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Roger Cicala: Understanding field curvature for fun and profit

24 Dec

When deciding which 35mm lens to buy, what do you want to know? How sharp it is? How it handles? How much it costs? I want to know what its field curvature looks like. (Spoiler: the plot on the right is from the little guy.)

I’m not a fan of lens testing purely for the purpose of winning pissing contests. I am, however, a great fan of lens testing for learning how to best use a lens. There are a few tests I find particularly useful, and the single most important one is field curvature.

Field Curvature (in metrology speak MTF v Field v Focus) tells me a lot about how to use a lens. It is also the most complete way to test a lens because it’s three-dimensional. Shooting a brick wall or test chart the way most people do is 2-Dimensional. The 2-D chart test below says the lens is sharp in the center and soft at the edges. How nice.

This is a test image of a lens’ MTF, basically what you’d see shooting a test chart except with color representing sharpness. This one is sharp in the center, really soft at the edges, and a tiny bit softer on one side than the other. But what does that tell you about the lens? Not much.

I’ve spent over a decade developing fast, sensitive optical tests. My gold standard is a modified $ 250,000 optical bench that quickly analyzes field curvature. That test (the graph below) tells me that this lens is actually amazingly sharp at the edges, but that field curvature causes the area of maximum sharpness to be further forward at the edges than at the center. In a 2-D test, the edges look soft because they are out of focus when the center is in focus.

A 3-D (Field curvature) MTF graph. The center focus is along the black horizontal line. The Y axis represents focusing distance, the X axis edge-to-edge sharpness, and the MTF is the color (red is sharpest). So the edges of the lens are very sharp, but not at the same focusing distance as the center.

The 2-D test chart images, like the first graph, are taken right along the black line of best center focus. They show the center is sharp and the edges soft. The 3-D graph shows, the edges are very sharp, but not in the same plane of focus as the center. That’s very, very different than the edges are soft.

Think about that for a second. Photographer #1 gets that lens, knows how to frame with it, and posts about how awesomely sharp the edges are in his photographs, which are 3-D. Photographer #2 buys it, tests it on a 2-D chart and sees the edges suck so he sends it back because it’s supposed to have sharp edges. Again and again.

Inexperienced photographers think a curved field is bad and a flat field good. But a designer may have chosen to let the field curve so the lens has other, wonderful attributes. Not to mention a curved field is a tool that can be useful. Many great portrait lenses are great portrait lenses because of their curved field, for example.

knowing your lens’s field curvature will help you take better pictures

I showed how to check field curvature with just a photo in a previous post. Today I’ll show a slightly different method using a test chart or brick wall. But field curvature isn’t really about better testing; knowing your lens’s field curvature will help you take better pictures.

Take the lens above as an example. I saw a group photo taken with that lens. The photographer positioned everyone in a slight crescent rather than a line because he knew the lens’ field curvature and placed his subjects so they were all in best focus. Someone else (someone without that information) would probably have said the lens was ‘too soft at the edges’ to use in a group shot.

Field Curvature graphs (clockwise from top left) showing overall curvature (this lens doesn’t have much); astigmatism, tangential field, and sagittal field.

A Quick Word About the Graphs

The shape of the field is different for sagittal and tangential rays (the two lower graphs above), which many people don’t realize. Where the fields don’t overlap, there is astigmatism (upper right graph above). The overall curvature (upper left) is what you see at home if you do my not-patented ‘field of grass’ test. Most of the time I’ll just show the sagittal and tangential fields; you can eyeball whether they overlap or not and what the overall curvature would be like.

Testing Field Curvature at Home

If you follow my grass-photo-with-find-edges-filter technique, you get a nice image showing the field curvature. You’ll also know if the field is tilted and if it is, how badly. Here’s the grass test for two copies of the Sigma 24mm f.14 Art, a lens with a bit of field curvature. One copy has tilt problems and it’s pretty easy to see which one.

One copy is good, one is pretty tilted. Can you tell which one is which? I thought that you could. This two-copy test took 60 seconds, was shot hand held, and required no home testing lab.

If you’ve already got a home testing setup and want to put some numbers to your lens, that’s easy, too. First, mount the lens on a tripod and manually focus on your 2-D target of choice: test target, brick wall, treeline, whatever. (If you don’t use a tripod and you don’t manually focus, you should be filled with shame and delete all your test posts because you did NOT test the lens. I never, ever, take a single AF image of a test chart. It’s a waste of time. But you can do the find-edges technique with a hand-held AF shot even if you don’t own a tripod and don’t know how to manually focus.)

Where was I before the rant? Oh, yeah. Take your first image past (distant) to best center focus, then take a series of 6-10 images while manually moving the focus back a bit after each shot until you’ve gone out of focus to the near side.

I never, ever, take a single image of a test chart – it’s a waste of time

Next, you take that set of six or 10 through-focused images, find the one with best center sharpness, the one with best right edge sharpness, and the one with best left edge sharpness. If they are all the same image (it happens sometimes), congratulations – you have a very good lens with a flat field. Most of the time, though, you will get one of three other possibilities:

Both edges are sharpest in the same image, and the center is sharpest in another. Which means: The field is curved but not tilted.
The edges are sharpest in different images: The field is tilted.
One edge never gets as sharp as the other: The lens is optically abnormal.

For example, let’s say you take six images. Images #1 and #6 from the sequence shown below were way out of focus, so I’m only showing you images #2-5. The center is sharpest in image #3, the right edge sharpest in #4, and the left in #5.

What this tells me is that I’ve got a lens with a field that is both curved towards the camera and tilted to the left.

Taking a series of images from far focus (2) through near focus (5) lets you evaluate field curvature and tilt.

Let’s all take just a moment to think about all those threads that started with someone posting just image #3 and asking “do you think this lens is OK??” You’ll see 57 or so responses with no definitive conclusion because the OP didn’t give enough information from which to draw a proper conclusion. If they had done a through-focus test, they probably wouldn’t need to ask the question; the answer would be obvious.

Why Should I Bother?

If the field is badly tilted (scroll back up to the first grass images) you’ll know to exchange it for another copy, or if a little tilted you’ll have that information for framing your shots. I had a favorite landscape lens which had a field that was slightly curved and slightly tilted. It gave me great images, usually with a subject of interest closer and on the left side in sharp focus. It was a great lens for me because I knew how to frame my shots with it and I liked the different look that gave.

If the field is markedly curved, you can use that knowledge to better frame your shots. Or perhaps you’ll decide that this lens isn’t for you. Personally, I often prefer a curved field because it’s a tool I can use, but some people want flat fields all the time. I might choose one lens over another for certain shots because of the field curvature. That lens I showed at the beginning is going to focus the edges closer than the center, for example. It might be great for isolating the subject for center-framed portraits. Or to frame shots so the center point of interest is further away than the edge points of interest. I would prefer a different lens with a flatter field for an architectural shot. You might prefer flat fields for all of your shots, for that matter. I find field curvature a fun tool, but some people are flat lensers.

