Powerful photography: the absolute essentials

Powerful photography: the absolute essentials

Now I am no photographer. But when it comes to graphic design I know my stuff. And I know which images work and which don’t. I’ve lost count of the number of times a client has sent over the much anticipated images (fully briefed and confident that the friend of the family that has promised to take the photos is up to the job…) and we have realised that we need to do some swift disaster recovery.

Sometimes poor images can be rescued with a bit of Photoshop work. But do bear in mind that this is far from ideal, usually takes time that you’ll need to pay for, and should only ever be used as a last resort. Sometimes said family friend will reshoot with a bit more expert guidance from the off. Sometimes the client accepts the need to invest in decent photography (Hallelujah!). Sometimes we resort to stock photos.

It pays to just get it right in the first place. But what does that mean? What are we looking for when we talk about powerful photography?

Powerful photography is aspirational. It creates a mood, tugs at the heartstrings and increases desire. They say a picture paints a thousand words — photography gives you that power.

Powerful photography is well lit. You can cheat at this (I’ve recently learnt) with Curves in Photoshop. But nothing can make up for bad light, shadows in the wrong places and a dull pallor. The pros know how to look out for all of this stuff. It comes naturally to them. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Leave it to them!

Powerful photography has the right thing at the centre of the focus. You need to look at the image and know what it’s about: know what it’s trying to show you. Take a look at your images: do they communicate clearly?

Powerful photography is well styled. It goes back to the aspirational thing. Styling helps tell a story, create a mood and sell a lifestyle.

Powerful photography works with the design. We have a handful of photographers that we love to work with because they listen to our brief, bother to understand how we want to use the images and take into account where we might want to place copy and how we might crop down the images.

We will always offer to brief a photographer if a client is taking care of their own images. We don’t do it for free, but it’s a darned site cheaper than Art Direction – or the downside of having to reshoot!

What else do you think makes for powerful photography? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Fiona Humberstone is an expert contributor to Marketing Donut and managing director of Flourish.

Read more in our guide to graphic design.

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