Category: Photography

The best preventive camera insurance

by Stanley LearyPhotography
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Decorative Camera Strap showing my love of the comic strip www.WhatTheDuck.net

Back in 1980 during Christmas break from college, I went ice skating with my friends on a lake in New Jersey.  I remember this time very well, because this is the time I dropped my rangefinder camera onto the ice and destroyed it.

The reason I dropped it was I didn’t have a camera strap on it.  I didn’t own one.  Today I see lots of folks who must have not realized how important the camera strap is when they opened the box with their new camera.  It can be cumbersome, but I can tell you from past experiences not using it can be a disaster.

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My favorite camera straps are the Domke 1.5″ strap

Besides having a camera strap you need to use it.  Hanging the camera around your neck is the safest place for it to be when you are being a tourist.  Second is maybe over the shoulder, but the worst thing is no strap and just holding it.

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Wrap the strap around the wrist if you don’t have it around your neck when shooting.

There are going to be times you might want to take a photo out of the car window.  Wrap the camera strap around your hand so that it doesn’t slip and fall.

When you get to that restaurant and need to set it down, the safest spot is on the floor–it can’t fall from there.  Some folks even put the strap through their leg so no one can grab it and run.

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When you put a camera on a table, always try and keep the strap on the table and not hanging over.  It can easily get pulled off the table by animals and small children who are just curious.

If you place the camera on a table, don’t let the strap dangle off the edge.  I have seen way too many of these straps magically get hooked onto someone walking by and then the camera hits the ground.  Little kids love to explore and having something at their hands reach will be too tempting.

There are many types of camera straps and I will just recommend one that I prefer the most.  It is made by Domke and here is a link to it for you.  I like the quick release straps that can be removed for easy packing or when the camera is on tripod.

Remember the best insurance on your camera is preventive care by you.

In Silos or a Rising Tide

by Stanley LearyPhotography
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Does your company have a silo effect?

My last post was about being aware of the relationships and politics of the office. This is to address not caving in and not pursuing what is best for the company, but finding a strategy to make great communication take place.

When a company functions as if each department is separate then you get the silo effect.

While I worked for Georgia Tech I saw this more than anywhere I had been before.  Since I worked in communications, my role had me moving from one department to another.  In the span of a week I photographed three different research projects on the campus and all three of them were solving the problem of epilepsy.

What was strange was that none of these departments knew about each other and even after I told them about each others projects they still didn’t interact together.

It was also at Georgia Tech where I saw the silos starting to be dismantled.  When they built the new Bioengineering building they had open labs next to each other.  This was to encourage people to talk to each other and collaborate more.

I enjoyed playing pickup basketball at Georgia Tech.  I played with students, alumni, faculty and staff.  While waiting between games we had time to talk to each other.  Two professors I played ball with talked one day together about their work.  Dr. William Hunt, Professor Bioengineering, and Microelectronics/Microsystems talked with Dr Roger Wartell about a problem. 

At the end of that conversation Dr. Hunt had a major breakthrough in his research. I too had a conversation later with Dr. Hunt about his work and he had a breakthrough, but struggled to get funding.  I asked if he would let me take a look at a way to visually communicate the concept.  After I helped him with some photos of his work he presented his work to a conference.

Very similar presentation to what he had been doing, but now new images.  He had one of the branches of the military come up after that talk and give him a $500,000 grant.  He sent a letter to the president of Georgia Tech telling him how I had helped him.  I was thrilled for him and I.

Toyota can tell you about how one part just about brought down their company in 2009.  It started as what was thought to be floor mats and then it came out they knew they had a faulty accelerator design.  This was an example of silo that just about took down the company.  It is still dealing with the bad PR this gave the company.

You need quality process in place for the whole company and not just parts of it.  You need to address these issues:

    •    A defined end goal
    •    Work done right the first time
    •    Individual responsibility for quality
    •    Verification, not inspection–quality processes focus on the on-going verification of quality achievement and not only inspection at the end
    •    Long-term focus
    •    Improved quality results in lower costs

If a company puts equal quality standards for their communication as they do in their product then it will lift up all the departments and in the end the customer gets a better product and experience.  This makes all those involved walking taller and prouder about what they are apart.

