Planning a commercial photoshoot
No matter what business you’re in, marketing your products or services is a must in order to become and to remain competitive. Businesses starting out might get by doing it all themselves, but sooner or later, a growing business will start to see diminishing returns. If a business owner spends a day to do a task outside his or her core business and outside his or her expertise, then that’s a day that the business owner hasn’t spent acquiring revenue. Consider the income lost, then compare that a specialist in that field could have done a better job in a fraction of the time and for considerably less than the revenue lost via the DIY approach. It’s a simple equation, once a business has grown to a certain point, investing money in outside expertise not only guarantees a far better result but is more cost effective too.
For these reasons, Big Brands, Marketing managers and those working in PR will attest that it’s rarely cost effective to implement large scale photography tasks in house and to achieve maximum efficiency and therefore maximum ROI from a photoshoot, the best way to implement a large scale photoshoot is to engage an experienced commercial photographer.
The first steps of a commercial photoshoot
Once you’ve made the decision to engage an expert commercial photographer to step your brand marketing up to the next level, the first thing you’ll need to do is to contact such a photographer to discuss the job and get a quote. Pay careful attention to photographers you’re approaching, you’ll potentially be putting your brand in their hands, so it’s essential you check out their experience and past work to make sure you like their past work and that they’re likely to be able to implement your vision effectively.
Once you’re discussing the shoot itself, don’t be afraid to ask questions and to have questions asked too. Your photographer will be interested in your brand, your company mission and of course, how this will need to tue in with the photography work. A good commercial photographer will understand that the photography job is part of a larger marketing campaign and will need to be in synch with it.
What might be discussed during the planning stages
When you’re planning a photoshoot, timing, cost and logistics are often a large factor. If you have a deadline to meet, this should be first and foremost in your mind. This, as well as budget can dictate what can and can’t be done. If time and budget are no object, then the options are practically limitless, but for everyone else, there’s a balance between the two.
Thinking about the logistics themselves, consider whether you need to shoot on location or at our studio? How will the products be transported to be photographed? Will you need models (and if so, you’ll need to consider hair, make-up and wardrobe)? Will you need sets constructed? These are some of the factors of a photoshoot which will need consideration and planning and something we can offer advice on should it be needed. If needs be, we can project manage the whole shoot from start to finish, leaving you to get on with doing what you do best, while we use our expertise to make planning your photoshoot a breeze.
To discuss the planning stages of your next commercial photoshoot, get in touch with Ikon Photography and experience for yourself the difference an expert can make to your brand’s next marketing campaign.
Coming up in part 2 of Marketing your brand – The Commercial Photoshoot, we discuss the implementation of the planning and what work goes on leading up to your commercial photoshoot.
