The Globe and Mail took a look at some of the photographs that Canada’s top three political leaders use in their social media. The newspaper asked a neutral third party, a US photo editor and consultant, to review the pictures.
Without knowing the leaders, their political parties or any other backstory, photo consultant Mike Davis gave his opinions of the pictures.
Stephen Harper photos:
“It’s very linear, very simplistic, not at all dynamic or deep. … It’s all very similar, it’s very distant, very removed from the person. It kind of represents him as an entity who does official things, and that’s about all you get. … These are just official records of events.”
In other words, boring, emotionless snapshots => no connection with the viewer.
Justin Trudeau photos:
There is … greater moment value, you sense what he is like behind the scenes and in public.
… It’s using all of the components of the imagery to say something, and not just show something.
… As a consequence, he comes across as a much more sincere, caring candidate and human.
In other words, real moments => emotion => positive impression.
Thomas Mulcair photos:
His expression almost never changes. … The sense you get here is that this isn’t at all accurate.
Some of them have direct flash, he’s just standing there with people. He is dead centre, there is nothing happening, no moment value.
To rephrase it, poor photo technique => no message created => no impact.
Davis said, “You can extrapolate things from the imagery. If you are presented as a more open and personable person in the photographs, one can assume that those are real qualities.”
Every company that needs photography to promote their business should pay attention to this. Marketing a political party is not unlike marketing a business. Companies must first create some sort of connection with the public and that is best done with photography, good photography, proper photography.
For example:
• Never do a business portrait with the person looking away from the camera. If you have headshots like this, get them redone. Eye contact and facial expression are very important.
• Don’t use pictures of handshakes, cheque presentations, sod turnings, etc. Avoid group pictures as much as possible. None of these pictures create “a moment”. None of these pictures say anything.
• Use editorial-style pictures that show real moments. These may not be perfectly posed or perfectly lit but they will create a response in the viewer.
• Don’t use pictures just to fill empty space. Use photos to say something. Be smart enough to use a photo essay or picture gallery on your company site. If a picture is worth a thousand words then a properly done photo story can be an entire book about your company.
