Posted by Marc Adamus on January 31, 2007 at 5:22 PM
One of my calendars this year will be 'Northwest Wilderness 2008'. Several thousand will be printed and distributed mostly in the NW. I am trying to decide on a cover image. This is unrealated the previous calendar cover selections I asked your opinions on. In the end, I went with "Radiance" for the other calendar, which was not exclusively featuring my images. 'Northwest Wilderness' will be.
This leaves me potentially with "Paradise Gardens" or "Magic Mountain" - a crop from a landscape version of that image, as my two top cover choices. I'm also considering using "Crater Lake" in landscape format with a dark border and title above the image, since the image would not fill the entire 12x14 space. Please offer your opinions on which image you would prefer to see grace the cover. Thanks. (moderator note - both images together are less than 200K)
Posted by Marc Adamus on January 31, 2007 at 5:23 PM
Paradise Gardens
Posted by John Lehmkuhl on January 31, 2007 at 5:33 PM
I'd vote Crater Lake shot all the way. That is such a clear landmark and one of the best photos I've ever seen of that place. I love Magic Mountain as choice #2, but the margin isn't even close. Crater Lake all the way for me.
Posted by Mike Stovall on January 31, 2007 at 5:43 PM
It's a tough call. If the target market were other photographers, I'd put Magic Mountain on the cover no questions asked. And for a "Northwest" calendar, Rainier is a recognized symbol of the Northwest. But I think that non-photographers, on average, might have a stronger emotional response to the Paradise Gardens photo because, even without the title, it hints at the archetype of heaven or paradise. But I guess that's splitting hairs.
My vote goes for Magic Mountain, but my mind might be changed by how much text is going to be overlaid.
Posted by Marc Adamus on January 31, 2007 at 5:44 PM
John, I agree. But here's the catch. Allthough Crater Lake is certainly my most notable image, it does not even come close to fitting a 12x14 format. For this reason, I would have to put it in the bottom 3/4 of the cover and leave the title above the image. This works aesthecticly until you look at how calendars are often displayed by retailers, with just the top showing. Not always, but sometimes. This is a scenario that is kind of weighing on an otherwise clear-cut descision to use Crater Lake for the cover.
Posted by Mark Hudon on January 31, 2007 at 5:45 PM
That Crater Lake shot is hard to beat, Marc, it would be my first choice. #2 would be Magic Mountain.
Posted by Marc Adamus on January 31, 2007 at 5:46 PM
Mike, well said. I totally agree. The format emphasizes the top in this version of Magic Mountain due to the text overlay, and my name would be at bottom-left. On Paradise Gardens, text would be on either side of the sunburst with my name at bottom middle.
Posted by Andy Drumer on January 31, 2007 at 6:38 PM
Crater Lake definetly isn't an option given the empty space that comes with it. This calendar is going to be sitting next to 100 others, and if it's in the "pretty pictures" category of calendars it's going to be the boldest, most striking image that wins.
When we humans shop store shelves, our eyes are usually in "meta" mode. This is the same mode that our eyes are in when we drive, were not really paying too much focused attention, but something that our eyes recognize (like brake lights, or a stop sign) will quickly snap the brain into attention mode so we take the appropriate action.
So, the first thing that is needed is something bold enough to snap the eyes out of the "meta"/browse mode and notice the calendar. It may sounds dumb, but simple things like contrast, shape, and COLOR matter here. The color red really stands out to the human eye, for example. If you want to see this yourself, walk down the cereal aisle of your grocery store and just tell yourself to scan the shelves and spot anything that looks "interesting." Bet you 20 bucks your eyes will settle on a bright red box of fruit loops eventually!
Ok, now for the most important part, the consumer must be compelled to pick up the calendar and look at it. This is where the quality of the photograph matters, composition, depth, etc. This is where I can't overanalyze it.
Now, will they buy it? I might speculate a couple of things:
a) a consumer who is looking for a 'northwest' themed calendar probably feels some sort of connection to the land here, and a photograph of something they recognize will increase this feeling of identification - "oh wow, *** certainly looks beautiful in that pic."
b) why does one buy a calendar of nice pictures? - a calendar I think for many is an escape, it's something that you can get lost in if you need too. It should give you the opposite feeling of what is below - days and days of white squares filled in with appointments and obligations.
Total speculation but I'd say the calendar that gives the consumer the better sense of "I can look at/explore that pic for a long time" or "I could get lost in that pic" will win here
----
Conclusion: I vote for ranier. It's red, it stands out. People recognize it (hopefully). There is more depth and more for the eye to explore, the viewer gets lost in it.
The dead space associated with crater lake would kill off a lot of the impact sitting next to full cover shots. Paradise Garden is great, but green isn't all that eye catching, and even though the sun-star is grabbing, I'll bet there will be a few more sun-stars on some calendars sitting right next to yours.
