Commercial Photography for London Creative Agencies

Commercial photography for agencies in London brings special demands, because the capital is the UK's recognised centre of creative media. In this fast-moving environment, it is essential to be up to the minute and provide exciting images to stop customers in their tracks and seize their attention.

Stillview has a track record of producing creative business photography for many London PR and advertising companies, who need constant access to innovative and creative visuals to represent their clients and their brands. We understand what London's creative industry is looking for.

Stillview Photography  – click here to take a look at our portfolio.

Wide Portfolio of Commercial Photography
When looking for someone to provide commercial or advertising photography, an agency will be seeking a professional with a wide portfolio. It's important that all types of image are provided, so that when a creative agency comes up with a concept, they know their chosen photographer will be able to provide exactly what is wanted.

The ideal is to find someone who can take on any type of photography or combination of shots, from vehicle photography to product photography including pack shots, as well as pictures of people at work, landscapes, portraits, room sets and compositing.

Digital Manipulation
Sometimes taking a great photograph is only part of the job of creating a striking image. Especially for high-concept images, agencies need a commercial photographer who can also carry out post-processing and manipulation. Finding someone who is expert in both these areas makes for a faster turnaround, helping the agency to meet tight deadlines, as well as giving a tighter hold on the creative process.

Photographers will often have cIear ideas about exactly how the picture they have taken can be adapted to fit the agency's brief. For instance, blurring the background in a photograph of a machine or vehicle in action could help to give an impression of speed and power. By contrast, where a photograph has to be farmed out to a third party for processing, there could potentially be a risk of communication issues affecting the final result.

Responsive and Fast
Once an agency has come up with a great idea, it wants to see it turned into reality as soon as possible, getting it off the drawing board and into production. Digital photography and software have made this possible, meaning that shots can be viewed instantly and transmitted to clients without any unnecessary delay.

Tight timescales are the norm when commercial photography is needed for London creative work, so it is essential to find a business photographer who understands that and is used to working to deadline. However, getting the picture on time is only part of the story, since it is even more important to get it right. Someone with long experience of a wide variety of assignments will have the ability to tune into what a client wants – and showcase it in an image which says everything that is required.

Own Studio
The bottom line is an important consideration for all creative agencies, which aim to stick to budgets when organising a project. It helps to keep down their costs if a freelance commercial photographer does not have to hire a studio separately, but can provide their own premises to carry out studio photography.

Having the photographer's own studio available helps with turnaround time, because all necessary equipment will be easily to hand. It will be easy to create the right lighting for anything from business portraits to room shots. Using the same studio regularly also boosts creativity, as photographers will be working in a setting where they have experience of creating a wide range of effects in previous jobs and know exactly what can be achieved.

Flexible
Forward-thinking creative agencies may have a variety of different shots in mind which they want to try out, and show to their clients, before deciding which one is best for their needs. This makes it important to find a flexible photographer, who is available to carry out work ranging from studio photography to assignments on location, as required.

In Easy Reach of London
To provide commercial photography to London agencies, these days it isn't necessary to be physically based in the capital. Modern technology such as broadband means that briefs and final images can all be transmitted instantly.

However, it helps to be within reach for photo shoots. In practice, an out-of-town location, such as Stillview's base in Ipswich, is often easier to get to than travelling into London from outside or making journeys right across the city.

About Stillview
Based in Ipswich, professional photographers Stillview have wide experience of serving creative agencies in London, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, East Anglia and further afield. We are experts at both studio and location photography and can work with you on innovative projects of all kinds.

Business Photography London – Click here to contact us and find out more about our services.

Photography London – How We Make Your Business Photographs Stand Out

Commercial photography doesn’t have to be boring; in fact, this couldn’t be further from the truth. On the contrary, business photography is designed to be an exciting, visual portrayal of your London or UK company.

Gone are the days when a static picture of a shop front in broad daylight or staff lined up in rows are acceptable photographs for your business brochure. Instead, it is vital you choose a business photographer who thinks outside the box and produces photos that are forward-thinking, dynamic and innovative. With the right photography, your London business brochure and promotional material will stand out from the rest and help create a positive image for your company well into the future.

