The Intention of the Photographer

Click on the image to see it larger

Click on the image to see it larger

Click on the image to see it larger

In my opinion, when evaluating the work of photographers to decide who to hire, it's important to try to discern the intention of the photographer.

Now yes, technical aspects of the images are also essential. Photographs are only as good as the weakest link that created them. (Unless the photographer got lucky).

This includes the quality and consistency of the lighting in addition to the quality of the cameras and lenses. It also consists of the skills of the photographer: technical knowledge, mastery of light, attention to detail, compositional skills, problem solving abilities, creativity, their expertise and artistic ability with Photoshop and other post-production programs; and the interpersonal skills that are so necessary to evoke the desired expressions and body language when people are photographed.

Assuming the photographer has all of this down, there is still another problem. Many photographers see themselves as artists and try to create images that will draw attention to themselves so everyone will be impressed at how great they are. It's like a writer who wants to write the great American novel that will impress everyone with his or her writing skills. What makes a writer great though, is when the reader gets so involved with the story that they are unaware of the writing. It's the same way with photography.

When someone engages my services for a project, unless specifically instructed otherwise, I intend to create images that will improve their image and increase their sales.

It's not my goal for people to say "that's a great photo." My goal is for the viewer to see a product and feel it's beautifully made and desirable to buy. For the viewer of a room to think, what a beautiful space. For the viewer of a person to think: they look attractive, professional, intelligent, and trustworthy. I trust them enough to do business with them.

Without a doubt, the intention of the photographer matters. Remember, it's only creative if it sells.

Indeed, we "buy with our eyes." 

Make yourself and your differences seen

One of the biggest problems in business today is the intense competition caused by our ability to produce things faster than we can consume them. Because of computers, almost every task can be done faster and more efficiently. Fewer workers are required to do any task. So you have more products and services available than there are people who can afford them or even have time to use them.

Take movies or books for instance, how many can anyone possibly see or read? How many other things are competing for our time and attention? We're all very picky then about where we spend our time and money, so you have a situation where a few products and services do very well and the rest don't.

If you want your business to be one of those few that do well, you have to stand out and be different. You can't look like everybody else. You have to be visible and communicate your unique benefits very quickly (people are in a hurry).

Photos that are strategically created to communicate your story can give you that winning edge that tips the scale in your favor. They communicate the advantages of what you provide far faster and in a more convincing way than words alone, words that may not even be read. Don't just tell them what makes you the better choice, show them.

Target your ideal customers

In today's marketplace you must differentiate yourself from your competition. You must design your website and your sales copy so that it targets your ideal customers: those that benefit the very most by purchasing your service or product.

This branding will make you stand out from a sea of clones who copy what everyone else in their industry does. Their websites all look pretty much alike. Because they try to appeal to everyone, they don't have a strong appeal to anyone. Will this specialization turn off some potential customers? Yes.

You have to give something up to get something else. Strong brands repel as strongly as they attract. However, the customers that you lose are not the ones that you want, and you'll make it up with repeat business from those who you're meant to serve.

My website (www.Quindry.com) for instance is geared to business. My ideal clients are those that want to either increase their sales by attracting new customers or wish to improve their image (or both). I don't shoot weddings, babies, model portfolios or pets. The people that I am not meant to serve usually leave my site as soon as they see my home page. That's fine. My website communicates what I do and who I serve. It's meant to attract only my ideal clients.

Yours should too. You'll gain much more business than you lose.

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.

It's not creative unless it increases sales.

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The purpose of your images should always be to increase sales. They should be eye-catching, convey quality and create desire. 

Unfortunately, many professional photographers, graphic designers, creative directors and ad agencies just don't get it. They get so caught up in their desire to "be creative", win an award or copy the latest fad that they totally miss the point. They forget that the whole reason they're hired is to increase sales.

In the right light (and with some help in post-production), everything is beautiful.

The six images above are from a series of about 40 that I just shot for a housewares manufacturer. They've been digitally enhanced and retouched as the prototypes provided were scratched up and didn't match the colors desired for the final products.  The colors were modified in post-production to match the PMS colors specified. 

