Looking Beyond the Obvious in Higher Ed. Photography

I just finished shooting at three colleges over the past 10 days.    Each one had specific goals but as I looked over the work I saw a common thread.  In all three projects, I was asked to look beyond the obvious.  I’ve come to realize that this is my strength.

My first shoot was an environmental portrait of a Dean of Students.  He relies heavily on statistics for his decisions. Below is how it worked out.  That should be a nice piece in the Presidents Report.

This Social Media Thing

Last week I attended a program laying out strategies for modern marketing.  I now have a Facebook account (FB) and the friends are flooding in.  I need to back up a bit and explain:  My motivation for the FB page was more out of obligation.  I am the president of the Atlanta/SE chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers and the chapter now has a FB page.

The New York Times reported on Twitter today and there are some interesting findings.  One of the great quotes: “It seems more, like, professional, and not something that a teenager would do,” said 16-year-old Miranda Grazier. “I think I might join when I’m older.”  Wow, talk about putting the shoe on the other foot.  So it isn’t the young and “tech-savvy” who are responsible for Twitter’s success.

This new information should make admissions marketers take a step back and re-examine their recruiting strategies.  In the rush to fan out in all modern directions, are some of these platforms a waste of time?  Most likely not, but to have confidence that the time and energy put into getting the message out is productive, it makes sense to review the trends from time to time.

My college daughter made me her FB friend!  I hope she didn’t do it out of obligation.

Aerial Photography and Admissions Marketing

One aspect of a campus photo shooting that gets little mention is aerial photos.  A well timed and executed aerial shoot can get some very strong imagery that tells a lot about the beauty of a campus.

Aerial shoots are not a cost prohibitive venture.  They can be integrated into even a one day shooting schedule.  Most private airfields and a good number of public airports have some form of flight service and the cost is quite reasonable for a small high-wing plane.  A helicopter can also be used but it comes at a cost that is much higher, but the resulting images can be worth the additional expense.

At least once a year I’m called to do an aerial assignment.  Interactive campus maps depend upon current aerial photos.  If you plan correctly you can make both happen and get some real value for the effort.

The image above was taken from a small plane and is a keystone image for the institution.  The clearing fog was the true bonus of this picture.

Paul O’Mara

Community Colleges and Admissions Marketing

A wonderful story on NPR last Saturday: Houston Community College has Global Appeal by Larry Abramson told a different story about the role of  two-year institutions.

The Hope Scholarship has also played into higher demand for junior colleges.  With the bar set so high at places like the University of Georgia, many pass through community colleges on their way to the more competitive flagship schools.

Marketing still plays a role.  Rome, Ga. has a high concentration of health care workers and Georgia Highlands College is an important “supplier” .  Their two year nursing program and dental hygiene provide a well trained workforce to area facilities.

Would You Like to Loose This?

Last week an external hard drive went bad.  It just stopped.  That darn thing only makes clicking sounds.  Reflexively my mind started to do the mental inventory dance.  There are a lot of important images on that drive.

As I stepped back to take stock of the loss, it began to sink in that my losses were minimal.  Only the most recent shoot had not been backed up to DVD and I found those on compact flash cards in my camera and camera bag!

I wish I could tell you that I can just pick up and move forward.  Something had slipped by me.  My external drives have more than one purpose.  They are the place where I transfer photos from my camera  and organize a shoot.  But it now is clear that I overlooked something.  While archived, there are images that I manage for my website and blogs.  These are sort of works in progress.  I now realize that some consideration needs to be given to an “active archive”.

I spoke with a local institutional IT director  about this and his thoughts were on a much grander scale.  Archiving images seems small in comparison.  Grade reports, schedules, student comments, faculty evaluations… This is just something that had not crossed my mind.  Back-ups of everything are replicated on off-site servers and back-up tapes are stored in a safe-deposit box!

Hopefully you will take from this is that the images you store on your hard drives and servers can vanish.  Photographers who treat archiving lightly tread on thin ice.  Since my work is always at risk of failure, I have to assume that the same could be true for my clients.

Paul O’Mara

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106483154

LOOK: An Admissions Marketing Photo Shoot Drawing

Budgets have been reduced and I believe that there are a lot of projects out there that need to get moving.  So here’s the plan:

-I will provide one-half day of photographic service for an admissions marketing project including 2 hours of post-production.

The rules:

-The winning institution will use me for a full day of shooting and agrees to cover my travel, lodging and meals.  This can be used for either the fall of 2009 or spring of 2010.

