According to Photutorial, a stock photography website, approximately 54,400 digital photos are taken worldwide every second. That amounts to 4.7 billion per day and 1.72 trillion photos per year. The site also provides another interesting statistic—92.5% of photos are taken with smartphones.
Amongst all those digital photos are gems that will likely never make it to print, and that’s a shame according to photography experts. Meant to capture special people and moments in time, photos turned into prints provide greater intimacy and a stronger experience for the viewer.
Joanna Carlberg, Professional Portrait and Event Photographer, Joanna’s Digital Images, LLC
Professional Portrait and Event Photographer Joanna Carlberg says, “Photos are important. They fill a very deep need in our lives and, in most cases, they should be printed.” She goes on to add:
“I read somewhere that this generation [Gen Z] is probably the most photographed, but it’s going to be the forgotten generation because nobody prints the pictures.”
Joanna has just as much zeal about restoring photos as she has about getting them into print in the first place. She explains that she helps people not only record new memories, but preserve the old ones, as well, and finds the process “very rewarding.” There are many times when clients cry upon getting the new version of the photo, a sure sign of the impact she’s made with her expertise.
Most of the photography work she does is obtained through word of mouth, and there are many ways she gets her name known. Serving as an ambassador for the Kenosha Area Chamber of Commerce is one of them. It’s a big chamber and an active one and she’s met many, many people by attending and volunteering for its events and activities.
Joanna is also a member of the Kenosha Women’s Network for which she publishes its regular newsletter and manages its website. She recently took photos at the 2022 Susan B. Anthony Awards Dinner. KWN was one of the three sponsoring organizations.
Photography by Joanna’s Digital Images, LLC
What’s a key element to remember when photographing an event or a wedding? Joanna says you don’t get a second chance to capture a moment. It has to be caught the first time around.
What’s a common thread that runs through Joanna’s photography, networking, and volunteering? It’s her understanding of the importance of making connections. While at a chamber event, for instance, Joanna says, “You just have to be open to talk to people and be interested in what they do. Most people like to talk about themselves.” With photography, she explains, “You can’t be so busy looking through the back of the camera that you forget to make a connection with the client.” Once a connection is made, Joanna adds, people build trust in the person they want to work with.
Lately, Joanna has been getting a lot of inquiries about headshots. That could be, she thinks, because, “People have finally emerged after COVID and realize they don’t look anything like their headshots anymore.”
Photography by Joanna’s Digital Images, LLC
When hired to take someone’s headshot, she tells them, “A lot of people like to get more than one picture. You can use them for different things.” For instance, if the same picture pops up every time on varying social media platforms, people will just scroll past. “But if there’s a new picture, they might at least stop for a second and have a look at it,” Joanna states. She also creates banners that meet the very specific size requirements for the different platforms.
“It’s really important to have good photography on your website,” adds Joanna. “A lot of sites,” she says, “either have fairly poor photographs taken with a cell phone or they have stock photography so that you see the same picture on several websites. We are very visual and while you have to have substance in the words on your website, it’s the picture that stops you scrolling.”
It’s been said many times before, but it’s always helpful to have it emphasized by an expert like Joanna, “People do business with those they know, like, and trust. And I see professional photography on your website as being a way to get to know you.”
If you’d like to get to know Joanna Carlberg better, here’s her contact information:
Photography by Joanna’s Digital Images, LLC
(262) 358-0411
photojo1955@gmail.com
JoannasDigitalImages.com
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