Tips and Techniques

A picture tells a thousand words, so the saying goes, and this has certainly become true in the digital age. Images have become the way to capture the attention of millions of online viewers, users of social media and owners of mobile devices, who have notoriously short attention spans. This is why charities should make use of imagery in their appeals to engage with their audience and raise money for their cause.

Everywhere you look you will see images: images on posters on walls, images on digital displays on billboards, and images in newspapers and magazines. All of them are doing the same thing: advertising. They may be accompanied by text, but this is often short and to the point. It is the image that captures the reader’s attention.

There is even evidence available to back this up. Apparently, only ten per cent of the information provided in an audio message is retained by the listener three days later, compared to a visual image with the same information that has a 65 per cent retention in the memory of the reader over the same period.

Studies have found that visuals involving colour deliver an 80 per cent increase in people’s willingness to read content, and 46 per cent of marketers claim that imagery is a vital element of their marketing strategies. Perhaps most importantly, studies have revealed that content accompanied by relevant images achieves 94 per cent more views than content that has no imagery alongside it.

You might be forgiven for thinking that advertising is not suitable for charities, but you would be wrong. Charities need to raise awareness about the problems they address and raise money to help address them and they could not do this without engaging in some form of advertising.

For example, an advert that alerts women to what they should be looking for in the case of breast cancer is not selling a product, it is raising awareness, yet it is still advertising for the charity. That particular campaign, admittedly, used text to get the attention of its readers, but it worked because the headline was sufficiently alarming to do that.

Other charity appeals use heartbreaking images to draw attention, such as the RSPCA’s use of an image of an adorable, yet sad-looking dog to raise money to combat abuse of animals. The idea was that readers’ eyes would firstly be drawn by the picture of the dog and then be compelled to read the text that provided further information.

Penny Appeal is another charity that teams relevant imagery with succinct copy. Its charity appeals often feature the faces of individuals alongside a snappy appeal headline, such as the OrphanKind appeal, or a computer-generated graphic, such as the Education First appeal.

But it is important to get the imagery right. Unlike commercial advertising, which always likes to present a positive spin to whatever product or service is being sold, charities often use a negative image to tug at the heartstrings. There is no proof, however, that even in charitable appeals negative images work better than positive ones.

The key in such instances is to ensure that the image is relevant to the campaign and to the wording. The image has to be telling part of the same story as the copy. If it does not do this, then negative or positive, the advert will not be successful. Also, the image has to be, or at least appear to be, real. Any image that appears faked in some way on a charitable appeal will raise doubt in the mind of the reader about its authenticity and so discourage them from donating.

So what should a good fundraising advert include? Well, it’s generally accepted that colour works better in black and white, but as with anything, there are exceptions to this rule. The use of people in advert imagery works better than objects, and one person is better because it provides a focus for the reader, especially if that person is looking out of the image and at the reader. The biggest no-no in any charitable appeal is the use of stock photography, as this is unlikely to be directly relevant to the story being told.

Studies have proven that, when it comes to raising awareness, engaging people’s attentions, and ultimately raising money for a particular course, there is nothing to rival the power of the image. Charities need to embrace the opportunities that the online world offers by developing appeal campaigns that have imagery at their core.

Finding the perfect shot is never easy, but when you’ve got a crowd of people, unexpected movements and poor lighting to deal with it can be even tougher. Live events, whether it’s a concert or a sporting showdown, offer some great opportunities to capture an inspiring shot, but only if you’re prepared.

As with all environments, live events pose their own set of problems. Is it indoors or outdoors? Are there multiple people to focus on or just one? How close can you get to the action? These are just some of the questions you’ll have to ask yourself if you’re prepping for a live event. Of course, there’s never a “one size fits all” set of standards you can follow if you’re looking to whip out your camera at a live event.

Here, we’ve picked out some things you need to consider by analysing two unique environments.

Live Poker Events: Finding Your Target in Bad Light

Since the early noughties, poker tournaments have been mass-participation events with thousands of players riffling chips in unison inside some of the top casinos in the world. One of the biggest problems photographers have when taking pictures inside a poker room is the lighting. The lack of windows and therefore natural light makes them dim in places. This problem is compounded by the fact you can’t use a flash inside the building.

To counter this, it’s important to turn up the ISO on your camera and, if possible, uses lenses with an aperture of 2.8 or less. Once you’ve found what you’re looking for, you then need to find your target. Live poker tournaments are a mixture of amateur qualifiers and established pros, which means you need to know what you’re looking for before you start.

