Grab a moment when you see it
While it’s essential you have a plan going into any photo session…
…leave room for improvisation when the moment presents itself.
Before every single photo session, whether it’s in person or on a screen, there is a lengthy strategy session beforehand.
During the call, we’re identifying key image assets that the client needs to capture for their short and long-term marketing goals.
It also helps identify what they’re going to wear, where we’re going to shoot, what they’re doing in front of the camera and the types of expressions and body language we need from them in front of the camera.
Long story short, there’s no winging it :)
But an additional benefit that comes from creating a tight shot sheet prior to the session is the opportunity to work off-script by finding time to capture something on-the-fly the moment it presents itself.
While these improvised photos aren’t a top priority, they can, and often do, lead to some compelling visual assets that have flexibility in terms of how they can be used within their online presence.
And this is what happened during a recent branded lifestyle portrait session.
While working with innovation consultant, Neil, on creating an image content portfolio that he can use to help promote his business, enhance his personal brand, and land more speaking opportunities.
During the first round of photos, standard headshots, we stood in a hallway outside a small conference room. Behind me was a table and 2 chairs. The table had a chessboard full of pieces sitting atop.
While in between shots, Neil commented that it might be cool to incorporate the chessboard in some way into the photos.
At first, I thought it would be a waste of time to work with it. I mean, does chess have anything to do with innovation technology.
Nah…
Hmmm…
Wait a second…
After marinating on the thought for 12 seconds, I realized that the chessboard and pieces actually can work.
As a literal reference to his expertise on innovation? Nope.
What about a metaphorical reference? Yeah, absolutely!
The massive amount of strategy involved in playing a high-level game of chess is comparable to the work that Neil does with his clients.
Before we explored the opportunity, I checked my shot sheet and the clock. Since we were ahead of schedule, and I knew we had plenty of time to capture the rest of scheduled photos, we spent 3 minutes playing in that space.
Since there was no one else to play him, I decided that using it merely as a visual backdrop would suffice:
Turns out that I’m glad he was solo as the photos of him thinking to himself near the board are powerful visuals that illustrate the amount of critical thinking that imparting his expertise involves.
While these images were a deviation from the planned photos, they do contribute to the overall visual variety of the portfolio created during his session.
Based on the composition and sentiment captured in each image, he has a chance to leverage these in a wide variety of places:
Website banner
Online content
Presentation slide
Other digital and printed marketing materials
During your next portrait session, make sure to have a well-made plan in place before the photographer takes the camera out of the bag…
…but, be sure to leave a little room for improvisation.
The space, place and moments that occur during that session could lead to a happy accident that will benefit your visual storytelling strategy.
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