The photos you use create powerful perceptions of your products or service. High quality professional photos provide a great return on your investment through increased sales.

Images that aren't high quality create the perception of an inferior company and inferior products. The money you think you're saving is small compared to the sales you'll lose.

Images that increase sales will return profits that far exceed their modest cost. Cheap shots  will lose you sales without you even knowing it.

Quote of the day

"It's not creative unless it sells."

From a Benton & Bowles campaign (for their agency)

Quote of the day

"The fact is, everyone is in sales. Whatever area you work in, you do have clients and you do need to sell."

Jay Abraham

Cut costs or increase your income?

Many businesses foolishly focus on reducing expenses. Now, it's true that you need to be wise, but how much can you cut and still stay in business? Probably the most you can add to the bottom line this way and still keep your doors open is 10 or 20%. 

If you want to substantially increase your profit, you've got to increase your income, and you do that with marketing. Marketing is not an expense, it's an investment. Paper towels are an expense.

Properly done, marketing returns much more in profits than it costs. If you were at a slot machine that continually paid back $200 for every $100 dollars that you spent would you consider putting in another $100 an expense or an investment?  As long as your slot machine called marketing is paying off, you should be putting more money into it, not less. If it's not paying off then you need to fix your marketing or fix what you're selling.

By investing in marketing the potential increase in your profits is limitless.

Why stock photos undermine trust.

Many people foolishly believe that photos of their staff or their facilities are either unnecessary or wouldn't work as effectively as a stock photo in their sales literature or website. They don't show either their facility or their staff. They just paste in some meaningless clip art in the form of stock photos. Photos that show a friendly looking person taking a customer service call, a multicultural group of models having a meeting in a conference room or something else just as generic. A wonderful opportunity to convey some real information - wasted.

Really people - is this the best you can do?

It's really all a big lie and EVERYBODY can see through it. It makes you look like a poser. It really betrays trust at the most fundamental level, and trust is the key to selling. I think you're probably better off with a bad photo than a stock photo (although that's far from ideal too).

Imagine that you booked a vacation at a resort. You flew 1000 miles to get there only to find out:

The beach in the photo wasn't their beach.

The pool in the photo wasn't theirs.

The rooms in the photos were from another resort.

How would you react? What would you tell your friends? How many people would you tell? Would you go back? Would you ever trust them again?

Now, for some images, stock is fine: A close up of a putt being made, a car key, a bouquet of roses. The problem arises when they're used for more than the trivial.

When I see stock photos being used where the images are important, (and most people find stock photos VERY easy to spot), I immediately think:

Who are they kidding? What are they hiding?

Are they really such a rinky-dink operation that they can't afford professional photos?

Why should I trust them?

You can't afford to look like everyone else.

When the economy's tight and everyone's looking for more business, you've got to make sure that you're seen as being different than your competitors. 

If your marketing makes you appear just like every other _______ (fill in the blank) then you've got way too much competition for too little business. The only reason to buy from you is if you're the cheapest. Remember though - any fool can offer a lower price; especially one that will soon be going out of business. 

Make sure your website and brochures show what makes you distinctive. Explain how you're different and why they should care. How they benefit from that. You're unique - use that to your advantage. If you can show images that make you appear to be the best choice USE THEM, perception is everything.

If you're using copy that a competitor could use just by changing the name of the company or product, change it. It's meaningless. Same with your photos.

Making products look beautiful

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The products

This beauty shot of acrylic pieces was created last week for a multi-national chemical company. Barbara Craig, the art director, gave excellent direction and contributed a great deal to the shoot.

The product was very challenging as it was just a few clear pieces of plastic. This particular product is very strong and has applications in architecture, so this image was designed to appeal to architects.

The goal was to come up with an image that would communicate beauty and quality while creating curiosity to get the viewer to read the sales copy. 

When choosing a photographer for your business needs, make sure to use someone who brings more to the table than just an ability to operate a camera. 

Quote of the day

"In the end, better pictures always win. 

It's only a question of who has them."

Anonymous

What's YOUR weakest link?

The strength of a chain is only that of it's weakest link. It's the same with the results you get from your marketing.

Your results aren't determined by what's best about your marketing. Your results are determined by the weakest link in your marketing.

