We live in an image driven world.
Whether for print, website or social media, the quality and consistency of imagery is a cornerstone to the successful marketing of the goods, products or services that a business provides.
When St Austell Printing Company first contacted me to discuss arranging a shoot for their products, our conversations initially revolved around the photographic brief.
A brief is absolutely essential to ensuring that the imagery produced fits the purposes it is needed for.
How do you want to use the images? Images shot for the relaunch of a website will differ from images shot for a media print campaign.
Stylistically, how does the client want the imagery to feel – is it aimed at a specific demographic or market? Are there any in house or corporate marketing guidelines that need to be adhered to?
I worked with the SAPC team to develop the draft brief into the final brief. It is not uncommon for this to happen. Often a business will have conceptual ideas about what they are after: by working with them to develop those ideas, the photographer can get a clear understanding on the vision for the shoot and what the client is after. And the client is assured of what they are going to get from the shoot.
For SAPC the brief carried a clear message – to showcase the wide range of high quality print products and design services the company provides.
The decision to use single strong background colours was in order to provide a powerful, but neutral, background in order to make the subjects really pop out of the images.
If the right sort of space is available, working on company premises can provide a really good opportunity for both the photographer and client to work together, with real time feedback on the imagery being produced.
The facilities at SAPC provided an ideal location for the photoshoot.
Although the focus for me is often on a successful day’s shoot and the production of the images after, it is always a fantastic feeling when I see my work finally promoting and successfully marketing a business.
Toby Lowe: www.tobylowephotography.co.uk
