9 Tips to Ensure Your Images Support Your Story Angles
At Wolf Craft we’re broken records when it comes to photography.
Why?
We’ve seen so many brands and businesses not achieve their press goals simply because they don’t have images that capture the stories they want to tell.
If your brand sells artisan-made work, have photos of the pieces getting made by your artisan team.
If you sell a tool that helps you see different paint color swatches on the wall, make sure you have images of those tools, and the after affect of the swatches on the wall during different times of day.
If your coasters never stain no matter how much condensation, show an image of the coaster withstanding all the drips.
Bottom line, if you don’t have a photo of your story line, no one (aka the media) can tell your story.
We browsed through some of our favorite design publications to bring you 9 tips to ensure your images support your story angles.
If you’re feeling ambitious and want an in-depth breakdown of what images work best for different media opportunities and why check our Photography for Media Outreach guides.
1. Show us how your work is manufactured.
This clipping is from dwell’s annual Made in America series, where they featured five brands who manufacture their products in the United States. This article is full of beautiful factory and process shots.
It is clear from the first paragraph that dwell wants images of the products, but more importantly of “the people who make them.” This story is about how, where, and by who these products are made.
In order to pitch this feature the sustainable furniture brand Sabai — and the other brands included in this article — needed high quality beautiful images of their products being produced.
This includes detail shots like the image on the bottom left, images of the factory or production space, as well as photographs of the brands’ founders in the production space.
Pro tip: if you have a unique, sustainable, and/or local manufacturing process, capture it!
Hire a professional photographer to photograph your manufacturing plant and be sure your company’s founders are there to be photographed in situ.
Read Dwell’s feature on products that are made in America here.
Sabai is one of Wolf PR’s clients :)
2. Teach us about how you’ve innovated.
Home gyms were a hot topic during the pandemic. This comes as no surprise given public gyms were closed for over a year. And everything indicates that home gyms will continue to be a relevant media topic.
Enter Tempo Studio, the first AI-enabled free-standing home fitness product that fits a gym into a 2.5-foot by 1-foot space.
The subheading to WIRED’s review of Tempo Studio reads- “This digital screen uses 3D sensors to correct your form, heralding a future without in-person trainers and physical gyms.”
Both the image of a woman working out in a bedroom mimicking the instructor on the screen and the image of the AI technology (it’s an even cooler gif in the article) support the main story angle. The future of technology-enabled home gyms.
Pro tip: Be sure to capture your product in situ — in a thoughtfully styled setting that shows your product in use so that potential buyers and editors imagine your work in their own space.
If your work involves cutting-edge technology be sure to create images or gifs that capture this innovation.
Read WIRED’s review of Tempo Studio here.
Speaking of WIRED, we wrote a blog post about their pitching guide. It’s a great resource to help you better understand how to do editor research. Read 9 PR Tips from WIRED’s Pitching Guide.
We worked with level—the amazing female led industrial design studio that designed Tempo—as part of our enterprise services. You can read more about our work with level here.
3. Capture the culture of your business.
This profile on East Fork Pottery shows a really common story angle that so many businesses overlook — the unique business profile.
Ask yourself:
Is your company female-led in an industry that is male dominated?
Have you worked hard to create a caring and ethical office or studio culture?
Does your company give back in meaningful ways in your local community?
The story of your business can be told through the products you make, but it can also be told through a unique aspect of the business itself.
The image of East Fork’s office on the left supports a story angle about an ethical business that supports families and work life balance.
Notice that both images include East Fork’s products as part of the scene. And to show they are family friendly, they included a photo of a working mom and her baby.
Pro tip: Write down qualities that are unique to your business. Brainstorm how you can capture these qualities in images. Look for business profile opportunities and take note of the assets included in these articles.
See more gorgeous culture shots from East Fork Pottery in ADPRO’s profile on the company here.
4. Reveal your creative process.
Yes, well-designed lighting, furniture, and products need to be beautifully photographed in situ, but ask yourself, what’s the *story*?
Some of the most compelling and media-worthy stories are about how products and projects come to life through a creative process.
This Design Milk feature on the Fizi Lighting collection by Articolo details the whole design process, from sketch through installation.
Pro tip: Document your whole process, from inspiration, to concept sketches, to prototypes, to production, construction, and installation. While you’re doing this be sure to take detail shots too!
Read Design Milk’s deep dive into Articolo’s creative process and production method here.
This article is part of Design Milk’s reoccurring feature Deconstruction, it’s a must read for anyone who loves a behind the scenes moment.
At our sister company, Wolf PR, we’ve helped several clients secure placements in this great feature.
To read more about the types of assets and story lines you need to pitch this feature head over to our blog post, Why documenting everything is important for public relations: a Wolf PR case study.
