It's not enough to just have images that get attention.

Many who don't know better often think "All I need is a photo that will get attention", figuring that a viewer will then read the copy. It's not that simple.

In the case of an advertisement you do need an image that will stop viewers from flipping past your ad, but it's still not enough. Attention is really very easy to get. An image of a train wreck or a dead cat will get attention, but it most certainly won't make people want to buy. The image also needs to increase desire for the product or service that you're selling.

If your talking about images for a website, attention doesn't even enter into it. If they're at your website already you don't need to get their attention, you've already got that. They're there for information. You need well executed, beautiful and interesting images that communicate benefits to the viewer. You're selling trust, and images such as these go a long way to providing the information and trust that they require before they'll buy.

What are you trying to communicate?

Before you design your website (or corporate identity piece), it's very important that you decide who your target audience is, what their problems are (or what they want), and how you can help them. You can't appeal to everyone, and shouldn't even try.

Think about how the goods or services that you provide are different than your competitors and what type of buyer receives the greatest benefit from your unique way of doing things. Then decide on how best to communicate to those buyers what they'll gain by purchasing from your company (and what they'll lose if they don't).

Only after this is done should you decide on what images will reinforce your message and how they should be executed. The photography should be crafted with a consideration of what you want to communicate and who you're appealing to.

You want images that show your uniqueness, are believable, convey quality, work together stylistically and strengthen your brand.

How to convey quality

Here's a link to an excellent article in Entrepreneur magazine by John Williams - "6 Ways to Convey Quality". He has some very good advice. (Although I'm in total disagreement with him about the use of stock photography. Stock photos and communicating quality don't go together, no matter how good the photos look - they don't ring true.). Check it out.

What if fast food restaurants took their own photos?

Imagine that you're standing at the counter looking at a display of these photos before ordering. On the wall are large photos of all of the things you can order.

What would they look like?

How much money do you think they'd save?

How would it affect their sales?

Would it entice you to eat there?

There's a very good reason they don't do their own photography.

Next time you think you'll save some money by having an employee do your photos, think again. It's not about the camera.

Quote of the day

"The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it."

Ansel Adams

The role of marketing.

To understand the role of marketing it's essential to understand the way that buyers decide what and where to purchase.

First, a buyer recognizes that they have a need or desire.

Then they seek out information: they have questions. Marketing's role is to educate buyers about what needs your product or service fills and the special advantages that you offer. You can't appeal to all buyers in all ways (you can't be seen as the top quality provider and also the low cost provider). You must carve out your own niche that appeals to a segment of the buyers and then educate them. You must answer the question "Why should I buy from you?".

Your marketing should act both as filter and funnel. It should filter out the buyers who you aren't meant to serve. It should funnel the rest to either buy or contact you for more information (in a frame of mind that's predisposed to doing business with you). Then it's the role of sales (one on one selling) to fine tune the presentation to their specific needs.

If your marketing doesn't educate, if it doesn't clearly explain why they should choose you, then it's not doing its job. You'll lose sales. They'll leave your website in a second to look elsewhere.

Photos are an excellent way to educate. They speed up the process since the brain understands the information in a photo so much faster than text. They provide a way for clients to connect with and relate to you. But only if you use images that are uniquely yours.

If you use stock photos you'll look no different than everybody else. They don't educate and inform. Buyers will wonder what your hiding. Stock photos undermine trust, and without trust you'll lose sales.

Using photos with PR releases.

Here's a link to an excellent Entrepreneur magazine article by Rachel Meranus - "Optimize Visibility with Quality Photos" about how to effectively use photos with PR releases. Lots of very good advice. Check it out.

Photos that communicate quality

(click on the image to see it larger)

This image of a '67 Corvette Stingray die-cast model was created for The Franklin Mint along with some detail shots. It was quite cool actually. The lights worked, the windows cranked up and down, and much more. They need photos that communicate quality, create desire and make their models look as realistic as possible. Remember, we buy with our eyes. High quality photos can make all of the difference between making a sale or not. Great marketers like The Franklin Mint get it. They understand the vital role that photography plays in motivating buyers to purchase.

Quote of the day

"Photography is like golf, you never master it, but you can always get better."

Anonymous

What does your website say about your business?

For many businesses, their website is the primary place where new prospects get introduced to the company. Search engines have replaced the yellow pages as the place buyers turn to for information when looking to buy products and services.

Your website creates the first impression they get of your company, and first impressions are powerful and lasting. It must be relevant, easy to navigate, convey quality, instill trust and show what makes you different from others who provide similar products or services. If it doesn't it's as easy as a mouse click for them to go elsewhere.

So what does your website say about your business? Does it make you look like an industry leader or like everyone else in your industry? Does it clearly and concisely explain the benefits you offer over your competitors? Does it show your staff, your facilities and your products in their best possible light? Do you come off as first class or third rate? Do you provide social proof - testimonials of how others have benefited by doing business with you? 

