Make
Plans Now To Attend the CCS 2008 Winter Seminar
Hotel Deadline is January 25th!
by Dana
Hill
The
countdown is on for the upcoming Candid Color
Systems 2008 Winter Seminar. This three
day event is being held February 25th, 26th
and 27th in beautiful Universal City, CA. The
seminar will be held at the Sheraton Universal
Hotel. Mark these dates on your calendar
now and make plans for you and your staff
to attend.
Our CCS staff has already begun preparations to put
together an action-packed and informative agenda,
while still leaving you time to enjoy the fun surroundings.
Universal Studio’s City Walk is only a quarter
of a mile away from the Sheraton, easily within walking
distance or take the hotel shuttle for a fun evening
out. It is billed as Los Angeles’ premier one-stop,
non-stop entertainment destination. With more
than 30 restaurants and many shopping options and
fun entertainment venues and clubs, the LA Daily
News called it the “best place to impress an
out-of-towner”. You can visit http://www.citywalkhollywood.com/ for
more information
We
will have the agenda soon but wanted to give
you a sneak preview of what you can expect. Monday
the 25th will have several optional training classes
you may choose to take part in including Digital
Photography Training and Customer Orientation. These
classes will not start until 1p that day in case
you plan to fly in on Monday. There will be
a CCS Welcome Reception that evening at the hotel. This
is a great opportunity to meet and visit with CCS
staff for new and “veteran” customers
alike.
We will begin our Tuesday and Wednesday general sessions
and break-out topics at 8:15 a.m. each day and run
until approximately 4:30 p.m. In development
for presentations include the markets specific topics
of Sports, Graduation, Groups, Composites, Schools
and PPS/Wedding. Other topics such as Enhancing
the Look of your Website, Product Strategies to Maximize
Sales, Email Campaigns, CCS Software Update and Using
Candidnet as a Resource will also be presented.
Our ever popular lunch “table topics” will
be on Monday and our annual CCS awards ceremony will
take place over lunch on Tuesday. We will be
having a fun and very interactive introduction of
our new “Jump Studio”, a new concept
that can add the very important entertainment factor
to your special events and provide you with a booking
incentive over your competition. You won’t
want to miss it!
If you are new to the CCS family, please know that
there is no charge to attend the seminar. These
few days of your time that you invest in attending
the CCS seminar offer opportunities to hear about
best practices and success stories in markets that
you currently photographing to help you improve and
build your business. Also become exposed to
information about new photographic markets to add
to your business portfolio. And of course,
the networking between CCS customers is invaluable.
Make your hotel reservations by calling the Sheraton
Universal Hotel at 1-888-627-7186. The CCS
room rate is $179/night and the hotel
deadline is Friday, January 25th. In
the next newsletter will be the CCS registration. Make
you flight arrangements and hotel reservations today. If
you have any questions, please call our Sales Department
at 800.336.4550 x251 or x136.
Another
benefit of having CCS as Your Lab….Free
Color Correcting!
by Crystal
Woodland
At
Candid Color Systems we want your images to look
their best. With image
quality as our focus, we have an extensive Color
Correcting Process inclusive in the price of the print. With
our expert color correcting team, calibrated monitors
balanced to our printers each day, and our digital
correcting software, we capture the true color of your
images.
Color correcting is different with each of our markets. QuicPics, Sports
and Grad Markets touch on facial tones then on the overall image color. Our
most extensive color correcting is done in the PPS
(Professional Portrait Services) Market with heavy
emphasis on facial tones and overall image color.
Once your order is placed, your image is sent directly
into our color correcting queue. Each image
is individually color corrected by hand. The
image is compared side by side to one of our standard color corrected images. Seven
points of reference are checked and the image is altered for the highest print
quality. Color corrections are made by
adjusting the color balance, color hue and saturation.
Comparing before and after images, you will see the
benefit of having Candid Color Systems as your photofinishing
lab. (use these images as before
and after color correcting) file:///\\candid\dfs\Advertising\Crystal%20Woodland\CC%20Renders
Cropping
is one of the most confusing issues in photography. It is also
the number one issue that delays orders at the CCS lab because of our effort
to find out what our customer really wanted. We have set up rules and have written
articles about specific market types and how they are cropped but I don’t
remember seeing a general explanation that covers the entire subject.
