“You mean the food in the package looks nothing like the food on the label,” said no one, ever. Seriously though, it comes as no surprise to anyone past elementary school age that the pictures of food we see on most packages, websites, and TV commercials has been made up with as much care as a model getting ready for a photo shoot. However, the lengths to which professional food photographers (and other specialists called “food stylists”) go to in order to capture food in its most perfect (if not altogether natural) form. Today, Dallas food and lifestyle photographer Doug Davis shares three secrets of food photography that just might shock you. (more…)
Blog
Enhance your Blog with a Professional Video
Blogs. Everyone seems to have one these days. In fact, you’re reading ours right now, after all. We’re right there with other aspiring bloggers. Unfortunately, the more popular and common a creative/informational/marketing medium becomes, the more saturated it is. How can you possibly stand out from the crowd when there are so many fish in the pond? The truth is, anyone can put up a blog with some nice pictures and words in an attempt toward search engine optimization. What’s going to really put you over the edge in terms of polish is a professional video?
Having it All
We’re not talking about a “Vlog” (or video blog) where you pour your heart out in front of a webcam rather than writing out your thoughts. Even if your blog is purely professional and utilized as a marketing tool, there is value in having written words, pictures, and quality videos. The people you are trying to draw to your business are all different. Some may love to read. Some may prefer looking at pictures or watching videos. Having a video in your blog ties everything together and offers something for everyone. This sends a subtle message to prospective clients that you have their best interests in mind. (more…)
Why You Should Make Video a Part of Your Marketing Strategy Now!
According to the data technology experts at WebDam, an astonishing $135 billion will be spent in 2014 alone on new digital marketing products like apps, online ads, websites, press releases, and infographics. In fact, these same experts predict that by 2015, one-quarter of all advertising dollars will be spent in online or digital ads. Since advertisers are simply following market trends, gaining and maintaining a solid customer base depends on providing quality, informative digital content. One of the most effective ways you can provide that content to your customers is through video marketing. Today, Dallas videographer and photographer Doug Davis will discuss three reasons why high-quality videos need to be a part of your cutting edge marketing strategy.
Videos Keep Visitors on Your Page Longer
Studies have shown that the average website visitor will either stay on a single webpage for 10-20 seconds before clicking away, or remain on a page for a few minutes or longer. The difference depends on the quality and clarity of the content on the page. Well produced, informative, and engaging videos are a smart way to keep potential customers on your website past that critical 20-second mark.
Video Enhances the Customer Experience
Gone are the days when customers will simply take your word when it comes to the quality, usefulness, or value of your product. Today’s information-hungry consumers want to know more about the things they buy. One of the most effective ways for you to provide this information to your customer base is through high quality, informative videos that allow the customer to vicariously engage with your product before purchasing.
Videos Increase Conversion Rates
Ultimately, drawing in potential customers and creating an engaging online experience is all about the conversions, how many of those ungagged website visitors you’re able to “convert” into paying (and, hopefully, returning) customers. In fact, according to Internet Retailer, viewing a video related to a product or service increases the viewer’s likelihood of buying that service or product by 85%.
About Doug Davis and D-Squared Studios
Doug Davis has been producing professional, engaging videos and product, food, and lifestyle photography from his Dallas studio for over 20 years. We’d love to discuss how video can play a vital role in your dynamic marketing strategy. D-Squared Studios is located at 4312 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas 75226. Contact our office at (214)746-6336 or doug.davis@d2studios.net to schedule a consultation.
When Smartphone Pictures Don’t Quite Measure Up
A vast majority of Americans now own smartphones. One of the most used features on smartphones are their cameras. When cell phone cameras first came into existence, the grainy, low-quality photographs produced were novel, but not anything you might want to frame. Now, various apps and add ons can allow the average Joe or Jane to assume themselves a pretty crackerjack photographer. But if you love a truly great image captured in photographs, never fear. Professional photography has not died. Just ask Dallas photographer, Doug Davis.
Putting yourself in the Picture
The good thing about a cell phone camera is that if you have plenty of memory space, you can point and click to the tune of dozens of pictures and then delete the worst and keep the best later on, clearing away red eye and touching up errors as you please. With a strategy like that, everyone’s bound to click a real gem at least every once in a while. Why pay for a professional photographer when you can just keep taking pictures until you get the right one? Plenty of reasons actually. But one of the best is, don’t you want to be in the picture? (more…)
Portraits to Remember your Favorite Relatives By
American culture may seem obsessed with youth, as a whole. But if you think about your family, there are most likely at least one or two beloved elders well into their seventies, eighties, and nineties. We can’t keep everyone in our family by our side forever. The mysteries of beyond become an answer known to the older folks in our family who move on from this world, while we’re left behind to pay tribute to their memory. When you’re in the throes of grief, putting together a proper celebration of the life of an elderly loved one might be difficult. Wouldn’t it be nice to have gorgeous, professional portraits taken in advance so that you have a visual reminder of the beautiful person you’re saying farewell to?
