How to Harness the Visceral Power of Visual Storytelling

Find Your Light

Has an image ever stopped you dead in your tracks? Has a photograph ever given you a physical reaction, like shivers down your spine? Do you enjoy capturing those slice-of-life moments on your smart phone? Do you wish you knew more about photography? Want to know what goes into telling a story in a single frame?
Taj Forer, co-founder of Fabl, comes from a professional photographer background while also saving time to be a successful publisher and author. Fabl is a design-driven, visual storytelling platform that drives content marketing, branded storytelling, and social marketing for brands, publishers and agencies.
Taj joins us today to talk about how new technologies, like iPhones, have made visual production more accessible than ever. He shares his knowledge on sourcing content from your own consumers, reminds us that photography actually means “light writing,” and that taking a few moments to examine the light before you shoot can make all the difference. Most importantly, as Taj says, “the reason that I am so obsessed with visual storytelling is because we can actually feel something. It becomes visceral.”

In This Episode

• Why you don’t have to be a professional photographer to create great images
• How the right image will break through the noise and grab the attention of your audience
• Why it’s possible to source material from your consumer audience, and how to do it
• How to pair your image with the right headline to maximize its effect
• Why images and visual storytelling are so powerful in marketing
• How to use your own eyes, mind, and everyday equipment to take better photos

Quotes From This Episode

“There is just more and more photography and video being produced every day.” —@tajforer
“I definitely am a firm believer in a successful image representing the possibility of containing all of the content, all of the narrative of the story that one seeks to communicate through their image.” —@tajforer
“It’s just amazing how much more of an impact a photograph can have when there’s true sensitivity and awareness of the way that the light will interact with the subject.” —@tajforer

“When a brand or a marketer understands and leverages that visceral power of visual media, of visual storytelling, really incredible things start to happen because their audience, the viewer, the consumer group is physically moved. When we have a physical reaction, there’s arguably nothing more defining or impactful as a human being having an emotional stir, a physical reaction.” —@tajforer

“I want something that’s dynamic. I want something that’s immersive.” —@tajforer
“I am no stranger to using user-generated content, to using team member photography for blog posts or social media posts and then using content produced by users or customers as well. In fact, no only is it a great strategy for sourcing engaging imagery at no cost or very low cost, but when anyone sees one of their images online somewhere, inevitably it feels good and we want to project that.” —@tajforer
“Don’t overlook the immediacy and quality of the imagery that might be produced by yourself or your small team members.” —@tajforer

Resources

• Taj Forer
• Taj Forer on Twitter, @tajforer
• Fabl.co
• Joel Sternfeld
• J. Paul Getty Museum
• The North Carolina Museum of Art
• Content Marketing World Conference
• Doug Drexler
• “The Hero’s Journey,” by Joseph Campbell
• “Your DIY Guide to Crafting and Telling Compelling Brand Stories that Sell,” by Park Howell
• BusinessofStory.com
• Park@BusinessOfStory.com