Let’s assume you’ve been drafted in to take pictures of players at the World Series of Poker who have won satellites online through the event’s iGaming partner, 888poker. These players will have won their seat online via one of 888poker’s qualification tournaments and be virtually unknown to the community at large. Because of this you’ll have to become adept at reading name tags/ID numbers, skulking around the poker room floor and taking the perfect picture without disturbing them.

A Stage Show: Know the Action, Know Your Position

Assuming you’re permitted to take pictures inside a theatre, the one obstacle you’ll have to overcome is privacy. Stage shows, such as a play, place the audience in darkness for a reason: they want each individual to feel as though they are alone with nothing between them and the well-lit stage.

Breaking this dynamic is a no-no for everyone involved which means you can’t overstep the mark as a photographer. Unsurprisingly, you won’t be able to use your flash, but the main challenge you’ll face is the angle of your shot. Getting into a position where you can capture the full panorama of the action without disturbing the audience or actors isn’t easy.

One tip you can use to improve your images is to use a long lens. Anything within the 70mm to 200mm range (Canon’s EF f/2.8L II USM is a good option) should help you improve your reach and allow you to snap away from almost any angle. Another way to increase your chances of taking the perfect photo is to anticipate the action.

Just as it is important to memorise who your targets are at a poker tournament, it pays to know the running order of a play. Having an understanding of the action will allow you to manoeuvre yourself closer to the stage when it will have the least impact on the audience and then retreat when necessary.

Dynamics Are As Important as Equipment

As you can see from these two examples, taking the perfect shot at a live event is as much about your equipment as your own positioning. Knowing the context of your surroundings, where the best shots will be and what the mood of the situation is will all help you to tailor your strategy in the most appropriate way.

In fact, that’s probably the most important lesson you need to learn when you’re photographing a live event. Getting the technical information is easy enough, but having a clear understanding of what’s going on around you, what you’re permitted to do and how the action will flow are the things that will really make your shots pop.

Creative studios and design agencies are growingly creating their own digital services and products, rather than just creating them for clients in order to feed an insatiable app market. Here you can get advice from some of the best, people who are already making a success at it, such as Strange Thoughts, MPC and ustwo. These two are some of the most successful instances of innovative companies creating their very own and unique commercial digital products by engineering a startup culture amidst their ranks, having recently developed the million-selling game Monument Valley.

According to the CEO of ustwo, Scott Ewings as of now the market is probably the hottest place to be. People who have scars and those who have created digital products are the ones that are most looked for in the world right now. Startups are after them, retailers are after them, banks are after them, everyone wants them and because of that they are now starting their own companies. People who possess those sort of skills are in a huge demand.

God doesn’t want anyone to have as much data as we do. Now more than ever, we have enough talent in us. Into our ecosystem, we have enough money invested than ever before. Like never before, we have our senior executives involved.

However the end product of all that is far away from where it has to be and in most cases we stink less. We are not doing anything in our power with all this leadership support, money, talent and data.

For instance, let’s examine Zappos. It is quite functional, because you can buy anything you want if you know what you want. However the buying experience should not be anything like a stay at a Motel 6. I want to purchase a $1,845 Just Cavalli dress. The page is not inspiring me to do so, because the description is something like this- apart from the dress you might also like the Sperry Top-Sider Angelfish for $63and the $50 Converse shoe. “Just Cavalli S04CT0255N36734” is even the title of the page. Outrageous!

Open your Internet browser and go through different web pages. You will find little to no inspiration in terms of exploring your next fashion choices. Think of when and why you go to Zappos, even for shoes.

Zappos has great customer service and very good return conditions. Because of that, they have millions of customers. However, if they decide to step up to the Four Seasons or Hilton, provided that they do not want to have a Motel 6 experience anymore, would they still have so many customers?

Don’t get me wrong, Motel 6 is a good hotel chain because its serves an important purpose. But if you are Motel 6 and you are trying to run a hotel, it is expensive and difficult to raise everything up to the level of the Four Seasons or Hilton.

When it comes to digital, it is not a bad idea to try and aim higher, because it’s not that expensive. Bytes and bits are cheap.

The blog post play a very key role in the entire digital marketing strategy. My hope is to show a cluster of experience, each one doing something extraordinary in order to open your minds to new possibilities. Your mission is to accomplish the sacred combination of improving your bottom-line, creating delight in your customers and being unique.

Let’s take Gucci for instance. They already have a digital presence and it is checked of a box by someone at the company. Apart from Gucci, we can also have a look at Bare Necessities. If there is someone who can make something truly amazing with the assets that currently have they are the ones to look for.

We can do so much better.

