Creating Custom Authentic Brand Imagery (Part 2 of 4)

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After you get your plan in place (from Part 1), now you’ve got to create situations where the authenticity can shine. Some clients want to hire models to bring their message across. Others want to use their in-house employees in order to really convey the truth of what is behind the company. Both are great options, completely depending on both the brand’s physical space and their employee comfort levels in front of the camera.

Assuming the client wants to use their own employees - how do you do figure out who to put with whom in each shot? You become an observation detective. You arrive to the office space as a fly-on-the-wall and observe what unfolds in front of you before you even touch the camera. Look for the natural connections…who looks like they already work together? Who looks like they can have a natural conversation with a co-worker and who looks like they work best independently? All are equally important and needed for a well-rounded library of images, so my job is to make it as easy as possible for the subjects in front of the camera to shine naturally.

Here are some of the must-get images I include on a shot list when creating brand imagery for a company using their own employees:

  • Co-working: teams of 2 sitting side-by-side, teams of 2 with one standing + one sitting

  • Solo working: Focusing on one person working, but with others in the background

  • Team meeting: 3-4 people in a space having a discussion (use laptops, notebooks, whiteboard, etc)

  • Brainstorming: 3-4 people in a conference room using post-it notes and/or drawings on a whiteboard

  • Office space: Using a slow shutter speed (and a tripod!), show the office space in focus while having various people walk through the frame to convey the activity in the office environment

I try to create a connection with each subject / employee as quick as possible so their self-conscious shield can disappear and we can get real images that feel authentic not only to the end user (advertising, website viewer), but that feel authentic to the company themselves. I want them to look at the images and think, “YES! That is exactly what it’s like to work here!” When a client has that experience - I know we have hit a homerun.

This is part two of a four-part series on how to create authentic brand imagery for your company. Read part one here.

Brooke BryandBranding, DIYComment