Notes from a Studio

When photographers set up a studio they look to lighting, flash guns, backgrounds, lenses and a layout. They spend hours trawling the net and tradeshows comparing prices, reviews and specs of each component part, often going for a one hit answer-all deal, which they soon find out doesn’t answer all at all. It is often said that you should always use an expert, and this is true. Creativity Backgrounds is a company specialising in backdrops, they sell paper, fabric, varitone, vinyl, muslin, velour, chromakey, stands, clamps and even the tape to stop the backdrop from flapping around on the floor and whizzing up and curling round the model! They’ve made it their business to get down to the nitty gritty and know what professional photographers want and need. So much so, this is why professional photographers have been using their backgrounds for over 30 years! The same pantone you order today will be the same as it was last year and for the next 30 years, guaranteed hotspot free and seamless, allowing your lighting to just do its thing and you get creative behind the camera.

So what’s the importance of a background? Does it really make that much difference? Why not just drop in a colour in the post-editing process, or just stick a gel on your lights and make do with that? In response, I usually fire a question back: “What made you get into photography?” while the answer might be money (!), the main driving force is a desire to ‘capture’ an image, a moment, a composition. Many photographers are creative souls, who see frames of shots in their everyday lives, whether this is making the coffee in the morning or walking down the street to get the milk. They naturally compose a structure around a “scene”. So why should being in the studio be any different? Indeed one could argue that it is even more imperative to allow yourself greater creative freedom here than anywhere else. Because it is in the studio that you have control over what you shoot: you control the lighting, the composition, the styling, the lights, the framing, the model, everything. So why on earth would any photographer worth their salt want to restrict themselves to a gel and an immobile model? It seems crazy to me. While I agree gels have their place in the studio, there is a reason professional photographers use coloured backgrounds. First and foremost using a coloured backdrop allows the model to move. Simple. Try it, you will find that using a coloured background will allow yourself to pull back and shoot full length images or quickly zoom in and capture that expression you see glinting in the model’s eyes, directing your model to move as you shoot.

Secondly, using a coloured backdrop allows you to set up a shot as you want, it allows you to be the director, not dictated to by some plastic gel on a lamp. It also allows you to set up really creative lighting solutions, which the model can move in and out of, casting shadows and atmosphere, or flooding the whole with uniform light to enliven the whole set and background with a flood of colour. Boudoir photographers, for instance, have long been enjoying the thrill and creative stimulus that a coloured backdrop allows you. Switching between black, crimson, sunflower, royal purple to create and style different looks for their models, also makes for more sales, as your sitters feel compelled to buy not just your high-key or black background moody shots, but also the additional prints taken using colour.

I would also urge any photographer who spends more than £25 on advertising a year (which let’s face it means all of us!), to buy a couple of different colours even just in the half-width roll size, take some shots and USE them in your advertising images. Whether these are print ads, online directories, local paper, your studio window, or just your business cards. Even if people end up booking you just for the high-key stuff, you’ll have made your portfolio stand out among the usual suspects simply by adding some creative colour into your marketing portfolio. This really works.

Also, any of you shoot animals, jewellery, products? Not every product is best represented slapped onto a white or black background, why not put silver on Damson or Crimson, gold on Royal Purple. Try shooting a whole collection on one colour to help your client create a seasonal look for a range, it also means that they’ll come back wanting a change of colour. And what does that mean? Ah, yes, it means repeat business and um, yes, revenue!

In short, using coloured backgrounds, enables you to style your shots, gives you the freedom to light creatively and also inspires you as a photographer to come up with compositions, looks and lighting to really set yourself apart from your competitors. Coloured backgrounds add Creativity to your portfolio and inject a compelling vision to enable you to stay ahead of the market and to encourage repeat business. What is your next shoot? Can you try adding a colour there? What colour would complement the subject? Or maybe like me, sometimes I buy a random colour and then think what I would shoot and that in itself drives me to look for and win business in areas which I might not necessarily have thought were in my remit. Turns out “It’s What’s Behind your Great Images” that makes all the difference! Try a coloured background for yourself and see the difference it makes to your own professional practice, portfolio and revenue! Let us see what you shot!

