Make the most of your pictures!

A recent shoot got me thinking about how people don't always make full use of the photographs which they commission. Thankfully, those involved on this particular occasion will.

So, I was asked to attend the relaunch party of a local beauty salon, capturing a series of images depicting the proceedings over the course of a few hours. Getting on site early allowed me to catch up with my client (she contacted me via LinkedIn, having remembered me from a networking group we both attended 4 years ago), and get a good idea of the location and lighting considerations.

Before guests started to arrive, I made it my priority to capture a set of nice, clean images showing the atmospheric, newly-decorated rooms, including detail shots. The rest of my time was then spent capturing a mix of posed and un-posed pictures of everyone chatting, networking and generally enjoying the free champagne.

Perfect PR material.

In the first instance, my images hit an advertorial feature in the local press (see photo above). Ffollowing that, they will be used in both printed and online media well into the future.

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The great thing about photographs - especially the digital variety - is that they are very flexible when it comes to how you can use them. Sounds kind of obvious, right? Well, not necessarily.

Ahead of any shoot, I always have a meeting and/or series of emails and phone calls with my clients, in which we discuss not just the sort of imagery they are wanting, but the ways in which those pictures are ultimately going to be used.

Quite often, thoughts turn simply to the immediate output (profile pictures on a company's website, for example), and regularly the possibilities just... stop. At least in the client's mind. But why should they?

You need to think laterally, people, and consider what other opportunities are out there for spreading your message!

Let's be frank - you're prepared to pay out 'X' amount for my services, so why wouldn't you make the most of our time together? This isn't exploitation, it's value for money. Bang for your buck... call it what you will.

Never be afraid to ask about the potential for using photographs throughout all your marketing activities - there's no such thing as a stupid question.

The point is, I want my clients to make the most of the photographs I shoot for them. That's why I like working with forward-thinking companies, especially if they have their own in-house or out-sourced marketing department.

It's only be being open to the possibilities that you will ever get the most out of this wonderful, powerful communication device we call photography.

Fountain Jam - revealed

Spoiler alert - this post has nothing whatsoever to do with jam... Although I am rather fond of the stuff!

Back in December, as part of my yearly 'Looking Ahead To...' post, one of my bullet points stated "Personal projects - research and develop further; possible exhibition?"

Well, regular readers will know that I am already involved with the Vobes-Babbidge Pinhole Camera Project. This has taken something of a back seat of late, due to health issues on the part of Mr. V, but with things on the mend, we are due to get together for the latest instalment soon.

In the meantime, I have another (self-driven) project under way, which I have kept quiet until now. It doesn't have an official title as such, but the premise is simple: Every Thursday, The Fountain Inn at Rowlands Castle in Hampshire, UK, holds an open-mic jam night. This is a local-level, free-for-all get-together, hosted by ex-Van Morrison member Herbie Armstrong. It's a great showcase for local musical talent, and always full of interesting characters.

I have made it my mission to document proceedings over the course of the year, with a view to publishing a book somewhen around February-March 2011.

Feedback so far has been really positive, with many kind words which spur me on to produce more great imagery of the individuals who stand in front of my lens! And, thanks to a few sneaky glimpses of my camera screen along the way, it looks like there are already a bunch of regulars interested in getting their hands on a copy of the book. Great stuff - I can't wait to see the end product!

To find out more about the Thursday Jam Nights, you can contact me via any of the usual channels or get in touch with the event's co-ordinator, Keith, through the dedicated Facebook page (be sure to tell him where you heard about the event!).

I'm not there every Thursday, but if you do come along and see me, um, 'working,' don't be a stranger. It's a very relaxed state of affairs, and so is my shooting style (not, I hasten to add, due to over-zealous consumption of local ale!). Make yourself known, have a chat and enjoy the tunes!

You never know - you just might make it into the book!

As an aside - a quick shout-out to Lorraine Paintin for the use of the picture you see here. See, I do sometimes get caught out on the other side of the camera - sneaky, Lorraine!

Edit: For a progress update, hit this link!

Pimp my Moleskine!

Here's a quick general interest piece, which just might inspire you to try something different and increase your productivity...

