marketing

Update: Canon tells us that "The 'Director' spot bears no relation to the individual profiled in this story," and that it is "a completely fictional character."

Canon's big "See Impossible" marketing push has received quite a bit of mockery from the creative community, as people hoped for more from the hyped-up countdown than an ad campaign and a couple of inspirational videos.

There's also a new development that hurts Canon's efforts even more: it turns out that one of the two people featured by Canon didn't actually shoot with Canon, and he's calling the company out on it.

As rumors swirl of exciting Canon products in the works -- rumors, mind you, backed up by promises made by Canon itself -- the world waited with bated breath for Canon's cryptic 'See Impossible' teaser countdown to reach zero.

They took out a huge ad in the New York Times, this couldn't possibly be another big fat teaser letdown could it? Yes... yes it could.

Online content studio Rubber Republic recently created something called #PictureBelfast, a photography-based viral campaign designed to showcase their city on behalf of Tourism Ireland.

But this isn't just a set of pretty pictures -- it's an interactive challenge that wants to see if you can tell the difference between a film photograph, and a filtered wannabe taken with a smartphone.

Why do some professional photographers fail to make it in business?

If you can’t cut it technically or artistically as a photographer, then clearly your photography business will have a very limited lifespan. But there are other ways in which you can take your eyes off the ball when turning pro. Here are some classic examples of failure that are easy to avoid when you know how...

If you’re wondering how to be the best photographer in the world, look no further than Chris Bauer. He’s …

In an age where social media fatigue is a real and prominent problem, photographer Erik Almas tries to stand out from the crowd by means of the age-old print portfolio. Detailing the ‘whys’ and ‘whats,’ he briefly goes over what it is that made him decide to go back to the physical portfolio and how his work is organized in the interesting video above.

Photographer Clint Davis doesn’t do simple. Featured on PetaPixel almost four years ago when he created an unforgettable promotional mailer, his second attempt at the same is even more impressive.

Known for its clever combination of selfies, text and scribbles, the self-destructing messaging platform Snapchat has become a hit. So, it’s no surprise that social media giant Facebook is interested in taking a bite out of the ephemeral messaging market.

The company has even gone so far as to reportedly offer $3 billion for Snapchat at one point. But, rather than continuing to try and buy out Snapchat, Facebook has now decided to create its own competitor, an app that existed only as a rumor until yesterday.

It came as quite a surprise to everyone – including their own employees – when Calumet camera stores went out of business quite literally overnight. As is to be expected in such a downfall, much of their capital has been sold off in hopes to gain back as much as possible. But, as much as anything else, the fall of Calumet has left people wondering what will happen to the brand that many photographers came to know and trust.

What’s the most boring advertisement you’ve ever seen? Well, whatever it is, Leica is here to challenge it. In a move that is part humor part marketing brilliance, Leica has put together a 45-minute long advertisement that shows off every. single. second that each of their just-announced Leica T cameras spend being polished down, ever-so-meticulously, by hand.

It’s happened. Facebook, aka the free marketing platform we have come to know and love, now wants businesses and organizations to pay to engage with their own fans and followers. If you’ve noticed your reach and “likes” declining lately, you’re not alone.

President Obama may want to think twice now before casually approving a selfie with a celebrity. A self-portrait taken with Obama by Red Sox baseball player David Ortiz is being used by Samsung as a promotional pic, and the administration isn't happy about it.

Since its conception almost five years ago, Instagram has single-handedly changed the way individuals and companies represent themselves and interact with clients. Knowing this, and apparently feeling generous, they recently put together five tips for more successful marketing on Instagram that photographers might do well to take note of -- after all, build a solid enough following and you might make $15,000 overnight selling prints...

Still think Instagram isn't for you? If you're a professional photographer, you might want to reconsider, because there's some serious marketing potential there among the poorly exposed sunset pics and photos of cats lounging in strange places.

Brooklyn-based photographer Daniel Arnold all but proved this a couple of days ago when he made over $15,000 selling prints over Instagram in a single day.

Commercial mountain photographer Alexandre Buisse is a natural adventurer. When it comes to rock climbing or going for his major dream client with a cold call, Alex is a brave soul with immense talent to match. His client roster includes Patagonia, Red Bull, Sports Illustrated, Outer Edge Magazine, and many more.

We talked with Alex about his experience cold emailing and calling, what he’s learned about negotiating licensing rights, and his key marketing strategies. He also lays out the three things a budding adventure photographer should do when looking to get work -- including the importance of a work/fun balance.

Self-promotion is a tricky thing. We all know that marketing is probably more than half the battle when it comes to getting great clients (after all, no matter how good you are, they can't hire you if they don't know you exist) these days.

And now, as the photography market is becoming more and more saturated, the name of the game is "make an impression." There are tens if not hundreds of photographers available pitching your client... how are you going to stand out?

