Category: Marketing

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Business Curiosity Exposure Making Art Making Pictures Marketing Philosophy Richard Kelly Experience

Thinking Ahead

Last week in two separate conversations, I used the words “thinking ahead.” Conceptually we like to think we do this well, but most of us fail even with our best new ideas. Big thinkers take a small concept that exponentially expands. They gather interest, investors, partners, and collaborators to take that small idea to an extravagant completion. I hear from big thinkers almost every day asking me to help them create imagery. Though, some of them wait too long even after their project is already underway or practically completed.  

These conversations with filmmakers, real estate developers, technology entrepreneurs, and other innovative businesses making transformational changes all have stories that I want to help them tell if they had just thought ahead. They want photographs that they can now use to tell the story of their big idea. But there is no way to re-visualize their process measuring what they have accomplished because no photographs were made with that intention—not thinking ahead what images they will need in the end to tell the story. 

While living in New York City in the early ’90s, I thought I might want to make motion pictures. Not knowing that much about filmmaking, I offered to work on small indie films. I was working with many talented individuals. I learned that one of the many required “assets” film festivals ask for are publicity stills to assist in “promoting” the movies. As a photographer, I was a valuable asset on these indie productions and taught myself how to package these with other materials for festivals. One evening at a wrap party, a young filmmaker approached me. He had heard through a colleague that I created festival packets. And he needed some help with his festival proposal. So we went through my mental checklist – script, application, list of cast and crew, synopsis, check, check, and check he said – still photos? (cue the sound of film breaking in a projector). Ahhh! He said someone did make some snapshots with their camera, but no one was responsible for making those still photos. He asked if I could help. I shook my head and said, look, we could recreate a scene or two if you have access to the location and the actors, but it is not the same. 

I was preparing, before the pandemic, to deliver a “lunch and learn” session about documenting your startup story. I planned to say that good visual storytelling is critical to rising above the startup competition. Thinking ahead for visual stories requires commitment, discipline, and money. Yes, money! A business school leader reminded me that seed money is for the core purpose of startup culture. My reply, without planning for storytelling (READ marketing) images, no one will visualize the value you are building. Indeed, I am sure that some early-stage funders will disagree with me and point to examples of startups that prove themselves without marketing imagery. But in a global conversation of visual media, pictures and videos matter. Without visual images, you are only as good as your best textual metaphors with bullet points on a pitch deck. 

Once in a conversation with a client over a project launch. I told the story of being commissioned by a financial institution to create artwork for their new office. Their ask was for images of the city from their skyscraper point of view – not postcard-style photos but images that reflected their unique worldview. He loved this idea, and then I revealed that often the “process photographs” that I make for long-term projects also end up as artwork on the walls of their company Headquarters. These images can rise above the initial purpose and can be aesthetically beautiful as well. We closed the deal on the spot.

Learning about future-forward projects and the people who put these into action is my favorite part of my storytelling. Thinking ahead to craft a visual story for publicity, fundraising, and memorializing history is what I do. 

If your organization has an emerging story to tell and wants my visual point of view, email me at richard@richardkelly.com.

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Business Curiosity Marketing Philosophy Photography Richard Kelly Experience

Humans with cameras.

The camera allows us to see things we otherwise could never see as humans. However, the camera alone is not very useful. Ansel Adams, the famous American Landscape photographer, once quipped, “The single most important component of a camera is the 12 inches behind it.” without a human purpose, the camera is of no use.

Suppose you are a visionary chief executive wanting to illustrate to your potential investors that your leadership team is polishing the antique industrial company into a shiny new modern technology brand—the most efficient method is to contract with a professional photographer creating those transformational stories. Otherwise, you risk not telling this critical story because the cameras are still sitting in the box.

A professional photographer’s job is to make photographs that inform, educate, or emotionally connect with the viewer. Whether journalistically, for marketing, or advertising, a photographer with intention, skill and focus will use their camera to communicate the essence effectively to create compelling visual storytelling.

I love using photography to tell stories. I get to combine my curiosity and lifelong learning and translate those experiences into visual compositions that, when combined with crafted words and elegant design, moves someone to feel something, take action, or stay informed.

I create visual experiences. 

My team and I are available to produce your organization’s unique story and share it with the world. 

Richard Kelly is the President of the Richard Kelly Experience based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He and his team create visual stories for organizations just like yours.

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Business Making Pictures Marketing Philosophy Photography Richard Kelly Experience Uncategorized

The one about the CEO who bought professional digital cameras for his managers… a parable.

