Are vertical photos okay for Maritz gas station shops?

I have a quick question and I'm sure someone here has the answer. When taking photos for Maritz gas station audits, is it okay to take vertical shots?

I've been taking them all with a horizontal orientation because the guidlines specify 640x480 pixels. This doesn't make sense for capturing images of gas pumps, but I've heard no complaints from Maritz. Occasionally I'll submit a vertical shot (480x640) when a car is blocking the pump and that's the only way to capture the entire pump, and they've gone through okay.

Any insights?

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I've always rotated the camera to "portrait" mode so the pump fills the frame and there's never been a problem. I would guess they would prefer it that way so they can see the details better.

Time to build a bigger bridge.

You are likjely talking about the Main ID sign. If I turn the camera to capture that shot, I make sure to rotate it before uploading. No problems.

Oh, yes, of course. After you take them, you'll need to go through and "rotate" all the ones you did that with. But that's a one click thing. And there have been times when I've uploaded pics for a report and they rotated them automatically if I don't remember to do it first. But I don't think that was Maritz that did that.

Time to build a bigger bridge.

Thanks,

That is what I needed to know. I normally use portrait mode for the pumps and the Main ID sign for other MSCs, but Maritz was so specific about 640x480 I didn't want to take any chances. I'm looking at the guidelines for the POP audit, and I would much prefer to shoot the pumps in portrait mode so that I can see more details in the photos when I'm filling out the report.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/2014 05:21PM by mystery2me.

I do portrait all the time for these shops.

When I did my first station shop for them, they happened to call me to offer it to me and we went over the guidelines. The scheduler said as long as I chose the correct size for all the pictures it didn't matter. I use a picture resizer and tag all the photos, portrait and landscape and then set the size as 640 x 480. I've never had a problem. I think they just don't want bigger sizes because they take to long to download. Just my opinion :-)

I was given specific instructions about three months ago about the company that Maritz got as a client this year--the one that wants a photo of every pump. I was talking to someone about some other issue, and since the person seemed knowledgable, I asked which way they wanted the gas pump photos. The answer was, an emphatic "horizontal." I pointed out that that showed less of the pump and more of the surrounding island, and was told that that was just fine. I pointed out that the photos in the guidelines showed a vertical orientation. I was told that that was just to fit them on the page. I got the idea that:
A: Even though we've rotated the vertical oriented ones, it's still a pain to view them.
B: That they may actually like seeing some 'context' around the pumps.

So, for months I had been carefully filling the frame with the pump, and then rotating my photos. No one had complained. I stopped doing the extra work immediately. No one has complained. (I wrote a note at the bottom of my first few reports photographed the new easy way, begging them to let me know if I had misunderstood what they wanted me to do. I never got a complaint.)

I have always done them as a vertical shop, as I did with their predecessor. Not once have I been admonished that they were done vertically. Of course, I always rotate them whilst at the station after downloading them into my laptop.
My greatest problem has always been getting the straight-on shot - there always seems to be one vehicle with their driver dawdling at the pump. Many times they seem to be looking at their smartphone, talking or texting.
As usual, I get back in my own auto and drive up behind them, waiting patiently for them to drive away. Just yesterday I did this and the driver came out from the convenience store looking panic-stricken as I was writing on my cheatsheet that was attached to a clipboard.
"Are you an undercover cop? Is there something wrong with my truck? Have I done something wrong?" he asked.
"No," I calmly said, smiling nicely. "I'm only doing an audit for the company."
"Oh."

If the customer is camped out at the pump for a long period of time and they are not actually pumping gas, I just ask them politely to move their car so I can take a picture of the pump. I have never been denied.

I shoot horizontally, vertically, and sometimes, just to be artsy, diagonally. I upload them full size right out of my iPhone 5 and never rotate.
Never had one complaint. It's one of the reasons I love Maritz. Their editors are very reasonable people- to me, at least.

______________________________________________________________________
Seriously, nobody cares that you're offended.

How do I set my Samsung S5 to take 640x480 jpg photos?

I met with Maritz people in person a couple of years back to complete a special project. They were emphatic that the photos all be horizontal. So, that is what I do.

@Karen IL: "I met with Maritz people in person a couple of years back to complete a special project. They were emphatic that the photos all be horizontal. So, that is what I do."

So, the simple answer here is: rotate them to make the subject horizontal.

For what it is worth, I use a digital camera rather than my phone and always take vertical shots of the pumps. I rotate them when I get home and submit them. I have done hundreds of gas station shops and have never had them rejected or commented on.

loghomelover Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How do I set my Samsung S5 to take 640x480 jpg
> photos?

Download your instruction manual here...
[downloadcenter.samsung.com]

A gas pump is a vertical subject, therefore it deserves a vertical picture. I've submitted them and haven't had any problems.

.
Have PV-500 & willing to travel.
"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." (The Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil, 1977)

"Somedays you're the pigeon, somedays you're the statue.” J. Andrew Taylor

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." Galileo Galilei

...but no diagonals.

My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me.
Benjamin Disraeli

I always do horizontal and have never been told to do otherwise.

Tawana,
Did you notice your photos became grainy and pixelated after resizing? I am doing this for the bank shop (brochures) and it makes the quality go down after resizing. Unless I can figure out how to scan directly to a 640x480 (ancient scanner I'm using here), I worry that they aren't readable, especially the date on the rate sheets.

Or does Maritz not care about clarity, as you said... speed of downloading. Thanks.

Where are we going... and why are we in a hand basket?

I haven't noticed that, mine seem to be fine. I use that program called Free Picture Resizer for all my pictures for all MSC and I haven't had any complaints (so far). I keep the original format with 8 selected for quality. I also always use the batch on it but that shouldn't make any difference. I can show you one of my pics and let you see how it looks. :-)

Thank you, Tawana. I'll try out the Free Picture Resizer. My boyfriend thinks that there is a setting in the scanner that can be saved for 640x480. The digital photos turn out fine, but the scanned docs are goofy after resizing. I'll try both and report my results. If not, I'll submit them as is, distorted but the proper size and see what happens.

Where are we going... and why are we in a hand basket?

I have always taken vertical photos of the gas pumps, horizontal of everything else and haven't had any problems.

2015 blue and white Execution Guide, Page 6: Photos must be horizontal. Vertical photos are not acceptable. This same statement was in the 2014 guide.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

I just double checked my shops for that brand last year. All my photos of the gas pumps and signs were vertical. Overall images of the site and building were horizontal...and paid for all. Maybe it was because I waited until they called and were desperate to get the shops done? I don't know...just thinking that could be a reason?

This is certainly an interesting question. For what it's worth, I was just briefed on the phone for some gas station audits by them, and I asked this question. I was told vertical for the pumps.

"Some of the shoppers here, but not all, don't wait for a vehicle to leave a pump, because their time is money, and instead take a shot from the side of the pump, instead of waiting for the vehicle to move."

And I bet some of those shoppers weren't even working with Maritz. The company I audited gas stations for had it in the instructions to take photos from side if the audit was otherwise complete and the car had not moved. And you are right, time is money. Both shoppers get paid the same $15 or $20, so which is smarter, taking 20 minutes for the shop or taking 2 hours? If the MSC has a problem with those pump shots they could always raise the fee to justify the additional time on site.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

I was never shy about asking anyone to move. Most often it was either construction or landscaping vehicles and the guys were always accommodating. A lot of those landscapers get paid by the job rather than the hour so they completely understood me wanting to get done and get gone.

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Are vertical photos okay for Maritz gas station shops?

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