Consider your website and brochures and what goes into them. Design, copy, distribution, and the images. 

You can buy more distribution through pay-per-click, advertising or direct mail, but if you don't fix your weakest links you're wasting your money.

Work on fixing your weak links. You'll get greater results from doing that than anything else you can do.

Photographs that create desire

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This image is the most recent in a series shot for a flooring manufacturer.  Each image features a particular product line. This image was for "The Stone Collection".

They need photographs that make their flooring look beautiful and luxurious, photographs that create desire.

Mike Ticcino,  the art director and designer came up with the terrific idea of using cast shadows on the product. He also styled this image. We've used several types of shadows - most of them of different types of windows. This one is made to appear like dappled sunlight filtering through a window although the lighting is completely fabricated in the studio for purposes of control since the sun is constantly moving.

The client just brings a box of floor tiles and we arrange them on the studio floor and then light them beautifully (and add some post-production magic). 

Do you believe in your company's future?

As we enter the holiday season, people are now wondering whether it's wise to buy gift cards from many businesses. They're worried about them going out of business.

Buyers looking at your sales literature and website wonder the same thing. No one wants to get involved with a business that doesn't look like it's here to stay.

The quality of your marketing materials sends a huge message. That includes the quality of the paper, the printing, the design and the photographs.

Customers need to believe you're here to stay. The quality of your sales literature and website says volumes about whether you believe enough in your own company to invest in it yourself. 

If you don't believe in your business - why should anyone else?

What makes you different?

How are you different from your competitors? If it will benefit your customers tell them about it. Better yet - show them.

After all, if you're seen as the same as everybody else in your field, why should they buy from you unless you're the cheapest? Remember though, if they come for the price, they'll leave for the price.

Educate buyers. If your product or service has clear advantages show them! If you can't come up with any then fix your company.

Do your images show what makes you special?

Quote of the day

"Any damn fool can put on a deal, but it takes genius, faith and perseverance to create a brand."

David Ogilvy - advertising executive and author

The importance of a unified look

A strong, unified look in all of your marketing materials gives you an edge over your competitors. Your sales literature, brochures and website all need to look like they're from the same company. You need to build a brand.

If your sales pieces lack unity in their design you'll leave negative impressions. Your business comes across as disorganized and unpredictable. 

People want to deal with a company they can count on, that won't throw them surprises. To be trustworthy be consistent.

Likewise, the pieces themselves need unity. Stock photos should be kept to a minimum and preferably not used at all. Every image originating from a different source reduces their cohesiveness. 

Eye-catching images

Enhanced (click on the image to see it larger)

Before (click on the image to see it larger)

This image was just made for an annual report to illustrate an article on their commitment to working on the repair and improvement of infrastructure. We shot at a few locations that day.

When we drove up to the excavated area where the men were working there was a large cloud of dust coming up from the pit. I requested permission to go down with the workers and was given a few minutes to stage a shot. In just under two minutes of shooting I was able to get about 20 images (I know by the time stamps on the images). Total time in the pit - under 5 minutes.

This is a good example of digitally enhanced photography and it's power to improve images. One worker's shirt had printing on it that needed to be removed (it was the sub-contractor's t-shirt), there was some litter on the ground, major changes to color and tone were made. I decided before I shot to add my own dust cloud in post-production in order to control where it appeared and also to keep it from damaging a $6000 camera. Total time retouching and enhancing the image - about 2 hours.

You can more easily compare the before and after versions of this photo and others in my digitally enhanced photography portfolio.

Photos that build trust

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Images are key to building trust. This is one of a series of images of company executives done for their website. When I shoot portraits of employees my goal is usually to portray them as intelligent and warm individuals that you'd like to do business with.

When you're selling a service you are selling trust; good feelings. You're selling a relationship. There is no way to show the customer in advance what his tax return will look like.

I feel it's usually a mistake to hire models to pose as employees. (They're fine posing as customers.) Almost everybody can look good with the proper lighting, framing, angle and cropping. I also believe it's a big mistake to use stock photos. They just don't ring true. Rather than build trust, they erode it.

You can see more sample images in my people photography portfolio.