Bell teams up with Henry's, offers smartphones and 'phoneography' courses

Henry’s is Canada’s largest independent photography retailer and they are teaming up with Bell. announced that Henry’s customers can now experience the ultimate in Phoneography with a selection of Bell Mobility’s top camera-equipped smartphones alongside Henry’s industry leading instruction, top sales experts and wireless photography gear.

Synergy between photography stores and mobile carriers is nothing new. Telus and Black's had a long time partnership before Telus eventually bought Black's and the two lived happily ever after. The irony is that fewer people are buying cameras because they are using their phones and so it must be a bittersweet pairing for photography stores to have to get into bed with the carriers.

Bell Mobility will sell smartphones like the Sony Xperia Z2, Samsung’s Galaxy S5 and the HTC One (M8) will be available first at Henry’s Toronto and Pickering locations and ultimately at all 32 Henry’s stores.

“The majority of Canadians carry a phone with camera capabilities in their pocket and the daily global tally of photographs shared is staggering: 350 million Snapchats sent, 300 million Facebook photos posted, 60 million Instagram photos uploaded and 100 hours of video added to YouTube every minute,” says Ian Landy, CEO of Henry’s. “Camera phone use is ubiquitous and through our partnership with Bell we can now combine top-tier mobile phone service with our extensive photography expertise.”

Henry’s will offer six smartphone models selected for their superior camera capabilities, including the Sony Xperia Z2, Samsung’s Galaxy S5 and the all new HTC One (M8). Supporting the growing desire to blend anywhere, anytime connectivity with superior camera quality, these smartphones will be available with service from Bell Mobility on Canada’s largest LTE network. Consumers will also find the largest selection of accessories to complement the smartphone’s camera function, including portable quick connect lenses, 3D viewfinders, smartphone stabilizers and more. 

“Today’s top smartphones offer a stunning range of user-friendly camera features and tools that can instantly help consumers take the high quality photos and video. Bell is proud to partner with the leading name in photography, Henry’s, to help consumers make the very most of the powerful camera capabilities in their superphones,” said Wade Oosterman, President of Bell Mobility and Residential Services, and Chief Brand Officer for Bell.

With every camera phone purchase and activation at Henry’s, customers will receive a free Phoneography course from Henry’s School of Imaging with smartphone brand specific courses starting April 26. Current Bell Mobility customers are eligible to receive a $20 discount upon registering for the course. The school currently offers more than 40 different photography and related courses and serves upwards of 15,000 photography students annually. This value-added approach to purchasing a smartphone allows customers to learn all about their new device’s camera capabilities from the Canadian leader in photography education.

Henry’s will also offer consumers who bring in a working camera a minimum credit of $25 towards the activation of a new phone with Bell.