Photographers

JWT Lists 100 Things to Watch in 2014

The global marketing-communications agency JWT has released its annual list of 100 Things to Watch for the year ahead. The list spotlights developments around major events such as the Winter Olympics in Sochi and the FIFA World Cup in Brazil and across sectors such as technology, television, food, spirits, retail, health care, and the arts.

Many items on the list illustrate some of the 10 broader cultural shifts that JWT identified in their 2014 trends report. Some those trends included: the end of anonymity, the movement toward mindful living, the appeal of imperfection, the remixing of tradition, immersive experiences, and the continuing shift to more visual communications.

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Many items on the 100 Things to Watch list will interest creative professionals. Here are few items that caught my eye.

Art Incubators. Museums and other arts organizations are launching in-house incubators that explore the intersection of art and technology and stimulate creative thinking.

Community-Supported Everything. Now that communities have recognized the benefits of supporting local farmers, consumers’ interest in supporting local businesses is spreading to other categories, including art and design.

Digital Art. According to JWT, “Art that relies on digital technology, from GIFs to websites and beyond, is coming into its own…While the art world continues to grapple with details related to ownership, the auction house Phillips held its first digital art auction in 2013 in partnership with Tumblr. Another is planned for 2014.

Estimated Reading Times. Online publishers have started posting estimated reading times next to their articles. 

Glanceable UI. Interfaces will use symbols and visuals to tell impatient consumers just what they need to know. For example, the dating app TInder swaps lengthy profiles for images that users can swipe through. 

Photoshop for All. The popularity of selfies and the pressure to look good in social media has led to the development of easy-to-use tools to make photo subjects look their best. JWT points to apps such as Facetune that let users white teeth or remove acne or Layrs, which allows users to move photo subjects into different backgrounds.

Speaking Visually. According to the report, “At a time when consumers are shifting to a visual vocabulary that relies on photos, emojis, video snippets, and other imagery, brands will communicate with images more than words.” JWT believes that in the digital world and offline, visual cues will complement or replace text on everything from packaging and menus to instruction manuals.

Survival of the Focused. JWT analysts observe that people who can shut out distractions and focus on what’s most important will be both healthier and more successful. They observe that all the multitasking we’ve been doing has made us “frazzled, jittery, and unable to do any one thing particularly well.”

Other items on the list include 3D printer retail hubs, “techno-paranoia,” telepresence robots, unconventional models, cocktails on tap, sports mashups, makeup salons, equal rights for men, edible packaging, verified reviewers, divorce parties, digital grieving, tablet-first TV, and “beacons” that allow retailers to precisely track shopper’ mobile phones and send highly targeted content tied to their location and shopping habits.

This is the eighth year JWT has published a “Things to Watch” list as a complement to their annual trends forecast. Things that JWT has spotlighted on past lists include drones, crowdsourced learning, variable pricing, mobile money, and crowdfunding.  JWT Intelligence focuses on identifying shifts in consumer lifestyles and preferences that can be leveraged for business gain.

If you read the JWT list at the beginning of each year, you will notice dozens of different ways the trends and “things to watch” are taking shape throughout the year. You can use the ideas in the report to help refine or promote your own creative-services business.

LINKS

JWT: 100 Things to Watch in 2014

JWT: Ten Trends for 2014 and Beyond

 

 

 

 

App Makes It Easy to Blend iPhone Photos and Video Into Narrated Stories

explory_logo_blackIf you need a fast way to produce explanatory videos for your blog or website, check out Explory. It’s a new app for iPads and iPhones that lets you blend images and/or video clips right on your phone. Adding narration is as easy as talking on your phone.

Explory offers an easy way to make “how-to” videos or tell “behind-the-scenes” stories about photo shoots, your art or design project, or research for your book project. You could use it to create promotional videos, document special events, or tell the stories behind selected projects in your portfolio.

“Many of us want to share experiences that are more in-depth than what can be conveyed with a single photo or a six-second video clip. At the same time, few people want to take the time and effort required to edit a video,” said Peter Goldie, one of the founders of Explory. “Explory makes it fun for anyone to quickly create rich, interactive stories, right on their phone.”

Even better, your audience can control the pace at which they view the story and the level of detail they want to explore.

“I’ve been having a lot of fun with Explory, sharing stories with family and friends. It’s easy to use and creates great results quickly. I know my clients are going to be excited to use this to craft their business stories in a compelling and cost effective way. It’s really the next evolution of corporate video,” said Chuck Easler, owner of Easler Communications.

