The Most Important Marketing Tool
This is my cat. This is not my child. One of these is a free stock photo from Unsplash.
What do I think is the most important marketing tool? Wait for it…
Photography, of course!
Nothing will sell your work better than, well…your work. So it is very important to capture the best image of your work that you can get. This holds true for artists who make objects, designers who create spaces, and business people who offer services.
Honestly, I have a love/hate relationship with photography. As an artist I have always had to be ready to capture images of my work. In college I overexposed 13 rolls of film due to a faulty lens that wouldn’t close properly. (I cried.) After college I worked hard to painstakingly take professional looking photos of my sometimes large, sometimes small sculptures to apply for shows and grants. (Shadows are a bitch.) During my time as Director of Marketing in the Houston design industry I coordinated many photo shoots with professional photographers. Although many times hiring a professional was not an option, so I had to take our company camera and take pictures myself. This is when I learned that a good (pro grade) DSLR camera will take pictures that are better than you think you are actually capable of taking. Another tool that I could not live without is Adobe Photoshop. I have worked with Photoshop since the late 1990’s and, while it was at times painful to learn, I am now dependent on it. If you want to work on your Photoshop skills (or any computer skills) I recommend taking online classes with Lynda.com.
The benefits of using professional photography are obvious but I understand that sometimes budgets get in the way. So how can you get photos of your work and images for your website when pro photos are not an option? Here are some tips that I have learned over the years of struggling to take my own photos that may help you:
Focus and composition. Color and exposure you can tweak in most photo programs, but if a photo is blurry, it will always be blurry. If there is a water bottle in your frame, it will take a lot of editing time to remove it. So make sure you take multiple pictures to get good focus and look for eyesores and remove them from your field before snapping your pic. Think about moving furniture or adding a plant to make spaces more inviting, while making sure to keep your photos clean and uncluttered. Take note of the first thing your eye is drawn to in your frame, it should be your product or area of focus.
1/60 shutter speed. If you are using a camera that lets you have control of some manual settings and you are not using a tripod, try setting your shutter speed 1/60, then let the aperture auto adjust. This is the slowest speed you can take with handheld photos and not see blur from your hand movements. If you have lots of light this is a great way to take shots if you don’t want to mess with a tripod.
High resolution. If you are taking pictures with a phone make your your resolution is as high as it can be. You will need to go into your camera settings to change this. If you have nice high resolution photos you can use those great Instagram shots for other areas on your website or branding materials.
Lighting is key. FYI, natural light works wonders for color. For my home photo booth that I use to take jewelry photos (see cat photo above) I purchased these inexpensive studio lights by Savage. Couldn’t be happier. Also, make sure you turn off extraneous overhead lighting during your photo shoot. Interior bulbs are often warm and will yellow your photos. If shooting outdoors or interiors with windows think about dawn and dusk lighting and how that will effect your image. Getting up at 6am to take a shot before harsh sunlight casts unwanted shadows on your scene is often required.
Camera vs. phone. If you plan to do a lot of editing work to your image after you take them (like for artist jury photos) it is best to use a DSLR camera, sometimes a phone camera won’t cut it. But if you are taking photos for the internet or social media a good camera phone is probably fine. If you know what you are looking for I have bought used cameras at Adorama and had a good experience or you probably have a local camera shop that can give you in person service such as The Houston Camera Exchange.
Professionals. Understand when it is time to hire a professional. The money you spend will often be worth it in the end. (This goes for accounting, too!)