When you work in a shop for years on end you develop a personal system of organization that is quick and efficient. The shop becomes a part of you, your personality and you cherish your domain.
Here is an older throwback photo from a session I did at an industrial shop in Northern Alberta back in 2013.
In a few days we created hundreds of images of their staff, equipment and industrial shops that they can now use throughout their marketing materials for the next year.
“Manroc recently hired Mining Industrial Photographer which is owned and operated by James Hodgins. James visited Manroc’s offices and shops in Manitouwadge Ontario. He also spent two days underground at one of our clients site to capture our Alimak and Lateral projects. His performance was outstanding, all our employees enjoyed working with him and the pictures we received were above and beyond expectations. Manroc is very excited to release the pictures on our new website and job postings. I would highly recommend hiring James for any of your photography needs as he is sure to provide excellent and unique results!”
Thank you,
Katie
Katie Simoneau
Vice President
Manroc Developments
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Sometimes you need a higher vantage point in the mechanics shop to show just how large some of the equipment they maintain really is in comparison to them.
Besides creating custom photography for my mining industrial clients I also provide insight into social media, marketing and branding. I LOVE talking shop but more so marketing your business within social media. I have been blogging since 2010 on a regular basis, promoted and branded several of my business’s and I am highly motivated to share with you things I have learned over the past decade. Recently I had the chance to online chat with Anthony at Mine Safety Solutions about some social media marketing already MSS is increasing their online traffic and exposure. I also created some custom images for him to increase traffic to his social feeds using my new gloves as the subject.
“I recommend anyone that’s in the Sudbury area to reach out to James, could really boost up your business. Great to work with, as well if your just starting out like myself will give you some great advice with social media. Thank you again for your help James” Anthony Gilin ~ Mine Safety Solutions
They are eye-catching bright orange and look like a safety glove for Robocop. My new MSS gloves from www.minesafetysolutions.ca came in handy at the www.rahnment.com industrial shop this week while I was there creating images for www.shout-media.ca. After I was finished the shoot Thomas asked if he could try out the gloves so I created a few product images to showcase the durability of these digit protectors while he was working. It was a win-win scenario. I get to create an image to say thank you to MSS, Rahnment has another image to use in their marketing material.
When I was photographing weddings I quickly learned to constantly be on the lookout for the next photo opportunity. Looking for scenarios that could play out into some interesting images I would also try to foresee the next moment. Years later I still find myself doing the same thing while on site photographing my mining and industrial clients. Sometimes a photo opportunity happens right behind you while you are photographing the main event like this image I captured while underground in Val-d’Or Quebec with MacLean Engineering.
Are you a Jr. mining industrial company just coming on board to show the industry your companies potential? You have heard a variation of the saying “you only get 1 chance to make that first impression so make it count” and it still applies today, even more now with increased traffic to social media feeds. One of the fastest way to spread word of mouth is now at your fingertips with your keyboards and smartphones. Like any business the goal is to grow your brand, clientele and income and it’s important to showcase your standards from the beginning and this is especially true with your marketing materials and the photography you use. Of course there are hundreds of thousands of stock images you can choose from but I will be honest, as a Jr. company those stock images stick out immediately to everyone. Why? Because often the images used are not associated with the actual company. As a Jr. company, you want people to invest in your vision, your name, your product and most of all in you. For these reasons alone you should be showcasing your people, facilities and shops using custom photography. You might think it is expensive but I assure you the ROI will pay for itself over and over and the amount of high impact images you receive can be used throughout the year(s) on all your marketing materials across all social media platforms. If you want to get noticed and stand out, if you want people to look at your data and financial content then getting their attention is important. Think of it as curb appeal. You are more likely to open something for more information, walk through a door or click on a link if the curb appeal is there. Of course I am not stating that photography is more important than the copy/content but why wouldn’t you want that extra element to ensure you have done everything you can to get noticed?
It’s like fishing (hear me out on this lol). Anyone can fish, you simply get some bait and drop the line in the water and wait for a fish to bite. The more experienced anglers know that there are far more elements that can increase your chances of catching fish. You try to cover all the senses. The type of bait, the color, the action of the lure and even the scent/smell of the lure. When you provide all those elements your chances of catching fish are increased. Same applies to getting your content noticed in your marketing materials and social media feeds.
So what should you look for in photography? Here are a few things to cover:
Images for marketing are everywhere and are easily available for just about anything. This is nothing new. Years ago it was readily available stock images and now it’s easily available cellphone images but like the stock images, “cellsnaps” although quick and easy usually have no visual impact not to mention the perceived value in using cellphone images says that your company might not be at the level for Professional Photography.
Let’s look at it from a different scenario. Your company is now getting some recognition and opportunities for magazine articles (maybe even the cover) or news coverage are becoming more frequent. What type of photography do you want to send the publishers to showcase your company that you worked so hard to create? A cellphone image?
Below is one example of custom professional photography I created for Manroc Developement Inc www.manroc.com at one of their industrial shops recently. Although they are a well established company in just a few days we created hundreds of custom images for them to showcase their amazing people and products across all marketing platforms.
Start thinking long term and invest in professional photography so that you have an archive of images to be used throughout the year in your marketing materials. Message me if you would like a FREE assessment of your current photography used on your website and marketing materials. I wont’ BS you and I’ll make some recommendations if needed.
This is a recent image I created for www.manroc.com in their industrial shop where I couldn’t position myself behind the camera due obstacles like walls. I try not to photograph my subjects in front of them as its hard to get any depth of field in the image. This is where a remote trigger comes in handy and in this instance I used my wifi connection from the camera to the phone and live view which allowed me to get the camera angle I desired as well as trip the shutter to capture the image.
