School Ad

sweet caroline

I'm working on a photo for my kids' school ad. The photo will only print about 2in square at most, so I'll post small photos.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Any suggestions? Since the photo will be so small, we're thinking that two subjects is enough. I won't get to dictate which photo is used, but I'll present some possible candidates.

Caroline

Scott_Quier

Well, it's clear that a tighter crop is going to work better than otherwise. I would think the impact of your photos will be driven in large part to the extent to which you are successful in getting the faces and the "point of interest" close together. Of course, you understand that I've never done anything like this so I'm just kinda "whistling in my hat" on this one.

sweet caroline

Scott_Quier wrote:

Well, it's clear that a tighter crop is going to work better than otherwise. I would think the impact of your photos will be driven in large part to the extent to which you are successful in getting the faces and the "point of interest" close together. Of course, you understand that I've never done anything like this so I'm just kinda "whistling in my hat" on this one.

I actually kind of like some of my individual shots, but the committee thinks they look too much like portraits. Here's one of my favorites:



She's a cute kid with a nice smile. The light looks nice. Her ethnicity is a little vague, which could help to represent the diversity of the school. I could even crop in a little closer on this one.

Caroline

Ann McRae

Caroline - of the first 4, #4 is it.

I don't really know why this is so, but the obvious age difference between kids in 1 & 2 feels creepy to me - I am sure it is supposed to portray mentor, but that is not my first reaction. The kids being closer in age in 3 & 4 sit better with me, and I agree with Scott on the tight crop.

ann

Snowgirl

Ann McRae wrote:

Caroline - of the first 4, #4 is it.

I don't really know why this is so, but the obvious age difference between kids in 1 & 2 feels creepy to me - I am sure it is supposed to portray mentor, but that is not my first reaction. The kids being closer in age in 3 & 4 sit better with me, and I agree with Scott on the tight crop.

ann

What Ann said

Scott_Quier

Ann McRae wrote:

Caroline - of the first 4, #4 is it.

I don't really know why this is so, but the obvious age difference between kids in 1 & 2 feels creepy to me - I am sure it is supposed to portray mentor, but that is not my first reaction. The kids being closer in age in 3 & 4 sit better with me, and I agree with Scott on the tight crop.

ann

Not creepy for me. I just see him sharing/teaching in the library. He's smiling. She's smiling. Every one is happy and comfortable. So not creepy.

divamum

Can you clarify what/who the ad is for? Is it for the school itself, and what sort of publications/target market is it for? Newspapers? Yearbooks? Programs?

It will all depend on the target market and the "USP" of the school so without knowing that, it's hard to know which picture fits the bill Of the photos you've posted above, I like the single girl (the same one you do) and #'s 3 and 4 in the first set. Of the pair in the library, I prefer #2.

They're all very nice photos, but they do seem to convey a less "academic" environment, and seem to sugggest one of learning-by-doing and a more individual learning approach. If that's the school's philosophy and what you're going for, then you nailed it. If the school is more conventional/academic than that, then I'm not sure it comes over in the pictures and you might want to consider a reshoot which emphasises that aspect of more (less interaction between kids/kids and more between kid/teacher? Kids working in class, ie heads down over test/papers?).

But, again, without knowing the answers to all the questions above, it's impossible to make a choice. Photographically theyr'e all just fine!!!!

sweet caroline

This is a school for gifted students ages 3-14, adding high school next year. The curriculum is highly individualized and a hands on approach is implemented in all classrooms. While the curriculum is very advanced/accelerated, it's not a traditional academic environment. The older kids often do spend time mentoring the younger students, but actually that's one of the teaching assistants. The school is adding high school next year, so we were hoping it would look like a high schooler reading with a young student:) It's tricky to show the age range and diversity of this school since it's so broad. There's not another school like this in Austin, so we don't want it to look just like another private school ad with nice looking kids being "studious".

The ad will run in local Kids and Austin Parenting publications, about a quarter page size. From what I understand, the photo will be about 2 in. square.

Thank you so much for input!

Caroline

WingsOfLovePhoto

I like #4. It appears academic and the kids seem interested. If you use the looser crop I would fix the little girl's hair where it is sticking out on the side. Nice ideas and crisp photo's!

divamum

sweet caroline wrote:

This is a school for gifted students ages 3-14, adding high school next year. The curriculum is highly individualized and a hands on approach is implemented in all classrooms. While the curriculum is very advanced/accelerated, it's not a traditional academic environment. The older kids often do spend time mentoring the younger students, but actually that's one of the teaching assistants. The school is adding high school next year, so we were hoping it would look like a high schooler reading with a young student:) It's tricky to show the age range and diversity of this school since it's so broad. There's not another school like this in Austin, so we don't want it to look just like another private school ad with nice looking kids being "studious".

The ad will run in local Kids and Austin Parenting publications, about a quarter page size. From what I understand, the photo will be about 2 in. square.

Thank you so much for input!

Caroline

In which case.... you nailed it!!! #3/4 work for me

sweet caroline

divamum wrote:

In which case.... you nailed it!!! #3/4 work for me

Now here's one that one of the founders has selected out of this series:

sweet caroline

WingsOfLovePhoto wrote:

I like #4. It appears academic and the kids seem interested. If you use the looser crop I would fix the little girl's hair where it is sticking out on the side. Nice ideas and crisp photo's!

I agree, the hair will need to be fixed. But, a closer crop may work better since this is already printing so small.