THINK LIKE AN ART DIRECTOR:

5 Steps to Creating Imagery That Attracts Readers

WHO AM I?• Photo Stylist & Creative Director

• Social Media Manager

• Blogger since 2008 at TheStyleSample.com

• Creative City Podcast host at CreativeCityPodcast.com

• Ice cream lover

• Purple Rain aficionado

• @thestylesample

WHO ARE YOU?Who is currently using WordPress?

What types of pictures do you use or want to use on your site?

WHAT IS AN ART DIRECTOR?

• Responsible for visual style and images

• Copywriter develops the message; art director creates visuals to complement the message

WHY ARE IMAGES IMPORTANT?

• 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual (60,000 times faster than text!)

• People form a first impression in 50 milliseconds

• THE SOCIAL MEDIAS

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO YOU?

• Content with relevant visuals gets 94% more views

• Credibility !

• Streamline the process

THINK LIKE AN ART DIRECTOR

1. Have a framework

2. Know the story

3. Plan your images

4. Make pictures

5. Distribute the goods

1. HAVE A FRAMEWORK• Branding

• Photo style

• Bright? Muted?

• Templates

• Think about use: Web? Social?

• Think about orientation (landscape vs portrait)

TEMPLATES• site header

• landscape post header

• portrait post image

• sidebar image

• Instagram /featured image/thumbnail (usually a square)

• Pinterest/FB/Twitter post

2. KNOW THE STORY

• What are the key points?

• Research the topic

• What visuals make sense?

• photo, illustration, graphic, text, or some combination

THE BURGERS ARE GREAT!

3. PLAN YOUR IMAGES

• Plan based on your templates

• Consider your photo style

• Colors, backgrounds, arrangement

• Gather inspiration

• Pinterest, IG, sketch

• Create a shot list

SHOT LIST

4. MAKE PICTURES

• Gather your tools

• Camera, tripod, remote, flash

• Gather your supplies

• Backgrounds, props, accessories

4. MAKE PICTURES

• Batch, please!

• Pick a day and time

• Take lots of pictures

• Variety!

• Create an editing process

• Use same process

• Compress for web

• Rename

A FEW TIPS

• Natural light is your friend

• Use the rule of thirds

• Leave space

• Zoom in

• Pull it back

• Don’t flash your food

5. DISTRIBUTE THE GOODS

• Production

• Upload

• Add alt tags, titles, captions

• Place and resize

• Add to social media

MY (IDEAL) PROCESS• Plan editorial calendar

• Research & write posts

• Create shot list & source props/accessories

• Shoot day!

• Edit posts

• Edit photos

• Upload text and images to website, social media scheduling tools

FAVORITE TOOLS & PLUGINS• Image editing: Fotor, Pixlr, GIMP, Photoshop/Lightbox, VSCO

• Images: Pixabay, Death to the Stock Photo

• Graphic design: Canva, InDesign

• Plugins: WP Smush image optimization, Enhanced Media Library (create, filter, search by media categories), Canva

• Distribution: Later, Buffer, Hootsuite, CoSchedule, IFTTT

QUESTIONS?