sell it part deux

Okay now that we've discussed what works in advertising as far as photography let's get this project started! In ad agencies designers come up with a concept and layout and then direct a photographer to realize the idea. On this project you will be both the photographer and designer.

Your assignment

Choose a product that you'd like to advertise. It has to be something you can bring to class to photograph. Your product and ad may not be vulgar or violent. It must be something that is okay to bring to school. You must take the photo - it can not be pulled off the internet.

1. Today (March 21) we will be "concepting" for your ad - or in other words coming up with the main idea. Choose the product you want to advertise, work on a headline and how you'd like your ad to lay out on your paper. This step needs to be completed before you photograph. 

2. Photo day is Friday (March 26).  Bring the product to class as well as your camera and anything else needed to create your photos.

3. Next week you will have both class periods to layout the ad. You may either lay it out on the computer using photoshop elements and word. Or you can create a scrapbook page by cutting and pasting your images and words to create the page.

4. The add will be due at the end of the class period on Thursday, March 31. We will critique these ads the following week. Meaning you will have a chance to say what works and does not work about others' ads.

Here is an example of my ad:

I chose to advertise one of my dog's play toy's.

First I came up with a headline.

 Then decided on a layout. I thought a simple layout would be best. 

I photographed the toy on a black background and kept most of it in focus.

I then cliped it out using Photoshop and used it as a standalone on my page. 

Lastly, I put all the elements of my ad together.

 

This was the original photograph.

sell it...

What about print or web advertisements catches your eye? Personally a great headline paired with a cool photo can sell me just about anything.

Your next project is to create an ad for a product. This could be your favorite watch, drink, shoes, hat, etc. My only criteria for this product is that it is something you can bring in to school to photograph.

I'll explain the project at more length in my following blog, but for class today I'd like you to thumb through magazines or check out the following link
http://www.google.com/images?q=product+advertising&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&sa=X&ei=pot_TeuiK4XSsAOkwPSWBg&ved=0CGAQsAQ&biw=1202&bih=860
and check out all the different kinds of ads. By the end of class I would like you to turn in the answers to these questions along with ads from the magazine or print from online to back your answers.

1. What style of photography do I think works best for selling a product.Why?
2. Find a headline that you think is catchy
3. Find an ad that doesn't work well, why?
4. Pick a product photograph that catches your attention and explain how you think it was photographed.

After you've completed and turned in the above questions, please take some time to explore your options in Photoshop Elements. Part of this project will require touch up or even changing up your photo in this program. Play around with the program to find out what fun changes you can make to an ordinary photos. Adjust the contrast, color, cropping. This is just an exercise to see what the program can do.

On Thursday we'll start the conceptual process of creating your ad.

Tips for photographing a successful I SPY theme

The first element that you will need to consider is the aperture (depth of field or the amount of blur of your background)

Point and shoot cameras generally photograph with small aperture. Meaning they keep most of the what you photograph in focus. This comes in handy when trying to photograph large groups or photos where you want to show off the landscape. On the other hand this is why many point and shoots have difficulty photographing interiors without blur, this small aperture requires lots of light, hence the blinding flash produced by these small cameras.

With an SLR camera it is more about what type of lens you have because that determines the amount of light let into your camera and you can control the blur of a background as well as how much you can keep in focus. The problem when it comes to photographing with a small aperture is that you are allowing less light in your camera so the shutter speed needs to slow down to compensate. The slower the shutter speed the more likely your result will be blurry.

Here are some tips on taking a small aperture photo without blur. 
1. Photograph a still object. (moving objects will almost always be blurry)
2. Use a trip-pod or stabilize your camera
3. Photograph in a location with lots of light. (outside is going to yield the best results and the least amount of blur. Naturally the camera lens will have more access to light which means you can use a higher shutter speed)

The second element to consider in setting up your scene. Where is the light. Is the sun overhead and going to produce too harsh of lighting for your photo? Are you going to be photographing into light that will blow out your photo, or make it too dark?

Tips for picking a place to set up your scene. 
1. Check out the light first. Ideally you want shade with no sun creeping though. (small amounts of sun will throw off your white balance and your camera will be confused as to whether it should photograph for the darker areas or light areas, so it will over compensate one way or the other)
2. Be aware of the back light (being in the shade and photographing towards the sun) this will create silhouettes of you scene which will be dark.
3. If you are having trouble with blur consider turning on your flash. More light, less blur. Although in an outside setting you shouldn't have issues with blur. And if you can avoid using flash it is always more aesthetically pleasing.

Good luck!