These were shot in the studio this week, essentially as a test to see if the principle worked.   There are all sorts of variations one could work with this.  

Clothes do look absolutely terrific in the water – which I know doesn’t sound sensible -  but it’s true.   The way the cloth moves and hangs and floats is really special.

If you don’t believe me then just look at the outfits, they are as cheap as you can get, and believe me you wouldn’t give them space even at the back of the wardrobe!!

The shoot was actually in a giant inflatable temporary pool.    Dropping in different clothes at the base to give a different look, followed up with assorted variations of photoshop work.

Commercial Photography from SimonWaldenPhotography.com.

Cheltenham Photographer for London look photographs at sensible prices
We have our own extensive studio for no extra charge.
High quality images, including photoshop and retouching.

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Do you want see what happens when a company asks for photographers to work for free for experience…

Instant reputation crash!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eagle-Thistle-Group/201311073242812

The letter they sent is below:

“I am contacting you regarding two small shoots that we have coming up at Eagle and Thistle for images we require for our up and coming website.

“(Please see our Facebook page for more info on the company http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eagle-Thistle-Group/201311073242812). We need four images to represent each area of the company; Fashion, Food, The Eye and Recruitment.

“We are hoping to do one of the shoots on Monday the 4th July in a studio for three images; one for fashion, one for food and one for the eye.

“The second is for the recruitment section which will be held in an office/meeting room. If you are happy with moving location on the same day we can do that or if not Tuesday or Wednesday would be great.

“We would also like retouching done within two-three days if that would be suitable for you.

“Unfortunately this job would be unpaid but it would provide great experience and images for your portfolio to work with a huge up and coming company.”

Click the FB link to go and join in the fun and the read the hundreds of hysterical, witty and generally fun comments from photographers.

Needless to say, this item has now gone viral, and the companies reputation to the world is suffering for it.

Press Photography from SimonWaldenPhotography.com.

Press and Public Relations photographs to add value to your business
Available for long or short photoshoots.

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But, did you know that google personalised searches? It learns as you search and click which entries are more useful to you. Of course, if you search for your business and click on it then google will automatically move you up the list.

Fair enough, except that this means that all users see a different search result to you. You like to think that google is consistent for everyone, but in reality it isn’t.

N.B. This only applies if you log into google – which is pretty automatic for many people.

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“The Look” is how your products combine together for an overall feel and also helps you suggest several items together.

So, although the main item you are presenting may be a dress, you probably also have belts, shoes, handbags and jewelry that will go with the dress.   If you are looking at web sales or high street retail, you could put together slightly discounted packages for selecting the whole outfit.

One of my clients sells high end designer dresses and that is their main focus, but one of their little staple items are a variety of simple t-shirt style tops.   They show these styled with smart jackets, designer jeans, casual and smart.  All of which (a) show the flexibility of the basic T and (b) allow them to sell the other items in combination as well,

Commercial Photography from SimonWaldenPhotography.com.

Cheltenham Photographer for London look photographs at sensible prices
We have our own extensive studio for no extra charge.
High quality images, including photoshop and retouching.

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OK, sometimes you need to explain to the boss why you’ve spent the money on a professional, rather than spending the money buying his son/daughter a new camera…

This seems to particularly apply when it comes to the Corporate Headshot – seemingly such an easy and innocent task, yet so easy for it to go wrong too.

Pictures from the Brewery on Race Week

1) Your photos will look professional

Some what indefinable, until you see an amateur photograph, then it becomes immediately obvious.  You will look at least as good as your competitors, and with the right photographer, a whole lot better.

2) They won’t look cheesy

A professional photographer knows how to pose a client, how to position them and crucially how to interact with them to not get that “cheesy grin” look, but instead something natural, poised and friendly.

3) The camera only captures what it sees

And your professional will make sure the what’s seen is properly lit, properly positioned, properly composed.  As well as using many and varied bits of equipment for lighting and lighting control, just their experience in handling simple equipment will make a huge difference.

Depending on what you need they can bring a portable studio, maximising the quality and your time.  A simple portable studio can be used to capture images of all staff very quickly and efficiently.

4) Herding Cats!

Part of the job is making sure that all the pictures are captured within the time available and with minimum work interruption.   A professional knows how to sequence and manage the workflow – to make the most of their own time and yours.

5) It will pay for itself

Your professional will sit down with and discuss what kinds of images you need and what styles.   Lawyers, bankers and financial folk need to look confident – but definitely not smug!   Doctors, customer reps, sales staff need to look approachable, friendly and professional.   Company directors need to be assured, but not distant.

Remember you get what you pay for and what you ask for, so be clear with your photographer about how the images will be used – for web, for press, for magazines, for publications, for powerpoint.    The photographer will capture and prepare the images in different ways depending on how they will be used.

You can come to us to use our studio, or we have a full travelling studio so we can come to you.   All images are retouched for those zits, wrinkles etc that you don’t really want

We recommend shooting as many people as possible during one session to keep your costs down.

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I was reading an interesting article in Drapers the other day, exploring how you get better sales from your web site.

Of course everyone knows ASOS, applauded as the online retailer (sales up 47% last quarter!).  Clearly the opportunities for selling on the web are huge.   This article is for those already selling on the web.

360, PHOTOS AND VIDEO

Most clothing web sites already offer images of clothes that you can rotate and zoom in and pan across the product.   The 360 degree rotation style seems very popular with shoes and handbag retailers.

But Mark Bage, owner of Sarah Coggles says “We looked into rotational images, but have found that four good shots of a shoe or jacket are just as good and we can guarantee the images loaded in a nanosecond.”

Rikki Hunt, director of Nine Fashion says “It’s worth investing in quality photography.  We employ two local models and a professional photographer every time there’s a new range.”

