Task 5 | My Site

Job Roles

Learning Outcome 2 (U24): Understand the behaviours, skill and attributes necessary within the advertising industry

P4 (U24): Explain the behaviours & attributes required for a specific job role

Advertising photographer:

There are many different responsibilities when it comes to an advertising photographer. The whole purpose of being an advertising photographer is that you take images for the advert that a company is creating ahead of the launch of the product that they are trying to sell. He/She will be given a brief by the advertising director, about the advert so that they have an idea of the type of body language that the person in the photo will use. Additionally, the advertising photographer will need to know the sort of shots that need to be taken, for example, a high-angle shot or a medium shot, depending on what the brief says and the circumstances. Once all the photos have been shot the advertising director will go have a look at all the photos and choose which ones will be best for the advert, with the input of the photographer.

For an advertising photographer to work with well-known companies around the world, then their behavior and attributes need to be perfect. Companies want to hire or even employ photographers that stand out from the crowd and are unique, as they want the best photos for their advert. Advertising photographers need to have the right resources and equipment for them to be able to produce the highest standard of work possible, so that companies can go on ahead and use the photos. Having the right correct equipment and resources will gain reputation of the advertisng photogrpaher, which will look good when it comes to companies hiring them out for a day or even trying to employ one on a full time basis.

Behaviours and attributes of an Advertising Photographer:

There are so many behaviours and attributes that need to be taken into account when being an advertising photogrpaher. It isn't just about the basic manners of saying "Please" and "Thank You" or the common skills normal photographers have, in fact they have to go beyond their own expectation. Some of the behaviours and attributes that an advertising photographer needs when taking shots for an avdert are:

Behaviour:

Being Proffesional - This is one of the main behaviours that is needed when working with well-known brands to help them create their advert. Respecting other peoples opinions come under this sub-category, as the advertising photographers will have to take orders some time from the advertising director because they know what they want the photos to look like. Additionally being the best that the photographer can be and utilising all his skills and knowledge that they have when it comes to camera angles and getting the best photos possible.

Punctuality - Being on time to take the photos and turning up with the right mindset is key, as the advertising director doesn't want the photographer to be late, because time is everything when it comes to creating an advert. For an advertising photographer to turn up to the shoot not knowing the ideas they have in mind can also be a bad thing, which means that they need to have a plan and an idea ready for when they get to the location that they are going to be taking the photos at.

Communication - The best advertising photographers have the communication skills that companies want. They need to express their own ideas, instead of just listening to the advertising director all the time. If the photographer was to be shy and not have good communication skills then the relation between them and the advertising director could be awkward, leading to the photoshoot being faulty and below expectation.

Patience and Flexibility - When it comes to becoming an advertising photographer, they need to have patience because thousands of photos can be taken, but there could only be one good photo that gets used in the advert. Furthermore, they might not be able to get the right shot that the company want, so the advertising photographer would have to be patient and persevere in getting the right camera angle. Flexibility is another behaviour that an advertising photographer should have. The reasoning for this is because the photographer needs to react to any situation when being at the location to take the photos for the advert. This could be from changing the position that they are in to get a different camera angle or coming up with a better idea on the spot.

Attributes:

Passion - The advertising photographers that work with the companies to take images for the advert have the most passion and dedication as they have put all their time and effort into the job they are most interested in. With the photographers having a significant amount of passion, it also brings out the best in them. This is due to the fact that advertising photographers want to work that extra bit harder and find the limit in what they do best. The passion that they have, also makes them want to be better as a person because they want to be competing with other high standard advertising photographers and also wanting to try new techniques when taking photos for the advert

Creativity - With passion comes creativity, as they want to find unique and creative ways to express their ideas and opinions to the advertising director at the time. Additionally, they need to be able to see past something that other people class as "normal" and to turn that "normal" into something special and amazing. For someone to be an advertising photographer they need to have a creative mindset and come up with imaginative ideas and produce them for the companies advert. There are the most common set of rules and guidelines that an advertising photographer needs to follow, but creativity divides the best advertising photographers from the not so good ones.

