1.
How to Choose Authentic Photos
How using authentic, relevant imagery helps marketers grow faster.
+
Micah Cohen
Director of Growth, Twenty20
@miccohen
Liz Bedor
Content Marketing Strategist, NewsCred
@lizbedor
#ThinkContent

2.
• Importance of authenticity
• What makes an authentic photo
• Difficult terms
• How to search for authentic photos
• Brands doing it right
Agenda
#ThinkContent @miccohen

3.
Authenticity is vital
for your brand.
#ThinkContent @miccohen

4.
0 25 50 75 100
Communicate honestly
Don’t let customers down
Always act with integrity
Have brand recognition
Be more appealing/exciting
than competitors
Be popular among my peers
It’s important for brands to:
Buyer preferences, based on a survey of 12,000 across 12 markets | November 2014
#ThinkContent @miccohen
Consumers buy from brands
that feel authentic.

5.
New York Times
For example, a study from Cornell University
showed that when menu items had geographically
or culturally influenced names (i.e. traditional Cajun
beans or Grandma’s chili) patrons ordered them
more and said they tasted better.
Several studies have shown that
authenticity - real or perceived -
can directly affect sales.
Authenticity affects your bottom line.
#ThinkContent @miccohen

6.
New York Times
1.8 billion photos are shared
everyday on Snapchat,
Facebook, Instagram, &
WhatsApp.
As the major method of judging
info on the web and social
media, photos are the way
to express your authenticity.
Photos are they way to express your authenticity.
#ThinkContent @miccohen

7.
• Technical execution
• Trace of humanness
• Relatable
How to quickly spot
authentic photos?
#ThinkContent @miccohen

8.
Good technical execution
The amount of
light that enters
the camera
through the lens.
1
How sharp or blurry
the subject you are
photographing is.
Where in the frame
of the photo you
place your subject.
Exposure Focus Composition
#ThinkContent @miccohen

9.
Exposure? Check.
Focus? Check.
Composition? Check.
(rule of thirds approved)
We’ve all seen
photographs
that nail basic technique:
#ThinkContent @miccohen

10.
But don’t obsess over quality.
#ThinkContent @miccohen

11.
Tell a human story
2
#ThinkContent @miccohen

12.
Just because a photo nails the technical
component doesn’t mean it’s effective.
#ThinkContent @miccohen

13.
What makes the difference?
The human element.

14.
Exposure? Overexposed on the face.
Focus? Soft.
Composition? A bit off.
This photo is technically imperfect:
But emotionally?
It feels authentic…like looking over
at a friend sitting in a coffeeshop.
#ThinkContent @miccohen

15.
Whichtellsthemosthumanstory?
Test: side by side comparison
A B C
#ThinkContent @miccohen

16.
Photosthatconnecttoyourcustomers’livesalwayswin.
Trace of humanness
A B C
#ThinkContent @miccohen

17.
3
Be relevant
Photos must be relevant and relatable
to your audience.
#ThinkContent @miccohen

18.
Where do they live?
What is around them?
What products are familiar to them?
What is the weather like there?
Playing a modified game of
whodunit is the best way to learn
the nuances of your consumers’
media consumption habits so that
you can fit right in.
“Who is my audience?”
#ThinkContent @miccohen
Imagine your customer’s world.

19.
If so, you’d fail with this ad.
Your consumers aren’t
riding in taxis. They’re
calling Uber & Lyft on
their smartphones and
renting rooms off
Airbnb while
Snapchatting their
friends about what
they just saw on
Instagram.
Targeting millennials?
@miccohen

20.
People crave consuming user-generated
content on social media.
Use real-world photos in your marketing
• Take photos of employees and
activities around your office
• License authentic UGC from real-world
photographers
Be relatable to your audience’s style.
#ThinkContent @miccohen

21.
Micah Cohen
Director of Growth, Twenty20
micah@twenty20.com
Key Takeaways
• Be technically good
• Have a trace of humanness
• Be relatable
An authentic photo should:
#ThinkContent @miccohen