As an alternative, if the field is really curved, focusing slightly away from center gives an overall sharper image. Here’s an example. The Zeiss 50mm T/1.5 has big-time curvature with the edges towards the camera as shown in the top-half of the image below.

Field curvature of the Zeiss 50mm T1.5 showing that if you place the focus point to the left or right of center you get maximum edge-to-edge sharpness. The calculations show the best off-axis point is 9mm from center (about halfway to the edge) but you could eyeball this pretty accurately.

I love a curved field for just this reason. Center focus can isolate my subject but off-axis focus brings good edge-to-edge sharpness. I get to choose. I love getting to choose.

I have some cool software (bottom half of the image) that tells me exactly where to focus to get the best edge-to-edge sharpness (the black line across the field curvature graph) but you can eyeball your homemade field curvature graph and know where it should go – about halfway to the edge in this case. This can serve as an alternative to stopping down for edge-to-edge sharpness, or let you get edge-to-edge sharpness when stopping down isn’t enough.

The big takeaway is you can often get excellent get excellent edge sharpness in lenses with field curvatures if you know how to use them. Many lenses with flatter fields sacrifice edge sharpness to get flat fields, and you can’t find edge sharpness that just isn’t there.

Do you know the focal length at which your zoom lens has the flattest field, or at which focal length the field curvature changes? That’s useful information, and I want to know this kind of thing for every zoom I carry (pro tip, the flattest field is rarely at the center of the zoom range; it’s often 1/3 of the way from one extreme). Some zooms have massive curve at an extreme, but if you zoom just a few mm away from the extreme the field is much flatter. That’s another useful thing to know.

Very often your 24-70mm is curved one way at 70, while your 70-200mm is curved the another (ditto at 24mm, etc.). Knowing that helps choose which lens best frames the shot. (I should also mention that one zoom is always sharper than the other at 70mm. Of course, I probably should also mention neither one is really 70mm. Most 24-70mm lenses are actually 26-67mm; most 70-200s are about 73mm to 190mm.)

Sagittal field of Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L III and24-70mm f/4 L IS, both set at 70mm.

The 70-200mm has a very slight curve back towards the camera and is pretty sharp (red) even at the edges at 70mm. The 24-70mm has a more significant curve and is not as sharp at the edges. Depending on what you are shooting, those differences could be important.

At least a few of you, I hope, have read this far and are now interested in field curvature. This article is already long enough, so I’ll stop here for today. For the next article though, I’ll show example field curvatures from various kinds of lenses. To be clear, I’m not going to put out 6,342 field curvature graphs for all the lenses at all the focal lengths. I’m showing you how to fish, not hosting a fish fry.

Since everyone tells me I should click-bait tease the next article, here you go: Next time I’ll show how field curvature explains ‘3-D pop’ and ‘microcontrast’. (Spoiler: No, no I won’t. Field curvature explains a lot of things and is a useful tool, but it’s not magic.)

Until Next Time…

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Nikon’s FY2020 financial results: ¥225.8B in revenue, ¥17.1B loss in operating profit for Imaging Products Business

29 May

As it promised when it initially pushed back the release date, Nikon has released the financial results today for its 2020 fiscal year (FY2020), ending March 31, 2020, as well as its forecast for its 2021 fiscal year (FY2021).

Overall, Nikon Corporation recorded ¥591B in revenue and ¥6.7B in operating profit. These numbers align with what Nikon’s updated forecast suspected and are a decrease of ¥117.6B and ¥75.9B, respectively, year-over-year (YOY).

An overview of Nikon’s revenue, operating profit and more for FY2020.

Interestingly, Nikon attempts to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with its report saying it believes the pandemic has caused 10 billion yen in operating profit losses. Specifically, Nikon attributes ‘approximately 4 billion yen’ of that loss to its Imaging Products division ‘Due to product mix change by [the] suspension of distributors mainly selling mid- and high-end cameras, and delay of launch in main products including professional use products by stagnation of the supply chain.’

Diving specifically into its Imaging Products Business, Nikon recorded ¥225.8B in revenue and a loss of ¥17.1B in operating profit. These numbers are both worse than Nikon’s February 2020 forecast and are a decrease of ¥70.3B and ¥39.1B, respectively. The documents reveal Nikon sold 1.62 million interchangeable lens camera (ILC) units and 2.65 million interchangeable lens units, with just 840,000 compact digital cameras sold. These unit numbers are a decrease of 21.4%, 16.4% and 47.5%, respectively, YOY.

Nikon’s breakdown of the FY2020 results for its Imaging Products Business.

In notes on the revenue of its Imaging Products Business, Nikon says revenues were ‘progressing mostly in line with previous forecasts until the middle of February,’ when the COVID-19 started to wreak havoc on the supply chain and retailers. Nikon again reiterates that it’s had to delay new product launches ‘such as high-end DSLR cameras and [mirrorless lenses]’ due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is referencing the delay of Nikon D6 shipments and suggests the Nikkor Z 70-200mm F2.8 VR S zoom delay back in January could’ve been due to COVID-19 complications as well, even though at the time Nikon said it was caused by ‘production reasons.’ Nikon also notes sales of its Z-series mirrorless cameras and Z-series lenses have increased, and that the volume/sales ratio of mid-range and high-end cameras ‘improved steadily’ YOY.

Additional comments under the ‘Operating Profit’ headline note Nikon incurred ¥2.7B in restructuring costs and posted ¥6.6B in fixed asset impairment losses, which were detailed in its statement earlier this month.

As for FY2021, Nikon doesn’t share too much information, saying performance forecast details will ‘be disclosed once reasonable estimation can be given as the impact of COVID-19 is uncertain.’ Numbers aside, Nikon notes sales for its imaging Products Business ‘decreased significantly YOY’ in April and May of this year and notes that ‘the business of luxury goods is expected to continue in a severe business environment for the time being, and the deficit for the second consecutive fiscal year is inevitable.’

The executive summary section of the report details how Nikon plans to approach its various divisions in the upcoming year.

Under the executive headline, Nikon says its strategy for the Imaging Products Business is to ‘rebuild business with an understanding of accelerating market shrinkige [and] aim to achieve early profitability.’ In other words, Nikon plans to optimize its Imaging Products Division to get ahead of the quickly-shrinking camera market by restricting and minimizing costs.

You can find all of the latest financial results and presentation materials referenced above on Nikon’s investor relations website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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How to Create a Portfolio Template in Photoshop and Profit from Layer Types

10 Feb

The post How to Create a Portfolio Template in Photoshop and Profit from Layer Types appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

Your portfolio is your presentation card. It should always be current with your latest works, coherent with your style and accessible to your clients. Perhaps there’s one on your website, another one printed, and one for pitch presentations. All of them need to be up to date. So, how do you keep up with that? Create a portfolio template that is easy to update that you can scale to different formats.

