I had a client who took advantage of technology and bought his assistant, Susan a beautiful Nikon camera.  It had every bell and whistle you could imagine.  Ironically, she was intimidated by it!

My client, an engineer who “didn’t know what he didn’t know” was looking to save money on the cost of product photography.  What he failed to realize was the success of a product photograph is what it communicates to the viewer, which has little to do with the equipment.  I know because I’ve directed the creation of more than 10,000 product photographs.

This situation became laughable when a product manager walked by Susan’s cubicle and said to me, “Hey Steve, did you see that Jerry anointed Susan the company photographer!”  With that, Susan looked up and said, “yes, and I don’t even like taking pictures.” (Names have been changed).

In fact, what most small businesspeople don’t realize is a photographer, regardless of skill level, without direction is like an actor without direction.  Can you imagine how well Leonardo DiCaprio would have performed in “The Wolf of Wall Street” without the direction of Martin Scorsese?

I’ve seen many people anointed to various positions over the years.  Especially in technical companies where an engineer becomes the marketing manager.  I actually enjoy working with these folks because they can see the logic of Venmark’s approach to B2B marketing.  Frankly, that’s another reason why our company works on a project basis, because it lets them evaluate our contribution to their success without long-term contracts.

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© 2014  Steven M. Stroum