Shooting a few extra images can open opportunities for selling images containing brands. This advice applies equally to candid images as event.
Amazingly, only a very few photographers are taking such images. Here are some tips on the sort of extra images worth taking to build brand image sales:
Close-ups on items and logos – Brand image sets are always enhanced with close-ups of each item. This includes handbags, sunglasses, shoes, jewellery and the logos on display. You can also focus on non-fashion items such as mobile phones, headphones, baby bottles and more. There are many more sales opportunities than just fashion.
Getting close-ups also makes it much easier to identify the brands, which is a big part of being able to make sales.
Long shots and GVs – Conversely, it’s just as important to back off, to pick up the brands from a wider angle. The most obvious target is to show what car/vehicle the star is driving/arrived in. It has long been the practice to do a mailbox crop so that only the windscreen is visible, with the celebrities inside. That misses the opportunity to make a brand sale to a car manufacturer’s PR firm. If you couple the wide shots showing the whole car (preferably from a flattering angle including the celeb) with a badge shot, you have the perfect set for brand sales. You can apply the same principle to pictures of stars engaging in activities such as riding bicycles or showboarding.
There are also sales opportunities with images showing where a star has been, whether that’s a restaurant, coffee shop, gymnasium or hotel. It takes only a few seconds to get a shot of the sign over the door and a GV of the building.
Locations can also help, especially when stars are on overseas tours. So pictures of the country’s flag, or iconic motifs from the city or place can also be helpful, particularly if the celebrity is in the frame. This is also helpful for ordinary editorial sales.
To find out more about brand keywording, click here.