You see a rising tide lifts all boats.

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A rising tide lifts all boats

Your work can be too good

by Stanley LearyPhotography
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The books range form $30 – $70 depending on how many pages

A religious leader for a large church organization told his communications team to not produce slick well-polished pieces, because then folks will think we have too much money and not give.  We want to look like we need help.

What is sad is that it probably costs more money to produce poor quality than great quality work.  If the work is not of a certain caliber then no one in your targeted audience will digest the content and then it was a total waste of money.

I have been producing two to three minute multimedia packages that range from $2,000 – $5,000 to produce in addition to the cost of travel expenses.  The companies I do this for are used to paying $10,000 to $250,000 for similar length video projects. Since they are so much less to produce the client was doing more of them.

This can cause a problem for the client with the rest of their corporation.  They think based on previous expenditures they are spending lots of money, when in reality they are spending less.

This was also happening for books we did as gifts.  People thought these were tens of thousands when they are often only $30 a book for 10 books.

If you are in charge of projects and you are not aware of this political reality of quality of your products you may be in for a rude awakening in a budget meeting. 

As communication specialists we help tell stories effectively. You also have another role to play of educating your organization about what you do.  They need to have you help them understand the strategy of the communications and the costs.

I would recommend getting someone to help you tell your story.  This could be one of your colleagues in the industry to help you.  I think one of the strangest things I have discovered over my career is how communications folks need someone to help them with their PR campaign.

First of all the PR you do for yourself is not necessarily the same thing you do for others. 

Here are seven things you might want to do:
  1. Take your analytics or get some to show how many folks you reach with your messaging.
  2. Show where you are getting placed—tear sheets
  3. Create a notebook/PowerPoint of these talking points that you are ready to now present to a person or a group.
  4. Identify those persons in your organization that you need as your allies
  5. I suggest taking them to lunch and sharing with them some of you material showing how you are being more strategic than in the past and how you are being more cost efficient in doing this.
  6. Create a comparison chart.  What we used to spend on something vs. today what we are spending. 
  7. Maybe give them a framed picture and copy of the story you produced for them or coffee table book and include with it a cover letter talking about the number of hits and responses you have gotten to it.

A strange thing may happen after you have done this with a few folks—you will get more work.  You may also get a larger budget next year.  People are drawn to folks who show business acumen. 

While I have given just some suggestions you may want to help those reading this blog with your tips.  I would love to hear your comments and suggestions.

Camera recall

by Stanley LearyPhotography
My new Nikon P7000 came with original firmware v 1.0 and I upgraded it to v 1.1

You just don’t see camera recalls on the evening news. However, there are very similar “recall” notices on your camera’s website.  With cameras they are called firmware upgrades.

If you go to your camera’s manufacturer website you can search for firmware upgrade. On the Nikon website go to “service and support” and then to the “download center.” You will then see “download current firmware version.”

You will need to also know your firmware version. You can find this in your manual or just google your camera and firmware and you will find directions.

Just the other day I bought a brand new Nikon P7000. The firmware version on the camera was 1.0, but when I went to the website there was a version 1.1.

This is what Nikon listed as what this firmware fixed:
  • Image recording time at image quality settings that include NRW (RAW) has been reduced.
  • Lens control has been optimized to reduce the frequency with which the “Initializing lens. Cannot focus.” message is displayed.
  • An issue that, in some rare cases, prevented zoom operation has been resolved.
  • An issue that caused the monitor display to exhibit a loss of detail in highlights (blown highlights) when the shutter-release button was pressed halfway with Active D-Lighting enabled has been resolved.

No matter which camera you have, be sure you check to see if there is a firmware upgrade. You may just end up what feels like a new camera if you do.

