Opportunity: Your sales person has an opportunity to present a design package for an existing shopping center.

Challenge: Your sales person has been struggling with providing you photos with high enough resolution, or at the correct angle or they stand too close to the building and everything looks fish-eyed.

Solution: Give them some tools to use in the field for taking better photos for presentations, surveys and final completions..

I can’t think of a better example of the old adage “garbage in = garbage out.” The better the photo, the better the presentation. Let me start by giving those hard-working, dedicated sales people out there a much needed compliment for what they do. It’s easy for non-sales people to sometimes forget that sales people by nature are moving at the speed of light. Their No. 1 objective is to bring in opportunities and close deals. They provide the work that keeps a shop alive. We salute them and their efforts. However, in my humble opinion, some of them could use a quick tutorial on how to take better photos.

The better the photo, the easier it is for us designers to get their work done in less time. It is a pure and simple win-win that a lot of sales people forget to recognize.

Cameras 

I will start out by stating that if your camera has a feature that allows you to talk or send text messages, it’s not a camera—it’s a phone. Phone pictures are OK for some things, but I’m talking about learning how to take scalable, in-focus photos with good composition and lighting. The kind of photos that designers need to help them make a presentation design jump off the page.

I will be referencing the typical Kodak, Canon, Fuji digital pocket cameras that you can find everywhere for $125. You don’t need a $500 camera if you know how to take great shots.

Most sales people have no idea how a bad photo cripples a designer. Here are a few dilemma’s that a bad photo presents:

• No scale reference—takes extra time to “figure it out” with no guarantee of accuracy

• Skewed—this affects scale and placement of the new sign graphic. 

• Lighting—over or under exposed shots due to sun glare ruins presentation possibilities

• Composition—removing items from photos in Photoshop is just plain time consuming and expensive.

Taking the time to provide your artist the best possible shots will help you get your design quicker. It also will look more dynamic and will help you sell the job easier.

Let’s review some of the basics regarding point and shoot camera settings and their limitations.

Built in wide-angle lenses

Most people don’t realize that point and shoot cameras have a built-in wide-angle lens that allows you to capture a wider shot of the subject at all distances. We must override this built-in feature. Here is how it’s done: Before you take your shot, activate the zoom feature of your camera and zoom in (all the way) on something in the distance. Leave your camera’s zoom set like this and start walking back from the subject until it looks the way you want it in the view finder, then go back a bit farther and start taking your pictures. Make sure you are far enough back to utilize all the zoom your camera has to offer. This technique minimizes the wide-angle distortion of the lens to help ensure building photos will have scalable horizontal and vertical lines when a straight-on shot is required. (see “How to photograph wide buildings for illustrations”)

Photo quality settings

Every camera gives you options on setting the quality (megapixel, size) of your photos. A camera setting of six megapixels provides an image with more than enough detail for our purposes. The larger the photo, the more detail is present and the better your presentations will look. Your photos should have a file size of at least 1.5 MB each when attached to an e-mail to be mailed to your artist. 

Viewing software and e-mailing

There are many photo programs for viewing, organizing and saving the photos to your computer. Most programs offer settings that reduce file size for easier e-mailing and Web use. You will want to disable this compression feature in both your photo program and your e-mail client. These compressed photos look great on the monitor but are basically useless for any kind of presentation work. 

Hold it steady

Most point and shoot digital cameras have a relatively slow shutter speed—the length of time it takes the camera to activate the shutter after you’ve pressed the button. Learn to recognize when the camera is done taking the picture; any movement during this “shutter lag time” will give you shots that are out of focus. Some cameras offer anti-shake software that helps to minimize shutter blur. If your camera has this feature, holding perfectly still will make your shot even clearer. Better yet, use a tripod with a quick release base. They set up fast and are compact, lightweight and almost guarantee your photos will be in focus.

Photo 1: The telephone pole appears to be growing out of the sign.

Understanding composition

Here is where we separate the “drive by shooters” from those who take their time to get a good shot. As you are preparing to capture your photos, look around and behind the subject. Here are some things to consider before you shoot:

• Are there any telephone poles visible in the shot that might appear as if it’s growing out the top of the sign? (see Photo 1)

• Is there trash or other undesirable items on the ground or visible in the photo? 

• Where is the sun shining? Is it the wrong time of day for the photo? Keep the face of the sign or building in the sun by taking your photos at the right time of day. 

• Avoid mid-day photos for presentation or finished project shots... you want the rich “horizon” hues of morning or late afternoon to enhance the shot.

Photo 2: Start with a close-up of the tape measure.

Photo 3: Back up and take another shot to where the tape measure is on the building.

Taking photos in scale

Channel Letter Survey Photos

I prefer to take a series of shots starting with a close-up of my tape measure on the building. (see Photo 2 and Photo 3) I then back up a bit and take another shot that reveals where on the building I placed the tape measure. Then I take several placement shots from a variety of distances from the building. In this way, I provide the graphic artist (in this case, me) a range of photos that clearly indicate distance and offers options on which placement photo will look the best for the sign.

Monument Sign Survey Photos

Basically the same steps as for channel letters, except for occasions where there is no building or sign to scale from. In these instances you can use a well marked yard stick or an aluminum field marker placed at the spot where the sign will go. This provides the artists a way to show the sign on the photo as it would appear when completed and in scale. 

Basically, it comes down to taking the time to understand what is needed in a scale photo, a survey photo and a placement photo. Work with your designer to understand how a better photo will make the entire design process flow smoother, in less time and with better finished presentations.