Business photos should capture the eye and provide customers with information about your services. For instance, if you have a busy transport company that distributes worldwide you need to portray this in your brochure pictures. One staff photo in front of a single truck may demonstrate a company people can trust in, but it won’t do much for your brand. If your company is reliable, delivers on the time and globally – even at short notice – this is the message you want to get across.

Getting the right business photographs involves a multitude of different aspects, such as lighting, colour, angles, focus, positioning, and perspective – as well as a good helping of creativity. Whether you have a transport company, a shop, factory or an office based establishment, here are five simple tips to make your business photograph stand out:

Photography London – Click here to see a sample of our portfolio for commercial photography carried out at our studio and on location.

Gain Perspective – Images are often taken at eye level and sometimes there is a need for business photographs of this type. However, you can get some amazing brochure shots by getting low to the ground, capturing a picture from way up high, or even close up. Take a busy town centre – it is all too easy to take an ordinary snapshot of the high street, but what about focusing on the footfall down low, or shooting an image from a top floor of a department store? This will also show a bustling, vibrant town but in a far more innovative way.

Flatter with Lighting – Whether you require land, sea, cityscape or portrait photography for your London business, lighting is key. While the right lighting can flatter and compliment , the wrong choice can show up flaws and won’t look good in a business brochure. Lighting can also be used to produce more dramatic business photographs. In portrait images, for instance, a slow synch flash creates interest as it keeps the subject matter in focus but blurs the background. Alternatively, creating a silhouette of your subject is distinctive image for the right type of business.

Add Colour for Drama – Colour can also be used to make your business photograph stand out. An ordinary shop front can be brought to life when it is photographed when the light fades, rather than during the day. One example of this is the photograph we took of Glasswells furniture store in Ipswich. Our brief was to create a memorable picture for the company’s promotional material. By photographing the shop in the evening, with all its interior lights on, this created a striking image that the company has used countless times in print and on their website.

Keep on the Move – Capturing movement in a photograph can portray a dynamic company that is constantly striving to be ahead of the competition. One example in our portfolio is a photograph we took for grain merchants Nidera. We used a picture of a parked truck and adapted this digitally, creating the illusion of speed, and the resulting photograph showed an image of strength and power against a countryside background. Using creative shutter speed also produces a variety of stunning results, such as capturing movement or creating ghostly effects.  

Show Interaction – People are automatically drawn to images of other people and with the right vision, portrait shots can be incredibly inspiring. Pictures that show interaction between people can portray far more in a single image than reams of text can do. Just one photograph featuring your service in action shows the reader who you are, what your company does, and what you stand for. In essence, it is a company mission statement without words. 

About Stillview

Ipswich based commercial photographers Stillview have 30 years’ experience of business photography in London, East Anglia and South East England. We provide a wide range of creative photography in our studio or on location for advertising campaigns, websites and other promotional material.

Commercial Photographers London – Click here to see examples of our commercial photography in London, East Anglia and South East England.

Give Your London Business an Instant Revamp with Some Fresh Photography

Is your business in need of a revamp with some fresh photography? New Year is the time when many London company directors think about updating their organisation’s image but the costs of a full-scale branding exercise – from the introduction of new logos, to new company colours, new websites, and even new office interiors – may be overwhelming and prohibitive.

However, the good news is that it is possible to refresh your company’s image, without the same level of expense, using photography. The right brand and image for your company is vital: it gives potential and existing customers a perception of who you are, what you are about, and whether they can put their trust in your product. At Stillview we specialise in commercial photography for London and UK businesses, and have the skills, experience, and vision, to take your company into 2014 and beyond.

Photography London – Click here for some examples of inventive commercial photography carried out at our studio and on location.