22.
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
Introducing NewsCred
Content Software Strategy
Liz Bedor
Content Marketing Strategist, NewsCred
liz.bedor@newscred.com

23.
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
The Challenge
• The web is filled with terrible stock photos
• Finding authentic photography is time consuming
• It’s tough to think outside the box
Finding authentic photography is difficult

24.
For example…
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

25.
Technology
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

26.
FuturisticHands
The typical stock photo choice
AppsEmergingfrom
Devices
GlowingEarth
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

27.
VintageTechnology
Authentic options
Abstract TechnologyCloseUp
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

28.
Success
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

29.
Handsupholdingtrophy
The typical stock photo choice
Personontopof
mountain
Puzzles
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

30.
TopDown/
Bird’sEyeView
Authentic options
Satirical Amazement/Awe
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

31.
Challenge
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

32.
PersoninFrontofMaze
The typical stock photo choice
RockClimbing ‘ChallengesAhead’
ConstructionSign
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

33.
ToughSurfaces/
Barricades
Authentic options
NarrowPathway StarkLandscapes
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

34.
Career
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

35.
ThumbsUpHappy
Employee
The typical stock photo choice
ArmsCrossed MultiplePeopleSurrounding
OneComputer
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

36.
FlatLaySupplies
Authentic options
PerspectivesFrom
Office
RealLifeCollaboration
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

37.
Health
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

38.
StethoscopeCloseUp
The typical stock photo choice
HealthNut YogaontheBeach
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

39.
X-Ray
Authentic options
Cropsofperson
exercising
Remedies
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

40.
Tips for searching for authentic photos
• Use photography terms
• Think of the emotion you’re trying to evoke
• Be specific
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

41.
Low angle
Defocused
Silhouette
Depth of Field
Front View
Head and Shoulders
Motion Blur
Long Exposure
Wide Angle
Selective Focus
Use real photography terms
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
1

42.
“Flat lay brunch”
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

43.
“Low angle view of wave”
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

44.
“Silhouette of city skyline”
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

45.
“Long exposure Port Melbourne”
#ThinkContent @lizbedor

46.
Think of the emotion you’re
trying to evoke
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
2

47.
Sample Headline: 7 Essential Roles for a
Successful Content Marketing Strategy
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
Emotion to Evoke: Calm

48.
The typical stock photo choice
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
7 Essential Roles for a Successful
Content Marketing Strategy

49.
Authentic option
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
7 Essential Roles for a Successful
Content Marketing Strategy

50.
Sample Headline: 7 Content Marketing
Mistakes + How to Avoid Them
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
Emotion to Evoke: Action

51.
The typical stock photo choice
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
7 Common Content Marketing
Mistakes + How to Avoid Them

52.
Authentic option
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
7 Common Content Marketing
Mistakes + How to Avoid Them

53.
Be specific
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
3

54.
Let’s say you need food images
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
Instead of searching for “soup” Try “clam chowder”

55.
Let’s say you need hairstyle images
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
Instead of searching for “hairstyle” Try “fishtail braid”

56.
Brands doing it right
#ThinkContent

57.
Mom.Me
mom.me
#ThinkContent

58.
#ThinkContent

59.
#ThinkContent

60.
#ThinkContent

61.
Bloomberg for Enterprise
bloomberg-datacap.cms.newscred.com
#ThinkContent

62.
MiFID II Implementation:
Don’t Hit the Panic Button…Yet
#ThinkContent

63.
How to Structure an Outsourced IT
Project for Less Risk, More Leverage
#ThinkContent

64.
Banks Face Basel Push to Prepare for
Higher Interest Rates
#ThinkContent

65.
First Round Capital
firstround.com/review
#ThinkContent

66.
#ThinkContent

67.
#ThinkContent

68.
#ThinkContent

69.
Want to learn more?
The Ultimate Guide to UGC
newscred.com/theacademy
+
#ThinkContent
NewsCred Strategy Services
strategy@newscred.com

70.
Thank you
+
Micah Cohen
Director of Growth, Twenty20
@miccohen
Liz Bedor
Content Marketing Strategist, NewsCred
@lizbedor
#ThinkContent