Keep reading to learn how to create a portfolio template in Photoshop.

Create a Portfolio template examples

While Photoshop is a fantastic photo editing software, it does have some tools that are useful for graphics work too. This will relieve you of the task of having to learn another program like Illustrator. One of the best things for creating a portfolio template is profiting from the characteristics that each type of layer can offer. You can use Vector Layers for your design and logos, Text Layers for all the information, and Smart Objects for your images.

Let’s go through it step by step.

The fundamentals

First of all, what is a Layer?

When you open a new project, whether this is a blank canvas or a photograph, it opens as an image layer by default. This is the base that you build upon. You can then add as many layers as you need.

Imagine that the Layers are paper sheets that you can stack. Each one will then modify, add or block the content of the ones below. The properties of each layer depend on the type of layer it is.

Photoshop Layers in Perspective

Layers are one of the most versatile and useful tools in Photoshop.

There are many types of layers, some are stand-alone layers like images or vectors. Others work only in combination, as Adjustment Layers.

The important thing to understand is that each one has different characteristics that can be used to simplify your life. Here I’ll discuss the ones I find most useful to create a portfolio template.

The template

Designing your template

The first thing you’ll need is to draw the design of the template. Here, you can decide the elements and colors you want to use. Because this is a template, it should be able to fit most images and situations. So, you might want to keep it simple, but this is up to you.

In any case, every element that you design is best drawn with the Shape tool. Doing this creates a vector layer by default. To make sure of this, check that the menu in the options bar is set to Shape.

Create a Portfolio Template with Shapes

This is important because, unlike images, vectors are independent of resolution. This gives you the advantage of modifying the elements without losing quality, as you would do with pixels. This is why most graphic programs, like Illustrator, work with vectors. Shapes and vector layers are also great for creating your logo.

Adding a logo

If your logo consists of many shapes, select all of them and turn them into a Smart Object by right-clicking on top and then choosing Convert to Smart Object from the menu.

This is a different type of layer, not only can you scale it as many times as you want – just like the vectors – but you also retain the source data so that you can work non-destructively.

Because of this, every time you open your Smart Object, you’ll still find all the original shape layers to work on them independently.

Create a portfolio template with smart objects

Another cool feature from smart objects is the possibility to link one or more copies.

This means that every time you modify your logo, it will automatically apply the changes to all the copies. This is useful if your design includes more than one logo. To do this, create a copy of the layer by dragging it to the Duplicate Layer button at the bottom of the panel.

Create a logo with smart objects

If you want to keep your copies working independently from each other, you can create a copy of the smart object that it’s not linked. Do this by using New Smart Object via Copy. You can find it in the menu that pops up when you right-click on the layer.

Create a portfolio template with logo

Adding text

This is as straightforward as it sounds. When you use the Text tool, it creates a Text Layer. Keep in mind that because it’s a different kind of layer, not all the tools are available for use. For example, you can’t use the filters.

If you want to use them, you will get a prompt asking you to “rasterize the layer.” This will turn it into an image (a pixel layer). You shouldn’t do this if you want to be able to edit the text in the future. If you do want to rasterize your layer, make a copy of it first and turn off the original by clicking on the “eye” next to the layer in the Layers panel.

Create a Portfolio Template Rasterize Layers

Another useful tip when designing your template is to confine the space for your text, so it doesn’t ruin your design if you change or add content later.

Instead of just clicking and typing, click and drag a rectangle text box where you want the text to be. That way, whatever you type adjusts to that space. I usually put one next to the image to add all the information like title, technique, and project. Then I can update it for every image.

Create a portfolio template

Adding images

The photos are the stars of your project, so you want to make sure to work non-destructively on them. The best choice for this is the Smart Object.

To add your photo as a Smart Object layer, you have to go to Menu->File->Place. Because in my design, I added a rectangle to serve as a frame for my images, I can now add a Layer Mask to fit it inside without losing any information.

create a portfolio template for your photography

You can do this by placing the smart object directly on top of the rectangle shape designed at the beginning. Now create a Clipping Mask by pressing Cmd+Alt+g (Ctrl+Alt+g on PC). The Mask will reveal the image through the frame without cutting it or changing any of it.

Create a portfolio template

To update the images, you can open the Smart Object and place the new one there so that you don’t change the Layers or Masks of the template.

Save and close

Because you used Vectors, Texts, and Smart Objects, you can change the resolution from web to printing as many times as you want while keeping the quality of it. Just be sure to save each page of the portfolio separately, so you don’t overwrite your template.

Conclusion

I hope that you have found How to Create a Portfolio Template in Photoshop and Profit from Layer Types useful for creating your own portfolio templates.

Remember, save each template as a PSD file so that you can go back and utilize them again when you want to update your photos or text. Saving as a PSD file retains all of your layers so that you can access them and change them easily. If you save it as a JPG or another lossy format that flattens the layers, you will no longer have the ability to edit them.

If you have any other tips for creating a portfolio template, please share them with us in the comments below.

The post How to Create a Portfolio Template in Photoshop and Profit from Layer Types appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

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Kodak’s film business saw a revenue increase of 21% last quarter, but overall profit is down

12 Nov

Eastman Kodak has announced that revenue for its film business grew in the last quarter by 21%, offering a rare glimmer of positive news in a generally shrinking market. The growth though is somewhat tempered by the fact that the company made a loss of $ 5 million over all in the same period, and that total revenue was down compared to the same quarter last year.

Much of the company’s business is tied up in the industrial sector with specialist printing and graphics applications, and a deal with Chinese counterpart Lucky has seen it off-loading a printing plate factory in China while securing licence fees from Lucky for the use of Kodak technology. The deal also ensures that Lucky will provide services to Kodak so it can fulfil its own customer demand.

It would be nice to think that the uplift in the film business came from a rush in demand from enthusiast and professional stills photographers through sales to Kodak Alaris, but it is likely that it is the movie industry that is driving that growth. A number of recent big-budget films have been shot using Kodak stock including Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Ad Astra and half of The Irishman – all of which have a run time of between 2 and 3 and a half hours. That’s a lot of film!

Hopefully this success will spur the company on to produce the 120 version of Ektachrome E100 that we’ve been waiting for since the summer.

For more information see the Kodak website.

Press Release:

Kodak Reports Third-Quarter Revenue of $ 315 Million and Growth in Key Product Areas

ROCHESTER, N.Y.–Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: KODK) today reported financial results for the third quarter 2019, including a net loss of $ 5 million on revenues of $ 315 million and growth in key print and film product areas.

Highlights include:

GAAP net loss of $ 5 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2019, compared to GAAP net earnings of $ 19 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2018.

Revenues for Q3 2019 of $ 315 million compared to revenues for Q3 2018 of $ 329 million.

Operational EBITDA for the quarter of $ 14 million compared to Operational EBITDA of $ 9 million in the prior-year period.

