Food photography is very rewarding – shoot it, then eat it!
Here’s a few samples of shots used in rack cards for clients: Artisan Macaron and Palace Cafe Catering.
Even better, shoot it, eat it, and have a cup of tea…
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THE AMAZING KATHLEEN – PCT THRU HIKER
This job of ours brings us in contact with special and amazing things and people all the time. And if that’s not enough to be grateful for, our job – being self-employed – gives us freedom to take off from our desks and pursue special and amazing things. Here’s one example.
Many of you remember Kathleen Neves from when she worked at SkinSpirit. This year, she’s hiking the Pacific Crest Trail – all 2650 miles from Mexico to Canada. Wow! We’ve been excited since she announced her plans last year. And we’ve been self-styling ourselves as her trail angels as she hikes through “our” territory between Tahoe and Truckee.
(Catch up on her journey so far and adventures to come at: https://www.facebook.com/KathleenNeves. You can even sponsor her at https://www.travelersjoy.com/pct2018/ with gifts of as little as $10 going towards laundry, food, and showers.)
We were there to meet her on July 19th at the Donner Pass Truck Stop where the PCT crosses under Hwy 80.
Whew – 8000 feet up, in the smoke-filled air, at nearly 100 degrees – and she had hiked eight miles on the rocky and steep terrain already that day! So we had to do our best to spoil her and return her to the trail the following day clean, well-rested, and well-fed.
We were so, so lucky to get a walk-in rate for a lake-side condo. Lake swimming!
Kathleen wanted In-N-Out Burgers and root beer – done! (Along with a hot shower and toiletries.)
In the evening, we drove into Truckee and met her trail partner, Pierre-Luc AKA Grit, and John took us out for a big dinner.
The following morning, the smoke really settled over Donner Lake:
John made eggs, pancakes and bacon to fill the hikers. We rested and enjoyed the lake. I even had some time to get in a lake-side sunscreen Instagram post for Hayes Valley Medical & Esthetics:
We dropped Kathleen and Grit off at the PCT – mission accomplished.
We are grateful to all our clients who helped us to work around this little trip – changing their schedules and working with the short notice so we could meet someone who is hiking so far. Thank you. And thank you, Kathleen, for being THAT PERSON who charges after adventure and works so hard towards such an incredible goal.
DON’T BE IGNORED!
Flashback photo to Rachel and her brother, Iain, looking surly when told they were not getting what they wanted. Cute (occasionally) in children, but not for website owners who want their hard work recognized and their website displayed prominently in search engine result pages.
Google has recently changed the way they index websites and has brought down the gavel on sites that do not display well on mobile devices.
Now that people use their phones and tablets more than laptops and desktop computers to browse the web, Google has made this change to better serve their users and give them better access to the information they are seeking and that is designed to be easy for them to access.
We have looked at web traffic statistics for most of our clients’ websites and confirmed mobile users now account for over 50% of all traffic. But many of our clients still have non-mobile websites. Globally, about 17% of small businesses do not have a responsive site.
If you have a non-mobile-friendly site then you will be ranked lower than if you have a mobile-responsive website. If you have a separate mobile site, from your main website, only your mobile site pages will be indexed. This is according to multiple articles we have reviewed, as well as communications directly from Google.
So if you don’t have a mobile-responsive website, the time has come to put this on your marketing priorities list for 2018.
Besides the new Google indexing, non-responsive sites can damage your business in other ways:
- Mobile devices are projected to reach 79% of global internet use by the end of 2018.
- 88% of consumers who search for a type of business on a mobile device call or go to that business within 24 hours.
- Average smartphone conversion rates are up 64% compared to desktop conversion rates.
- 83% of mobile users say that a seamless experience across all devices is very important.
- According to Google, 61% of users are unlikely to return to a site on mobile if they had trouble accessing it and 40% visit a competitor’s site instead.
- Nearly 8 in 10 customers would stop engaging with content that doesn’t display well on their device.
- 57% of internet users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website on mobile.
Please contact John if you’re in need of a new, mobile-friendly website.
PHOTOSHOP (AND GOAT) MAGIC
Jollity Farms is in the Sierra Foothills, near Placerville – and we love it! We visited in April to snuggle with the new-born kids and to take some product shots.
One thing our client wanted was a shot of their new display case full of cheese. But we did not want to waste their entire stock, so we sacrificed five containers, and took thirty photos of those same five containers in different positions (like the photo you see below) and then merged all shots together to create a “full” fridge.
It was not all work – in fact mostly play. Thanks, Charlie and Mary Lisa, for our fun (and delicious) visit to your farm.
Check out the full album, or scroll down for some adorable goat photos…
Visit the farm! 5314 Marigold Mine Way, Garden Valley, California.
HOW GOOGLE MAPS DISPLAYS YOUR BUSINESS
Recently our client Hayes Valley Medical and Esthetics moved to a gorgeous new location in Marin. When promoting their grand opening we noticed their Google Map pin, which Google generates automatically for businesses, did not show along with other nearby businesses on larger map views. This is because Google algorithmically determines when a business location shows on Google Maps, and it is based on factors like how long it has been at the current address as well as the number of Google reviews for the business. (HINT: Ask your good customers for Google reviews!) So you do not have control over when your Place Label shows as the user zooms in on your general location on Google Maps.
The below screen captures show that at a larger scale, HVME does not show until you zoom in closely on their location.
Zoom in closer and it does show:
THENA STEALS THE SHOW!
Thena, owner of Set the Occasion, nailed her segment on Bay Sunday. So glad I was there to photograph the experience. It was a treat – from exploring the set, watching the set up, seeing how professional the host, Kenny Choi was, along with all the team. Thena is a natural.
And yes, the icing on top is seeing John and my photos on TV.
WELCOME SET THE OCCASION
Welcome to our client list, Set the Occasion – Table Designs by Thena! We have loved working with such a talented and professional client. The web site looks great, and working on photoshoots with you in beautiful locations in Larkspur, Belvedere, and Corte Madera has been a highlight of our year.
Yes! SetTheOccasion.com is here! John coded this custom for Thena – beautifully responsive, deep linking portfolio pages, perfectly optimized photos, slideshows with several different progress options – well done, partner. I love the design – so simple and elegant and all about the photos.
Header to this blog post is a setting photo as we integrated it into a header graphic for the contact page.
Thena, we can’t wait to see where you take us next! We are grateful that you are taking us with you.
HAPPY OCTOBER!
John and I have been making sure to seek out balance between work and relaxation as we ramp up to marketing’s silly season over the next few months. (Are you ready?)
On Friday, we headed to Santa Cruz for lunch at the Crow’s Nest and a walk on the beach. Here’s John chilling out with some new friends.
Happy Halloween, everyone!
And remember, all work and no play makes everyone stressed and grumpy!
WELCOME NEW CLIENT – SPRIG & GLOW!
We’re so excited that Allison Quistgard, founder of Sprig & Glow, has been working with us on her site and on photos.
Ali is a Master Clinical Aesthetician, wellness editor, freelance writer and blogger with a passion for beauty, wellness, skincare, and the science behind it all.
She recently appeared as an Expert Skincare Consultant at Space NK Apothecary in Larkspur, which is where we met her to take a few photos for use in marketing. She’s amazing!
She’s also a contributer to Marin Magazine – here’s her latest article: Are Korean Spas the Next Global Trend?
We met Ali through our client Hayes Valley Medical & Aesthetics – one more reason to be grateful to Linda and Sheila.
Ali – we hope we can work together again soon!
NEW LENS!
I love new camera lenses more than I love new shoes! Here’s a practice shot – Autumn Garden Table.