IMPROVING AND EXPANDING
THE ROLE OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN
NORD ANGLIA EDUCATION
IMPROVING AND EXPANDING
THE ROLE OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN
NORD ANGLIA EDUCATION
By Paul Pacey
March 2019
PAUL PACEY
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graduated in Business Management having specialized in Entrepreneurial Studies and Marketing
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is equal parts photographer, entrepreneur, educator, artist, and father
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taught English as a foreign language for 4 years while living in Mexico
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has lived in Toronto, Paris, Oaxaca, Amsterdam, Cadiz, and Prague
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has taught several workshops...
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has 20+ years experience as a self-taught photographer having specialized in documentary, fashion, fine art, and portraiture
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has spent the last 8+ years working almost exclusively with international schools
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has currently shot over xxx NAE campaigns (and counting...) dating back to 2011
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has demonstrated a consistent standard of excellence and feedback from the schools I work with
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truly loves his work and is grateful for the opportunities it continues to provide
On a personal note, I would like to personally thank Laura Westley for the many years of cooperation and support, as well as NAE family at large. It's no secret that between the technical problem-solving, creative challenges and personal interactions my work provides, it's difficult to express the gratitude I feel for the cooperation I have enjoyed with NAE dating back now to 2011.
It would be fair to say that
All this said, as much as I love my work, in many ways it feels like my current role does not fully allow me to contribute the full potential of the skills I have to offer.
Having spent countless air hours hours contemplating the ways in which I could contribute to NAE I have identified 4 specific areas in which I am able to either improve upon the current practices, or introduce new areas in which photography as a whole can be given a more prominent place at the NAE table.
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Combining my 8+ years photographic experience working with NAE along with my backgrounds in education and marketing, I have identified 2 specific problems and 3 new areas of focus I would like to develop over what could be a 5-year timeline. Specifically they are:
1. Establish a 2 year rotational photography schedule and get imagery on all school websites up to the highest possible standard. Should the opportunity further permit, I would also like to take on a more collaborative role in developing future NAE marketing campaigns.
2. Develop a training program specifically designed to give staff the technical problem solving and creative skills needed to dramatically improve the quality of their in-house photography.
3. Develop a student-focused photography curriculum art teachers can incorporate with particular emphasis on exploring one's individual “voice” through experimentation and collaboration.
4. Develop a travelling STEAM-based photography workshop designed to demonstrate how science, art, and technology intersect while providing non-traditional sources of inspiration.
THE PROBLEM:
Within the context of our current cooperation, I believe there are 2 fundamental obstacles preventing NAE from achieving and maintaining a higher standard of excellence as it relates to its branding objectives:
1. The current 3-year rotation cycle is simply too long
Given the yield from a typical 2-day photo shoot, and the life cycle of an image as it pertains to a school's needs, there is eventual gap within the current 3-year rotation in which a school's image bank will inevitably run dry. To fill in those gaps, some schools do in fact have access to competent local photographers; others, however, seemingly do not. This disparity negates the whole point of standardizing NAE's photography in the first place.
2. Poor and/or inconsistent application of photos
Through our cooperation, schools are strategically provided a consistent quality of photography to satisfy NAE's global branding mandate. However, a group-wide assessment of each school's website clearly demonstrates that many of the individuals who are curating the provided images are often either technically under-qualified or over-tasked with making the informed decisions to fully benefit from the photography provided to them.
SOLUTION:
To overcome these obstacles so as to assist NAE achieve its global branding objectives, I propose 2 solutions in which I am willing and qualified to expand my contribution and responsibility:
1. Establish a 2-year rotational photography cycle
By shortening the duration between cycles, we can ensure that schools have enough quality images to confidently update their respective websites once a year without having to either over-extend its life cycle, or compromise their promotional assets by using potentially sub-quality or inconsistent imagery.
2. Centralize editorial authority
Simply stated, NAE can only reap the benefits of standardized photography if the selection and application of that photography is also standardized. Conventional wisdom dictates that this curation process should fall to someone with a proven photographic background who also understands the brand values NAE represents: two qualities I trust I have consistently demonstrated over the last 8+ years working together.
Proposed curation to include:
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2-year supply of home page banners – retouched, resized and web optimized
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diverse selection of support images – resized and web optimized
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2 Principal portraits – 1x vertical, 1x horizontal; including retouched high rez files
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Selection of top-rated images pre-selected for print and global campaigns
COST:
BUDGET: 20 schools/year (3 - YEAR ROTATION)
Travel expense (air & rail)
Photography fee (950/day)
Post-production fee (450/school)
Curation (450/school)
Incidental expenses (meals, visas, insurance, laundry, roaming....)
TOTAL BUDGET
BUDGET: 25 schools/year (2.5 -YEAR ROTATION)
Travel expense (air & rail)
Photography fee (950/day)
Post-production fee (450/school)
Curation (450/school)
Incidental expenses (meals, visas, insurance, laundry, roaming....)
TOTAL BUDGET
BUDGET: 30 schools/year (2-YEAR ROTATION)
Travel expense (air & rail)
Photography fee (950/day)
Post-production fee (450/school)
Curation (450/school)
Incidental expenses (meals, visas, insurance, laundry, roaming....)
TOTAL BUDGET
USD
13 000
38 000
9 500
9 500
3 000
73 000
16 250
47 500
11 250
11 250
3 750
90 000
19 500
57 000
13 500
13 500
4 500
108 000