The Company finalized the establishment of a strategic relationship with Lucky HuaGuang Graphics Co, Ltd in the People’s Republic of China, including the sale of Kodak’s offset printing plates facility in Xiamen, China, a supply agreement to help Kodak fulfill its customer demand, and an IP agreement under which Kodak licenses its plates technology to HuaGuang to expand the market in China. The current quarter Operational EBITDA includes $ 13 million of license revenue received from this transaction.

Key product lines achieved strong year-over-year growth for the year to date:
Volume for KODAK SONORA Process Free Plates grew by 22 percent.

Annuities revenues for the KODAK PROSPER Inkjet Platform grew by 5 percent.
Revenues for the Company’s film business grew 21 percent year over year for the year to date.

The Company ended the quarter with a cash balance of $ 225 million.

“The Company will continue to concentrate on delivering industry-leading solutions to customers in our core print and film businesses,” said Jim Continenza, Kodak’s Executive Chairman. “Looking ahead to 2020, we will focus on generating cash by growing profitable revenue, making smart investments and eliminating unnecessary spending.”

For the quarter ended September 30, 2019, revenues decreased by approximately $ 14 million compared with the same period in 2018. Kodak ended the quarter with a cash balance of $ 225 million, an increase of $ 27 million from the June 30, 2019 cash balance of $ 198 million when adjusted for the assets associated with Kodak’s offset printing plates facility in Xiamen, China being reported as assets held for sale. The current quarter revenues and Operational EBITDA include $ 13 million of license revenue related to the HuaGuang Graphics Co. Ltd transaction.

“We have strengthened our financial position by eliminating significant interest costs with the transactions completed earlier in the year,” said David Bullwinkle, Kodak’s CFO. “For the year to date we have delivered growth in SONORA Process Free Plates, PROSPER Inkjet annuities and our film business. We plan to build on those successes and drive further cost efficiencies to help achieve our goal of generating cash.”

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Report: Canon is lowering profit forecast 20% due to shrinking camera sales

20 Apr

According to a report [partial paywall] from Nikkei Asian Review, Canon is planning to lower its profit forecasts for the 2019 fiscal year by 20 percent — amounting to approximately 50 billion yen — due to shrinking camera sales.

What’s to blame for this downturn? According to Nikkei, the digital camera and semiconductor markets are shrinking due to the increasing capabilities of smartphone cameras. Below is the full translated section of the report:

‘Canon will lower its forecast for the fiscal year ending December 2019. Consolidated operating profit (US GAAP), which indicates the mainstay of the business, is likely to decrease by 20% over the previous fiscal year to just over 270 billion yen. About 50 billion yen lower than the previous forecast. The shrinking of the digital camera market and the deterioration of the semiconductor market due to the functional improvement of smartphones (smartphones) will hit hard.’

This report echoes the drop in global camera sales reported by the Japanese Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) earlier this month.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Nikon restructuring and strong D850 sales lead to 8x increase in annual profit

15 May

All of the camera manufacturers have been reporting their annual profits over the last month or two, and while we don’t typically cover individual company financial results, Nikon’s report stands out. That’s because, despite a modest 4% drop in revenue, the company reported a whopping 776% increase in overall profit year-over-year.

The report—which compares the fiscal year ending March 31st 2018 with the year ending March 31st 2017—shows that Nikon’s attempts to “improve profitability through restructuring” and the release of the ultra-popular Nikon D850 in July of 2017 have led to an impressive year. How impressive? Despite revenue dropping by approximately 3.2 billion yen (~$ 29 million USD), Nikon’s profits managed to jump by more than 34 billion yen (~$ 318 million USD). This translates into an 8x increase over last year’s results, which showed a profit of just 3.9 billion yen (~$ 35 million USD).

Of course, this reflects Nikon Corporation as a whole, but the news out of the Imaging division was also positive. While overall unit sales fell—due to the continued demise of the compact camera segment—strong demand for the D850 is said to have increased the sales of “high-class” cameras “significantly,” leading to a 76.2% year-on-year increase in operating profit. Restructuring helped here, too.

Here’s a relevant excerpt from the report:

As a result, revenue for the Imaging Products Business decreased by 5.8% year on year to 360,703 million yen. Operating profit, however, rose by 76.2% year on year to 30,222 million yen due to the efforts to improve profitability through the restructuring, such as the shift to a business strategy of selection and concentration and the discontinuation of operations of Nikon Imaging (China) Co., Ltd., a manufacturing consolidated subsidiary.

You can read the full report at this link, but the short version of the news seems positive, and may even push Nikon to continue focusing on the high-end market that responded so positively to the release of the D850. Does that mean a full-frame mirrorless is that much more likely? We can only speculate… and hope.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Sony: ‘Our company has a vision which is more important than profit alone’

12 Sep

Recently, DPReview was invited to Japan to visit both the Sony headquarters in Tokyo and Sony’s image sensor factory in Kumamoto. The trip was an opportunity to gain some insight into both the philosophy and the technology that underpins the company.

We spoke to both Sony Semiconductor Solutions, the company making the imaging sensors in your cameras and smartphones, and Sony Digital Imaging (DI), the division of Sony Imaging Products and Solutions (SIPS) that makes everything from interchangeable lens cameras (ILCs) to action-cams and camcorders, and lenses. Sony Corporation itself, the umbrella above all these groups, has its hands in a number of sectors – from consumer electronics to smartphones to professional services and motion pictures. Sony Semiconductor, as we previously reported, is its own company, which has some interesting implications we learned about through the course of our conversations.

Be the guinea pig

“The electronics industry is constantly searching for new ideas and there are still many products for us to make. If the guinea pig spirit means developing innovative ideas and embodying them in new products, then I think this is an admirable spirit.” These are the words of Sony co-founder Masaru Ibuka.

At the Kumamoto sensor factory hangs an image of co-founders Ibuka and Akio Morita arm-wrestling in good spirit.

At the Kumamoto sensor factory hangs an image of a golden guinea pig right below a candid of co-founders Ibuka and Akio Morita arm-wrestling in good spirit. On it these words appear, along with one of the principles set out in the Founding Prospectus: “To establish an ideal factory that stresses a spirit of freedom and open-mindedness, and where engineers with sincere motivation can exercise their technological skills to the highest level.”

“If the guinea pig spirit means developing innovative ideas and embodying them in new products, then I think this is an admirable spirit”

More than 70 years later, the ethos of the co-founders still persists in the mindsets of Sony employees. It’s evident in everything from the philosophy of Sony Semiconductor and its relationship with other manufacturers to Sony’s new flagship: the a9.

Planning innovation: Sony a9

Our testing has shown the Sony a9 to be a formidable camera, not just for stills but also video. At Sony, a new camera like the a9 takes two to three years to develop, we were told. Therefore, the photographic technologies the a9 offers had to be planned for years in advance, not long after Sony introduced the world’s first full-frame mirrorless cameras a mere 3.5 years ago. And as we learned during our visit, most of the advancements in the a9 stem from new sensor technologies.

