A look back at 2014: Advertising

When a storm rolls in, the natural instinct is to retreat undercover and wait it out. But 2014 has shown that the challenges of the past few years are here to stay. Nevertheless, amidst grey clouds the sun is starting to break through, not as the industry returns to its former self, but as photographers and advertisers alike, learn how to adapt to the new conditions. Amanda Copp investigates.

Industry shifts over the last few years have concreted themselves as the new norm. Social media spreads its influence further each day, art buyers cry out for multi-skilled photographers, and the push for faster turnarounds increases as lingering tremors from the financial crisis continue to plague the advertising world.

The cool kids

There’s no denying that the digital age has truly set in. And the Internet and social media have had an incredible impact on the advertising world. As Simon Harsent, a NY-based advertising photographer puts it, “It’s a blessing in disguise and it’s a pain in the arse.” Indeed, as the industry gets used to this communication curve ball, social media has certainly had its ups and downs. “Things are so instant that once you’ve advertised somewhere, everyone’s already moved on anyway. It’s like trying to chase the cool kids around the playground,” Harsent says. “There are a lot of advertisers chasing their tails on social media rather than being at the forefront of it”. He says that increasingly advertisers are trying to tap into Generation Y by presenting more lifestyledriven ideas. “It’s more about trying to make brands hip and cool.” But advertisers have been running into trouble when presenting their ads this way because Gen Y grew up surrounded by advertising and they have an uncanny ability to recognise when they are being advertised to, according to Harsent.

Shameless selfies

Thanks to Generation Y, the infamous ‘selfie’ is amongst this year’s advertising trends. At the end of 2013, Oxford Dictionaries declared ‘selfie’ as word of the year. In 2014, this global fad is dictating imagery in advertising. Micha Schwing, the director for content strategy at Getty Images monitors keywords searched on Getty’s stock photo website. “One of the fastest rising keywords is ‘selfie’. That social phenomenon took three years to make it into mainstream advertising.” But this is just one part of a larger trend. Amir Mireskandari, group operations director at M&C Saatchi says that work is moving away from big, sexy, highly polished, multifaceted, campaign work. He notes that this year there’s been a big shift to a more content-based style, and not just photography, but video too. He believes that social media had a lot to do with that. “Social media, by nature, has this raw charm and raw feel to it. People want advertising to be a lot more human, a lot more off-the-cuff, as if a person is taking the photo, not a brand.” People don’t want to look at advertising that just throws a brand name in their face anymore, and as a result, advertisers have had to change the style of their work to match.

Rain rain, go away

Schwing says that it’s hard to separate social media influences and the financial crisis. “The financial crisis had a big impact on consumer trust and it was about the same time as a lot of the social platforms were taking off. So you had this lack of trust in government and big business existing in your audience, and at the same time that audience started to communicate much more though visual content.” She says that this brought about “authentic, un-styled photographs” that had faults in them, such as lens flare. Instagram-style photographs were quickly picked up by big brands. “‘Technical accident’ is a visual style we now connect to something being truthful or real. Big corporate customers ask for images that show real people and real moments, rather than the perfectly styled aspirational images that we used to sell before the financial crisis.”

It seems that people have been banging on about the financial crisis for years now, and certainly in previous Annuals we have discussed the effects the present, and most people wish that its lingering shadow would just go away. But Leon Steele, a prominent advertising photographer based in New York says that year-on-year photographers are being asked to do more for less. “Even with improving economies, there is now a culture that has been developed where work has to be produced for less money,” he says.

“The rot has set in during the years of austerity, and I fear that sadly, there is no turning back.” Simon Harsent believes that because it has become so cheap to place things on the Internet, commissioners of photography think the fees for photographers should reflect that. “But that’s ludicrous,” he says. “You’re actually reaching more people on the Internet than you would in a print publication.” This last year in advertising photography has cemented the reality that smaller budgets are here to stay.

