April 2009 Archives

April 25, 2009 - Cleveland, Ohio - DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. has been retained by one of the primary sponsors to do photographs of the March of Dimes March for Babies event in Cleveland on March 26.   Registration begins at 8:00 AM at the Time Warner Cable Amphitheater, 351 Canal Rd, Cleveland, OH 44113 and the walk begins at 9:00AM.

"This is what America is all about.  Corporations giving and American's giving their time and money to help others.  None of us have to but that's what makes America great.  My job exposes me to more examples of corporate giving and corporate volunteers than most other see and it makes me proud to be an American," Douglas Konkol, commercial photographer and owner of DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. said.  "Words can not describe the pleasure it is and will be to be with 100's of Clevelanders and Americans who take the time to put others before themselves.  Part of my profits will be donated to the March of Dimes March for Babies."

DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. is located in Cleveland, Ohio and works nationally with clients.  Douglas has been a commercial photographer for over 25 years with services ranging from industrial photography to architecture and interior design to industrial and consumer products.  Douglas prides himself for his ability to work with clients for 15 years or more based on a single hand shake.  

Much of the cost of professional commercial advertising/marketing photography is often caused by the client.  If you simply ask a few questions and plan you may cut the time and the cost by 25% to maybe even 50%.  Professional photography is billed by the day, the half day or the hour.  Here's how to get the most out of what your paying for.

The first question you should ask is how does the photographer bill?  By the day?  Half day?  The hour?  Pay for what your project will require and not added costs because the photographer can't work for someone else that might hire him for a day or half day because he's working for you for an hour.

The next question you should ask yourself is how else and where else could I use the photos beyond this current project?  If maybe not that exact photo, talk to the photographer and ask about "while we're at it could we... ?"  You might find you can get 2 photos you can use for the cost of one or maybe at far less cost than doing another shoot later. 

Especially now budgets are tight.  Maybe you can't get the OK for the expense of professional photography for this one project but you might if you can find added value by using the photos in the elsewhere.  Talk to the photographer about the different ways you'd like to use the photos, get the most for your professional photography investment and spread the cost in the budget.

The product photo mistake most often made.  Grabbing the products off the shelf you'll need for the photo shoot.  Never ever do that.  Look closely at each and every product your going to photograph before the shoot.  Look for flaws, even small ones.  Find the best looking products you can before the shoot.  If there are marks or fingerprints wipe them off before the shoot.  Remove price stickers.  When your paying a photographer to stand there while your trying to find a product or a box without a ding or dent  or your peeling off the price sticker your wasting your money.  If your hauling the products to a studio you might cause a very expensive problem when you don't have a good one to shoot.

With over 15 years doing the in house advertising photographs for a major publication and working with 1000's of small businesses I learned a lot more about the power of photography.  I learned how oh so many businesses fail because of photography.  I have learned how publishers lose ad revenue because of photography.  Many have totally failed.  That is the power of photography.  It may not guarantee success but it can virtually guarantee a slow but sure failure.

I have photographed 10's of 1000's of products for the small retailer's ads.  Why?  Because the manufacturer failed to make professional photographs of their products available.  This seems to defy common business sense.  Why would any, any product manufacturer not want to help a retailer advertise their product?  Maybe even more important, why would any manufacturer want to risk having a retailer whip out their Walmart camera and use a bad photo of their product in an ad?  Does the consumer who saw this ad know the retailer did the photo or does the product just look like crap in which case both the retailer and the manufacturer lose.  That image is the image of both the retailer and the product in the consumers mind until something comes along to replace it.

Let's now consider the publishers who totally rely on revenue from ad sales.

April 16, 2009 - Cleveland Ohio - DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. has been retained by Case Western Reserve University for the third time. This time for a major 2 day project.

"I am extremely pleased for the opportunities to serve CWRU.  They have high expectations and the creative challenge especially working with the CWRU students is in itself demanding," Douglas Konkol, commercial photographer and owner of DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. said.  "When I mistakenly took some compliments from one of the professors I was working with lightly he sternly advised I was wrong. He told me he didn't hand out compliments easily or often.  The best compliment I received from him was when he called me for his next project."

Douglas is proud that Case Western Reserve University has developed from one small assignment into a major client.

DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. is located in Cleveland, Ohio and works nationally with clients.  Douglas has been a commercial photographer for over 25 years with services ranging from industrial photography to architecture and interior design to industrial and consumer products.  Douglas prides himself for his ability to work with clients for 15 years or more based on a single hand shake.  

April 14, 2009 - Cleveland, Ohio - Cutting marketing and advertising to save the cost is often very costly.  Assuming you'll keep market share once the economy turns is a dangerous assumption.  Continuing to market and advertise your product or service but finding a way to do it more cost effectively can spell both short term and long term success.

Bringing your advertising in house even just until things get better can save.  Especially now there are many talented designers who find themselves freelancing at a lower than agency rate.  The same is true for writers.  I know several of both I can recommend.

DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. has done quite well by focusing on being cost effective.  We have a studio that is available to us on an as needed basis.  No overhead for a studio included in our rates.  We have a complete on location studio that we use at greater convenience for our clients and at less cost than using a formal studio.  

