Do we know what our customers want?

SWPP & BPPA President, Terry Hansen FSWPP

poses an interesting question

Well, I thought I had a good idea, but now I am not so sure. I recently photographed a group of about 40 children individually. I shot them digitally on high key, because that's what we do now isn't it? I thought I would do some market research and decided to manipulate some of the pictures. I had taken multiple images of some children in anticipation, so I tried different approaches. I experimented with simple key lines, added several images to a larger one, overlaid several colour images on top of a monochrome image and created some monochrome images. I also supplied straight proofs with no manipulation at all, so I could gauge the response. Guess what? Every order, bar none, was from the straight image. Not one wanted what I had assumed was the current fashion in presentation. I could have wept when one mother, on seeing her straightforward high key picture said, "I saw the white background and thought you put the colour in later". So is it the old saying of "prints for show and prints for dough"? Or are my customers just boring stick in the muds? Do you prefer picture A or B or picture C or D? Answers on a postcard to "The photographer in the darkened room quietly weeping" care of SWPP, Rhyl. Denbighshire LL18 3EB

Terry Hansen Picture

Photo Quote: There are an awful lot of people in the world and it's going to be terribly hard to photograph all of them... It was my teacher Lisette Model who finally made it clear to me that the more specific you are, the more general it will be. Diane Arbus