Commercial photography has changed over the years, where customers used to respond to expositional content, they now want to see brands communicate their core beliefs, ideals and company ethos into their content. This desire from the customer expands across all content, including product, service and advertisement areas. The customer no longer wants for the hard sell, but instead, the transparency of a business.
In the same way that great lifestyle photographs can present your business in a relatable and appealing way, bad photographs can create a brand for your business that is undesirable and false. That is why it is so important to carefully consider the visual content that your business puts out and why seeking out a professional photographer over doing it in house is so worth it! Often times putting out ‘bad’ photographs can do more damage than having none. This statement alone speaks to the impact of visual media and the validation and certification it can bring to a company, especially businesses that are selling a service or a product.
It is helpful for your business that your customer sees you in a relatable way. It humanises your employees and services which helps to bridge the gap between the business and the customer. Usually, customers reach out to businesses that are customer centric. By this, we mean businesses that accommodate their customer at every turn. This can be a hard value to promote, but it is certainly much more achievable when you have lifestyle photographs that promote your business in an authentic, relatable and approachable manor.
Lifestyle photography works great for businesses in the service sector because it situates your business in real life. This helps the customer to see how you and your service will fit their needs. It also steps away from stock style imagery and the viewer is able to see what is unique about your particular business. When you step away from stock style imagery you are also allowing your photographer to get more creative with how they capture and present your business. This style of shooting is what will start to develop your company branding and will ultimately control how your customers see your business.
Commercial lifestyle photography is about capturing your businesses in the most authentic way. It is a planned shoot in that you want to capture imagery of the services that your business offers, but it is important to note that lifestyle photography has more emphasis on capturing the plan unfold than it does on staging events. The photographer will offer insight and gentle guidance and direction, but it will not be a posed and staged style shoot. This again is all in the name of capturing the true essence of your business and promoting authenticity and approachability in your content. This method is what allows for your businesses brand to shine through in the images. If your businesses thing is that you are down to earth and friendly, it WILL come through in the images because the photographer is not interfering in the way that the events unfold, they are just there to will the events to happen. One way to think about this is that commercial photography looks on life as if it is static whereas lifestyle photography accepts life as being dynamic.
Not only can lifestyle photographs give a ‘face’ to your business and pull it away from corporate style stock imagery, but it can be a great way to convey narrative too. You can create a story with a sequence of lifestyle photographs. You and your photographer are able to get creative with how to utilise the story telling aspect and sequencing. One example might be that you can use a set of four images to show the four parts of your businesses process, allowing the customer an insight in to how you complete the work in an engaging and visual way. Photographers have great artistic eyes and will spot ways to include important details in a seamless way throughout your shoot.
In lifestyle photography the photographer is able to focus on all of the elements of your business or service at the same time and pull them together in a way that is engaging for your customer base.
This helps to construct a brand identity and tells your businesses story. It’s a great way to provide imagery for your customers because it helps them to understand all of the elements of your business but no part of it is manufactured. This helps to build trust with your customers by establishing your businesses identity and promoting authenticity from the get-go! That was a short overview of why lifestyle photography can be a game changer for commercial businesses and how it helps give a face to your company!
"In a world full of game players, the only way to set yourself apart is to be a game changer." - Matshona Dhliwayo
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