The Pros and Cons of Full-Scale Rebranding

A rebranding exercise may be prompted by a number of reasons, usually as a result of a change of some kind in what a company is doing, or perhaps in response to external changes in the marketplace. For example:

• Brand shift – Either to emphasise brand values that are not being expressed, or to convey new brand values. It could be that you want to show your company as cutting edge, and at the forefront of your field. Or, you may want to go back to basics and show your company’s traditional values of honesty, integrity and reliability.

• Different customer base – To appeal to a different market segment such as a younger, or older market, to singles or families.

• Change in product or service – You may want to show your new product lines or that your company is moving into new areas, such as a move towards more eco-friendly and natural products.

• Advertising and media attention – To be more attractive to existing and potential customers and investors.

However, a complete re-branding process isn’t without risk and potential pitfalls can include the following:

• Loss of brand recognition – This may be the case if a logo or name changes (one example of this is that there are still people in the UK who refuse to call a Marathon a Snickers bar!)

• Risk of losing some customers – Rebranding your company to appeal to a different customer base, may gain some customers, but there is also a chance that you may lose others.

• Some clients don’t like change – Too much change can be off-putting for some customers, especially if they have been loyal to a business for a long time.

• Full-scale brand changes can be expensive – Especially if extensive rebranding involves updating many physical aspects of the company, such as vans, shops, packaging, websites and stationery.

• Very easy to get wrong – New logos can be especially problematic, unless carried out by a reputable/experienced brand designer.

So, is it possible to gain the benefits of an image update while avoiding many of the risks and costs? Photography can be part of the answer.

Using Photography to Refresh Your Brand

Photography offers a way to give your company's website, advertising, stationery, brochures and so on, a completely different feel, while still retaining your existing name and logo that your customers already recognise. Stillview's photography services are much in demand from media companies in London and throughout the UK, who understand that images can be a powerful tool to influence the perception of a brand. For instance:

Engage and connect – Marketing is all about engaging and connecting with your customer base. However, many companies now have less direct interaction as many customers buy goods or services over the internet, so you may never meet some of your buyers. Instead, you can create a connection with your customers through evocative and memorable images. .

Show not tell – Reams of text describing your company's values may never be read and are unlikely to have the impact that you want to achieve. This is particularly so if you want to convey abstract values such as "trust", "service", "friendly" and so on.  Instead, the right images can communicate these ideas at a glance, as well as making products and services more real and tangible.

Top of mind – A great deal of advertising, marketing and communication material is aimed at making a brand familiar and memorable. Striking and appealing images stick in the mind more effectively than words and help create positive associations with your brand. A smaller brand may not want to go down the route of a lengthy local radio or TV campaign to achieve this level of familiarity. Instead, they may prefer the use of creative photography for their London firm, which offers greater value for money as it can be reused in flyers, local advertising, websites and other marketing material.

How Stillview Photography Can Help

Stillview works with you to provide a full range of innovative and creative commercial shots such as:

• Business portraits which are engaging, personal, distinctive and convey personality.

• Product photography including pack shots, products in use, evocative situations and creative images. It can also include interior photography or mouth-watering images of food and drink to entice customers into buying your products and using your services.

• Transport photography for a wide range of domestic, industrial and specialist vehicles. 

• People photography of all kinds including studio shots of products in use, or on location shoots  in factories, warehouses, shops, customer visits and more.).

Our photographs are an ongoing resource for your company to use in multiple scenarios, and not just for a single advertisement. For example, they can be reused on websites, to accompany press releases, company brochures, leaflets, exhibition banners and for use as motivational wall hangings in commercial interiors, all helping to refresh the image of your business image, both inside the company and out.

Photography London – Click here to see our portfolio of business and commercial photography.

Enhancing a Business Website with Photography

Whether you are designing a new business website from scratch or revamping an existing one, the visual focus is likely to be on its use of photography. Ipswich and Suffolk businesses, as well as those in the London area, know they can call on Stillview to make their web pages stand out from the crowd. Photographs on a website are far more than just an add-on, because they can be used as a central feature of the design. Images with the right visual impact will enhance a site's appeal, as well as helping to sell the product or service on offer.

