| | Gwen Simpson's Inspired Market Gardens, west of Stony Plain, presents impressive attention to detail and creates a truly 'inspired' experience. This family-owned farm works to a simple philosophy that embraces natural production methods and environmental sustainability. As Simpson explains, "whether you visit our farm, meet us at the market, or order produce from us, you have our commitment to unique products and superb quality."
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The centerpiece of the farm is the country store that features edible flower jellies, herbal teas, prepared herb mixes and condiments, herbal oils and creams. All of the edible and personal products contain only natural or organic ingredients. Also available for purchase are gardening books, cookbooks and souvenirs featuring images of the many farm products.
"One of the marketing and promotional aspects that makes this market garden stand out is their use of photography in their on-line, on-product, on-site and take away information," says Janice McGregor, business commercialization coach with Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Stony Plain. "Excellent photos really make their website stand out."
"Linda Arlia, Creative Images & Freelancing in Duffield, took all the photos of our herbs, flowers, animals and farm views," says Simpson. "We credit Linda with all the photos on products we sell in the store so she gets some recognition too. She understood our farm philosophy and was able to capture images that truly reflect our wonderful array of herbal and floral products. We especially like the sepia tone photo of our country store."
Carefully selected images portray more than a thousand words and strengthen the message and the impact on customers.
Simpson's top 10 tips for perfect farm market images:
- Hire a freelance or professional photographer.
- Credit the photographer on all images for mutual benefit.
- Take as many photos as possible of products (animals, flowers, herbs etc.) and views of the farm at different stages of development.
- Take photos of plants or farm products at various stages of development during growing season.
- Be sure to include people or customers in some of the shots to give them more 'life'.
- Use higher resolution images (300dpi) at the finished print size. A lower resolution has less pixels and will result in blurry printed images. It's fine to use lower resolution photos for websites.
- Make sure photos are jpeg or pdf format.
- Use photo images on the business website, brochures and other items for a consistent look.
- Sell postcards, bookmarks, fridge magnets, calendars, note cards and prints featuring photos of the farm business or products.
- Experiment with sepia tones and full-color options.
For timely, incisive and creative ideas for agriculture entrepreneurs, subscribe to the Alberta Agri-Preneur newsletter. The Alberta Agri-Preneur is available free of charge by contacting Alberta Agriculture's Westlock office at (780) 349-4466 (dial 310-0000 for toll-free service), or by e-mailing darleen.lynes@gov.ab.ca.
Back issues of the Alberta Agri-Preneur newsletter are available on-line at www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/newslett.nsf/homemain/agpr.
Contact:
Janice McGregor
(780) 968-3553
Gwen Simpson
(780) 963-5625
www.inspiredmarketgardens.com |
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