Have your papers in order if you want to get paid

by Stanley LearyPhotography
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Expenses from a trip for a client

Virginia Adams, Pam Bonser and Alfreda Thompson all have been very important clients of mine through the years.  What you need to know is why they are important to me.
All three of them were the administrative assistants at places I worked or did work for that processed my invoices and expenses.
The most important thing for me at the end of the day is that I was paid for the work I did.  If I do an excellent job, make the client very happy with my work, and I do not get paid, then tomorrow I have to go and find another job, because I must pay my bills somehow.
How quickly you get paid has a lot to do with your paper work.  All of these administrative assistants were my contacts.  They interfaced with the accounts payable department and not me. 
They taught me to document all my expenses like: meals; transportation; hotels; mileage; tips for couriers; and miscellaneous items.  By having a scanned copy of each receipt attached to the invoice will insure payment in a timely matter. 
Their role is to look at the expenses and evaluate each expense.  Most companies have limits for meals for example and any unusual expense needs an explanation to forward to the next person in the process.  These notes are there for when they get audited.
Form W-9
Why is this necessary?  Well there are a few scenarios where having your papers in order will help the client in the long run.  I hate to bring this up, but there are times when your client could be in a political battle for budget planning.  Other departments can put pressure on the accounting department to audit them and see if they are being good stewards. 
If you have done a great job with providing receipts and explanations on your invoice for any abnormalities then when questions arise with the auditors they will give them a clean report.  However, if the books are sloppy this will be enough to not only affect their budget requests going forward, but may get your client fired.  When this happens you have to start all over and hope the person replacing them will use you.
If your papers are the reason the person lost their job, then the replacement will most likely not use you.

One more thing you need to do with each new client.  If you are doing freelance always give them a Form W-9.  They need it and if you do not give it to them when your invoice is due for payment they will call and request one.  So if they pay in a 30 days cycle you could be waiting another 30 days for payment past the first 30 days.

Just like in making pictures I want my standards to be higher than my client so I am giving them my best.  Do this for the paper work.  Your client my not ask for this much detail, but if you do this they will not only be pleased you will look even more professional.

The clients who hired me trusted and listened to Virginia, Pam and Alfreda.  I want to impress them with my paper work as much as I want to impress with my photography.

expenses page2
Scan and attach a copy of all your receipts for the client

Making choices today in business

by Stanley LearyPhotography

I just got a copy of Truett Cathy’s book Wealth is it Worth it?

The forward was written by Ken Blanchard and the introduction by Dave Ramsey.

Shortly after getting the book I ran across Damon Horowitz TED Talks presentation on YouTube on “moral operating system.”

Horowitz does a live crowd source and asks the audience to raise their hands if they use iPhone or an Android.  After he does this then he asks them when trying to evaluate a situation using kantian ethics or Consequentialism.  Almost no hands go up in the audience.

What Horowitz extrapolates from this is we have stronger opinions about our handheld devices than the moral framework we should use.

On the back of Truett Cathy’s book is a quote from Warren Buffett that he said to Cathy, “I can’t remember exactly what I paid for the last Chick-fil-A I had or the last shirt I bought. But the one thing I do remember is how I got treated. You forget the price, but nobody forgets how they’re treated.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG3vB2Cu_jM]

Why am I writing about this on this blog?  I believe this is the key to being successful in business. You need to have a moral compass in life. By having ethics and values that you understand will help you build your brand and the trust of people.

Chick-fil-A took off in 1982 in sales.  This is when the executive team established the corporate purpose:

To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A.

If you don’t have a personal mission statement for you and your company this is the time to form one. It will help you guide the rest of your life.

Before and After Photos (Part 2)

by Stanley LearyPhotography
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Click to see 360 degree tour

If you missed the first post please go here to see the before shot and then come back and see the after photo.

There really isn’t all that much to add to this except this is the after photo. 

We are now much happier with a lighter and more modern looking kitchen.  We also did the dining room and foyer.  We changed the color of the cabinets, walls and also changed the lighting in each room.

Do you like our changes?

The creator of the Cow Campaign for Chick-fil-A

by Stanley LearyPhotography

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U3QuNe0QjU&w=500&h=314]

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David Ring, the ultimate Raving Fan of Chick-fil-A

Today I just met one of the biggest raving fans of Chick-fil-A. I was photographing at the Richards Group in Dallas, Texas. Chick-fil-A is promoting Cow Appreciation Day, which is today Friday July 8, 2011.