Vanessa Champion, photographer

Images © Nicole at The Hourglass

“The backgrounds were fantastic to work with. They added a wonderful richness of colour and subtlety of tone and made control of the complex lighting that much easier.”
Marko Dutka FBIPP

“In this current climate returning custom is more and more important, so with this in mind, I am changing so much at Avant Photographic, in order to keep loyal customers interested in maintaining their family portraiture collection. Gone is the white hi-key background, here is the new coloured background. Creativity Backgrounds are helping me to achieve my vision and keep customers excited by ever-changing trends and unique portraits.”
Phil Burrowes, Avant Photographic MPA (se) Cherub Photographer of the Year 2008, 2009

To buy now from Photogether click the button above or click here if you have images disabled

Des Tinney tweeted us a link to an article on The Professional Photographer Magazine website. This article is all about the Undercutters and asks if there should be a regulatory body for the Professional Photography Industry. At the moment it is possible for anyone to set up as a professional photographer, they don’t even have to be any good as a photographer, although in these cases they may not stay in business for too long.

Professional Photographer say ” We’ve had a huge response to Mick Cookson’s article about Weekend warriors in the September issue of Professional Photographer. The issue of part-time or amateur photographers undercutting full-time professionals with cheap wedding packages is one that many photographers have an opinion about. One of the people who reacted to the Weekend Warrior debate is Richard Southall, who suggests that it’s time for the photography industry to be regulated.”

Richard goes onto list many areas in which he feels that regulation would help control and manage the professional photography industry and in effect stop “weekend warriors” invading the space.

The question now is where to begin in answering him. The topic is huge and covers far more than just the desire to make the costs of entry to the professional photography industry greater and therefore a deterrent to those who believe it is somewhere to make beer or pin money.

The issue that needs to be addressed before even regulations are considered is one of who “owns the profession”. There are various membership bodies available to the professional photographer such as the MPA, SWPP (The Societies), BIPP, the Association of Photographers, the RPS, the GPAUK, Photoguild, PPANI, the BPPA, National Photographic Society and many more I have failed to mention. The British Photographic Council which on it’s web site claims to represent a lot of these organisations doesn’t actually appear to do very much at all. The first problem therefore is that the profession has too many voices and this only leads to confusion amongst the general public. The majority of these bodies cover the same areas, they offer benefits to members in the form of offers, they put on training courses, run seminars, competitions and frequently give awards which photographers can use as part of their marketing. Whilst some occasionally reach out to the public and talk about their membership & the benefits of using one of their members, this type of communication is rare and often undertaken without a clear strategy. The majority of these organisations are typical trade associations who spend time and effort only talking to their members and not promoting their members.

Brand Awareness and Education

Professional membership bodies need to promote the photography profession to the public. They need to benefit their members by adding value to the brand name “Professional Photography”. Many of the items that Richard believes should be regulated are things that a properly organised and professional body can help with, and not just in providing insurance options but in making sure the public are aware of the benefits of using their members as well as the risks in using someone who is not registered to them. It would be better if there was one voice and one message and even if there are lots of membership bodies, societies and associations, that they agree on the minimum requirements to being a professional photographer.

Below is the list of areas that Richard felt should be regulated:

• They have Public Liability Insurance
• They have Public Indemnity Insurance
• They provide Employers’ Liability Insurance to anyone who helps them undertake a commission (2nd photographer/assistant)
• They are registered and have declared their part-time earnings to the Inland Revenue
• They pay type 3/4 national insurance contributions
• They are registered for VAT if their earnings are above the threshold
• They have notified their car insurers of their secondary occupation
• They’ve notified their landlords/mortgage company/council that part of their abode is being used for a part-time business and that they are complying and paying the additional monies due.
• They have given guarantees to their clients about safe, long term data storage solutions of their commissioned images
• They have produced and provided COSHH risk assessments of how they work safely and their affect on others in a public environment.
• They have the requisite health and safety equipment if required
• They have all their electrical equipment (lighting, chargers, computers etc.) annually PAT tested
• They have a stated policy on copyright and licencing of images produced
• They get regular Enhanced CRB checks (would you want anyone near your young children without one?)”

