The Impact of Color Photography

By Roger C. Parker

Until recently, it was a black-and-white world. Unless you were printing thousands and thousands of copies of a document, you couldn't include color photographs because it was prohibitively expensive. As a result, color photographs were limited to formal, long-life publications printed in large quantities, such as annual reports, brochures, and direct-mail catalogs. It was simply impractical to include color photographs in limited-circulation documents like letters, memos, proposals, departmental newsletters, and new product announcements.

Now all that's changed. The cost of high-performance office color printers has gone down and quality has gone up, while new technologies have emerged that make it easier and less expensive to work with color photographs on your computer. For the first time, you can easily and affordably add color photographs to a wide variety of business communications and print them as you need them in your office – even if you only need a few copies. You can also read about the results of our survey on the value of a small business color printer.

1. Why color photographs?
2. Observe the power of color photography for yourself
3. Where do color photographs come from?
4. Putting color photographs to work
5. Creative options
6. Software options
7. Summary

1: Why color photographs?

Documents containing color photographs elevate your communications to a new level of impact. They command attention and respect. Color photographs attract your customer's or prospect's eyes, communicating far better than black-and-white photographs of the same size. Color photographs act like a magnet and are better remembered because they provide more detail than black-and-white photographs. Equally important, color photographs project a professional, First Class image, showing that you thought enough of your reader to use the very best tools available to communicate your message.

2: Observe the power of color photography for yourself

The easiest way to observe the power of color is to compare two examples of a document – one containing black-and-white photographs, the other containing color photographs. Compare them side by side and there won't be any doubt which document attracts your eyes, communicates the most information, and commands the most respect.

The following are just a few of the opportunities for using low-quantity color photographs in limited-run documents:

Memos introducing new employees (or clients) Want to make a new employee or client feel important and at home? View side-by-side examples of the same sample with photographs printed in black and white (left) and color (right).

Proposals introducing your staff and facilities Proposals are perhaps the most important limited-circulation document of all. Although you may not need to print many copies of them, it's important that each copy communicates as effectively as possible. Proposals can build confidence in your firm's competence and create a comfort level (emotional relationship) with your employees. View side-by-side examples of the same sample with photographs printed in black and white (left) and color (right).

New product announcements New product announcements can attract more attention and communicate more information with color photographs. Although you may not need great quantities of these preliminary announcements, it's important that they effectively communicate as much information and excitement as possible. View side-by-side examples of the same sample with photographs printed in black and white (left) and color (right).

Departmental newsletters Frequently published, limited-circulation departmental newsletters are great morale builders. They keep everyone informed and motivated. View side-by-side examples of the same sample with photographs printed in black and white (left) and color (right).

Prospect letters "Cold call letters," letters introducing yourself to prospects you haven't met, can play a crucial role in building your business. View side-by-side examples of the same sample with photographs printed in black and white (left) and color (right).

Personalized business cards Business cards containing your photograph are memorable because they build instant recognition, which can pay big dividends down the road. View side-by-side examples of the same sample with photographs printed in black and white (left) and color (right).

Real estate home listings Colorful property listing sheets help the readers instantly feel more "at home" and comfortable. You can further personalize the listing sheets with a color photograph of the realtor representing the property.

Calendars

Everybody can always use another calendar. Calendars make wonderful business marketing tools when personalized because they are year-round reminders of your firm's name, address, phone number, and Web site address. You can utilize color photographs to show your firm's products and services at work. Calendars also make great gifts for family and friends when personalized with family photographs or your own favorite photographs.

And there's more...

There's virtually no limit to your marketing creativity. Using your office color printer, you can create an endless number of flyers, coupons, direct-mail cards, retail displays, and even T-shirts.

Software programs like Adobe PhotoDeluxe Business Edition come with a variety of templates for good-looking flyers, coupons, direct-mail cards, retail displays and T-shirts. Guided Activities show you on a step-by-step basis how to place the photographs and make any desired changes to them.

3: Where do color photographs come from?

There are several ways you can easily and inexpensively add color photographs to your daily business communications. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each option:

Stock photographs

Using stock photographs is an ideal way to enhance your documents when communicating generic themes (i.e., commerce, travel destinations, family relationships, etc.). Check out www.adobestudios.com for a great selection of photo libraries.

Advantages. The advantages of stock photography include high quality images, a wide selection, quick availability, and relatively low cost. For example, many software programs, like Adobe PhotoDeluxe Business Edition, come with a gallery of ready-to-use photographs showing a variety of subjects and themes. PhotoDeluxe also includes Connectibles, additional photographic resources which can be downloaded from the Adobe web site (www.adobe.com).

Disadvantages. The disadvantages of digital photography relate to their generic, "universal" appeal and subject matter, as contrasted to your firm's specific individuals and facilities. Stock photography may also include hidden costs – always check out the "legalese" defining how you can use the photographs.