5. Showcase how your product is used.
Product photography can sometimes seem simple, even boring. But, the two images to the left incorporate a few key elements that truly show off how Bee’s Wrap reusable beeswax wraps are used:
In the first image you see the Bee’s Wraps in use. A reader or editor can imagine incorporating the product into their daily routine. Even though there are several other elements in the shot, it is clear that the wrap is the focus of the shot. Bee’s Wrap was able to achieve this by including two wraps in the image.
The article notes that Bee’s Wraps come in three sizes for different needs. The second image captures the three sizes in use.
Pro tip: Ensure your product is the focus of the image by including it more than once in the shot. If you make a product that comes in multiple sizes for different uses, be sure to also capture that quality.
Read the Strategist’s review of Beeswax wrap and why it’s so great here.
Be sure to follow us on Pinterest, where we’ve created several boards dedicated to media-quality photography ranging from lighting, to consumables, tech products, textiles, accessories, and more.
If you are finding this post helpful we think you’ll get a lot out of our 5-Day Pitch the Media Mini Course
6. Bring us into your home.
Editors and publications love a home tour moment.
It allows readers to make a personal connection with the designer or maker behind a product or service they already love. This is especially impactful when your work is a prominent part of your home.
Ellen Van Dusesn, founder of home goods and textile brand Dusen Dusen, is a maximalist designer.
The images of her home included in the Refinery29 feature support this point of view. Ellen doesn’t just talk the talk, she walks the walk. Or rather, she lives the life! (Don’t you want to live in this stunning apartment!?)
She talks specifically about creating black and white bathroom complete with her black and white towel, and there is an image for exactly that story.
Pro tip: Do you use your products in your own home? Is your home a place where you collect objects and décor that inspire your creative process? Photograph it!
Read Refinery29’s story on how Ellen Van Dunsen incorporates her colorful products into her VERY FUN apartment here.
7. Highlight your product’s key features.
Round ups. Round ups. Round ups — one of the most common product placement opportunities.
Best Gifts for Mom, 20 Products to Help Organize Your Kitchen, Our Favorite Colorful Linens for Spring, the list goes on and on.
Although product round ups can seem quite straight forward, unlike full features, you only get one image to show off what you sell. You can use this shot to highlight one of your products key differentiators.
The image of the Cold Brew Kit shows that it’s a kit, the image displays all the pieces and the packaging. Using two gold ribbons this image also indicates that this kit makes a great gift.
The image of the Ceramic Smart Mug shows what this technology-enabled mug actually does. The light and steam illustrate how it can keep your coffee warm all morning long.
Pro tip: Do you sell a gift set of some kind? Be sure you style your images to make your product look like a gift. Does your product do something out of the ordinary (like an electronic mug that heats up) be sure to capture this quality.
See Food & Wine’s other 16 Great Gifts for Coffee Lovers here.
Do you make a giftable product? Think tech gear consumables, self-care products, home goods, jewelry…the list goes on. Do you want to see your product in holiday gift guides, but don’t know where to start? We created a whole course for that!
Read more about How to Pitch for Holiday Gift Guides.
8. Show off your studio space.
As you’ve seen in several of our previous examples readers and editors alike love to see your creative process, and what better place to show that off than the studio where you create your work!
It’s important to note that when you photograph your studio you’ll need to thoughtfully style it so that it’s full of color and interest, but not messy. Rebecca Atwood’s sample and inspiration board behind her desk is a perfect example of this.
It’s important to note that you don’t want to take photos of you in your hole-y jeans with your hair a mess and clutter all over your desk. This should be you, but the professional, elevated version that you want to be known for!
Pro tip: Take photographs of yourself in your studio space. Style your space to show off your inspiration, process, and work.
See more inspiring studio and process photos in The Everygirl’s profile on Rebecca Atwood here.
9. Keep it simple, and white.
We couldn’t write a blog post about photography for media outreach without mentioning the *essential* silhouette shot, sometimes referred to as “white sweeps” or “solo against white.” These shots are indispensable for all products from jewelry, to consumables, to tech gear.
As you can see in the top image on the left a silhouette shot allows an editor to quickly and easily incorporate your product into a layout with other items.
If you choose to include shadows they should be minimal and not stretch far beyond the actual product.
Pro tip: If you make products and you only have the budget to take one type of photo take silhouette shots. While they don’t “tell a story” like many of the other images included here they are still the most common image used in product media.
See the rest of Harpers Bazaar’s graduation gift picks for here here.
If you love creating products but photography has been a struggle, we created downloadable PDF guides to help you understand the seven different types of photography used in the media and what images work best for different media opportunities. The guides includes 90+ image examples.
Get our Photography for Media Outreach guides.
