opportunity at every turn and with each challenge you have to welcome new ideas so that each becomes an opportunity rather than an obstacle.
Just last week I was photographing two locations for a construction company. Each had its own challenges. None of the preparation had me expecting the challenge of a memory card going bad ¾ of the way through the shoot. Continue reading
Hiring A Photographer
So now that you have decided to hire a professional photographer for your campaign, how can you be sure to get the right shooter for the job? You can Google photographers in your area. But honestly, that rarely gives you any insight to what kind of photographer you are going to get.
The first step in getting the right photographer starts with referrals (whenever possible). Being able to ask someone you trust if they know of someone or if they can recommend someone often leads to getting a good photographer. Photographers get most of their work through referrals and word of mouth. If you don’t know anyone to ask, check your contacts on LinkedIn, at your local chamber of commerce or even your competitors.
Alleviating The Pain
On my LinkedIn.com group, Photography: Clients and Professionals Networking Group, I recently asked “what is the #1 pain point for both Photographers and their clients?” There were some good replies but one stood out above the rest. Julien Mc Roberts, (Julien’s Blog) of Santa Fe New Mexico, made some great points that she collected from her clients. As a working photographer, I am very mindful of these points when working with my clients.
Many of you are on tight schedules where images need to be turned around immediately. Deadlines these days are getting tighter and tighter. In today’s digital age, there is no technical reason why I as a photographer would take two weeks or more to deliver images. With the tools available today, I deliver the final images in 24-72 hours. I am able to do this because I have developed a production process that allows me to control every aspect from start to finish.
Even though I now have better control over the results of my product, that doesn’t mean that I can just go “CLICK!” and hand over just any image. In order to separate a good image from a great one, some additional fine-tuning is needed to create the superior result you expect. Even in the days of Ansel Adams and before, fine tuning an image creates the ultimate result. But as we are no longer processing film in a dark room, today, that power is at my fingertips via a keyboard and mouse, and it does it faster.
Putting Your Best Face Forward
So you have decided that you need to update your company’s portraits. Now what? What images are going to show your company in the way you want and what will the images say about you? Not an easy question.
The hardest step has already been taken; you have made the decision. I mentioned in my last post the questions to ask to find the right photographer. Now that you know who you want to capture your company’s face, what type of images? There are the good old group shots where you have the entire company empty out into the parking lot and stand together, perhaps waving or holding up a banner with the company’s logo or tag line, but that style is a bit dated IMHO.
Learn more and Continue reading
