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Photography

Every photo tells a story. 

Let’s make it a good one.

Captured Moments

Photos are like magic. They can tell a story, inspire, introduce, entice, explore or explain. They can provide ancillary dialogue or communicate nuance. Their versatility and impact make them powerful, essential tools. At the highest level, our photos deliver on our brand attributes of driven, uplifting, imaginative and inclusive and deliver them in very specific ways. 

By being: 

  • Authentic and honest 
  • Human and hopeful 
  • Diverse and inclusive

Authentic and Honest

The faces and environments we show should reflect the real world. Authentic photos are conscious of the world around us without being staged or contrived like fake smiles, unnatural poses, and forced excitement. They capture real and imperfect moments that are relatable and engaging. They draw our audience in and emotionally connect us.

Human and Hopeful

A human face captures our attention faster than anything else because we are hard-wired to stop and look. When we show hopeful people, it adds dimension to our stories. Ensuring that those people are relatable and interesting, working on things that matter to them and relating to others or with our products, adds even more.

Diverse and Inclusive

There is power and responsibility in the photos we choose. When our photos reflect the diversity in our world, we honor our customers, partners and employees. Incorporating diversity and inclusion from the onset, enables us to reflect it honestly and respectfully. Include people of all ethnicities, genders, ages, physicality and orientations.

Do’s and Don’ts

Here are some pitfalls to avoid and examples of the image types and styles to watch out for.

Clichés and stereotypes

Do

Dont

Choose images that represent concepts in meaningful and relevant ways.

Don’t use unrealistic metaphors, environments, or people interacting

Generic technology

Do

Dont

Show genuine HP products when possible

Don’t show technology that could be mistaken for a competitor’s product

Outdated content and styling

Do

Dont

Make sure clothes and styling reflects today’s environment and culture

Don’t use images that look dated or inappropriate

Heavily filtered photographs

Do

Dont

Use natural and realistic lighting

Don’t use artificial or overly embellished color treatments

Overly propped or busy environments

Do

Dont

Use clean and lightly propped environments

Don’t use distracting or cluttered environments

  • Clichés and stereotypes

  • Generic technology

  • Outdated content and styling

  • Heavily filtered photographs

  • Overly propped or busy environments

The Bigger Picture (photo tips)

By sharing some fundamental design principles, we can vastly improve our photo selections. It also helps us build a shared vocabulary by which we can evaluate selections going forward. 

 

Context and Intent

All good photo selection and creation begins with a plan. To develop yours, answer the following: Who are we talking to? What message or emotion do we want to express? Where and how will the image be shown? 

  • Resist the center – Moving the focal point away from the center of our frame can intensify its impact. By moving it closer to the edges, our image gains energy and tension.

  • See-say – An easy trap to fall in is to show exactly what the copy is saying. Resist the obvious and find something that’s more interesting and supportive of the story you are trying to tell.

  • Leading the eye – When people in photographs are looking at something (eye-line), the observer tends to follow suit. When used subtly and sparingly, we can leverage this eye-line to highlight our message.

  • Keep it simple – Simple and impactful photographs have a much better chance of grabbing the attention of our audience. “Fill the frame” to have a single subject or crop in to remove clutter.

HP owned photography

HP’s Asset Hub provides access to a wide range of HP digital marketing assets including brand photography for your use.

If you choose to license stock photography, please follow HP brand guidelines and have the appropriate usage rights and clearances met.

HP Asset Hub
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