In the photography business, creative advertising is everything. These days, with a market saturated with photographers whether professional, semi-professional, or amateur, competition is tough! A quick Google search for photographers in your area results in a barrage of names all seemingly playing a game of musical chairs trying to get that top spot. Sure, you can pay Google Adwords a bunch of money each month to inch you closer to the top of page one; or you can use your natural creative talent and show you are the best for the job.
In a creative industry, it only makes sense to use that creativity to showcase your work in the form of advertising. Behold: the business card. This ancient concept of your printed name and contact information on a piece of small cardboard is not to be overlooked. It seems we have forgotten that paper still exists in a world where the paperless option runs rampant. Paperless here, save trees there! Let’s just dial it back a bit and not underestimate the power of the business card.
Here are a few examples of people who got creative and the end result was pretty awesome.
01. Adam Bowman Photography
This person clearly had a few extra dollars in the budget department. This idea is pure genius. Nothing grabs a person’s attention like handing them a roll of film. If someone handed me this, I would call them. I would think to myself, “This is a creative person who thinks outside the box, and I want to hire them.” It’s not the film itself but the idea of something out of the ordinary that sparks interest.
02. Madi Mari Photography
Here is another attention grabber; people can play with this. If you hand this to someone, they will automatically hold it up and pretend to take a picture. It’s the childlike nature of this idea that makes us want to play around with it. If someone hands you this business card, you are going to remember them. It really is that simple. Hand it to a few kids and voila! Now, you have a couple of these floating around schools, playgrounds, the back seat of a minivan, etc. Traveling advertising!
03. Pedro Kümmel
When I look at this business card, I want the theme song to a James Bond movie to start playing. This card is attention grabbing because it’s enigmatic. At first glance, I don’t know what kind of business this is but I want to know. I feel like if I possess this sleek, beautiful plastic card, I can get into a secret club because it’s actually a magic key. This might border on dramatic but at the same time, it’s true. This business card exudes both confidence and professionalism with very minimal detail.
04. Ersel Dondar
This unusually shaped business card is very information-savvy. It has all of the social media outlets right there on the back while displaying an attention grabbing picture on the front. It also has a QR code right there for all the techies to pull out their phones and start scanning. This is smart thinking and good use of technology.
05. I shoot people…Photographer
This. Is. Epic. This is a business card that has you saying I wish I thought of that first. Minimalistic. Black and white. One line. Boom! I do like how they clarify in that small print underneath with the word ‘Photographer.’ I guess you can’t be too careful with what you say these days.
Networking and building contacts is important to every business wanting to succeed. It’s how you build your business and how you grow it. Every time you hand out a business card, you are reaching a potential client. WIth so much competition, the need to stand out is paramount. Why not get back to the basics with the good old fashion business card?