Juliet and I recently had the privilege of attending the local American Advertising Federation (AAF) awards ceremony, the 50th such gathering in Colorado Springs. I am glad we did. Seeing - and hearing - all of the masterful work done by creative professionals here was inspirational.
Long ago during a career in advertising in a faraway land called Kansas, I always looked forward to celebrating the creative achievements of the past year at the annual AAF ADDY Awards. Sure, everyone was competing for The Best of Show, or at least hoping for a little recognition for the time invested in hitting on just the right idea to effectively communicate a message. We were also a community of advertising professionals who encouraged one another to do our best, which I was glad to see is true of the Colorado Springs community. If only everyone recognized the tremendous value of supporting each other during our journey through life…but I digress.
You might ask - what does this have to do with photography? An advertisement must compete with hundreds of images that pass by your eyes every day. The standout photographs in advertising are those that grab your attention for an extra fraction of a second, leading you to read the nearby message at the heart of the advertisement.
Professional photography is the key to your marketing message being noticed and communicating to your customers that you actually care about quality and professionalism. Do not believe the lie that mediocre photos will suffice - you owe it to yourself and your business to make the best possible impression every time with professionally created photographs.
-Vincent Miles