We’ve noticed the trend. Video is becoming the way most people communicate online these days. How can you as photographer use video as a tool to influence the personal brand you are constantly building, and how can you expand your product offering to clients? There are various types of videos you can focus on to produce, and the aim should be to make videos that you would like to make for a client. Therefore, it needs to be professional, and something clients might actually use as their marketing and advertising materials.
Using Video to Expand Your Photography Market
One of the tips I took out of the new Fstoppers tutorial showing us how to "Make Real Money" with photography, is that Monte Isom's agents booked him as a photographer by focusing on his behind-the-scenes videos of his productions rather than on his portfolio. The agents booked him based on what they could show clients regarding his style of working and what a day with him in the studio will look like. I recommend producing these BTS videos if you haven’t done so and if you want to step up the marketing of your photography work.
How You Can Increase the Production Value of Your BTS
Behind-the-scenes videos have evolved into full productions now. The way of making the video entertaining and adding aspects that showcase the professionalism and seriousness of your craft can be assisted with using the latest addition to Adobe Stock, Motion Graphics templates. There are many free templates available for you to download and use as you wish.
If you look at most videos from established YouTubers today, you have a talking head, where they introduce what the video is going to be about, the intro-roll and then the video starts. An intro roll is the perfect place to make use of these templates to define your style and showcase your brand.
If you’re introducing someone to your viewers, a lower-thirds graphics template with their name and what they do can also boost their social street-cred and make the video something they’ll share with their followers.
Making Videos as a Profession
Videos are used everywhere today. When you’re meeting with a client regarding your work, the second question they’ll ask is whether you do video too. The luxury fashion brands are using them for their social marketing, how-to videos are used to introduce concepts and new products on Kickstarter and Indiegogo and the outdoor photography brands are sending vloggers to Iceland to shoot using their gear.
These videos that are produced are portfolio pieces of yours. The intros, logo reveals, and style of text appearing is all part of your video production, and if you are able to use these effectively, you are doing something most solo producers either don’t do or source out to someone else. This is your chance of stepping up and showcasing your way of telling a story.
How to Use Motion Graphic Templates
Adobe has made it easy to access and download templates from Adobe Stock to your Creative Cloud Libraries. But how do you implement it? By opening Adobe Premiere Pro and going into the Libraries panel. You’ll see all of the Motion Graphics templates you’ve added to your library. You can drag and drop them into your timeline and edit the text to fit your video by opening up the Essential Graphics panel.
This capability certainly opens up a whole new level of editing, and you as a solo videographer can shoot, edit and apply these graphic effects to your videos.
Adobe uploaded a video to showcase and share how it's done:
Conclusion
Adobe has really listened to the people who use their tools, and I am stoked about this recent update. I’ll most definitely be using Motion Graphics templates from now on. If you haven't given the templates a try, I recommend you do. It's the way forward for the videos you produce.
Maybe I’m being a snob, but I wish still photographers would stop doing video themselves. If you are a still photographer and you want to make a video, hire a videographer. Everybody doesn’t need to do everything
Yep, and vice versa :)
Nah, not a "snob". The fact is, though, that people have to have more and more things in their repertoire to make ends meet. Is the Adobe program as good as an experienced videographer? Of course not. But if it helps someone get a client that they otherwise wouldn't have, then I'm all for it.
Exactly!
The market for photographers is saturated so expanding your skillset helps you stand out to clients.
And videographers need to stop acting like they can make stills.
Chris, you’re not being a snob, just showing some unnecessary resistance.
I was a videographer back in the late 70s and into the 80s and then moved over to still photography. There are a lot of disciplines and techniques that are similar and the art of creating both requires learning, experimenting and experience.
There are quite a few still photographers that want nothing to do with video and the reverse. Many print designers don’t do web design and the reverse applies here too.
I was once told by someone who reviewed my portfolio that I’m all over the place and should pick one discipline/style and stick to it. Worst advice I ever got and I’m glad I ignored it.
I have been working in print design, some web design, still photography and back to some video as well as some audio editing (I used to be a soundman as well) and I enjoy all of them and can do a pretty good job in all of them.
The old adage of “Jack of all trades and a master of none” doesn’t apply any more, especially to work done on digital devices and using tools that work well with each other and are very flexible in turning out any desired final product.
Not every one who has a cellphone is a photographer just because their device has a camera in it. There is plenty of work in every area that requires the professional touch and will allow you to bid for it.
Is Fstoppers out to be the no1 Kook creator. Shit, if you want to do video, do it right, stop being a kook.
Can you define what you mean by "doing video right?" If being a kook means being a photographer who uses all the tools they have to produce videos, then I'm a kook for sure.