If you read my 'Looking ahead to 2010' post last December, you may have picked up on a sense that I was wanting to make changes to the work I do, the way I operate, and the way I handle my workflow. Well, you'd be quite right.

Having just put in an order for some new kit, I'm reminded that I am still very much tied down to the modern technology, but one thing is crystal clear to me now - moving back to a traditional diary was definitely the way to go! Almost five months into the year, and I have seen my productivity grow, simply because of the way I can structure my days and weeks using old (ie less-fashionable) 'technology'.

As with technique and the way individual items of camera equipment are set up, there's something to be said for feeling 'happy' with one's kit. This may sound odd, and it is a little difficult to describe, but I suppose it's a bit like a golfer having a favourite club, or a chef having a favourite knife. Whatever it may be, these items make their operators feel confident and comfortable in their day-to-day activities.

So, I've finally got around to personalising things a bit further, inspired by a small leather-bound sketch book I bought Inny for Christmas; thanks to her, my Moleskine diary is now a far less standard, corporate affair, and features a nice new buttery-feel wrap-around cover and fastening.


For anyone thinking of doing the same, there's no need to go out and spend a lot of money. The coloured chamois leather itself was an off-cut bought from an art shop, the leather cord came from a haberdashery and the alien fastening was pulled from a pack of buttons bought at Hobbycraft. Total cost - about £4.

Okay, so it's just a bit of fun really, but there is another accidental advantage to this whole process. Because it's something a little bit different, my diary has now become a talking point on occasions when I'm in meetings with clients, colleagues and contacts in my network.


And just as with so much of this kind of thing, you never know what might come out of the most trivial of conversations!

Just in case you missed the link above, please do check out Inny's site, and her exhibition (I plugged it here), which runs until the end of the month.

GBP Facebook

Exciting news - Giles Babbidge Photography now has an official Facebook page!

You can check it out by following this link, which will take you direct to the main page showing the latest posts, news, updates and conversations.

I will also be be sending updates to my Twitter page in real time, so can be sure to keep up to date with what's going on.

As ever, I fully encourage you to get involved, to widen the network, so be sure to sign up as a fan and join in!

Exhibition plug - IngridNation

A quick plug today...

... for my lovely lady, Inny, who now has an exhibition running in Bethnal Green, London, until the end of April. The location is the rather funky Prick Your Finger yarn and haberdashery shop, and the show features work from a number of Inny's more recent projects.

Between us, we've spent our day setting things up and drinking much tea, during which time I documented proceedings from start to finish - everything from discussions first-thing in the morning to the Private View in the evening.

The resulting pictures will be used both as a record of the event and for publicity material in all manner of online sites and publications within the knitting & textiles world.

You can check out more of Inny's work over at IngridNation - so please give her a visit and be sure to give some feedback!

Article: Service with a smile

“My God! There’s nothing frightens you more than a furtive grocer.” So said Nurse Gladys Emmanuel in the classic BBC sitcom Open All Hours.

One of the things that I love so much about this TV show, especially the further we head away from its original airing back in the mid-1970s and 1980s, is that it presents a wonderful image of what I think is sadly a fast-disappearing entity here in the UK – the friendly, local, independent shopkeeper. With a particular good-natured gentleness, the series exuded a wonderfully timeless charm all of its own, inducing a sense of whimsy and nostalgia for ‘the good old days.’

Earlier this week, I posed a simple question on Twitter: Is the traditional British shopkeeper a dying breed? The responses I received clearly corroborate my own sentiments, with many people disheartened by the closure of vast numbers of their favourite local suppliers. Sure, this can now be put down partly to the recession, but certainly this isn’t the key factor here – it is simply a topical element. The reality is, sadly, a lot more corporate in its nature.

Over the last 10-15 years, via the portal that is one of my neighbouring small villages here in Hampshire, I’ve seen the increasing dominance of the larger national organisations over the ‘little man in the street.’ At one time, some years ago, you could get everything you needed right on your doorstep; this in itself had a sense of assurance about it, but by default it also created and enforced trust, brought people closer together, created healthy inter-village competition (thus fuelling the much-coveted vegetable-growing competitions!) and provided jobs for generations of families living there.

