Know Your (Weird) Customers

Once upon a time, if a client needed an image of a very specific subject or concept, it was assigned. Now, with a glut of stock images on the market, clients will look for -- and usually find -- anything in stock libraries.

I was struck by this change in photo-buying while sitting in on the "Do It Yourself Creative Research" panel, featuring photographer Ron Chapple, Corbis's Robyn Selman, Meg Asario of Spark Visual Research, Alamy's James West and moderated by Lynn Martin. The panelist gave a lot of information about how to research demographic, societal and consumer trends (you know, like Latino immigration, environmental awareness, the tastes of Gen X), and turn those into ideas for stock shots. Playing devil's advocate, West ended his presentation by advising photographers to listen to the creative research experts, but don't hesitate to follow your own instincts, because you can never tell what sells.

On screen, West showed an actual photo request a client had emailed to the agency. The client was looking for shot of a severed ear, and a Lucite box. Separately, of course. But, the email said, if Alamy had a shot of a severed ear IN a Lucite box, that would ROCK!

That's a tough request. The Alamy researcher sent back an image of a Van Gogh-style severed ear, nestled in a tissue-lined cardboard box. Would that suffice?

The client's reaction: Awesome!

West's point was: Creative research is useful, but you can never really guess what will sell.

My reaction was: Why didn't the art buyer hire a photographer to shoot a severed ear in a Lucite box? What, are they squeamish or something?