From the Studio; Now What Do You Do?

With all of the point and shoot cameras, picture taking cell phones, and web cams, there is no reason for you not to take pictures. That is assuming you want to take pictures. Then again if you don’t take pictures and don’t like taking pictures, you more than likely are not reading this blog anyway. So those of you who are not reading this, you can just ignore anything I am about to say.

However for all you picture takers and people who are reading this article I ask you this question, “What do you do with your pictures after you take them?” Most of us, or at least those who like photography, want to take that perfect photograph. By perfect photograph I am talking about a photograph that is perfect to us. That could be a vacation photo or a picture of our loved ones. Remember our perfect picture does not have to have perfect lighting or perfect exposure. Our perfect photograph is all about the subject matter. This fact is the reason you see all those child and family photography places in strip stores and shopping malls. Let’s face it; no mother has ever seen a bad photo of her child. We money hungry photographers know this and some of us have made a good living based on that principle. So even if you have a professional photographer take family portraits or family members send you professional portraits of their family my question still stands, “What do you do with your pictures after you take them or receive them?” 

Back in my day almost everybody used an old shoe box to store the extra pictures that did not fit into a family or vacation album. Of course these albums and shoe boxes full of pictures were usually shoved in the back of a closet or under a bed. The only time we ever took these pictures out to look at them was when we were putting in more pictures. Not a very good system, so some very smart people invented a computer just to answer our picture taking and photograph storage problems. Heck, if we were willing to spring for a few extra bucks they even invented a full service dark room to use right in your own living room. For all of us hard core photographers we not only could have the original picture but we could do 16 different things to that photo, then make and keep all 16 copies. Some of us even printed or had printed hard copies of all 16 of those computer dark room enhanced pictures. A guy has to show off to his friends and family doesn’t he?  Sure enough those 16 copies eventually wound up in the closet or under the bed with the rest of our unseen photos.

So here are some quick tip ideas of what you can do with all those pictures in the closet, under the bed, or stored somewhere on your computer. Start out by buying standard size pictures frames that are made so that the picture can be easily changed. Arrange these frames on your walls so that whatever is displayed in the frame will enhance the rest of the room. Then pick out a group of photos that kind of go together from your stock pile of pictures. What I mean when I say “goes together” is anything from the subject to the color of each picture. You can even have a holiday theme. As an example some time in the month of June you could change all the pictures in your frames to shots from last years 4^th of July photos. This could also work for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Birthdays, Anniversaries, or just photographs of the seasons. That way your house will always have a newly decorated feel with very little trouble. Most of all each and every time you walk into that room you will be reminded of what a great photographer you really are. Because I have learned over the years that so many of you photo hobbyists do not know just how good you really are.   

Another tip would be to personalize your correspondence with a photo in the corner.  Think how much more readable your correspondence would be with your picture, their picture, or a picture of whatever you are talking about to enhance your message. Christmas cards cannot only convey seasons greetings but also answer that always unasked question we always seem to ask ourselves, “Oh ya’, I wonder how they are doing?” With a personalized picture card the folks getting your card will be able to see at a glance how you are doing. I had a photographer friend of mine who would send  a picture of himself, under a palm tree, in a lounge chair, on the beach, with a six pack of beer and a couple of good looking models all gathered around a Snoopy type Christmas tree. It always said “Bet You Wish You Were Here”.  

Bottom line; do not simply hide your picture but think of ways to share them. People in general are visual and think in pictures. I’ll bet you can see my buddy on that beach can’t you? I often said when I spoke on marketing your products, “If your customer can’t see it, you can’t sell it. So why not show them.”