Weird approach to business cards, good?

[flea77]

I am in an area flooded by photographers for your wedding, graduation, seniors, bar mitzvah, portraits or little girl's sweet sixteen party. There is however not one advertising commercial photographer. I have been doing some commercial work for some time now but never had business cards so I thought now might be a good time.

I too like the type of card that is demure, elegant, professional and understated. The problem is, every other photographer around has one of those, and they all shoot the same stuff, which I do not want to shoot.

So I designed these cards for two purposes:

1) Make the people seeking wedding photographers, seniors, etc all run away screaming.

2) Make business owners stand up and take notice.

What do you think? Did I go overboard? Is it too racy? Will I offend female business owners? Or will this card do exactly what I hope? Any and all comments are welcome.

Allan

 

[dianehamm]

I am undecided about the front; as a female business owner (I own an Offset Printing Business) I am not offended by it, just not sure of the message it conveys, however I really like the back.

 

[Aye-non Oh-non Imus]

The front image looks like a BC for a gentlemens club instead of a photographer. The image itself is very busy and has its own issues. The back image looks rather bleak with the blown out sky. The text arrangement of services seems ill conceived. Also, the text at the bottom (refering to the front image) is of no consequence. Put it on the front or (even better) remove it.

Standing out from the crowd is a worthy goal and I applaued you for that, but the execution is lacking IMO. But then again, I'm one for minimalism on a BC. Having the back void of images or copious text allows the receipient to write their own notes. I know I do with all the BCs I collect.

 

[KmH]

Who would ever look at your name?:lmao:

 

[flea77]

OK, so I changed the order of numbers on the front to match the angle better, the image on the back was one I intentionally removed the sky from to make the text stand out, I put the sky back in, change the listing of services to something a bit more open, and removed the text at the bottom. Better?

As for the image on the front, I was aiming at a promotional image for a bar, would something else be more appropriate for a commercial photo job? I thought about using product shots, but I don't understand how an image of a watch, a pen, or a piece of furniture would be more appropriate than this.

Allan

 

[flea77]

OK, so it seems the message is getting lost, how about this one? Better? Worse? Still gets the message I want to the customer.

Allan

 

[templatephotoshop]

I know what you're trying to acheive here, memorability. A little Shock value. I love the building on the back. The girl on the front is not my favorite. You are obviously a really great commercial shooter, do you have anything else that is unique, but doesn't almost show nipples? Looks kinda Penthousey to me.

 

[AnneRiceBowl]

I recommend changing the font you used for your name. It looks a little dated. Try a sans serif font with some weight or even a serif font (I like the Bodoni fonts). It also looks like you used a bevel along with the font you used for your name. I would try to not use the bevel. See what a slight outer glow would look like on you name instead of a drop shadow.

One of my other jobs is graphic design.

 

[Ub3rdoRK]

I think if i was handed a card with that girl on the front like that (not that its a bad shot its actually good) i would think its those cards people hand out on the street in vegas for strippers and escorts and probably not read the rest. but i do really like the back.

 

[SusanMart]

I like the second card better than the first one.
I agree that the font needs to be changed into something more appealing.

What you try to achieve is to stand out, right? You want to show that you can do everything from glamour shots to serious business sessions.
I think this is good, but sometimes it's better indeed to pick 2-3 things only, and focus on them)

 

[smackitsakic]

I agree that the front of the card looks like it belongs in the pile of other cards on Las Vegas Blvd. Also, my only other comment would be the font. It needs to pop more. Maybe try putting a box with light opacity in the background of the font so that it sticks out more. It's nice to show off your business skills, but don't forget that the point of your card is for people to recognize the business name/contact info.