Two to three years ago, how would it have been possible to predict sensor readout speeds that offer autofocus calculations at 60 fps and a fully electronic shutter that is only a stop behind the speed of mechanical shutters? The answer lies in the constant communication between Sony Semiconductor Solutions and Sony DI. And since Sony’s sensor foundry is one of the best in world, providing sensors for everything from cameras and smartphones to security and medical devices, this in-house knowledge and communication is a key advantage.

It takes 2 to 3 years to develop a camera like the Sony a9. Koji Hisamatsu, Mechanical Engineer of the a9, showed us its magnesium alloy body. It offers improved ergonomics and weather resistance over previous models.

Yasufumi Machitani, project leader on the a9, talked to us about the development of the camera. A number of its features, like blackout-free shooting and fast AF/AE calculation, require sensor readout speeds conventionally thought impossible. A stacked BSI-CMOS sensor with integral memory was necessary for these technologies, and the camera division’s awareness of such coming sensor technology years in advance allowed it to plan the a9.

Daisuke Miyakoshi, in charge of the image sensor portion of the product design division, elaborated on this cross-communication: his team is a bridge between Sony Semiconductor Solutions and SIPS (Sony Imaging Products and Solutions), the latter in charge of both product and system design and Sony DI’s parent company. The system design department sends new imager proposals to the product design teams making cameras, and together the teams evaluate success and pain points of actual sensor designs.

This information is then used to send new specification formulations to the image sensor development department at Sony Semiconductor. The communication between these three groups allows fine tuning of both sensor and camera.

Product strategy

Sony’s product strategy is simple. Imagine a pyramid with three customer types: at the top pros, in the middle high amateurs (‘enthusiasts’), and below that consumers. Products are intended to fall within one or span two of these segments.

Rice fields at dusk. Miyama Sansou, Kurokawa Onsen. Photo: Rishi Sanyal
Sony a7R II | 12-24 F4G @12mm | 1/30s, F4, ISO 5000.

Sony believes there is a growing market of pros and enthusiasts, with shrinking demand at the entry level (it’s hard to argue with that, given the death of the compacts and the rise of the smartphone). This brings a higher demand for better performing products, be it in terms of autofocus, speed, resolution or sensitivity. Therefore, Sony says its product strategy is to pack as much available technology into each product as possible, barring hardware limitations, to meet a certain price point. Machitani-san explicitly told us “there is no intention to limit functions of cameras to certain groups”. In fact, Sony claims it includes many of these functions – where others might remove them in an effort to segment products – just to see what creatives do with them.

It’s a strategy not always taken by other camera manufacturers, but one that makes sense in a post-smartphone era: target customers who want a dramatic step in quality and features from what smartphone imaging offers. It’s not entirely without its issues though. For one, some may find the user interfaces of some Sony cameras overwhelming due to the number of features. Sony is aware of this and constantly iterating – the a9 for example offers an encouraging ergonomic and usability refresh.

Of course, Sony’s own crowded camera lineup can sometimes be at odds with its intended strategy, since Sony is less afraid of cannibalizing itself than other camera companies. Take for instance the short product replacement cycles. Or the almost inevitable focus – since Sony believes in a growing pro and enthusiast market – on full-frame E-mount, which has left the impression among some that Sony is abandoning A-mount¹ and APS-C.² Or the appearance of advanced new technologies in more niche products before they find their way into other product lines. Many of these ‘issues’ stem from the pace of iteration and innovation at which Sony is moving, if not due simply to its relatively newcomer status. But Sony is actively learning, and recent market data suggest its strategy is working.

Vision over profit

You might think that Sony Corporation would like to keep the in-house knowledge of Sony Semiconductor Solutions for its own camera division, but that’s not the case. For one thing, the sales of the semiconductor division to third-parties is a large source of income for the corporation at large, but it goes beyond that.

Although Sony tends to hold its proprietary sensor technology for its own cameras for roughly two years,³ it publicly discloses sensors that are available for sale and their underlying technologies. This allows other manufacturers to integrate Sony sensors into their own products. And this is where it gets interesting: any manufacturer can approach Sony Semiconductor and ask for their own design requirements, often building on Sony’s own sensor advancements that are made public (take full-frame BSI-CMOS or dual-gain for example, two technologies found in the Nikon D850). But if an OEM does so, Sony Semiconductor is not allowed to communicate any intellectual property it gains to Sony’s camera division.

Having this wall (or more accurately, perhaps this two-way mirror) in place makes a lot of sense. After all, OEMs wouldn’t approach Sony about new designs if the sensor division leaked proprietary information to its own camera engineers. So, no folks, Sony’s camera team has not been aware of the Nikon D850’s sensor all along, prepping a response to it years in advance…

There are interesting implications of this wall between Sony Semiconductor and Sony DI: it means that newer, better technologies than those available in Sony’s own cameras may appear in any other manufacturer’s camera, despite using a ‘Sony’ sensor. Indeed, we’ve actually seen multiple examples of this: ISO 64 on the D810 and 16-bit analog-to-digital conversion on the Hasselblad X1D to name just two.

Could this threaten the growth of Sony’s own camera division?

Sony executive round-table. From left to right: Takashi Kondo, Chief Marketing Manager, Hiroshi Sakamoto, Senior General Manager of Marketing, Kenji Tanaka, Global Head of ILCs, and Masanori Kishi, Deputy General Manager of ILC lenses.

When we asked this question, the message from DI executives was clear: “Our focus is to increase the overall market”. Paraphrasing slightly, global head of ILCs Kenji Tanaka said: “Please think about vision. Our company has a vision, which is much more important than profit alone. Of course, if we cut our supply of sensors to other OEMs our camera market share might increase. But this is not our vision. Our vision is to grow the entire imaging market, and Sony alone cannot make every [imaging] product.”

While every manufacturer wants to be number one, no single company can make every product – even within a single sector. It is clear that Sony believes that competition is healthy, and that if Sony sensors help make better products, be it in a Sony device or other OEM device, the consumer wins. And ultimately, that is the purpose of the company.

“Our company has a vision, which is more important than profit alone”

It’s possible that the worst of the camera market collapse is over, but we do wonder whether Sony’s strategy might change if the market continues to shrink. Would the huge current investment in ILCs still pay off? Would sales of class-leading sensors to other OEMs still make sense? The answer from executives was “yes”.

Growing the market

Like every camera manufacturer, Sony wants to grow its market share. But it sees the gain of market share as a secondary effect, almost a byproduct, of growing the market overall. In fact, Sony admitted it doesn’t expect to continue to gain market share simply by getting users to switch systems. Tak Kondo, General Manager at Sony DI, remarked that “the industry is stagnated partly because of a lack of interesting products from camera manufacturers. It’s our obligation to increase the market size.”

