The Power of Branding
Lesson 3 from: Commercial Photography: Thriving in a Competitive IndustryJoel Grimes
The Power of Branding
Lesson 3 from: Commercial Photography: Thriving in a Competitive IndustryJoel Grimes
Lessons
Class Introduction
02:54 2Building a Game Plan
11:29 3The Power of Branding
07:45 4Setting the Trends
19:48 5Speak the Right Language
12:27 6Getting your Foot in the Door
13:35 7The Portfolio
10:21 8What Should I Charge
16:01Lesson Info
The Power of Branding
All right, so branding is basically associating one thing with another right? So we look at, um you know, a soft drink coke, right? That's a brand and coca cola is the biggest brand in the world. Why are the biggest brand? Because their percentage of what they put to marketing is greater than probably any company on the planet. They put more money toward getting the cook brand out than any other company on the planet and that's why they're the number one brand in the world, right? So we have lots of brands, nike, you know, things like that. So you think shoes running shoes, nike that's a brand you associate one thing with another, so it takes a while to do that and that's, the challenge that we have when we brand is you can't brand overnight it's a very difficult thing unless there's some big event, you know, celebrity does something and all of sudden, you know, it's out there very quickly, but usually it takes a while to brand something, so if you're gonna brand something, you need to...
be patient, okay doesn't happen overnight. Uh, if you're gonna brand, look in the marketplace, it takes a couple years, two, three years, maybe even longer, so um well, don't well here's the problem with photographers way talk about this all time is photographers get on the bandwagon with some look and then a year later there on another bandwagon look it's cool look and they go on that look and then a year later they're doing something else you can't do that to survive you know stick with a look be committed so um don't don't expect it happen overnight and it takes a risk right? So here's the key to branding repeat, repeat repeat repeat and you know what I want to tell you a little story I was putting my work on flicker this is like maybe seven years ago and my assistant uh friend of mine said hey, you know, you may not be not be on flicker flickr what's that and then he said we put your pictures on there all right? So I started doing that and I got all these people responding asking questions and stuff with the cool joel and I started doing that for about a year and I started this three d light thing I'm doing right so I put another sample that was practicing now wishing everyone I mean from my kids to the ups guy you name it I was grabbing everyone I could to photograph and test and then someone on one of the photos said not another three light edgy portrait when are you gonna move on right? Because a year into it and my heart just sunk I'm certainly looking at that you know, you know that that comment and I thought he's right? Right and I think time to move on and then there's little voices said is jaime said don't let one person derail you and I said I'm not done I wrote back I'll move on when I feel like moving on when I've done I beat this thing in the ground I did I'm done with it right? And so had I given him that one person I wouldn't be standing here today I guarantee you that so you stick with your look and you build it until you refine it and you've become expert at it and it's not that hard, folks because if you repeat anything you juggle bowling pins right and you start doing that for two three years you khun juggled twelve bowling pins at one time because you practice it so many times that's the key to it um so um are you willing to put in ten to twelve hours a day to build your brand? Ask my wife ask anyone that we call a success in this industry and asking how many hours a day they put into building ever and it's a lot you repeating over and over again and so a brand has about a ten to seven to ten year life span so what does that tell you that in a career of thirty years you're going to reinvent yourself quite a few times there's no way around it ah brands gonna come to an end so you have to start all over and so I do fifty self assignments a year one week now sometimes I get busy travel slide to back him up to stack them together you know, maybe do a weekend a couple back to back but I tried it fifty self assignments basically rebuild my port phillip portfolio every year that's how you're gonna stay competitive more pictures you get out the marketplace the maura supports your brand so you got to constantly be putting pictures out and don't let one person still your dream by saying oh, come on you're still doing the same old thing yeah, because I'm building a brand a little bit more about in addition to sort of that style what are some of the other elements that make up a brand when you're you're looking too to create this and stick with it? Well okay, so so what? We're gonna talk about the language of advertising in a minute and that's you have to speak the right language. Okay? Because advertising has a certain look certain field just like national geographic has a certain look certain feel you gotta learn if you want to be a national geographic photographer and you want to get you know on assignment you have to speak their language now, yeah, there there photographers have a diversity but there's a certain look that national geographic has so advertising is the same way, and so you have to build a certain look. So, um, yes, you want to build a look that fits you, but it has to fit a slot in the marketplace. We'll talk a bit more about that, but you have to fit this fiddle slot someone's going to need what you have, not every advertising, edgy or ever kinds to me what you have but you don't need everyone that's the beauty of it is you don't have to go and went over every agency or every art director every our buyer, you just have to win over a small segment. How many project can you do a year that's another thing you can't handle more than probably ten clients here can't impossible because, you know you could be busy so you don't have that many jobs. You just need some good clients, so we'll waken we can talk about more about that in a minute just take every free minute you have now I know you something you may have a full time job, you may be raising kids, you may have some restrictions in your life that keep you from spending ten to twelve hours a day but if you think about this just spend every free minute you have toward the goal and you might have to give up something make a sacrifice so you know what? I loved going fishing I you know, I used to watch football every sunday our win in the football season but I had to give it up because on sundays I'm out taking pictures so there's things you might have to give up to get to you you're in result all right? So let's talk about setting the trends all right? So here's here's a new image I just shot about a month ago of old don in his uh one of his sheds with all these engines that shot with one light cross light we're going to that light in a minute it's kind of fun I'm due a lot in camera stuff now but this is a composite and why would I put a girl jumping on athlete in an alley now I want to do that and you say that doesn't make any sense she should be in an arena or whatever but I started doing athletes and you know crazy places and I become it kind of became my vision and so it's fun to be able to just do what fits right with you and then put it out there are joel or some of these are these year those personal projects that you're doing or the client okay
Ratings and Reviews
James Munroe
Very good course. Joel tells it like it is. Very cool photography & Photoshop tips that I'll use in my business. Thanks Joel and Creative Live for an awesome course! James
a Creativelive Student
Commercial Photography: thriving in the competitive industry is a very straightforward class. Joel is clear and to the point, breaking down step-by-step how he did it. From developing a portfolio to getting your name in front of people; from setting up the light to the post-processing thinking. I am so happy I bought this course. Thank you Joel Grimes for your time and expertise.