Toronto photographer for business, commercial, public relations and editorial photography.
Digital cameras have created an under-appreciation and perhaps even a devaluation of professional photography. Many people wonder why they need to hire a photographer when they could just as easily push the button on their fancy $500 digital camera.
For any important photograph, just pushing a button is never good enough. Professional photography includes knowing the best lighting, the best camera angle and the best pose for the job at hand. It also includes the reliability of always getting the best photo. A professional has the experience to anticipate a problem and then deal with it before it becomes a problem.
While it's certainly cheaper to use a $500 camera, there is a reason why we might use a $6,000 camera with a $10,000 lens, or why we might bring in six cases of lighting. That reason is: the best tools for the best job. Yes, that costs money, and yes it gets the job done right, delivering the photography you need.
Remember the saying, “Good, fast, cheap. Pick any two.” ?
With a professional photographer, you get all three: good images faster and you save money by saving time.
Some Definitions
CORPORATE: Photography used in corporate literature, brochures, catalogs, annual reports and web site. This does not include advertising. Generally, the usage rights granted are for one year from the date of invoice.
BUSINESS PORTRAITS: Used for unpaid submissions to magazines, newspapers, trade publications or wire services. May also be used in press kits and business web site. Generally, the usage rights granted are for two years from the date of invoice.
PUBLIC RELATIONS/CORPORATE EVENT: Event photography intended for unpaid placements in magazines, newspapers or given to wire services for free distribution. May also be used on the company web site. Generally, the usage rights granted are for one year from the date of invoice.
EDITORIAL: Photographs appearing in newspapers, magazines and trade publications, and usually commissioned by the publication itself. Generally, usage rights granted are: first, one-time use, reprints not included, no sister publications or web use, no resales, no archives and no wires.
Just as publications charge a separate and additional fee for web advertising, over and above their print advertising fee, we also charge an additional fee for photographs used in any online version of a publication.
MEDIA HANDOUT: Photos that are commissioned by a client and then given free-of-charge to editorial publications for non-paid placements.
ADVERTISING: Just what it sounds like: paid placement in any media. Since pictures can be used in a wide variety of media with many options over variable time periods, each job must be quoted on an individual basis.
PRODUCT: Usually this is photography of smaller items on a plain background. Lighting can be plain and simple, or something with flair. The product can be lit with or without shadows. Not to sound like we're running an assembly-line, but yes, product shots get cheaper by the volume.
WEB PHOTO GALLERY: Electronic proofs published on a private web page for your convenience and approval. The gallery can be viewed by you and anyone else you choose. This is the preferred method of proofing because it provides a fast, easy and inexpensive review of the photographs.
The images in a web gallery are low-resolution and do not receive any post-production work. They are not suitable for reproduction.
DIGITAL POST-PROCESSING: In the old days, all film had to be processed or developed into usable negatives. Today, all digital files need to be processed into usable "digital negatives". Post-processing is not retouching.
Basic post-processing includes turning a raw image into a starting workable file, usually psd or tiff format. This file is then corrected for colour, contrast, brightness and saturation; minor defects and blemishes are removed; minor local adjustments are done; preliminary sharpening applied; and full IPTC information is added. Final sharpening, cmyk conversion (if required) and any other final adjustments should be done by your prepress or web designer.
If you require special keywording or captioning to suit your business needs or archiving system, let us know and we can do it for you.
Digital files direct from our camera are certainly "good enough", and far better than you could possibly get from any amateur or point-and-shoot camera. But by spending some time polishing and refining the images, the photos you receive will be the best possible.
Pushing a camera shutter button only starts the picture, it doesn't finish it.
Hey, just give us the file and we'll look after it: Are you sure? We generally shoot in a raw format which requires special software to open and process. Some clients have such software and aren't afraid to use it, but most do not. Alternatively, we can do the basic conversion and hand you an unedited 16-bit tiff.
RETOUCHING: Removal of some wrinkles, acne, loose threads and small background distractions. We can remove scratches on the product, make the sky more blue, whiten teeth, and more. Samples of our work can be seen here.
Retouching can be slow and time-consuming. We will provide you with an estimate before starting any project.
DELIVERY OPTIONS: Images can be delivered on CD/DVD or via the Internet. When delivered on a disc, we can include just a folder of files or we can also create an image gallery which will allow you to quickly browse the pictures. A gallery can be useful if there are a large number of pictures on the disc or if you don't have any image browsing software.
If your e-mail is limited in size, we can transfer files via FTP or HTTP. Electronic delivery saves time and money.
COPYRIGHT and LICENSING: There is a reason why a farmer keeps the cow and sells only the milk. Unless otherwise agreed, we retain full copyright ownership in everything we create, and license usage rights to the client. Licensing is the common practice for all intellectual property such as photographs, music, movies, software, books and more. Details are always included with each estimate and invoice.
Quite often, a client will ask for “all rights”. Yes, the more usage rights a client requires, the higher our fee. But why pay for more rights than really needed? All our income is derived from licensing usage. If a picture can't be (re)licensed, then we lose revenue, and that's bad for business.
Professional photographers do not ordinarily give up copyright since the photographer would then lose all future income from that work. Not only would that be bad for business, it's also poor financial planning. If a photographer readily agrees to give away copyrights, then one has to ask if that photographer really is a professional.
Licensing is never a nuisance or a difficulty. Let us know how you want to use the photos and we'll create a license just for you. Simple.
INSURANCE: We are fully insured with $2,000,000 commercial liability coverage, just in case.
RECEIPTS: Don't even think of asking for receipts of our expenses. We are independent contractors not employees. Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requires us to have all receipts to verify our expenses listed on tax form T2125. The CRA does not require any client to have any of these receipts. Yes, many of our expenses are marked up. Yes, this is a standard practice of all businesses.
PLEASE NO SECRETS! Photographers may have a creative vision but they are not mind readers. If your project has a specific budget, let us know what it is ahead of time. We want to work with you, not against you. Our job is to help make your project a success.