Team working skills - Advertising photographers might bring a small team with them, so it essential that the team has a good strong relation between them all. Furthermore, having a good relationship with the team will improve the efficiency when taking photos for the advert as they all know what their specific job role is within the team. The team might have got the assignment brief for the advert, so they could be able to bring in their ideas as well as the advertising photographers, resulting in several ideas being merged together to make one general idea.

Technical photography skills - An advertising photographers job isn't just about taking photos or getting the object to express their feelings through the use of body language. The job also consists of looking at the photos that have been taken and advising the advertising director what photos are the best ones to use. Some photos might need to be edited and have some effects added onto them to make them look better, in which case the advertising photographer will do this and make any changes that the advertising director have requested as well. For example, the brief could be about the 1950s, so a black and white effect will be put on the photo instead of it being in colour or if the sky needed to be a darker shade then the contrast of the photo would be adjusted to meet the needs of what the advertising director has said.

M2 (U24): Explain how behaviours and attributes affect career development opportunities within the media industry

Companies are always on the lookout for advertising photographers who are willing to develop their careers and make progress, leading them on to bigger and better opportunities in the future. Cross-media campaign images are of high quality so that the audience can see the media product clearly and without any issue. This is all because of the advertising photographer and the skills they have to produce such a high-quality image. Photographic skills aren't the only factor that plays a part in making an advertising photographer develop their careers, it's also the behavior and attributes of the person that helps them progress and develop their careers. Employers will want to employ the right people with the right skillset as they want to be able to build the companies reputation up in the most efficient way possible.

Advertising Photographers will sign a contract, which states that they will have to endear to the companies policy. This means that no cross-media campaign images can be leaked out to the public as it would jeopardize the companies reputation and the advertising photographer can be sacked for disobeying a company rule, as well as being imprisoned for jeopardizing the company as a whole. This would have a massive effect on the advertising photographers' career development as they would lose their job and wouldn't be able to work again. However, if the advertising photographer abides by the company policy, their career will increasingly develop as the company will notice that they are loyal to their job. The person will gain a reputation for themselves, which would help them get a job promotion or apply to another company in the same role they were in previously.

Behaviors and attitudes are other factors to take into consideration when developing an advertising photographer's career. They need to make a good impression on the manager as it would show that they are dedicated to their job and are willing to bring any of their ideas from their old job to their new job. Taking photos and meeting deadlines for the media product to the standard of the company and the advertising photographer themself will also give a good impression to colleagues as they will be able to see them having a "can-do" attitude, resulting in the person developing their career more efficiently as managers would be noting down their contributions and work ethic towards the company.

Advertising photographers' moods and feelings is an aspect when developing their careers as well. The reasoning for this is because if the person was to go to work all dull and boring, then the manager would get fed up with the advertising photographer. Additionally, if there were any arguments between the photographer and the manager, then that could slow down the process of developing the advertising photographers' career or could lead to being sacked from the company themselves. Any irrelevant chat whilst taking photos of the media product with other team members might portray the person as being annoying and not focusing on the job at hand, meaning the time to take the advertising photos will take longer which could lead to other tasks of the cross-meida campaign being pushed back. This could affect the development of the advertising photographers' career as companies are wanting employers to have the right mindset when doing their job and not distract others, which could lead to managers getting angry at the person and disregarding them of getting a promotion or helping the person develop their career in advertising photography.

As well as behaviors, the attributes that advertising photographers have also help them develop their careers and future. Managers are expecting employers to have good communication skills as well as being able to listen and take in any ideas that the managers say. As advertising photographers, they are expected to follow instructions from the manager regarding the advertising photos. This means that the person can't interrupt the manager when explaining what the magazine and billboard adverts will look like as the manager will have a clear understanding and a straightforward plan for the advertising images.

