There may be uses for content from past projects you have at the ready that you may not have considered! The great thing about visual content is that they are valuable intangible assets that can prove beneficial to you and your brand beyond their initial purposes. The rewards of a great shoot go far beyond monetary compensation; the visual resources you create become lasting proof of your creativity, skill, and experience. Read this list and see if there are some benefits to your photography and video assets that you could take better advantage of!
#1: Client Proposals
What better way to show off what you can do and who you’ve worked with than using what you’ve produced in your briefs and proposals? Most people do this already in some form, but consider putting more emphasis on work you’ve already produced instead of reference images from the internet. This is a surefire way to impress clients, establish authority, and show them your potential.
#2: Throwback Thursday
Visual assets from archived projects make for great online content, especially when used in the context of popular trends and movements like #ThrowbackThursday or #MarketingMonday. This also makes it possible to increase overall exposure of your content to people who may have missed seeing your work or weren’t following you when you originally uploaded your images.
#3: Annual Reports
There’s no better way to celebrate your successful production exploits than to see your visual assets used in your company’s annual report, official guidelines deck, or brand bible. You’ll feel a very deep feeling of accomplishment as you see what you have produced being set as the benchmark by which your brand or client aims to measure up to in future projects. Kudos to you if you’ve already seen your work utilised this way!
#4: Creative Consistency
One interesting use of existing content assets is to utilise them to develop and define a clear aesthetic, tone, and perspective for future productions. This is especially useful if you’re working with the same account over a contract that spans more than one production and is a great selling point to get clients on board with long-term projects. You can use your visual assets to help define the brand of the assets you produce, helping you carve out a more distinct look to your work.
#5: Guest Blogposts
Sharing your experience and expertise online is a great way to create exposure for your work and increase visibility for the assets you produce. People always appreciate an insider perspective. I’m sure that you have an abundance of skills that an audience of your peers, colleagues, and people outside the industry would find interesting. Writing short, concise blogposts sounds a lot harder than it often is, you might find that you actually like the catharsis and insights you gain from it!
#6: Press & Public Relations
This is usually something the brand or client would handle, but why not use the assets for yourself or your agency? If you can weave an interesting story out of your production or if what you produced involves celebrities or things of relevant public interest, then you could potentially pitch the images to blogs and journalists. This could help boost your profile and get your work in front of new audiences. Bonus points if your project is meant to generate social impact, you’re pretty much guaranteed free exposure!
#7: Your Personal Brand
The most obvious use would surely be your own brand! Document key shots of set-up, pre-visualisation, and other forms of preparation. These could be used as case studies or social media content. Make it a habit to save digital high-resolution copies of all the assets you’ve produced, you never know when they could come in handy. Update your portfolio and showreel regularly and make sure to send out regular updates to your clients if you’re a freelancer. Who knows what opportunities are waiting around the corner!
All photos used in this guide are from photoshoots I’ve shot personally and often produced, taken with a Canon 5D Mk III + 100mm f/2.8L Macro, Sony A9 + 70-200 f/2.8, a Fujifilm X100S with 50mm teleconverter, and Contax G2 with a 50mm f/2.0 and Agfa Vista 400, shot in various locations including my studio.
What do you think of the guide? If you found it useful, you might want to download a practical list I’ve put together of the 7 Most Common Mistakes People Make When Planning Commercial Photoshoots. Download your free copy now by clicking this link.
Are there any other secondary uses for visual content I might have missed? Have you got a special way of applying what you’ve produced to other areas? Share what you know with me and others just like you by leaving a comment below.
