Canon’s New Billboards Provide Real Time Photo Tips

Canon’s latest billboard ad campaign in New York City does more than promote the camera brand: they can actually help you shoot better photos. Each of the fixed and mobile truck billboards is updated in real time with useful photo tips you can use on the spot.

The 200 tips use data obtained from the Web, from weather reports, from traffic updates, and more, writes AdWeek. One ad, shown above, provides a countdown to “magic hour” so you can take advantage of soft, warm sunset lighting. Another one lets passers-by know when traffic has started, and then suggests shooting long exposures to turn the taillights into light trails:

Canon used Sightsmap’s photo heatmaps to select a few of the city’s most photographed areas to display the billboards: the Flatiron District, Central Park South, Brooklyn Bridge, and new Madison Square Garden.

Other ads will be based on local events — they’ll feature pointers for capturing sports, music concerts, nature, and more. If you’re in NYC, keep your eyes peeled when walking through those major photo spots: you may see one of these “edummercial” billboards in action.

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Image credits: Photographs courtesy Canon USA/360i