In 2015, Texas advertising and media photographer Jeremy Enlow was given exclusive access to the prestigious reverse-DDD brand cow camp operations on the historic Waggoner Ranch. When Jeremy visited, he encountered 26 cowboys working with just their ropes and horses. “The cowboys, some whom have worked on the ranch for over 40 years, don’t have computers or four wheelers,” Enlow says.  “They cowboy the way it was done 50-75 years ago.  I wanted to document this way of life for younger generations before it disappears.” Traveling to the ranch from April-July 2015,  Jeremy captured more than 14,000 images. By November, he self-published the award-winning book Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch. The first run of books sold out in 10 days.

Now on it’s third run, Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch has won numerous awards, including the Next Generation Indie Publishers 2016 award in Historical Non-Fiction. Throughout the process of photographing and self-publishing his inaugural book, Enlow has learned a great about the publishing process. Below are his tips for authors and photographers looking to self-publish.

Top 3 Tips for Self-Publishing Authors

• Don’t skimp on quality. Seek out the best in the industry to help you.  Start at the top and work your way down.

• Go with your gut and don’t second guess. Everyone will want to give you advice.  Some will be good and some will turn out to be terrible.  At the end of the day it’s your book… Surround yourself with industry professionals and your chances of success will go up.

• Set hard deadlines and meet them. Otherwise you will always be fine tuning a book and it will never hit the press.

Self-publishing a book, especially your first book, can be a daunting process. Jeremy dove in, bringing the book to market a mere 8 months after his first day on the ranch. To date, Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch  has sold over 4,000 copies in 48 states and numerous countries. The book is printed in North Texas, and since Jeremy also self-distributed the book, the majority of sales take place at waggonercowboys.com. Jeremy attributes much of the book’s success to the power of marketing.

The Power of Marketing

“I was most surprised by the power of marketing,” says Jeremy. “You can produce the best book in the world, but if you don’t enlist marketing experts, the book will never sell.  On the flip side you have to give the marketing folks a decent product to pitch.”  For an unknown author, good marketing can make or break a book’s success. However, it’s important to understand the role of your marketing professionals. Some will specialize in traditional media (print, TV, and web) while others specialize in social media. Leveraging both can lead to great growth. Furthermore, it’s important to remember the limitations of what marketing professionals can do. “[T]he job of your marketing person is simply to get you in front of the TV camera or reporter.  It’s the author’s job to be passionate about the book and give dynamic quotes,” says Jeremy.

Hiring quality marketing professionals can be an expensive line-item in your publishing budget, but it can also be the difference between hanging onto boxes of books for years or selling out quickly. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch leverages strong social media channels to drive sales on the book’s website, cutting out expensive distributor fees and commissions.

Ready, Set, Publish

Talking to authors, artists, and photographers considering self-publishing their own book, Jeremy recommends building a strong team of industry professionals and not wasting too much time perfecting the end product. For those looking for more hands-on guidance throughout the self-publishing process, Jeremy also offers consulting services. “I’ve also been approached by other authors to help them get their book published.  We have managed to create a system that not only sells books, but allows the author to keep a much higher percentage of books sales.” To discuss your project, contact Jeremy using the button below.

Contact Steel Shutter

“Your brand is a story unfolding across all customer touch points.” – Jonah Sachs

In our last post, we talked about the importance of branded visuals and how to create them. This week, we’re moving on to the art of curating your visual brand. Your digital presence is an evolving story, and it’s your job to edit it in a way that makes sense to your customers and inspires them to action. While you may have lots of ideas and folders overflowing with visual assets, everything benefits from a good edit. And while it might sound easy, when you’re looking at one high quality image after another (as you probably are if you’re working with a good advertising photographer) it can be tough to narrow your content down.

Photography by Jeremy Enlow of Steel Shutter Photography

Jeremy’s experienced this firsthand. While shooting his book Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch, he captured more than 14,000 images. Only a few hundred made it into the final book. Now that’s curating. What might seem challenging at first will pay off when your social media feeds, blogs, website, and marketing materials transform from isolated images into a fluid, moving story that pulls your audience into a narrative.

