For Photographers

Just Saying

No Comments

Nothing to do with photography or business practices, and way off-topic but:

1) For the upcoming G8 and G20 Summits in Canada this June, the federal government states that security screening will be performed by “competent authorities”.  What? As opposed to the usual incompetent authorities?

2) Canadian phone company Bell has increased its interest rate to 42.58%. This not only proves that Bell is in the business of gouging consumers but also that it leads the Canadian corporate race to becoming a loan shark. (The Canadian legal definition of loan sharking is 60% interest.) Credit card companies and banks are probably wondering how Bell gets away with this.
Continue reading →

HST Tax And The Canadian Photographer

No Comments

For professional photographers in British Columbia and Ontario: the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) starts on July 1, 2010, but the effects of this new tax start two months earlier on May 1st.

Starting in May, you must charge HST on any photography that will be delivered/completed on or after July 1st. If you complete a project and deliver the photographs before July 1st but invoice the customer after July 1st, then you must charge HST. Generally, the HST is applicable to any amount that becomes due on or after July 1st. But to no one’s surprise, there are several exceptions and special situations. Federal government information is here.

For clients who currently pay GST and PST, there will be no change in the total amount of tax they pay. For clients who now pay only GST, they will have to pay more tax. These latter (commercial) clients should be able to get the tax rebated to them.

The new HST will benefit registered photographers since it’ll be easier for them to claim tax credits for the provincial sales tax they pay on business purchases. But for consumers, the HST will do nothing but increase the amount of sales tax they pay.

 

Added: Federal government GST/HST calculator and tax rates.

 

Please check the date of this article because it contains information that may become out of date. Tax regulations, sales tax rules, copyright laws and privacy laws can change from time to time. Always check with proper government sources for up-to-date information.

 

Loud And Clear

No Comments

sports photographer toronto

Basketball coaches seem to yell a lot. They yell to get the attention of their players, they yell when arguing with the referees and sometimes they yell for no apparent reason.

Basketball arenas are very noisy with non-stop loud music, shouting arena announcers and screaming fans. It would seem that the only way to be heard above the ambient noise is to yell.
Continue reading →

A Penny For Your Thoughts

No Comments

If online content becomes a free commodity, will your creative thoughts have any value? Everyone loves free but sometimes free costs too much.

Should everything be supported by advertising so that all content can be free?

If yes, then the inevitable conclusion is that all online content will become advertisements. Advertising disguised as news. Ads disguised as entertainment. Ads disguised as relevant information.

 

Hiring the wrong photographer

No Comments

Here’s a funny video showing what can happen if you hire the wrong photographer for the job:

 

While this video may seem far-fetched, situations like this do happen, especially when a client shops price only and hires the cheapest photographer.

Some photographers may be a jack-of-all-trades and they can do half-decent pictures of almost anything. But a true professional knows their limits and won’t waste a client’s time and money by trying to shoot a project that’s not within their field of photographic expertise.

A professional photographer knows that doing it right the first time is good not only for the client’s business but also for their own.

 

Canada’s War on Photography

1 Comment

Canada has started its war on photography (and also on sketching and taking notes).

The Gatineau/Ottawa transit system, along with the federal government, is asking people to call police if they see: “[a]n individual taking photos or pictures in a location that has no particular interest, drawing maps or sketches, taking notes or wandering in the same location for an unusually long time.”

What’s the difference between taking photos and taking pictures? How would you like to be arrested for being armed with a sketch pad and a charcoal pencil? Watch out, I’ve got pen and paper and I’m not afraid to take notes!

Haven’t they learned anything from the ongoing problems in the USA and UK with their silly anti-photography laws and bans? Far too many links to list but here are a few: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4, Link 5, Link 6, Link 7, Link 8.

Haven’t they learned that taking pictures has nothing to with terrorism? Haven’t they learned that photography increases security?
Continue reading →

Don’t Forget Your Name

No Comments

Just a little tip for when you’re creating your business web site:

Remember to mention your business name on your web site.

One might think this is obvious and there’s no need to mention it. But I’ve just spent some time reviewing web sites for three photographers and noticed that none mentioned their own name.

Search engines need to see actual text of your business name somewhere in your site. An image of your logo won’t work. A Flash or other type of movie displaying your brand name doesn’t help. It must be text.

A domain name isn’t good enough. A domain such as dianebrownphotography.com is viewed as one word: dianebrownphotography. Somewhere on the site, it must actually say Diane Brown Photography.

Saying “Diane shoots business portraits” or “Diane has won awards”, doesn’t work. You must type out your full company name. “Diane Brown Photography does executive portraits” or “Diane Brown is an award-winning photographer”.

Add your business name on each page, place it in meta tags, put it in alt tags, and any other appropriate places.

Remember to mention your own name, if it differs from your business name, so that people looking for you by name can find you.

 

css.php