Mitch Kezar believes the Internet is here to stay.
He’s ready. The two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee has launched a new website >http://www.kezarphoto.com < that’s aimed at photobuyers seeking pictures of outdoor recreation, hunting and fishing in the Northwoods of USA and Canada.“I’ve polled about 200 clients -- they've shown great interest in being able to call up exactly what they want – people who know the difference between a flushing dog, and a retrieving dog or a slip sinker from spinning bait,” says Kezar.
“Our clients have lamented about experiences with calling large stock agencies for such-and-such niche-market images,” says Mitch, “only to find themselves wading through three hundred pulled images, all of them wrong content.”
The Kezar site uses a keyword-searchable (Lynx) database to guide buyers first through thumbnail-size images. By clicking on thumbnails that interest them, the client sees 5”x7” watermarked images of available shots they can then drag to a shopping basket. The client then Emails or phones the order to the Kezar office.
“We then ship the buyer the slides via FedEx or if they want digitized images, we can scan the photos at a high res for them.”
Tom Martineau, art director at the Minneapolis-based Tripp Advertising , a creative shop that specializes in outdoor-oriented clients, says, “It’s so handy, it’s unbelievable. The search capabilities allow us to really pinpoint the exact image we need – whether it’s a bass jumping or a father and son hunting in winter camouflage.”
Connie Ashba, the art director for outdoor retailer, Gander Mountain, says, “Mitch's site has really changed our world.” It's time-saving and a lot more responsive to our needs. It’s going to bring him more customers, there’s no question.”
Kezar is multiplying himself. He recently signed contracts with three other photographers who want to display their images on his site. This marketing approach heralds an approach we are going to see much more of in the future, where small groups of photographers engage themselves in a mini-agency that deals in specialized subject areas and markets those photos to an equally matching client base.
Kezar says, “Before we went online , I was operating on a local and national scale. All of a sudden we’re in the world market.” “We’ve had hits from France, Germany and England all in the first month of operation. The response has been unbelievable, and there’s no way we could have done it without the Web. It seems to make sense to everybody.” –RE
(Kezar Photography Inc., 3050 County Road 6, Long lake, MN; (612) 750 3563; Fax: (612) 473 5294; mkezar@earhtlink.net; http://www.kezarphoto.com ).
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