Image Engineers - Images Matter Blog

Tuesday

14Jul2009

Image Engineers takes 1st Place in the Px3 People's Choice Award

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 7:00AM

Image Engineers' founder and chief photographer, Bryon Paul McCartney, took First Place in the Prix de la Photographie Paris (Px3) People’s Choice Award in the overall Advertising Pro category and swept the top three prizes in the competition’s Annual Reports sub-category. Additionally, the Px3 jury awarded his photo entitled "Factory Worker" with an Honorable Mention in the overall Professional category. Bryon’s winning photographs were originally created for Image Engineers' clients.

People's Choice: 1st Place Advertising Category Winner and 1st Place Annual Reports

Px3 Jury Selection: Honorable Mention

People's Choice: 2nd Place Annual Reports

People's Choice: 3rd Place Annual Reports

People's Choice: 3rd Place Architecture

Winning photographs were selected from thousands of photography entries from over 85 countries. To see all the award winners, visit the Px3 website.

About Px3

The Px3 competition is juried by top international decision-makers in the photography industry, including Carol Johnson, Curator of Photography of Library of Congress, Washington D.C.; Gilles Raynaldy, Director of Purpose, Paris; Mark Heflin, Director of American Illustration + American Photography, New York; Sara Rumens, Lifestyle Photo Editor of Grazia Magazine, London; Françoise Paviot, Director of Galerie Françoise Paviot, Paris; Natalie Johnson, Features Editor of Digital Photographer Magazine, London; Kenan Aktulun, VP/Creative Director of Digitas, New York; Chiara Mariani, Photo Editor of Corriere della Sera Magazine, Italy; and Alice Gabriner, World Picture Editor of Time Magazine, New York.

Image Engineers | Comments Off |

tagged

Prix de la Photographie,

awards,

competition in

Awards,

News & Announcements

Monday

13Jul2009

Photo Guidelines (part 2) - Cover the basics

Monday, July 13, 2009 at 9:00AM

Last week we looked at the benefits of using photography guidelines for business images. So exactly what do guidelines need to cover? When creating photo guidelines, the level of detail covered is influenced by many factors, including the size of your business and the goals for your media library. Photo guidelines can be as simple as a one-page checklist or a more extensive handbook. In general, the most helpful visual media guidelines will include the following:

1. Define a style
It is important that all of your images share specific style standards, such as image orientation, color, focus/depth of field, motion, interaction of people. When defining the style of images, be sure it is in keeping with the corporate or brand identity.
2. Define categories
Establish different categories of images, e.g., people portraits, products and locations. While all photographs can be guided by an overall style, each category will have its own unique needs.
3. Provide examples
Include 'do' and 'don't' sample images so that anyone reading the document can clearly see what the guidelines mean.
4. Technical issues
Include specifics about image quality and formats, applicable across all styles. Define how you want images to be delivered, and the requirements for print resolution and web/screen use.

Photo Guidelines can also spell out necessary health and safety practices. These apply to what can be pictured in a photograph (e.g., safety gear, uniforms, activities), as well as the safety regulations the photographer and crew must adhere to when shooting at specific locations.

Thorough, well-prepared guidelines give you, your team, designers and photographers a better understanding of how to brief, select and create images specifically for your needs.

"With the guidelines, we can brief and steer photographers and have a common understanding of the photo needs. The photographers like it because it’s simple to understand and helps us all avoid misinterpretations. We’ve applied the guidelines to many different projects with very good results."
Alstom Communications, Alstom (Switzerland) Ltd.

The more information your photo guidelines provide, the more helpful they will be in everyday use. And the more confident you can be that your photography requests will deliver images that work for you. If you'd like to get more details on how photography guidelines can help you and your business, please contact us.

Image Engineers | Comments Off |

Monday

13Jul2009

Photos Help Automotive Client DRIVE Press Coverage

Monday, July 13, 2009 at 8:30AM

As our client at Chevrolet Europe planned a feature article about summer holiday road trips as a way to showcase the Captiva family car, they turned to Image Engineers for photographs. The client wanted a series of editorial-style photographs to highlight key messages in the article. One sunny day, one well-polished Captiva, three lively children, loads of travel gear and the scene was set. The photo shoot was a success, providing the client with a selection of photos that reinforced the article on fun and safe summer travels.

The client distributed the resulting collection of photos with the feature article to selected automotive trade and consumer press across Europe, scoring extensive coverage right away. For example, two multi-page spreads shown here demonstrate how photos enhanced the article and expanded the space dedicated to coverage of our client's story.

When we introduced our Images Matter blog, we wrote about the value of photos in securing editorial coverage for your business stories. At a time when communications budgets are tight, this Captiva case study shows that an interesting story with compelling visuals is a cost-effective means to gain valuable press that attracts and informs customers.

(To download PDFs of complete features, click here: Portugal / Bulgaria.)

Image Engineers | Comments Off |

tagged

cars,

cost savings,

editorial in

Budget Crunch,

Case studies

Thursday

09Jul2009

Photo Guidelines (part 1) - Standards for quality

Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 9:30AM

Photographs and videos allow you to tell your business story and let audiences create their own impression of your business and how you work. It is more important than ever to stand out in the marketplace and the right images can give you an edge. Knowing that photos can make your business look good, what can you do to be sure you get consistently good, high-quality images when you secure photo services?

"Our photography guidelines are part our integrated and holistic approach to communications that support and emphasize company values. Working with Image Engineers, we were able to define guidelines that help us standardize the visual appearance and quality of our photographs."
Alstom Communications, Alstom (Switzerland) Ltd.

As our clients at Alstom know, stylistic and technical guidelines for visual media help ensure that visual media present the right messages and make the right communications impact. The benefits of establishing and working with guidelines go far beyond the visual look and feel:

Identity - When created in a specific style, photographs and videos have more impact in supporting and reinforcing a company's brand strategy.
Consistency - Ensure that your business achieves a consistent and identifiable style in photographs no matter where in the world they are created.
Efficiency and Economy - Guidelines help give your photographers a clear understanding of what is required so they can deliver images that you can use.
Quality - Providing visual and technical quality control means you will get photos that are “on message” and compatible across a variety of communications media.

The more detail your photo guidelines provide - from style to technical specifications - the easier it is for the photographer to create and deliver images that meet your expectations, match up to your business brand identity, and, in the end, make your business look its best.

Next week, we'll look at the basics for creating photo guidelines.

Image Engineers | Comments Off |

tagged

style in

Sunday

08Mar2009