High tech toys

High tech labs are always interesting to walk into. This one was for Cambridge Nanotech. They are developing ADL technologies for other industries. What, exactly, this means, I am not too sure. (Hey, I said they were cool. I didn't say I knew what the machines were doing! ;-))

However, the machines are shiny and the clients are proud of their accomplishments. Between the marketing director and myself, we came up with a set of images that will help to convey this pride and passion for their products.

Meet NESSC

Meet Gabe. Meet Dr. Raynhem.

Soon, there will be a new web site for Dr. Raynhem's practice, along with new collateral pieces featuring images like this one, showing the staff as real people, interacting with each other and with the patients.

This was a fun project, made all the better for the fact that we had worked together on Dr. Raynhem's first marketing projects two years ago, when we turned her kitchen into a medical office for the day!

This project also gave me an opportunity to work with Margina Dennis again. She is a very talented hair and makeup artist and an asset to any shoot.

Sunshine

This image of Stephanie was created a little while back. We were shooting on a porch deck and she moved closer to the house. The roof line just cut the sun off part of her face. And, she closed her eyes against the glare. Click!

Real People Portraits

This is another portrait from the Reflections at the Footlight project I did a while back.

Tonee was the stage manager during that project, so we found an interesting piece of the backstage area to set up her portrait.

We lit her with a large octabank in the front and an umbrella from behind.

She walked onto our set and we had our image in no time. On to the next set up!

Power Lunch- Redefined

Ah, kids.

Brian Heil, over at Hue Brand Group, creative directed this project, for a non-profit reading program. We had a lot of fun playing with the kids and they, I think, had a lot of fun with us.

The challenge, as always, is to keep their attention span. Or, at least, direct their attention to what we need to accomplish.

I learned a lot from this shoot. One of the kids taught me some of the worst knock knock jokes ever!

Izzi's in the House!

It is amazing to me to watch kids work at things that excite them.

They bring so much passion to a project. Sometimes they bring a little chaos as well, but not so here.

Izzi, who's parents are involved in productions at the Footlight Club, came to the shoot fully prepared. In fact, she asked Joy, my stylist and make up person on set, about where paint should be placed on her shirt to make it more effective and authentic.

She was fully engaged in her portrait and a great collaborator!

The Knightly Arts

Well, this was an exciting shoot! This guy is a practicing swordsman and has won awards around the world. He showed up with two suits of armor and lots of stories.

If you are interested, he runs a school for sword play and other martial arts involving edged weapons. Check it out at http://www.knightlyarts.com.

We are having a conversation about a series of marketing images for the school. Could be really interesting.

Sitting in Traffic

Have you ever stopped at a stop light and looked at the people in the cars around you?

Each one is the center of their own world. Each one is the ruler of all they survey from within their mobile glass and steel microcosm. They can exert total control over this little world, directing where it goes and even how warm or cold it is inside.

And, within that bubble, anything they do is justified. After all, they are the center of that little universe, with God-like powers.

Or, maybe I am projecting a bit...

Have you ever sat at a stop light and realized that someone was watching you from the next car?

The image above was created a few years ago, based on an actual event. I was the little boy in the window in the background...

Back to the Tongues

Yes, we're back to the tongues.

I was looking through the archive for some other images and came across this little gem of a portrait of a good friend of mine who was just starting out his business and wanted a unique portrait instead of the industry standard, driver's license/passport photo headshot.

Of course, this was not the one he chose for his publicity campaign!

We started out with a very serious looking image and gradually broke it down until we were just laughing out loud about bad jokes (mostly mine).

Eventually, we came around to more casual expressions and captured some real expressions.

He said something interesting about the process and the goal of the shoot. He said that, while the photo was of him and looked like him, its reason to exist wasn't about him. As a personal photo, he didn't really like the portrait because, well, he wasn't 18 years old, etc. I can relate.

The important measure of success for the photo was how it would appeal to his target audience. Would they like it? Would they feel comfortable with this image? Would it help them to feel comfortable hiring him? Did it have the elements (props, wardrobe, expression, background, lighting, pose, etc) that would help the audience identify with him?

That would be the true measure of a successful marketing portrait.

But, I still like the tongue shot!

Executive Portraits are marketing tools, too.

