Your Visual Brand - with Alec Watson: Recent Episodes
Alec Watson
Everything you need to now about the art of Visual Branding. Engage your audience through campaigns, social media, and websites like a boss. From pop stars to presidents, Alec has photographed and filmed for big brands. Alec shares stories, his insights, and interviews branding luminaries to move the needle on Your Visual Brand.
Shelli Gonshorowski is a Master Commercial Editor. Coming from a background in Radio Audio Production, Shelli has worn all the hats when it comes to telling stories.
Shelli gives you her top insights into being better at story telling when it comes to filming.
Do you simultaneously love and hate getting your photo done?
Some days as a Photographer, I feel like the dentist (no offence to dentists), but somedays I am greeted by nerves and people that tell me how much they hate having their photo taken! 😳
I have put together a top 5 for getting your best photo day!
In 2015, I got a strange last minute call to photograph a meeting between the President of China Xi Xinping and the CEO of Microsoft Satya Nadella.
Jet, lagged, exhausted and walking off the plane speaking with the U.S. Secret Service and the Chinese Equivalent, I began to wonder whether I was the unwitting accomplice to some sort of international espionage😳.
Why would they hire a campaign photographer at full day rate to take a picture of a hand shake between 2 VIPs?
Why would they call me only 12 hours before the shoot if it was so important?
And why must I not accept a USB from the Chinese delegation and only hand them the one coming from the American team?
Was I being hired for the hand-off for corporate espionage?
Was I there to be front and center for something terrible about to happen to the President of China?
...or was I a photographer that has seen too many spy movies?
All these questions answered, plus take aways on how to live in the moment and be a better artist on Episode 1 Season 2!
ACK! I hate being late!
I go to great lengths to be organized and on time, it's incredibly important to me.
This day, I was late and there was nothing I could do about it.
I learned a lot this day.
I think there are lessons that apply to all sorts of businesses and to leaders.
Lessons I learned - SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO! ;-)
There are so many things I would do differently if I got a re-do. How much better or worse would I have done if I'd used my voice better? How do I deal with anxiety- that creeps into my life? And how do I deal with imposter syndrome?
I often think the most valuable lessons I can share are tactical and/or technical. I realized the other day that perhaps the lessons I learned the hard way and unexpected wins from two stellar careers - one in music and one as an image creator, likely bring insights that can't be learned from a book. Heck, they might even be entertaining!
It's called Visual Narrative - fancy speak - for the story you see in an image.
I grew up fascinated by a book of images painted by Norman Rockwell. I don't fashion entires stories into my images; part of an image is capturing a moment.
BUT - you are taking a photo for a reason, to capture a story. These are my top 3 techniques for getting more story into my images.
It's hard enough to get social media out to your audience daily, without worrying about whether it's on brand! ...or is it?
Staying on brand is WAY easier than you think with these Top 3 Expert Techniques.
Are you using color correctly to in your business?
Of the 4 Colors in this title, 2 are the same chroma, but one subliminally speaks to you about health, while the other suggest responsibility. One chroma through social experience suggests creativity while the other might make you crave a coffee! Yet all 4 together create a completely different relationship that might make some people reminisce on fond memories of their time in a country in South America!
Understanding a little about color goes a long way to telling your audience about your brand's value, what it does, who it's for, whether you can be trusted and so much more - ALL - without saying a word.
Color has an incredible power to illicit an emotional response - create a feeling.
We are PASSIONATE about color!
This episode is dedicated to the top 3 subliminal powers that color has in your visuals, from social media to checkout.
...and they have NOTHING to do with pictures!
Visual Branding is all about communication. WHAT we communicate and the WHY of our audience are the two most important ingredients ... and they are often forgotten!
This is the 1st Episode of a 6 Part Series on Visual Branding the follows the outline of Alec's Online Course:
Your Visual Brand
For an in-depth look at the course and increasing the effectiveness of your Brand's Communications (which is tech speak for - make more money and conversions with better images and branding)
https://www.yourvisualbrand.com
Launching from nothing is HARD. It's hard on our ego, it's hard on income and you have to celebrate small successes.
Harvard University and Linked in Learning, educator/lecturer Jen Kramer, just killed it, growing her mailing list from 0 to 1500 in 30 Days
... which might sound easy if it were a promotion for getting rich quickly, but Jen managed to do this with an engaged audience talking about HTML (basic coding for the internet). ZOIKS!
Now, now offence to coders, but if you can grow a mailing list like that in one month on something like coding... imagine what you could do!
Jen chats with Alec about how she did it.
Everyone takes photos with their iPhone or mobile camera. As a professional photographer and film maker, I have found that my iPhone is SO good, that I often leave my good cameras behind when I am shooting for myself.
Mobile phones have some pretty big limiting factors, but if you use these 5 methods you will GREATLY improve your images!
We are ALL required to be creative everyday. It's difficult to multitask, move between projects, and stay creative; we are torn in so many directions every day.
As a former platinum recording engineer turned campaign photographer and film maker, I have to deliver creativity for a living. These are my TOP 5 ways to stay protect and stay in my creative space.
These 3 images all look "pro."
Which were shot with expensive professional lighting and which were shot with (FREE) natural light?
Did you know that cameras are really just light recorders!?!
If you have great light, even an inexpensive phone camera can take amazing pictures! ...of other people or selfies!
In my career I have to find or create GREAT light 100% of the time.
There are places where natural light is almost ALWAYS great - these are my top 3 places to find great light every time! You are probably near at least 2 right now. If you shoot in these places, your images are more than half way to looking pro!
... 'cause a camera is just a light recorder.
Who doesn't need a little psychology of color in their repertoire?
Your audience processes images up to 60,000 times faster than they read copy. In the milliseconds that they process the image of your product or service and their brain sets a price expectation, does it match with your copy and the actual price point?
Keeping your audience emotionally connected is imperative to a successful customer experience.
A.I. is changing the way we record and see the world. When CSI Miami used to "enhance, zoom, enhance" it wasn't credible in 2003 - WELCOME 2021!
Here are the Top 5 ways machine learning is going to improve your images for better messaging - starting today and into the near future!
The TOP 3 WAYS Visual Branding is like a Rock Band!
WHAT IS VISUAL BRANDING!?!
It's easy to describe - google it! ...or is it?
At first look, the google description of Visual Branding seems accurate.
Google: "Car" - it's also accurate. But, if you didn't know what a car was, you'd never understand why we work to own them; why there are so many different cars; why we love the automobile.
The same is true for Visual Branding. It is WAY deeper than a description.
From his previous music background, as a gold record earning producer/engineer, Alec uses an analogy to describe how Rock Bands and Lead Singers and Marketing and Visual Branding are similar.
Through a model of music that you understand, you will gain a new understanding of Your Visual Brand.