On Instagram alone, approximately 60 million images are uploaded daily. With all of this visual noise, having a curated story for your brand is more important than ever. So, how do you start curating your brand?

• Hire a photographer that fits your style. Once you’ve nailed down your brand’s visual language, choose an advertising photographer whose portfolio complements your brand. Establishing a relationship with an advertising photographer means you’ll always have the photographs you need for your marketing needs. Keeping a solid library of images on hand will save you from the last minute image search that all too often leaves you with boring, out of place stock visuals.

• Tell a creative story with your photoshoot. When choosing your commercial photographer, look beyond the basic visual quality of their portfolio. What kind of stories do the images tell? Is their creative depth? Can they direct shots that tell inspiring stories? While you may be an art director or working with one, it’s always a good idea to choose a photographer with a strong creative sensibility who can step in and imagine new possibilities for your images. Jeremy’s experience as a Dallas / Fort Worth based advertising and fine art photographer allows him to create exciting, rich stories with his images.

• Be strategic with your content. Even after you have the right photographs selected, the job of curating is not done. Think about how your images relate to each other and what kind of story they tell as a group. Photographs don’t have to be from the same shoot or of similar subjects to tell a story. If you take time to strategically plan your content, you can pick up on related themes between images and choose photographs to act as stepping stones from one story to the next. This extra step will transform your content from a series of ephemeral images into a moving narrative that invites your audience to repeatedly engage with your brand.

What are your best tips for curating your visual brand? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Contact Steel Shutter

The online world is increasingly visual, and content accompanied by visual assets may have as much as an 40%-80% higher chance of being read. With these staggering statistics, it’s more important than ever to have compelling branded visuals. Here, we’ve rounded up 3 of our best tips for branded visuals, along with a curated list of visual branding resources.

1. Know why you’re creating branded visuals

The goal of your visual brand isn’t just a nice looking website. In an increasingly crowded visual world, your visual brand connects you with your audience and creates a strong imprint in their memory. As online audiences increasingly skim content (remember, Generation Z’s attention span is shorter than that of a goldfish [link to education post]), stock content is the visual equivalent of meaningless chatter. A custom library of images, coupled with your unique branding (color, logo, etc.) puts you in front of your audience with a strong story.

Further Reading: Make Your Visual Content Stand Out With A Signature Brand Look via Content Marketing Institute

Quotable:

• “A brand is more than a logo or a specific font. It’s an expression of your customers’ experience.”
• “Over time, [your visual branding] begins to stand for something in the mind space of your current and prospective customers.”

Photo for Cook Children’s Home Health by Steel Shutter Photography

2. Have your own visual language

Ever seen the color blue and thought of Target? We didn’t think so. Creating a strong visual language means identifying what colors, fonts, logos, design style, and mood you’ll use to tell your brand’s story. When crafting visuals for marketing campaigns, social media, and other content, make sure you’re “speaking” your brand’s visual language. Consistency will win every time. Once your audience gets to know your visual language, they’ll seek it out and notice when you share new visuals in your language. Even better, you’ll be building strong associations that will have them remembering your brand in contexts beyond your own content.

Further Reading: Why All Your Visual Content Needs To Be Branded via Visage

Quotable:

• “The key to branding your content is creating and implementing a visual language, which clearly details elements such as colors, fonts, logo use, iconography and data visualization.”

Photo for Texas Wesleyan University by Steel Shutter Photography

3. Capture the right feeling

If you’re a marketer, you know that a good sales pitch speaks to what the customer wants to feel like above and beyond any product. Your visuals should do the same. Avoid flat, stock imagery that shows a scene without telling a compelling story. Instead, choose custom photography that evokes strong, resonating emotions. Good visual assets will move your audience before they ever read a word of your copy, creating an emotional investment in your brand. Steel Shutter can work with you to create a custom library of images that emotionally resonate with your target audience.