A graphic designer/marketing guru friend of mine invited me in to her office to talk about creating some portraits that would work for a marketing/branding project.

She had observed that press releases had a higher percentage of success when an image was included. And, that the type of image presented had an almost direct influence on how big the article was presented on the page.

She was quick to point out that there were a lot of other influences and variables that play a significant roll in the success rate as well. In no particular order: how well the press release was written, how much the release was aimed at the publication's target audience, how unique the article was, what other news, happenings or releases were competing for the same space, how much the editor had on his/her plate when the release came in, how much work they had to do to make the article work, etc...

We talked about the pros and cons of different types of headshots. The most common type are the studio shots, on neutral backgrounds, sometimes on a painted background. They are literally head and shoulder images. The pros are that they can be done fairly quickly and inexpensively. Several people can get theirs done if the photographer comes out to the office and can set up in a convenient conference room. Everyone's image looks pretty much the same, which works well for proposal documents, web bios etc.

The cons start with everyone looking the same. Not only do they look the same for the office, they often look the same as everyone else's in the world. Some nicknames for these images are school photos, passports and drivers license photos. Also, because speed is an issue, sometimes people don't look their best ie: unwrinkled cloths, matching cloths, hair, shiny faces, etc.

The next level up was studio style but with the addition of a stylist/groomer. The sessions for each person go a little longer but they end up looking much better.

In an image that relies totally on the person's personality to shine through (remember: generic, neutral backgrounds, no props etc) every little bit helps to make the shot more effective.

Another con that came up was that these images, if published, will only get postage stamp size space in the publication. If you are looking for a cover story or a full page section opener or even a half page article, these images probably won't impress an editor.

So, the other option is the custom portrait. The pros for this type of image is that you can get away from looking like everyone else and can collaborate to create an image that is an effective story telling tool for your marketing (which should be the goal of these images, right?).

The cons? Well, it is more expensive, in the short run. There are things to consider like grooming, wardrobe, location, etc. The production time can be longer and take up more of your time. And, a big one is that the photographer will ask you to share some information that you may not have thought of. Such as, who is your audience? How do you want them to feel when they look at this image? and, how do you see your self?

I brought these cons up to my marketing friend, having heard them from customers and potential customers for years. She said, "Yes, but they are only cons if you are afraid of success. Won't a better image be more effective and then, directly or indirectly, make you more money? Be more effective with your marketing?"

What could I say to that?

The big picture above is a direct result of that conversation. I can't reveal who it is for yet, but... The smaller pictures were done for Cambridge Healthtech Advisors. They opted to do both types of images to give them more marketing flexibility.

Happy New Year!

Okay, so this is the last time we procrastinate our holiday card! Still, you get a whole year to do thank you cards after a wedding. So...?

Big doings in the works for this year. New Years Resolutions include things like updated goals, better planning, less procrastinating, new personal photography projects to keep me fresh for the all important client shoots.

Also, contacting old clients that I might have lost touch with and suggesting projects to my favorite collaborators.

Plus, finish building the new office, look for bigger photo studio space and spend time with the family.

Gonna be a fun year for commercial photography. Hope you can join me!

The picture above was done in the studio. The background was added after.

Create Magazine's 2007 Photographer Showcase

If you are surfing the net, looking at commercial photographers, be sure to check out Create Magazine's 2007 Photographer Showcase.

In the print edition, I am on page 90 & 91. In the online version, downloadable from their web site here, check out page 8 and 9.

Yeah, you can look at the other pages, too.

People or Product?

Oh, the tough questions!

"I see you do people and products... and locations. So, what do you really like to do?"

This question supposes that I am approaching photography strictly from a subject stand point. That is, I am specializing in studio work or location work or whatever.

Actually, I approach it from a story telling stand point.

For example, the product photography that you may have seen on this blog and on my site is quite a bit different than what you might see in a catalog or Sunday newspaper. Those images, which require as much skill and finesse, are about commodities. The objects are there to be sold based on the description or at face value.

The images I create go one step further. They include a story about what the object is or does. More specifically, what problem does it solve for the potential buyer.

This goes around the buyer's question of which product is cheaper and goes to "I have this problem that is driving me crazy and this will fix it!"

So, what does this have to do with the gentleman in the image above?

