Pictures without any people in them?
Not the usual subject matter for me. A building, as pretty as it is…..without people in front of it…was a challenge. But a happy one. Versatility is just as important as any lens in your bag, especially when called upon to photograph an iconically beautiful structure in your hometown. The Fountain Inn was originally built in 1740, and has been lovingly restored and maintained throughout its history.
So, while this was a diversion from the usual run of assignments my studio encounters, it was a lovely one, indeed. I’ve partnered with Printique on a number of occasions, creating books stemming from trips or archival themes in my own library of photos. Books of personal memories, if you will. But this was an effort dedicated to creating a book which will become an asset for a wonderful local business. A book. As the title of the blog says, not something to click through on a screen. A leave behind–something you’d encounter, sitting on the coffee table by the breakfast room. Something to flip through and ruminate about.
Lots of photographers have been called upon to create an anthology of photos for clients. A library of imagery to be accessed, mostly for the purposes of digital marketing, websites, and email. But a book project, a tangible calling card, especially in your own town or network, is something to explore. Pre-internet, we all had some kind of leave behind promo piece. Or a physical, printed portfolio. (Remember those?) You actually had to send it to the agency, or even, amazingly, walk in there and present it yourself.
Throughout the annals of photographic promotional devices, we’ve gone through a varying range of nicely designed oversized portfolio cards. But now we live in the age of “go to my website” or my Instagram page – which is fine, and efficient.
But what about a book for the time when that someone, a guest or potential client, is standing around, waiting to speak to the manager, or scout a location, or wanders down on a sleepy Sunday morning in a beautiful B&B and flips through a book to then realize what a great location it “could be” for that thing coming up. I’ll always gravitate to flipping through a book. And a lovely book, filled with details and color that showcases a place in a very thoughtful, interpretative manner can make a small business stand-out. How can you help a business separate themselves?
The Fountain Inn, located in our hometown, became the perfect setting to create such a book.
The wonderful thing about accessing Printique’s prowess at producing on-demand books is the variety of paper and presentation you can access. I tend to like the 10×12.5 format, and for a book like this, which will be handled a lot, the luster paper is a good choice. Great saturation and sheen to the pages, and a measure of durability.
A book is a good idea. Wonderful, permanent vehicle for your pictures, and a client. And our very astute girl cat, Senna, does seem intrigued.
More tk….
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