I am not a widget photographer, but I am interested in innovative people and how they make things. For a handful of years, I had been photographing a multinational corporation that made widgets. I had made some pictures for them, and we had been discussing a longer-term project to show their “new and improved process and people for shareholders.” Not that long ago, I would have called these annual report photographs, but now I think of them as “core mission stories” – and by the way – organizations should focus more on these to tell their unique story to stakeholders. 

But I digress. For several years the CEO who was brought in to sell a new corporate perspective to their Wall Street investors about how “an old gritty industrial company” was transforming as a “shiny new technology industry leader” and I discussed using photography and video to show these innovative talents and techniques that the company was implementing. He knew Wall Street had yet to grasp this new point of growth, and I was presenting him an opportunity to reframe the story visually before turning the leadership over to a new team. 

The following year, as he and I stepped aside to make his leadership portrait, he excitedly told me, “you know the concept you pitched for telling the stories of our workers and processes? well, I solved that by buying my plant managers D-SLR’s and instructing them to take pictures.” My photographer’s soul shriveled up and went up to my throat. I was planning to convince him to put this project on the calendar finally. Instead, I was learning that an “everyone with a camera” scenario was replacing my idea. I thought quickly on my feet and rebounded by saying, you know, Mr. CEO, I teach workshops, and I can put together a custom program to teach your managers how to use these cameras. He waved his hand and said these cameras are so sophisticated that they pretty much take the pictures themselves. I finished the session, and my assistant knew I was mentally defeated, and she suggested we stop for lunch to talk about the end of commercial photography as we knew it.

The following year I was a bit surprised they scheduled me to make the annual leadership photographs. Figuring that one of the plant managers would stop by and “snap a picture.” The CEO, I learned, was retiring soon – even though the company didn’t have the positive turnaround he desired. He was ready to move out of the day-to-day operations. As we stepped away to make his final CEO portrait, I asked him how the manager’s photography assignments had worked out? He chuckled and said, “would you believe it if I told you that they have never even taken the cameras out of their boxes.”

Although I wasn’t thrilled that the CEO retiring, the story of the cameras still in their boxes reminded me that I still have value as a visual storyteller. 

Everyone might have a camera with technology that makes taking pictures more accessible and of decent quality. The managers didn’t make the photographs because that is not what they do; they manage manufacturing. They didn’t have the intention. Photographers craft compelling visual stories because that is what we do. 

Richard Kelly is the President of The Richard Kelly Experience, Creating visual stories for mission-focused organizations, framing their unique perspectives with compelling imagery for their stakeholders. 

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Business Making Pictures Marketing Photography Richard Kelly Experience

Use it or lose it

This Pandemic year has been like no other. We are all navigating whatever it means to get back to “normal.” I am not sure I want to go back, but I do know that no one really knows what moving forward will be like either. Over the past fourteen months, I have been on numerous zoom meetings, private phone calls, and text messages with colleagues, clients, business experts, and we agree that moving forward will be different than where we have been. I like it- “the unknown,” which is all opportunity and fewer “that’s always how we have done it.”

One of the upsides to 2020 we tested all of our fears and overcame them, “battle-tested and mother-approved.” Every aspect of our businesses (and life) is being evaluated and reconsidered. Recently I have had several calls from marketing executives in non-profits and medium-sized companies – we talk about how everything, including their mission, is being looked at with fresh eyes. Then the conversation turns to money; many of them face budget reviews, including spending money before their fiscal ends (“use it or lose it”) and planning for next fiscal year’s budget now.

One of their many challenges is how they tell their story and create assets with photographs and videos when employees are working from home. Or when their crucial mission activities occur in spaces that are currently empty. They wonder how they can create messaging about this “new normal” that is yet to be defined? And do that both responsibly and on a budget?

One of the positive outcomes of these conversations is that they are relieved to learn that I know how to translate complex marketing messages into story-driven visual experiences and produce work within a reasonable budget.

If you would like to schedule a conversation about your marketing challenges and how your organization will enter this next phase of this “new normal.” Email or text me (are you on Signal yet?) – everyone else does, so we can chat about visualizing your messages and evaluating short-term communication goals. We can discuss workable budget allocations for creating photography and short-form video storytelling to continue your organization’s mission-driven work.

