Back at 'The Mac"

John was pitch side again on Saturday to photograph Salisbury’s 2-1 win over Harrow Borough. For more than 10 years John Rose Photography has been capturing the unmissable moments at ‘The Ray Mac’ and this year will be no exception. Initially for the club, he now provides images for the Salisbury Journal.  Come rain or shine, John will be found wherever the action is, making sure that the Journals’ readers get to see the very best of every game.

Charlie Davis scores for Salisbury FC

Charlie Davis scores for Salisbury FC

Vodafone launch their Pro Broadband

Vodafone Salisbury, in partnership with Cosine UK recently launched Pro Broadband and brought an Ariel Atom to the market square to highlight just how fast it is. We were engaged to provide the publicity images for the marketing campaign.

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What does a commercial photographer do?

When I introduce myself as a commercial photographer, the most asked question is not the one you might expect. It is without fail, 'what does a commercial photographer do?’

I have always found this a strange question, as to me commercial suggests anything to do with businesses. I get asked this question more than any other, so I thought I would explain what I do.

The short answer is, I provide professional images for businesses. These can be of you and your staff, events (social or news), property, processes, products, or anything else that you require to promote your business. To explain this further, I have broken it down into sections and included a few images to illustrate.

people

When you think of images of you and your staff, I am sure the first thing that comes to mind is the traditional business shot on a white background. This is still the most popular for websites etc., but as you can see there is so much more that can be done to make your business stand out from similar companies.

When you book us to shoot your business portraits, we work with you to design a look that enhances your business profile.

products

Professional images of your product are a must for everyone looking to impress the more discerning client. Designed to ensure your product stands out, every detail is considered before the first image is captured.

Working with your website or catalogue/brochure designer we create the lighting and background to enhance the design.

property

Property photography is something that all businesses should consider. Shops, hotels, developers, builders, bed and breakfast establishments, public buildings, and even service companies should have professional images.

When shooting property the weather has a big part to play, as does the orientation of your property, time of year and exterior lighting. We work with you to get the look you desire. All of these components are analysed to ensure the perfect image is delivered.

events

Our event coverage is second to none, and is available for everything from a staff party to an annual awards event.

The images can be used for post event publicity, as well as event promotion the following year. Bespoke backgrounds, greenscreen technology and onsite printing and/or framing are just some of services we can offer, alongside our general event coverage. An online password protected gallery is also available if required.

We have regularly covered events for the society pages of local magazines such as Salisbury Life and Wiltshire Living. Inviting the local media to your event is a great way to gain valuable free publicity for your company.

FOOD

One of our favourite subjects to photograph (and taste obviously) is food. Our mouthwatering food photography will have people queuing to try it.

You take special care to produce your amazing plates, so why would you want them looking anything less than their best! Whatever image is required, we will ensure your food looks fantastic.

Promotion (PR)

PR images are the backbone of any marketing campaign or promotion. Required for your website, blog, press releases, and anywhere you want to profile or publicise your company. You can be assured we will deliver tailored images for you to use without fuss.

 

You now have an insight into the services we can offer your business. If you would like us to give you a no obligation image healthcheck, or discuss how we can help you promote your business, please email john@johnrosephotography.com

Open for business

The first set of headshots since lockdown are in the bag, and it was really good to be back at it.

All the current restrictions were enforced, with hand gel available for use prior to, and following the shoot.

Clients were able to view and choose their preferred image on the laptop via a live feed from the camera, without any interaction from me.

If you are ready to move forward with your marketing images, please get in touch.

Special Venue....... Arundells

A truly beautiful house, parts of which date back to the thirteenth century, located within Salisbury’s magnificent Cathedral Close. 

View from the rear of the house

View from the rear of the house

Home of former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath, this really is a special and unique venue for a family dinner party, private business meeting, drinks reception or a musical recital.

The first floor conference room is ideal for small board meetings of up to twelve people. Wi-Fi, digital projector and conference call facilities are all provided. Refreshments will be available within the room during both the morning and afternoon breaks. Light lunches or snacks can also be provided.

