Opinionated Portraits

No Comments

A quote from US portrait/fashion photographer Richard Avedon in his book In The American West:

A portrait is not a likeness. The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion.

When a portrait photographer chooses lighting, lens, camera angle and the moment to click the camera shutter then it’s the photographer’s opinion that matters most. This is the “opinion” that Avedon refers to in the above quote.

But for commercial portrait photographers, when the subject looks at their proofs and chooses their favourite picture then it’s the subject’s opinion that matters most.

When a viewer looks at the finished portrait, it’s the viewer’s opinion that matters most. The viewer gets the last word.

This is why, for a commercial portrait such as a business portrait, the first two opinions have to work together to help positively influence the third and final opinion. A business portrait has to be done with care to create the desired response in the mind of the viewer.

 

Photography for press releases

No Comments

If a company’s press release gets published but no one reads it, did that company get its money’s worth?

News editors know that a photo can increase readership of a story by up to 300%. In fact, just any picture can boost readership by at least 34%. Readership studies have always confirmed that the first thing a viewer notices on a page is a photograph. The last thing they read is the copy.

If a press release is published without a picture, it literally may be the last thing a reader sees.

A photograph is the entry point to a page and the invitation to read the article. Studies have proven that including a photo with the text will increase both reader interest and comprehension in that article. The corollary to this is that readers feel more involved with a story when it’s accompanied by a photo.
Continue reading →

Stealing Souls

No Comments

During a portrait session, if the subject jokingly asks if my camera will steal their soul, I’ll answer, “I hope so.”

It rubs me the wrong way, a camera. It’s a frightening thing. Cameras make ghosts out of people.

– Robert Zimmerman (aka Bob Dylan)

Sometimes a photographer will try to steal a bit of their subject’s soul. This is what separates a great portrait from an average one. Ideally a portrait should allow the viewer a moment’s chance into the subject’s world.
Continue reading →

Photographers and crooks

1 Comment

Just in case you were wondering:

 … we photographers are nothing but a pack of crooks, thieves and voyeurs. We are to be found everywhere we are not wanted; we betray secrets that were never entrusted to us; we spy shamelessly on things that are not our business; and end up the hoarders of a vast quantity of stolen goods.

— Gyula Halász (aka Brassaï) 20th-century Hungarian photographer/artist.

 

If I’d had the nerve, I’d have become a thief or a gangster, but since I didn’t, I became a photographer.

— Emmanuel Radnitsky (aka Man Ray) 20th-century US photographer/artist.

 

 

Press conferences

No Comments

Last week, I covered a large press conference staged by a federal political party inside a big factory. The party’s media flacks told photographers where to stand, what to shoot and what not to shoot. As one of them said, “It’s our press conference. We tell you what to do.”

When reporters asked questions that the party didn’t want to answer, the reply was, “We don’t want to talk about that today” or “We’ve answered that in the past.”

The political party could’ve just sent out a press release but it wanted the photo-op showing its leader standing next to its new slogan-covered sign and mingling with the blue-collar workers at the factory.
Continue reading →

When Customers Say No

No Comments

The photographer sends a quote for a proposed photography job and the customer either says “no thanks” or, more likely, doesn’t respond at all. The photographer is left wondering what went wrong.

A customer will say no to an offer because it’s the easiest reaction when they don’t have enough information or they don’t fully understand the photographer’s offer.

The customer may not know:

• How they can benefit from the photography.

• How well the photographer can complete the job.

• How much they can trust the photographer.

• What their proposed photography job really entails.

• What’s at stake by choosing the lowest-cost photographer.

When a customer says no, it may be an indication that the photographer did a poor job of informing and assuring the customer.

 

Worth its weight in money

No Comments

Everyone has heard the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. According to a real estate study, a (professional) picture is worth at least a thousand dollars.

A 2010 Wall Street Journal article cited a study done by a Seattle brokerage house which showed that professional photography increases the sale price of a home by anywhere from $934 to $116,000.

The reason for this is simple:

Better quality photography => more attention => more customers => more money.
Continue reading →

css.php