Photography Matters, No Matter Your Business

Why hire a professional photographer? This is a question I here a lot, especially since the rise of digital photography. I recently found two articles (not written by photographers!) that explain how the use of quality photography is integral to your business.

This first excerpt is about hiring a professional photographer for a political campaign, though it could apply to any business's advertising and marketing endeavors.

Photography can be the key to a successful direct mail campaign. When it comes to direct mail, you get approximately five seconds of a voter's time between the mailbox and the trash can so you need to make those five seconds as eye catching and powerful as possible. In a misguided attempt to save resources, many campaigns skimp on one of the most crucial aspects of direct mail--photography. It's akin to building your dream house on a dirt foundation. All of the work you put into your mail program--the research, writing and strategy--won't be as effective if the piece is dragged down by low resolution, amateurish, overtly political photos taken by a well-meaning volunteer.

A picture is worth a thousand words, especially in political mail. A compelling and unusual photo can leap out of the rest of the clutter in the mailbox and get you those precious seconds of voter attention. A few tips on getting the right image to make your point:

Hire a professional photographer, not your neighbor who has a new digital camera (unless he or she is a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer in which case I hope they have better equipment). Spend the money on a real shoot with a real photographer....

Chadderdon, Liz. "Don't Skimp on the Visual - It Seals the Deal." Politics (Campaigns and Elections). May 2010.

This second excerpt is about using photos that best illustrate your brand.

The right picture truly is worth a thousand words. It can tell your story, showcase your products, and intrigue, interest or excite your audience. But the wrong picture--well, there's a whole other phrase that describes that: Not worth the paper it's printed on. Problem is, how do you tell the difference?

A good photo or illustration communicates more quickly and leaves a longer lasting impression than words alone. It's the old left brain/right brain thing. There is an emotional and a rational aspect to every communication, and you want to enhance both. The right picture can make people read the words. The right words can make people internalize the message. The visuals you use will create a perception of your (company) in the minds of the people who see them. Make sure it's the perception you want.

There's no way to tell you exactly how much you should pay for professional photography, since so much is dependent on the specifics of your job: How many pictures? Of what? Where? When? Even where you are located geographically makes a huge difference in photo costs. The best advice is to check around. Look at photographers' portfolios, find a few whose work you like, and get several quotes. Often photographers negotiate based on use.

Before you send any image off to a publication, ask yourself if that image would stop you, engage you, interest you. Then answer yourself truthfully.

The bottom line is, the better your photos, the better you'll look. It's worth the time and trouble to get it right.

Muhleman, Janet. "Picture Your Brand." Franchising World, February 2005.

Food Photographer | Columbus, Ohio

Food photography is so much fun, especially when you get to use food wordplay to create a new business card design. Taking a bite out of my business cards was easier to swallow than I thought. I bought a $10 contraption at JoAnn Fabrics to punch out the bites manually. Totally worth it.



Catherine Murray
All-Around Photo Chef
Columbus, Ohio
Photo Kitchen

Columbus Ohio Food Photographer

Dear Google,

I would really love it if you could take a moment to read my blog. Here at Photo Kitchen, we work really hard to share relevant information with our readers, yet you rarely comment, you don't share our information with others, and you often ignore us altogether.

We understand you get a lot of requests, and that you can't possibly take the time to check out every site personally, but if you could roll over us, notice that we are here to help, open for business, and genuinely excited to photograph anything that comes our way, including but not exclusively, food, people, portrait, pet, commercial, product, business, executive, model portfolios, headshots, babies, stock, real estate, agriculture, fashion. You name it, we'll shoot it!

We'd so appreciate it if you could spread the word about Photo Kitchen to your gazillion users.

Thanks so much,
Catherine Murray

All-Around Photo Chef
Photo Kitchen, a photography company
www.photokitchen.net
www.facebook.com/photokitchen
http://twitter.com/photokitchen
contact@photokitchen.net
614.309.3515

Are All Burgers Created Equal?

No!
Just like burger's aren't all created equal, neither are pictures of burgers!
Why is food photography so important? Why would you want to hire someone to do it vs. buying a point-and-shoot and saving some $?
BECAUSE
You can't hear, touch, taste, or smell a photo of a burger.
The photo has to do all the work when you only have one sense at your disposal, and seeing is believing. If that burger doesn't look juicy, hot, sizzling, and downright mouthwatering, then who's going to believe that it is?
Let your photos reflect the deliciousness of your food. Hire a professional!

7 Reasons to be Thankful for the Recession

Whether you call it a recession, an economic downturn, or hard times, everyone has been effected, and rarely in a good way. While it's easy to look at the downside, I want to take a minute to look at the bright side. Here are 7 reasons I'm thankful for the recession.

1. Professional Wake-Up Call
Business has slowed down enough for me really look at what I've been doing, take stock of what I like and don't like, and the excuse I needed to change it.

2. More Food, More Fun
While business was rolling right along, I didn't have the time to cook, or even think about what I was eating. Now I'm eating healthier and better foods, reigniting my passion for cooking, and enjoying all of it a whole lot more!

3. Whole World View
I've always been passionate about the environment, that hasn't changed. But now that it's not just about the environment, but also about saving money, I've become more strict about my environmental choices, which makes me happy and proud. I buy props from garage sales and used stores, avoid buying new whenever possible. Not to mention saving on gas means saving money, too. Also, I've had the time to call up all those catalog companies and request to be taken off their mailing list.

4. Materialism Isn't Happiness
I've never considered myself a shop-o-holic, or anywhere close, but I've often found myself wondering if buying something would solve my problem before I'd consider a buying-free option. For example: organization. Instead of looking at my current organizational system and seeing what needed to be changed, I'd think "If I buy this shelving unit, would that help me be more organized?" The answer is often No. Instead, I started looking at it backwards--"Here are these 4 piles of things that need to be organized. What is the best way to do that? Do I currently own something that would help me? Do I need these things at all? Could I turn them digital instead of keeping the originals?" Then, if when I was done organizing, I decided a shelving unit would help, then I could go from there. Mostly, I found I didn't need it.

5. Expenses, Expenses, Expenses
I find that life is often a balance between time and money. If you don't have the time, you have the money. If you don't have the money, you have the time. So, now that I've had the time, I've carefully gone through my expenses and found small and large ways to save money. I lowered my cable bill by $20/month without losing any services. I return things I purchase if they don't fit/work instead of setting it in a corner until the receipt expires. I've fixed things that are broken instead of replacing them. I've canceled services I forgot I had, sold things I no longer use, spent hours lowering my health insurance by $100/month by switching companies, and so on. Now, when business picks up and I don't have the time for these things anymore, they'll already be done and I'll still be saving money!

6. Learning Isn't Just For Kids
I've been reading up on all kinds of things, like business practices, self help books, how to use Twitter to your advantage, cell phone manuals, all kinds of less-than-exciting stuff, but hey, I'm learning! It feels good to be empowered by knowledge. Now I can go forward in a more purposeful way.

7. Loved Ones
Instead of being caught up in work 24/7, I can take a few hours and hang out at my sister's house, go on a walk with my mom, go camping for the weekend, drive a friend to the airport...and do so without thinking how I should be at my computer retouching more images!

Now it's your turn, what are your reasons?

written by Catherine Murray

New Site Design, Coming Soon!

We'll be rolling out a whole new site within the next month, and we're really excited about it! There will be more information, more features, a newsletter option, testimonials, links, new portfolio images, and other great stuff! Check back in a few weeks to see all the changes!