Photographic Style

Our photographic style plays a key role in our communications. An image bank has been created that reflects our new brand positioning. This photography should act as a guide for future art direction and image capture around campus.

Specific campaigns will inevitably require photoshoots, both in studio and on location. Capturing as much of our own photography as possible ensures our campaigns are distinctly Birmingham.

Beyond our campuses and the cities we are in, our University operates and impacts at a global scale. Themes and ideas at this level often cannot be photographed. Stock imagery should be utilised to demonstrate these big picture messages to connect with audiences on a powerfully emotive level.

We have divided our photography in six groups to capture the fullest extent of our reach and influence. These areas are:

– People
– Place
– Research and Innovation
– Education and Learning
– Civic University
– Abstract Conceptual

To help with decision making, there are three tiers of imagery:

Tier one is for everyday photography; focusing on our people, our campuses, and our work.

Tier two is for our campaigns; a mixture of conceptual photoshoots and high quality stock photography from reputable photography libraries such as Getty Images.

Tier three is for conceptual and abstract imagery to communicate big picture ideas that cannot be captured by our photographers.

This section illustrates how images within tiers one and two have similar styles in comparison to tier three. It is important to reference the differences.

When comparing photography that depicts everyday life on campus and high impact campaign photography, you can see clear differences in style. Use this guide to help make decisions around how you approach the selection of imagery for your project.

This tier should be seen as photos for everyday use throughout our wide range of communication collateral. This style should capture a sense of daily life from the perspective of students and staff; real moments that have a feeling of authenticity.

These photos have a slightly pared back, under saturated look. This is a brand differentiator that will set us apart from other universities who tend to use staged and overly treated photos. When taking photos, some key factors to consider and details to capture include:

– A mix of shallow depth of field and deep focus
– Creating a sense of documentary realism
– Natural lighting
– Candid and real life moments of people on campus
– A mix of smiling and more natural facial expression
– Zoomed in details
– Interesting perspectives
– Areas in and out of focus
– Shooting through structures and people
– Shapes and angles that mimic the Lines of Intent

Our campus is a place where at every turn we see structures, shapes and signs of architectural excellence and intrigue. With a mix of old and modern, subtle and striking, soft and sharp, we have a rich environment from which we can create content. Whether using or taking photographs, consider how the subject is cropped, interesting and dynamic angles that exist (which reflect the lines of intent) and the feeling that lighting creates.

We have incredible research facilities across our campus, where our people make innovative advancements. This is something we want to authentically capture and celebrate. This imagery should always feel cutting edge, innovative, authentic and never staged. We want to demonstrate how the work we are doing is bold, abstract and technology-driven. Care should be taken when choosing imagery like this to ensure that it has high impact but doesn’t degrade the overall brand.

Academic excellence is a hallmark of our institution, with no ego or glory-grabbing. As such, our images have an understated, muted tone. Our photographs are unstaged. Whether it’s groups, candids, close-ups or portrait, these images should capture our diverse academic learning communities, developing their insight and sharing their knowledge across all of our environments.

Playing a positive and meaningful role in our communities, affecting change and being a civic force for good, is one of the core brand themes of our University. This type of photography should show our people out in the world, taking part in community events, supporting those in need and standing up for a diverse and just society.

Tier two allows for conceptual photography. The campaign brief will inform the style of art direction and the examples here are to inspire creative thing around lighting, angles and framing.

In cases where it is not practical or cost effective to commission a photoshoot, stock imagery can be used. Please carefully consider our brand personality and core brand themes when selecting stock photography.

In cases where it is not possible to photograph the spaces and places our work reaches, stock photography is a great resource. Again, careful consideration must be taken to ensure choices are an authentic reflection of our brand personality and core brand themes, steering clear of cliches and overly staged scenes.

This photography should be used for showcasing our major research projects and the societal scale and impact our work has. These are hero images, that carry weight and prestige, and would be the centre point of a major research brand campaign for the University. Images like this need careful consideration and selection, to ensure they reflect the work and impact of our institution.

Following on closely from our tier one versions, these images are weighted more towards key campaign activity and as such should convey deeper emotive feelings.

This group will encompass many different subjects and themes. These images should reflect the civic impact we have beyond our campuses, looking towards our communities and wider world, where our work in areas such as the how we are tackling the climate crisis and global equality has great meaning.

Ideas and themes that hold a deeper meaning, like progress, research, impact and leadership, that a standard photograph may struggle to effectively convey, can be shown through abstract and conceptual stock imagery.

Ensure that overly stylised computer-generated images are not used and limit the amount of abstract images used at any one time. Photographs with a noticeable depth of field, that are slightly out of focus or obscured, have used a long exposure or extreme close ups, all effectively capture a sense of the abstract world.

Conceptual driven photography that has high impact and drives an understated confidence in everything we do.

It is helpful to show image styles and treatments to avoid because they are not on brand. Some examples are shown below.

Please avoid:

– Staged and unnatural scenes
– Cliched themes and metaphors
– Clipart and off-brand illustration
– Dated CGI imagery
– Overly complex imagery