Images Help Your Audience Remember

Creating Photography that builds identity and tells stories

Our brains are being bombarded with information all the time, so much so that we’ve become very selective about what we actually retain. How bad is the problem? How much do people forget? In his book Brain Rules, John Medina explains how people are likely to remember only 10% of the information they hear 72 hours after they hear it. If that same information is conveyed with a relevant, attention-grabbing image, that number increases to an incredible 65%! That’s a huge jump in retention, and it shows how important images are when you’re trying to cut through the clutter and get your message across.

Identity that tells a story

Earlier this month I visited the Foam Talent exhibition. The exhibition showcased the work of 20 international artists, and countless subjects and techniques. Grasping people’s identity and telling a personal story remained the most important themes for a new generation of photographers. A powerful picture invites you into a different world, it draws you into a person’s innermost thoughts and feelings. You’re so impressed by what you see and what you feel, for that moment you can’t think of anything else: you’re left speechless.

“Sometimes you’re lost for words at the astonishing technique, sometimes it’s the way the story unfolds in a single second, sometimes it’s the sheer beauty” 

Pictures have the power to bring an identity to life, to trigger a very human response in a way that words alone cannot.

 Leadership pictures

In a world where pictures of business men are constantly flashing before our eyes, how can we create portraits of leaders that invite people to connect at a deeper level? What can we learn from the young artists when trying to create a lasting identity for a CEO? It’s important that the portrait also touches those people who don’t necessarily have any connection or interest in the person being portrayed. To capture identity we have to ask ourselves what is the essence of this person? What does he or she stand for and what is their story? We have to make the abstract concrete and that requires context.

Let’s take two presidential examples: Obama has often been praised for his confidence, inner strength and joy of life and what better way to express these characteristics than in this amazing picture of him kite surfing with Richard Branson just after he left the White house. This is possibly one of the strongest pictures of an ex-president.

Hans de Jong, President Philips Netherlands is driven by his passion for innovation, youth, people and healthcare …. Qualities that are expressed beautifully in this picture of him at the Dutch Technology Week.

Whatever you stand for, you need powerful images that communicate the essence of what you’re all about. You need the emotional depth of identity made tangible by the context.

Creating a powerfull story

At Base Consulting we realise that image alone is not the key to a strong profile. We discuss identity, we create context and we combine these to create powerful, compelling stories that we help companies and CEO’s build over time. Lets invite our audiences to experience our stories from deep within.

At Base Consulting, we discuss identity, we create context and we combine these to create powerful, compelling stories.