Why Start-ups Should Use Original Images for Content and Tips on How to Plan for a Shoot

You're fresh on the scene and need to STAND OUT in the sea of start-ups. 
HINT: You never will stand out using stock photography or stock design.  It will look like errrrrone else.  It also could cost wads of $$$ by failing to show unique personality or how you're different in the market.  Consumers see a lot of images and therefore striking, original and personal visuals will catch their eyes, trust and loyalty way before boring reused stock photography.  Plan ahead by prioritizing the first impression you're audience will receive of your new biz.  However, before you start calling up your nearest photog, here are 3 tips to equip you for a successful search and shoot.
(I know the launch list is already LONGGGG but you'll thank me on Oprah someday)

1.

Before approaching a photographer for quotes OR make a budget, you need to know HOW and WHERE to use those beauuuuuuutiful images. 

Photographers, ME, light a subject, give direction to models, and edit.  Typically. (I could help you with a list of images you need, but that's marketing and an extra cost.) Before you find a photog (Battle Cry cough), you or your small team will want to develop a marketing, social or branding plan FIRST to know what kind of images will make the MOST impact on your clients or customers. Essentially you know you need images but where and how many?  Here is a basic starter list:

1. Website Images: the first impression a customer experiences on your site.  These could be product, office shots of culture, or branding shots to show who you are.
   
2. Head Shots: what if Forbes and Wired magazine wants to run a piece on your company next week?  Founders, staff, even office pooches bring you closer and more connected to your audience.
   
3. Marketing Content: that glorious thing call SOCIAL MEDIA needs a constant flow of images to show your audience you're alive and killin it.  Emails, blog posts, even pitch decks are more impressionable with images.
   

Suddenly you have a list of needs.  4 head shots, 2 web sliders, 10 glossy product shots, the need for 25 days worth of informal but engaging Instagram posts, and 3 recruitment tool images.  Time for a photog!

2.

Before YOU DECIDE WHAT A PHOTO BUDGET IS on your own, reach out to creative agencies, google, your network, craigslist (jk) and gather a few quotes . 

Forty percent of the time I'll get a similar email or plea.  "We need images.  Here is our budget.  Can you make miracles happen?"  INSERT SURPRISED FACE HERE.  Do your homework before determining a budget. Call around to collect quotes before dedicating less or more than necessary.  AND HINT:  You get what you pay for. Your friend's cousin's classmate fresh out of college with a camera will likely not deliver images of a level YOU NEED to make a professional impression on your audience.  Choose quality over quantity if you must save $$ but always quality.

3.

And last but not least.  It takes a village to make those pretty images come to life. 

If you're going to invest in grand visuals know that one photographer alone isn't responsible for the outcome but a whole team of talented peeps. So here are some other parts of a shoot to consider:

• a production person to keep the shoot organized - they bring it all together
• a digital tech - the person who organizes the images as they come through or the capture station
  
• a wardrobe stylist - unless your subjects are naked or products style themselves on a background, a stylist will make things move faster and look ten times better
• assistants - will make the shoot run more efficiently, aka likely to get more bang for those $$
• hair and make-up - you'll see the difference 100 percent

YOU GOT THIS. Even if you're floating on stock now it's never too late to plan a new visual strategy, seek out a professional, budget and then execute on what could completely change the way audiences engage with your start-up.  Obviously Battle Cry is in the photography and video business and we are looking for new customers to join the ranks of our current geniuses.  However we also make recommendations to other professionals that better suit some projects.  AND we know a slew of other creative professionals who could help fill in other gaps such as design, branding or marketing.  Reach out and talk to us!!

email Summer directly

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