Using a template makes you look like everybody else and makes you look second class. Stock photos also make you look second class and erode trust - people will wonder what you're hiding. Everybody knows they're stock photos. Who do you think you're kidding? Using photos that aren't professionally done makes you look cheap and doesn't make a good first impression.

Why photos need to be digitally enhanced.

Most people look at great photos and think that they're that way because the photographer used a great camera. That fiction is perpetuated by camera manufacturer's ads that try to make you think that if only you had a better camera you'd get similar results, just as a golf club manufacturer would like you to believe you'll play more like Tiger Woods if you use their clubs.

Don't get me wrong, as a pro, the quality of the equipment that I use is very important to me. I also know though that the work that I deliver has received considerable post-production, enhancing and retouching. Even though I use top of the line equipment, the images that come out of my camera are ALWAYS enhanced in some way. I won't settle for what the camera gives me.

In addition to great lighting and composition, the best photos that you see in ads are almost always digitally enhanced and retouched. Products, places, people. . . (even supermodels).

The best photographer in the world can't deliver perfection unless the subject is perfect. . . and they never are.

Cameras don't see the same way our eyes do. They're sensitive to changes in the color of light that the human eye can't detect. They can't handle scenes with a wide range of brightnesses like our eyes do - shadow areas go black and bright areas lose detail. On the other hand, the resolution of good lenses pick up every little flaw, every piece of dust on a product, every pore in a face, every defect, and bring them to our attention.

Before digital photography, the great photographers like Ansel Adams produced amazing images by complex darkroom maneuvers that improved on the images that the cameras produced. Now this is done using a computer in the "digital darkroom".

The purpose of digital enhancement and retouching is to improve the imperfect and create an image that looks far better than the camera is capable of recording on it's own. When it's done properly it's all undetectable by the viewer.

To learn more and see a gallery of photos that are digitally enhanced, including many before and afters, read this article: Photoshop Expert Techniques and this: Before and After Images.

Quote of the day

"Whatever distracts, detracts."

Rich Quindry

Selling to the overwhelmed

We're all overwhelmed. Too much information and not enough time to absorb it. Too many choices to make whether we're buying breakfast cereal or mustard. It used to be that if you wanted to buy a phone you had a choice of a black desk model or a black wall phone - now you have dozens if not hundreds to pick from.

What does this all mean? It means we have no spare time. Doing something means not doing something else. We're overwhelmed with too many features on electronic devices. Features we don't understand or even care about. We yearn for things that are simple, direct and easy to understand.

Apple understands this. They design products for simplicity and usability. They have raving fans (including me).

It's all about clarity. In an age where we're bombarded with information it's more important than ever to communicate in a way that's simple, direct and that leaves no room for misunderstanding. Websites should be simple and easy to navigate. Copy should be short and easy to read.

Also use custom photos to communicate your message. They speak volumes and can be understood in seconds. They're perfect for simplifying and speeding communication. They provide clarity.

We buy with our eyes.

(click on an image to see it larger)

These are a few of the images that were shot two days ago for an interior designer. We were tight for time and budget, so I shot mostly available light, averaging about 15 minutes setting up and shooting each image.

The images don't come out of he camera looking like this. Extensive post-production is required to make the most of the data captured by the camera. The post-production on this assignment averaged about 30 minutes each image.

I show these to illustrate that a good interior images are often possible without going in with a crew and doing extensive lighting.

These images will be used on the designers website and in her portfolio. Since people buy with their eyes, photographs are by far the most effective way to show what she can do.

Remember, if you provide a service, you're selling trust. You can't show a buyer in advance what you're going to deliver, but you can show what you've done for others. Perception is everything, and you can't afford to fool around with images that are less than the best that you can afford. If you miss out on getting a new client because your photos don't do justice to your work what have you saved? Great images aren't an expense, they're an investment.

Clean room operation

(click on the image to see it larger)

One aspect of my work that I find very enjoyable is being able to go into all different kinds of manufacturing environments and seeing how things are produced.

I recently shot this (and many other related images) at a New England pharmaceutical plant. It shows my client's product (syringes) being filled by machinery in a clean room. 

Quote of the day

"Photography teaches that how well you see has nothing to do with how well you see."

Anonymous

Website traffic isn't enough

So many businesses spend a fortune on search engine optimization (SEO) and Google ads thinking that if they increase their traffic that the business will just flow in.

So naive.

Traffic is important, but that's not nearly enough. You have to clearly answer the reason why people should do business with you while at the same time conveying quality and building trust.

A website only as strong as it's weakest link. Design, copy, graphics and photos must all work together to reinforce a cohesive message, show what makes your service or products special and give compelling reasons to do business with you.

If you use stock photos and/or templates you'll just look like everybody else. You'll never build trust.

Visitors aren't captive like they are in a sales showroom. On the web, they're only a couple of clicks away from your competitor. 

If your website isn't generating sales or at least leads, you'd better re-think it and change it.

Vacation Snapshots

(Click on an image to see it larger.)

Here's a few personal images shot during the last week. They were shot in the Caribbean. I love their use of color.

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.

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.