Good Photos Are a Marketer's Secret Weapon

Photos say things words cannot.

In the examples here, the photos say professional or unprofessional, friendly or distant, engaged or posed. We see far too many bad pictures in general—photos that actually detract from the kind of message the organization is trying to convey.

Why is this? Well, often it's a matter of vision. Marketers who understand the power of a good photo budget for a professionally-taken collection with which to work. In the same way that hiring the right architect can make all the difference in a first impression for your building, hiring the right photographer can make all the difference in a first impression for your company.

Anyone can take a photo, but it takes a skilled professional to make a photo tell a compelling story—and do it in a way that reflects handsomely on your organization. The black and white photos below were taken for our client St. Anthony North Hospital by one of our partner photographers (we have a small group of hand-picked, top-drawer photographers in the markets where we regularly do work).

Some believe that professional photography is too expensive, but we say that amateur photography actually costs the organization too much in terms of image.

There are ways to get the most from your photography budget, and we'll talk more about that in a future post. But professional photography is an absolute necessity for any organization attentive to their public image.

So now let's hear from you. Based on the pictures below, what kind of impressions do have about the organizations represented?

Image 1 source

Image 2 Source

Image 3 Source

On Location and Behind the Scenes

In the photo above, our Colorado-based video crew gets one of the interviewees ready for our shoot last week at St. Anthony Hospital North near Denver. The day-long shoot will result in a series of videos that will serve as part of a campaign to celebrate the hospital’s 40-year anniversary.

What happens behind the scenes is so important, and makes the difference between a quality production and an average production.

Here, our make-up artist is putting the finishing make-up touches on before the camera rolls. A good make-up artist plays two roles—creating a natural, healthy on-camera look, and helping the interviewees start to feel comfortable before their shoot. We look for experience, good interpersonal skills (our artist in Colorado has worked on everyone from President Obama to models), and the ability to work without becoming intrusive.

At this shoot, our videographer attends to the details that ensure quality, while our producer conducts the interviews. Both have decades of experience at this, and know exactly the elements required to capture real people in ways that are compelling, believable, and professional.

Conducting the interview is one of the most important roles, as this person plays part psychologist and part producer. It’s an art to get ordinary people to be not only believable, but real and professional on camera. For this kind of interview, we want to capture what the people most care about—so while we invite them to think about some specific questions before hand, we never want them to come prepared with a memorized script. It’s just too hard for people who don’t do this for a living to make it heart-felt and real.

Our producer is not only mindful of the message and emotional tone as he interviews, but is also coaching them on phrasing and thinking about how all of the strands of the interview will come together in the final edited piece—all the while keeping the shoot on schedule.

It's important to us that our crew always is attentive to the demands of the location and the industry—quiet, professional, and able to represent our client well.

We love working in this medium, and have introduced some new methods of making this kind of production much more affordable for our clients. We anticipate much of our work in the future to be in video, and have developed the internal framework to make this a central part of the services we offer.

Stay tuned for more on this campaign that launches in May.

Beware the Nasty Mug Shot in Your Ads

Think you're saving money by using a photo in your ad that was taken by your personnel department—or someone else in the organization who fancies himself a photographer? We'd suggest you can the ad altogether if you can't produce a good, professional-quality picture.

Whenever you're promoting a professional service, a strong photo of the right kind is imperative. We've seen too many similar ads where the  photo looks like a passport photo or police mug shot—conveying him or her as lifeless, unengaged, unprofessional and even incompetent.

By contrast, the images used in these two ads capture the vibrancy and personality of these physicians. They invite you to trust them with your health, and are warm without being overly chummy.

When we work with health care clients, we insist that physicians wear uniforms or lab coats—sometimes to great resistance. In the same way the public expects a police officer, military personnel or airline captains to be in uniform, they still want to see evidence of this professionalism in the apparel worn by health care providers. If you're inclined to disagree, ask yourself how you'd feel boarding an airplane with staff wearing jeans and polo shorts—or worse yet, t-shirts.

Photo Techniques: Adjusting Levels for Impact

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After

An image that looks like a murky, unusable mess can sometimes hide a true gem. Digital photographs can hold information that can be used by a skilled designer to improve color and contrast.

In the sample above, we took a digital image and used adjustment levels in Photoshop to bring out the image's true colors and depth. By controlling different areas of the image, we were able to add contrast to the sky, lighten the countryside and leave the dramatic, dark color of the highway untouched. Better, don't you think?

Photo Techniques: Framing to Create Focus

Sometimes its what you can't see in an image that draws you in. This sense of intrigue can be created in your photos through the technique of framing.

Framing uses objects in your image to draw attention to the primary subjects. It helps to direct the viewer's attention to a particular subject or point of interest within the photograph. Framing can also create perspective, show depth and give context to an image.