Across the seas

Melbourne-based advertising photographer Garry Owens says that despite overseas markets being bigger, greener pastures may not be found there either. “When I lived in London, you could get commissioned from anywhere in Europe, plus you were close to the US. But then budgets got cut and they started using home-grown photographers.” Even on our own shores, Owens still wonders whether you can achieve major success in the advertising sector. While you can make money in Australia, he believes that getting into the Asian market is crucial to make a decent living in the future. But no matter where you go, advertisers are still relying on dwindling budgets. “For some reason, the advertising industry thinks that photographers are independently wealthy and that we don’t really need money, and can survive on creativity alone. But we do photography because we love it. That’s the problem. They play on that.”

Get moving

Demands of the industry in the past year require photographers to constantly increase their skills in a bid to try and combat competitive markets. Fewer people access print media, and within the screens people so intently fix their eyes upon today lies the domain of the moving image. Film and stills are rapidly turning into skills expected hand-in-hand. Sarah Thomson is head of art production at Fallon London and jury foreman of D&AD’s new Next Photographer Award which launched this year. She says that the future of advertising photography is moving towards video. “While print remains a significant media for many clients, there is also a massive need for online content.

A large number of photographers will embrace moving image so that it becomes an accepted part of their skill set,” she says. Simon Harsent adds, “Video seems to be the trend, and there’s a lot more motion being attached to stills jobs as well. I get asked to do a lot of motion stuff these days.” Most people agree that it is an incredible skill if you can shoot both well in today’s industry. “I think unless you can shoot movie, you’re basically stuffed,” Owens says.

Looking ahead

Changes in technology and budgets in the last few years are really making their presence felt by solidifying their industry influence. But photographers are continually adjusting to the shifting environment. According to Kulbir Thandi, a London-based advertising photographer, in the next couple of years, multi-skilled photographers will be increasingly sought after. “It’s not just photography anymore,” he says. Knowing about retouching, video production and directing, will all be crucial skills. “It’s imperative that photographers constantly change so that they don’t get stuck in the same place.” Thandi says that in order to keep moving with the times, and not be left behind, photographers need to do a bit of everything just to keep up.

Looking ahead, Micha Schwing believes that the industry can do so much more than simply advertise. At its best, advertising now has the opportunity to be at the pinnacle of shifting social norms. “Women being shown in powerful roles at work, dads being shown as the caregivers of the family, changes in body type, and people with disabilities are used more in advertising,” Schwing says. Advertisements making bold statements have been prevalent this year and will continue in the future as more ads challenge stereotypes and social norms. “We’ve been working towards really pushing boundaries and being quite brave,” she says.

Unfair advantage

Despite the seemingly never-ending influence of the Global Financial Crisis, there are still wonderful opportunities out there. “For talent today, it’s definitely harder to make a living,” admits Schwing, “but it’s also much easier to get their work seen because you have more access to digital tools.” While budgets are nothing like they used to be, Schwing feels that one should not feel restricted by small budgets. “Be inventive.

Think about what you can actually do with that small budget, rather than feeling it’s an obstacle to getting anywhere.” According to Mireskandari, the majority of work shot these days is in the two to ten thousand dollar budget range, which is considerably less than in the past, but photographers are getting a lot of work. It’s his view that more successful advertising photographers in today’s climate are the ones effectively harnessing social media to promote themselves through every available channel. Flexibility and versatility are key he says, but in there somewhere you need to have something that’s unique to you as a photographer. Harsent adds that with so many images out there to compare your work to, photographers need to focus on their own artistic work as well, in order to remain creative and original.

While some of the most challenging industry shake ups this year have resulted from new technology and social media, with them come exciting opportunities. Another year in advertising photography has made it clear that while less-than-favourable conditions become the norm, photographers continue to adapt and flourish in their new environment.

Contacts

Simon Harsent: www.simonharsent.com
Garry Owens: www.garryowens.com
Leon Steele: www.leonsteelephotographer.com
Kulbir Thandi: www.kulbirthandi.com
D&AD: www.dandad.org
M&C Saatchi: mcsaatchi.com.au