Tips for Photographing documents, reports and publications

Published on Thu Aug 5, 2010 by David J Colbran

There are many photography companies out there that can help you with product photographs, but very few that provide a service for printed collateral. I have recently worked with several North West design agencies who have wanted to show off their work to existing and potential new clients. These have included brochures, leaflets, magazines and technical manuals. Sure they could have just uploaded a flat file PDF to their website, but giving these items scale and depth via a professionally shot photograph adds that something extra that could win them a new client.

I can collect and deliver items from your workplace if within Merseyside, arrange a courier service or accept materials in the post. Alternatively I can bring my mobile studio to your office and take the photographs there - meaning your archive remains with you and nothing can go missing. I can advise on backgrounds, various photographic and post-processing effects and even provide web-ready images if that is what you need for your website. For a large collection, my tip would be to try and mantain a standard look and feel to the images - the same, or similar background, use a consistent focal length, and making the lighting as flat across the document as possible. Things to avoid include flash reflections on shiny surfaces, clutter in the background and sub-standard examples (folded leaflets, creased pages etc)

New media might be all the rage but traditional media still rules and many companies and organisations value the nature of printed materials. Traditional media (or as some people are now calling it 'old media') comes in many forms, including; newspapers, reports, publications, flyers, promo handouts etc. So for many advertisers, designers or marketing gurus, it is essential to demonstrate that you can create these essential forms of communication - and having the right images are part of this discussion, in order to win over new clients and retain exisiting ones.

Basically, traditional media is still an important means of communication to consumers and not something that should be overlooked.

Below are several different types of publications, manuals, reports and brochures. Please don't hesitate to get in touch to discuss your requirements for paper based and publication photography.

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