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Business Marketing Nostalgia Portfolios Printing Richard Kelly Experience

Planning a Print Portfolio

I remember back in the day when we went to in-person meetings with creatives there seemed to be a few standards options one was the https://printfile.com/product-category/boxes-cases/solander-museum-cases/ with prints matted and very precious. (An alternative was mounted transparencies often 4×5) that is when every art director has a light-box and a loupe or a Brewer – Cantelmo book – often 9×12 either vertical or horizontal with plastic pages (weird size to print to – I think it was because many magazines were 8.5 x 11 and people showed tear-sheets. The big-time ad shooters had laminated prints in a box. 


I was always the outlier – I had a cassette case of empty cassettes with small prints that I thought would make cool album covers. I had a 6×9 book (also a weird size) that I printed small black and white or showed Polaprints of slides. And then I always had a small work 5×7 box of personal prints I’d carry in the back pocket of my portfolio bag.

Later I had a tearsheet book to show that I had been published. But I always liked small prints. I remember a photo editor from a magazine invited me to her cubicle office – otherwise I always had meetings in conference rooms, but this time she invited me back and this is just when people started having Mac’s on their desk with monitors and I realized that she had very little room to look at work. In fact, she said to me, I love your small presentations because I can enjoy looking at the photographs and not struggling with these oversized portfolios.

Another time at a New York magazine I remember they had a portfolio drop-off day, I think it was D/O Wednesday P/Up Thursday – no in-person meeting Since I had more time than money I would dress up as a  bike messenger with a bag and pick up my book. Anyway, the Editorial Assistant or intern shows me to the P/Up room about 6×6 feet square is stacked wait level with black Brewer-Cantelmo boxes, print shipping cases, and other bags of portfolios hundreds of black books and boxes and there on the very top was my little 6×9 book inside a small cloth bag with red trim.

I happened to notice all of the other books had these nice little 4×6 note cards thanking them for dropping off their books but mine was empty, including the homemade promo card and letterpress business card. I felt let down I didn’t even get noticed. But I heard later when they gave me an assignment that my work stood out because everyone in the meeting gravitated to the little book on the table. 


 Anyway, I mention all of this because a good friend a little bit after this experience decided to go brazenly big. He had a patent leather white shiny 16×20 book made – very rock star – he printed all of the photographs on 16×20 paper and he had to haul it on a roller cart. BUT! because of the size and the white color that contrasted with all of the blacks in a room he got noticed and when he went to meetings they always had the conference room because of the size. 


These days in person meetings are rare but precious, I guess the lesson is to go big or stay home although I am not sure that big prints are the only ways to go big. I think anything that sets you apart and shows off your work best is the way to go. A lot of people can print big these days. So in some ways, the new big is small – but for portraiture – especially when so much is on the smartphone or on a tablet/laptop seeing an in-person beautiful print 16×20 is a statement.

About Prints and Boxes

There are a few decisions to make:
Size matters. If you want to make an impact then 16×20 will do it. I personally like the standard sizes of 5×7,8×10,11×14 and 16×20 paper sizes. 
Do you plan to print full frame edge to edge bleed or frame the images with a border?
I always like is a white border and I like consistency in image direction. Because I often make prints square, vertical and Horizontal. I pick an aspect ratio and then print everything to it. For instance Landscape and then print verticals in the middle or commit to Portrait and print my horizontals in the middle. There is also an argument to print to the aspect ratio and turn the prints. It’s just a decision to make. My most recent portfolio was square paper and everything printed in the middle. 
This does lead to am obvious question about printers and which maximum size you will need up to 13×19 which is less expensive than something that prints 16×20 size. I guess this is what they invented that format awkward 13×19 format. 

I do like a simple portfolio box:
Archival Methods and Print File sell from their website, and also some online retailers. 
This box is super durable and professional-looking without being fancy—stock and trade of museums and gallerists. https://www.archivalmethods.com/product/museum-cases

or here https://printfile.com/product-category/boxes-cases/solander-museum-cases/

These are nice for a few prints https://www.archivalmethods.com/product/digital-print-folio

https://printfile.com/product-category/albums-and-folios/folios/magnetic-folio-folders/

I use these in my studio https://www.archivalmethods.com/product/custom-build

https://printfile.com/product-category/boxes-cases/clamshell-boxes/clamshell-portfolio-boxes/clamshell-portfolio-box-black-lining/

or here pre-made kits  https://www.archivalmethods.com/product/portfolio-board-combo

something more upscale

 https://portfoliobox.com/custom-portfolio-boxes/photographers/