Application. Stock photography makes sense if you want to add a color photograph of a vacation destination in a memo introducing an upcoming sales promotion. However, you should look to custom photography if you want to include a photograph of last year's winner or want to include a picture of your firm's vice president of sales introducing the sales promotion.

Flat bed scanners

If you have access to a flat-bed scanner in your office, you can easily create digital images out of color snapshots or enlargements. For many, this is the easiest option. Until recently, it was the only practical alternative for most offices.

Advantages. Among the advantages of flat-bed scanners are their popularity, ease of use, low cost, and flexibility. They can also be used for other purposes, such as copying artwork or converting printed documents into word-processing files. If you don't have a scanner, you can also take snapshots and enlargements to your local camera store or business copy center (like Kinko's) and have them create low-cost digital images.

Disadvantages. The disadvantages of working with flat-bed scanners include costs and delays; you have to wait for, and pay for, an entire roll of film to be developed and printed before you can scan a single image. Chances are, this will involve one or more visits to the camera store and/or copy center. The quality of the scanned image may also be a concern, depending on the quality of the printer and the operator's skill.

Application. Scanned images work best when you have time to develop the film, the equipment is available in your office, and you're familiar with its operation.

Slide scanners

Slide scanners are similar to flat-bed scanners in that they convert film-based photographs to digital files that you can work with on your computer. However, whereas flat-bed scanners require color snapshots or enlargements, slide scanners work directly with 35mm slides or color negative film.

Advantages. Slide scanners suitable for business use have recently appeared at prices far less than previous models, which were aimed at professional photographers and photo finishers. Slide scanners save you money because you don't have to print snapshots or enlargements; they work directly with the original film or slides. Image quality can be very high.

Disadvantages. You still have to wait for, and pay for, the film or slides to be developed (processed). Slide scanners may still cost more than flat-bed scanners and they may be harder and slower to use.

Application. Because of their dedicated function, slide scanners are often found in high-volume environments, where lots of film must be scanned.

Kodak Photo CD

Many local camera stores and mail-order film processors (Seattle Kodak, Filmworks, etc.), can not only develop your film and provide you with snapshots, they can also placeÊyour images on a Kodak Photo CD-ROM.

Advantages. Advantages include high quality images; the ability to utilize photographs in both limited-quantity publications, as well as formal, high-resolution, commercially printed documents (i.e. brochures and annual reports).

Disadvantages. Disadvantages include the delays between the time you put the film in the mail and the time you receive the digitized images on a Kodak Photo CD.

Application. The best time to place your images on a Kodak Photo CD is when there is a local photo finisher with in-house capabilities, or when you have the budget and time to pay the added costs of creating a Photo CD.

Digital cameras

The easiest option is to use one of the revolutionary new digital cameras that are available. Digital cameras' performance and ease of use continue to improve, even as costs drop. Digital cameras also omit the costs and delays of film processing; the image goes directly from your camera to your computer.

Advantages. Digital cameras offer quality, speed, and economy, as well as ease of use – most digital cameras automatically set the proper exposure. You can use the color photographs you take this morning in the memos or proposals you print and distribute this afternoon!

Disadvantages. Image quality may not quite equal the quality you get from film, but it's acceptable for most business communication needs. In addition, even though it's very easy to take digital photographs, there's still a learning curve involved: you have to know the limitations of your camera (i.e., how many pictures can be taken at a time) and you have to invest a little time learning how to download the images to your computer. Image size may also be a consideration if you want to create full-page photographs.

Application. Considering ease-of-use, low-cost, high quality, and the freedom from the costs and delays of buying and processing film, digital cameras are often the best choice of all.

4: Putting color photographs to work

Before you can put your newly digitized color images to work in your letters, proposals, and newsletters, you'll probably want to manipulate them. Manipulation involves fine-tuning the original image so that it best suits your document. Here are some of the changes you'll probably want to make to your color photographs before you import them into the document you're creating (using your word processing or page layout software program).

Resizing It's best to reduce the size of photographs before they are imported into your word processing or page layout program. You can keep the files as small as possible by resizing the photographs with the image manipulation program. In contrast to cropping and silhouetting, resizing maintains the height-to-width proportions of the original photograph.

Cropping

Cropping eliminates distractions from the top, bottom, or sides of the photograph. By eliminating unnecessary information, cropping forces the reader's attention on the most important parts of the photograph. Cropping changes the shape of the photograph, altering its height to width proportions. Cropping before a photograph is imported into a document reduces the file size and printing time.

Silhouetting

Silhouetting is similar to cropping in that unnecessary background information is eliminated. However, silhouetting creates irregularly shaped photographs. Silhouetting goes even further than cropping in focusing the reader's attention on the most important part of the photograph.

View examples. The adjusted version appears beside the original.

Red-eye correction

"Red eye" is a common problem found in photographs taken with a flash camera. You can easily eliminate this annoying distraction on the screen of your computer before you import the file into your document. (See Software options)

View examples. The adjusted version appears beside the original.