In the sample above, the trunk and branches of a tree are used to frame a bridge. Trees, windows, tunnels and archways are just some of the objects one might use when framing a subject. And although this can be best achieved when creating the original photograph, the same results can be achieved through cropping.

The Anatomy of a Good Photo

A picture truly depicts more in an instant than a page of copy. That's why we encourage our clients to use the very best photography their budgets will allow. While stock images have their place, it's hard to beat the impact of a custom image, where even seemingly unimportant details are the result of careful thought. Here's just some of the background that went into making this image work for an Emergency Department campaign we developed recently.

• Photographer selection. Photographers each have their own artistic interpretations, abilities and talents. Once you're clear about what you want in the picture, matching that to the right photographer is crucial.

• Setting. Where will the shot be taken? Will it be on location, or in a studio? We opted for a studio shot for this because we could control the environment--and didn't have to interrupt the client's flow of business. We then had to make decisions like what color the walls would be, what kind of and how many chairs would be needed, and what type of props would contribute to the message. We contemplated using three chairs or five, thinking about how that would impact context and visual balance.

• Talent. Should the waiting room be full of people, or show just mother and child? We explored both, but the decision to select mother and child won out because it allowed the reader to focus on the subject without distraction. We wanted the reader to relate to the frustration of waiting, which they can best do when all of their attention is on the person shown. Then, of course, we needed to determine age, gender, and general appearance. How old should the girl be—an infant or a child?

• Wardrobe. What kind of clothes, haircut, accessories, and props would help tell the story? These needed to mirror the demographics of the community where the ad was running.

• Props. Are other props necessary? Magazines on the chairs? A blanket or teddy bear for the child? How big? Old or new? Should we show a purse? And if so, on a chair or in front of a chair?

• Composition. Should the mother be looking off camera, at the child, or into the camera? We tried several, but liked her looking off camera because it depicts restlessness.

Every detail is considered because it contributes to the desired impression. Eight people were involved in the creation of this emergency room image—which makes the job that much more fun. Imagine all that creative talent focused one picture!

I love this part of our work because creating strong images is not only a delightful ceative endeavor, but it also gives the client something unique that they can build a campaign around. In some applications, only a custom shot will do the job. But in every application, using a high quality image can nearly always separate you from the competition.

Photo Techniques: Color Options

When selecting images, think about whether the image works best in color or grayscale. Here are some guidelines to help you decide which will serve you best:

Grayscale photographs work best when the image exhibits strong textures. For example, wood grain, battered metal and repeated patterns work well. Grayscale photos appear to be and advantage when there's high tonal contrast. If an image lacks color saturation or color contrast, it might be best to run it in grayscale.

An image will work best in color when strong color contrast exists. Examples of colors that contrast well are blue and orange, light green and red or purple and yellow. A photo with strong color contrast does not always have strong tonal contrast, and thus may look better in color than in grayscale.

Some grayscale photos lack enough texture and contrast to make them visually appealing. In such cases, it is possible to colorize them to bring out more detail.

Photo Techniques: Cropping People

When working with images of people, cropping doesn't mean 'chopping' out important bits of context or history. Rather, think of cropping as the act of cutting away unnecessary or unwanted portions of an image to help focus the viewers attention and help tell a story. Here are a few examples of reasons to crop:

Focus Attention
Cropping can help to make the primary focus or center of attention clear. Typical snap shots often lack a focal point, as does this example. Cropping is used to remove unwanted and distracting elements such as the high-rise on the left and cars in the background. Cropping has also eliminated the lamppost coming out of the top of the child's head.

Create Movement
Consider how the viewer's eye moves across an image and allow for that movement. In a portrait of someone looking left to right, allowing space for them to look into brings meaning to the image. In this example, tight, centered cropping might not allow as much movement as a wider cropping would.

For Dynamic Effect

Rethinking the crop can serve to compliment the subject, help reinforce the composition and create a dynamic image. In this example, the original image is centered and ordinary. By cropping close on the face and using the rule of thirds, the tassel creates a strong vertical line and attention is drawn to the subject's eye.

Nearly any photo can be improved with good cropping.

The Dove Commercial: Nobody's Perfect

Ogilvy & Mather's startling commercial takes us from model to billboard in under 60 seconds. Its an impressive spot from Dove, reminding us that even models don't look like models, and demonstrating the power of Photoshop.

Photo Techniques: Following the Rule of Thirds

Centered image lacks interest.

Use of rule of thirds brings energy.

The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb that can help you create powerful images. The rule states that important compositional elements should be placed along the one-third lines. Using this type of alignment can help create more energy and interest in an image than when the key elements are centered.

In the sample image above, the horizon aligns with the bottom line, the lamp post aligns to the right line and the tower roughly aligns with the left line. Although this can be best achieved when creating the original photograph, similar results can be achieved through cropping.