The advertising photographer's job is to take photos of the media product, so sharing any ideas or thoughts with the manager would be a bad idea as it isn't their job. Additionally, the manager wouldn't be happy with the advertising photographer because they pay the person to do their job and not to be paid to do someone else's job. The development of the advertising photographer's career could be slowed down if their communication skills or listening skills weren't of a high enough standard to the company. The reasoning for this is if the person was to make several errors when taking the photos of the media product due to not being able to listen to the manager, then the company would think about sacking the advertising photographer for wasting the companies time and not doing their job properly. However, if the person was to communicate and listen well with the cross-meida campaign manager then the photos of the media product will be of a standard to the company, meaning that the advertising photographer could get a job promotion as well as develop their career which could lead to bigger and better things in the future.

Another attribute that could develop an advertising photographer's career is the creativity that they have. Employers are always looking for the most creative people so that the companies cross-media campaign can be the highest quality possible. Creativity is a key attribute that every advertising photographer should have but there are some that have better creativity than others. Good creativity skills include taking photos of the media product from different camera angles, making the lighting around the media product either lighter or darker and denormalizing a normal photo. If the advertising photographer can show the employer that they have this set of skills whilst taking photos of the advertising images, then the images themselves will be of high quality which is what the company will want for their cross-media campaign. Furthermore, the employer will be happy and satisfied with the choice that they made when picking the right advertising photographer. Having good creativity skills will help advertising photographers develop their careers as they will want to show the employer all of the skills that they have, which could result in getting recognized for the skills contributing to the advertising images and having a reference speak highly of them when updating their CV. This could lead to other companies looking at your references when applying for a new job, which would give the advertising photographer a higher chance of getting the job over someone who doesn't have that many good references.

Advertising photographers have the potential of getting a job promotion or getting a paid job within the same industry, if they are able to maintain the level of behaviour and attributes that the company set out for them over a long period of time. The images below are examples of the jobs that an advertising photographer can apply for when finding a job promotion or a better paid job within the advertising industry. Companies like to post the description of the job, the abilities and skills that the job requires with the yearly salary being shown at the top of the page. The reason for this is because the person will be able to know what the job role intales as well as what the company will want from the person such as their behaviour and attributes.

D2 (U24): Explain the importance of etiquette when working on a media production

Companies need to have good etiquette when working in a professional environment to ensure that they have a high reputation and to maintain the potential of doing well against other competitors. This is done by employing people who are equipped with the right skill set and can behave maturely on a day-to-day basis as employers will want to show the public how could of a company they are working for. If an employee was to have better behavior and professionalism than another employee, then they might be considered getting a job promotion as they would've shown to their manager that they are capable of having more responsibilities and being able to talk to customers and employees with the right etiquette. Furthermore, this would look good on the company itself as it shows that employees are well trained when dealing with customers and other employees as their etiquette in a work environment would heavily increase.

However, it isn't just the managers that have to have good etiquette in the company. Employees who are lower down the hierarchy such as receptionists, runners, cleaners and assistants have to have good etiquette as well because they are at the forefront of the companies business. Customers or clients will expect companies to be professional and well mannered from the minute they make contact with them, whether that is phoning them up or sending an email as the company will want their customers or clients to return to them and making sure that they can be reliable and trustworthy when it comes to talking and negotiating to customers or clients. Additionally, if employees have good etiquette, then regular customers or clients can recommend the company to family or friends which would increase the revenue and sales of the company as well as the overall budget.

Companies that make a cross-media campaign for their media product have to follow a set of rules which are laid out by the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA). The advertising regulator has to make sure that any cross-media campaign adverts are legal so that companies are able to promote their media product without being disrespectful or harmful to their specified target audience. The reasoning for this is because they don't want their audience to see them as a company that is highly offensive and being rude as it could lead to audiences losing interest in the company and numerous complaints could be made against them as well due to having bad etiquette and not being considerate or respectful towards their target audience. The reputation of the company could get worse which could lead to a loss of revenue and sales.

The most common non-broadcasting and broadcasting rules that ASA states and that companies have to follow are:

Non-broadcasting codes:

"1.1: Marketing communications should be legal, decent, honest and truthful."

"1.10.1: Marketers must not state or imply that a product can legally be sold if it cannot."

