Some articles have been circulating like Jasmine Star's,
A Photographer's Perspective on Pinterest, which emphatically agrees with everything Aimee Grover writes in her
blog post, with the same title, so much so that Jasmine republishes Aimee's article, because she wants to be sure that her followers get the message: Pinterest boards are great, but beware.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say, I may be one of very few photographers who appreciate receiving a client's Pinterest board. Or maybe other photographers do like receiving inspiration boards from their clients, but they just don't want to be told to replicate anything seen on the board. I'm going to explain why this doesn't offend me nor make me squirm and why I'm happy to fulfill my clients' requests.
Long before becoming a portrait and wedding photographer, I made commercial and catalog photography shoots come to life as a photo producer. Essentially, a photo producer is similar to a wedding planner. The Creative Director would share client approved creative schemes, and I would execute these ideas by booking all necessary team members including but not limited to the photographers, the locations, stylists, models, etc. On the day of the shoot, I was in charge of ensuring that everything went smoothly, that we remained within budget, and most of all that our client was happy. This is where I learned, no matter how well one dots their i's or crosses her t's, shit happens, and I better have a sturdy supply of pooper-scoopers handy at all times. Which I did! And I was glad.
Well, guess what we used to map out our creative cues. We used something in the commercial industry called swipe. Guess what Pinterest is. It's swipe! And it makes everyone's worlds so much easier. We can finally speak a beautiful language with one another, one that we can quickly and easily understand. If an Art Director showed a photographer an image of coffee beans spilling out of a female's hands, then it was my job to book the hand model, the stylists job to find the right props and the photographer's job to capture the light. We all worked together - a team of ten of us - at least - to create an image similar to the swipe with which we had been presented.
So, you can see how referring to Pinterest boards wouldn't really intimidate me or stunt my creativity. I know that you understand that we will never completely replicate the images you've shared. I know that's not your intention. I know that you have booked me for my style and that you trust me to get the shots. But I also know that you have a solid idea of what you want, and I want to be sure I provide that to you and more, of course.
For the record, I do agree with Jasmine and Aimee's end points on how to use Pinterest. I think it's a great tool, and I hope it makes planning a wedding easier for my clients. Prior to Pinterest or wedding blogs, we had to flip through wedding magazines of which there were few good ones. Now, we are fortunate to have so many avenues to walk down in order to window shop for what we want. I'm glad for it, and I am thankful that you have a way to communicate well with me.
Also for the record, I wanted to give an example of why I believe Pinterest helps us to speak a beautiful language with one another. All of this dawned on me, because I am in the process of rebranding my business identity. It's amazing what an odd process this is. It's like describing who you are to your designer so that she can find you your soul mate. It's an intimate, reflective, contemplative thing to do. Here is a look at the
Pinterest board I shared with my designer.
Now, look at this one image which I LOVE.
Now, look at the glass dish I keep on my bathroom counter to hold my jewelry.
Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Pinterest, you complete me. You know my language. Someone out there made a beautiful photo of a woman wearing jewelry that almost but not quite replicates my very own collection of everyday gold jewelry. How better can I communicate who I am to my designer than by showing her this image?!
I don't know if my point came across as well as I intended it. I guess my hope is that when a client shares an image with fellow photographers that they not be offended or cringe or feel creatively stunted. I hope rather they recognize that their clients are extending themselves to you. We may not think the idea is original, but few are. And yes, we may have to make the bed before it creates the right backdrop for our client, but why wouldn't we go to that extra effort? Why wouldn't we want to give our clients exactly what they hoped for - and more?
Personally, I've been a part of the recreation process for many years for commercial clients and I'm perfectly okay with carrying that service to my portrait and wedding clients, too.
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