Photography Ipswich  – Get in touch now for details

Product Photographs
Product photography is an important element for commercial sites, both on pages where products can be bought direct from the site and on those where the site owner is the manufacturer and selling stock to other outlets.

With fashion in particular, in order to compete with high street stores, online operations need to ensure the clothes they are selling can be seen clearly. Straight product shots on a plain background are ideal to show items of clothing to customers at home, with consistency being an important element here.

If all the items are shot against the same background and from a similar angle, it will be easier for a customer to choose between the different styles. It is also helpful if there is an option to examine the fashions close-up, to give an idea of the fabric and finishing. This means that high-resolution and high quality are very important. Of course, a product photographer could also take  fashion shots for your site on location or in a studio, to put across the clothes' style and practicality, or to help convey a particular lifestyle.

With new technical products, showing the item in use can help people connect with the product featured in the photography. Ipswich-based Stillview are experts in all kinds of commercial photography, from pack shots to products in use, for instance vehicles or machinery.

Business Portraits
Where you want to convey the skills of specific people within your organisation, including business portraits on your website is a great way to  connect with your customers. Putting a face to a name will often encourage prospective clients to get in touch.

Showing faces is also important to convey the high standards of customer service that your company offers. This can help to personalise a service even if it is entirely carried out online. For instance, seeing individuals in a warehouse will help customers to feel that a parcel which arrives through the post has been personally packed for them. Business portraits used on the web can be specific, for instance showing a particular solicitor, writer or engineer. However, they can also be generic, perhaps showing a smiling and friendly customer service representative "waiting for your call".

Site Banners
Many business websites have eye-catching site banners. These are usually large images running the full width of a page, which gives a strong visual impact even if the rest of the site is mainly text. A powerful image created by a business photographer can be combined with text and graphics to get across key messages and encourage new visitors to your site to explore further. A good banner can be made up of a single photo, or a composite of multiple photos may be used to create a strong graphic effect.

It is also possible for a banner to be still or animated, for instance with a constantly changing slide show, which can add a sense of energy to a site. This imaginative use of photography can help a business in Ipswich or Suffolk to get the word out about their services to customers both locally and further afield.

Blog and Article Illustrations
With corporate blogs and articles, appealing images will help to draw readers into the text and encourage them to read on. It is also valuable for SEO purposes to have photographs with suitable captions included in a site.

Portfolio Slide Shows
Where there is any visual element to the product or service being provided, a slide show is an ideal way to showcase the range of items which are available. Slide shows can be set to rotate images automatically, or may be user-driven, with controls allowing visitors to move forwards and backwards through the images.

For example, a travel company could show images of destinations and customers enjoying themselves. A self-storage company might show images of the storage premises and customers using the facilities, while any retailer of shoes and clothing could showcase the different items on sale in an ever-changing display.

Bespoke Menus and Icons
In the age of touchscreens and mobile apps, it is unfriendly to expect people to navigate around using tiny text links and buttons. Larger clickable areas are easier to use and more appealing visually. In addition, it can help a website if, rather than just being created in plain blocks of colour, these link buttons feature photographic backgrounds with composited text. This is also a way of illustrating the subject matter for each link.

The photos used can be either full focus or in a soft focus, perhaps using sharper close-ups of specific products. With photography used in this way, the overall result is a lot more "designed" and professional looking than a site just featuring plain text and buttons to click.

About Stillview
Stillview can provide high quality photography to assist with all these different uses, serving commercial clients in Ipswich, Felixstowe, Bury St Edmunds and all of Suffolk. We also have customers in Cambridgeshire, Essex and across East Anglia, as well as London PR and advertising agencies.

Commercial Photography in Ipswich – Click the link to find out more

Photography for Businesses In and Around Ipswich

Although we are increasingly in demand in London, throughout the UK and even internationally, Stillview  naturally attracts attention from local organisations needing professional photography in Ipswich, Suffolk, Essex and the surrounding area. A great number of local businesses have called on our expertise, and here we spotlight some of the work we have done for them.