This list  is quite comprehensive and covers some items, which are a legal requirement, e.g. employers liability insurance (yes this does include unpaid helpers as well), registering for VAT. There are others that are not legal requirements such as public liability insurance and a stated copyright policy. I can understand why Richard feels that regulation would help because as I mentioned earlier it will increase the costs of entry, but who is going to be the regulator? Do any of the professional bodies mentioned above want to step up to fill this void or could the BPC take this up and lead the way? Regulation in its many forms often leads to the strangulation of an industry or profession and once started it stretches it tentacles even further until it almost forbids entry and removes competition, great for those already in but not for those on the outside or the consumer. Maybe the question should be, why is the law not being enforced? The fact that many of those that Richard is wary about may not pay tax and NI or follow health and safety guidelines, is something the existing authorities should be acting upon. Whereas the safe storage of images is more caveat emptor or more fool the client for just assuming this was covered. Again if a photographer fails to take out insurance whether someone informs their insurers of their activities or not may mean that they can charge less as their premiums are lower but this is only an economy for them until they need to make a claim.

In all walks of life there are those that take advantage and those that live close to the edge of the law, and they would still be the same with regard to regulation. Be honest how many photographers actually do a formal risk assessment?

Creativity v Straightjacket

Finally let’s consider the nature of photography. It sits within the creative profession, and as creativity comes in many forms it would be really sad to strangle it. The majority of “weekend warriors” are involved in wedding photography and often the term professional photographer is associated with weddings in the minds of consumers. There are however many areas of photography such as events, commercial, architectural (this is how Richard describes himself), portrait, landscape, fashion and so on. The requirements of photographers and the support they need is often the same but it the way it is presented and made available that varies from discipline to discipline.

Creativity is subjective as one persons idea of great photography will be different from another, therefore the photography profession needs to nurture, encourage and develop diversity in creativity. Surely this is where the competitive environment should be. I agree that the profession would be better served if everyone was insured and all had proper processes and workflows in place but if these were the centre point of a regulated environment then creativity would soon disappear.

What should be done?

I believe that the profession needs a clear brand and one voice. It needs to have consistency in its qualifications from all associations. It needs these associations to focus on Continued Professional Development (CPD) which has a value and will help their members stand out. The profession also needs to accept that to achieve this it needs to have harder to join membership options and actually bring in clearly defined qualifications that photographers have to take exams to pass or prove in great detail that their experience allows them to qualify. Part of the qualification can include best practice and ensuring some of the regulations that Richard refers to. Above all though it needs the Profession to build awareness of itself in the eyes of the customer and to promote and champion the qualifications it offers to make the qualified professional the customers default choice.

The “profession” needs to get it’s house in order first and then there will be clear water between the professional and the “weekend warrior”. Remember that the customer will choose who they believes gives best value and who they believe will deliver the images, packshots etc. that they will like. Price will only play a part in the overall decision, and until someone takes a lead it will be down to the individual photographer to promote themselves.

This article has been written & supplied by David Finch, Managing Director of Purple Frog  advertising and marketing.

Check out a previous articles on Blogtogther that discussed how you should Price your Photography and how to Stand out From the Crowd.

Check out our sister site photogether.co.uk for the latest photographic products for presentation, prints and the studio.

Win Jorgensen Pro Bound Album in our latest photo competition

WIN a Jorgensen Pro Bound 12×12 Album Worth Over £660

Capturing the perfect image can now be even more rewarding with Photogether and our sponsor Jorgensen, in a new and creative photo competition.

Photographers of all types, from commercial and fashion to macro and wedding, are all invited to showcase their best and most creative work to be in with a chance of winning great prizes.

Up for grabs in our first competition is a Jorgensen Pro Bound 12×12 album including a leather cover, 30 premium pages with silver metal corners to take White or Charcoal computer cut mats, all of which can be designed in the Jorgensen Album Design software. The album will be supplied fully printed and assembled on photographic lustre paper as a perfect example of a premier album as used by many of the worlds most iconic wedding photographers. Help and advise on the design process will be included to make best use of this opportunity.

