It’s #TravelTuesday and I, Dave Williams, am back once again with a little insight into the world of photography, this week from Valhalla. Well, The Netherlands, but close enough!
Coming up soon is Photoshop World Conference and the opening Keynote features Adobe’s very own Russell Preston Brown alongside Scott Kelby. I’ve been fortunate enough to be with Dr Brown here in Valhalla for a few days shooting Vikings for his upcoming Adobe MAX Pre-Con and I’d like to use the opportunity to explain the importance of Behind The Scenes (BTS) insights.
Here’s the entire studio team on day one of shooting. As you can see, the Vikings are genuinely straight outta Valhalla, and the space we had to work with was excellent (Studio34X, Almere, Netherlands)
The shooting involved rotating the Vikings through several different sets and lighting setups so they wouldn’t get bored and start smashing the place up. Each station had different attributes and local photographers Michiel Fischer, Edwin van der Lee and Thijmen Hendriks were kept busy. My task was basically to just be present, stir things up a little, provoke ideas, and I got to work showing the BTS action.
BTS shots, particularly in social media and blogs, are a fantastic engagement and insight tool to help promote ourselves as photographers, as well as to demonstrate our abilities and showcase our characters. If we’re thinking from the perspective of other photographers looking at the BTS we’re reaching out to with ideas and creativity, showing lighting setups and the larger scene, or if we’re thinking in terms of clients we’re doing a great job in revealing our excellent personality and why a client would want to work with us. The chances are strong that BTS images will cause a little stir and be viewed for a moment longer while the viewer explores the scene and it will help to boost our engagement, training that algorithm to see we’re worthy of exposure.
BTS images can also help us to show a new perspective, revealing the gear we’re using and the way everything is setup. This, if we’re looking for affiliate marketing opportunities or perhaps even sponsorship, is a tool we can use to show the before and after, as well as the bigger picture, often with unique results like this collection of hands surrounding the subject of the photo here, The Warrior King.
Social media isn’t going the way we all want it to and the results of our posts can be hidden in the crowd but if we use BTS photos and videos to give a unique look at what we’re up to, we can beat the algorithm and win at Instagram.
Much love
Dave
PS, the Worldwide Photowalk is just a few days away! If you aren’t already booked, go find a walk to join or lead, and if you’re walking in Edinburgh I’ll see you there!