Chick-fil-A was hosting not only The Richards Group employees, the agency that does the Cow advertising campaign, they also had Raving Fan bloggers as well there. So when I saw this guy convincing four of the cows to hold him for a photo I wasn’t shocked, but wanted to know more about this Raving Fan.

“I am David Ring and back in 1994 I created the Cows.” Well this was just too cool. I got to talk with David and learn more.

“Chick-fil-A didn’t serve beef and this got him to thinking that the Cows would be perfect.” He presented the idea to Stan Richards, the founder of The Richards Group who then passed this on to Steve Robinson, Sr Vice President of Marketing for Chick-fil-A.

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Stan Richards just pointed out to Dan Cathy, president of Chick-fil-A this is the guy as they walked by.  Dan stopped to shake his hand.

In 1997 Ring left The Richards Group and just recently came back. Currently he doesn’t work on the Cows, but still feels proud of what The Richards Group and Chick-fil-A has done with the campaign.

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Cows dancing at the Texas Rangers game on Wednesday night.

I didn’t even have to ask some questions, Ring was so excited. David Salyers, Vice President, National & Regional Marketing for Chick-fil-A, asked Ring about coming up with a billboard campaign, “We need something folks can talk about the next day in their Sunday School class,” this set the standard for how Ring proceeded.

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Today at events all over the US, the cows are their to activate the brand of Chick-fil-A. Fans love the cows.

One thing that I learned from Ring about the Cow campaign. He said the success of the Cows has to do with Chick-fil-A sticking with the campaign and the experience customers had when they went to Chick-fil-A.  People love the cows not just because they are fun, but because the experience was excellent.  The Cows remind people of the great experience in great food and customer service.

This week the public relations team for Chick-fil-A has been in different major markets helping the restaurants to promote Cow Appreciation Day.  If you come into any Chick-fil-A restaurant partially dressed as a cow you get a free sandwich today, Friday, July 8, 2011.  If you dress head to toe like a cow get a free combo meal.

What other companies have their fans dressing up and driving around town letting everyone know where they eat?

Do you have a Chick-fil-A story to tell me about.  Let me here about it below.

Images used by permission of Chick-fil-A. Photographer Stanley Leary.

Before and After Photos

by Stanley LearyPhotography
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Click to see 360 degree tour

You need to plan ahead for a project to be truly successful. Unlike a writer who can create the story as they go, the photographer must see it for it to exist.

We are painting our kitchen and we wanted to have a before and after photos of the work being done. I thought it would be fun to do this as a 360 degree panoramic photo.

The second part about this post is sometimes the eye-candy is what is needed to get your audience to listen. Would you have read this far in this post if the photo was a traditional photo?

Why did I choose to go this way with the before photo and most likely the after photo? I want you to feel our excitement about having a new look to our kitchen.  We will be wanting to create events at our home just to show it off.

Want to get your audience to pay attention to your message–sometimes it is the eye-candy that will first hook them.  Give me a call and I can help you create a 360 degree panoramic image of your location.

Stay tuned for the “After Photo”

Are you passionate about something?

by Stanley LearyPhotography
If you are passionate about a topic and are a communicator–I challenge you to create a blog. The whole process will make you a better communicator for your clients. Let me tell you how I came to this conclusion.

I enjoy making connections with people.  While I struggle with the social skills to connect with folks, my wife thrives in making connections.

Over the years I have discovered my gift of telling stories and teaching. Teaching seems to be my best gift.  I am not sure if I am a good teacher because I know how to get the message across (from years as a journalist) or my obsessive-compulsive behavior. 

Maybe it is a little of both.  I don’t like giving up and will work at being sure if a person wants to understand something I know about, then I will work at it until I find a way to help them understand.

1I have been taking some time thinking about connecting with audiences. I bought an iPad this week because one of my clients has started to issue these to their people to use.  I found out that I needed be sure the work I was producing was working on it. 

