Back To Basics: 3 Things You Should Know Before Running A Photo or Video Production

This three-step guide brings photo and video productions back to basics as we share expertise on running a creative production for the first time or streamlining your current production strategy

Last year we ran over 300 custom photo or video productions and so we have picked up a few tricks on ensuring that our custom photoshoots run smoothly from idea to completion. Today we outline why your brand should be planning for a creative production and how to do it in just three simple steps.

How Custom Productions Can Meet Your Creative Needs

We recently heard from our photo editor and visual expert Loren Lazic that brands can’t afford to ‘play it safe.’ Our custom curations are a way of establishing a strong visual framework and make for an ideal solution to your everyday creative needs. However, when you start looking for ways of positioning your brand in the market or at the top of your target audiences’ minds, production is your key to long-term success.

Although for many, the thought of running a successful creative production can feel overwhelming, let alone when you add into the mix the travel disruptions, increased safety precautions, and tight deadlines that have occurred as a result of COVID-19. Due to our dedicated creative team and our network of talented pro- photographers and videographers, we have adapted our productions to 2020, keep reading to find out how you can too.

Find out more about how we can scale our custom photo and video productions to your current creative needs

Three Essential Elements Of A Successful Production

#1 Success Is In The Brief

A good brief will save you time and money Learning how to write a creative brief is the most effective way of ensuring that your visual campaigns roll out with success. Even before our creative team begins the planning process for an upcoming custom shoot they will collaborate with you to find out more about your brand and what you want to achieve with a production. Your initial creative brief is the best tool for kicking these conversations off in the right direction and if done well will guarantee to save you and your team time and energy, which we all know, means saving money.

Know What You Want, And What You Don’t

“It’s so easy for consumers to see through marketing tactics,” says our Business Development Manager, Stephanie Cortazzo in her recent practical guide for brands trying to stay ‘on-trend’. Your creative brief should not only explain your brand’s vision, values, and visual guidelines, but it’s also important, to be honest about what you don’t want.

Once the planning part of a production is wrapped up, your brief will be the most critical resource for the production team on the day of the shoot. Clarity on the creative direction will provide the photographer or videographer, stylists, makeup artists, prop managers, the freedom to bring their fresh creativity to the table, without the risk of shooting content that isn’t right for your brand.

#2 Localize Your Production

Real People, Real Stories

From new consumer habits in health and fitness to travel trends shaping 2021, to the street protests of the Black Lives Matter movement, the ‘new normal’ that has followed COVID-19 is leading brands in every sector to translate viral topics into your brand’s creative assets. Here at EyeEm, we are committed to providing brands of all sizes with authentic visual content without the agency price tag, and productions are an optimal opportunity to achieve a level of genuine authenticity in your visual marketing.

Cut The Costs By Sourcing Local Talent

By localizing your production that the authenticity goes way deeper than just a ‘look’ or a ‘feel’ within an image and costs a fraction of the price of faking the real-life situation. With the right brief and the expertise of our creative team on set, you can cut out the cost of sending your creative team out to run the shoot. We connect brands with a team of creative minds that are living and working on the ground and can safely shoot the content you’re looking for right in their own home, independent studios, or local neighborhoods.

#3 Trust The Pros

Tap Into The EyeEm Network

In our Visual Trend Report, our Photographer of The Year, Kate Phellini explains the value of a professional photographer’s perspective when on-set. “A professional photographer would look to identify the right angles and the correct lighting for a subject’s facial and body structure, skin color, and hair texture” she explains. With the right brief, we’re able to connect brands with outstanding professional talent that will be able to take your brands brief and create something unique that will ensure your brand stands out amongst the sea of visual content out there.

When Corporate Meets Creative Expertise

Our team, whether it be our director sales, business development managers, to our production team, we understand the power of bringing together a corporate approach and creative solutions. We’ve worked with brands from various industries and sizes, complex briefs, and tapped into the talent of some of the world’s amazing emerging creative talent. By establishing the right brief and knowing how to achieve authentic, high quality, content, we’re able to pull of a production that will elevate your brand image.

Speak to our team to learn more about EyeEm Productions and kick-start your next campaigns in the right direction