Things to think about.

I was listening to a podcast by Rebecca Salvatore recently – she was interviewing stall holders at Crufts and one of the many things I found interesting was that when asked about trends, a few of them mentioned that they were finding user generated content on the rise.

It got me thinking – is user generated content enough?

There are some great hobbyist photographers out there now who focus on taking gorgeous images of their own dogs - and I've seen a lot of companies using them as brand ambassadors ?and user generated content for their imagery for social and marketing - and the photo's look amazing. Sometimes I wish I'd taken the photo myself!

And I definitely think UGC has a place, it can help create a real buzz around a brand! But here's the thing, it's not enough to showcase your brand. And there are some other downfalls to relying on user generated content that you might not have thought about -

??You will get photo's intermittently as the photographer works around their full time job and other responsibilities

??They will be brilliant at getting a photograph of their own dog, but probably haven't worked with other dogs and will find that really difficult. I know because this what I went through.

??You wont have consistency, if you have several people photographing their own dogs - the images wont have a flow because everyone's style is different. ?? You start to loose your impact and can confuse your audience if they see the same dog being an ambassador for several other brands.

??It's a copyright nightmare - what's to say they wont use the image for something else? Most photographers retain their copyright and give usage within their terms.

??Commercial imagery needs to have extra thought into your brand to make sure it's reaching your target audience in the right way. Just because a photograph has your brand colours, doesn't mean it's talking to your audience.

Kate Hendry , founder and graphic designer at Finbo Studio agrees, she says:

“Working with UGC images can come with various issues for graphic designers:

1: Orientation or size;

?images often don’t fit the space required, so things can end up cropped on certain platforms -especially web headers and social media banners.

2: Quality and consistency?

This is definitely a noticeable issue especially if you have images from multiple sources.

3: Space around the subject

Images need to be used on a variety of marketing collateral and will often need to be paired with text, logos and other elements. If there isn’t adequate space around the subject the image can sometimes be impossible to use in the space required.?

Commercial photographers give consideration to the brand style, space around the subject of the image and also the usage of the image itself. For designers this makes the job much easier and the overall design more aesthetically appealing to the intended audience. This could be the difference between your marketing materials capturing attention or not!”

So what are the pros of hiring a commercial pet photographer?

?? When you hire a professional commercial pet photographer, you will be hiring someone who will be working with your best interest at heart.

?? Someone who has probably worked with 100's and 100's of dogs, so knows when a dog is uncomfortable and adapts to make them happy and relaxed.

?? You will be hiring someone who understands what a marketing image needs versus what's great for social media.

?? You will be hiring someone for a set period of time to shoot to your needs and requirements and will be able to let you know of limitations because of the experience they have.

?? A professional pet photographer will know how to structure a shoot, find locations and dogs to match your brand.

?? You will have images with consistency across the board so your marketing and social will flow beautifully.

?? You will be hiring someone who knows how to make products & services shine and tell a story.

Whether it's me, or one of the other amazing commercial pet photographers available, please don't underestimate the importance of professional photography.

My clients have been featured in some big hitting newspapers with the photography I have created for them, and have seen an uptake in sales just by launching new images. If you'd like to know more about how I can help you, just drop me a DM and I'll send you my price list. I wont pester you, you can look at it in your own time, and figure out if we are the right fit for each other.

Kerry

07810541685

www.furandfables.com