To my eye there’s nothing that sticks out more than stock photography used in brochure and publicity work. Members of staff and associates are the best and most genuine expression of the organisation and therefore are the people best equipped to represent that organisation (I think).
So why not capture these people en-masse and engaged?
Recently I have had the pleasure of photographing a couple of events for SW AHSN and each event brought different photography opportunities, the sessions have provided hundreds of images that can be used as:
-
Photography for brochures
-
Photography for displays and banners
-
Photography for social media
-
Photography for websites
-
Photography that is cost effective when compared to stock imagery
For the most part people look quite serious when engaged and listening to speakers. To a point this can result in useful images but the feel can be ‘lightened’ by lively interaction that often happens in workshop based sessions.
The use of the natural ambient lighting is a must if the photographer is not to become a distraction and this brings with it photographic challenges. Often the host venues may have prevailing brand look that needs to be ignored in favour of the organisation’s own brand.
As part of the record often shots that don’t feature people’s faces can have a long term value for ongoing use in websites and brochures, such images may merely allude to the event or interaction without explicitly describing it, the value of such images is that viewers are able to use their own imagination to complete the story.
The bottom line is that this photography can prove cost effective when compared to purchasing stock imagery. The unseen cost of stock is that invariably staff or marketing departments spend valuable time researching stock libraries and a problem is that if various team members do this their selections my not present a cohesive brand experience.
