Canon U.S.A. announces customer-matching service, Lightroom plug-in

GaryPageau ,

Canon U.S.A. Inc. announced the beta version of the company’s first photographer matching service Image Connect, making the process of finding and hiring a photographer simpler. The company also launched a Photo Culling plug-in for Adobe Lightroom Classic to support the workflow needs of photographers.

“With a deep-rooted heritage in imaging expertise, our company has built a trusted reputation in providing tools and services to professional photographers that help better their craft and support them in building their business with confidence,” said Kazuto Ogawa, president and chief operating officer, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “Services, such as Image Connect, will provide  professional photographers with a great value proposition, offering reliability and peace of mind for their customers that can in turn increase their business opportunities as well as their productivity.”

Image Connect is a new brand-agnostic photographer matching service, offered through the RAISE photo community platform, connecting customers with professional photographers, so that the customer can focus on the moment while the photographer captures it. The beta version of the service will be available in a limited number of markets in Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Image Connect will initially focus on family events like newborn portraits, birthday parties, family portraits, religious events, and engagements.

Here is how Image Connect works:

  • Through the platform, customers can provide basic details for the job, such as event type, location, and date
  • Once photographers are matched with the customer through the platform, customers review photographer profiles and invite those they like to bid on the job
  • Photographers create an offer which allows them to set their own price (rather than adhering to standardized pricing) and allows them to communicate their rates and value to customers
  • Once an offer is accepted, the job is booked through the platform
  • Following the event, images are delivered electronically to the customers through a Canon customer portal

Powered by the Canon Computer Vision AI engine, the new Photo Culling Plugin for Adobe Lightroom Classic can save photographers countless hours in post-production by using technical models to cull for image sharpness, noise, exposure, contrast, closed eyes, and red eyes. Analyzed images will be flagged with different colored flags to remain true to the native Adobe Lightroom Classic experience. The photographer also has the ability to customize the settings within each technical model to remain in complete control. The Photo Culling plug-in will be available exclusively on the Adobe Exchange App Marketplace for a monthly subscription.

Both services are currently scheduled to be available in Q1 2020.