The Daily Promo – Ben Lowy + Marvi Lacar

Lowy + Lacar

Who printed it?
Smartpress

Who designed it?
We did – Marvi, Me and our graphic designer office assistant extraordinaire Nikki Auxilio

Tell me about the images?
They were all shot at the wrestling world championships in Paris. I had the exclusive responsibility to shoot every single athlete after their matches.

How many did you make?
Initially, we made 100 copies, but because of interest, we printed another 100. We will probably have to print another 100.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
Honestly, it depends on the year and the project. We have been doing a lot of video work (which doesn’t translate on paper:) and a lot of underwater work (which doesn’t have a ton of clients to choose from).

How do you pick a subject and approach for your promos?
This year its been tough to come up with quarterly promos – either everything we have done is under embargo or its part of a longer-term project that would get repetitive to send to clients. I can only send so many pics of sharks. :)

With this design, the relatively simple approach I took to making the images was elevated to something more. Each image and face is interactive, in a way that one image alone cant be. That interaction is key, I hope, to future interaction with clients.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
I think promos are a great way to showcase creative ideas that we image makers come up with. It might not be how clients originally intended to use our work, but it does illustrate how our vision works, and that is what clients need to see in a promo.

The Daily Promo – William Green

William Green 

Who printed it?
It was printed by a local printer to where I have desk space in East London. They’re called Calverts and are a Co-Operative too, totally employee owned and they have been going for years The whole experience with them from start to finish made me really happy, as it was my first proper bespoke printed mailer there was a lot of handholding from them.

I originally contacted some very high-end Lithographic printers who had high-end prices to match, these companies do a lot of printing for fine-art publishers and it was whilst visiting them to look at paper that someone quietly to one side and very kindly suggested to get my moneys worth and considering I was mailing them out to people (so a lot would end up in the bin), to not use litho but get them digitally print them instead. So after some hunting around and speaking to some illustrators Calverts came up, they were really helpful about suggesting different paper types and weights as the mailer was being folded and I didn’t want there to be cracking to the print. Equally as the promos were double sided on paper I didn’t want the images to show through, but the paper couldn’t be too thick as they were being folded up.

Who designed it?
My girlfriend and I in Indesign, she is an Indesign wizz. We spoke a lot about how we could do a cheap mailer but make it a little different and but with impact that it would stick in peoples mind.

So I thought about when I was a teenager I would buy a lot 12” records -as I used to DJ- and how a lot of bands included a poster with the record that unfolded out for you to pop on your bedroom wall. So the fold-out poster idea was born, including coloured pins matched to a colour in the image. With an address label and pin pouch, with coloured matched circular address labels. We sent off for a few different samples of things when we were popping it all together.

Tell me about the images?
I did a series of four different mailers, with 2 different images on each, 3 of them had paired up images selected from individual projects, so they were quite easy to get to work together. It was really important that they would work on the wall as posters either way round. For this particular pairing of images they were from a shoot titled ‘October Evenings’ shot on an Autumnal evening in Britain. I wanted to take the theme of an earlier documentary project on sleeping taxi drivers in Tokyo and place in a similar setting but in a British context, the models were shot in a very British Jaguar car, but alluding to a story behind the images too. I then pulled the gold and blues tones in post to really make the images more atmospheric.

How did you get the colors looking so good?
I originally spent nearly a day prepping the images and bringing the colours back in that had gone out of gamut and running some test prints. As I tend to push and play with colours and saturation in my work it was super important to me that they were on par. After all, if it did end up on a Art Directors wall it had to look really good. After having problems with one particular mailers images reds, I ended up speaking to the printer directly who said “F*ck it mate, good digital commercial printers don’t need you to profile your prints to the paper type, we can do it for you, just send ‘em over in Adobe 1998 as an Indesign file and it’ll be perfect, we can work it out together.” That sort of approach made think they were worth their weight in gold.

How many did you make?
250 of each so a 1000 overall

How many times a year do you send out promos?
This was my first one and I sent out approximately 850, keeping the others back to hand to people directly, leave at agencies and act as business cards etc

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
That is hard to tell, I haven’t had any jobs in yet where people have directly mentioned them but I have had really positive feedback about them and people seem to like them. They have turned up on a few insta streams and stories which is always good.

The Daily Promo – Gentl And Hyers

Gentl And Hyers

Who printed it?
We had them printed in Canada by Hemlock. They print Gather Journal whom we work for, so we were familiar with the quality.

