ZebraJojo Photography

Singapore Brand Photographer

composition

How Props tell the Story

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A story can be told in different ways but it only makes a lasting impression once you bring it to life with graphic details. Exactly the same works for visual storytelling, brand photography. Imagine a woman sitting on a sofa, a cup of tea in her hand. What emotions do you associate with that cup of tea in her hand? Now imagine the same composition but a laptop instead of a cup of tea in the scene? How does this change the vibe of the image?

The question now is, according to the story you want to tell, what props would you want to include to set the right vibe? What do the different props stand for? Let’s have a look.

Work

Next to the obvious choice like your laptop you could include accessories like office supplies, planner, glasses, pretend handouts, phone, pens, sticky notes, fancy briefcase.

Energy

Since feeling energetic is non-visible, this can be different for everyone. But common props are coffee/espresso cup, muesli bars, chocolate, nuts.

Fitness/Health

Fitness and health are an essential part of our daily life and easy to showcase with a water bottle, running shoes, dumbbells, smartwatch, yoga mat, smoothie, all sorts of fruits like an apple or blueberries, or even a salad if you want to make an effort.

Relax

Life is not only about work but also about the balance. Show how you unwind with props like a cup of tea, glass of wine, some chocolate, aromatic oil, candle, journaling, sketching or simply reading a book.

Education

Many of my clients are educators or coaches and need to showcase expertise in their images. A great way to do this is including laptop, microphone, headphones, books and notebooks.

Fun

Including fun props like donuts, macarons, confetti, champagne, balloons or anything you can relate with adds authenticity to your brand. At the end of the day we are all just humans, aren’t we?

If you want to read more about props, check out this article “Creative Prop Ideas for your Branding Photoshoot” or if you would like to know “What to expect at a Branding Photoshoot”, I’ve got you covered, too.

Non-boring Product Images

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Today’s marketing is not just about the unique product or outstanding service you provide anymore, it’s about the stories you tell. One might think that it is easier to translate the service of a career coach into compelling imagery, than say a health-related product. These services can be showcased with fun props like notebooks, coffee cups, whiteboards and different personality-driven outfits. When it comes to a product, the story you want to tell is not about the secret ingredients or the scientific formula but about the benefits you promise and the improved lifestyle they will have.

Let’s have a look how two of my clients tell the story of their product.

Akesi Wellness

Their probiotic tonics are helping with your body’s diverse gut microbiota – assist digestive health, maintain healthy bowel habits and provide immune system support. Their marketing approach could be all about statistics and research, but that’s neither easy to understand nor fun, is it? Instead they break it down into people leading a conscious lifestyle due to informed health choices.

The Scarlet Company

As with all groundbreaking products, the Scarlet tonic was born from personal circumstances. The female body is designed to be strong and enduring, but it get quite stressed at times. Scarlet was developed to enhance menstrual health and target the root cause of period pains – hormonal imbalance. As a women-only product, we concentrated on celebrating womanhood. We wanted to represent the product less medical and more approachable.

If you like what you see and have products with a story to tell, get in touch and let’s have a chat. I am here to help.

How to take a Portrait like a Pro!

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Who doesn’t want to spend their holiday in Italy? Even my teenagers were thrilled when we chose Tuscany for our last family vacation. World famous food, picturesque landscape and instagrammable lifestyle. Of course I brought my camera with me as the colours are amazing and the light is divine. Furthermore, this is a fabulous and effortless opportunity to take a few portraits of my beloved ones.

Now, maybe not everyone gets to spend their holiday in historical Europe, but no matter where you go for your family vacation, I am sure you always bring a camera, at least your mobile phone, right?! We know that family pictures with teenagers can be challenging, so here are a few tips to painlessly capture a few pro headshots for your family album.

1. Light! Light! Light!

You know how obsessed I am with light, for me it is THE most important component of a great picture, any picture by the way. I love playing with the different tones of light, as it always changes during the day.

Early morning light is rather cool in tone, therefore it is called “Blue Hour”, just before the sun rises. During midday the light turns very harsh , leaving many unwanted shadows on our faces, not impossible, but a bit more difficult to use. And towards the evening the all admired “Golden Hour”, soft and golden, divine light, especially for us women.

Find open spaces, where your subject is surrounded by light. Use natural reflectors like white house walls, bright streets or paths. Whereas be careful with shadows or unwanted reflectors like trees or red bricks (which results in green/red faces). Use the sun as your light source, meaning your subject should face towards the sun.

2. Background

Choose your background wisely. When we look at a picture, our eyes get immediately drawn to the strongest colour of the image. Sadly, this is often not your subject. For a great portrait you want to choose your backdrop to complement your subject! In Tuscany old walls or doors in their warm tones were perfect for that. Even colourful walls can work very well, but make sure the person in front is not “swallowed” by the colours of the wall. Same goes for a vivid scene, like a market or row of houses. Here you have to be a bit more attentive to the head of your subject. You don’t want to have light poles sticking out or funny objects around.

3. Portrait Mode or Bokeh

When you are in control of your camera, blur the background, add some “bokeh” to your picture. In the newest iPhones this feature is in “Portrait Mode”. In order to get your background blurred your subject needs to clearly be separated from the background, meaning not leaning against it

4. Composition

While camera settings are important, composition of an image is crucial, as it determines whether a picture is emotionally engaging. There are different ways to compose a picture. One, very simple, just put your subject in the middle. This works well when your background is uniform, either equally interesting or colourful, or when the surrounding works as a frame. Another way, a bit more advanced and definitely more interesting, is to create negative space, by applying the “rule of thirds”. Put your subject in one third of your picture, left or right, doesn’t matter. Our eyes get drawn to the middle of a picture because it is considered static. Therefore when your subject is positioned closer to one of the edges, it forces your eye to follow it…to find it. This allows the viewer to linger on your image longer. It makes for a more captivating photo because it’s almost interactive. Like a conversation going on between the photo and you.

