How to pack more power into your visual images

If you are looking for strong images
to sell your perfume, your first step
is to develop a strong concept.

    Visual images can be a powerful selling tool, but not all visual images. Some are spectacular in their marketing power, others are little more than pretty pictures, nice but quickly forgotten. Powerful images stick in people's heads.

    I've had some experience with powerful images. I've seen one photo produce $100,000 in sales; another more than a million. But the key to it was getting the right image for the context in which it was to be used. These shots involved a bit of luck. But the luck itself came about by setting up the setting in which the lucky shot could be grabbed.

    If you are looking for strong images to sell perfume, your first step is to work up a strong visual concept. This is like outlining a plot for a book, film or TV show except that it will be an outline for one frozen moment.

    As you develop your concept, keep several points in mind. Most important is the image that you want to create. What will be the best image to hook viewers on an emotional level, pushing them toward a purchase?

    Also keep in mind your resources. A good idea is no good to you unless you can produce the image you've imagined.

    Models who are unavailable to you, or you can't afford to hire, or who will never be good in front of a camera have to be ruled out.

    Locations you can't afford must be rules out.

    Sets that you can't set up properly must be ruled out.

    Your great concept has to be one you can execute.

    Photographing your great concept should not be a static exercise. Yes, take the "art director" shot, the one you sketched on paper for your layout. And keep your layout in mind, the space the photo must fit. I can recall a time when I wanted to shoot jewelry on a model. You get a quick lesson in proportion. The model is large, the earring is small. You want to show the earring large because that's the product. The model's face gets cropped. So why, tell me why, was casting for a face when it should have been for an ear?

    Now comes the fun part where you are most likely to get a shot that moves people. Loosen up a bit. Go a bit crazy with the camera. If you're working                                                                                                        with a model or models, have them loosen up and go a bit crazy. Overdo it. Then cut it back just slightly. This is where you're likely to get images that move people.

    The image above is not a great example of an advertising shot but let me walk you through its creation.  

    Having just written about the importance of TEXT, I wanted to follow up with an article on the power of images. In producing this article it seemed strange not to have an illustration so I decided to cook one up. This would be a simple image using props on hand and a "model" who was sleeping on the couch next to my desk.

    Since this blog is about marketing your own perfume, A bottle of perfume was called into service, Moonfaire in this case. Then, to add human interest, I posed Kissy, a miniature dachshund, with the bottle. Now it was just a few snaps and a bit of photo editing and I was done. No, the image isn't powerful. It just demonstrates how you can put a concept together.

    A few final words on images. Few images have much meaning standing alone without a headline, photo caption, or a context. When you use a photo, make sure you've given it the support that can make it's message clear -- and powerful. You'll be amazed by how a few added words can multiply the power a photo.