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Creating a story with Explory is simple and fast. The “Story Ideas” feature automatically creates stories for you by analyzing the time and location data of photos and videos on your device. Just edit the draft, dictate some narration, and add text and music if you wish.

Or, you can start with a blank canvas and pick content from your photo library. You can also choose to use Explory’s camera to record a story as it happens.

Each story can be as long as you wish; you are not limited to short video clips. You can zoom in on high resolution photos, and play high quality video without aggressive compression.

Explory’s blended media story has a “play” button, but it’s not a traditional video: it’s interactive. Explory allows viewers to easily swipe ahead to skip sections, or explore details that would not normally be part of watching the main story. Your stories won’t bore anyone because they choose the length!

ExploryPizzaRecipeExplories can also be embedded in a Web page or blog, just like a traditional video. Or, you can share your “explories” privately with friends and family via email, messaging, and social media.

If you publish your “explories” publicly in the Explory gallery, people don’t need the Explory App to view your stories; they can use a mobile or desktop Web browser.

Explories are stored in the cloud and optimized for playback on your device. You can share your story immediately and continue to refine it over time. Explory’s cloud synchronization feature lets you work on the story from multiple iPhones and iPads.

Potential Uses

Creative pros will undoubtedly find all sorts of ways to use Explory — either to tell their own stories or to tell stories for their clients.

The creators of Explory envision that “makers” will use the app to share step-by-step, how-to instructions for assembling, repairing, or cooking. Digital journalists can use Explory to quickly assemble a story that combines photos, videos, and audio. Small businesses that don’t have the time, skill, or money to create corporate videos can use Explory to demonstrate products, answer frequently asked questions, or provide technical support.

The app is also being promoted as a tool for students, educators, people who want to share special moments in their lives with family and friends, or anyone who wants to describe the world around them and share it with others.

Explory is a free download in the Apple App Store. It requires an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 6 or better. Once you’ve installed it, tap on “Story Ideas” and see your stories! If you want more than the 50 MB free storage Explory provides, you can sign up for a month-long or annual subscription.

LINKS

Explory

 

McElroy Films Uses GoPro Camera for Corporate Videos

It’s always fun to see how creative professionals are integrating new technologies into their work in some unexpected ways. This story is a good example.

GoPro_HD_Hero_The GoPro Camera is a small, durable camera that was originally designed to capture a first-person perspective of extreme sports athletes in action. Now it is emerging as a staple in mainstream video productions — including the extremely competitive sport of business.

The Boston based video production company McElroy Films recently started making the GoPro available for use in corporate video productions. They believe the GoPro will open new possibilities for corporate clients who want to create distinctive, high-impact video while reducing the size and costs of on-site production crews.

McElroy Films LLC is an award-winning producer of high definition video for corporate, educational, non- profit, wedding, music video, and independent film use. Serving clients throughout New England area, their goal is to keep high definition video affordable without sacrificing quality. McElroy Films strives to push the creative envelope for corporate and wedding videos while maintaining traditional production  values.

According to McElroy executive producer and videographer Evan Perry, the small size and functionality of the GoPro camera is ideal for small and large productions because it limits the amount of equipment and manpower needed on the set.

“While the GoPro will never replace professional videography in the field, it does provide a quality, innovative addition to a video that can allow unparalleled access into previously un-filmable and expensive details of a wedding or corporate project.” said Perry.

Ben McElroy, founder of McElroy Films  adds that, “The camera works really well during corporate shoots, because it captures high-quality images from an array of perspectives, without a videographer or rig obstructing the integrity of a meeting, presentation, or conference.”

Capturing footage with or without a camera operator in unconventional settings and rigging positions enables viewers to experience a product or setting up close and personally. The first person “GoPro” perspective can take the viewer on a remarkable and intimate exploration of a product or service.

McElroy clients can use the camera as a web camera for meetings with clients in remote locations. Clients can participate in the filming by wearing, holding, or mounting the camera, depending on the footage or mood they hope to capture.

McElroy Films premiered the GoPro at their open house in October. The footage captured on the GoPro was edited together with footage captured on the Cannon C300 to create a unique highlight video souvenir for their guests.

LINKS

McElroy Films

GoPro Cameras

 

Webinar Explains How to Sell More Online with Great Product Photography

DESIGNERS. ARTISTS. If you sell art, jewelry, ceramics, clothing, 3D-printed objects, or other products on eBay, Etsy, or your own website, a great photograph of your merchandise can definitely increase its sales appeal. In fact, color-accurate photographs are particularly important to customers searching for wardrobe accessories or home or office decor. 

On Thursday, December 12, X-Rite, Bowens, and Sekonic are sponsoring a free webinar “Sell More Online with Great Product Photography.” The one-hour session will start at 1 pm EST and be led by photographer Joe Brady.