By this point, the crippling blow dealt to compact cameras by the rise of smartphones is old news, but camera manufacturers are now mounting counterattacks. They've certainly suffered for long enough. Sales for compact cameras fell by 30% in 2011 alone, and kept on falling. They're at 102 million units for this year, compared to 144 million units just three years ago.

Two new photo booth systems have appeared in a rather unlikely location: the New York Public Library. The library system (which, by the way, is the second largest public library in the US) recently installed the booths to allow visitors to capture moments from their library visits and share them with friends and family.

There's nothing like a gimmicky camera to make you tilt your head to the side and raise an eyebrow out of curiosity. The most recent gimmick to cross our desks is a camera that is equal parts advertising and DIY creation: an over-branded Sprite camera with a Raspberry Pi at its core.

If you're interested in making a positive impression on potential clients, but you don't have the funds to spend on printing high-end branded materials, Minnesota-based photographer Lars Swanson's approach might interest you.

When he found himself in need of affordable promotional materials, he decided to work with Samuel J Soulek's creative studio Soulseven to create unique business cards and direct mail holders using

Adobe recently came up with a clever and funny way of promoting its Adobe Creative Day event that'll be held next week. The company visited a bus stop in Sweden and pranked people by Photoshopping them in real time into a digital movie poster advertisement displayed next to the bench. The whole thing was documented with hidden cameras and shared in the video above.

Photographers need clients, and clients need photographers (even if they don't always think they do). The issue is that most clients have no idea how to find good quality local photographers; they have no place where they can find reviews, look through work and pricing, and compare photogs side-by-side. In lieu of other options, many amateurs in particular get work through a quality website, cold calls and word of mouth.

Photographer, developer and Google+ founding member Chris Chabot is trying to streamline this process with his new website Snapsation: an online marketplace where clients and the photographers they need can do business.

It wasn't very long ago that Leica began teasing its Mini M camera on the homepage of their website. Purported leaks of Mini M began to surface, including photographs and specifications.

Slowly but surely, the black box labeled "Mini M" on the Leica website began to open up as the rumors continued to flow through the blogosphere. Some sources had confirmed that the rumors and images were, in actuality, the real deal. Others, on the other hand, were convinced the leaked images and specs were fakes.

Samsung found itself in an embarrassing copyright infringement controversy earlier today after the company published a street photographer's work without permission as an advertisement on its Facebook page. It wasn't just the unauthorized use of the image that was embarrassing; here's the kicker: the photograph was actually shot using a Nikon camera.

The video above is a commercial Canon is running over in Japan to promote its new Kiss X7/Rebel SL1, the world's smallest and lightest DSLR. It shows how the camera is perfect for soccer moms who would like to capture action shots of their "super soccer kids."

Photographer Jeff Cremer has figured out a winning formula for masking a splash on the Internet: travel to exotic jungles and take pictures of things that are rare, interesting, and bizarre.

One of the most prominent celebrity endorsement deals in the camera industry has been actor Ashton Kutcher serving as the face of Nikon. Since 2009, Kutcher -- a guy who boasts over 14 million Twitter followers -- has been appearing in commercials and print ads hawking Nikon digital cameras. In 2012, TIME voted the partnership as a top 10 celebrity tech endorsement.

There have been strange rumblings in the camera industry over this past weekend regarding the relationship between Kutcher and Nikon, with a rumor suggesting that the relationship has gone sour and is over.

Creativity and humor score big points with consumers. That's why photographers, camera companies and camera stores alike often employ one or both to get their customers' attention. Some of what we've seen in the past includes James Hodgins' Crappy Vs Snappy, Olympus' ziplock bags of walnuts, and Schick's razor photo fad.

The above video by Canada's The Camera Store is another prime example. Instead of making a bland announcement, they decide to film this fun and funny 'love story' to let their customers know the store will once again be carrying Olympus brand cameras.

One of the problems photographers face today is explaining to clients why it's worth it to pay a professional to do a job the client often feels they can do themselves. And while people familiar with photography can immediately give a plethora of reasons why an entry-level DSLR in an layman's hands is NOT the same as hiring a professional, clients often don't get it.

That's why Sudbury, Ontario-based photographer James Hodgins started his witty, "Crappy Vs Snappy" showcase. He either invites clients to tag along on shoots with their own camera or snaps his own crappy images in "P" mode, and then places the results side-by-side with his professional-quality shots. The client rarely needs any more convincing after that.

Skin care company Dove is speaking out on the issue of "fake beauty" being promoted in photographs through Photoshopping. Rather than address the issue directly at first, the company decided to speak out directly to those responsible for "fake" images by doing some clever guerrilla marketing. It essentially pranked retouchers through the Web by releasing a fake Photoshop beauty Action that undoes manipulation rather than creates it.