I recently told you about an honourable company, that shall go unnamed, that settled an unlicensed use of my image to satisfaction.

There’s another such company – but this one did not do the honourable thing. They did not even bother to reply, even though I attempted to contact them several times since 18 July 2011. They had a large image of my 7D with 16-35mm lens on their web site. This company is http://www.dirtcheapcameras.com.au/

So since they have not deemed fit to respond, to pay, or anything else, I warn Australian readers to stay clear of them – they willingly and knowingly stole an image, and then did not respond when the owner repeatedly contacted them. That kind of ethics does not make for good business.

As predicted, Kodak has just applied for bankruptcy protection.

A sad almost-ending for a company that made the photography field into what it is. But a predictable one. Kodak failed to keep up with the digital world. Just like Polaroid (but unlike Fuji): when Film ended – Kodak ended.

Kodak, you see, was afraid of cannibalizing its film sales. Digital will do that – and did do that. But here’s the problem: if you do not cannibalize your own sales, someone else will. You need to be market-trend centric, not “me-centric”.

The same is true in my field. I teach as well as shoot. Some colleagues criticize me for “training the competition”. Yes – but at least I train them well, and most importantly, if I do not train them, somebody else will. If there is a demand, there will be a supply.

Which is why I train at Sheridan College, at the School of Imaging, at CameraTraining.ca, at The Granite Club, at this daily blog, and at various other venues.  These are great times to learn photography, and I will do my utmost to train as many people as possible.

Tip or photographers: embrace the concept of trends. Trends are unstoppable. So in terms of trends (not individual products – look at Apple), you should look where the market is going and go there. For us that means supplying images on a DVD, for instance. Using the cloud and the web to share work. Providing cheaper, or fewer, prints. All these are unstoppable trends, so embrace them.

I am not saying “all change is good”, but I am saying “once a change is unstoppable, recognize it and embrace it – see how you can make it into a benefit”. Fuji dealt with the Tsunami of Digital – while Kodak singularly failed to.

I am currently writing and teaching a course at Sheridan College on “Small Business Photography”. This is a 12-week course on running a small photography business.

And today I thought I would touch here upon one of its subjects: the name you choose for your business.

Your name needs to be:

• Simple;
• Preferably, easy to pronounce;
• Easy to remember;
• Available as a business name in your jurisdiction.
• Suitable for all your markets (if your chosen name means an act of procreation or something similarly unsuitable in French, and Quebec is part of your market – then best not choose that).
• It must be available as a domain name – otherwise do not choose it!

Your name is a large part of your brand identity. So I would avoid business names that are:

• Too grand. If I called my photographer business “The Canadian Institute For Photography”, that would ring many alarm bells with each client, one they discover it is just me and my assistants.
• Plagiaristic. “Kodax” would not be acceptable (nor wise, now that Kodak is basically bankrupt).
• Too cutesy.
• Too generic.
• Likely to be dated soon (“That’s so 1980s”).
• Too long (it has to fit on your business card!)
• Suspicious (“Honest Photography”, “In-Focus Images” – these raise questions you should not be raising).
• Inappropriate (“Blow-Up Babies” – a real studio name)
• And do avoid names that compete with the wrong market.

That last point is worth expanding. What is your market? The Sears market? Then by all means call yourself something that sounds like the Sears studios, like “General Photo Studios”.

But I think that as a photographer you are probably in the photographer business, not in the photography business. So, advertise yourself. While my company is officially called “MVW Photo”, I usually use “Michael Willems Photographer”.  Simple, available (see www.michaelwillems.ca) and clear.

Whatever you do – do decide on a name, and on the other hand don’t obsess too much.