I have recently started following Getty Images across social media platforms and find the content they are posting very interesting. Their recent article "Harnessing the Power of Images to Market Your Brand" by Rebecca Swift points out that articles with images get 94% more total views which means that "it is essential for brands to populate websites and social channels with images that represent the core values of a brand in order to engage and inspire the target audience".

Businesses should keep in mind that "every image displayed through its channels will send a message to its audience, and ultimately influence their decision to engage with the brand".  Therefore brands need to carefully consider the imagery they select to represent their identity across all channels. While some stock photography will work it's important to combine that with photography that is more personal to your brand by hiring a photographer and setting up a photo shoot.

A commercial photo shoot is a collaboration between the brand managers and the photographer to first identify what purpose the photographs will serve. Today companies need images for all print marketing materials in addition to the wide variety of web applications including posts on all social media channels, blog posts and to promote special events. Furthermore, according to Swift a “great way to add value to your website can be to change or update the feature images and graphics throughout the site, as this can instantly make it look refreshed and revived. By updating these images every few weeks, interest in the site can grow and visitors will return to explore other areas of the website that they may have previously missed”.

The next step when conceptualizing a photo shoot is to formulate a concept that will tell the brand story in an engaging way. How do we do this? Key words are a great place to start and will help develop the story you're trying to tell.

For Soothing Scents, Inc., a brand I recently worked with, their words were relaxing, energizing, focused, wellness, health and relief. We then thought about practical application. When will the consumer be using this product and how can we depict that in a clear and engaging way. (You can view the Soothing Scents, Inc. imagery here to see the results of the planning for this campaign.) Next the types of shots, photography style, location and wardrobe are discussed. Other important aspects to consider are a models appearance and age, hair and makeup. It's often helpful to create mood boards so the planning team has visual aids so everyone involved is clear about the creative directive.

I then work to coordinate all aspects of the photo shoot from confirming location, time of day, hiring models, makeup artist and hair stylist, procuring wardrobe or hiring a stylist and sourcing props if necessary. A shot list will be requested from the client so I know which images must be captured which will give us a timeline for the photo shoot.

The day of the photo shoot I review the flow of the shoot just to reconfirm the timeline. While working I show the client images to ensure we're on the right track and I am delivering the kind of imagery they are looking for. I encourage the client to contribute to the process as I believe it's a collaborative effort. Last but not least, everyone is encouraged to have fun!

After the photo shoot I import and cull the images, narrowing down the assortment of images so the client isn't overwhelmed with choice. I then edit the final selections and meet with the client to show them the final images. We discuss their impression and ensure that the creative goals were met. At this point a brand will have images to use in print, packaging if necessary, in social media posts, articles, blog posts and imagery to keep their website current.

If you would like to discuss your brand and how we can visually communicate your brand story in an exciting, dynamic way that engages your audience, email me, Kristin, a South Florida commercial photographer with KP Studio, at kristin@kristinpotenti.com.