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From set-up to capture to edit, Brady will explain how to photograph small products for online display. Joe will demonstrate the new Bowens Streamlite Cocoon Kit that makes producing pro-quality photographs simple and consistent.

You will learn how a Sekonic L-308S Light Meter can help you get perfect and consistent exposures every time. Then, by including X-Rite’s ColorChecker Passport in your test shots, you can create a custom profile for the lights you use so that every item perfectly displays its full color.

If you use Adobe Lightroom, you can shoot your product photos directly into a laptop and have the color and white balance automatically adjusted. With one click of the mouse, the appropriate size JPEGs for online display will be sent off to an image folder.

LINK

Webinar: Sell More Online with Great Product Photography

Hybrid Photographer Will Crockett to Show Photo Pros How to Produce eCards for Clients

PHOTOGRAPHERS. Do you know how to produce an eCard to promote your photography services? Are you prepared to begin offering eProducts to your customers?

During the pre-show DIMA conference before the 2014 PMA@CES event, Hybrid Commercial Photographer Will Crockett of PHOTOchannel.pro will show professional portrait photographers how to create non-printed e-products that combine images with motion and sound.

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Crockett will explain why the popular “eCardPRO” provides an exciting replacement to the printed business card, You will also see that  the eCard is just one type of eProduct that can generate new revenues for your professional photography business.

Crockett will demonstrate how photographers can capture photo, video, and audio files that can wirelessly move from a remote location to a post-production workflow in seconds. After the files are edited into a short video clip by a hybrid-capable pro lab the lab will install the clip on a specialized delivery platform that gives the professional photographer complete control over how the files are delivered to clients for use on their smartphones and tablets.

In Will’s own eCard, he defines a hybrid commercial photographer as one who uses videos, graphics, images, audio, and new media to sculpt the perfect message for a company’s products or services.

The seminar will be held live from 3:00 to 4:15 on Sunday, January 4 and streamed out to the world through a Google+ hangout. It will be recorded for playback just in case you need a second look.

LINKS

eCard for Will Crockett

Pre-show conferences at PMA@CES

About PMA@CES

PMA@CES is the overall presence of PMA at the 2014 International CES produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

As part of PMA@CES presence, DIMA (Digital Imaging Marketing Association) PSPA (Professional School Photographers Association) and SPAA (Sports Photographers Association of America) are hosting their annual pre-show conferences at Bally’s Las Vegas January 5-6, 2014. Additional conference programming is offered by the AIE (Association of Imaging Executives) Future Imaging Summit.

The 2014 International CES®, runs Tuesday, January 7  through Friday, January 10, 2014. It will include PMA@CES conference sessions, the PMA@CES Exhibits plus other events at The LVH (formerly Las Vegas Hilton) next door to the Las Vegas Convention Center and just a short monorail ride away from Bally’s Las Vegas.

The International CES is described as the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for more than 40 years, and has become the global stage where next-generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace.

Because it is produced by the Consumer Electronics Association, the technology trade association representing the $203 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry, it attracts the world’s business leaders and pioneering thinkers to a forum where the industry’s most relevant issues are addressed.

Images in NY Photo Exhibition Look Livelier When Viewed with Augmented Reality App

Two major printing conferences this fall (PRINT 13 and SGIA Expo) featured dozens of examples of how printed magazines, catalogs, packages, and signs can be linked to additional content designed to be immediately viewable through an app on a smartphone or tablet.

 KENNETH WILLARDT SIZE DOES MATTER“Size Does Matter,” the debut solo exhibition of photographer Kenneth Willardt,shows how all sorts of prints can be imaginatively enhanced with mobile-device-activated content.

When exhibit viewers download the 4D Viewer App onto their mobile devices, they can scan the 4D QR codes throughout the gallery and experience the printed art in an augmented-reality mode.

The “Size Does Matter” exhibition opened November 8 and runs through December 8 at the 558 Gallery in Chelsea, NY. It features large-scale, boldly colored nude shots of Wilhelmina plus-size supermodel Robyn Lawley posing with a menagerie of creatures. The images juxtapose size, shape and color to explore concepts of femininity, power and the natural world.

The exhibition is the first presentation of the non-commercial work of Danish photographer Kenneth Willardt. For the past decade, he has shot a wide array of actors, musicians and high-profile models (such as Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Claudia Schiffer and Julianne Moore) for both editorial and international advertising campaigns. He is known for his shoots of L’Oreal and Maybelline global spokesmodels.

