A friend and I started an artistic sideline last year as a way to raise funds towards helping an injured former racehorse and an abandoned Warmblood mare, both of whom have made full recoveries and are thriving. Off The Track Designs are hand-painted bridle racks and portraits painted on model horse forms. We've had a Facebook page open for about a year and now we've opened a storefront on Etsy. I invite you to visit both sites and enjoy! http://www.etsy.com/shop/OffTheTrackDesigns https://www.facebook.com/pages/Off-the-Track-Designs/243136935704665
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Appropriate turnout for a schooling show. I had an interesting experience this week. I was called to an interview with a local marketing firm in regards to open positions that the firm needed to fill. I arrived a few minutes early, appropriately dressed in a business suit and prepared with my resume, business cards and questions. What I found was an empty reception area in which the only piece of furniture was a plaid loveseat and the only occupant another interviewee. The hiring manager, while dressed appropriately, was disorganized and rushed through interview. The truly shocking thing about this experience is that the company in question was interviewing to fill account support roles for a nationally known client looking to expand its market share. A marketer is expected to make his or her clients look good. To do that, the marketer must instill confidence in the client by presenting a professional appearance and demeanor. This extends to the physical surroundings, which should be welcoming and conducive to the work at hand. In marketing horses and horse businesses a professional appearance is often specific to the task at hand. In regards to the physical environment, farms are working facilities so there is no need to worry about vacant office space. As long as there are no obvious safety hazards and the aisles, pathways and arenas are neat, all is well suited to business. My appearance will reflect the task at hand as well. When I'm at a farm or show grounds, either for a consultation or photo shoot, it is unlikely that I would wear a business suit. Instead I'll wear clean, well fitted jeans or khakis, paddock boots, a fitted shirt and, when necessary, an appropriately fitted jacket or sweater. If I am presenting a horse, I'm dressed appropriately for the class. When I turn a horse out for show or sale, it will have been bathed and/or thoroughly groomed and presented as is appropriate for the breed and discipline being represented. Next time: my favorite turnout tips. The past few weekends have seen me semi-permanently attached to my trusty camera. In addition to the action photography of the horse events at the Kentucky Horse Park and Keeneland, I took the time to retake some product photos. A few friends and I have been trying to sell off unused horse equipment and rider apparel over the last several months. In early summer I took photos of everything, using as clear a background as possible so that the viewer's eye immediately caught the item. I then created a public online album using one of the free sources and promptly advertised the album on social media sites, including equestrian forums. There are a few items remaining and I felt they might benefit from an updated photo. I recruited one of my horses and borrowed a pony to show these products in use. My goal was to convey the items with a proper fit through proper adjustment of straps and buckles, and also to stand the horse and pony against as clear a background as possible. In the case of smaller items, such as protective boots, I focused on the legs and boots themselves. Check out the before and after shots and let me know what you think. This morning I had the opportunity to attend Breakfast with the Works hosted by Keeneland Race Course. It is always a great opportunity to watch the Thoroughbred race horses during their morning workouts and to practice my photographic focusing capabilities given the speed of motion and the early morning light. I began photographing about 7:45 this morning, just as the sun was rising. Enjoy the photos! I placed my first ad promoting K. Cornelius Images and Marketing. It's a simple, free ad, but it counts! I am focused on creating the best, most cost effective marketing program possible and there are many free and nearly-free media solutions available.
As an example: My rounds today included stops at local tack shops to pin horse sales flyers to the stores' bulletin boards. Something like this doesn't take much time and only costs a few dollars for paper and ink to print the flyers. Sales flyers do need to look good, and this is where color is important. If using a professionally produced logo, its colors must be consistent throughout the advertising campaign. If advertising a horse, the photographic reproductions need to accurately reflect what color the horse is. It wouldn't do for a sparkling grey to be sporting a green tint or a blood bay looking like Merlot. If I can't get a good color reproduction on my own printer, I will head to an office services location to utilize the professional machines. These machines do a great job and provide an effective solution for many types of jobs. Day 3 of equine photography came with the realization that quite a bit of equine related competition involves navigating over, around and through obstacles. Take a look at today's photo selection and you'll see what I mean. Enjoy! Today I had the opportunity to roam around the Kentucky Horse Park and take a few candids. Enjoy! A completed flyer, secured within a clear plastic sleeve with business cards attached. The pears painting has taken a backseat to a marketing effort that I'm very excited to be helping with. Parker Trace Farm is proudly offering for sale two Off The Track Thoroughbred horses, Robyn's Sapphire and Always On. Robyn's Sapphire, will be competing this weekend at the Thoroughbred Classic Horse Show, which is being held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. The work for this sales campaign began yesterday with a photo shoot. Because Sapphire and Always On are both considered prospects for particular disciplines, the focus of the photo shoot was to present each horse in its best pose to capture an ideal conformation shot. Conformation simply means the way the horse is put together. In other words, it's figure or physique. A good, current photo, taken from the side, can tell experienced horsemen and women a lot about a horse's fitness and suitability for a given job. I'm starting with still photos for this campaign as it consists of flyers which will be posted at various points around the Kentucky Horse Park. The flyers feature the conformation shot of the horse, the horse's name, age, sex, discipline in which he or she shows the most promise and the asking price. In addition to specifics about each horse, the flyers also present Parker Trace Farm's logo, contact information and a QR code that links interested parties to the "Feature Presentation" page of kcorneliusimagesandmarketing.com. And that's still not all! Just in case there are horse buyers that don't have smart phones, each flyer will have an attached pocket holding business cards printed up specifically for each horse. Robyn's Sapphire leaves home for the show today, so my next step will be meeting her and the seller at the Kentucky Horse Park, posting the flyers and taking more photos and video of Sapphire as she's being ridden. Then the video will be posted to the Feature Presentation page as well. Here's to a successful sale for Parker Trace Farm and a fabulous home and new life for Sapphire and Always On! Here is the latest work in progress; a still life of decorative pears. These pears have been used as a prop for some of my photographic projects and I believe that they present a nice subject for practice due to their color variation and shape. I'm working with pastels on charcoal paper. Pastels are my favorite medium. I love the blending capabilities and, aside from my fingers, they make very little mess. I've only started two of the four pears thus far. I'll continue posting progress reports. Enjoy! |
Kimberly Cornelius
I enjoy the daily inspiration provided by nature, people and pets. Archives
September 2023
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