Advertising Photography: A Straightforward guide to a complex industry

Advertising Photography : A straightforward guide to a complex history

Lou Lesko with Bobbi Lane

(2008)
Thompson Course Technology PTR
USA

Getting Started

" There are three absolutes to always remember as you break into this industry:

• Where you are now is no different than the place every other successful photographer was when he or she started out.
• There is more advice about becoming successful than there is water in the ocean. It's okay to disregard most of it, especially if it conflicts with your instincts.
• Noone will hire you unless they know you exsist. " (page one)

Where to work until you're really working

Working as a Photographer

model testing
event photography
wedding photographer
head shots

Working in a Rental House

This helps you learn about what gear is out there and gives you access to possibly use them for a shoot and to build up your portfolio. Furthermore you will be connected in future for any rentals you may need later.

Working in a Lab

Knowing the post production process work is a marketable skill to have as many photographers send off for their work to be produced for them.

Assisting

" The more complicated a shoot your assisting with, the more you're going to learn about running your own business. " (page 6)

Getting Noticed

"I learned that if you're a good person who works hard and has some talent, you're going to get booked; if your a jerk and exceptionally talented, you'll probably still get booked, but people will talk about you; and if your nice and exceptionally talented, you'll get invited to the agency Christmas parties. "

I'm No Picasso, But Do You Like It?

Art buyers and art directors receive many promos a day, many images don't make the cut and are thrown aside yet the one that make it go to a file waiting for when they are needed.

"So what makes a really great promo? The universal response is: great work." (page 9)

There is no specific design that is the best and the key to getting work, but try to create some familiarity in the promos that you send.

Promos can use a single image or a set, multiple images are a great way of showing that you can work in a full advert shoot and that you can be consistent.

I Am a Very Fabulous Photographer

Avoid using magazine covers on your promos, sometimes the director will not like the layout of the magazine this creates negative connotations surrounding your photograph.

In the industry no one will be impressed that you have done advertising before, they expect that so keep the promo about yourself.

That Sure Is a Nice Sized ...

Be careful when sizing the work because if your image is good enough then it is going to end up in a file folder.

Don't make the work too big as people can't store it or show it to anybody very easily, but don't make the work too small as prints tend to get lost or misplaced.

Emailing promos is ok however many directors have a busy schedule and prefer to look through prints than sitting on a computer opening emails, however emailing and sending prints can be a good thing because if your print is noticed then the director may want to look through your website. Many prefer prints as well because emails often gets deleted when the inbox is full and if the director leaves the company the online work will be left behind but the prints will be taken.

Remember Me?

" Art directors love to meet up-and-coming talent. If a low-budget, low-maintenance assignment comes across their desk, theres a strong possibility you'll get the job. " (page 10)

however when you are assisting mind your manners and send promos later on in your own time with a note reminding the director where you met.

Start Me Up

Having a website or some form of online portfolio is just as important as a printed portfolio.

Keep the design simple and easy to navigate. Many directors and buyers are looking through 100's of websites and do not have time to wait for the page to load and will often close the site without looking.

Apple iWeb
Realmac Software's RapidWeaver

Get somebody to test your website and see if they can navigate it easily.

" Don't forget the primary purpose of your Web presence is to get your work infront of the eyes of those who can pay you money. The site should be a major showplace for your work and only a minor extension of your personality. " (p.p. 11-12)

LiveBooks

Chapter Three

The Structure of a Bid

Usage Licenses

" It is absolutely critical to associate each image that you release to anyone for whatever reason with a usage license. This is a paragraph that defines, exactly, the allowed use of the image or images. Controlling the rights of your work is at the heart of maintaining the longevity of your business. " (page 48)

The book continues on to describe many forms and documents such as location permits, insurance, bidding and estimates, terms and conditions and model release forms.

It also explains different professions that photographers will network with and the process of being hired.

Areas of Photography

So we looked at some photography websites such as The AOP and Photography Now which are great websites for finding photographers and assistants and ones I may use for inspirational research in my photography.

I looked into different genres of photography that I enjoy and could possibly write my report on.