We probed Sony about its strategy to move users away from smartphones, arguably the very cause for the declining camera industry. “We want to expand the photo-shooting culture” Tanaka-san told us. “By growing this culture, we hope to stimulate the desire for something [much] better than a smartphone”. Furthermore, Sony chooses to place its focus on mid- to high-end products, which show increased demand. The global decline in the industry is due to a drop in demand for low-end products – both DSLR and mirrorless – thanks to the smartphone.

By making versatile cameras that offer vast benefits over smartphones and more computational photography-oriented devices that widen its user-base, Sony hopes to reverse this trend. That is, grow the market through innovation, a message we’ve heard before.

Why Sony?

Sony believes that it is in a unique position to grow the imaging market. The communication between its image sensor development engineers at Sony Semiconductor and the camera teams at Sony DI give the company a unique advantage: an understanding of important sensor technologies to come two, five, or ten years down the line. The two-way communication between a cutting-edge sensor foundry and camera engineers that need sensor technologies to solve photographic problems is a unique advantage for Sony’s camera division. And Sony’s sensor design and fab group must stay cutting edge simply due to the number of sectors it has its hands in: from smartphones to the medical industry.

Shiraito Falls near Mount Fuji in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture. It’s often said that Mt. Fuji is shy, rarely revealing herself. This day was no exception: the entire region was covered in thick mist and rainfall, and the spray from the waterfalls themselves was intense. Photo: Rishi Sanyal

Sony a7R II | 24-70 F2.8GM @46mm | 0.5s, F11, ISO 100

Mirrorless cameras are still in their infancy. However, Tanaka-san stressed that when you compare the development speed of mechanical products vs. semiconductor technology, the latter is far faster. Since much of the capability of mirrorless cameras is derived from the image sensor itself, its development speed is much faster than DSLR. So while mirrorless camera technology is a relative newcomer to the field, Sony’s insight into semiconductor advances puts its camera division in a unique position to innovate and iterate quickly, bringing greater speed and functionality to consumer products across shorter refresh cycles.

Will Sony’s ‘guinea pig’ approach pay off? The latest U.S. dollar-based statistics from NPD are certainly encouraging: the first 6 months of 2017 showed a 36% growth in mirrorless camera sales compared to an 11% decline in DSLR sales. In the same period, Sony’s sales of full-frame ILCs grew 42% compared to a decline of 5% for all other manufacturers. It also maintained a #2 position in sales of full-frame ILCs (likely helped by the release of a flagship camera), while growing 26% in mirrorless ILC sales year-on-year. Sony is now at the top in mirrorless ILC sales in the U.S.

While these sales figures are all dollar-based, with many Sony products retailing at relatively high prices, they’re significant – especially when you consider the impact the Kumamoto earthquake must have had on the company.

Challenges

Despite these encouraging figures, Sony’s path will not be a smooth one. Canon and Nikon have been making cameras for a long time and are widely viewed as photography companies, as opposed to consumer electronics companies. Part of the reason the a9 is being targeted so aggressively at pros, and why Sony is working so hard on expanding pro support, is to overcome the perception of the company as a manufacturer of TVs, Walkmans and PlayStations.

At the opposite end of the pyramid, smartphone cameras offer something that most, if not all, standalone cameras to-date lack: convenience of image ingestion, curation and sharing. While Sony PlayMemories apps offer some solutions,⁴ they leave much to be desired. Thankfully, Sony is well aware of the importance of integrating with cloud services and smartphones.

The hillsides near the Kuju Mountain Range in Kumamoto prefecture provide endless vistas. I shot this through a window of a moving bus on the way to Kurokawa Onsen. The volcanic region offers many hot springs and resorts within Kurokawa’s ‘enchanted’ forest. Photo: Rishi Sanyal

Sony a9 | 24-70 F2.8GM @35mm | 1/1000s, F2.8, ISO 1250

And then there’s video. Increasingly, cameras that do both stills and video well are more attractive than those that can’t. Sony is on the right track here, offering cameras that are highly capable at both, but there’s still work to be done. The Sony a9 offers some of the sharpest video around thanks to the fact it oversamples a full-frame sensor, yet it lacks a Log profile or an intuitive autofocus interface in video.⁵

Meanwhile of course, competitors aren’t standing still. Canon’s Dual Pixel AF in video offers a clear user benefit in combining performance and UI/UX. Four Thirds cameras offer 4K video with compelling (mechanical + digital) stabilization. The Panasonic GH5 offers 6K Photo, pre-capture, and effectively simultaneous video and stills capture in its high-resolution anamorphic mode. RED Cinema cameras – albeit in a very different price bracket – can capture at 120 fps for stills extraction or for 24p video.⁶

But theoretically, these are all challenges that Sony is well placed to face. Sony’s executives see the relationship between Sony Semiconductor and Sony DI as being key to planning for the future, and they assure us that the founders’ spirit of innovation will continue to bring compelling products to the market.

Footnotes:

¹ Tanaka-san assured us that ‘the A-mount customer base is small, but loyal, and we need to serve them.’ While Sony does not intend A-mount users to transition to E-mount, it does see the a9 as a potential body for A-mount lenses, via adaption. To that end Sony assures us the disadvantages associated with adapters – like the lack of proper subject tracking – are addressable, though it won’t officially support or offer a solution for Canon lenses natively.

² Expressing very frank surprise at the idea that some of our readers feel Sony is less committed to APS-C, Sony DI executives assured us that, on the contrary, they are fully committed to APS-C. They pointed in particular to its potential to increase business by its adoption as a second camera for pros (a6300/6500) or a first-time camera for casual users (a5100/6000).

³ While we weren’t explicitly told this, one might surmise it from the fact that the sensor in the a7R II has not appeared in any other manufacturer’s camera since its launch over 2 years ago.

⁴ For example, ‘Sync to Smartphone’ ensures all my JPEGs from my a7R II end up on Google Photos via my Google Pixel in full resolution original quality without me moving a finger.

⁵ We asked Sony about the omission of S-Log2 and PlayMemories on the a9. We suggested it ostensibly appeared like forced product segmentation, uncharacteristic of Sony’s product strategy. While it still appears that may indeed have been the case, we were assured that Sony takes our negative feedback about these omissions seriously.

⁶ Some RED cinema cameras are capable of assembling 24p footage from 120p capture by frame averaging, which removes the stutter that would otherwise result from the higher shutter speeds you’d likely shoot 120p footage at. It’s quite clever.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Canon boosts 2017 profit forecast following strong Q1 financial results

27 Apr

Canon’s recent acquisition of Toshiba’s medical equipment unit has helped spur strong first fiscal quarterly financial results for the camera company, and as a result it has increased its full 2017 operating profit forecast. In January, Canon estimated that it would see a yearly profit of 255 billion Yen; following the favorable Q1 2017 results, the company now estimates the profits will be higher at 270 billion Yen. However, the company’s outlook on 2017 camera unit sales are gloomier, with ILC unit sales dropping 7% and compacts down 13%, working out to -9% overall.

