Image Engineers' - image(s) matter blog

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

Image Engineers — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:00:00 +0000

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.

Photo Guidelines (part 2) - Cover the basics

Image Engineers — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

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.

Photos Help Automotive Client DRIVE Press Coverage

Image Engineers — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 +0000

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.)

Photo Guidelines (part 1) - Standards for quality

Image Engineers — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:30:00 +0000

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?

Geneva Slideshow

Image Engineers — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:36:05 +0000

More of our images from Geneva.

Gigapan - Geneva Motor Show Main Floor

Image Engineers — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:40:03 +0000

Another example of a Gigapan from the Geneva Motor Show. This image shows the main hall show floor. This type of Gigapan is similar to the image produced for the Barack Obama inauguration. To see specific details in the image, double-click anywhere or use the navigator in the top left of the image. If you would like to know more about how Gigapans could be used in your business, please contact us.

Timelapse - Geneva Motor Show 2009

Image Engineers — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:36:04 +0000

Geneva Motor Show '09 - Timelapse from Image Engineers on Vimeo.

While we were at the Geneva Motor Show we took the opportunity to create some time-lapse videos of the show floor. The spinning cars are almost like clocks telling time as hoards of people move through the scene.

Time-lapse is a great way to capture the essence of an event or process such as a manufacturing assembly. If you would like to learn more, please contact us.

Bugatti Gigapan at Geneva Motor Show 2009

Image Engineers — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:45:59 +0000

Yesterday we were invited to visit the Geneva Motor Show 2009 on the press preview day. We took the opportunity to do some interviews and to test some video and photography ideas. This image is a "Gigapan" of the limited edition Bugatti Veyron Bleu Centenaire, celebrating Bugatti's 100 year anniversary. This car is capable of 1001 horsepower and pricing starts at Euro 1.35 Million.

However, the bigger question is 'what is a Gigapan'. The Gigapan is a robotic device capable of producing very high resolution or 'gigapixel' images from many small images. If you are familiar with the Mars Rover program, this is the same technology used to take the incredible images of the planet over the past few years.

We have been using the Gigapan to produce high resolution images for architecture, city-/landscapes, travel and real estate projects and we thought it would be an interesting twist to use the Gigapan to produce a high-res car image. What better car to choose than the Veyron.

If you would like to know more about the Gigapan and how we can put it to use for your business, please contact us.

Save agency costs, work directly with your photographer

Image Engineers — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:08:48 +0000

Turbogenerator manufacturing plant in Wroclaw, Poland. Photo by Bryan McCartney

In a tough economy, trimming back agency costs is a necessity for business communicators. Many clients are now working directly with us, rather than turning to their creative agency for image requests. Whether you are experienced or a novice at working with photographers, here are five simple tips you should know:

Provide a written brief. A well-written briefing document helps ensure that the photographer understands what you want and what it will take to get the right images. A written brief should include image requirements, important contact details, delivery formats and timelines.
Develop a “shot list”. The photographer must be clear on what he has to deliver to you. If the project involves shooting at another location, be sure to share the shot list with personnel who are on the ground at that location so they can help coordinate access to the products and areas required for the shooting.
Guidelines are great. If your organization has visual guidelines for photography, take time to review these with your photographer. If you do not have guidelines, provide your photographer with reference image similar to what you want him/her to produce for you.
Speak the same language. Be sure that you and your photographer are using the same terminology. We often hear clients mention that they want 'buy-out' rights, but in most cases, a temporary rights agreement will be much less expensive.
Don't waste time. Photographers normally bill by the hour, so the more you can do to reduce the time the photographer needs to spend on-location, the less it will cost you. At the very least, have someone on site who is familiar with the project, able to answer questions and able to help coordinate activities (people, places, products) needed for the photo shoot.

In upcoming posts, we'll look closer at some of the topics we mentioned here, including how to prepare for a photo shoot, what to include in a shot list, and understanding copyrights.

Is Green is the New Black?

Image Engineers — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:40:28 +0000

The way things are shaping up, 2009 may forever be known as the year we went green. The new U.S. administration is expected to enact new policies that will push energy efficient cars and alternative energy technologies. Car makers are getting ahead of the game with new ideas and car models they hope will attract buyers looking to do their own part to help the environment and reduce their dependence on fossil fuels.

Image Engineers will travel to the 2009 Geneva Motor Show to ask communicators how the trend towards 'green' will affect their communications in 2009.

A wind farm in Wisconsin, USA.