Magic Mountain!
Posted by Curtis Knight on January 31, 2007 at 6:40 PM
Magic Mountain. Everyone and thier brother has a Crater Lake image (not to take away from its quality. I agree with John's comment) but your Magic Mountain image is unique and sensational. my second choice would be Paradise Gardens... a tough decision actually, but I really think that if I were looking at callendars on the rack, the Magic Mountain image would capture my attention and hold it.
Posted by Marc Adamus on January 31, 2007 at 7:06 PM
Andy, I looked at this similarly to how you have, and reached similar conclusions. But might I add, that red might be the most commonly found color in the landscape calendar cover market. Sunsets are pretty, people adore them, and therefore they grace the covers of a lot of landscape calendars. Crater Lake might just stand out because you don't see a lot of Winter images on covers, but I totally agree that the dead space is a serious consideration. I had another client who publishes a widely known title, "Discover America" every year and he actually wanted to use my image "Blue Night" - see my portfolio, for the 08' cover. I was initially very surprised. It's a very unique, artsy image that I wasn't sure would connect well with people outside the photography community. But his logic was similar. Taken from a consumers perspective, you want to have the calendar that stands out from the masses, and there is likely not anything very similar to "Blue Night" on the shelves. Brilliant blues, cloud streaks and a cold feel are not norms on calendar displays, yet the image is still deep, gripping and aestheticly pleasing.
Posted by scott lanz on January 31, 2007 at 7:55 PM
Marc,
I have also working on a calendar project for a municipal park gardens in Ohio. We are looking to print 3500 to 5000 calendars. If I may ask, do you have any recommendations on printing companies? I think we are looking to have it printed overseas. You can reply to me at cslanz@lanzscape.com if you would prefer or if you have any questions. Thanks.
Regarding your question, I'd vote for Magic Mountain.
Posted by Andy Drumer on January 31, 2007 at 8:04 PM
Hmmm, that is true that red/sunsets will be very common. I still see the mountain as being the best choice, though. Glare from store lights might erase a lot of the appeal of paradise, and crater, besides the dead space, I don't think has the appeal of magic.
Posted by Bryan Swan on January 31, 2007 at 8:40 PM
The Rainier shot all the way, if only for the fact that there is plenty of room in the middle of the image - pseudo negative space, if you will - for titles and credits.
BTW - I too would be curious to find out about calendar printers / pricing.
Posted by Marc Adamus on January 31, 2007 at 9:10 PM
Guys, for this project I am working with a publisher who already has good printing connections in place. It is my call which images are ulimately used in the calendar, but most other desicions are left up to this company. I have also worked with several other major publishers where I have less of a say in which images are used. It's a different situation every time. I am taking part in up to eight or ten different calendars this coming year. I don't have the time or energy to self-publish, but for those who do it can be rewarding. I'd prefer to just get paid and do as little work as possible
I might talk to Ian Cameron (NPN member). I know he has lots of experience with self publishing and has worked mostly overseas - Hong Kong and elsewhere I believe. One advantage of contracting with a big publisher (aside from major retailer connections) is that they are doing hundreds of thousands of calendars a year and costs come down considerably. I can't get into the specifics though.
Posted by John Lehmkuhl on January 31, 2007 at 9:19 PM
Magic Mountain will make the boldest presentation - even if you only see the top 1/4th of the calander. I still think that the Crater Lake would be more impressive and cause people to pick the calander up without hesitation... the Rainier shot will probably (you HOPE) pull the same desire out of people, but the Crater Lake shot is on another planet in the "grab your attention if you see this" category, imo.
That's a tough call. I would pick Magic Mountain or Crater Lake 1st and Paradise Gardens 2nd. I like the feel of the winter of Crater Lake and tend to lead more toward this image. Sorry you have to make that call....
Posted by Erik Lundh on January 31, 2007 at 11:28 PM
Marc,
You have to go with Magic mountain. It also helps that it is the right format. I did an assignment this last fall for a calendar and I was specifically instructed to shoot portrait. I got two images published including the cover.
Posted by John Zinn on February 1, 2007 at 10:10 AM
Marc, I'd vote for Magic Mountain, but would be concerned about text at the top obscuring the mountain and/or moon.
Posted by eric lee on February 2, 2007 at 12:45 PM
Magic Mountain. As if the consensus weren't clear already.....
