“A picture can tell a thousand words.” or so the saying goes.
(Do we still have your attention?)
Your imagery is part of your brand, along with your logo, colour palette, written word and font selection. But more importantly, it can be what distinguishes you from your competitors, and gives your brand its unique visual presence.
So how do you get it right? It’s all in the preparation. Before you even speak to a photographer or videographer, be clear on your brand values and the message you want to convey to your customers.
Style:
When a customer or prospective customer has multiple touch-points with your brand, consistent use of image style will help to create a professional brand representation - both online and offline.
Is your brand contemporary or classic? Edgy or conservative? Consider the style of imagery that you’re going for, and how it aligns with your brand. This will help the photographer to determine angles, lenses and overall photographic style for your photo shoot, and any following shoots.
Images:
Being clear in advance on what images you’ll actually need will not only help with budgeting, but also the setup (such as places, products, props and people). Reference your full suite of brand communication tools - ranging from brochures to advertising, to websites and social media - along with your editorial and publication calendar, and determine the most important images that you’ll need to collect for your brand. Consider the customer’s experience and the message you want to convey to them, such as in-situ use of products, and staff interactions with (happy) customers.
Your story:
Storytelling is fast becoming the way of building customer relationships with your brand. Authentic relationships. Because your story is unique, and your business imagery needs to be reflective of your story. Storytelling in photography is about injecting some authentic personality into your imagery, and bringing your customers along a journey with you.
So, what story do you want to tell? Is it the story of why your brand started, or the people who started it, or the individuals you’ve served along the way?
Your photographer will consider image variety to convey your story to ensure that your audience is kept captivated - for example, portraits, landscapes, abstract images, wide-angle shots, action shots, zoomed-in details and so on.
Usage:
If you’re going to the effort of engaging a photographer, be clear from the onset the full breadth of the images that you’ll need, and how they’ll be used. Are they going on billboards or retail signage? Websites and brochures or social media? Advertising or editorial?
Each of these communication methods require a different and specific file format or composition. Do it right the first time, and you won’t need to re-shoot.
Competition:
Your brand and your personality is unique, and being authentic to your brand and honest with your customers will help your customers to clearly understand whether you’re a good fit for them, or not. Before you engage with a professional photographer, consider doing a competitor audit, to make sure that your imagery is clearly differentiated, and in line with your unique selling proposition.
Briefing the photographer:
We suggest working with a designer who specialises in visual brand communication to give you look and feel suggestions that align with your total visual and brand identity. Your brand team will have a clear vision for how the images will be used, and have a clear understanding of the formats you’ll require to create the consistency of message that you’re looking for.
Use a professional:
You may carry a smartphone in your pocket, and consider yourself to be the next Annie Liebovitz, but the reality is, photography is a craft, an artform. A good photographer will work with your brand team to deliver the most professional images with the minimum requirement for post-shoot editing (which could save you a lot of time and money). So find a professional who gels with your brand and can deliver on time and on budget.
How DMC Group can help you with your photographic needs
Show the true nature of your brand with imagery that represents your people and its culture. Professional photography and videography is an opportunity to enhance the messaging of your communication materials, and showcase your product and service offerings, your culture and your team. DMC Group can facilitate photography and videography services to showcase your brand across a multitude of digital and print mediums, and to compliment your brand message.