Cropping starts when the photographer shoots the picture. At that time,
he or she positions the subject matter in the viewfinder in a specific way and
fires the shutter, freezing that sometimes momentary image in the viewfinder. However,
how the photographer positions the image and his or her accuracy in doing so
determines in many cases the acceptability or lack of acceptability of the image. Here
is why: The viewfinder image does not usually match the proportions of
standard prints. Even if the photographer positions the image so that it
looks great in the viewfinder, that does not necessarily mean it will look great
in the final print.
For example, if the photographer shoots the image full frame with all of the
subject matter within the viewfinder and we printed an 8x12 print, you would
see all of that subject matter on the print. If we print an 8x10 from that
same image, we will be losing approximately 17% off the height of the image. This
is because the shape or proportions of the 8x10 do not exactly match the shape
of the image captured by the camera or the 8x12 print. This is why some
print sizes cause parts of images to “disappear” from the print even
though they were present in the original image. This problem is due to
the laws of mathematics, not to any equipment or software that the lab is using.
Since several print sizes with different aspect ratios are typically offered
from a given image, the part of the print cropped out will vary depending on
the aspect ratio of the print sizes offered. Hence, from the photography
point of view, it is imperative to crop in the viewfinder for the most restrictive
cropping (the print size that will remove the largest amount of the image) so
that no important part of the image is removed (cropped out) when the print is
produced. Typically, this is the 8x10 print unless offering square print
products.
Candid Color Systems provides
preset cropping for different size prints and retains as much image as possible
while still making the image fit in the print size you have ordered. This
is all done transparently, behind the scenes, with our software. Hence,
if you shoot pictures according to our cropping guidelines, you will not have
to manually crop your pictures in Photoshop or other photo editing program before
ordering prints as required by some other labs. You can still do so in
special circumstances where you wish to zoom and crop to emphasize or deemphasize
a particular part of the image before posting online. In the Quicpics,
Sports, Prom, PPS, Race and Groups markets/product lines, we automatically center
crop the images. For an 8x10 print which has the most restrictive cropping,
we will take off approximately 8.5% (or 1”) off the top of the image and
8.5% off the bottom if shot vertically with a 3:2 aspect ratio camera such as
a Nikon or Canon SLR. On a horizontal print, we would crop equally from
the left and right. A 5x7 print would lose approximately 3.3% off of the
top and then 3.3% off of the bottom on a center cropped vertical 3:2 aspect ratio
image.
Cropping examples for Center Cropped Markets/Product Lines – Quicpics,
Sports, Prom, PPS, Race, Groups
Center Cropped Images
The one exception to this rule is the graduation market. In
the graduation market we take all of the cropping from the bottom of the print
in order to avert accidentally chopping off the top of the head (which is prone
to happen in this market because the subject is often moving at the time the
picture is taken). On
an 8x10 print, we would take the 17% entirely off the bottom and on a 5x7 print
we would take the 6.6% off of the bottom. All horizontal images for the
graduation market are still center cropped.
Cropping examples for Top Crop (all is removed from bottom) for Graduations. (Note
that some products in this illustration may not be available in this market)
Top Crop Images
We do, however, provide you with the flexibility to
crop online on the Administrative Page. The first step is to identify the
size of print you are going to have printed. Then you indicate that you
wish to crop it. After
that you position a red box which outlines the proportions of the print size
over the image in the fashion you wish to have the print cropped. Additionally,
your customer can zoom and crop his or her image online with our cropping tools
when you utilize our e-commerce system. We do not charge you extra for
this feature but we do provide you the opportunity to charge your customer for
this enhancement, if you so desire.
The most important thing about this entire subject for you to understand is to
not put important parts of your subject at the very top or bottom of the picture
if you want that part of the image to appear in a vertical 8x10.
Cropping references in your camera’s viewfinder such as grid lines, focus
points, etc can be used to aid you in cropping properly. Each camera may
differ in reference points, so experimentation is required. You can also
install crop lines on the LCD image review monitor as “after the shot” references
using artist tape or even have crop lines installed directly on the camera’s
focusing screen at www.brightscreen.com. Contact Steve Foisy in Customer
Support at steve@candid.com to
request a set of crop line installation instructions via e-mail or at ext 166
to discuss your specific needs with your camera and subject matter.