This post has a compilation of seven strategies that I adore and love at the same time. My only goal is not only to inspire someone to be less terrible, but to become even better than he or she expected. I wish that someone to be able to create something truly amazing by taking into consideration the leadership support, money, talent and data.

Here are the seven strategies that will help you improve your digital experience:

1. Use mobile experience in your digital marketing plan.
2. Deliver simple and amazing personalization
3. Focus your efforts on developing customer reviews.
4. Create terrific buying experience.
5. Whenever you are online, offline, maybe-line or later-line, try to be convertible.
6. Accomplish with magnificent and innovative brand experiences.
7. Create luscious and inspiring experiences.

Some call it “sports entertainment”, others call it “professional wrestling.” Regardless of how do you want to call it, it has left an ineffaceable mark on popular culture. Thanks to the generation-transcending reach of professional wrestling, popular faces like John Cena, Roddy Piper (R.I.P.), Ric Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock became household names.

WWE, the company synonymous with professional wrestling, can teach several lessons about digital marketing, while still entertaining its millions of fans.

In all honesty, since I was a kid I have been a fan of professional wrestling. Along with my younger brother and my father I grew up watching it and since then I never quite shook the habit. As a matter of fact when I was in college, I started dating this guy and the only way I ever agreed to hang out at his place on Monday nights was because he agreed to get cable and I had the opportunity to watch my favorite characters on Monday Night RAW.

Selfies” or self-portrait photos are huge on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Sharing where you have been and what you are doing with your followers and friends has become instantaneous, easy and fun.

However, there’s no need for self-portraits to be shaky instant shots captured by your smartphone. Self-portraits have been taken seriously, since the earliest days of photography, as a way of practicing techniques, improving camera skills and expressing a photographer’s creativity.

In 1839, one of the first photos ever taken of a human in fact produced on a daguerreotype plate was the own face of early photographer Robert Cornelius.

Now, the majority of photography students are regularly given self-portrait coursework and tasks, because it is a great way for them to improve their skills. It might seem a bit scary to prepare and capture a shot of yourself, but our six easy-to-set-up and simple self-portraits are the perfect way to begin.

Apart from your tripod, a kit lens and a DSLR, you don’t need anything else. However, as you will need in advance to carefully compose your photos, the use of tripod is essential, because in front of the camera you will need the freedom to move about.

Wireless remote makes shooting and focusing a whole lot easier, when you wish to take a self-portrait from a distance. If you haven’t got one, don’t worry too much, because we have got the necessary information on how to take shots with an intervalometer and a self-timer instead.

Are you ready to attend the Selfie School? In this article, we are going to have a look at how to take an easy monochrome headshot, which by the way is perfect for a CV, some more untraditional self-portraits that include weird angles, props and other innovative ideas and some crazy ideas for Facebook profiles that are better than the rest.

Shoot your Reflection

In order for photographers to take self-portraits, shots taken in a mirror are a great way. Additionally, composition and focusing are easy, because you can see what you are trying to capture. In order for the camera logo to read the right way, in post-processing flip the last image horizontally.

Get Up and Go Outside

Pull yourself together and go outside to take a natural photo in full-length in a garden or park. It might be a bit frightening to take a picture of yourself in public, so you should invite a friend to come with you for support. However, remember not to allow them to touch the shutter button, because if they do it, you can say goodbye to your self-portrait. Lean towards the camera and try different poses and tilt your body sideways for a relaxed, natural portrait.

Faceless Portrait

There hasn’t been a rule that say a self-portrait must include your face. You should try and take a portrait of one part of your body. If you prefer to stand behind the lens instead of the front, this is a great technique. You can also take a shot of your foot in the environment or take a close-up of one eye.

Go Wide

Revive your Facebook profile with a wild-angle, cartoony and fun shot. For this, you should use a kit lens but the distortion will be much more pronounced if you can get your hands on a wide-angle lens. In order for the effect to work, the camera has to be relatively close to your face so you can take the shot handheld.

Traditional Headshot

It is really useful to have a formal, simple monochrome headshot photo. Additionally, it’s the perfect solution for a business website, LinkedIn profile and a CV. With your camera on a tripod in front of you, stand or sit in front of a plain wall. In order to illuminate one side of your face you can use a handheld Manfrotto LED light, but it would work just as well if you use natural light from a window.

Use Props

You can be as innovative and creative as you wish, because you are completely in charge and that’s the beauty of self-portraits. Think about different ways to express your personality- maybe you could incarnate a favorite hobby or film. Comedy glasses, hats and face paints are all great examples how to transform your look and bring a sense of humor to your selfie.