Who designed it?
Caleb Bennet designed the promo. It is the first one in a series. We met Caleb while he was at Traveler when he designed several of our favorite stories.

Tell me about the images?
We are known for our food and still life but shoot so much more than that. We wanted to send out a promo that featured our travel work and a deep dive into a culture we are inspired by, this one being Mexico. The work is from both commercial jobs and personal trips. We also wanted to show our love for portrait and travel photography to those clients that only see us as food and still life photographers and to showcase light which is very important to us. We see light the same way whether we are making a portrait on location or in the studio. For us, travel inspires everything we do. We look for light out in the world and then recreate it in the studio. We see and talk about light constantly.

We liked the idea of keeping the promos to a particular subject or place. The next one up is “Family” and while it is also portrait heavy it is more lifestyle and very personal after that will come India another country we have been to countless times and a place where we deeply connect. Caleb will be designing all of them and the circle will continue to be a theme. We saw it as a loose reference to a globe.

How many did you make?
We made 200. We would have liked to print more but they were a little costly. It was the first promo we sent out after switching agents so we wanted to make something special. We sent it to return clients and to new and targeted clients.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
We will print 3 others this year.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
We think the promos were successful, they were meant to inspire more than to be a direct link to work.

We have had several requests to sell the promo so we may think about doing that later this year when we roll out a series of travel prints which will be available for purchase.

The Daily Promo – Brad Ogbonna

 

Brad Ogbonna

Who printed it?
I went with Smartpress based in Minnesota (where I’m from) the last 3 years. I was looking for a high quality and affordable printer and most of the NY local options were a bit out of my price range when I was starting out and not exactly patient when it came to figuring out which paper to use and which printers worked best for my colors. I reached out to Smartpress and they were super helpful with sending over examples of papers and being very patient as we went back and forth on proofs.

Who designed it?
My friend Emily Kapsner www.emilykapsner.com and I put it together each year.

Tell me about the images?
I’ve been fortunate to work on a lot of different types of projects ranging from fashion, to editorial, portrait, and some documentary work so I like to include those projects alongside my own personal projects where I am doing tests with people that I meet while street casting and my photo projects on the different destinations I travel to yearly.

How many did you make?
The first year I created the promos I printed around 100 copies, the second year I printed 500, and this year I printed out 1000.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
I only send out promos once a year and will periodically e-mail clients new work that I’ve shot.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
Yes definitely! The response I get each year has been phenomenal and my first run of promos was what landed me my first big editorial gigs with the New York Times, Refinery29, and magazines like The Fader and Billboard. From there the ball really started to roll.

Now that I’m on my 3rd promo, I’ve had photo editors tell me that they look forward to receiving them each year and are now collecting them. A lot of friends and fans of photography have also reached out to ask if they can get/purchase copies. I guess it feels like a zine rather than a standardized promo so it has a different feeling to it. I carry a few copies with me on every job to show people I’m going to photograph or a leave behind for editors.

I hope to keep doing one every single year and put out like a 10-year collection or something :)

The Daily Promo – Levi Mandel

Levi Mandel

Who printed it?
A friend who has a sign shop in Seattle makes most of my promos. He only does internal corporate work so he’s doing me a huge favor.

Who designed it?
I initially went to school for design and print, so I create and layout all my own material (including my website). It’s refreshing to use a different part of my brain and I actually find the work fantastically mindless and enjoyable. I like the challenge of making something simple, like black text on white, feel precise and strong and subtle at the same time.

Tell me about the image?
I was on a drive-about in a city called Mercer Island, which is like the rich, quiet, forgotten neighbor to Seattle. A lot of the neighborhoods feel like they stopped evolving after 1980, this vignette proving my point. I was actually with my cousin at the time, who patiently smoked a cigarette while I laid in some bushes to get the low perspective.

How many did you make?
500

How many times a year do you send out promos?
Usually 2, sometimes 3.

I really like single image postcard promos. Why did you choose this format and do you think it’s effective for marketing your work?
First of all, they’re cheaper than making more expensive booklets. More importantly, I like to think about who I’m sending them to, specifically art directors and photo editors. It’s important to me that anything I send out is something I’d personally want to keep at my desk or on the bulletin board. Ideally, the recipient will dig it as well, and choose to display it or share it around the office, which hypothetically will lead to an assignment. I don’t really see the point of putting time and energy into something that you’re not super stoked on yourself. The card is also a great leave-behind at meetings – they’re always a huge hit as I usually have several different images. I only ever let the editor pick one, like a Pokemon. Gotta collect them all.

