Image selection in the commercial world

[Alex MacPherson]

I am an aspiring pro. I am curious about how image selection is done for commercial or
advertising photography. How much input does the photographer have?

Do you cull the images down to a select few before presenting the images to the client?
Or do you just get rid of the obvious glitches (closed eyes,flash misfires,ect) and show all the images?

I find that the images that I like the most are not the ones that other people love. It is kinda weird.... I am like "...really? That one?"

Just curious.

[michaelnotar]

hopefully the AD and photographer work together with aims at a certain type of a photo. we shoot a few variants but watch it because it can add alot of time and added cost.

its the same as any other shoot, i edit the technically flawed ones. i shot mainly product so i have 'a shot in mind' ie how it should look and tag it in capture one only when its close or near perfect to those requirements. it can be or the clients requirements.

lately i have been shooting raw+jpg and giving them the jpgs right there or the day after to edit/play with.

photographers input...depends...its alot of like a portrait session...i usually let them decide where they look good after doing technical flaws/bad expressions/blinks edits.

for bigger shoots hopefully you will have a digital tech/assistant to run the computer and you can edit them right there with the client, get their input and tag those to process them.

if your adv shoots involve people mainly...you might consider a photographers choice folder of images...images they didnt like but you do. i just did a sr portrait session, he skateboards so we did a badass skateboarder/punk character shot. he liked it but quickly said it wasnt him and didnt buy any prints of it. but i kept it and worked on the image for my own portfolio. other times after the client, again, portrait client, not commercial at all, picks the shots they like of themselves, i usually pick from those of which ones i like.

people want different things from portraits...some what to capture themselves as is, some what to be portrayed a beautiful as possible, some want a certain look from the person/model for an ad campaign. differences between the first two are the most common.

[AndreNapier]

It all depends for whom you shoot for. It the real world you either shot exclusively for your clients and forgo all the rights to images for a set fee, or you shoot for your client but still retain some rights and input for lower daily fee which may be offset by licensing fees later.
I try to avoid the first scenario but it happened on few occasions that I shoot to  a client hardware and never even see the images afterwards. My daily fee is tripled the regular rate and it is guaranteed regardless the performance but it is like I never shot the images.
It the second scenario my wife would sit behind the computer and delete all images that she dislike before they are even seen. From experience you never make a pick of your favorite because 95% of a time it will get rejected for that reason. We instead very strongly agree with the selection and congratulate them on a great choice if they flag the image that we also like.
Andre

[Dustbak]

I work tethered 90% of the time (commercially) and the clients are watching over my shoulder. In most cases we work towards an image which makes selecting really easy. Clients that are well prepared have a clear view of what they want. In those cases this isn't the case I do the editing and only show the things I see fit, frankly with a lot of input from my wife who is my biggest critic. I never present images that have not been retouched.

The worst clients are those that don't have a clue what they want and expect you to shoot a really big bunch of images from which to select and form their idea of what they want & like based on what you have shot.

[Frank Doorhof]

Very much depends on the client.
When we work for hairdressers for example some will sit next to the screen and give constant comments on what they like and don't like.
Normally I will follow what they want and shoot after that some free work (maybe 10 frames) often at the time of the shoot they will hate or love that but in reality those free work shots are often choosen in the end.

I think you have to balance between that, do your own thing and not just press the button but also make sure you get what the customer wants to see first.

With the selection I will make sure that when the client is there I will delete images directly if there is a technical error in the shot or a shadow is not correct and reshoot that.
I would hate to see a shot turn up in a publication that I don't like.

[E_Edwards]

Make no mistake, there are only two types of art directors:

-The hands-on, pain-in-the-butt interfering person who things he/she knows more than you, frustrated weekend photographer wannabe, who has been sent by the agency to justify the fees. He/she makes your life misery by trying umpteen versions of the same thing, never deciding which one is best, always ready to satisfy the client, even if the image the client chooses is the crap one.

-The laid back guy who knows you'll do a better job if he leaves you alone and only makes the odd suggestion and then listens to reason if you explain why you are not doing this or that, who actually sometimes comes up with sensible ideas and once you are in agreement, you go for it, never hesitating, he/she knows how to convince the client assertively with magnificently spoken bullshit.

90 per cent are of the first category, I would say. Unfortunately.

Now, if you want to fine-tune this a little, you can make a good prediction beforehand based on country, sex, age, agency and so on. But I won't go there!

One thing is almost certain, the higher the budget, the greater your freedom, the nicer the client. Low budget jobs almost always equal hours of suffering ahead.

My dream, which is slowly coming to fruition, is to only work with clients who are nice and be able to discard the painful ones forever.


Edward

[Dick Roadnight]

I am an aspiring pro. I am curious about how image selection is done for commercial or
advertising photography. How much input does the photographer have?

I have been very fortunate that the (few) commercial clients I have had have always just let me get on with it, and, if I asked their opinion, they just told me I am the expert... I think it helps if you can look competent and confident... technically and artistically.

Are you expecting the client/art director/ etc to be present when you are taking the pictures, or select later? ...commissioned or on spec? ... which markets?