CD album cover

(Click on the image to see it larger.)

This week one of my fun projects was doing a CD demo album cover for a country western singer. He told me that he saw himself as a storyteller and that his music tends to be upbeat. The sunglasses and the tags left on his guitar are part of his image.

I liked that one of the tags said "Lifetime Warranty" and decided to make it a prominent element of the photo. He was great to work with and loved what we ended up with.

Quote of the day

"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The camera doesn't matter (all that much).

Camera manufacturer's would like you to believe that if you use their best cameras that your photos will look great. Because of their advertising, many foolishly believe that it's the camera that creates the image and it doesn't matter too much who's behind it.

It doesn't work that way. Cameras don't make great photos any more than Steinway pianos make great music or word processors create great writing. Great photographers bring a mastery of lighting, color, design, psychology, problem solving, pre-visualization and many other skills to the table. Like a chain, the end result will only be as good its weakest link. It's usually not the the camera that's the weak link.

Photographers abilities vary immensely. Anyone can say they're a professional photographer, just as they can say they're a great singer. Many delude themselves into thinking that they're a good photographer because they have a good digital camera and occasionally get decent shots. 

There are millions of them. I call it the American Idol effect. Just like the tens of thousands of people who go to the tryouts and get upset when their "talent" isn't recognized. They believe they're great when in fact, they're usually really bad. It just goes to show how difficult it is to judge ourselves, the true test is how others judge us. People who aren't friends or relatives. People in the business who are qualified to judge. 

If you were to contact any of those tens of thousands of people, they'd tell you they're great. Your chances of choosing an excellent one would be slim to none. It's the same with hiring a photographer who's inexperienced. 

If your images are important, make sure you hire someone with lots of experience and a great track record as a professional commercial photographer.

Quote of the day

"Amateurs talk about equipment. Professionals talk about photos."

Anonymous

One way to save money on photography.

Usually I advise my clients to trim their photography costs by limiting their shot list to those images that are the most essential and strategic to their positioning. Sometimes however, clients still have a lot of images that they want to capture in one day.

The only way to do this is to spend much less time setting up each image. To accomplish this I use both my "Naturalight" technique which relies on minimal additional lighting and digital enhancement. 

Here are some sample images from a one day shoot (plus a half day of post-production).  My client had moved to new facilities and wanted images for several purposes - some to show that they are a major player in their industry (which they are) and some for internal uses such as employee recruitment. 

With the help of an assistant, slightly over twenty set-ups were shot that day. The image that took the longest was in the server room - which required lighting.

While these images are not as dramatic as ones with extensive lighting, I show them to demonstrate that it's possible to communicate a very positive image of your operations without spending hours setting up and lighting each photograph.

(Click on any of the images to see them larger.)

Quote of the day

"The simplest things are often the truest."

Richard Bach

Do you want the best price or the best value?

If you wanted to hire someone to design your website would you choose whoever quoted the lowest price or the one that you felt would deliver the best value? Smart buyers buy on value.

Understand that you're paying for the skill, knowledge and experience of the designer. You're not really interested in just buying a website, you're really looking to buy a medium to increase sales. If you paid a designer to build you a website and that website didn't bring in new customers would you be happy with it? Of course not.

When hiring designers, writers or photographers, don't make the foolish mistake of thinking that they're all the same. Choose someone who's skilled, knowledgable, creative and has a marketing mindset. Remember, it's not creative unless it sells.

Marketing done properly will make you money; it's not an expense, it's an investment. It's the most important function of your business. It brings in new customers. It increases sales.

Quote of the day

"Any person who contributes to prosperity must prosper in turn."

Earl Nightingale

Why are some photos worthless from a sales perspective?

What makes some photos worthless is when they're just dropped into a page for decoration like clip art. They don't create curiosity. They don't create desire. They don't convey quality. They don't inform.

Unfortunately, there are many otherwise talented photographers, graphic artists and even creative directors at ad agencies that just don't get it. They're not effective marketers. They're so caught up in attempting to make some cool looking photo or hip website that they're often too clever for their own good. It's not creative unless it sells.

The photos need to be relevant and unique to your company. You can't simply drop photos into a page and expect them to work. They need to reinforce the message for your particular service or product. Captions under or next to the photos can be used to strengthen your message. People look at the photos and then read the descriptions. Captions are read far more often than body copy.

Quote of the day

"Creative without strategy is called 'ART'. Creative with strategy is called 'ADVERTISING'."

Jef Richards

Use captions with your photos

According to David Ogilvy in his classic book "Ogilvy on Advertising", it's wise to include captions with any photos you use. They're many more times likely to be read than body copy, so use them to both describe the photo and further the message that you're communicating in your body copy. 

Quote of the day

"The more information in your advertising, the more persuasive it will be."

David Ogilvy