• Forensic Photography
• Advertising Photography
• Studio/Family Portraits

REPORT

Title Page

What is advertising photography?

Cara Burns
Introductory Professional Studies
Level Four Photography


Acknowledgements

With thanks to the photographers who took the time to reply to my emails, the library staff who have helped me find books relating to my subject and my tutor.


Contents



Summary



Introduction




Method




Results



Discussion



Conclusion



References



Appendices

Impact - Photography for Advertising

William A. Reedy
Eastman Kodak Company
(1973)

In this book there is advice for taking photographs and how they would be used to advertise, it also explains about lighting and colour techniques.

This book covers many helpful topics for advertising photographers however for my report I am covering topics that relate to the business side of the profession rather than photographing.

The Photography Trade show

On Monday I visited the The Photography Trade Show 2014 in Birmingham, it was a very beneficial day as it showed me just a small percentage of the photographers who are in the industry, gave me links to companies who sell equipment and camera's and information about new equipment and the latest trends in photography.

I collected many useful leaflets and handouts from the stalls that were there, I have kept them so that I can look back through them when I am wanting to buy equipment. The leaflets are about backgrounds, lens attachments, cameras, studio equipment.

I am looking forward to visiting this trade show again next year as I will know what to expect and will be able to create contacts using business cards and I will have more specific ideas about what leaflets and handouts I need rather than collecting all of them.

Contacting Advertising Photographers

Draft Email

Dear

My name is Cara Burns, I am studying a photography degree at Cleveland College of Art and Design and I am writing a report about advertising photography for my university studies and I was wondering if you could help me by taking some time to help me with my inquiries.

How did you become an advertising photographer?
How long have you worked in advertising?
What qualifications are required?
What skills would you say are required for the job?
What has been the most interesting client to work for?
How competitive is the industry?
What equipment do you use?
Do you have any advice for newcomers?

Thank you for taking the time to read my email, I am looking forward to hearing back from you.

Yours Sincerely,
Cara Burns
caraburns.photographer@gmail.com

Report Ideas

Should photographers upgrade their equipment whenever an update is available?

What does being an advertising photographer mean ?

Becoming a Forensic Photographer?

Studio Portraits?




how to become a certain genre photographer
what does it mean
what skills required
forms and documents that need to be understood
equipment used commonly

Pecha Kucha

http://www.pechakucha.org/

A Pecha Kucha is a presentation which uses 20 slides which show for 20 seconds while somebody talks over the top. The aim is to keep them simple and easy to follow because this will keep the audience interested.

Pecha Kucha started in Japan but has since spread world wide and many cities organise nights where a certain amount of speakers are invited to present their own Pecha Kucha.

For the Narrative Project we were introduced to this because in our brief it says that we must present our work. We are not limited to this way only though.

Print Labs

Digitalab

As I am sending my prints larger than A3 I will need to send them as tiff files with a 305 dpi. There are not many options with the choice of paper either glossy or matt, and then either with a border or without, personally I would prefer more options to be available as there are many more paper types to choose from.

Print Space

I find this website is more user friendly as the options are easily seen across the top of the site plus the print and the delivery price is easily available before ordering anything.

Print Space price calculator (one print)

Delivery pricing

As my payment method would not be accepted on this website I ordered my prints through a friend while she was ordering hers, this meant that she was ordering 6 prints at once which gave us a discounted price (which comes in handy when surviving on a student budget.)

After looking at different professional printing labs websites such as Print Space and Digitalab I have decided to go with Print Space as they give me a price straight away before ordering and their delivery time is quicker than other sites.

In lesson we also got shown a sample pack of all the different types of paper available from Print Space, this helped influence my decision to use this site because I had already seen the quality was good.

Competitions overlook

Why should we enter competitions?

• Networking
• Experience
• Occasionally receive feedback on work
• Receive funding for future projects
• Invited along to events
• Marketing
• Able to have "award winning photographer" with your name

bestshots.co.uk

A high profile competition that had ten categories and ten winners in each who won £1000 each.