Improving color balance

"Color balance" refers to the photograph's overall color accuracy. Typical problems involve blue or gray snow, or an overall orange cast to photographs taken early or late in the day. Other sources of problems involve indoor photographs taken with film balanced for outdoor sunlight – or vice versa.

View examples. The adjusted version appears beside the original.

Cosmetic improvements

A photographer's eyes often focus on the subject of interest, not the extraneous details surrounding the subject. That's why you see pictures of individuals with exit signs or stop signs growing out of their heads or a previously unnoticed jungle of telephone wires in the sky over a house. It's often impossible to go back and retake the photograph. Image manipulation programs make it easy to eliminate these distractions on the screen of your computer before the image is used.

View examples. The adjusted version appears beside the original.

5: Creative options

Once you become familiar with your image manipulation program, there's virtually no limit to the creative enhancements you can add to your photographs. The following effects noticeably modify the original color photograph. When used consistently and with discretion, these effects can communicate an even more powerful image, which can help set your publication apart.

Add text You can create eye-catching title pages for your proposals and new product sheets by adding text to the photographs.

Collages A collage is a graphic image containing elements from several photographs that have been grouped together.

Borders Instead of placing a thin line around photographs, or leaving them un-bordered, you can create irregular borders that resemble snapshots or torn edges.

Blurring, transparency and other special effects You can go as far as you want. For example, to draw attention to the most important part of a photograph, such as an individual or a product, while preserving enough of the remainder of the image to indicate its environment, you can blur, distort, or make the environment appear less detailed or color saturated.

6: Software options

There are numerous image-manipulation software programs available. Most scanners and digital cameras, for example, come with image manipulation software. The two most popular programs are Microsoft Picture-It for Windows and Adobe Photo Deluxe Business Edition for both the Apple Macintosh and Windows. These programs are capable of guiding you through the steps necessary to accomplish most of the effects described above. (These programs are intended for use by non-designers. They offer you step-by-step guidance, even if you've never worked with a color image before.)

You choose from a menu describing intended effects and the program guides you through achieving the effect. Adobe PhotoDeluxe Business Edition, for example, contains step-by-step Guided Activities to help you create perfect scans, import photos from digital cameras, change red-eye, or change backgrounds. Adobe PhotoDeluxe Business Edition also includes hundreds of business templates for creating quality marketing materials – and more Adobe Connectibles templates are available for downloading from Adobe's web site.

If image manipulation is something that's going to be an important part of your creative life, of course, you'll want to check out professional-caliber programs like Adobe PhotoShop (available for both the Apple Macintosh and Windows platforms). Adobe PhotoShop is robust enough to handle just about any image manipulation task your imagination can come up with.

Here are some ideas to keep in mind when working with digitized color photographs:

Focus on what's truly important Instead of showing a palm tree, complete with trunk, foreground, and shadow, emphasize just the leaves of the tree. This will project far more of a tropical image. Using programs like Adobe PhotoDeluxe Business Edition, you can easily isolate the most important part of the photograph and – if you don't like the way it turns out, you can easily "Undo" your work.

Eliminate unnecessary backgrounds Eliminating photo backgrounds allows the shape of photographs to emerge with far greater impact. The Guided Activities that come with Adobe PhotoDeluxe Business Edition make it easy to do this, even if you've never worked with image manipulating software before. (Photo, courtesy Adobe Corp.)

Choose the right resolution

Most digital cameras and scanners offer a variety of resolution – or detail – options. Familiarize yourself with the options and don't create larger than necessary files by saving more digital information than your printer can use.

Use the right file format

Digital cameras and scanners permit you to save your image in a variety of formats. Some formats are better-suited for web use than color printing. Use the File Save As command to save files in the format best-suited for your color printer.

Repeat dominant colors

When designing a page around a large or important photograph, such as the title page of a proposal or the front page of a department newsletter, consider picking up and repeating one of the dominant colors from the photograph and using it elsewhere on the page, such as using the same color for the headline text or the graphic accents on the page. This unifies the page.

Strive for subtlety and integrity

Avoid overusing creative effects. Be especially careful when manipulating photographs for business purposes. Although subtle changes, like eliminating distracting telephone wires, may be acceptable, it's less okay to remove the nuclear reactor or slaughterhouse from the background of the home you're trying to sell.

Summary

Until now, it was impractical to include color photographs in short-run documents (the type of documents you prepare in small quantities on a day-to-day basis). Although nothing communicates as effectively as color photographs, they were only practical when thousands of copies of a document were being produced.

Now, that color printers and digital image sources have become easier to use and less expensive, you can afford to add color photographs to just about every business document you prepare. Even if you're only preparing one or two copies of a memo or proposal, you can include color photographs and take advantage of the communicating power and First Class image that color photographs project.