For Photographers

Cost Of Progress

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Between 2001 and 2010, I bought six Nikon SLR digital cameras: two D1X’s, two D2X’s, one D3 and one D700. Total cost for these cameras was about $30,300 plus about $3,000 for memory cards, $480 for card readers and many thousands more ($21,000 to $26,000) for computers and software.

For comparison, from 1991 to 2000, I bought six Nikon SLR film cameras: two F4E’s, one F90X, two F5’s and one F100. Total cost for these was about $14,000 and no memory cards, no card readers, no computers and no software.

Yes, digital cameras are fantastic and the technical quality of digital photography is far better than that of film.

Although the equipment cost of running a photo business is at least triple that from ten years ago, (not to mention all the other expenses), fees paid by editorial publications have gone down and the rights-grabbing has gone up.

Interesting blog article by Paul Melcher on this topic.

 

The Four-letter F-word

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Search for the most powerful words used in marketing and the most cited word is the four-letter F-word, Free. The word Free gets customer attention but is it really effective in making sales?

The F-word is so overused these days, that we almost automatically tune it out. We know nothing is really free, there’s always a catch. Free will get attention, but it’s never taken seriously.

It’s important for a business to remember that your customers are not looking for Free. Rather, they’re looking for good value for their money.
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Champagne And Cameras

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It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. After clinching a playoff spot yesterday, the New York Yankees celebrated in their dressing room with beer and champagne.

Notice that all the Yankees are wearing eye protection. If you look in the background, you can see plastic sheets covering the players’ lockers. Everyone and everything is protected.
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!,.? – “…” [ (;) ]

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Yes, you guessed it. Today, Friday September 24 is National Punctuation Day in the USA. Someday, maybe Canada will realize the importance of punctuation and adopt this as a new national holiday.

Here are some official tips on how to celebrate.

 

Pick Any Two

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Remember the consumer saying: “Good, fast, cheap. Pick any two.”

A similar saying is: “High quality, low price, good customer service. Pick any two.”

Of course, we want all three. But that elusive combination doesn’t seem to exist.

When a customer tells a photographer that their photo fees are too expensive, the photographer should then ask: “Okay, I can can give you a lower price but what do you want to give up, quality or service?”

Customers who only shop price are customers that a photographer can live without. These people don’t value a photographer’s work.

Bargain hunters don’t understand that a cheaper price only guarantees them of getting less for less.

What a photography assignment might cost is always less than what it will cost from not having that photography done at all.

Many businesses don’t realize that most commercial photography doesn’t really cost anything. If $1500 worth of photography helps generate $20,000 worth of business, then there was no cost for the photography. The photography was a business investment where the company put money into itself.

 

Film Festival Finale

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The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has ended and, as expected, its idiocy continued right to the last event.

On the final night, the last celebrity event started about 30 minutes sooner than expected which caught a handful of photographers off-guard. These photographers arrived, perhaps, 10 – 15 minutes after the red carpet area was “locked down.” (Yes, it actually uses that term for its oh-so-high security efforts).

When this group of photographers arrived, the actors were about 150 to 200 feet away signing autographs for the fans. Possible film festival options:
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Film Festival Questions

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And the hits keep coming.

• Internet access was dead again today. Film festival people had no idea what to do about it.

 

• A TV videographer wanted to shoot B-roll of still photographers working a red carpet, (i.e. video of cameras clicking, flashes popping, photographers calling to celebrities). He wanted to shoot from an open area behind photographers. Sorry, not allowed.

 

• Another TV videographer wanted to shoot B-roll of celebrities arriving at a press conference with all the flashing cameras. He wanted to shoot from a far corner completely out of everyone’s way. Sorry, not allowed.

 

• I wanted to shoot an actor being interviewed by TV, (i.e. a photo of actor surrounded by cameras and microphones), by standing in an open area behind TV. Sorry, not allowed.
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