Even so, the amount of input the agency creative will accept into the photography varies from individual to individual. Some A.D.s prefer to have the photographer shoot the layout they re given, others want the photographer to add his or her touch and is welcome to suggestions. There are some people who only want me to shoot what the boards are and shut up, says Lowden. But, about 75 percent of the people who hire me want interaction and consider photography, as I do, a team event. The weak link here is the lack of good account executives, declares Kohanim.
Most accounts are client driven, and the clients are so hands-on there s no room for input.
They sign off to something specific and it s hard to deviate from that. It takes a dedicated account executive to fight for creativity. Things are getting competitive and they don t want to alienate the client, but there s a way to do that without giving them total control. Creativity is our forte, that s what we get paid to do. It seems that veteran agency creatives are more open to photographer input than their younger colleagues.