Categories:

• Landscape
• Portraiture
• Still Life
• Food and Drink
• Sport
• Photo Art
• Travel
• Animal Life
• Phone Photos
• Young Snappers

National Portrait Gallery

Taylor Wessing Photographic sponsors this event.

The winners get their work exhibited in the NPG and they also receive a cash prize.

I have signed up for the newsletter emails so that I can enter next year as I had missed the deadline.

Fugi Film Student Award

The Deadline for this is the 31st of March, there is an open brief so any strong image can be entered.

In previous years the brief has been to create a cover for a book, this means understanding the book and understanding photography enough to be able to compose the image so it has negative space for the title and authors name.

The only rule is that the images must be taken using fugi film.

" In addition to being named Fujifilm Student Photographer of the Year 2014 the winner will also be presented with £200 worth of film from Fujifilm, a professionally produced folio of prints and a one-to-one printing/consultancy session with one of Metroprint's top printers. The winner will also be able to select books with a value of £100 from our co-sponsor, Focal Press. " (taken from http://www.fujifilmstudentawards.co.uk/ )

Urban Photographer of the Year

This competition fits with the street photography project and the landscape project that I have done / am doing.

The deadline for this competition is 8th of August.

There is a student section

www.cbeupoty.com

There are specific measurements for submitting work and all work must be submitted online.

National Geographic

Although this is not a competition as it was mentioned in the lesson I thought I would include it as it provides a great addition to anybody's CV.

Networking Links and Useful Organisations

In this lesson we were given a useful handout about networking and websites that will be helpful for finding photographers and I can use the publications listed to keep up too date with trends and latest developments in the photography industry.

The handout includes festivals, publications, gallery websites and photographic agencies.

Many of these websites are very useful and I have signed up to follow newsletters for many of them.

Communication and Networking

What is Communication?

Communication is to share information with another person/s.

What types of communication are there?

Tone, Words, Body


I was described an image from a screen I couldn't see and I had to draw what I thought was being described, this is what happened:

Active/Passive Listening

Passive listening is to listen but not react or show any signs that what the speaker is saying has been understood or even heard.

Active listening is showing the speaker with non-verbal communication that what is being said has been heard and understood.

Barriers in Communication

• Perceptual
• Emotional
• Fear
• Mistrust
• Language
• Jargon
• Physical
• Culture

Networking

Networking is an important part of running any business, the manager (photographer) will need to network with potential clients, assistants, models, photography companies such as equipment rentals or event producers.

A Range of Photographers

This week we were shown a range of different photographers websites and it made me start thinking about setting up my own website so I can advertise and network more.

Some of these websites are from past students of the university I am currently studying at:

Richy Leeson

Fashion Photography

Christopher Allen

Landscapes and Nature Photography

Boo George

Editorial, Portraiture and Advertising Photography

Jason Hynes

Fine Art Photography

Bob Mitchell

Documentary Photography

Lucinda Grange

Travel and Adventure Photography



I was also shown websites that I can use in the future such as:

Graduate Photography Online

This is for graduates to upload a maximum of five images to help them network and advertise.

AOP Awards

There are two different categories in this award, one for professionals and the second category where professionals and amateurs can compete together.

British Journal of Photography

This website shows thirty new and upcoming photographers that have been nominated and selected to be featured in the magazine.

Whats in my Kit ?

Today in lesson we were shown what our tutor has in her camera bag and what she uses when working, we also discussed other equipment that could be used and taken with us

• Tripod
• Various Lenses
• Flash Gun
• Prism Lens (for film cameras)
• Digital Camera (that shoots RAW files)
• Light Meter
• Reflector
• Lights
• Ring Flash

Other useful items to carry are:

• Masking Tape
• Bulldog Clips
• Coloured cloths
• Hairpins
• Card
• Spare batteries and a charger
• Hand Grip
• Hot Shoe
• Coloured Gels
• Wireless Sync
• Lens Cleaner

After this lesson I am going to look online at some of the equipment and see about buying some to experiment techniques with.

