You’ve booked a commercial agricultural photography session, created your shot list using my helpful guide, and now you’ve received your gallery of authentic, curated branding photos. So, what’s next? This blog post outlines four simple steps to get the most out of your agricultural branding photos and video clips!

Download and archive your photos and video clips

First and foremost, once you receive your gallery, be sure to download and save your files. Photos live in your delivered gallery for a minimum of one year, but I recommend saving photos in two additional ways:

1. Your organization’s internal cloud based storage platform (Like Google Drive or OneDrive)
2. An external hard drive

Cloud based storage programs are wonderful as long as you have a fast internet connection. If you catch yourself without, downloading files can quickly become a tedious task. In addition to cloud storage, I keep backups of all of my files on external hard drives. They’re easily accessible without an internet connection and keep large photo and video files from taking up space on your computer’s hard drive.

The WD Discovery brand is my favorite external harddrive and one I’ve used for years. I’ve also had good luck with the Lacie Rugged brand. With any external hard drive, be sure to protect them and keep them safe from water, extreme heat or cold, or from being jostled around. Use caution and protective cases or packaging when traveling with external harddrives as they can become damaged, making your files unreachable.

Sort and organize your photos and video clips

Once you’ve got your photo and video clips downloaded and archived, I recommend sorting them into categories. Reference back to the shot list we created before your session, and sort accordingly. I find it’s also helpful to create subfolders with vertical and horizontal images or video clips. This saves time when you’re looking for something specific.

Quite frankly, this is not the most exciting step and can sometimes be a bit tedious. But a few minutes spent organizing photo and video content up front can save you lots of time searching for the perfect image or clip down the road.

Align specific photos and video clips with your content and marketing strategy

Once you have photos and videos sorted, cross reference your marketing strategy and align specific photos or clips with deliverables. For example, if you know you will be promoting a specific product or service during a period of time via magazine print ad, mailed flier, email, paid or organic social media ad, and billboard; establish which photos in your curated galleries will align with the message of your advertisements. Then, look through video clips to find clips for Instagram reels, TikTok videos, or YouTube videos that align with that same branding. 

This is especially helpful if your organization works with contractors or agencies to help with your marketing deliverables. All parties will have access to the same photos and video clips and your brand will maintain continuity in the visual aspects of your messaging.

Enjoy the ease of curated photos at your fingertips!

As a marketer, one of the most frustrating things can be accessing a specific, relevant photo in a timely fashion, especially if you’re faced with the seasonality of the ag industry. Stock sites often don’t have the exact photo you’re looking for. Most likely do not have your exact brand represented. But planning ahead (more on that in this blog post), hiring an experienced agricultural photographer, and properly saving and archiving your deliverables can make your tasks as an agricultural marketing professional much simpler!

For more information on commercial agricultural brand photography, check out the commercial agriculture photography page on my website. To discuss your agribusiness’ photo and video needs, you invite you to schedule a complementary 30 minute discovery call.