Patterson/Bach Communications, Inc.

How do you create advertising that sells? This question has consumed gazillions of marketing brain cells over the years. While there is no definitive answer, many ad people point to photography as a key element in effective advertising. Indeed, photography can create strong emotions in the viewer, and if these emotions positively connect with the advertised product, the ad is good as gold.

So how do you select photography that lays the golden egg? Again, there is no definitive answer—but here are some guidelines:

• Be choosy—Don’t underestimate the power of photography to help communicate your message. Talk with your agency, especially the creative director, about the effect you want the photo to achieve. Review different styles of photography with your agency to reach agreement on an appropriate style for your photo.
• Stock vs. custom photography—Each has its advantages; understand and weigh them when selecting your photography. Custom photography of course gives you complete control over quality and aesthetics. However, good royalty-free or rights-managed stock photography is also available, and may be preferable in certain situations (particularly where budget, space or deadlines are deciding factors). Discuss the choices with your agency, ask for recommendations, and always insist on the best quality within reason.
• Understand the dynamics—A lot goes into composing and shooting an outstanding photograph including lighting, resolution, camera quality and the skill of the photographer. Understanding these dynamics helps you make better decisions (such as choosing the best photographer for the assignment) that result in the best photograph possible.

• An exclusive tip—When shooting custom photography, it’s smart to get an exclusive buyout on the usage, so the photos are for your use alone. A good agency knows how to request and negotiate buyouts in your behalf.

Here are some recent samples of quality photography we’ve shot for our clients.

For more examples, visit www. pat-bach.com. We believe that a picture is indeed worth a thousand words. So we work to make our photographs look like a million.