Quote:

I am not arguing that the dog advertising photos are more commercial than a pet portrait, they are.



Julie,
some are and some aren't. I've shot some "pet portraits" that turned into Stud Dog ads. That's commercial. I've shot a lot of win photos that were only used to promote the win. That's non-commercial.

The original point of this discussion was what would you give away as complimentary and what would you never give away. I'd never give away a photo for a stud dog promotion or litter promotion. I do give away Junior Handler photos because I want them to have their photos taken. It's part of the learning process to know how to set up your dog for a photo and the best incentive for having the Juniors take the time for photos is to tell them it will be "free".

At small Specialties, I make a trophy donation of the Reserve Winners Dog and Reserve Winners Bitch photos. Why? Because in small specialties, the folks who win those awards never have a photo taken. A Reserve is akin to kissing your sister. And if I take a really good picture the owners generally will order more prints when they take WD or WB.

So, yes, sometimes giving samples of your work to folks who would not purchase it under normal circumstances does generate future business. Sampling has been the bastion of supermarkets for ages.

Jim

Jim Garvie
www.jagphoto.biz