When the local Co-op decided to expand, it was only a matter of time before we said goodbye to the butcher, the grocer and the wine merchant. The Post Office was next to be affected, being incorporated into the back of the newly refitted convenience store (not to everyone’s delight, it has to be said). Give him his due, the newsagent did his best to keep up, forced to obtain a license to sell alcohol to make up for his losses on basic groceries (having stepped in, just about, to plug at least part of the gap left by the aforementioned grocer’s departure).

But let’s not focus on the doom and gloom – it’s not all bad news. My Twitter poll flagged up a number of examples where people have been reassured by the continued survival of their local champions of community. They have related tales of one-to-one assistance more often seen in days of old, acts of kindness and professionalism which you just don’t get when shopping in larger supermarkets and warehouse stores. A shoe repairer glued a boot for free, an electrical shop assistant opened up a sealed pack to check for instructions and offered a full refund if he was wrong… Such stories are somehow quite heart-warming, aren’t they?

As a business owner myself – and, of course, as a consumer – it is immediately clear in the character of Arkwright (played by Ronnie Barker) just how one could/should go about providing a service to one’s customers. He also beautifully demonstrates the wrong way to go about things! The fact is that people love people – treat your customers right and they’ll return to you again and again; upset or anger them in any way, even on seemingly trivial matters, and chances are you’ve lost them on the spot.

As the backbone of many a small country village, corner shops such as Arkwright’s have, along with the church and local ale house, been at the centre of communities up and down the land for as long as we can remember. They say that our lives are progressing, advancing for the better thanks to the wider choice, cheaper prices and greater convenience afforded by the likes of supermarkets - but is this really the case? I’m not so sure.

I think that the recession is an easy scapegoat for not parting with cash. At the end of the day, and in spite of tight purse strings, people are still happy to pay a premium if what they get in return is better produce, better value and better service. And quite rightly so.

Clearly, not everyone believes the hype (dare I say ‘propaganda’?) which saturates our televisions, radios and billboards. This is why we are seeing a backlash, a movement of support for local producers and providers here in the UK. Farmers’ markets, ‘grow your own’ initiatives, loyalty schemes and town incentives are all slowly winning people over to the kind of values which, in all honesty, they probably know have always lurked deep within them all along.

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If you would like to see what I get up to month-by-month, why not take a look at my Blog. And if you’re up to speed with Twitter, then please look me up and say hi. Social media, after all, is no different to our traditional forms of communication, other than it is hosted in a virtual space – so please feel free to comment on any posts, remarks, thoughts and ideas I may come out with along the way – the more the merrier!

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First published at BritishPages.org

TFM&A 2010

Earlier this week, I travelled up to London for a show called Technology For Marketing & Advertising. In all honesty, it was not exactly what I expected - but please do not take this as a reflection of the show itself.

I think the problem (if you can call it that) was centred around the fact that a lot of the exhibitors were aiming their services very much at big business - or certainly those bigger than mine. For example, one web content company I was talking to said their prices started at - wait for it - £50,000. Clearly not what I have in mind. Ok, so I often undertake assignments for organisations within this ball-park and bigger, but that figure does not really match my budget right at this moment!

That said, there were some excellent speakers at the event, and I would particularly like to share a resource passed on by Dave Chaffey, the "bestselling author, consultant and speaker who enjoys sharing tips, tools and techniques on SEO, PPC, Social Media, Email Marketing, Site Design & Analytics." (this quote courtesy of his Twitter bio).

What follows is actually the web page featuring Dave's presentation slides, which cover a range of topics that might be of interest to you when considering your online marketing strategy. Simply click on the illustration above, or THIS LINK to go straight to the page.

For quick reference, here are the main points discussed:

Q1. How engaged are our email subscribers? Suggestions for measuring and goal-setting for engagement.

Q2. How can we increase relevance? Recommendations on email engagement strategy.

Q3. What will make our campaign more engaging? 5 ingredients of an engaging campaign.

Q4. How can we make our email templates more effective? Practical tips for an engaging template.

Q5. How can we integrate email and social media? Examples of email and social media integration.


I hope you find this as useful as I have, and it would be great to hear your thoughts via the comments section below.