-E-mail me  at: paul(at)photomara(dot)com or use the link below (my name) and go to the contact link.

-All entries will be displayed on this blog post.

-Drawing will take place on July 31, 2009.

The winner will be drawn at random by my wife.  She is a high school teacher and on the school’s honor council.  Her honesty has been a good influence for  this photographer.

I have a mailing list of institutions and educational marketing agencies which will also be notified of this.  As I get entries I will add them along with those entering via this blog.

I’m excited about the prospect of working with an institution needing a pick-me-up and I hope all will participate.

Good Luck!

Paul O’Mara

Well this idea was a washout.  Perhaps I’ll try this again in the future.  You’ve got to play to win!

Admissions Marketing: Branding Revealed

I came across this piece by Gordon Ryan yesterday http://www.gordon-ryan.com/post193-shaking-a-brands-bad-reputation/ and it spoke volumes about perception.   I cannot add any more to this.

Paul O’Mara

Alumni Magazines and Higher Ed. Marketing Photography

The photo above was used as a double-truck contents page in an alumni publication, on this year’s calendar and in the most recent viewbook for Wagner College.   Don’t let these attractive and useful pictures get lost in an archive.

I just came across this in Aphotoeditor blog. My first thought was wow, Pentagram Design reworked the Auburn University alumni magazine, but what is most interesting is the comments by the photographers.  I do not think any have an understanding of the needs of alumni publications.

The best alumni magazines are the ones which are well organized and make the best use of images.  High quality visuals are usually reserved for the most prominent placement, but there is such an important place for the “lesser” images.  Pictures of faculty, students and alumni to go with many notations of achievement or the infamous class notes seem not to get the visual attention they require. In part it has to do with “making due”.  These publications depend upon submissions and therefore whatever they receive is what they have to work with.

Wagner College in Staten Island, NY addresses this reality extremely well.  Nina Ovryn a NJ based designer,  has created a wonderful alumni publication which give great design and thoughtful articles in a well organized way.  This happened because of the commitment of the communications office and the support of the institution.

Even if most of my work at a college is for admissions marketing there will always be time carved out for the alumni magazine.  I ask before I arrive on a campus if any of the “list” is for the magazine.  If they say no, I at least suggest that they consider the magazines needs.  School departments which communicate and share resources will always come out looking great to alumni and the prospective student.

Paul O’Mara

Higher Ed. Photography and Springtime?

This is “Master’s Week” in Augusta, GA.  Redbud and Dogwood are in full bloom in Northwest Georgia, but we have a 20% chance of snow showers.  On top of the Cumberland Plateau(image above from a winter visit this year), two hours of here, a last charge of cold from the north is telling us that it will not go down for the season without one last shout.

The weather will return to “normal” within a few days.  Then out come the shorts and classes on the lawn.  In a way this crazy cold snap makes you better appreciate the beauty of a college campus and how the students and faculty respond to their environment.

Paul O’Mara

www.photomara.com

A Year of Higher Ed. Marketing Photography Bla, Bla, Blogging

If you keep at it you’ll reach that coveted goal of blogging for a year. I was never sure if I could do it, but at the very least I’ve now proved to be persistent. So let’s keep dancing!

Actually, it’s been a bit of a tonic to put down thoughts on my livelihood. If you pay attention to the things that are important everything else will take care of itself.

This has been a year of discovery. A new website, two blogs, Linkedin, Flickr, Friendfeed, Vertical Response and Google Adwords. Tweeting doesn’t fit my style, I don’t have an i-phone. Facebook is really a place I want to watch but not join. All of this stuff is so important if you listen to the noise “out there”.

All of this is about community, but what community?  If we join all of these virtual “clubs” what do we gain?   I send out an  e-mail and hope folks will want to look at my work.  What a great way to market, maybe.  The open rate on my VR is about 25%.  I’ve been told that’s great, but really?  The flood of junk e-mail makes us suspicious of legitimate contact.  That means that we see too much “stuff”.

I guess it boils down to quality versus quantity.  Unfortunately a filter has not been developed to make that call.  So we are left to make those decisions, but there are so many decisions to make that in the long run, we really are missing so many great messages.

I’ll keep it simple.  Let’s get the message out that there is a college or university that is a fit for any high school student who cares about where they want to spend four years.  Let’s show them the heart and soul of that institution.

Here’s to another year of blogging.

Paul O’Mara