5. Personality

While it is nice having your family smiling at you in every single picture of your album, it can also get a bit boring. Why not encourage them to show off a bit personality? By walking down the street, dancing along a river or simply sipping a milk shake. And instead of looking straight into the camera, ask your subject to turn the head, look to the left or right, up or down. Also try to alter your perspective, shoot from different angles. Get up high and shoot down on your subject or get as close to the ground as you can and shoot up. Either way you’ll be seeing your subject from an angle that is bound to create interest. The best way of course is to catch your beloved ones in a candid pose, so have your camera ready!

How to make glamorous flat lays with your iPhone

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Flat lays are wonderful images that you can use to showcase products, portray themes or tell stories. Creating irresistible imagery with flat lays for your IG feed isn’t as hard as you think. 

1. Use natural light

Nothing beats natural light! It is honestly the most crucial element of any photo and flat lays are no exception. If you shoot indoor, wait for the sun to be at its brightest, around noon, when the room is bright and airy. Outdoor, early morning light is perfect for shooting, as it is soft, yet bright. 

2.Background

A clean, simple background is best to make your flat lay pop. I use my kitchen counter, but any tabletops, paper, concrete, floorboards, bed sheets, tiles will do. Anything that doesn’t draw attention away from your lay! 

3. Tell a story

Since you plan to use it for your Instagram, think of a story before you shoot. What is your intention? What would you like to talk about? Keep the story, the caption in mind, when you compose the scene. Choose your props wisely, aligned with your IG feed, according to your brand. 

4. Composition

Composing a flat lay is like writing a script for Netflix. You have one main character and everyone else complements. That is to keep the emotions balanced and the eye at ease. For flat lays I always like to go with the rule of odds, an uneven number of objects in a composition is perceived as more interesting and aesthetically pleasing. And for story-telling: the more, the better. But make sure the objects are balanced. If you have a big bouquet of flowers in one corner, put something visually heavy on the opposite side to create balance. This also means if you have a bunch of small objects, add a few larger ones to make the flat lay more dynamic. 

5. Editing

You are almost there! Most of the pictures you probably don’t need to edit, as the iPhone camera does a fabulous job already. Nonetheless, Apple makes it really easy to edit any picture from dull to glam. If your IG feed has a certain look, try out all the filters, the easiest way of all!

Creative Prop Ideas for your Branding Photoshoot

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A branding photoshoot with bespoke lifestyle imagery can take your business to the next level and help you stand out from the crowd. Including props that are authentic to you are the best way to show off your unique personality. The key is brand on styling!

They can be as simple as the tools of your trade or fun personal items that you love having in your life. Adding these elements into your photos can give your audience an idea of what it’s like to work with you. Review your brand story when brainstorming props so that you can be sure the items assist in communicating your message.

Tools of your Trade

No matter if you are a coach, fashionista, florist, baker or else, including the tools of your trade into your pictures shows off your expertise and gives an instant hint about your profession. And since we are living in the digital age, that includes your laptop and phone as well.

Creative Else

Think office supplies, books, magazines, planners, notebooks, postcards with quotes, gift boxes and ribbons, sun/glasses, art work, candles, even confetti. You have a lucky charm? Bring it along! Anything that gives insight to your personality. But most importantly: flowers and leaves.

Food and Beverage

These are my favourite elements. Don’t you agree that a lovely cup of coffee implies energy and busyness? Include donuts or macarons to add a sweet pop of colour to your pictures. Have a glass of wine or even champagne for the more relaxed side of you. Anything works!

As you can see, there is no limit to your imagination, as long as all of your props are brand on and reflect your personality. You don’t even have to be into the picture yourself. Try to do a flat lay for your next Facebook post showcasing a special vibe. You don’t know how to do that? The stay a little longer and read on here.

How to use negative space in a photograph

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Maybe we should start with the question:

“What is negative space in a photograph?”

Negative space is the area around your subject in a photograph which is left unoccupied. Simply put it is decluttering your composition and makes the subject stand out more. Negative space used creatively leaves the viewer with room for interpretation and makes a photograph more captivating.

But it also is a great marketing base.

Pictures with negative space can be used in many ways to emphasize on a certain offer or message. Let’s have a look at a few together.

Headers

Whether for your website, newsletter, blog or Facebook page, headers deliver the first impression when greeting your audience. Make sure it is positive and brand on.

Social Media Quotes

Quotes in your Instagram feed are a great way to aesthetically break up the noise while spreading some wisdom. And who doesn’t love quotes?

Promotions

You have a great offer no one can resist? Make it visibly stand out with a picture and engaging headline.

Background for presentations

More and more presenters realise that it is so much nicer for the audience to look at well curated presentation pages related to your topic, rather than black letters on white sheets.

Did I ignite your creativity? These are just a few examples to help you get inspired. The options are numerous with a bit of imagination and a good design app like Canva.

Thanks to Canva it is so easy to create brand on graphics in no time. Just head over to Canva, select your desired graphic size, upload your brand on images and start playing with text and layout.

If you want to read more on what a personal brand is, maybe you want to check out these helpful posts:

What is a Personal Brand?

How to use Lifestyle Photography effectively on social media…

How to make glamorous photos with your iPhone