The Photo-Imagery Industry `

I have been given a quick tour through some websites that will be very useful for researching.

www.skillset.org

This site contains information about working in different genres of photography and information on training and jobs.

www.worldphoto.org

The World Photography Organisation is a news website as well as a magazine, it follows the Sony World Photography Award competition, interviews with different photographers and has a collection of the winning images from various competitions.

www.iamcreative.org.uk

On this website is the opportunity to upload your own images to live briefs that have been sent in by companies.

www.redeye.org.uk

This website helps photographers network, provides information about events, photography exhibits and will soon provide advice and information.

The Photo-Imagery Industry - Fashion Photographer

On the creative skillset website I looked into different photography genres and the information the website offered.

What is a fashion photographer?

Fashion photographer can mean a range of different things such as Magazine Fashion, High Fashion or Catalogue Photography. These photographers work in teams with people including but not limited too; art director, model, stylists, makeup artists, retouchers.
A basic knowledge in Fashion would be a great help and for Magazine photographer the latest trends and fashions would need to be followed so that the photographs will be current and fresh.

What does the job mean?

Working as a Fashion Photographer means the photographer needs to have a great interest in fashion, the history, and be interested in both fashion and art photography.

Many contacts will be needed such as location finders, stylists, makeup artists, retouchers and many magazine editors. These contacts will need to have a good working relationship built up and maintained.

Photographs will need to be constantly being taken with the style of the photographs being updated so that the magazine looks fresh rather than outdated.

The photographer needs to not only capture the clothing but understand the clients image, taking into account locations, seasons, props, the style of clothing, and the target audience.


Essential skills needed

• Time Management
• Organisation skills
• Networking (Contact Building)
• Interest in Fashion
• Range of Technical Skills
• Creative eye (able to refresh style weekly)
• Reliability
• Communication Skills
• Quick and Hard working

Writing a report

Structure :

Title Page
name, question, title

Acknowledgements

Contents
sections of report, (do this part last)

Summary
(do this part second last), methods, main contents, conclusion

Introduction
content, objectives, define limits, background, method

Methodology
how have I researched? compare both primary and secondary

Results and Findings
graphs, tables, percentages, diagram

Discussion
analyse, explain, problems, important issues

Conclusion and Recommendation
no new information to be included

References
precise, use the helpful information on Study Skills, alphabetical by authors last name, write the information needed when researching.

Appendices
additional information, questionnaires



Keep it simple
question and answers
bullet points
sub sections
Spiral binding (leave wide margins and time)
clear headings and labels
lots of drafts

Morals in Photographing

Every person has their own set of moral principles that they live by, same as in the workplace companies have codes of practice that they follow. Some codes are obvious such as doctors swearing the Hippocratic Oath but in the photographic industry their is no specific code as what is allowed and what isn't, this is only limited to the photographers personal moral code.

Many practices are widely agreed to be morally wrong and are avoided however not by everybody. This includes Street Photography as many people feel it's wrong to take photographs of people that haven't given permission, it is also a touchy subject to photograph children without permission from the parents and personally I would not photograph anybody without permission as I would not like to be in their position.

Decisions are not always easy as people may have conflicting morals and it creates a very complex dilemma.

Cleveland Police Counter Terrorism

A Cleveland Police Counter Terrorism spokesperson came in to talk to both photography and film students about how suspicious we can look while out with the cameras and the way the police are trained to ask questions about who we are/what we are doing/why we are photographing and to maybe see the photographs, however they should not delete our photographs or ruin the film as it is against the law and they would be deleting evidence if they needed it.

The talk made me realise how suspicious photographing and filming can look and it maybe that the police officers are tired after a long shift and would not want to start an argument so we were asked to keep calm and explain who we are, our university and why/what we are photographing.

Faking It

Faking It: Radiographer to Fashion Photographer

This series of faking it shows a series of people who are taken from their jobs and have a week to learn about another job and pass a judging by experts in the field.

In this lesson we watched the episode in which a radiographer is converted into a fashion photographer and has to perform a photo shoot in-front of judges who decided which contestant in the shoot was faking being a photographer, he was convincing enough that the judges thought a real photographer was the faker.

It showed me that I need to have more confidence in myself as that's what the judges picked up on; that the faker was very confident whereas the real photographer who was thought to be faking was not very confident.