The Daily Promo – Cedric Angeles

Cedric Angeles

Who printed it?
Newspaper Club in the UK. www.newspaperclub.com I have always liked Newsprint and Newspaper Club was an easy choice. I uploaded my layout to their website and they turned it around fairly quickly.

Who designed it?
I designed it myself. My wife, who is an artist, helped me with editing the images. My priority was to make it simple and make it all about the images. And more importantly, I wanted the process of making the promo to be quick and easy. Once, I had the final images, going to press went quickly.

Tell me about the images?
The Images are part of an editorial story originally commissioned by British Airways High Life Magazine. I went to Mexico City to document the art scene; photographing established and up and coming artists, gallerists, galleries, museums and the city itself. It was a fantastic assignment.

How many did you make?
I had 150 printed. Sent to my favorite editorial and advertising clients.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
I actually have not sent a promo out myself in years. My previous agent handled it for me and that worked out well. I am not a big promo person and not because I don’t want to do it, sometimes I just get too ambitious in the design phase that it takes too long and I never gets done. I am sure most photographers are guilty of doing the same thing. So, I am trying to change that this year, hence the simple design of the “Angeles Journal” promo. I am planning to print 4 of the Angeles Journal during the year, a quarterly. And using my favorite commissioned and personal stories per issue. A big reason for this promo is that I love to share these stories the way I visualize it with my own edit after it comes out in the magazine version. To be able to lay out my own version is always exciting.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
I think printed promos are effective if you make it personal. And that is very subjective. I am also a big believer in sending to smaller client list instead of sending out thousands. Pick your favorite your clients, keep it small. I established myself at the beginning of my career as a magazine photographer, so I love print. I think printed promos if done right is the most personal way to share your work, hopefully, that makes if the most effective.

The Daily Promo – Lila Lee

Lila Lee

Who printed it?
I was actually visiting my sister who currently lives in China, & found a local shop that did it out there. It was hard communicating what I wanted because I’m not Chinese & unfortunately can’t speak any, but I was pleasantly surprised with how they turned out.

Who designed it?
I did it, myself.

Tell me about the images?
My parents had planned a month long trip to Korea to visit all my relatives, but that was about the same time people were dying from SARS. It didn’t reach Heuksando, where my Grandma lived, so we ended up staying on the island for the whole month because everyone said going into the city was too dangerous. In a way, it was nice being able to stay for a longer period of time to really be able to see how my Aunts & Uncles lived day to day rather than when the family came on vacation. I shot these photos, going with them to work or roaming around the island because this is part of my family’s history. This island is part of my family & learning about them is important to me. I never really knew my extended family growing up because my parents moved to Hawaii before my sister & I were born. Taking photos of my family is kind of a compulsion, I guess. Even if no one ever sees them, I still have to. I was always a sentimental child & I think that bled into my photography. Preserving a memory is more important to me than how it looks. I ended up making this zine because my aunt said she wasn’t sure if anything would be left of this island in 10 years with everyone moving away & places deteriorating. I hope someone will see these photos & want to visit before it’s too late. And I really hope in 10 years I can take my kids to visit their great Aunts & Uncles & experience the quiet wonder that’s Heuksando.

How many did you make?
100

How many times a year do you send out promos?
I don’t have a set time or amount I sent out a year. I’m constantly making things just because & will send some stuff out as a promo if I feel like maybe a possible client might enjoy it. I know others make new promos twice a year & send them out like clockwork, & that’s what Art Center taught us to do, but I think the things I make are sometimes more personal than just promotional pieces so it’s hard to put a timeline on it.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
Yes, I personally love printed work! Having something to hold & look at is nice. I just had a new photo book published, so I’m currently touring the middle to the east coast with it. People look through the book & strike up conversations, which has led me to meet a lot of great people.

The Daily Promo – Bojan U.

Bojan U.

Who printed it?
Blurb Books.

Who designed it?
I designed it myself and then had some close and trusted friends with a critical eye look it over and give me pointers.

Tell me about the images?
This collection came together over 3 different shoots for Cycling Canada last year: a portrait/training shoot focusing on the athletes; a shoot to accompany a new sponsorship announcement; and a behind the scenes photo documentary of a UCI Track World Cup. There was a lot latitude in the client specs which really afforded me the freedom to approach this from any angle I wanted.