Life through a Tube

With every shoot, photographers strive to achieve perfection and originality to delight their clients and expand their own reputations as the best within the profession. To have a chance of winning this great prize, the challenge is to demonstrate this originality by producing an image that best represents the theme ‘Life through a tube’. There are no restrictions on the type of image that can be entered, opening up artistic opportunities for post production creativity as well as imagination and expression behind the camera. Photoshop or other manipulation techniques are permitted, but all entries must be the original work of the entrant.

Terms and conditions apply.

Using FACEBOOK To Market Your Business

Well let’s just get some figures right here first. There are 800 Million active users on Facebook every day, 2.2 billion photos are uploaded onto Facebook every day, many BIG businesses direct people straight to their Facebook page now and not their website, people even stay in on a Friday night now to be on Facebook so do I think it is important? The Answer is Clearly YES….

However, with the recent Facebook changes where they have introduced Timeline into our Personal Profiles, many people dislike the changes and find it hard to adapt so many are migrating to Google +. But then don’t we all hate change – just as we are settled into Facebook and everything is working fine ‘thank you very much’ Facebook turn everything on its head!

So, some are sceptical about its future and many are switching to Google + for their interactions online. This includes many photographers too who feel that Facebook is not what it used to be and a new and attractive option stares them in the face..

Does Facebook Attract The Right Type Of Clients For Photographers?

Well, storms always settle but we cannot ignore the fact that 800 million people still actively use Facebook every day and there is a MASSIVE young market on Facebook every single day. You could say that this market is appealing to photographers as a big percentage getting married are ‘young’ so I feel it cannot be ignored. Facebook is only 6 years old so it is still a baby really and we have to accept change as it evolves and grows. Also, it is bound to change and attempt to improve itself when it has Google + on its heels….

Photographers know it is an essential way to market themselves and keep in touch with prospects and customers but what with being such busy people, it often just gets put to the bottom of the pile for another day.

The thing we clearly see is that many businesses can waste so much time on Facebook as they do not really understand how to use it to their gain. The key to using Facebook successfully is to learn the skills so that you can use it quickly and efficiently.

The other thing we see is businesses not building a list of subscribers on Facebook. It is key to have a Business Facebook Page and capture your LIKES and capture the details of people who visit your page (their name and email address).

How To Build Your Business With A Customised Facebook Page

To do this you need to have a customised Facebook Page – all nicely branded just for you. We do provide FREE Templates (4 versatile and trendy designs) for you to do just this!

But you also need to have something to offer your visitors to Facebook that will be of BENEFIT to them. This could be a downloadable eBook, a coupon, a free portrait sitting, a list of the 7 biggest mistakes that a couple can make when getting married – whatever you want. But, if you can capture their details, you will build up a list of subscribers interested in what YOU do – AND you can market to this list afterwards..

We have had designed 4 trendy, versatile and modern Facebook Templates where you simply insert photos and banners and all the hard and technical work of installing iFrames etc. is taken away for you. We have had quite a few photographers use these already and the results are fab. To get these, if you click on the link directly at the bottom of this article it will take you to our Sign Up page where you can access these.

It is still important to use Facebook as a marketing tool and a ‘keep in touch’ with clients too. People expect you to be active on Facebook these days and if you can leverage this viral marketing facility for your business as well – you have everything to gain. Google + has not YET got their Business side up and running but we do have some great tips for photographers on how to find out who could be potentially getting married in your area – very valuable information! This is all in our membership site under Google + Training – and you will be taken to the site when you sign up for your Free Facebook Templates.

What Does The Future Hold With Social Media?

No-one really knows what the future really holds in the Social Media world so all this Facebook stuff needs to be watched with caution as there are a mass of migrators to Google +.

It is our belief, as Social media experts, that photographers should still play an active role in Facebook but only do on Facebook those activities that are going to ultimately bring more enquiries and fans to your business. It is very easy to ‘waste time’ on Social Media sites and you need to streamline this activity to get the best results fro your time taken. That is why it is SO important to learn a few simple tricks..

Facebook for business HAS NOT CHANGED yet so it is still CRUCIAL that you have a good looking, customised and branded Facebook Page and that is where we can help you.

Good luck!!

