A company recently hired a Toronto corporate photographer to do an executive portrait of its president.
While watching the photographer set up his camera equipment, the company’s communications manager asked, “Did you know that the sensor in your digital camera is just like a solar panel? Both convert light into electricity.”
The photographer answered, “That’s interesting information.”
As the photographer positioned his lights and made a few test flashes, the manager said, “The xenon gas in your flashes is also used in laser eye surgery.”
The photographer replied, “That’s interesting information.”
While they waited for the company president to arrive, the communications manager stated, “Paintings of ancient Egyptian Pharaohs were the first executive portraits.”
The photographer said, “That’s interesting information.”
Just then, the president walked into the room. The photographer positioned the executive and did the portrait photography within the allotted five minutes. A few days later, the photographer sent the finished pictures to the communications manager.
The manager called the photographer to remark how happy the company was with the pictures. “You captured just the right moment! Our president looks both really important and down-to-earth.”
The photographer replied, “I used my knowledge of photography, lighting and composition to make a portrait that conveys more than just information.”
Information versus knowledge
Information is just a collection of some facts. Knowledge is applied information; it’s information that has somehow been processed to make it useful.
For example, a picture of a company executive might show that she has brown hair, blue eyes and wears a black suit. On its own, this information (brown hair, blue eyes, black suit) is meaningless because it doesn’t offer any insight into the executive. Someone who views this picture can’t process that information to make it useful.
However a professional business portrait, with the right lighting, pose and photo technique, can trigger a positive response in the viewer. Ideally this response is along the lines of “this person looks professional and trustworthy.”
Visual cues in a portrait are processed by the viewer based on their general knowledge of people. From this knowledge, they quickly form a response to the photo. Yes, for better or worse, we judge people on their appearance which is why professional business portraits are so important.
Customers don’t just want information, they want knowledge. Knowledge empowers the customer. This is why corporate photography and other types of commercial photography have to be more than just informative.