Posted by Gary Minish on February 2, 2007 at 8:07 PM
Marc, If you want to take advantage of the shock factor I would suggest "Lake of Fire and Ice". If that is not going to be part of the calendar then my vote is "Crater Lake". Magic Mountain is very pleasing for a photographer's eye but doesn't have the punch that you need to grab the general consumer's eye. Another one that is attention grabbing (because of the bold blue colors) is "Blue Streaks".
btw; your "Timecatcher" gallery pages have some spelling errors. You have "Pacific Northwest" spelled as "Pacific Northest". It triggers the brain to think "Pacific Northeast" which doesn't make sense
Posted by Marc Adamus on February 3, 2007 at 1:12 AM
Gary, thanks for your input. Unfortunately, the TC "northest" error was a designer error, not mine so I may have to do some investigating to fix it. I'm not always up on what goes on behind the scenes there.
I do agree "Lake of Fire and Ice" is a shock-value type of shot. It's 35mm so maybe not the best choice detail-wise for a calendar cover, and I've always had reservations about that one because I have so many more dynamic images as subjects go. I'm glad you mentioned "Blue Streaks" because I was actually wondering about how that will do on another calendar cover. It is the front cover and January image for the "Discover America" calendar, of which 15,000 are printed.
Discussion
22 repliesThis leaves me potentially with "Paradise Gardens" or "Magic Mountain" - a crop from a landscape version of that image, as my two top cover choices. I'm also considering using "Crater Lake" in landscape format with a dark border and title above the image, since the image would not fill the entire 12x14 space. Please offer your opinions on which image you would prefer to see grace the cover. Thanks. (moderator note - both images together are less than 200K)
My vote goes for Magic Mountain, but my mind might be changed by how much text is going to be overlaid.
When we humans shop store shelves, our eyes are usually in "meta" mode. This is the same mode that our eyes are in when we drive, were not really paying too much focused attention, but something that our eyes recognize (like brake lights, or a stop sign) will quickly snap the brain into attention mode so we take the appropriate action.
So, the first thing that is needed is something bold enough to snap the eyes out of the "meta"/browse mode and notice the calendar. It may sounds dumb, but simple things like contrast, shape, and COLOR matter here. The color red really stands out to the human eye, for example. If you want to see this yourself, walk down the cereal aisle of your grocery store and just tell yourself to scan the shelves and spot anything that looks "interesting." Bet you 20 bucks your eyes will settle on a bright red box of fruit loops eventually!
Ok, now for the most important part, the consumer must be compelled to pick up the calendar and look at it. This is where the quality of the photograph matters, composition, depth, etc. This is where I can't overanalyze it.
Now, will they buy it? I might speculate a couple of things:
a) a consumer who is looking for a 'northwest' themed calendar probably feels some sort of connection to the land here, and a photograph of something they recognize will increase this feeling of identification - "oh wow, *** certainly looks beautiful in that pic."
b) why does one buy a calendar of nice pictures? - a calendar I think for many is an escape, it's something that you can get lost in if you need too. It should give you the opposite feeling of what is below - days and days of white squares filled in with appointments and obligations.
Total speculation but I'd say the calendar that gives the consumer the better sense of "I can look at/explore that pic for a long time" or "I could get lost in that pic" will win here
----
Conclusion: I vote for ranier. It's red, it stands out. People recognize it (hopefully). There is more depth and more for the eye to explore, the viewer gets lost in it.
The dead space associated with crater lake would kill off a lot of the impact sitting next to full cover shots. Paradise Garden is great, but green isn't all that eye catching, and even though the sun-star is grabbing, I'll bet there will be a few more sun-stars on some calendars sitting right next to yours.
Magic Mountain!
- pradeep
I have also working on a calendar project for a municipal park gardens in Ohio. We are looking to print 3500 to 5000 calendars. If I may ask, do you have any recommendations on printing companies? I think we are looking to have it printed overseas. You can reply to me at cslanz@lanzscape.com if you would prefer or if you have any questions. Thanks.
Regarding your question, I'd vote for Magic Mountain.
BTW - I too would be curious to find out about calendar printers / pricing.
I might talk to Ian Cameron (NPN member). I know he has lots of experience with self publishing and has worked mostly overseas - Hong Kong and elsewhere I believe. One advantage of contracting with a big publisher (aside from major retailer connections) is that they are doing hundreds of thousands of calendars a year and costs come down considerably. I can't get into the specifics though.
You have to go with Magic mountain. It also helps that it is the right format. I did an assignment this last fall for a calendar and I was specifically instructed to shoot portrait. I got two images published including the cover.
btw; your "Timecatcher" gallery pages have some spelling errors. You have "Pacific Northwest" spelled as "Pacific Northest". It triggers the brain to think "Pacific Northeast" which doesn't make sense
I do agree "Lake of Fire and Ice" is a shock-value type of shot. It's 35mm so maybe not the best choice detail-wise for a calendar cover, and I've always had reservations about that one because I have so many more dynamic images as subjects go. I'm glad you mentioned "Blue Streaks" because I was actually wondering about how that will do on another calendar cover. It is the front cover and January image for the "Discover America" calendar, of which 15,000 are printed.