Tell the Story of Your Business With Photos
If you’ve ever come across the Tumblr blog, Dear Photograph, it is probably etched forever in your heart. The website features a photograph within a photograph, allowing the past and present to coexist in one captivating and elusive moment.
Beloved relatives are alive again, the beauty of youth is recaptured, and the innocence of childhood is reinstated. These photographs, taken by regular people, say so much in just one single image.
If you’ve ever started your own business, you’re familiar with the blood, sweat, and tears that are an unavoidable part of the journey. But did you know that sharing this journey with your customers can help them to connect emotionally with your brand? Images are a powerful and emotive way to communicate.
Filmmakers have been using images to tell a story since the first moving pictures in the late 1800s. Let’s take a look at their approach and use this as a guide to develop your business visual story.
Step 1: Craft a narrative with a beginning, middle, and an end.
Consider your favorite movie. Unless it’s an obscure, experimental, extremely niche foreign film, chances are that it has a traditional three-act structure.
The majority of films are built on this timeless structure for a reason. It’s satisfying. As human beings, we are drawn towards narrative and resolution. Perhaps because life can be so uncertain.
Let’s break down the three acts:
Source: Reedsy
Act One – The Setup
We meet the main character and get to see her/him in their world. At the end of act one, the main character embarks on a journey. This may be a physical or emotional journey – for example, in a romantic comedy the main character generally meets the romantic interest in act one.Act Two – The Confrontation
Act two is the longest act, double the length of the setup and resolution. The main character confronts many obstacles and setbacks on their journey. They will feel like giving up, but along the way, they will learn and grow, acquiring the necessary skills to tackle the final obstacle, which is the most challenging of all.This final obstacle comes at the end of act two. It is a crisis that forces the main character to dig deep, relying on all their newfound skills and emotional resources.
Act Three – The Resolution
In the aftermath of the final crisis, normality is reinstated. The character has completed the journey and is in a new place. Things have been lost, things have been gained, and the character has changed, all for the better.
Of course, every film doesn’t pan out exactly like this. Otherwise going to the cinema would be unbearably boring. There are differences according to the genre, but these tenets form the foundation for so many great stories.
Step 2: Identify characters that are at the center of your story
The second important rule in screenwriting is about character. Every great story has great characters. Your audience needs to be able to emotionally invest in your main character(s). They need to care about them.
How as a screenwriter do you achieve that? By having your character want something, really badly. And, by making your character complex. A hero needs to have an Achilles heel, and a great villain needs to have some positive attributes. Light and shade make a great and memorable character.
If you are the founder and driving force of your business, then it’s important to see that. If your brother or parents originally loaned you the money, then it’s also nice to see that.
Making sure that your photos depict the important characters in your business’s narrative is crucial to having customers connect with you. People like to connect with other human beings.
Step 3: Create an emotional arc
The third important rule in screenwriting is that your character needs to have an emotional arc. This means that your character grows and changes during the course of your story.
The traditional structure is that your character starts out as a flawed human being, and gains knowledge to become more well-rounded and wise. However, in certain narratives, characters can have an opposite trajectory. The important thing is that the events of the story have an impact on the character.
How have you personally changed along the journey of building your business? What have you learned from the ups and downs and how can you convey that in your selection of photos? Perhaps you acquired specific skills in order to grow the business or learned from specific people. Whatever it is, try to show it as part of your narrative.
Step 4: Create Your Visual Story
We can utilize the notion of the three-act structure when selecting the photos to tell the story of your business. Think about your business, clients, team and product, what types of photos and photography styles and perspectives come to mind to capture, not write, your story?
Act 1 - The Beginning (1-2 photos)
What photos convey the start of your journey? Did you originally start this business out of your garage? Did it begin with a diagram drawn on a napkin or a meeting with a friend in a diner? Think back to the beginning and that kernel of an idea that sparked a journey.
Act 2: Ups and Downs (2-4 photos)
Select a few photos that convey triumphs and setbacks. You may have brought on new members of staff or hired premises. What stepping stones can you show that depicts this journey? Don’t feel you need to show only the successes. Be honest and show failures too. It makes you more relatable.
Act 3 - Now (1-2 photos)
Select a photo or two that conveys where you are now. Perhaps you started the business with one staff member and now you have fifty. Choose a photo that shows the distance you’ve traveled.
Don’t miss an update! Have every Vistasuite blog post delivered directly to your inbox.
Vistasuite puts real-time visual communication in your pocket. It's a single hub where internal and external photo sharing joins forces and project management lives in one place, so you can finally collaborate with the right people, at the right time. Learn more.