This was a difficult buy for me to do. I would have rather bought a tablet that played flash files so that everything that is on the web would work on the device. But the reason I was buying the iPad was to ensure that my audience was getting the messages I was creating.

There are other things that I have learned to do so that I could connect with an audience. A few years ago I dipped my toes into blogging.  I learned how to post a photo, video and text. 

Just in the past few months I decided to dive into blogging.  I am posting three times a week and slowly building a larger audience.  I am using analytics to see how often my blogs are viewed.  I am using analytics to see how long someone watches a slide show.  Do they watch all of it on average?  I am doing the same now with videos.

The analytics show me that more and more of the audience is using smart phones and tablets to view my blog. 

As my blog continues to adapt by posting images that are viewable on more devices like the iPad and iPhone more folks are returning to read the posts.

I am also fascinated as to what things are more popular than others.  If I post a how to article with a list of points I know it will get a better audience than just a photo with a small caption on something I saw.  This is also true with the videos.

My top blog postings of all time are here in descending order:

Variety is the spice of life               1,010 Pageviews
Jealousy, Selfish Ambition & Envy     760 Pageviews
How to be critiqued                        385 Pageviews
Good photographers play…              374 Pageviews
Three Stages of Composition      343 Pageviews

My top videos are:

Learning to see light                     2,016 views
Café Justo (Just Coffee)                523 views

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I like seeing how I am connecting to the world

Because I am blogging 3 times a week, I now understand things that I didn’t before.  I understand how difficult it is for my clients to connect with their audience. 

My challenge is simple for those involved in communications, if you are not creating content for a passion of yours where no one has to approve of your material how are you going to be able to help your clients?  I believe every professional communicator needs to create a blog.  The exercise will help you be more valuable to your clients.

Have you ever gotten a grade for your photography?

by Stanley LearyPhotography

Gary Chapman, a fellow photographer, commented the other night that he enjoys having written something versus the act of writing. I couldn’t help but laugh. 

Gary’s comment got me thinking, and since I like to do armchair sociology, I came up with thoughts about how we learn to read and write versus visual literacy.

While I have a master’s degree, I went through more than seventeen years of formal education, but I still struggle with writing.

Testing revealed that I have some form of autism, and I believe I most likely have Asperger’s syndrome. I consider this a blessing. My wiring is different; therefore, this has given me a unique view of the world. It also explains why writing is complex, and I excel at visuals.

There are different ways people see the world and learn. I am a visual thinker and learner. What I struggle with regularly is writing, which is linear thinking.

How do you know if you are good at something? With reading and writing, you get affirmation through grading. All through school, you learn how to read and get tested on your retention. Just because you can read it doesn’t mean you can write.

In contrast, we go through extensive training to learn how to read and write to visual literacy. The education system teaches us reading and writing but not how to understand visual communication unless we take an art appreciation class. Learning to appreciate good visual communication isn’t the same as knowing how to create visual communication.

When kids return to school at the end of this summer, many will have a traditional assignment to write about their summer experiences. The project concerns how many teachers evaluate their writing skills and what they may have to teach to get the students up to grade-level writing.

If we had been required to hand in our photos from those summers, many of us would have discovered that our pictures would have earned failing grades. Instead, we failed grades because we lacked visual skills. You cannot create visuals that convey a message if you don’t know how visuals communicate.

 There are many resources to help you learn about visual literacy, but not as many as we have for understanding reading and writing. You can get one book, The Power of the Gaze (New Literacies and Digital Epistemologies), on Amazon. Here is a description of the book: The Power of the Gaze, a textbook on visual literacy, entices the reader to seek significant structures in everyday visual reality called visual orders. These graphic orders are in representations, visible surroundings, or nonverbal interaction that relies on gaze. To understand what one looks at, one must first understand what it means to gaze and what it means to look. Visual literacy is the critical understanding of the meanings of graphic orders. The book is for all readers interested in visual culture and its phenomena. I recommend taking time to learn to read visually and then learn how to create visuals. This skill is essential if you work in the communications field.