Preparing
for the Upcoming Sports Season
by Jessica
Irvin
Continuing
with the matrix concept from my article in
the previous
newletter, you can organize your
sales leads further to prepare for the spring
sports season. The
next step is to determine what your total profit
per shoot is after deducting the overhead, average
sales, and the participation rate. With
this information you can capitalize on what has
been successful in the past and brainstorm about
what changes can be made to stimulate sales at
less successful jobs. The
following steps will guide you through the
completion of your matrix.
- Two
new columns that will be added are the number of players that were shot and the
number of players who participated. If
this information is not in your records make
an estimate.
- Overhead
and Lab Costs will be the next column added. This includes any costs for
the event including photographer pay and travel expenses. Again,
if you do not know the exact amount, make
an estimate.
- Now
find what your profit was. Subtract the Overhead and Lab Costs from the
total sales. This information will allow you to evaluate your costs for
each event. By analyzing these numbers
you can brainstorm ways to shrink costs,
by hiring fewer photographers or car pooling,
for example.
- Next,
add a column for the average sale per player who bought. $20-$25 is an
average sale. If the average is above
this evaluate why this event was more successful,
and if the average is below think of ways
to increase the sales.
- Finally,
the last column will be the participation rate. You can find this by taking
the number of players who bought and divide it by the number of players that
were shot. Again, you can study these
numbers to determine what you can change
to increase the participation.
- Take
these same steps with your prospective customers
using estimates.
There are several things
you can ask yourself when evaluating these packages. Were
e-mail addresses collected, and if so how many
e-mails were sent out to the players? Many
times, the more often e-mails are sent out the
more sales will occur. Something
else to consider are the packages being offered. Did
you offer Level 2 products? It is important
to take advantage of everything that you can
offer to your customers. If a product is
not available they never have a chance to purchase
it. Also consider how you marketed the
event. Did you do prepay, speculation, or both? Different
markets will require different marketing. If
prepay is the only method your customers have
to buy products, then they only have one chance
to buy. Collect
e-mail addresses and give them the choice
to buy more online.
Creating this matrix is a great way to evaluate
what leads to pursue, and determine what
can be improved to increase sales. Maximize
your sales by taking advantage of everything
there is to offer, from products to collecting
e-mails. Even
though an event was not a huge success in
the past does not mean that it does not have
the potential to be in the future.
Looking For New Revenue Sources?
Look No Further Than Sports! by Brian
Speers
Over the last several years there has been
a trend in many CCS customers businesses
of making inroads in photo markets where
they never would have seen themselves four
or five years ago. Due to the large numbers
of youth in both the Sports and School photography
markets, and because most CCS customers already
have the equipment they need to work in these
markets, both Sports and School photography
have taken the lead in providing new and
important income to their businesses. Many
CCS customers have already established themselves
in their communities as a reliable source
of quality photography in each of these markets.
Specifically, we at CCS feel that the sports
market presents the best opportunity to grow
your business quickly in a short amount of
time. Why? Well, for one, schools and school
districts may be contracted for a number
of years until you can even breakthrough.
While Sports teams and leagues traditionally
sign contracts for a year at a time giving
you the opportunity you’re looking
for to present your superior products and
services each year or each season.
There are several other reasons why you
may want to consider sports as a new market:
Sports is a year-round market.
Youth sports is, traditionally, a Payfirst
market allowing you to leave a photo shoot
with money in your pocket.
There is an upward trend in participation—nationwide
CCS’ Viewfirst and Payfirst marketing
systems.
CCS marketing and operational support.
Because sports is a year-round market it
allows you to keep your photographers employed
and your equipment in use.
Many teams are still not shot by professional
photographers.
School sports can be photographed on weekday
afternoons, while
Youth sports are typically photographed on
weekends
CCS proprietary software, which presents
more and diverse systems allowing you to
market to your customers in non-traditional
and coach-friendly ways
Level 2 sports products
These are just a handful of reasons that
sports has become the chosen market for those
customers seeking to replace lost income.
If you are ready to make some decisions about
moving your company forward and, at least,
getting to first base with Sports, give me
a call at 800-336-4550 ext. 251; or email me.
