For Clients

For Clients
6
Dec 2011

Corporate photography policy

Most companies use photography on their web sites, social media sites, corporate blogs, printed brochures and marketing materials, in-house publications, trade show displays and probably in several other ways. As such, it’s very important that companies have a policy regarding the handling and storage of these photographs.

• By law, almost every picture is copyrighted. Permission to reproduce such photos needs to be in writing. Does a business have written permission for every picture it uses? Where are these written permissions kept?

• Professional photography is licensed for use and rarely, if ever, sold outright. Where does a company keep copies of these licenses and how are they tracked?

• Are employees acquiring pictures legally for the company blogs and social media sites? Are employees aware that pictures cannot just be swiped from someone else’s web site? (The minimum statutory damages in Canada for copyright infringement is $500 per infringement.)

• Should sub-contractors such as a public relations firm or an ad agency have to follow a company’s corporate photo policy?

• How does a company catalog and archive its pictures? Are these pictures properly captioned and keyworded for easy retrieval in the future?

• How does a company keep track of which images are used, (or can be used), as media handouts?

• If a company has a corporate photo library, (and it should), who can access this library?

Most newspapers, wire services and picture agencies have had photo policies in place for decades. Every business needs to develop a proper strategy for its handling of photography so as to avoid copyright infringement, the loss of photographs or the misuse of photos.

— No comments yet. Your thoughts are welcome.

For Clients
3
Dec 2011

Dim Bulb

I was reading a photography article about some tools that could be used for getting colour-correct photos. It talked about using proper illumination for viewing prints. I went to the web site for a Florida-based company that was mentioned in the article and was deciding whether to purchase several of its $90 lamps.

Before sending off a few hundred dollars, I looked at its About Us page. It was very obvious that something wasn’t right.

The About Us page yells “Nice to meet you!” and then brags, “The truth is we’re a small company made up of real people–no drones here!” And right next to this statement, there’s a cheap picture of anonymous people which was bought from an online stock agency. (Available here, here and here).

If a company misrepresents its identity, can you trust what it says about its products?

Needless to say, I didn’t buy anything.

––––––––––––––––––––

I don’t mean to pick on this one company because there are many other businesses, from small to international, that use cheap, anonymous, stock pictures for their business image. My point is that it’s been proven that stock pictures push people away, it makes them hide their wallets.

When a company uses cheap stock pictures, it’s counterproductive, it fools no one but themselves.

— No comments yet. Your thoughts are welcome.

For Clients
14
Nov 2011

Ten signs you’ve hired the wrong photographer

You know you’ve hired the wrong photographer for your corporate photography or public relations photography when:

1. They show up for your executive portraits wearing jeans and running shoes.

2. They frequently say, “Don’t worry, I can fix it later with Photoshop.”

3. At your press conference, the photographer never strays more than an arm’s length away from the food table.

4. At your corporate event, they spend more time handing out business cards to your guests.

5. Low quality business portraits are blamed on the subject’s lack of modeling skills.

6. Offers a discount if you pay in cash and don’t want an invoice.

7. When the assignment is done, they transfer the images from memory card to laptop to CD and then hand you the disc.

8. They give only verbal estimates.

9. They don’t mention copyright or licensing issues.

10. They’re the cheapest photographer around.

 

— No comments yet. Your thoughts are welcome.

For Clients
18
Oct 2011

No Surprises

An article on the Poynter journalism site asks why Sunday newspaper front pages are so boring. Sunday fronts no longer seem special but look the same as any weekday edition.

The author suggests that newspapers are no longer taking (design) chances. Newspapers are trying to appeal to everyone and in that process, quality design gets lost. Sunday front pages are now packed with anything and everything in the attempt to attract interest from anyone and everyone.

Why is newspaper quality going downhill? There are no surprises here.

Newspaper staff reductions, smaller budgets, over-worked staff and shorter deadlines have had a detrimental effect. In the rush to produce faster and cheaper newspapers, quality has been sacrificed. The end result, according to the Poynter article, is that Sunday front pages no longer attract reader attention because the pages don’t surprise the reader.

An article on the Harvard Business School site talks about a recent study that examined viewers’ reaction to online video ads.

Most online video ads, like TV commercials, are ignored by viewers simply because the ads fail to attract viewer attention.

Why don’t these ads attract attention? There are no surprises here.

In an attempt to appeal to anyone and everyone, many video ads don’t take chances. As these ads become more bland, they become easier to tune out.

Using eye-tracking technology and facial expression analysis, the study proved that online video ads which somehow evoked an element of surprise earned viewer attention. If that ad also created a sense of joy, it retained that attention.

What does this have to do with business and corporate photography?

When a company does public relations photography or other marketing photography, (and let’s face it, all pictures on a company web site are a form of public relations or marketing), these pictures must get viewer attention. The only way to do this to evoke some kind of surprise. Surprise = provocative, unusual, unexpected, an interesting story being told.

Ribbon cuttings, cheque presentations, sod turnings, group photos of executives, someone talking at a microphone, all have absolutely zero surprise. Pictures like this are boring and push readers and media editors away.

Cheap stock pictures of a woman wearing a telephone headset, men in suits shaking hands or happy, shiny, anonymous people just standing around, never get attention because they’re tired, bland clichés.

A company needs its photography to include some sort of story element, something the readers don’t expect, something that will get and retain viewer attention. There should be surprises here.

— No comments yet. Your thoughts are welcome.

For Clients
5
Oct 2011

Hire the right photographer

Received a copy of an e-mail today, originally 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 media experience, someone who has worked for a daily newspaper or wire service. This photographer’s experience is well worth the money.

— No comments yet. Your thoughts are welcome.

← Older posts
Newer posts →
css.php