The superhero physical stature of the athletes was striking to me and I really wanted to capture this in the portraits. I set up a makeshift studio against the concrete (industrial feel) wall at the bottom of the ramp that leads to the track. The athletes would stop by on their way to their post-training massage where I had about 2 minutes with each athlete to make a compelling portrait. Another challenge was the track itself. It can be very cluttered and the different races can be a little confusing. There can be a lot of waiting around but when things do happen, they happen quickly and being in position is key. All in all it was one of the toughest subjects I’ve ever photographed but it also turned out to be one of the most satisfying and rewarding.

How many did you make?
I only printed 50. I had a very specific mailing list for this promo. I will be making a second print run of these.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
This is my first time sending out printed promos. It’s a bit of a test run to see if I want to make this a part of my regular marketing. I’m thinking I will send out one or two printed promos per year.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
So far the response has been very positive and I will definitely make this part of my marketing. I can’t say that I have gotten work directly from it but I have received really good messages and feedback about the promo.

The Daily Promo – Mikkel Jul Hvilshøj

Mikkel Jul Hvilshøj

Who printed it?
The promos were printed by a print house called Bording, located just outside Copenhagen, Denmark.

Who designed it?
I did myself, but inspired by a client of mine, who produced a deck of postcards with the images I did for them, I decided to follow that lead. I liked the idea of a selection of postcards inside a cover/sleeve, which was fairly simple. Not a lot of text, but just image driven.

Tell me about the images?
The images are a selection of images made during the past 6 months. It’s a mix of commissioned campaigns and personal work. They represent my general style very well. The product in focus, colourful and minimalistic.

Previously I have made a magazine-style promo with a lof of text and a large tri-fold, but this time around I wanted to make single sheets, that can easily be passed around and hopefully end up on the wall at the agencies.

How many did you make?
I only did 50 this time. I have sent them out to carefully chosen agencies in Copenhagen, and a few has been sent to London and the US.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
I try at least once a year.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
I think it is essential. It’s a great way to get your name and work in front of creatives. I am well aware that a good portion of the promos probably end up in the trash, but I feel the hit rate is a lot better than email promos. I don’t think photographers in Denmark use print promos as much as they do in the US. Therefore the Danish agencies are not bombarded with promos every week, and it is easier to get their attention that way. They get so many cold calls and 99 percent of the time they ask you to send an email with a link to your website. I prefer to skip the cold call and go straight to a print piece I know they will flip through and hopefully share with their colleagues.

The Daily Promo- Christopher Patey

Christopher Patey

Who printed it?
Modern Postcard

Who designed it?
The design was a collaboration between myself and my reps @ Day Reps. We kept the design as simple as possible. I really like the selection of work so minimal text and “doo-dads” were ideal when trying to give the viewer clean space to appreciate the pictures.

Tell me about the images?
We knew we wanted the use the pictures of John Goodman and the Roseanne cast (Shot for Hollywood Reporter) right in front because it was such a great shoot. These promo pieces were hitting the mail shortly after the show was set to air so it was also very current/relevant in the celebrity and entertainment genre. The following two pictures of Eiza Gonzalez (Hollywood Reporter) and Caleb McLaughlin (Shot on spec for his PR) were chosen because they look nice together and also show a bit of range between studio and environmental portraits. They were also a nice transition into the last picture of the Marvel group from Comic-Con which was also shot for Hollywood Reporter. We wanted to showcase my group portraits and that one has been a bit of a crowd-pleaser.

How many did you make?
500. I have a pretty specific mailing list so we don’t mail out a TON and I still have some left over to pass out as leave-behinds at meetings.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
2x per year

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
Whenever I post new promos I get asked by other photographers about whether or not the printed piece is successful in getting work. My response is always yes/no. Does my phone start ringing with clients the week after I drop them in the mail? No. Do I get emails from recipients gushing over the piece and congratulating me on making good pictures? No. BUT at the end of the day, I got some printed photographs with my name on them in front of the eyes of clients that I want to work with. Timing is such a big part of getting in with a new client so by just reminding them you exist regularly is important to keep yourself on their radar. And who knows, maybe they’ll happen to get the promo on the same day they have an assignment that I’d be good for… HEY IT COULD HAPPEN!

Printed promos are just one part of the marketing machine. Consistency with mailers, email blasts, meetings, going to events, and keeping the website up to date are all contributing factors to getting work. I often fall behind on these things but try to use downtime to catch up when I can.

The Daily Promo – Katherine Wolkoff

Katherine Wolkoff

Who printed it?
Aldine Inc in NYC. They did a great job hand folding each one!

Who designed it?
Karly Mossberg, a really amazing freelance designer who has also done work for my agency Hello Artists.