The addition of video has some interesting changes, not only boosting sales, but reducing returns – the curse of the etailer.

Mark Newton-Jones, CEO of Littlewoods says “We’ve seen benefits in terms of customer engagement, improved conversion rates and higher sales.”

My-Wardrobe is introducing the ability for users to select several clips and products at the same time and then watch them as a personal catwalk show. “The idea is to view all “”Winter Wedding” clips or all “day dresses” to aid buying decisions.” says CEO Sarah Curran, “Every product has to be photographer, styled and be made as accessible as possible.  We use video to add energy and movement.”

The final key goes under the unfortunate term “searchandising”, but essentially this means showing the buyer other related products to those that they are looking at.   This may be as simple as showing “the look”, those products which complement the main top or dress say.   Or you may want to go the Amazon route with “what other people bought” tags.

INTERESTING FEATURES

Drapers picked out the following web sites for interesting features:

www.net-a-porter.com for video clips of modelled garments.

www.harrods.com for its user friendly “roll-over” zoom function.

www.knickerpicker.com for lingerie modelled by a woman of your size.

boden.mixmatchme.com because you create your chosen outfit and see it modelled.

SO WHAT DOES ALL THIS COST?

Our pricing structure for fashion shoots is pretty simple.

1-Day Photo Shoot and retouched images:  £350

1-Day Video Catwalk Shoot and edited video:  £700

A photoshoot day may cover a studio catalogue shoot, where we can usually over around 50-75 items per model.   A location based shoot will cover less product, maybe 20 items per model out on location.

The video catwalk shoot is aimed at simple “walk-on, walk-off” catwalk video, you can usually shoot around 50-60 items per model.    More complex and sophisticated video shoots are possible, and are costed to meet your brief.

We can also provide 3-D rotation of images, including software for your website if required.   These shoots are costed at around £45 per item.

Commercial Photography from SimonWaldenPhotography.com.

Cheltenham Photographer for London look photographs at sensible prices
We have our own extensive studio for no extra charge.
High quality images, including photoshop and retouching.

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It’s tempting to choose backgrounds that clearly separate out the product from the background, using an uncluttered image.  But in these shots it was a deliberate decision to use a very strong background the clearly clashes with the product, the aim being to produce images that asks the viewer to look more closely at what’s actually happening – what is in the shot.

It’s not a technique you can use widely, nor would I normally recommend it, but they work well in these cases producing an eye-catching and attention grabbing image – albeit one that maybe lacking in clarity and first glance.

Dress and top by Rock Couture

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PICTURES ARE EXPENSIVE IN ADVERTS

Well, true…  But mostly that cost is in the advertising space booked – the sheer physical paper space that your magazines and newspapers will charge.

But, you should be spending a proportionate amount on the images themselves.  If you are spending large sums of money then you want effective, good value images to go in your advertising space.

Pictures should be used not merely because they are interesting, or to attract attention, or to decorate an ad.

Your ad and your pictures should be dedicated to one thing – getting people to spend money with you.

Use pictures to attract those who will profit YOU.   Use them to make a better selling argument that text – picture worth a 1,000 words and all that.

PICTURES REPRESENT WANTS NOT NEEDS

Pictures put the buyer in the situation shown – they are aspirational – they should speak to the buyers heart, be more than just a product shot.  They tell the buyer that if they have your product then these other good things will come to them.

So with beauty articles. Picturing beautiful women, admired and attractive, is a supreme inducement. But there is a great advantage in including a fascinated man. Women desire beauty largely (perhaps?) because of men. Then show them using their beauty, as women do use it, to gain maximum effect.

Don’t treat your products lightly, we’ve all seen some funny adverts, but frankly do they add to the brand or sales?  Don’t lessen respect for your self or your product unless you are very sure.

Pictures tell a story so much better than text ever can.   Your buyer should see a happy person using / wearing your product, in smart surroundings, with positive onlookers – your buyer should want to BE that person.

Commercial Photography from SimonWaldenPhotography.com.

Cheltenham Photographer for London look photographs at sensible prices
We have our own extensive studio for no extra charge.
High quality images, including photoshop and retouching.

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Two Models, similar outfits, but which would represent you?

So, what are the criteria you need to think of?

- Does the model represent you – or your customer?

In other words should your audience identify with the model, feel they are like them, or want to be like them?

Or, does the model represent the company, a helpful and informed member of staff pleased to see you?

- Who is your customer?

You need to be sure in your own mind about your customer base.  If you are selling to well off women in their fourties then you need a well groomed model in her thirties.

On the other hand, if your target is late teens, then you need early twenties models who have that slightly added edge of “grown-up” about them.

Your chosen model should be someone who is recognisable within the target audience, but also aspirational.   Teenagers aspire to be older and so on.

If you’re talking men, are you looking for the rugged individual, stubble shaved and hip, or successful and powerful leading business man type.  Again age is crucial, but also that sense of masculinity – a lot of editorial male photography goes for a very ambiguous male look – could be gay/straight/teenage/young adult.  Of course editorial is not sales photography  – you need to be much more specific.

- Do you want natural / styled / fake?

Both for face and physique do you want to see a “natural, girl next door” or a more styled, “women in the apartment” look?

Fake boobs are interesting, you probably don’t want your clients to think of that but they can be a god-send in a shoot because they help the clothes fit and hang better.

- Do you want sexy?

There’s no doubt that sex sells, and in terms of your own images you need to be clear about whether you want your models to be alluring.  I’m not talking full on glamour here, but just think about the range of “sexiness” between Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman and Keira Knightley.

Each of them immediately triggers in your mind a sense of the sexuality.

In choosing models this can be important, because its one of the those things, some girls have it, some girls don’t, some have it but can never turn it off.

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