Photography Ipswich  – Get in touch now to discuss your requirements.

Glasswells Furniture – Ipswich

When Glasswells opened its new furniture showroom on a retail park in Ipswich, the company wanted a striking shot of the store's exterior. The brief was to create a memorable image which could be used both on the firm's own website and in publicity material.

The obvious course would have been to take a photograph of the store in the daytime, but we decided to do something different and more eye-catching. Our solution was to shoot as evening fell, with the shop's lights turned on, which emphasised the large glass windows at the front of the showroom. This created a dramatic shot which drew the eye to the shapes and colours of the furniture inside. We also angled the photograph from the side, which meant part of the road could be seen, with the lights from the shop reflecting in the damp pavement. The result was an image which has since been used many times, both in print and on websites.

Alstons Furniture – Colchester

On this occasion, we were asked to photograph a collection of bedroom cabinets. This involved creating a bedroom set within our studio and we  worked to a brief from the firm, which suggested how it should be laid out and what colours to choose. The client also requested both external and internal views of the cabinets.

A photo stylist worked together with our photographer over a whole day to arrange the room set in every detail, arranging furniture and lighting to give a bright, airy atmosphere. After we had taken the photograph, the area of the window was altered on the image to include an external view. This painstaking process meant we ended up with an image which was just what Alstons wanted and showcased their furniture to full advantage.

Nidera – UK Head Office in Ipswich

Grain merchants Nidera run a UK haulage fleet of 35 trucks, and had taken delivery of new Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Our brief was to create a dramatic image showing one of these new trucks. At Stillview, we specialise in transport photography, so this Ipswich-based firm knew we would be able to find an unusual way of showing the trucks' capabilities.

We started by photographing the parked truck, but then adapted the image digitally, creating an effect of speed by using a photograph of a trailer. By appearing to show the truck in motion, the image expressed its power, while the glimpse of countryside beside the road suggested the setting where the trucks are normally used. We enlarged the picture to a 7m shot and this was installed in Nidera's international HQ in the Netherlands.

Karl King Transport – Ipswich

Our expertise in transport photography was called on by Ipswich firm Karl King Transport. As a market leader in distribution, the company asked us to create an image showing a fleet of its lorries. However, we needed to do this without taking several vehicles out of service for a whole day, involving unnecessary loss of productivity. We took one lorry and photographed it in several different locations, then digitised the image so that four lorries were shown, two on a bridge and two passing underneath in opposite directions. The resulting photograph put across the firm's versatility and the fact that it has a large number of lorries on the road.

Top That– Woodbridge

Woodbridge-based children's book publisher ‘Top That’ were looking to revamp their corporate identity. They wanted images they could use, not only in print, but also on their website and in PR material.

Our photographer spent a day taking photographs that reflected the ‘Top That’ image, and the brief was to show a young, dynamic, forward-thinking  company. The photographs were of staff in and around the working environment; shots were taken in each department and had to reflect what they did.

Stillview Photography has undertaken many corporate shoots over the past 33 years.

James White Fruit Juices – Ashbocking, Suffolk

Suffolk-based fruit juice producer James White asked us to showcase some of the drinks from their Uncle Cornelius range, putting across their refreshing qualities. We used a summery setting for our product shot of their Lemon Refresher drink, creating an image with the bottle and two glasses in the foreground, and a summer game of cricket behind. By contrast, for our shot of the firm's Finest Spiced Ginger, we chose a dark background with a fire in the background, suggesting the drink's warming flavour and giving a feeling of evening and relaxation. The resulting images were used on the firm's website.

About Stillview

Stillview provide striking photography for Ipswich businesses, ranging from local firms to global brands with a presence in the area. We serve clients across Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and further afield, including many London agencies. Get in touch now to discuss our service.

Stillview Photography  – take a look at our online portfolio.

Stillview provides commercial photography to new Ipswich client.

Stillview photography recently Supplied commercial photography to a new Ipswich based client,

The client in question was Swallow Marketing a recently formed company headed up by a young talented man by the name of Chris Swallow.

