Jumping in here ... two things ...
First ... RESERVATIONS for ads were due 8/15 ... NOT materials. Accommodations for materials submissions have always been available for appropriately made reservations. Turning around professional photos by 8/15 was not in any way do-able. From my experience, any professional photos received in 3-4 weeks can probably be considered a rush job when the industry standard for years was 4-6 weeks.
Second ...
The Journal does NOT receive ANYONE'S photos any more .... Nor do we want them when other & better options are available. Instead, we get orginal, high res. electronic files so we don't have to spend time scanning photos and having them possibly not come out right. The electronic files are better and allow us to work better & faster. (Of course... as someone pointed out ... we do still have trouble when photos need to be multiple places at once ... something that happens dozens of times every Oct & Dec. issue so we'll do the best we can.)
FYI .... Each year, I say to the photographers (whether it's World, Congress or R Nationals) ... "take care of everyone else first & send what has to come to The Journal last." The CD has arrived but I haven't gone through it yet. I'm still dealing with the World Show. The photo organization can take days & days.
Each year there may be a few errors from Congress or Worlds or R Nationals, but when I buy 3-4 dozen pics alone and handle many others ordered by others, that is not unusual or unexpected given the numbers. In terms of rectifying errors and getting those errors turned around, I can absolutely unequivably say Washburns are the very best, most responsive and fastest I've EVER worked with ... hands down ... period. Of course, perhaps my experience isn't as vast as it could be ... that's only been with 100,000 - 150,000 pics over the years and 70-75 issues and 12,000-14,000 pages.
Many photographers can and will release elec. files like that to known and/or professional publications and designers. I often try to give the various photographers lists of known designers so they know it's okay to release electronic pics (IF their copyright & reproduction policies allow for tht), but I confine that to individuals who are submitting multiple pages for various other entitities. More & more people do their own work & I can't track all of that... so that list will probably stay confined to professional designers. After all, we're keeping copyright/reproduction factors in mind as well.
Given my experience in this industry and with a multitude of photographers I've worked with .... I have always said and will continue to say ... Washburn Photography is definitely in the upper echelon when all factors are considered ... capture rate, proof availability, pricing (w/ limited reproduction rights), turn around, availablility of pics, reproduction rights for publication, color, quality, etc. I have never worked with any better photographer and have certainly had much, much, much poorer experiences.
I am sorry for anyone having a poor experience. My recommendations would be this ...
1) Call about any errors as soon as you receive the photos. As with any human based business, errors are possible
2) Be calm, courteous & explain the problem. What was it my mom always said ... something about catching more flies w/ sugar????
3) Contact The Journal directly if you have concerns about your ads & submissions & time frames.
As I shared with some directly this week and for those who haven't heard this or may have misunderstood ... IF you made your advertising reservation appropriately and are waiting for pics still at the submission deadline or maybe now have a photo error that needs to be resolved, please contact The Journal. Yes, we requested materials by 8/29 ... and thanks to those who hustled to do that, paid overnight shipping, etc. For everyone else, yes ... we know you are just getting your photographs (just like everyone else). However, if we know that status of everything, we will work with you as much as we can. (Of course, we also expect you then to understand our production, printing & mailing difficulties.)
Extensions can be made if you have appropriate reservations. We deal with this EVERY year for Congress and then for Nationals regardless of WHO the photographer is. We can ... and will work with you. THAT is why the production schedules were changed ... to accommodate this very thing. Also, please remember, if you have a reservation, we'll especially work with those providing a "ready" ad. After all, we've got 150+ pages to worry about so we can customize your submission if you are working are your one or two pages ... allows us to worry more about the other 148.
Again ... if you have an issue with pictures, please contact Washburns right away as they will soon be leaving for Tulsa & R Nationals. If you need a few more days to complete your reservation, please contact Journal staff directly. You can reach Molly at 309-263-9304 or e-mail me directly. If you need an extension, have a question, please DO NOT post it here ... I don't check in here often.
AHR