Overall, the company saw a year-on-year Q1 operating profit increase of nearly 89%, rising from 40.09 billion Yen in Q1 2016 to 76.67 billion Yen this past first quarter. According to Reuters, Canon Executive VP and CFO Toshiz Tanaka stated during the company’s earnings conference that mirrorless cameras are helping drive the company’s camera sales. The company’s financial report notes that ‘healthy demand’ for Canon’s EOS 5D Mark IV has helped drive the company’s interchangeable lens camera sales. First quarter revenue from camera sales were up over 7%, though unit sales were unchanged since Q1 2016.

Canon likewise saw its compact-system cameras’ sales increase in Europe and Asia (6% globally), and though overall digital compact camera sales volume dropped in the last quarter, Canon says the PowerShot G-Series and other ‘high-value-added models’ experienced ‘solid demand.’ Things aren’t looking great for the digital compact camera market overall, where Canon sees sustained market contraction for its budget-tier models (-6% globally). However, developed countries’ decreased demand for interchangeable lens digital cameras is ‘decelerating steadily,’ the company says.

Canon also touched on the topic of last year’s Kumamoto earthquake damage, saying that the resolution of the shortages caused by the earthquake have resulted in ‘temporary moderate growth’ for interchange lens digital cameras.

Via: Reuters, Canon 1, 2

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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How to Price Photography Products and Services for Profit

05 Dec

Think pricing your photography is overwhelming? You’re not alone. If there’s one question that every photographer struggles with time and time again, it’s how to price their products and services.

How should you price your photos?
What products should you offer?
How do you make sure your prices are high enough to make a profit, but not so high that you drive away business?

No matter how hard you’ve worked to develop your client base, if you don’t have a consistent and effective pricing model in place, you’ll find yourself treading water. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be hard to come up with a pricing system to help you reach your goals.

To figure out what you’ll need to make annually to run a successful photography business, we’re going to break your expenses down into two important sections: the cost of doing business (CODB) and cost of goods (COGs). Then we’ll explore session and product fees to determine how you can price for profit and success.

Considerations

When it comes to pricing, there is no one size fits all solution, so be sure to tailor your prices to fit your specific needs. Before we get started on pricing in detail, here are a few considerations you’ll want to keep in mind throughout the process.

Target market

Your pricing should be reflective of your target market. If you’re targeting high-income families in a wealthy area, your prices will be much steeper than if you were targeting budget buyers with more modest incomes. There’s truly no wrong target market. It’s all about defining your goals and knowing your niche.

How to Price Photography Products and Services for Profit

Location

Consider your location. Do you live in an area with a high population or a smaller area with a narrower potential client base? Also, consider your local competition. While you should never construct your pricing based solely off of what your competitors are offering, you don’t want your prices to be drastically off base. Get a feel for what’s selling in your area and for how much, and use that as a baseline. Then adjust according to the specific needs of your business, which we’ll discuss in more detail below.

Niche

Although there is no set rule about which fields of photography charge more or less, it’s helpful to consider your niche or genre when coming up with a pricing list.

For example, if you’re a wedding photographer, consider all of the work that goes into shooting and editing a wedding. Chances are you’ll be there for at least four hours, and that’s a very conservative estimation; many wedding photographers provide around eight hours of coverage on the big day. That’s why wedding photography packages can run upwards of $ 5,000 in some markets. Other niches are less exhaustive and time-consuming, so prices tend to be somewhat more conservative.

How to Price Photography Products and Services for Profit

Measuring your cost of doing business (CODB)

Your cost of doing business refers to any non-reimbursable costs directly associated with running your business. These costs include internet fees, telephone, advertising, software, equipment purchase and maintenance, office supplies, etc. (this list is not exhaustive, think of everything you pay monthly whether or not you have any paying jobs). Calculating your CODB can seem overwhelming at first – especially to those of us who aren’t mathematicians – but it is an absolutely essential part of developing a realistic and profitable pricing model.

Math time! Don’t run away just yet, it’s simpler than it looks. Your CODB is the result of an equation. It is determined by adding up your annual expenses plus your desired salary, then dividing by the number of billable days (think of this as the number of shoots) for that year.

For example, if I have $ 30,000 in annual expenses and I want to pay myself a $ 45,000 salary, I know need to bring in $ 75,000 per year. If I plan to do 2 photo shoots per week for 48 weeks (accounting for four weeks of vacation), I’ll be looking at 96 photo shoots per year. $ 70,000 divided by 96 is about $ 781. This is the average amount I need to make in income per shoot, through session fees and products. Here it is broken up for easier reading:

Annual non-reimbursable expenses: $ 30,000
Plus salary desired: $ 45,000
$ Equals: 75,000 in total annual expenses
Weeks worked: 48
Times 2 Shoots per week
Equals: 96 shoots per year (needed)
$ 75,000 ÷ 96
Equal: $ 781 per shoot/job

How to Price Photography Products and Services for Profit

Sound complicated? It doesn’t have to be. The National Press Photographers Association offers a free CODB calculator to help you figure out your annual CODB. Keep in mind that the numbers they’ve plugged in are estimates only. Yours will vary.

If the annual calculator seems overwhelming, try breaking it down by month. Many people find it helpful to break it down by month instead of looking at annual expenses. Digital Photography School offers a free monthly CODB worksheet that can be used for calculating CODB by month. Add in your own numbers and categories as necessary.

Your numbers don’t have to be exact but try to make them as accurate as possible. Once you have an idea of what your CODB will be, you can use this number to determine what you’ll need to charge to keep your business running and pay yourself a suitable salary.

Measuring your cost of goods (COGS)

By Anne

Think that the cost of goods just refers to the cost of the prints you sell? Think again. If you want to price for success in the photography business, you need to factor in both materials and time.

As defined on Investopedia, the cost of goods consists of; the direct costs attributable to the production of the goods sold by a company… including the cost of the materials used in creating the good along with the direct labor costs used to produce the good.”

By Sean MacEntee

This means that you need to factor in your time and labor on top of your material costs. Calculating material costs is simple, but figuring out your time can be a little more challenging. You need to account for all the time that goes into a client session, from the first phone call to the moment they receive their products. A typical workflow will look something like this:

Initial inquiry or phone call
Pre-session consultation (in person or by phone)
Session (time spent shooting)
Editing photos
Reviewing photos with client
Ordering prints/products
Inspecting prints/products
Packaging prints/products
Delivering or shipping prints/products

Estimate the average amount of time you spend on each of these pieces of the puzzle. Many photographers figure in this time to be covered by their session fee, which we’ll dive into in the next section.

What am I charging for?

