Editorial photography is designed to tell a story, using visual elements to demonstrate a narrative. It can be a powerful storytelling tool, but it’s often misused or not used to its fullest potential. How do you improve your editorial photography? And what are the best ways to integrate it into your content?
The Basics of Editorial Photography
What is editorial photography, exactly?
Essentially, it’s any photography meant to showcase, augment, or support a story. This term is typically used in the context of journalism; editorial photography can be used to tell a story concisely, illustrate a specific event or principle in the story, or otherwise enhance your ability to accurately interpret the story.
This could be an image of an athlete mid-feat, an image of a person expressing an emotion relevant to the story, or anything else that provides substance in the effort.
More broadly, editorial photography can supplement and improve storytelling in your content. Accompanying images can make your content more readable, illustrate principles that are hard to express in words, and even help you steer your audience’s feelings in a particular direction (which is a power you should exercise responsibly).
The Value of Editorial Photography
There are a few major advantages of editorial photography:
· The power of storytelling. People are drawn to stories. They’re entertaining. They’re engaging. They’re exceptionally easy to remember. Capturing a story within a photo or using a photo to improve a story can be incredibly beneficial for your brand.
· Conciseness and limited space. One of the advantages of visual storytelling is that it’s very space-efficient. The old adage is that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Regardless of whether or not that’s true, there’s no denying that photos can convey strong emotions, ideas, and abstract principles stronger than words can.
· Artistry and aesthetics. Photography is a unique art in the world of content and aesthetics. It gives you considerable artistic control, which you can use to your advantage when making your content impactful.
How to Utilize Editorial Photography in Your Content
These are some of the best ways to utilize editorial photography in your content:
· Have an idea in mind. Before you take any photos, you should have an idea in mind. What are you trying to capture? What do you want to display? It’s okay if you don’t have all the specifics worked out, but you should at least have a “big picture” vision. This is going to guide you as you snap photos, edit them, and prepare them for publishing.
· Prioritize accuracy and impartiality. Editorial photography is often used in a journalistic context, so it’s important to prioritize accuracy and, to an extent, impartiality. Obviously, you want photos that support your positions and make your brand look better or more impressive. But you should still make sure your photos accurately reflect reality. If you’re too manipulative, it’s going to work against you.
· Nail the timing. In photography, a fraction of a second can be the difference between an amazing photo and a mediocre one. Be prepared to scout for the perfect moment when capturing photos for your content.
· Be original. Strive for originality as much as possible. On today’s internet, there are literally millions of individuals and businesses fighting for visibility and competitive dominance – and most of them are using editorial photography or some other similar form of visual storytelling. You need to find a way to show off your uniqueness and capture new attention.
· Guide your subjects. If you have subjects in your photography, consider giving them guidance. Unless you’re going for a totally natural shot, this will help you master the art of composition and get your subjects where you want them.
· Be patient. Waiting for the perfect moment can be challenging, especially if you don’t have active subjects to work with. In some cases, your only real option is to wait until the perfect instance presents itself. Remain patient if you want the best results.
· Perfect the editing work. Much of your work is going to be done after the photo is taken, in the editing phase. In this phase, you’ll eliminate defects or flaws in the photo, enhance some of the things that make it original or valuable, and polish it so it looks more aesthetically impressive. Thanks to the range of available AI enhancement tools currently available, it’s easier and cheaper than ever to make your editorial photos look awesome.
Editorial photography isn’t a requirement, and it’s certainly not something that every content creator will use, but when used correctly, it can elevate and improve almost any piece of content. Consider integrating better editorial photography practices into your content work – and milking every drop of value you can out of your content creation efforts.