How to Photograph a Design Poster

Poster Holder

A poster of posters cut out from 90 portfolio images of designers displaying their posters. All taken from links listed on the Manystuff blog.

Do not point out the obvious.

  • Added: 2007 Apr 19 @ 03:49
  • Updated: 2010 Jan 02 @ 16:24
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23 Responses to “How to Photograph a Design Poster”

  1. On April 21st, 2007 at 09:05, raf said:

    Nice idea, I really like it.
    It could be “how to photograph a graphic designer” too !

  2. On April 22nd, 2007 at 03:26, Skip said:

    Sewing machine?

  3. On April 22nd, 2007 at 06:23, ernst said:

    I really like the idea. I was just thinking about the popularity of presenting posters like this, and also other work displayed with hands in the photographs. I like it and have done it myself, but it is really not the great idea that designers search for. The great thing you have done is to turn this in to a great idea, and props to you for that ;)

  4. On April 23rd, 2007 at 14:08, franciscardo said:

    Cool concept!

  5. On April 24th, 2007 at 13:24, carmen said:

    photos of people holding their work bores me as well

  6. On April 24th, 2007 at 18:19, chris said:

    Now what separates your IDEA (key word here) from each photograph on the poster is that…well…you have an idea. if i got published in some uk zine every time i decided to hold up a poster with a cryptic phrase set in TNR I’d be just as famous as…whatever.
    i also think its interesting when dudes take this poster shots…because its really more about the stuff in the background or what kind of shoes they have.

  7. On April 29th, 2007 at 16:29, Billyobombastic! said:

    Now let your photo be the end of all this nonsense, stop holding yer fucking posters up to display work!

  8. On May 10th, 2007 at 02:09, Yawn said:

    How about a critique of the work itself?
    Whether a poster is hung on a wall or held in someone’s hands, as long as you can see it, who cares?

    Looks to me like a boring statement about a boring topic.

  9. On May 11th, 2007 at 11:42, Sam Ryder said:

    Cool. I dig it. But all the above conversation about “how to present a poster” is about as exciting to me as the latest celebrity news… who cares. A clever point is made with this particular photo/poster about the subject, but ultimately it’s not that important.

  10. On May 17th, 2007 at 19:01, Garus Booth said:

    Nice poster!
    I think the point originally was to show the scale of the poster in relation to the body. I agree with carmen (above) it has become about shoes not posters.

    PS linked to here from http://www.serifpublishing.com

  11. manystuff.org » about posters presentation pingback on January 17th, 2008 at 05:52
  12. On January 17th, 2008 at 07:13, steve said:

    I havent got a problem with people displaying their work in this way as long as it is done tastefully with the emphasis being on the work.

    But so many of them seem to have just succumbed to the aesthetic of this trend and in doing so have become a bunch of possey bastards!

  13. On January 17th, 2008 at 13:32, boring said:

    stop wasting paper and my oxygen and get a freaking life.

    • On January 21st, 2008 at 11:13, JK said:

      I find it convenient that you have not left a real website or e-mail address to reply to.

      As Garus Booth has pointed out, originally this technique was used to show the scale of a poster. I get that and it is very effective at doing so (though how important is the scale information?). But when something like this reaches a certain critical mass, we have a responsibility to react to and question that trend. Now, you may not like the results of my efforts, but saying that examining the trend is a worthless endeavor is an apt example of the sad state of flock mentality within young designers.

  14. On January 22nd, 2008 at 11:48, boring said:

    petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty petty wahhh is all i hear.

  15. On January 23rd, 2008 at 07:28, charlotte said:

    thank you, wish I made this
    I was saving up annoying posters with fingers to make all posters equally (empty) white, but I like your idea better!

  16. On May 11th, 2008 at 16:45, Random Boy said:

    Brilliant; not sure why some people are offended by this? It seems to me to comment on a current trend; which is well thought out and produced well.

    RB

  17. On May 28th, 2008 at 01:46, Ralph said:

    Cool, I like your project. I did similar projects like that in my art class. The inner posters looks like giant pictures of the parts of the background behind you (including you). I can see your tattoo on your left arm in the photo. Nice heart, but what is that behind it? Anyway, your project looks marvelous. Keep up the good work. (and so am I)

    • On June 2nd, 2008 at 13:41, JK said:

      Thanks for the compliments. Well, that goes for everyone, not just Ralph. But I digress… To answer your question regarding my tattoo: behind the heart are the initials of my lady rendered in my “ribbon type“.

  18. On July 21st, 2008 at 00:40, Ross Luebe said:

    Great poster! The first time I saw someone holding a poster like that it was a simple, straight forward Helvetica design and I felt like the person holding the work was there to remind me of the human element.

    Did you omit people holding landscape oriented designs because it would disrupt the layout of this critique?

    • On August 2nd, 2008 at 14:29, JK said:

      If I remember correctly, I don’t think I actually collected any landscape oriented images. They all seemed to be portrait, as most posters are.

This is an archived page. Comments are sealed. I can't take the criticism.

2007 Apr 19 @ 03:49
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2010 Jan 02 @ 16:24