"3.3: Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by committing material information. They must not mislead by hiding information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner."

"3.17: Price statements must not mislead by omission, undue emphasis or distortion. They must relate to the product featured in the marketing communication."

"4.1: Marketing communications must not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Particular care must be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of: age; disability; gender; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation. Compliance will be judged on the context, medium, audience, produced and prevailing standards."

"4.5: Marketing communications, especially those addresses to or depending a child, must not condone or encourage an unsafe practice."

"4.7: Marketers must take particular care not to include in their marketing communications visual effects or techniques that are likely to adversely affect members of the public photosensitive epilepsy."

"5.1: Marketing communications addressed to, targeted directly at or featuring children must contain nothing that is likely to result in their physical, mental or moral harm:"

"5.1.3: children must not be shown using or in close proximity to dangerous substances or equipment without direct adult supervision."

"8.2: Promoters must conduct their promotions equitably, promptly and efficiently and be seen to deal fairly and honorably with participants and potential participants. Promoters must avoid causing unnecessary disappointment."

Broadcasting codes:

"2.3: The use of a title, logo, set or music associated with a programme that is broadcast on that medium needs special care. The audience should quickly recognise the message as an advertisement."

"3.1: Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so."

"3.2: Advertisements must not mislead consumers by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner."

"3.8: No advertisement may use images of very brief duration, or any other techniques that is likely to influence consumers, without their being fully aware of what has been done."

"4.1: Advertisements must contain nothing that could cause physical, mental, moral or social harm to persons under the age of 18."

"4.3: Advertisements must not exploit the special trust that persons under the age of 18 place in parents, guardians, teachers or other persons."

"4.9: Advertisements must not condone or encourage violence, crim disorder or anti-social behavior."

"5.3: Advertisements must not condone or encourage practices that are detrimental to children's health."

"5.8: Child actors may feature in advertisements but care must be taken to ensure that those advertisements neither mislead nor exploit children' inexperience, credulity or sense of loyalty."

"6.1: With limited expectations, living persons must not be featured, caricatured or referred to in advertisements without their permission"

The Committe of Advertising Practice code (CAP)

The Broadcasting Committe of Advertising Practice (BCAP)

When working on a cross-meida campaign, employees from a compnay have to attend meetings so they can share their ideas to their potential clients and exciting customers. It is common courtesy to have good etiquette and mutual respect for them from the minute they arrange the meeting to them walking out of the company building which is done in several ways First, Employees try and avoid not attending or re-arranging the meeting as it shows a lack of interest towards their own cross media campaign as well as wasting the client or customers time with them potentially having traveled a lenghty distance to the hear and see the ideas of the corss-media campaign. Employees have to present themselves in a professional manner when hosting a meeting to their clients and customers as they are representing the company and are wanting to make a good impression as well. This can be shown by being enthusiastic about sharing their ideas for the companies cross-media campaign, furthermore greeting the client or customer at the door and giving them a firm handshake is considered to be a good form of etiquette as well.

Once the meeting is done, it is common courtesy for the employee to show the client or customer out of the door and to thank them for giving up their time to listen to their ideas about the cross-media campaign they would do for their new media product. This would look good on the company and the employee, as it will show the client or customer the standard of behaviour within the business which could lead to the increase of the companies reputation. Some companies might have clients or customers that are from different countries, meaning that employees would have to be culturally sensitive on what they cna and can't say. The reason for this is because if the employee made a sensitive joke or comment than the client or customer can forward a complaint to the company, resulting in the employee going to court and getting a fine for breaching comapny and ASA rules. This is why companies want to maintain a high level of etiquette within the work place so that none of their employees have to pay a fine for saying or doing anything inappropriate to say. Companies around the world maintain their level of respect for clients and customers no matter there gender, age, ethnicity, religion or disbality. Having that high-level of etiquette could result in more clients and customers around the world coming to the company and hearing any of their ideas for any new cross-media campaigns as the client and customer will expect the employee to be respectful and well-mannered towards them.