Further Reading: 5 Tips for Choosing Images That’ll Make Your Content Engagement Skyrocket via Contently

Quotable:

• “When it comes to choosing an image, your main focus should be on conveying the right feeling. A photo that screams ‘security’ or ‘trust’ or ‘confidence’ will be much more effective than an image that only makes a literal connection with the reader such as ‘money’ or ‘beautiful landscape.’”

Photo for Kincaid’s Hamburgers by Steel Shutter Photography

If you’ve been relying on stock, unbranded images for your digital marketing, contact Steel Shutter now. Jeremy will work with you to create a photoshoot that works with your visual language and connects with your audience. Whether you’re a marketing agency, small business, or corporation, Jeremy will use his experience to deliver the right visual library to engage your target customers.

More resources for creating branded visuals

A Complete Guide to Visual Content: The Science, Tools and Strategy of Creating Killer Images via Buffer
11 Tips for Visual Storytelling from the Pros via Libris

Contact Steel Shutter

“If your content isn’t driving conversation, you’re doing it wrong.” – Dan Roth

Jeremy Enlow of Steel Shutter Photography prides himself on using photos to tell often overlooked stories. “My vision as a photojournalist is to show the reader what they cannot see for themselves,” he says. “I like to photograph cultures of hardworking men and women.” His vision is evident in his inaugural book Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch and in his photos of rural Cubans taken earlier this year. However, it also comes out in corporate photographs that capture the spirit of a given industry.

When planning your next campaign, Steel Shutter can help you create images that drive genuine conversation around your brand and the people it’s made of. Jeremy’s attention to mood, lighting, and narrative help him strong photographs that don’t just sell your products, they connect people to your brand.

Color and light play a large role in the feel of your photographs. Here, Jeremy used a predominantly green setting to create a focal point with the scientist’s lab coat and microscope. The green also serves to brand the photo and subtly evoke the biology theme.  The glow from the microscope positions the photo in a real moment in laboratory activity, giving an authentic storytelling dimension to the image.

Photograph taken at the University of North Texas Health Science Center

Like the previous photograph, this image uses color and light to capture the active work of this welder. Jeremy draws on his photojournalism experience to take action images that have movement and depth. Building trust with your audience starts with showing them the work you do in an authentic way.

The cool blue colors evoke the metallic structure in the image and make the white welding flame stand out.

For many industries, work takes place outside of an office. Jeremy’s field and travel experience puts him at ease taking photographs in the places where your business happens. Here, strong colors and the employee’s uniform brand the photograph, while the background suggests vibrant activity. Dirty hands and uniform position the image in the moment – where the work gets done.

Photograph taken for Chesapeake Oil & Gas Company.

Your marketing assets help you build trust, answering potential customers’ questions before they ever set foot in your door. Here, the setting, serene coloring, and activity of the subject create a strong impression. No matter your field, many of your prospective clients will encounter you online first. Setting the tone on your website and social media accounts with solid, compelling images will drive traffic and create resonance. You can see more of Jeremy’s law office and corporate photos here.

Photograph of Ayres Law Office. 

Are your photographs telling the story of your industry? Contact Steel Shutter today to get the photographs you need to land your target customers.

Contact Steel Shutter

Sure, plenty of commercial photographers will travel around the Metroplex. Here at Steel Shutter, Jeremy takes things a little further. Wherever your imagination and projects take you, he’s ready to follow. This year he’s already captured the rural cowboys of Cuba and sports events in West Texas, just to name a few. While the West Coast (and San Francisco in particular) is Jeremy’s favorite photography destination, the motto around here is “Have passport, will travel.”

Arranging photo shoots away from your company’s headquarters can be daunting. Jeremy makes it simple, drawing on his experience shooting all over the world. Just contact him here to discuss your shoot’s parameters and he’ll walk you through every step of the process.

3 Questions to ask When Hiring a Traveling Advertising Photographer

When hiring a traveling commercial photographer, you may be working via long distance until the time of the shoot. Knowing how to identify a high-quality photographer who can capture your vision will streamline the process and eliminate headaches down the road. Below, we’ve listed 3 questions to ask when hiring a traveling advertising photographer.