How to Price Photography Products and Services for Profit

The session fee

Sometimes referred to as a creative fee, the session fee is typically due in full prior to the session (this helps ensure you don’t have no-shows). This fee covers your time and creative talent as a photographer. By determining the amount of time you usually spend per shoot (as discussed in the previous paragraph), you can establish a base session fee.

First, determine how much you want to make per hour. A simple way to calculate this is to divide your desired salary by the number of weeks you plan to work and the number of hours you will work each week. For example, from our numbers above:

$ 45,000 per year desired salary
÷ 48 working weeks
÷ 40 hours/week
About $ 25/hour

Keep in mind this is adjustable based on your own perceived value. If you plan to make more per year, your hourly rate will go up.

Then, multiply your cost per hour by the average number of hours you expect to spend on each client. For example, if you plan to spend an average of five hours on a single client from start to finish at $ 25/hour, your session fee is calculated as follows:

5 hours
x $ 25/hour for your time
$ 125 per session (not including products, which we’ll discuss shortly.)

This is a fairly average price for a 1-hour photo shoot in most markets. Remember, this fee is in place to reserve your time and creative talent.

How to Price Photography Products and Services for Profit

Prints and products

Your prints and products should be priced according to the amount of money you need to bring in per shoot after your session fee. In keeping with the example above, let’s say we need to bring in $ 781 per shoot. The session fee will cover $ 125 of this, so you need to sell an average of $ 656 ($ 781 minus $ 125) per shoot in products.

What products will you be selling?

To start, figure out what products you’ll be offering to your clients. Don’t worry about including everything if you’re just starting out. There’s plenty of time to expand your product line as you grow. Typical photographer product lines include:

Prints in a range of sizes from 4 x 6″ to 30 x 40″
Framed prints
Canvases or gallery wraps
Albums
Digital files

What do I charge for these products?

To figure out what to charge for each item, you’ll want to add your marked up hard costs to your labor costs. We’ll use an 8×10 print as an example.

How to Price Photography Products and Services for Profit

1. Determine hard costs

First, figure out what the print will cost to order from your lab. Add this cost to your other hard costs, like shipping and packaging materials. For example:

Print cost: $ 3.50
Shipping cost: $ 5.00
Cost of your packaging materials: $ 5.00
Total: $ 13.50 hard costs

2. Mark up your hard costs

Next, it’s time to figure out your product markup. A commonly recommended markup for photography products is 2.85. So in this case: $ 13.50 x 2.85 equals total: $ 38.48 marked up hard costs for that 8×10.

3. Calculate your labor time

Then figure in the labor time for each item, being sure to include time for post-processing, ordering, inspecting and packaging. For example:

10 minutes for post-processing
2 minutes to place order with your lab
3 minutes unpacking and inspecting photos
5 minutes packaging for delivery
5 minutes scheduling a pickup time or dropping off at the post office (If you meet with your clients in person this may be a longer meeting, so account for that too).
Total: 25 minutes labor time

If we’re calculating your time at $ 25/hour (as discussed in the above example dealing with session fees), the cost of labor for 25 minutes is about $ 10.50.

4. Add marked up hard costs to labor time

$ 38.48 hard costs
$ 10.50 in labor costs
Total: $ 48.98 rounded to the nearest 0 or 5 and you’ll end up with a retail price of $ 50.00 for an 8×10.

This is a typical price for many photographers. Adjust accordingly based on the considerations we discussed in the beginning; your target market, location, and niche.

If your target market is a high-income community in a location where your niche is highly in demand, you can adjust for higher prices – try a 3.5x markup or even higher. But if your target market is a bit more budget-conscious, consider sticking with a 2x markup instead of 2.85x. Just be prepared to do a higher volume of work in order to reach your desired income.

Follow this process with each item on your product list, being sure to account for the extra time it takes for items like albums. As always, keep in mind that these numbers will vary depending on your hard costs and time spent processing and packaging each order.

Conclusion

Taking the time to establish an effective pricing model will put you well on your way to creating a successful and profitable photography business. We know it’s not as fun as getting out in the field and shooting, but you’ll find it’s a necessary part of taking your photography business (and profits) to the next level.

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Make-up bracketing and selfie boutiques help shoot Casio to record levels of profit

16 Dec

Casio’s TR series of Exilim compacts has propelled the Japanese company to record profitability this year after the cameras caught a firm grasp of the massive Chinese selfie market. According to a report from Nikkei Asian Review, Casio is on-track to make a $ 403 million profit this year, and a good part of that has come from the sale of its unusually shaped EX-TR compact cameras that the company has designed to appeal to female selfie shooters.

Just after the launch of the first TR – the Exilim TRYX EX-TR100 – in 2011, Casio’s photography business was in such trouble that it pulled distribution in the majority of territories it operated in. At the time Casio concentrated on the ‘cool’ looks of the camera and its ART modes that created HDR and painting-effect images, but since 2013 the TR cameras have proved such a hit with the Chinese that its imaging division expects to make a ¥4.2bn (about $ 34.5 million) operating profit. That comes after four years of losses, up to 2012.

The secret of the camera’s success has been a combination of a growing fashion-conscious design and the product’s suitability for shooting selfies. With a hinged frame the TR models can support themselves standing upright so are ideal for placing on a table facing the subject. They also have a number of ways to trip the shutter including squeezing the frame, using a ‘selfie pad’ on the side of the body, using a count-down-display self-timer, by the camera detecting the subject putting his/her hand in a certain part of the frame and by touching the 3″ LCD. The 921,600-dot LCD also acts as a digital mirror so the subject can check hair and make-up before the picture is taken – as the camera lens and the LCD face in the same direction.

It has become common to feature digital retouch shooting modes in compact cameras, but Casio’s Exilim TR models go a step further with make-up modes that offer up to 12 levels of skin smoothness as well as skin tone adjustments to suit the way you want to look. A step beyond that even is make-up mode bracketing that provides three images with smoothness levels either side of the setting you chose yourself. In the latest model, the EX-TR70, make-up mode is now available when shooting movies too.

For those not sure of their best side, pose bracketing gives you five chances to look good as the camera’s voice guidance counts down three-two-one between pictures so you have the opportunity to ruffle your hair, bend a knee or pout a little bit more.

All of the EX-TR models use a lens with an angle of view equivalent to a 21mm on a 35mm system. Such a focal length would seem excessively wide for general purpose photography, but when holding a camera at a short-arm’s length it has proved perfect for getting you and your friend in the frame. Instead of a flash the cameras are equipped with an LED light that’s positioned very close to the lens axis to create soft and shadowless lighting – and the LED is round to form an attractive circular catch-light in the eyes. Genius.

The cameras have proved so popular in China that Casio has opened three stores that sell only TR series models. The stores are designed like make-up boutiques, to set the products apart from other cameras in the market. At up to ¥100,000 (about $ 800) a pop these are not low-cost novelties priced for the mass market, so clearly Casio has been doing something very right indeed.

For more information on the Casio Exilim TR series see the Casio digital camera website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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