eco-friendly photographer

GP: In what ways is your company greener?

MC: All the ways I can manage.  My primary mode of transportation is bicycle - I use an Xtracycle cargo bike for most of my shoots.  I print on all natural photo papers, mostly 100% cotton rag.  I use rechargeable batteries and support renewable energy companies.  My office supplies have as much recycled content as I can find.  My promotional printing is done using waterless printing technology.  I use vintage and antique picture frames, or have frames made using reclaimed wood and natural oil finishes.  I believe strongly in community, and support environmentally related business networking groups and their members.  I work as Chief Photographer for Dandyhorse, a Toronto based magazine on cycling culture (pro-bono).  

GP: Why did you decide to join Greener Photography? What value do you see in membership/being certified?

MC: I have been working towards making my photography business as environmentally sustainable as possible for the past several years.  I was so happy to find Greener Photography, a community of photographers with similar goals.  I did not need to think too long about becoming a member.  To have the support of such a community is wonderful, and the ideas and resources the website and members provide is very valuable to me and my business.  I am very pleased to support the initiative.  

GP: How has offering greener products/services and running a greener business benefitted you?

MC: Personally, I need to feel I am running my business in a greener way in order to feel good about it myself.  I also work with several environmental organizations, businesses and publications who value what I do because of the extra effort I put in.  In addition to environmental concerns I feel strongly that I should offer quality products and services (prints, packaging, etc.) to my clients and I find that more often than not, greener photography products are also higher quality and more aesthetically pleasing (cotton photo papers for example) than the average.  Using my bicycle for meetings and photo shoots allows me to stay active and get places quickly and easily in the city.

GP: Share a favorite greener website, service, or product:

MC: I write a blog on green photography practices.  http://mollycrealock.wordpress.com/

GP: What are your hopes for a greener photographic industry?

MC: It's great when the big corporations come on board.  Seeing environmental mission statements from Canon, Nikon, Epson, Adobe, Apple, etc. is wonderful when it happens.  It would be good environmentally and financially for photographers if the technology slowed down a lot, if we didn't need to replace photo and computer gear so frequently.  It would be great if the producers would take back their old machines and deal with the eventual waste themselves.  More, it would be really wonderful if we got back to a time when things were meant to be repaired and/or upgraded rather than disposed of.  

GP: Thanks so much to Toronto Ontario photographer Molly Crealock for taking the time to answer our questions!

If you know a member you would like us to spotlight feature or interview, let us know!

McKay’s Photography has continued the quest to decrease the carbon footprint in the wedding photography industry with some cool new product lines! As many of you know, I have been a life long self-described “dirty hippy”, well actually only my friend Tony calls me that, but there is some truth to the name. Since attending the Rochester Institute of Technology in the ’90s, I have been very interested in sustainable practices as just plain common sense. This was a HUGE drive toward my vegetarianism and for years and years I have been invested in keeping my waste to a minimum. While there is always room for improvement, especially in a consumer society, I do my very best. No where has this been more apparent than with my Wedding Photography business.

The new Green trend makes me happy if only because there are more and more green options everywhere I look. From my super awesome brown canvas frame and album bags (Wegmans plastic bags in the winter were just tacky anyway)… to my new line of framing and albums, there have been a lot of changes in my studio this year. I am the first Photographer in Rochester to switch from DVDs to Jump Drives (USB drives) for the High Resolution image files! I’ve been scouring conference trade shows for these, and EVERYONE still promotes DVDs! It has been a frustrating journey, but I found some pretty brown ones to put my logo on!

Another awesome change was to Sustainable Framing! Not only is my framer less than 2 miles from my house, but I FTP the images to them and they print and frame whatever I need! I secretly call it the “stay in my jammies” special, because my buddy, Pat, does all the work! He found me a special line of frames that are reclaimed from: wood shavings, chips, sawdust, wasted trim, pallets, construction materials etc. The frames are a solid material with a smooth, fine texture! A bonus is that Pat is awesome at picking out mats and frames and I am terrible at it…. I just tell him to do whatever he wants and he always makes me happy that I delegated to the expert.

Next up is my GORGEOUS and BEAUTIFUL  and LUXURIOUS new eco-friendly album! Can you tell I’m a little excited about it????? I’ve been wanting to order a sample from this company since I first began looking into albums. I’ve been too cheap to do it and also too afraid to pick the images to go into it. I needed images worthy of the album, and realistically I knew that I didn’t have the clientele that spring for such an album. Worse still was that I knew that past clients would want it as much as I did! I was OK teasing me, but not them. Well, now is the time to offer this one of a kind, handmade, eco-friendly album with Japanese book cloth covers and a custom presentation box to store it in. All of my other albums are delivered in a cardboard box. OK, a fancy cardboard box, but still. So, I will also offer the handmade clam shell box as an upgrade to my regular albums as well.

Well, this post is way too long and I still have a LOT more to say, so I’m ending it here with a few images….

By Whitney Elizabeth.  As seen in Professional Photographer's Web Exclusives.

As photographers and business owners, we are constantly looking for ways to produce eye-catching promotional pieces that strengthen your brand. When considering which promotional products to purchase, consider the impact your products will have on the environment. Begin with the following questions:

    * Is the product a useful, reusable product or will it be quickly discarded?

    * What will your client do when they are finished using the product you have given them? Is it recyclable?

    * Where is the product made?

    * Does the product fit in with your branding and mission statement?

Buying promotional products that do not portray your brand appropriately can be negative for your business. Here are some ideas for unique promotional items that will have a reduced environmental impact and will support your branding as an eco-friendly photographer.

Reusable and Useful

Giving your clients something they will use and re-use is an effective promotion. Here are some ideas:

Branded Water Bottles

• Kleen Kanteen (www.kleankanteen.com)
• Green Bottle (www.greenbottleonline.com)
• Sigg (www.mysigg.com)

Branded bags and apparel

• Casad Promotional Products (www.casad2.com —look for recycled plastic, organic cotton, recycled cotton and hemp)
• Corporate Casuals (www.corporatecasuals.com)

Branded Personal gifts

• Vintage Body Spa (www.vintagebodyspa.com) —natural, paraben-free spa products with your message on the label)

Branded Media (Skip the disposable disks)

• Woody Bamboo Flash Drives (www.memotrek.com)

Non-branded Gifts That Speak to Who You Are

• Food and Beverage
• Organic Wine
• Locally-made gourmet specialty foods such as artisan chocolates

Cards to celebrate a personal occasion

• Give-A-Tree Cards (www.arborday.org)

Handmade Gifts

• etsy.com (www.etsy.com)
• Natural toys/gifts from a local boutique (Great opportunity to network with other local, green businesses)
• Biodegradable

Pens

• Corn Plastic Items: IAS Promotes (www.iaspromotes.com)

Every purchase we make has an environmental cost. You can lessen the environmental impact of your promotional products by choosing wisely. Greater demand for earth-friendly products also helps fuel supply of more product choices. Think through your options, search out creative, greener products, and strengthen your brand as an eco-friendly photographer.

Whitney Elizabeth is a portrait and wedding photographer in Santa Barbara, Calif.