Shoot Now. Use later.
Not sure how to use all of the photos created during your portrait session?
It’s cool to keep them on the backburner for now.
During the pre-session strategy call before a branded lifestyle portrait session, a ton of ideas will pour out during the conversation.
I write them all down, list them on the shot sheet, and we make sure to capture those photos during the session.
These photos help create a diverse and versatile image content portfolio that includes their portraits, lifestyle shots, as well as other image content that doesn’t require them to be in the photos.
For some clients, when they initially look at the photos that don’t involve them, they’re not sure how they plan to leverage them, at first.
But, inevitably over time, these images become important visual assets for specific marketing projects.
For example, I was chatting with a client the other day and he brought up some of the photos we captured during his session.
He is a podcast host, so part of his session was dedicated to photographing behind-the-scenes images of him conducting a podcast, from setting up his computer and equipment to record to talking to a guest.
At the end of this portion of his session, I decided to randomly snap a couple photos of the microphone on the boom arm just to give him some extra photos.
While there, he wasn’t too sure why I was photographing the microphone by itself, but he allowed me to keep shooting.
Those photos sat untouched in his portfolio for over a year.
Fast-forward to this past month.
He decided to update the visual assets to promote his podcast, complete with a logo redesign and branding elements to go on social posts to announce his latest episodes.
As he worked with the designer to update these assets, she created a podcast logo that included a microphone.
As soon as he saw the updated logo, he remembered the photos of the microphone, and offered them to the designer to incorporate into the redesign effort.
As he said to me on the phone, “Now I understand why you took time to shoot the mic! Those photos really came in handy!”
I share this story because it’s an important point to keep in mind during your next branded lifestyle portrait session.
You may receive some photos back from your photographer where you’re not sure how to use them, and that’s okay.
Keep them in a safe place, organized, and over time, new marketing and promotional projects will pop up on your horizon. As those projects surface, the photos that have previously gone unused will have a chance to be put into play.
You never know when you’re going to need them, but it’s best to have them on standby, ready to go!
PS - If you’re coming across one of my articles for the first time, welcome! If you’re interested in learning more about branded lifestyle portraits or other image content needed to create a compelling visual story, I invite you to sign up for my newsletter. It’ll save you the commute to my website :)