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Photography · December 4, 2024 · 3 min read

What photography taught me about marketing

What photography taught me about marketing

I picked up a camera before I started writing professionally. Looking back, I think the camera taught me more about marketing than any course did.

The frame is the work

Beginners think a photograph is about the subject. Then you learn the frame is the work. What you crop out — the stranger walking through, the cluttered table, the wrong half of the sky — is what makes the shot. Marketing is the same. The story is what you leave out.

Light is information

A scene shot in flat light reads as information. A scene shot in directional light reads as a point of view. Most landing pages are flat-light pages. Every claim is at the same volume. Nothing leans. Pick the one thing that should lean.

Patience for the right moment

The single most useful photographic skill is the willingness to wait. The light hasn't fallen yet. The pedestrian hasn't entered the frame yet. The right launch moment hasn't arrived yet. Both crafts reward the person who can resist shipping the okay version.