Breaking the Bad Photo Pattern
We’ve all had those nightmare experiences sitting in a crowded department store photography studio with impatient patrons and photographers, screaming babies, and irritated grandmas and grandpas who think this whole thing is a waste of time. It can be difficult to get an entire family in one place, at the same time, dressed up, and ready to say “cheese.” Many studios are sterile, rushed, and just not the kind of place that makes everyone (more…)
Whole Foods: Good for your Body, and your Photos
Good food transcends your sense of taste. A memorable meal is a feast for the eyes as well. Your visual senses stand to gorge just as heartily as your mouth when it comes to a fine meal. What makes you want to try a new restaurant, bakery, or pub? Anyone trying to offer services revolving around food should be aware that photography is an essential element of advertising and getting the word out. Dallas photographer, Doug Davis, will tell you more about the importance of food photography in advertising.
Delicious Images
People still enjoy magazines, but you can find your articles and images on paper or digitally, these days. Advertising has transitioned with the times. Whether you like holding a magazine in your hand, or clicking your mouse or finger onto the article you wish to read, photography is still a huge eye-catching element which decides the articles and images that will get the most attention. Food is a fantastic medium for a photographer. All of the color options and creative ways to stage different types of food make this type of photography quite dynamic. That amazing looking broiled red snapper with capers, roasted garlic mashed potatoes topped with applewood smoked bacon, and bright green asparagus smothered in hollandaise sauce offer a rainbow of visual possibilities. (more…)
Why Creative Design Photography Matters
Creative design photography is simultaneously broader and more defined than other, more general forms of photography. The key is in the design. In order to create a creative image, Dallas professional photographer, Doug Davis, will design the backdrop, the subject, peripheral objects, costumes (if necessary), and other props that shape your unique vision like no ordinary photograph could. When a simple shot of a product or of a group of people won’t work, creative design photography could be just the touch you need.
The Difference Is In the Design
Imagine for a moment that your company sells high-quality wristwatches, and you need an image for your advertising campaign that highlights the exquisite design and workmanship of your product. Traditional visual marketing might help you create remarkably clear and attractive shots of your watches, but such photos might not convey exactly what you want.
Instead, you decide you want to incorporate creative design photography that will tell more of the story that you want to tell the public. Instead of stock shots of your product, Doug might suggest an exploded view of the watch, with each intricate gear, spring, and internal component clearly visible and suspended in thin air. Such a creative design would not only display your watch, but also convey the care that was put into its creation.
The Ideas Behind Creative Design
Though highly-skilled and experienced in several visual art forms, Doug Davis values the ideas and opinions of our clients. The planning process involves discussing exactly what you want your image to say, the tone you want it to convey, and the people you want it to reach, among many other factors. You’ll be involved in each step of the process to ensure that the final result is exactly what you want.
ABOUT DALLAS PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER, DOUG DAVIS:
Dallas-based professional photographer and videographer, Doug Davis, has worked with a wide range of clients, from American Airlines to the Susan B. Komen Foundation. If you’d like to learn more, or if you need the services of a highly-experienced professional photographer, then contact D-Squared Studios by calling our office today at (214) 746-6336.
How Can Lifestyle Photography Promote Your Product?
Lifestyle photography is a type of people portrait photography that captures candid moments, but also attempts to tell a story in a single image. How can this help you promote your business? Imagine your company’s car, clothing, technology, or other trademark product captured in a bright, professional manner, perhaps on a pedestal with a glamorous background. Now, imagine that same product being used by happy, smiling, satisfied customers throughout their everyday lives. By presenting your merchandise as it was meant to be used, lifestyle photography can help you create a more relatable, and more memorable, visual marketing tool.
Creating Lifelike Lifestyle Photography
Great lifestyle photography is about more than just taking photos at random moments. Although the image should seem random and natural, the actual setup requires professional lighting, an artistic and experienced eye, and a host of other precise factors. It’s a combination of product photography, in which your merchandise must be clearly visible and professionally portrayed, and people photography, in which the subjects must appear natural as well as genuinely satisfied with the product they’re using.
Making Your Vision Relatable
With years of experience using his creativity to make others’ visions come to life, Doug Davis can help you generate lifestyle photographs that enhance your visual marketing by making your company more relatable. In addition to photographs, he can also create one or more professional videos to add a more engaging touch to your website and promotional repertoire.