His brief had been to remarket the Venue at Kersey Mill, And in turn his brief to us at Stillview was to get a series of images that could be used at all levels of marketing.

We spent two half days on location, the first day was spent getting images of the fabulous food they supply and interior shots of the Venue. The second half-day was spent getting images in and around the location itself.

We created images in both black and white and colour, interior and exterior.

The images have already been used in a brochure/folder (See picture).

Stillview photography supplies commercial photography to many clients not only in Ipswich, Colchester, Bury St Edmunds and London but also throughout the UK.

For further details please contact us at www.stillview.co.uk

The Importance of Commercial Photography in Modern Marketing

Stillview provides commercial photography to a wide range of clients in Ipswich, London and across the East of England who understand the power that images can have. Sometimes, when a brochure or website is being created, there can be a temptation to regard pictures as an afterthought, just there to illustrate text or add a touch of visual interest. However, using images like this is missing a vast opportunity.

Using our expertise and experience built up over 30 years, we deliver memorable images which can get a message across far more strongly than words alone could ever do. Photographs are obviously vital in advertising products which need to be seen to be appreciated, such as fashions, home furnishings or food and drink. But even with products which cannot be photographed, such as service industries, making a strong visual impact is still important.

Here we look at some of the particular factors that make using images in marketing campaigns ever more essential.

Commercial Photography Ipswich – contact us to discuss your requirements.

Bridging the Gap
In an internet age, it is quite feasible for someone to choose a business and conduct their transactions without ever meeting the person or people supplying their services. Images can work to give a business a more solid presence, with business portraits or pictures of people injecting humanity and a sense of relationship into the process, and helping to put customers at ease.

This is especially important when promoting personal services such as legal advice or accounting, where customers need to trust the people they are dealing with and want a sense of someone's personality. For example, photographs of office staff looking relaxed and smiling at their desks, could help to encourage someone who is feeling nervous to get in touch.

Who Has Time to Read?
Prospective customers rarely have time to read lengthy descriptions of your product – and even if they did, what would make them want to? Headlines can be effective in grabbing attention, but not nearly as effective as pictures. As experts in commercial photography, Ipswich-based Stillview know that the right images can arouse curiosity and make people want to find out more.

As an example, Stillview's many striking images of lorries and farm machinery put across the message of how powerful these machines are. The fact that the lorries are pictured out on the roads and the tractors and combine harvesters are shown in fields makes these images more memorable than static shots of the vehicles would be.

Getting Noticed in a 24/7 World
In our modern world, people are constantly being bombarded with text and images from all angles – whether it is TV, computers and tablets, mobile phones or print. Getting noticed in this sea of media is a tough job, but it is necessary to stand out in order to have a chance of getting your message across.

This means that average or indifferent images which are quickly forgotten just won't do. Commercial photography has to do the job of catching the attention and sticking in the memory to be really effective. One example of a memorable shot is Stillview's photograph of a vivid red sofa in front of the white windows of a London home, with a pair of toning red shoes and a couple of red vases on the mantelpiece helping to emphasise the dramatic colour.

Instant Communication
Visual images are processed by the brain much faster than the spoken word, text or other linguistic means. The human brain can take in, process and make sense of thousands of items of visual information every second – most of it unconsciously.

All this information goes directly to the visual cortex, bypassing the conscious mind. Complex vision evolved millions of years before conscious thought and language. Tiny details which may not be noticed consciously can have a powerful effect on the overall meaning and atmosphere of an image. An experienced image maker can use this knowledge to create photographs which are not only great to look at and highly memorable, but also powerful in conveying just the right message about a product or service.

Using this understanding of the power of imagery to communicate instantly and powerfully with your customer, it's time to consider putting commercial photography at the heart of your next marketing campaign or website design.

Commercial Photography Ipswich
Experts in commercial photography Stillview are located in Ipswich, but we serve customers in a wide area including all of Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire. We are also often called on by London-based advertising agencies and PR firms.

Stillview Commercial Photography – get in touch now to discuss your requirements.