Author: Elaine Sanderson

Companies:
Britain’s Best Photography http://www.britainsbestphoto.com
Sandersons Online – http://www.sandersonsonline.com

Elaine Sanderson (owner of Britain’s Best Photography), along with her husband, Steven Sanderson have recently launched a Membership site teaching businesses and individuals how to Build an Online Business – Step By Step Approach and How To Market Your Business Online.

Photographers will be amazed what other ways there are to make money out of photography using online techniques – so if you want to increase your income on top of your day job, check out http://www.sandersonsonline.com

If you would like to read other articles in this series click on the links below:

Article 1: Do Photographers Need Social Media to Market Their Businesses?

Do Photographers Need Social Media to Market Their Businesses?

This is a very good question and the answer is a DEFINITE YES! Let’s just get one thing straight here though. What do we mean when we are talking about Social Media? Well, what I am referring to is social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google + as well as Video sites such as Youtube. This first article out of 3 will explore the overall concept of Social Media for business and the succeeding articles in this series will focus more on each in turn; Facebook, Twitter and Google +

Haven’t Got Time For Social Media – Will It Affect Your Business?

Time is the biggest concern that most photographers have when it comes to using all these Social Media facilities we have today. They know it is essential for their business but see it as ‘another thing to do’ on top of what they have to do already. This is why you need to be extremely streamlined in what you do and maybe incorporate it into your daily routine, using your iPhone to interact when out and about and limiting it to maybe 30 minutes a day to start with!

Photographers can become very overwhelmed by all the choice out there as well with so many Social Media sites around (and rightly so) – we have Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, MySpace, Google + etc. Which are the best ones to use?

Also, you cannot forget Video Marketing in this equation. This is also a Social Media tool for generating enquiries and prospects for your business and a very powerful one too…

Marketers First and Photographers Second

Well with any business, we are Marketers first as where is the business without the customers? This is the same for photographers. You can be the best and most creative photographer that has ever walked but if you cannot ‘get peoples attention’ with some clever marketing you are dead in the water. I have seen some ‘average photographers’ do extremely well as they have placed EMPHASIS AND IMPORTANCE on their Marketing.

We all have to learn new skills in business and mastering a few skills in the Social Media will certainly not go to waste. Social Media marketing has the advantage of being extremely viral and your name can get out there extremely quickly. Video marketing is the way it is going these days as people would rather watch video than read text .

Did you know that people now search on Youtube as much as they search on Google now. Doesn’t that tell you something? AND getting rated in Youtube is easier than getting up the rankings in Google so this should give you food for thought.

Can Photographers Keep up with The Changes In Social Media?

Social Media Companies such as Facebook and Google + etc have a huge team of ‘Developers’ working behind the scenes to continually come up with better ways of working. Just take a look at what has happened to Facebook recently – there has been a huge team of developers working for months to introduce Timeline so just as everyone is bedded in nicely with ’the system’, got used to how it all works and is ‘comfortable’ they are suddenly thrown outside of their comfort zone and have to re-learn!

People do not like change – especially when they visualise it affecting their businesses in an adverse way. We have studied the changes on Facebook and have actually done a whole video series on them and we feel some of the changes are excellent and some of the changes are not so great!

You Have To Be Involved!

This article is just to give you food for thought. You HAVE to be involved in Social Media – it is ‘good’ for customer relations to be seen and interactive on these sites. You can also seek out SO many potential customers out there on these sites and the viral nature of Social Media helps ‘spread the word’ very quickly.

ALSO Google will soon be accessing how active companies are on Social Media and the more active the site, the more WEIGHT this gives in Google itself, meaning in simple terms, the more active on Social Media sites you are, the higher up Google you go! This is known as Google Authorship so it pays to get on board now!

The next article we will go into more depth on some of the Social Media sites out there and we will be covering Facebook so stay tuned to the next series….

Author: Elaine Sanderson

Companies:
Britain’s Best Photography http://www.britainsbestphoto.com
Sandersons Online – http://www.sandersonsonline.com

Elaine Sanderson (owner of Britain’s Best Photography), along with her husband, Steven Sanderson have recently launched a Membership site teaching businesses and individuals how to Build an Online Business – Step By Step Approach and How To Market Your Business Online.
Photographers will be amazed what other ways there are to make money out of photography using online techniques – so if you want to increase your income on top of your day job, check out http://www.sandersonsonline.com

If you would like to read other articles in this series click on the links below:

Article 2:  Using Facebook To Market Your Business

Get discount of up to 10% off your next photo album, photo mount or photo frame order whilst at the same time helping us support Sue Ryder Care!

