"Silence is Not Golden"
An article by Pulitzer Prize Winner Barry Staver
For over thirty years I’ve been telling stories with my cameras. In fact I’ve trademarked my tagline, ‘storytelling with a camera™”.
As a photojournalist it was my belief that the images should speak for themselves, everything else could be silent. No need for music, an overabundance of text, or spoken words. The print media were the primary users of my photography. Consumer and trade magazines, corporate communications departments, and non-profits needed their stories to be told on the printed page. Slideshows were what families suffered through after the annual summer vacation. I’d bet that most homes had a slide projector and a portable day-lite brand screen that was set up once a year to showcase the trip to the beach or the mountains or to Uncle Bob’s house. The only sound coming from these shows was from the fan on the projector and the drone of the narrator/photographer going on about each image.
Professional multi-projector slideshows made an appearance complete with audio tracks but the technical stuff involved to prepare, program, and execute the shows had little interest to me and my photo essays continued to be produced in silence.
Digital technology has brought the slideshow to the forefront. Mass media websites feature them daily; photographers use them as drop-off portfolios, as final products to clients, in galleries on their websites.
I began to notice the music associated with these shows. It was usually popular music, recognizable by artist or composer. As an avid believer in copyright protection for all artists I didn’t want to illegally use someone’s music without permission and thus continued to show my work in relative silence.
This silence was finally broken last spring and every show produced since has been music to the ears of my viewers. I spent several hours listening online to downloadable royalty free tunes from several companies, needing only one song, on deadline of course, for a presentation. I annually donate my photography to the Columbine High School Run for Remembrance and the show of last year’s run would help gain new sponsors and new participants. From my online search the least distracting song was chosen and added to the show. Fortunately, it was so noisy in the school hallway where it was being shown that few people could hear it.
Once you take the plunge and embrace a new concept or technology, have you ever asked yourself these questions: “why did I wait so long”, “how did I manage without this”?
Good news, as this ‘ol dog has learned the new trick of adding music to photographic presentations. Thankfully, I’ve connected with Triple Scoop Music so putting this new trick to work has been effortless, fun, and so well received by clients that I want to encourage you to try it if you haven’t already. If you’re a seasoned veteran already adding music to your images then you’ll appreciate Triple Scoop even more.
Roy, Ali, and Jennifer and the team from Triple Scoop Music were at WPPI last year, manning their booth with several listening stations and headphones. The music was fresh and exciting with photographer friendly tunes. What’s more, they do business like I do, making connections one-on-one with clients. The owners are the musicians themselves and they’re always adding exciting new songs and impressive new talent.
Unfortunately I’m not a musical expert like some of my colleagues, so picking the perfect tunes for each show is still a challenge but this cool music makes the photographs gain additional life. I know it’s succeeding because clients’ eyes are locked to the screen, often with their foot tapping to the beat.
As you know, the best test of a photographs’ success is its ability to elicit an emotional response from the viewer. The addition of music heightens this emotional impact.
It can add monetary value too. Too many photographers think they must give away their digital files in order to get the job. I’m guessing that many Americans are taking a step back in time to the ol’ home slideshow, watching their free wedding images appear silently on a monitor instead of the portable day-lite screen. I challenge these colleagues to realize the value of their work, add some music, price it and pitch it for what it’s really worth.
Every one of my slideshows, from engagement sessions to weddings to my signature Wedding Storybook™ album designs, to my corporate and editorial projects, has Triple Scoop music added. These shows are posted online, presented in my office, sold and shown to corporate and consumer clients who’ve hired me to tell their story. A local non-profit presented one of my shows to the Mayor of Denver and hundreds of other guests at a community luncheon. I’m told that the otherwise noisy banquet room crowd grew silent as the musically enhanced show began. This music is adding a new dimension to my photo stories.
Now I’m not satisfied with one song per show and am having a grand time selecting multiple tracks for my shows. I’m currently revising my websites to include music and even adding tunes to a few of my iconic favorite photographic essays. Life keeps getting better.
©2008 Barry Staver
Barry Staver Photography
photographic journalist &
Pulitzer Prize winner
www.barrystaver.com
www.staverweddings.com