Sir Edward's office

Sir Edward’s beautiful Drawing Room provides an exceptional venue for small classical music recitals, opera performances, poetry readings and seminars. The room comfortably sits up to thirty people and Sir Edward’s Steinway piano is available for use.

We have photographed many events for the Friends and Trustees of Arundells, including visits by Sir John Major, The Right Honourable Douglas Hurd, Lord Heseltine and the Chinese Ambassador

Lord Heseltine

If you are looking for something truly unique, with a history to wow, I can highly recommend Arundells.

For more information, visit Arundells.org

All in an advert

How often do you update your advertisements in printed media? Do you have a written implementation plan with accountabilities?

Redlynch Players - Wind in the Willows

Many businesses run the same advert, month after month without monitoring its performance. It is more important than ever to make every penny count. How can an informed decision be made about which adverts are bringing an income to the business, and which are not, without a formal monitoring system?

There are many ways to do this;

  • Tracking numbers

  • Offer codes

  • Cut-out vouchers

  • Publication specific offers

Using any of the above, or one of the many others available, will let you know which ones are performing the best, and which ones are not performing at all.

Once you have this information you can introduce a plan to update, change, or stop altogether. One simple change can, and often does have a massive impact to how an advert performs.

Salisbury Playhouse celebrates 40 years

Adding, moving or changing an image; changing the style, colour, typeface or rewording a headline can all make a difference to whether viewers make contact.

All of these things can, and should be tested to find the one that works best for you and your business. Each test should be monitored and logged, so the results can be used to make informed decisions.

Rotary Spireworks

I know; you're thinking ‘this is all fine but where do I find the time to do all of these things.’ Look at it another way, how much money could you be wasting be not doing them!

Obviously costs differ from business to business, but if you are paying £500 per month (£6,000 per annum) for a monthly advertisement in a magazine, and you have never had anyone contact you off the back of it, would that £6K not be better spent somewhere else?

Can you now find the time to monitor your adverts?!

Stock photography and your website

When it comes to building or updating a website, it is crucial to use only components that will have a positive impact. A great website is easy to use and has relevant text, but the single most important aspect is the images.

The use of stock pictures is always a false economy. As a full time professional commercial and editorial photographer, I will admit that the initial cost of custom photography will be higher than that of stock pictures. I will however guarantee that the return on investment (ROI) for bespoke images will be hugely more significant.

Value Cars Group - Executive Connection

There are many reasons why custom images are preferred over stock images; below are my top 5 reasons why custom photography is the better choice.

1. Your views "a picture is worth a thousand words"

No matter how professional the stock photo may be, it will always belong to someone else’s interpretation of the idea, concept, emotion, etc. After all the saying is, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” When it comes to your website, why would you want those words to be someone else’s?

When it comes to custom images created solely for your business YOU have control over what thoughts and emotions those images convey, and from a marketing perspective that is HUGE for your business!

To put the above into perspective, think of the emotions, experiences and memories you gain when you look back at past holiday pictures. Would you feel the same way looking at someone else's holiday photos? The answer is no (at least it should be), this is because it is not personal, it is someone else's view.

When it comes to evoking the required emotion from all potential clients who visit your website, custom images created just for your business will hands down beat stock photography.

Total Foot Health

2. Classic original versus same-old.

The greatest benefit to you and your business that comes with custom images is that it presents you with the opportunity to show your potential clients something they have never seen before and make a lasting impression.

When potential clients visit your website for the first time, their immediate reaction should be "OH WOW!” As a business owner you are wanting to grab the attention of your visitor and get them to explore your website further.  The way to do just that is with original photography that immediately shows them something they have never seen before. Showing them custom images, you are already going a long way to helping establish your own unique identity and promote the image of your company that you want to stick in your visitors mind. This is simply not achievable with stock photography, because stock photos are used over and over again on multiple websites.

