• by Aaron Baar , December 14, 2015

During the holiday season, when so many people are looking to take — and share — the most impactful images, Canon is giving New York-area amateur photographers a little real-time help.

The brand this week set up smart billboards in some of the most-photographed locations in New York City to give people tips about how to get the most out of their shots.

“We want to help consumers tell better stories, and we want to help them capture the best possible images,” Michelle Fernandez, Director of Marketing at Canon, tells Marketing Daily. “A lot of people just ask basic questions about how to take a better picture. These are practical tips that anyone can read.”

Using real-time data like weather, location, time and traffic, the billboards offer tips about how to make their shots better. One board, positioned in front of the Brooklyn Bridge, counts down to “magic hour” when the sun is setting, so photographers can get the most dramatic lighting for the setting. Another board, in front of the Flatiron Building, suggests different angles and lenses to make the shot stand out.

“Thinking through things like weather and traffic, we thought about what types of photos people would want to capture,” Fernandez says.

The brand (and agency 360i) determined the locations (which also include Central Park South and a fixed digital board near Madison Square Garden) through social listening tools to find the most-photographed destinations. Canon representatives will also be at the locations helping people take the best shots and try out Canon products. Canon will also use social listening to react in real-time to social media, using the hashtag #RealtimeTips.

“Photography taken through the right less is really easy, and people today are super-creative” Fernandez says. “We want to help people come up with beautiful photos.”