• Does their aesthetic fit my brand? If you’re interested in a photographer enough to consider hiring them, chances are you’re pretty impressed with their portfolio. Don’t let big name clients or eye-catching images distract you from the goal of your shoot, though. While many photographers will edit photos to fit to more closely fit the look and feel of your project, make sure the overarching style you see in  their portfolio fits with your brand. Having cohesive visuals is essential for connecting your brand with your target audience.

• How professional is their reputation and process? It’s the age of the internet, so researching potential photographers is easier than ever. After doing a Google search to read relevant reviews, check out their social media profiles to see behind the scenes aspects of their work and get a feel for their process. This will also help you identify what types of agencies and clients the photographer regularly works with. After they pass your initial vetting, pay attention to how easy it is to contact the photographer and whether or not they have a clear process in place for preparing for your shoot and delivering images to you afterwards.

• What kind of experience do they have? Is this their first year in business? Have they done advertising shoots before, or do they have another field of specialty? If they’ve never done a shoot similar to yours, does their portfolio demonstrate proficiency and creativity in related fields or events? A great photographer might not have shot something just like your project, but they should have enough related experience that they can execute the shoot with a minimal learning curve.

Jeremy’s travel experience lets him execute a variety of shoots with ease. Here are some of his photographs taken for shoots outside of North Texas.

Jeremy’s love of travel and experience as an advertising photographer makes him a great candidate for your on-location shoot. Contact Steel Shutter today to find out if Jeremy is the right fit for your project!

More Reading

Still have questions? Check out this guide from Professional Photographer’s of America with 10 things to ask when hiring a photographer.
Contact Steel Shutter

Steel Shutter Photography specializes in healthcare photography. Jeremy Enlow, the photographer behind Steel Shutter, has had more than 36,000 of his images published worldwide. He understands the complex needs of healthcare organizations and can make your shoot a simple, productive experience. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, Jeremy also serves Dallas, Austin, and many surrounding communities. From private practices to large hospital networks, he is skilled at telling your organization’s story in an authentic and professional manner. The result is compelling photographs that connect your providers with patients.

 

               

 

Connecting Patients and Providers

Your photographs tell your story to potential patients and partners. While word of mouth still plays a prevalent role in medical referrals, a provider’s’ digital presence is a critical touchstone.

“Yesterday’s customer is not tomorrow’s customer. Suddenly, healthcare marketers are expected to deeply understand consumer preferences, create relevant products that meet a changing target’s needs, and produce marketing programs that connect consumer insight to firm performance.”  -Kimberly Whitler & John Greenfield via Forbes

It’s essential that your marketing visuals, both print and digital, reflect the values of your organization and resonate with patients. Jeremy’s experience allows him to take photos of doctors, nurses, patients, equipment, facilities, and staff that are visually compelling and relevant.

While photographing patients, compassion, respect, and experience are invaluable. Jeremy always works hard to ensure that his subjects are comfortable.

“He’s as nice as the day is long. He’s a class act. He’s so respectful of his subjects. I like seeing that.” -John Davidson, Director of Photography Dallas Morning News, 1984-2002

Dallas healthcare providers serve an expanding population; you can prepare to connect with potential patients and partners by ensuring your marketing visuals reflect your current brand and feel relevant.

 

Digital Marketing for Healthcare Professionals

At a loss for how to use your new photographs to connect with patients? Here’s a list of helpful resources for digital marketers in the healthcare field.

 

1. What’s working. This list of successful healthcare marketing campaigns that leveraged the power of social media can inspire your next marketing initiative. Read more:http://bit.ly/2ciwB0X

2. Data & trends to watch. DMN3’s research on healthcare marketing trends provides powerful data – like the fact that 77% of patients use search engines before booking an appointment. Use the statistics and trends in this article to make sure you’re talking to the right people on the right channels. Read more:http://bit.ly/2ccvz7a

3. Get basic. Nicole Denton boils down the basics of healthcare digital marketing into 3 foundational must-haves. If you’re not sure where to start, it’s a good idea to make sure you have these bases covered.  Read more:http://bit.ly/2c6Dlfu

Contact Steel Shutter