It is said that the human brain processes visual content 60000 times faster than text contents. 90% of the information processed in the brain is visual. We live in an era where digital marketing is an integral part of our business. Even then we think twice before investing in generating quality content for our marketing need. It’s been almost a decade since I am in the profession of creating visual content. Though time has changed, still a major portion of the market does not give importance to quality content. Evaluation of art is not taught in our schools. Hence, the acumen to differentiate between quality and substandard content is often self-evolved. And only a few manage to do so.
As a professional architectural photographer, I am very closely associated with the Hospitality Industry since the beginning of my career. I have witnessed a rapid shift in marketing strategies in the last few years. When I started working, pictures were primarily used on brochures and other print merchandise. The dotcom revolution created an opportunity to break all the boundaries. Then came the Online Travel Agencies, Online Reviews, Professional bloggers and now the need for maintaining a good presence in Social Media has become very essential to obtain sustainable growth in the market.
So we have a different digital platform to showcase our presence. Does this mean the style of content generation for all these platforms is same? The answer is NO.
The life of photographs for the website and e-brochure lasts long. Generally till next major renovation in the property. Therefore, these images should have a strong visual impact on the viewers’ minds. So strong that it should depict the brand value. These days’ majority of the guests check the website before finalizing the property. Substandard images can break the deal.
As, Photographer, we take special care in creating such content. Be it planning or execution or post-processing, utmost care is taken to deliver the world-class result. Involvement of the Management, Ad agency (if any) is also desirable. Normally such shoots last for 2 to 5 days depending on the size and facilities in the property. Since these are critical shoots and the job of a specialist, one should do proper research before hiring such professionals. Please check the following before hiring.
- Is he/she a specialist in such work?
- How much experience he/she has in shooting properties?
- Is he/she ready to understand the need and requirement of the Management?
Go through some of his/her old work and check the following.
- Distortion :The walls, doors, windows, columns, beams etc. are often designed straight. And this should be the primary skill in Architectural Photography to show them straight. It looks unpleasant to see the images with crooked walls and lines. These are called distortions and is not acceptable under any circumstances. There are many reasons to such distortions including the lack of knowledge of the photographer. These distortions can be further divided into following categories.
- Optical Distortion happens due to the wide-angle lens. No matter how expensive your lens is, it is often required to correct such distortion in post. Optical distortions generally result to curved straight lines. Such Optical distortion can further be divided into two categories. Barrel Distortion & Pincushion Distortion.
- Vertical / Keystoning Distortion is the common issue with Architectural Photography. To cover the entire area a photographer often uses widest possible lens. This results in converging lines while tilting the lens upwards or downwards. For exterior the photographer tilts the lens upward, and for interior tilts downward. In both the cases the lines don’t remain straight. Whereas in reality the lines are straight and the photographer is unable to present straight due to ignorance of technique.
- Alignment Distortion occurs when the camera is not aligned properly to the ground. Which results in skewed lines.
- Is the Color real in the images? Another biggest problem. Just to check, go through your existing images. Check the colors (particularly interior). Are they accurate ? Often there will be color cast.
- Clutter: Often the photographer needs to rearrange the furniture and other fixture to look the place more attractive. Also, he should have clear idea about how much is too much. Over crowded space takes the focus away from the real subject.
- Outside View: Window or outside view from the room always links you to the location. Window view along with the room view is often difficult (not impossible) to photograph. This is exactly the reason why photographer avoid to take such images. In stead they will prefer to close the window curtain and take photograph. This helps them to control the lights more easily. In my opinion it is very essential to show the outside view so that the occupants of the room or the user of the location can see and feel the entire environment.
- Dirt on floor or wall: Although we put all our efforts to clean the location before taking the image, some of the dirt, on the floor or on the wall can not be avoided, which may have occurred over the time. Special emphasis should be given to analyze the image closely before delivering it to the client. Small dirt may not be visible on the small screen, but on a bigger screen or large print out it creates major issue.
- Little Things make-or break-the photo: Small little things like untidy bed in the bed room, non-aligned furniture, non-symmetrical colors of the fixtures etc. can show the non-professionalism of the setup. Some errors can be corrected in post, some can’t. Rather then relying on post, a good Architectural Photographer will always emphasize to make it perfect in the camera itself.
- Are the lighting Fixture properly exposed. One of the difficult things to master and I have seen many photographers committing this mistake.
- Is the mood of the environment properly captured? It can not be always bright and sunny.
- Weather on the Big Day: The exterior of the main building is the identity of the property. The weather plays a major role while shooting the exterior. A good Architectural Photographer will always be watchful about the weather, direction of Sunrise or Sunset, Fog, Haze etc. Because weather changes the look and feel of the entire image.
- Quality: To my mind, quality should not be compromised. Quality in terms of sharpness, color accuracy, resolution, web optimization, proper exposure etc. should be ensured. In general, Architectural Photography is done for website which does not require high resolution images. But what if the client wishes to get a large print out done? Downscaling the quality can be done easily, but upscaling is not possible. I have also seen many photographs when uploaded on the website does not look as sharp as it is actually. This is due to non-optimization of images for the website.
On the contrary social media, contents are different. The life of such an image is just for a few days, at times just for one day. Such images are more pictorial and depict the current state of the property. It may be related to a different season, any particular activity, any celebration, wishes, etc. A bit of knowledge related to photography may help you to avoid incurring the cost of hiring a professional photographer. Even if it is required to hire, please look for some local photographer who can come on very short notice and fulfill the task. Since most of these are instant snapshots, you may not need any preparation for taking pictures. Such shoots can be accomplished within one or two hours.
After the website, most of the clients look for social media activities of the property. Since it is an easy way of communication, clients prefer to go through your recent posts and create an impression. Since marketing through social media is one of the most cost-effective ways of promoting your property, it is strongly recommended to maintain a consistent presence.
Visual contents are your virtual assets. Do not hesitate to invest in it. Don’t be a victim of a drive-by content creator. From your perspective, photographs define your brand more than anything else when it comes to advertising. It defines your dedication and professionalism. In the digital era, professionally created quality images are another investment that can be a strength of your property, online as well as on printed merchandise. Do your homework before finalizing a photographer because quality photographs can make or break the deal.