Photogether is delighted to announce that it is supporting Purple Frog, who are taking part in this years Sue Ryder Bigwigs Business Challenge. Stage one involves visiting 270 London Underground Stations in 1 day. We would like to appeal to you for a small donation in return for a discount of 5% or 10% depending on the amount you wish to sponsor!

Through the generosity of all our donations we will be helping to care for people with long-term and end of life conditions, so those less fortunate can fill their most basic needs. Your donation will touch the lives of the many seriously ill people helped each year through Sue Ryder’s hospices, neurological and home care services.

With your support we can help them reach their target of £15,000 for this great cause. All members at the event are volunteers, so you can be assured that 100% of the money raised will be donated to Sue Ryder!

A discount of 5% = a £3 donation, and a 10% discount = an £6 donation!

To make your donation and to receive your voucher code

1. Visit the Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/purplefrog-tube-challenge and include “Photogether + [your name]” when you leave a comment when making your donation.

2. Visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/J2ZBRVD and choose the brand you wish your offer to apply to.

3. We will then email you within 72 hours your personal voucher code (valid for 30 days).

270 London Underground Stations in 1 day

The London Tube Challenge was held on Wednesday 9th Nov where 10 teams  travelled through the entire London Underground network exiting each and every station to take photos of the entrance as proof of check in. To see how the teams progressed on the day visit the challenge page http://www.facebook.com/purplefroguk

The Tube Challenge is not over even though this part of the challenge has been completed. Our offer of a discount in return for your donation will run until 31/1/12 and further events will take place up until the end of January including our “Life Through a Tube Photo Competition” where all proceeds will go to the Sue Ryder Care competition as well.

There are so many variations on the Photographers workflow (e.g the different ideas on which software to use at the various stages)  but there is one part of the workflow that is so critical that it just has to be right if you are to protect your livelihood and that is The Storage and Security of your images.

We know many photographers use CD’s and DVD’s but how safe and secure are images and your livelihood?

At Photogether our aim has been to provide a solution for our photographers that is as robust and safe and affordable as possible. We believe that having a server  means if one of your hard drives fails you still have your images secure on another drive within the server. If you have several computers linked to the server then if you back up your images on each of the computers your security is well covered. Taking at least one copy of your hard drive off site in case of fire back at the studio provides an additional level of security

Our recommendation is to lease a server package that gives you all the storage and security you need together with the software  solutions you use for your workflow process. Whether you need an up to date Adobe Photoshop or lightroom software or you want programmes to back up your images every 24 hours or to have your colour correction software included it matters not we can put together the package best suited to your workflow needs.

Fill out our form below and we will get one of our IT specialists to contact you.

Image Books

A new range of self adhesive (semi repositionable) image books in 12” x 8”, 9” x 6” and 6” x 4” landscape view – ideal for a matching package of main album, parent albums and relative albums,
8” x 6” and 7” x 5” are also available in our standard options.

The 12″ x 8″ is available in a softer padded version, with the option of adding plaques to the front cover.

These clean cut albums also suit a wide variety of uses away from weddings, e.g. portfolio, landscape, art display, where a “digital look” is desired but with the higher quality of a hand made contemporary album.

The semi repositionable pages give the reassurance of easily correcting any mis-alignment when mounting photographs, before setting firmly to protect your artwork.

Combi Books

Butterwick Wells have also added combined cd albums to their range, featuring semi-repositionable self adhesive pages incorporating storage space for discs .

The 12″ x 8″ is available in a softer padded version, with two disc trays incorporated in the back cover and the option of adding plaques to the front cover.

As a main wedding album this is supported by the 9” x 6” and 6” x 4” image books for a matching package.

The innovative design can also be supplied in 6″ x 6″ ‘cd’ or 6″ x 8″ ‘dvd’ sizes with space for 1 disc.

With the current trend towards disc only weddings, the Combi Book offers an opportunity for the photographer to present the disc with a few photographs for a more tangible outcome – and an opportunity to display and sell your artwork, rather than just a piece of plastic.

