FAQS: Photo
Mixed Bag Media specializes in Healthcare, Manufacturing and Higher Education photography used by internal communications departments as well as agency partners for marketing and promotional purposes. We often capture a library (10-50 per day) of images showing real people in real places. These images are great for use on websites, in social media, case studies, presentation decks, annual reports, advertisements, and more.
As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. We take the time to design scenes that communicate specific messaging in order for the images to be most effective for the longest time.
As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. We take the time to design scenes that communicate specific messaging in order for the images to be most effective for the longest time.
The three main questions you need to answer up front are:
What’s your message? Never start a photo project without knowing what message you want the images to communicate. Make sure you know this at the outset. If you’re not sure, we can talk to you about the message. We love to collaborate.
Who’s your audience? Knowing your audience means you can speak to them visually in the choice of people, locations, wardrobe, and props. You communicate with experienced professionals in a different way than you do to stay-at-home Dads 25-45.
What’s your budget? Budget determines what approaches and techniques can be used, and which ones can’t. Once the budget is known then the photography can be designed for maximum impact using the available dollars.
- What’s your message?
- Who’s your audience?
- What’s your budget?
What’s your message? Never start a photo project without knowing what message you want the images to communicate. Make sure you know this at the outset. If you’re not sure, we can talk to you about the message. We love to collaborate.
Who’s your audience? Knowing your audience means you can speak to them visually in the choice of people, locations, wardrobe, and props. You communicate with experienced professionals in a different way than you do to stay-at-home Dads 25-45.
What’s your budget? Budget determines what approaches and techniques can be used, and which ones can’t. Once the budget is known then the photography can be designed for maximum impact using the available dollars.
There are three phases of production:
Pre-production is the planning phase – concepting, casting (this most often means choosing employees to be on camera), location scouting, hiring the crew, scheduling the shoot.
Production is the photography shoot itself.
Post production is what you do with the images once they are “in the can” – culling a large quantity to a sharable gallery, editing, color correction, retouching, and final delivery.
Pre-production is the planning phase – concepting, casting (this most often means choosing employees to be on camera), location scouting, hiring the crew, scheduling the shoot.
Production is the photography shoot itself.
Post production is what you do with the images once they are “in the can” – culling a large quantity to a sharable gallery, editing, color correction, retouching, and final delivery.
- Half day and full day rates
- Usage (rates can vary depending on how you plan to use the images)
- Once we know the scope of the project we figure out how much time, how many people, and what other resources will be needed for each phase of production and use that total to calculate costs using our rate card.
- There are always myriad possibilities for visual content creation. The trick is to find the one that conveys the idea you are trying to get across. We can help with that.
- How the pictures will be used can have a bearing on who, what, when and where to shoot, so it’s important to know these things beforehand.
3-6 weeks
After conducting pre-production zoom calls to gather information about the purpose of the project, we craft an estimate along with a preliminary production plan and submit these to the client for approval. Once our proposal is accepted, we collaborate with clients to determine the best approach for the project which includes deciding:
We often try to schedule the actual shoot day within a few weeks of landing on a plan. After the shoot is complete, within ten days, we provide a sample gallery of images for the client to choose from. Whatever the agreed upon number of deliverables is, this sample gallery is usually three times that many to offer the client options when choosing. After the client provides final choices back to us, it usually is 3-5 days for final editing, color correction, minor retouching and then we deliver all final images as both large and small .jpgs that are great for reference and production of any sort.
After conducting pre-production zoom calls to gather information about the purpose of the project, we craft an estimate along with a preliminary production plan and submit these to the client for approval. Once our proposal is accepted, we collaborate with clients to determine the best approach for the project which includes deciding:
- when to shoot
- where to shoot
- who to have on camera
We often try to schedule the actual shoot day within a few weeks of landing on a plan. After the shoot is complete, within ten days, we provide a sample gallery of images for the client to choose from. Whatever the agreed upon number of deliverables is, this sample gallery is usually three times that many to offer the client options when choosing. After the client provides final choices back to us, it usually is 3-5 days for final editing, color correction, minor retouching and then we deliver all final images as both large and small .jpgs that are great for reference and production of any sort.
- Yes
- We can also hire local photographer & fly out a Producer
Cisco, Hamilton Healthcare, Morgan Medical Center, Lenz Marketing, Wellstar Health System, Masterack, Adrenaline, Gladstone Institutes, Oro Loma Sanitary District
- Decatur, GA (near Atlanta) & Concord, CA (near San Francisco)
- We also conduct photo shoots in other cities around the United States
Yes, we can and often do. Understanding the resources needed to accomplish this and execute a successful production plan is a specialty of ours. Not many production companies offer both photo and video production services, but we do and are very good at both.
All final images are delivered as large and small .jpgs for easy reference and high-end production of any kind.
BAD:
- shirts or ties with real thin pin stripes or small, repeating patterns of any sort
- solid white
- solid black
- solid fire engine red
- solid colors
- pastel colors (blues of any sort, greens, pinks, yellows are all good)
- large/bold patterns
- suit/sport jackets
- Crew arrives, sets up
- Scene 1
- Shoot multiple images in Scene 1
- Change locations
- Lunch
- Set up Scene 2
- Shoot multiple images in Scene 2
- Change locations
- Set up Scene 3
- Shoot multiple images in Scene 3
- Crew packs up, departs
Capturing a “Smart Visual” means knowing your audience, knowing the message and purpose of the photography that will be captured on shoot day, along with planning for future possibilities of how those images can be used.
Curiosity is the key ingredient to exploring a subject and making interesting photography from it. One of our interview subjects, Dr. Linton Hopkins, an Emory doctor still practicing in his 80s, said that curiosity was the key to a good life and a long career. We think that applies to photo and video production as well.
Wikipedia says that curiosity “is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning.” We just think of it as the main ingredient of our method, the one thing we can’t do without.
Wikipedia says that curiosity “is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning.” We just think of it as the main ingredient of our method, the one thing we can’t do without.