Tell me about the images?
I wanted to make a promo that was grounded in my fine art work but also highlighted my more commercial work. I am always riding this line between art and commerce. We chose to use the blue shadow picture on one side of the promo and a selection of landscapes and portraits on the other side. I wanted this promo to feel unique – Karly came up with the idea of the die cut folding. It makes the promo feel like an origami package that you are unwrapping. The idea was that you were left with a really beautiful object to hang on the wall- there is minimal text.

How many did you make?
300

How many times a year do you send out promos?
Usually once a year.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
I hope so! I always feel like I am sending my heart and soul out into the world and am never exactly sure where they land.

I am a professor at Parsons and was teaching my students about making promos as I was going through this process which was very humbling reminder to follow my own advice!

The Daily Promo – Tony Luong

Tony Luong

Who printed it?
Linco Printing in New York.

Who designed it?
My partner, Emily Luong. The process usually starts with me making small prints, shuffling them around, going back into old pictures or printing new ones out. One difficult part about the design is figuring out how each image ends up on the page as the top right image is always the same size and in the same spot so the rest of the layout is kind of dictated by how everything falls from there. The other challenge is working with scale and how each image talks to one another and of course the biggest task is defining the ethos of the piece all the while making it seem like it is effortless. I am most surprised by how different the final piece looks than how I imagine it will be when the process initially starts.

Tell me about the images?
It’s a mix of commissioned and personal work.

How many did you make?
400

How many times a year do you send out promos?
I have been sending these posters once a year at the beginning of spring for the last few years. I also do email newsletters twice or so a year.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
Definitely. I have received some very thoughtful and nice responses about these. I also think it is beneficial to see work printed regardless.

The Daily Promo – Heather Sten

Heather Sten

Who printed it?
Magcloud, which I believe is now owned by Blurb. I’ve been printing with them since college and they usually do a great job with the zines. If you buy in bulk you get a nice discount.

Who designed it?
My partner, Doug Richard, who also happens to be an insightful, remarkable designer. We thought about how it should look and feel for a while. I printed out some of my favorite images that I shot last year, and we taped them all up on our studio wall, and moved them around trying to figure out pairing, which images should be in it, which should be taken out, etc. I completely trust his taste and opinion 110%, so that made this process easy and fun. He comped 5 or 6 different cover designs and taped them to our home office, and I lived with them and looked at them for a bit until I decided which one I liked best. I’m really happy with how it turned out, it was a labor of love that I’m proud of.

Tell me about the images?
They’re a mixture of commissioned work and personal work. I wanted all the images to flow well together, speak to one another, and be a reflection of the type of work that I’d like to be commissioned for in the future.

How many did you make?
350.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
I usually like to send out 2 printed magazine promos, and 1 or 2 rounds of postcards (a more cost-efficient promo!) a year.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
Definitely. I reflected on how I wanted this promo to feel for a long time, and I’ve gotten a lot of really wonderful responses from this one. I think it’s really beneficial to have editors see your work in print.

The Daily Promo – Delaney Allen

Delaney Allen

Who printed it?
It was printed at home in my studio. I’ve got an Epson P8000 that I’ve been using for making small-batch promos. With that speech promo, I’ve been using Moab’s Lasal double-sided matte paper. I’ve found it to hold the ink without much bleed through of the images. It’s a very time-consuming effort to get these promos built. Each print takes roughly 4 minutes on the printer. With 10 images per promo, that’s 40 minutes alone just on the printer itself. There’s also the info insets that I’ve got to print as well as trim in occasions (I use a lot of various papers in my studio). All in all, it seems like from start to finish the print time for each individual promo is one hour.

Who designed it?
I designed it. I was hoping to create something simple that allowed for the images to be the focal point. I also attempt to make promos and takeaways that are hard for the client to discard. So making this loose leaf booklet was a strategy to give the client a book that could very well be made into individual prints that could hang on a wall as well. It also allows them integration with the book allowing them to mix and match the images and seeing how they can work as diptychs.

Tell me about the images?
The images are a various collection from the past few years. I’ve just signed with Redeye in LA so it feels a lot of people on the commercial side of photography aren’t familiar with my work. I wanted to put together something that showcased a variety of what I’m able to capture. A promo like this also gave me a template to create work that can be specific to individual clients as well. There seem to be a few images that are included in each booklet but I typically change out what is in there.

