Say cheese!

If you’ve done any work with professional photographers, you know that although you generally end up with amazing results, your budget can take quite a hit.  Here are a few ideas that can help you use photography to bring an artistic dimension to your project while keeping money in your pocket. 

1.  Shoot your own!  Digital cameras have made photography super accessible to everyone.  There’s tons of information available on how to become a better photographer; check out this quick list of useful hints for starters.  Like anything, practice makes perfect – since we’re fully ensconced in the digital age, no need to worry about wasting film – shoot tons of photos until you get the hang of it!

2.  Don’t stress perfection.  Your customers want to see what the product looks like – they aren’t going to mind if the photos aren’t perfectly lit or professionally laid out.  Of course, for large, high visibility projects like a catalog or a website home page you’re going to want to lean towards more professional work but for a quick Twitter post or something descriptive on a weekly newsletter, just aim and shoot! 

3.   Post up! Free (mostly) and easy to use websites like Flickr allow you to share your work with the world.  A company Flickr page is practically free (depending on how many photos you want to post, and how often) and can be a fun way to show existing and potential customers who you are.  

4.  Invest in some stock photography.  I pulled a few images from a great stock photo site called Dreamstime to illustrate this post – tons of seafood related images (actually, 23, 677 seafood related images last time I checked), that can be yours to jazz up your newsletter or website for literally a dollar or two a pop (in fact, the sushi one was free).  Other recommended stock photography sites include istockphoto and Getty Images.

Dreamstime seafood photoDreamstime oysters

Have any tips for wanna-be Ansel Adams'?  What are your favorite stock photography sites or other hints for accessing free or low-cost photography?

Subscribe

Want seafood news sent to your inbox?

You may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time. Diversified Communications | 121 Free Street, Portland, ME 04101 | +1 207-842-5500
None