This is a left brain approach to coming up with ideas for a photo shoot. I find it kind of fitting for figuring out business use images. You have to look at things in a very analytical objective process type of way, put on that big blue corporate t-shirt you got from the team building exercise, step into your virtual cubicle and think, think, think.
The first step is to conjure up of a couple of different kinds of companies, types that you believe will be receiving government funding important in the coming year. Picking 4 quickly gives me financial, automotive, health care, and a consumer electronics company .
Next is to come up with a situations where a selected company type would have a need for stock photographs. Lets look at a financial company (lets go with a bank) they are going to need some stock photos for a company brochure to give to individuals who want to open a personal account (Checking, Savings, Credit Card) with them, a business account brochure, quarterly/yearly report to give to external investors and a separate one of internal employees.
So now we have a bank who need to create a new bright, fresh, and enticing brochure for personal accounts. They need photographs that will help them show the diversity of services they offer and to explain why the customer should choose their bank. Start by listing some of the typical services a bank would offer. It is here at this lower level that the shot list really starts to present itself. With each bullet item below giving us the primary subject matter a related photos.
- Checking
- Filling out the information on a check.
- Beauty shots of a checkbook
- Balancing the ledger/budget with a checkbook
- Individual offering payment for goods with a check
- Savings
- Coin being inserted into slot of ceramic piggy bank.
- Paper monies sticking out of piggy bank slot.
- Classic metal safe with spin dial and lever lock.
- Paper monies sticking out from safe.
- Online Banking / Bill paying
- Credit / Debit Cards
- Retirement accounts
- Home Loans
- Car Loans
And some ideas of why a customer would use a specific bank
- helpful and friendly employees
- Feeling your money is safe
- Have the features you need (ATM/Drive Thru)
I think you get this idea for laying out a specific photo for each category, if you average out the 4 photos from the 10 categories we end up with 40 photos. Doing 40 photos for 4 different situations of our bank company gives us 160 photos. If we do that for each of our 4 imaginary companies we end up 640 photos. The 4 images for each topic is pretty skimpy for specific photos of a target subject mind you but that makes it an achievable goal.
After writing down all our specific photos (you have been copying this down haven’t you? You know on that big corporate dry erase board.) we can break them out into locations, styles, and what is needed.
- Inside
- studio
- location / built set
- Outside
After we get these grouped together we will have our planned shoots the Who, What, Where, only thing missing is the WHEN which should be right after you fill out that TPS report coversheet.