558 Gallery is a private, independent art space that is open to the public by appointment only. Works in the “Size Does Matter” exhibition will be available in editions of five.

If you can’t attend the exhibition in person, visit a Milk Made post about the “Size Does Matter” exhibit and use the 4D Viewer app to scan the codes included with two images in the blog post. (It’s fun!)

LINKS

Kenneth Willardt Photography

RELATED POST

Milk Made Blog: Kenneth Willardt Presents “Size Does Matter”

Survey Reveals How Photo Buyers Find and Hire Photographers

PhotoShelter has published results from their 2013 Survey of  What Buyers Want From Photographers. The free report provides insights about how buyers like to be pitched, where they find photographers to hire, and the most important elements of the a photographer’s website.

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The survey results are based on 340 responses from photo buyers and creatives at advertising agencies, design firms, nonprofits, editorial publications, book publishers, and corporations who are part of the Agency Access global database. Agency Access is is a full-service marketing resource that helps freelance artists find work.

The most common titles of the respondents were art director, creative director, art producer, editorial photo editor, copywriter, graphic designer, and senior designer. Some of the companies they worked for include Olgivy & Mather, Saatchi & Saatchi, Conde Nast, Harper Collins, McGraw-Hill Education, Texas Creative, IPC Media, and Modern Luxury.

In the 2013 “What Buyers Want” survey report, the responses are grouped into four categories:

  • Hiring photographers
  • Marketing to photo buyers
  • Websites and file delivery
  • Working with photographers

The results answer common questions such as:

  • Do video skills get you a gig?
  • Where do buyers find photographers and photography?
  • Do buyers hire new photographers?
  • Do buyers search for new talent?
  • Is a photographer’s location key to getting hired?
  • Do buyers take in-person meetings?
  • How important are personal projects?
  • Is a photographer’s company knowledge important?
  • How many images should go in your portfolio?
  • How do buyers like images delivered?

Here are some key findings from PhotoShelter’s 2013 survey of photo buyers:

  • 75.6 percent say that compared to 2012, their budgets are increasing or staying the same.
  • 35.4 percent have discovered a new photographer through social media
  • 71.7 percent say they look at unsolicited marketing pitches that are relevant to their needs
  • 33.6 percent cite “easy navigation” as the most important element of a photographer’s website

PhotoShelter has supplemented the statistical data with interviews with major photo buyers and tips on email and direct-mail promotions.

“A direct-mail piece doesn’t depend as much on the quality or size as it does on the image and typography,” said the photo editor at an editorial publication.”I don’t need fancy envelopes or multi-page glossy hardbound books If the image is memorable, I will put it up on my wall or in my box of promos to keep.”

On the importance of personalizing a pitch, one ad agency creative director offered this advice: “Make sure your email comes across as genuine. This means don’t act like a car salesman with gimmicky phrases and subject lines. Make the email personal. We can smell a form letter in seconds.”

Factors that influence hiring decisions include the photographer’s personality, level of interest in the project, location, pricing, and schedule conflicts.

One marketing agency representative said, “Personality and a photographer’s lack of interest can be major obstacles. We have found artists based on their work, but once we call to get to know him or her better, their personality can sway our decision.”

Learn from Previous Surveys

For an even more thorough understanding of what photo buyers look for, download the survey results from 2011 and 2012. The 2011 and 2012 “What Photo Buyers Want” surveys are part of PhotoShelter’s ongoing series of free business guides for photographers. PhotoShelter’s library includes 30+ educational guides on topics such as creating a successful photography portfolio, email marketing, and starting a photography business.

About PhotoShelter and Agency Access

PhotoShelter offers professional, reliable and innovative online tools to build and grow a successful photography business. Its latest release, Beam, offers a suite of portfolio website templates built with the latest technology to showcase images at their best. Over 80,000 photographers use PhotoShelter’s websites, social and SEO tools, online image archives, and image delivery and e-commerce tools.

Two PhotoShelter executives, Allen Murabayashi and Andrew Fingerman, will present a seminar on “Building the Right Audience Online” at PDN PhotoPlus Expo in New York. The seminar is scheduled from 1:30 to 3:30 pm on Thursday, October 24.

Agency Access provides direct marketing for commercial photographers, illustrators, artist reps and stock agencies. They offer educational services, consulting and design services, integrated marketing tools, phone marketing support, and access to a global database of 90,000-plus commercial art buyers at ad agencies, magazines, book publishers, in-house advertising departments, graphic design firms and architectural firms.

LINKS

PhotoShelter

2013 Survey: What Buyers Want from Photographers

PhotoShelter Library of Business Guides for Photographers

Agency Access