All Butterwick Wells Combi Albums come supplied in a custom sized telescopic black presentation box, with an embossed linen pattern.

Image Folios

Butterwick Wells handmade Image Folios provide the perfect solution for high quality portraiture presentation and display.

Double wing and triple wing image folios offer an attractive method of free standing photographic display, whether baby, family or portrait.

These can be supplied either matted up to 5 x 7, or self adhesive up to 6 x 8. There is also a square format and a mini version available.

Image Folios are available in three sizes:

• Portrait: 6” x 8” (self adhesive) / 4” x 6” or 5” x 7” (matted)
• Square: 6” x 6” (self adhesive) / 5” x 5” or 4” x 5” (matted)
• Mini: 3.5” x 5” (self adhesive) / 3” x 4” (matted) – triple wing only

Covers are available in all Butterwick Wells standard materials:

• Aurora – black soft suede feel luxury material
• Morpheus – eight colours of genuine real leather
• Eros – black or white leather grain effect
• Midas – gold or silver metallic soft material
• Elektra – blue or pink sparkling material

In addition, Butterwick Wells also now offer a Limited Edition cover:

• Lace – black or white lace relief pattern

Foil Blocking, available soon, in gold, silver, black or white foil on most materials. Ideal for studio/corporate branding or personalisation, there is a small fixed charge per order along with an initial tooling charge for the die if not supplied.

Larger folios are supplied in a black presentation box, with the mini folio supplied with a black fabric bag.

Purchase now from photogether.co.uk

Some Christmas Photo Cards sent out by businesses are a waste of money.  To help make your Christmas Photo Cards a valuable marketing tool for your business …read on…

The first point I would make is that Christmas Photo Cards are about valuing and appreciating your customers. Whilst this should be an all year round objective at Christmas it is especially important.

To whom should you send Christmas Photo Cards?

First on your list should be customers who have bought from you in the last 12 months. Another group would be those people and businesses which have been part of your success. This could be a particular supplier of goods and services. You should certainly include your own staff.

When is the best time to send your Christmas Photo Cards? Well mid December is not ideal because each day a pile of them arrive, they get read and put up somewhere and not seen again. Much better to send out early or even late (After Christmas) if you want your card to be noticed. So what type of  Christmas Photo Card should you send?  The short answer is, one that gets opened, read and retained, preferably until well after the Christmas break. The best way to achieve this objective is to send the card to a person not a business. One way to get your Christmas Photo Card noticed is to put a picture of the recipient into the Christmas Card. Remind your clients of the great photos you have taken of them, even ones they have yet to purchase.  Adding names to the photo is also a nice touch. You could also put an image of you and your staff although this is unlikely to gain the same sentiment.

You might have some special customers that would appreciate a truly personalised message. For these customers and or suppliers a hand written message along with a photo really works well.

Make sure the message to each is unique and sign the card personally.

One final message…. Remember that sending out a Christmas Photo Card is about building your relationship with your customers. Christmas Photo Cards should not be about selling only reminding them of you. Do your selling separately. You can still send out offers but enclosing promotional leaflets and offers with your Christmas cards somewhat dilutes your Yuletide message.

One final reminder. Don’t forget to make sure it is clear who the Christmas Photo Card is from. It might be shown to people who you would like as customers which is exactly why you sent out the Christmas Photo Card in the first place.

Check out our 2011 Christmas Photo Card offer from Jorgensen 20% off plus FREE BLOCKING on all orders received before 31/10/2011.

Jorgensen Christmas Cards are offered at 20% discount and free blocking on the range of high quality slip in mounts

This great deal on Jorgensen Christmas Cards is for those photographers prepared to order early.

All orders placed for a minimum 100 Jorgensen Christmas Cards and placed with photogether before the end of October can take advantage of the following offer.

• All prices reduced by 20% until the end of October
• Free blocking of your studio name on the inside on the right hand side just below the aperture

o     If you need a logo then there is a £10 charge for the block

Jorgensen Christmas Mounts click here to purchase from photogether

See our useful tips on how to use Christmas Cards to Market your business

Happy Christmas!