His job is to install cabling for commercial network applications. He needed to look appealing to his target market, which were C level people. He needed to look like he knew what he was doing, was tough enough to get the job done and was a highly trained, highly paid professional who would make these C level people feel and look good.

I was told that the image was submitted with a press release to a major magazine for a business profile. It got picked up. The magazine's normal profile has a headshot that is reproduced about the size of a postage stamp, with a short paragraph to go with it. This image got them a half page space with two columns of editorial copy.

An effective marketing tool? You bet!

A Good Marketing Quote and Hair

I was sitting in a client's office the other day, talking about an upcoming project for a concept based still life. The conversation rolled around to the effectiveness of cutting back on marketing to save a buck.

He pulled out a piece of paper with one of the most apropos quotes I have seen in a long time.

"He who stops advertising to try and save money could just as easily stop his watch to try and save time."

Neither of us know who said it. He got it from one of his clients. If you know who to credit for it, let me know!

The poster above is another in the series I have been creating for the Footlight Club, America's Oldest Community Theater.

As always, a lot of fun and creativity went into the preplanning for the shoot. In retrospect, the shoot itself was kind of quiet, as Jason, the stylist on set and our model, wrestled with the wigs to get strategic coverage.

Speaking of good marketing quotes, I found a very interesting article on the Freelanceswitch.com site that talked about marketing and publicity design. It was specifically about designing for publicity, but, like most marketing, the principles can apply anywhere!

Where to Photograph 11 People?

"Oh, the group portrait? We needed to add a few people. We have 11 now."

Frustrating? Actually, exhilarating!

How do you create a group portrait for marketing purposes, anyway?

For me and my team, unless there is an extremely compelling reason, we try to stay off the plain, vanilla hung background and find something interesting in the environment. Something that will talk about the team we are photographing.

In this case, the end client ran a restaurant style dining hall. It was a well designed and lit space, with interesting colors and graphic elements. It also allowed us to build layers into the composition.

We balance the daylight, ambient and added a couple of strobes to punch up the dark areas and then started adding the people in one by one. All in all, it was about a two hour set up to complete.

Was it worth the time it took? The best answer I can think of to that is to think like a magazine editor. If you were laying out an article about these folks and wanted to get the readers' attention, what would you put on the cover: a couple of plain headshots or an image with rich colors that tells the story? What would you want to see if you were reading the story?

Blondie in the Village

Can't believe I am running out things to say about this event. Well, not so much running out as having other things going on.

Between clients, the Jamaica Plain Arts Council, which I am a co-president and web dude, and now Jury Duty, it is hard to keep on track on the blog.

So here is just a couple more cool pics from that series.

A Night in the Village Remembering

This image was created on Halloween 2001. We followed this couple for about 7 blocks.

There was plenty of cheering and not a few tears from passers by and fellow costumed characters.

A Night in the Village, The Story Continues 5

For a suburban kid who moved to Boston, because he wanted to be in a big city (Boston is more like a big town to me), this place was nuts.

Over the top and totally out there.

For a photographer, a person who is basically a voyeur anyway, it was heaven.

Outrageous behavior and outfits, visual puns and Clinton masks were the flavor of the night.

A Night in the Village, The Story Continues 4

So, totally in the moment, Greg and I started a dance. He watched me and where I was aiming and moved to position himself behind and to one side of my intended subject.

I would approach a person, a character, and make suitable noises. 99% of the time, the people would pose or laugh and say "sure". A couple of times, I got a suspicious look or a head shake. But, almost everyone was out with their best work, ready, willing and wanting to be seen.

And, I was happy to oblige.

That year, we shot 10 rolls of black and white film.

Editing was exciting.

A Night in the Village, The Story Continues 3

We skipped a year due to a scheduling issue but were right back at it, better prepared and totally jazzed.

Armed this time with my new Nikon F5 and a wide angle lens, we hit the streets, looking for adventure and new images.

This time we had a better idea of what we were looking for. But, I still had a nagging problem. I had no idea what I was creating this body of work for. In a way, it was a handicap, mentally.

In another way, it was supremely liberating.

As I have said before, I love the challenge of getting into a client's head to see what exactly they are looking for... even when they can't describe it fully themselves. That, to me, is fun and has been lucrative for me, so I guess I have been successful at it.

This time, there was no limits, just create what I felt at the moment.