I thought I’d write a bit about photography and how it can be used to help your business and brand. I’ve been writing a fair bit about why video is a must for many businesses, but I have not really gone too much into photographs, and I do that too.
Photographs do not need to be just pretty images, they capture an emotion, a moment in a company’s journey or people and teams. These will all become parts of a company’s narrative, then historical archive and can be used for so many purposes.
Of course, these days we have lots of places where we can get stock photos for straight forward illustrative purposes, and they have a place. They are often a bit glossy and contrived, and, at the end of the day are not your company, it’s people or its brand.
When is photography more useful than video?
Photography can hold an advantage over video when you need something with immediate impact, platform versatility (including print media), and longevity. A single well taken photograph can communicate a narrative in an instant; there is no massive time commitment and no play button. For illustrating social media feeds, for brochures and posters and for banners or hero images good photography is a must.
Also, from a practical point of view a person with a single camera documenting an event, or fast passed conference is a lot less intrusive that the gear needed to shoot quality video. It required much less organising, people participation and takes less time to post produce and by that fact is cheaper for the company hiring.
Photography excels at freezing authentic moments of emotion and connection—that split second of genuine laughter, a handshake that seals a partnership, or the concentration on someone’s face during a workshop. These decisive moments often carry more emotional weight than longer video clips and become the iconic images that define a company’s visual identity.
The human element:
Photography captures the people behind the brand. Showing candid shots of people working in the business can build trust and a sense or reliability.
Event documentary:
A great place to capture with photography. It is not just about what’s happening at the event, but also about why the event is happening. It’s often a company milestone, an important visit or a big achievement. A great chance to capture the energy, the connections and moments that show the company’ culture.
Set-up photography:
I’m not referring to portrait, product or group shots here, but the type of image that captures a scene that may not happen organically very often. While arguably less authentic it does allow the photographer to control the mise-en-scene, and it lends itself to illustrating very specific briefs. The set up of this could take the form of directing people already within a space to set up a scene to starting from scratch and in building the scene from the ground up. I personally would always prefer to use company staff over models to try to be as authentic to the brand as possible.
These images are particularly effective for creating visual libraries that maintain consistent quality and style across all brand touchpoints, from websites to annual reports.
When done well, they should appear spontaneous and natural while delivering the right message, creating believable moments that invite your audience into the company and its culture and brand.
Both candid event photography and thoughtfully composed set-up shots form complementary approaches to building a company’s brand narrative.
More information on my photography services and how they may support your business is available here.