So for weeks now photographers have been speculating as to how they would use the iPad. Well enough is enough. We asked a few iPad owning photographers for their opinions having had a bit of time to actually “play” with their pads.
So what were their first impressions? Will it have value as a client presentation device? Does the size matter? Have you used it during a client presentation and would they recommend it as a photography tool?
Wedding photographer Corbin Harris tell us that he actually put his iPad to use the very same day he picked it up.
I’ve only used it with one client to show them some recent album designs. The iPad worked well since the groom was able to lay it flat on the table and scroll through the layouts intuitively with his fingers.
I’ve only shown material on my MBP after a couple has looked through my albums and prints. I think showing recent galleries and albums with the iPad certainly adds to the coolness factor and gives the groom something to interact with since they’re probably getting bored with all the wed stuff.
While Vancouver based photographer JP Prutch hasn’t had the opportunity to use it in a client presentation he tells us he wouldn’t recommend one if it was only being used for slideshows. But it does have other practical applications…
If just for slide shows, no. I have new meeting space with no computer access. I will use this for booking, electronic contracts, credit card transactions. For a “Starbucks” photographer it would be great. I could use a laptop for all this but when sitting across from client it acts as a wall when open. The iPad will have a “note pad” feel to it leaving a more open space between me and client.
Corbin tells us he would have went for the larger storage option had budget not come into play while JP tells us that the 32GB model he purchased might be the sweet spot photographers are looking for.
I did the middle one, 32gb, and still have a ton of room. My images (over 2000) are saved for web blog images. My status bar shows maybe 1/16 being used with audio being the most.
Both photographers tell me that the iPad is responsive and fast but Corbin warns that depending on your wi-fi connection you might want to consider having your content preloaded onto the pad instead of relying on accessing it online. JP appreciates the coolness factor and adds…
Very fast, very cool. I am sure many grooms will go gaga over it, maybe even some brides.
Harris says he plans on offering the iPad to clients with his high-end packages.
My plan is to offer the 16BGB model in my high-end package. The cost will be built-in to package and the plan is to load a select number of JPEGs into the unit for the couple to view on their honeymoon. They’ll be given instructions on how to download the images to their PC before resetting it for sync with their iTunes when they return.
Well my fellow photographers… Do you have your iPad yet? How do you see it fitting into your photography workflow?
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4 Comments at "Real Photographers, Real iPads, Real Questions"
So the question is: How is Apple’s “no resale” issue going to effect a photographer providing a preloaded iPad?
It’s not. Apple is not going to go after a photographer for “including” 4 iPads a year in their packages. It’s not worth the bad press. That clause, I venture a guess, is to keep people from buying them, modding them and reselling them.
nice article, mark! thanks for putting that together so well.
i wonder about the coolness factor, how long that will last at the rate they’re selling and the accesibility of them, in terms of pricing. i mean – it’s definitely cool, but so was someone else’s iPhone until everyone you knew had one. (although i love mine dearly, still
I have probably leveraged the iPad more than any other photographer so far. I had a slideshow on it for a bride on her wedding day within two hours of it being released (my assistant stood in line for it, and we had images ready, including a 1024×768 portrait of her to use as the lock screen). I also brought an entire extra assistant just to walk around and shmooze people with it, showing images and getting information (it was a GIGANTIC high-society wedding, so this sort of over-the-topness actually fit in). It went awesomely well, and helped me book a few new high-society shoots already, including one in India!
The novelty of it isn’t going to last long, so I wanted to use that “ooh and ahh” effect to my advantage.
And I’ve used it to light an engagement portrait, just for fun:http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3755542&id=6503288521
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