How many did you make?
With the one you received, I ran a batch of 20. I had been taking them to meetings as takeaways. Those specific promos are 11×14 inches. I’ve now changed to using the 8.5×11 paper for my promos I’m sending out.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
I just started sending out promos a year ago. For that, I sent out a collection of 20 postcards to each client as well as these small handmade books I’d made. This is only the second promo I’ve sent out. I think I might need to find a way to make some that are a little more time efficient.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
I’m hoping so. I’ve been fortunate to find some success and contacts with what I’ve been able to get out there in the world.

The Daily Promo – Rowan Fee

Rowan Fee

Who printed it?
The promo was printed by PCL Digital in the UK (https://www.pcldigital.co.uk)

Who designed it?
I designed this one myself with help from Tom Ashton Booth (https://tomashtonbooth.co.uk). I’ve collaborated with Tom on a number of projects including the Lightning Bolt image in this promo.

Tell me about the images?
This was a cross-section of my work both commissioned and personal.

How many did you make?
200 like this with the bags.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
I aim for printed promos twice a year if possible, mixed in with online marketing.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
I personally always enjoy receiving something unexpected in the post. I hope my clients/prospective clients feel the same and my printed work hangs around on their desks a little longer than an email.

The Daily Promo – Jared Soares

Jared Soares

Who printed it?
Smart Press in Minnesota. I’ve been using them for all my printing needs lately.

Who designed it?
Though I designed the piece, I had a lot of help in the process. Matt Eich and Justin Gellerson gave me solid thoughts on the edit/sequence of images. Amy Wolff provided substantial feedback on the design as well as the image sequencing. If I did everything on my own it would look like hot garbage.

Tell me about the images?
The photographs included in the booklet are a combination of personal and commissioned work from last year. My goal with any promo is to share what I’ve been up to and highlight images that I’m excited about.

How many did you make?
200 booklets were printed. 190 of them were mailed out and the rest will be kept for in-person meetings or anybody that I forgot.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
In terms of print promos, at least 3 to 4 times a year. An overview booklet gets sent near the beginning of the year then I follow up with tailored pieces when it makes sense.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
In the past 2 years, print promos have lead to work. Additionally, conversations were sparked because of the pieces, which later lead to assignments.

The Daily Promo – Jennifer Roberts

Jennifer Roberts

Who designed it?
The promo was designed by Studio Wyse http://www.studiowyse.com/ in Toronto. The Creative Director, Vanessa Wyse and the Art Director, Nicola Hamilton are incredibly talented and it was wonderful to work with them on this. Since I am such a big fan of their work, I felt pretty open to whatever concept they came up with.
I probably drove Nicola the art director (and also my sister-in-law) a little crazy going back and forth on the paper stocks. Her instinct was to go with a textured paper while mine was to do something a little smoother. We both wanted an uncoated finish so the mowhawk cougar was a happy compromise. The finished piece is a six-panel, accordion folded booklet that easily tears into single postcards, so you can pin your favourite image.

Who printed it?
They were printed in Toronto at Flash Reproductions.

Tell me about the images?
The objective of the promo was to highlight my portraiture and lifestyle work. I pulled a wide edit of photos and then Studio Wyse selected images from both my edit and from my website. I really trusted Studio Wyse’s direction and some of the photos they chose weren’t in my edit but when I saw them in the layout, they totally worked. I would have never thought of using the cheer squad photo but then when I saw their design, I loved it. When I saw my photos in their beautiful layout I felt like a better photographer.

How many did you make?
We did a run of 200 promos. I figured that way they could be divided up between the multiple markets I was targeting.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
This is the first time I’ve ever made a proper print promo. I’m very happy with it and it’s been well received so I think realistically I’d aim to have a new made once a year.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
I think for me printed promos are a fantastic marketing tool. The timing was right because I’ve recently started dividing my time between Los Angeles and Toronto. In Toronto, my background is in newspaper photography and I’ve been trying to advance into more portraiture and lifestyle work. In Los Angeles, I’m new so it seemed like a good way to introduce myself. So far I’ve mostly sent them to new clients and they’ve been a great way to introduce people to my work. They’ve been great to hand out at meetings and a good way to reach clients that aren’t in the same city.

The Daily Promo – Marco Girado

Marco Girado

Who printed it?
The promo was printed by smartpress.com

Who designed it?
I did the art direction and design.

Tell me about the images?
The images are a series of photographs of ordinary elements that through the use of color and composition transcend their simple appearance and become symbols of beauty.

How many did you make?
About 500. Two sets.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
I like to send out promos at least twice per year.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
I think that paper has more impact. I had better results with printed promos.
But I consider it is also important to combine print and digital marketing.