ABOUT DALLAS PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER, DOUG DAVIS:
Dallas-based professional photographer and videographer, Doug Davis, has worked with a wide range of clients, from American Airlines to the Susan B. Komen Foundation. If you’d like to learn more, or if you need the services of a highly-experienced professional photographer, then contact D-Squared Studios by calling our office today at (214) 746-6336.
Tips to Prepare for Your Professional Portrait
Whether you want to add the perfect professional touch to your resume, or you own your own business and are looking for more innovative ways to promote yourself and your company; professional portraiture may be the solution you need. With the right portrait, you can add a memorable touch to your business cards, create a stronger online presence, and have clean, sharp images ready for press kits and social media. To help make the most of it, your Dallas professional photographer, Doug Davis, offers these tips to prepare for your professional portrait.
Picture Perfect Preparation
Choose an appropriate outfit
It’s not just that you need to look professional; along with lighting and other factors that influence the quality of your photograph, the colors you wear can largely determine how crisp, clear, and professional your portrait will turn out. Soft, earth tones or gentle pastels are typically a good idea, since they don’t create dramatic contrasts, like black and white clothing do.
Stay well-groomed
You might not have noticed your few-day’s-old stubble as you briefly passed the mirror this morning, but you can believe that it will show up (and remain forever) in your portrait image. Guys should be sure to get a haircut the day before their appointment, and shave the morning of, to maintain a clean-cut, and more photogenic, look. For women, scheduling some time with a hairstylist and makeup artist beforehand will help produce the most professional-looking images.
Get lots of rest
Your clients and coworkers can tell when you haven’t slept in a few days. Besides the behavior changes that come with exhaustion, the sunken eyes and facial structures can make you look haggard and worn-down—probably not an image you’d want to immortalize to represent your business. Be sure to get plenty of rest the night before your photo shoot.
Relax, and Say Cheese!
Few things are as off-putting as a frown, but nothing says “unnatural” like a forced smile. The best-case scenario is the one in which you don’t have to choose between looking grumpy or pretending that you’re not, so try to relax so you can smile easily for your portrait. If necessary, schedule a massage or a little spa time before your portrait to ensure that you’re in your most-relaxed state of mind.
ABOUT DALLAS PHOTOGRAPHER, DOUG DAVIS:
Dallas-based professional photographer and videographer, Doug Davis, has worked with a wide range of clients, from American Airlines to the Susan B. Komen Foundation. If you’d like to learn more, or if you need the services of a highly-experienced professional photographer, then contact D-Squared Studios by calling our office today at (214) 746-6336.
Questions About Professional Videography
With more innovative technology powering our personal devices than ever before, the approaches to reaching the public with your message have evolved. Visual marketing helps define and differentiate your company from others, and professional videography is one of the most effective ways to set your company’s presence apart from the rest.
Why are videos better than photos for my company’s website?
Professional, and preferably original, photographs are vital to your company’s visual marketing campaign. Websites need imagery to make them come alive and hold people’s attention. Billboards and print media ads need pictures to draw people’s interest. Videos, however, combine the attraction of original imagery with the information provided in typical ads, and deliver them through an entertaining medium (if done correctly).
How good will the video quality be?
As a professional, the videos that Doug Davis creates aren’t your run-of-the-mill public media videos. Every project offers a high level of production quality, as Doug utilizes his extensive experience in all areas of video production (he’s served as director, sound guy, lighting director, director of photography, electrician, and general gofer guy on shoots for Red Bull, Ronald McDonald House, United Leather, and APYTV).
How long should the videos on my website run?
Because of the ease with which they can be consumed, videos garner up to four times more viewers than the readers a typical website page attracts. However, the attention span of the average web surfer isn’t very long, and if the video runs too long, it might defeat itself. The ideal length of your video will depend on its purpose (brief advertisement, instructional video, etc.), but should be tailored to provide as much information as needed in as little time as possible.
How much say will I have in the production process?
Like all of his projects, Doug will work closely with you to produce a final project that meets and exceeds all expectations. Whether you prefer to be involved in every step, or simply receive periodic updates on progress, you can determine how much you participate in the process.
ABOUT DALLAS PHOTOGRAPHER, DOUG DAVIS:
Dallas-based professional photographer and videographer, Doug Davis, has worked with a wide range of clients, from American Airlines to the Susan B. Komen Foundation. If you’d like to learn more, or if you need the services of a highly-experienced professional photographer, then contact D-Squared Studios by calling our office today at (214) 746-6336.