A Stylish Blog

I am kind of new to this blog obsession but have been subscribing to one I love to look at. It is the blog of Susan Connor AKA "Hey Suzy" who sells paper items on Etsy.com. I don't know how she discovers and displays such beautiful things, so often! I discovered the blog through her article on PROP STYLING. I had wondered how the vendors of hand-made items on Etsy produce such great images.


Through some research, particularly through "Black Heart Bunny", a styling student of mine who does delightfully macabre silkscreens, I found out more about The Storque. The Storque is a resource for Etsy members and Suzy's article is a great little resource for stylists - and vendors of their own products - to gather ideas about props used for images.

These are just the type of creative people for whom we offer Style It & Shoot It, our online course designed for non-professional photographers who want to photograph - and style - their own products.

Photo Styling and the Economy

Being in this industry for several decades, I have seen ups and downs and the effect the economy has on the creation of commercial photographs. When postal rates or paper costs increase the catalog industry is rapidly affected. In an effort to save money in tough economic times, advertisers cut print budgets and produce fewer images. They may use more stock photographs or squeak by without a stylist.

I found this editorial opinion in the August 2008 issue of Multi-Channel Merchant, formerly Catalog Age magazine, a trade publication for the catalog/web-marketing indusry. Written by Laura L. Hamblen, an independent stylist, it reflects the feelings of many of us. I was unable to find Laura in a Web search and I hope she doesn't mind my acolades for expressing her viewpoint so well.

She writes, "As a photo stylist, I have been affected by the current economy, along with most of my colleagues in the visual field. The 'bean counters' behind many catalogs are cutting the very people who are the interface between the company and its customers.

"Many are opting to hire people who cost less and have little experience to handle the presentation of their product, so photographs are not as striking and informative as they might be. After seeing the result, one might wonder why a customer might spend, say, $80 on a mid-priced catalog product that looks no better than the $10 offering at the local discount store. The answer is that in most circumstances, they won't.

"An experienced, talented stylist, photographer and crew will know a brand's customer and how to visually attract that customer to purchase. Understanding how to illustrate all of the product's unique qualities in an attractive and consistent fashion will typically enhance sales. And higher sales should more than offset the cost of hiring seasoned professionals.

"Many companies will blame their downturn in sales on the economy without thinking about the consequences of cutting the professionals who produce the images of their products. And this will make a difficult economic climate for catalogs decidedly worse."

Well said, Laura. What is YOUR opnion on the current economy's effect on stylists - and vice-versa? Please add to this POST.