The DOUGLAS Product Photography Service™ was designed to provide basic table top photos of products in a fast and very cost effective way.  We fine tuned the product photo system to work as efficiently as possible.  The result?  We can do table top product photos for as little as $5.00 each in quantity.

Our product photography service inspired our DOUGLAS On Line Image Service™.  Your product photos are made available on line within hours using our client password protected accounts on our server.  This is free for 90 days.

Finding a way to continue to market and advertise by being more cost effective can help maintain or even grow your market share in this economy.  Once the economy picks up you'll be more profitable and we'll have a new long term client.

Those who fail to advertise, market and promote their brand especially in a tough market face the loss of market share to low cost alternatives, maybe for ever.

April 13, 2009 - Cleveland, Ohio - Having your marketing images instantly available can be a valuable tool to your marketing success.  Having them on CD's and emailing your images can be costly.  Copying and sending CD's is at an additional cost and with some delay. CD's do get damaged.  Emailing large images is a problem.  DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. solves that issue.

DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. leases their own exclusive servers.  This allows us to make our clients images are available by pass word protected access anywhere in the world in seconds.  
Our client, their ad agency and their designer all have the full size high resolution images instantly.  No sending CD's or emailing images.

Our clients can make full size high resolution images available to publications instantly.  No sending CD's or emailing images.

After completing a 16 site assignment for one of our clients they hired a call center in Texas.  That call center had images for their staff to use when taking calls for my client.

After completing a major international conference for the Cleveland Clinic, their images were available to doctors and hospitals and even media around the world within hours.  Staff in different locations at the Clinic had instant access.

DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. provides this valuable additional service to all clients free for the first 90 days.  

April 10, 2009 - Cleveland, Ohio - Douglas Konkol, commercial photographer and owner of DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. has put together a series tips and some of his techniques for taking better and more creative photographs.

"I am frequently asked questions about how to solve problems taking photographs.  I decided to put many of my suggestions and some of the techniques I use on my web site for easy availability," Douglas Konkol said.  "From what you might look for when buying a camera to taking better photos of your kids.  Even some suggestions for kids themselves to open the door to creativity through photography."

There are tips for buying a camera, tips for kids, tips for photographing kids, tips for photographing people and even tips on how to eliminate red eye.  Have your own photography question?  You can ask Douglas.

April 8, 2009 - Cleveland, Ohio - DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. is currently working with 2 new start up businesses.  Over the years Douglas has worked with 1000's of small businesses, some that grew into international corporations.  Douglas photographed the first prototype unit for STERIS Corporation who now has their equipment in hospitals around the world.

Douglas just recently completed a major food photography assignment for a downtown Cleveland restaurant with 12 other locations in Northeast Ohio.  A small business with a dream of becoming a national franchise.

"I never forgot the people who helped me when I started in business," Douglas Konkol, commercial photographer and owner of DOUGLAS Photography, Inc.  said. "It is a thrill for me to work with people who have a dream, not a big budget but a dream and the creative spirit to try and make the dream become reality.  To use my experience working with big ad agencies and corporations to try and help a small business is a pleasure for me."

DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. is located in Cleveland, Ohio but works nationally with clients.  Douglas has been a commercial photographer for over 25 years with services ranging from industrial photography to architecture and interior design to industrial and consumer products.  Douglas prides himself for his ability to work with clients for 15 years or more based on a single hand shake.  

April 8, 2009 - Cleveland, Ohio - DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. just completed a major food photography project for a downtown Cleveland restaurant with 12 additional locations in Northeast Ohio.  The project was done over 4 days and on location in 2 locations to allow the chefs the advantage of working from his own kitchen.  

"It was exciting to work with the driven and creative people planting the seeds of what could well one day be a national chain of restaurants.  After talking and planning with the owner it was decided working on location with my setting up a temporary studio was the most beneficial to him, my client, we did just that.  We completed over 50 photos of his entire menu and did it within his budget," said Douglas Konkol, commercial photographer and owner of DOUGLAS Photography, Inc.

Dozens of Douglas' food photographs can be seen on DOUGLASPhotoInc.com, along with 100's of other examples of his work.


DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. is located in Cleveland, Ohio but works nationally with clients.  Douglas has been a commercial photographer for over 25 years with services ranging from industrial photography to architecture and interior design to industrial and consumer products.  Douglas prides himself for his ability to work with clients for 15 years or more based on a single hand shake.  

April 8, 2009 - Cleveland, Ohio - DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. is very pleased to welcome Continental Airlines as a new client.  

"While we have managed to add several new clients even during this poor economy and having the opportunity to serve a new major client like Continental Airlines is truly exciting," Douglas Konkol, commercial photographer and owner of DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. said.

Last October DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. put a strategy of being cost effective for our clients as a priority.  Douglas works with new clients closely in the "pre-photography" stage to suggest ways to plan ahead providing clients with maximum photography for their marketing and advertising needs at as little cost as possible.

DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. is located in Cleveland, Ohio but works nationally with clients.  Douglas has been a commercial photographer for over 25 years with services ranging from industrial photography to architecture and interior design to industrial and consumer products.  Douglas prides himself for his ability to work with clients for 15 years or more based on a single hand shake.