Lascar

3. Short-term cost or long-term investment

As I stated earlier in this post, hiring a professional photographer will have larger initial cost than using stock photos, but the benefits will far out way the costs. Having images of yourself, and your staff, provide visitors with a view of who they are talking to when they call. This makes it easier to have that initial chat and start to build a relationship.

There can also be many indirect costs associated with stock photos that go beyond the licensing fee. These additional costs can be quite high depending on the quality of the image, how often you wish to use it,and what you want to use it for. You also have the added cost in time of scouring through hundreds, or potentially thousands of photos to find the “perfect photo” for your website.

Professional custom photography, allows you to build a library of images that you own completely and can use in perpetuity.

The Body Lounge

4. Be GREAT, don't settle for GOOD enough.

Before you begin to think about images and photography, before you even start thinking about your vision for your new website, you have (or should have) done research to identity the goals/objectives for your website. What message it is you want give across to your potential viewers and potential clients? What actions do you want the website visitors to take when on your website.

Where custom photography is concerned, you are assured of having the images that are perfect for your business website and that the message you want to deliver is clear. When it comes to your business only the best should be considered good enough.

Richard Griffiths and Co

5. Direct customer connection takes on “Yeah right, pal”

You will find that every website you ever click on will have a ‘Contact us’ or ‘Customer service’ section. This should be a standard page for your site, but it should also be a personal one. For example, you go to a website and there is an image of a sales agent on the contact us page… now look again, does it genuinely look like a happy employee who legitimately works for that company or have you seen it before on someone else’s website?

Professional photos of your team will let visitors know that your website is personal, and directed at the one visitor who made the click. Those companies using stock images will look like everyone else.

The Car Network

When building your new website, remember that small cash savings now could very well have a much greater cost down the road.  Using stock images over custom photography is one of those areas.  If you want to learn more about how John Rose Photography can help you increase engagement and trust, call us on 01722 320500 we will be more than happy to assist.

 

 

WHAT?

So we've been through my WHY!

I want to create images for businesses that help them engage with clients. I want to show their clients how good they are, how good and trustworthy they are, I want to work with forward thinking businesses that value the time, effort and passion I put into every image I create. That is my WHY!

Proterra Limited

And my HOW!

As a professional commercial photographer I have a four step approach to creating amazing images for my clients. The listening stage and the research stage being my how!

Richard Griffiths and Co

So now to my WHAT!

I have listened and researched, and have clarity on the message that is required, so we now move onto the creative stage.

Vita Skin Spa

The creative stage is exactly what it says on the tin, it's where I look at putting the ideas I have gathered in all the previous stages and turn them into an image design. The results of this stage depend on where and how the images will be used, and of course my clients budget. In creating the images I have to ensure I balance the cost of producing them, to the investment (ROI) my client will be making. There is absolutely no point in having an amazing campaign if it costs more to produce than they can make in bottom line profits.

Trethowans LLP

I have listened, researched, created, and now I have moved to the final stage, which is the production stage. This is where the idea becomes reality, and I produce the image(s) to give the desired outcome. The outcome can of course be a myriad of things from engagement, sales, social interaction, bums on seats if they are having a conference, the list is endless. At the end of this stage the client will have an image, or images that they will be able to use freely and without further license, for as long as they are able to give the message they want them to give.

So that's it, my, WHY! HOW! WHAT! used to power John Rose Photography's client care.

MG Cannon

I hope you have enjoyed reading this short series of posts. Now that you know a little more about John Rose Photography Limited. Please do leave a comment, I am very interested to know what you feel about this series.

Holiday Inn - Stonehenge

If you have a question post it in the comments and I will answer it personally. If you would like to talk to me about how I can create an image to help you and your business grow, please do get in touch by clicking here or telephoning 01722 320500.

Salisbury Plain Military Wives Choir

I am very passionate about what I do, and the results I present to my clients. If you know someone that would benefit from a no obligation chat with me then please do forward my details and I will be pleased to talk to them.

State of Play