The Most Important Shoot of the Year
 Sound
the trumpet, let loose the hounds! September marks the official
opening of the shooting season—annual report photography
shooting, that is. Now is the time of year when communicators
begin the hunt for that perennially elusive animal, the perfect
AR image. Fortified with a concept, a theme and a storyline,
communicators unleash an army of photographers on an annual
quest. The AR photo safari is on the trail. But beware. Deadly
clichés lurk in the cubical jungle. Dangerously boring
messages lie in ambush in the corner-office lair. Many a wily
communicator has been thrown off track when forced to forage
in the uncharted territory known loosely as ‘field ops.’
I know a corporate communicator who doesn’t always have
the budget for professional photography. She is plagued by
poor in-the-field shots supplied by employees. Her phrase
for these images is ‘field oops.’
 In
most companies the annual report serves multiple purposes.
Its stated audience may be current stockholders and the all
important investor, but clients and employees are routinely
included on the AR distribution list, making it one of the
most widely seen publications a communicator produces. With
such an important and varied audience to please and so much
riding on the outcome, managing the AR photo hunt can make
even the most experienced communicator run for cover. If you
want to improve not only the look but also the effectiveness
of your AR photos, take aim at the goals below.
The Four C’s of Annual Report Photography
This month we will cover the first two C’s: credibility
and clarity. Next month we will continue discussing annual
report photography with two more C’s: control and creativity.
 Credibility
It’s a post-Enron world. We are living in a time when
investors insist on full disclosure and complete transparency.
The public demands an accurate picture (pun intended) of a
company’s financial state. More than any other time
in history, annual report copy is under suspicion of spin.
What’s the answer? Use images to provide tangible proof
of your words. Photos verify the existence of your product,
people and services. Design your AR images to support the
story and point readers to the facts and details contained
in the copy.
Much has been said about the role of the executive portrait
in an AR. I believe it to be of paramount importance. If an
annual report can only contain one picture (heaven forbid),
it should be a well-crafted executive shot. Why? Because it
gives the audience an opportunity to look into the eyes of
the person making crucial decisions for the company. It invites
the audience to see and judge this pivotal person for themselves.
That’s open, honest and credible communication.
 Clarity
Nothing makes a point as clearly and quickly as a graphic.
By definition, a graphic can be a chart, graph, diagram or
an image of some sort. While the first three types of graphics
convey loads of information in a single glance, they are limited
to rather lifeless facts. Photos, on the other hand, provide
undeniable facts, plus they add a sense of realism and validity.
The old saying ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’
is a gross understatement. In the case of a globally distributed
annual, a photo could literally be worth many thousands of
translated words!
Use AR pictures as a form of universally understood shorthand.
Important nuances which you don’t have space to cover
in the narrative can be highlighted in the photos instead.
Details can be precisely and accurately depicted, decreasing
your word count, and at the same time, decreasing the chance
that your message will be lost in translation.
Next month: Control and Creativity. Happy hunting!
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