Eating out Sunday dinners Pub

More and more clients are now briefing pictures to be used on the social media platforms. Instagram, twitter, facebook, linkedin. These sites are being used as powerful tools in the marketing departments of firms worldwide.

The photography needs to look less professional, more “instant”. People don’t want it to look too slick. In fact it needs to appear as though somebody snapped the shot on their phone. This is a hard mood to capture. You need the picture to look appealing and yet not technically perfect.  Very hard to achieve if you are used to being technically perfect.

The image above was shot for a pub group who wanted to spread the word about their lovely Sunday Roasts. They needed it to show  people enjoying their meal. It had to look natural but also show off all of their roasts and their wines. So we had every roast they did on the table, extra vegetables and Yorkshires so people can see the entire range they offered. We lit it,  but made to look like available light. I then put it through Instagram to get that feel that someone had snapped it on their phone.

The reason behind this popular approach to marketing is, I think, to make people feel they are not being fed advertising, but are witnessing real events and so are more likely to believe in the message. Viewers can feel part of the event or at least easily imagine themselves in that scenario.

As photographers this marks yet another change in our work ethics and how we approach certain jobs. I have an article in an upcoming edition of Food and Travel magazine that will be using an Instagram shot of mine, taken on my iphone, as a full bleed image. Times are certainly changing…..again.