DAM – How to Manage Your Business Photo Library

May 1, 2022

If there is one thing that gives me a chronic marketer’s headache, it’s managing clients’ photos. Photos are the single most important marketing investment (other than a killer website) a business can make. So it’s frustrating when businesses – even successful mature businesses – can’t get it together when it comes to managing their photo library. Digital asset management (or DAM as I like to call it) is easy when you take a systematic approach to it.

There are a few parts to this discussion. One is how a business should develop their photo library. The other is how that library needs to be managed on an on-going basis.Below are my tips for both!

Plan for It – The time to get photos of your seasonal summer business is last summer. Not this summer. Not this spring. You always need to be thinking of your future needs for photography. Same goes for annual events. Or seasonal menu items. Actual photos of your menu, event, activities, business exterior, etc. are far more compelling than generic stock images. Plan on a frequency that captures all of your key moments. Account for updates to your business, service or offerings. Photos do become obsolete when key personnel leave, when you update a facility or when a menu changes. Nothing is constant but change. You can only get there by planning for success with as much running room as possible.
Budget for It – A companion to “Plan for It,” this step ensures you have built in the funds you need in your budget to pay for an on-going robust photo library. This isn’t where to cheap out. Hire a professional. Don’t confuse the ephemera you may post on your social media pages. If you are doing public relations, print advertising, outdoor advertising, and yes, most digital advertising or social media, high-quality photography is worth its weight in gold. Nothing is more embarrassing as a marketing professional than to have your photos rejected (for a PR opportunity, print design or really anything) due to low quality – be it resolution, focus or just straight up lack of aesthetics.
Hire It – Find a photographer you like. If there is someone in your competitive set doing a good job with photography, find out who they work with and see if they’re available for your shoot. Ask for a proposal based on a specific scope of work (see shot list detail below). Be sure it includes the rights and licenses you need. I recommend complete and unfettered rights to avoid any legal hassles down the road. It may cost more but it’s worth it. Get a contract in writing and keep it on file as a scan in the same folder where you’ll store your photo library and signed model releases (more on that later). Someone working in your shoes in the future will thank you for it.
Organize It – Attack your photo shoot with a highly detailed plan that leaves nothing to chance. Here’s an example of a fairly simple shot list. Here’s a much more complicated one here for a two-day shoot. Identify your models – even if you are “just” using your in-house team/staff as models. Have models sign releases. Create a shot list and share it with your internal stakeholders. Think through location, props, clothing – everything that will make “go time” easier. You can never be too prepared.
Art Direct It – Don’t leave your photographer alone in the lurch! Be there and be present for the photoshoot. Provide that shot list in advance. Give in-the-moment input on each shot. Troubleshoot issues in real-time – such as removing price tags from props, distracting items in the background or even model’s hair, makeup and clothing. It will save you oodles of time and money on photo editing later.
Download It – When you work with a pro photographer, chances are they will send you a photo gallery link with the ability to download images. This is not where or how you should permanently store your photo library. Digital assessment management is the ability to quickly and easily find the photos (aka digital assets, which can also include graphics, videos and other marketing goodies) you need today and into the future. Photographers can change their photo gallery tools or may only grant a set time period for access to your files. Download them locally and keep them on a local server.
Organize It – After ensuring that you have safely stored your photos someplace locally, it’s time to set up your photo library in the cloud. Create folders that clearly identify what is in each by category. Embed the photographer name in the folder name. For instance, if John Smith takes summer exterior photos of your resort in 2022, your folder name might be “SummerExteriors22Smith.” It’s that easy and it will save you hours and hours of time in the future. Please do not leave the zip file extension as the folder name, locally or in the cloud. While you’re at it, save photos in a folder inside the folder for web res and high res files. Again, your future self will never stop singing your praises for taking the time to do this once and do it right.
Pick the Right Solution – There are a gazillion digital assett management solutions out there. This blog doesn’t intend to give you the run down on the best DAM choice. It also doesn’t attempt to delve into industry-specific needs (hello publications and catalogers). I’m talking to you, fellow yeoman marketers and freelancers. Beware of free solutions that may degrade your photo quality. I have had issues in the past with using Google Drive for photo storage as it compressed images in an unwelcome way. I have had good luck with a paid Dropbox account. I also have a Microsoft OneDrive set up that came with my work email exchange. Whatever you decide to use, use it consistently.
Set Client Expectations – My clients send me photos by email, text, Messenger, flash drives, you name it. This makes me crazy and disorganized. When you onboard a new client, discuss everything above with them. The importance of planning and budgeting for good photography. How you will mutually organize and have access to photos, both existing and new. What file formats are acceptable (no, I do not want your HEIC file from your iPhone). What you recommend for digital assessment management tech. Do it in advance. I find that my clients want to do a good job, they just have no idea what that looks like. You do. You’re the pro.
Work More Efficiently – Follow these steps and you will be able to work more efficiently than you ever dreamed imaginable! No more struggling to find the perfect photo when you have a last-minute PR opportunity. No discovering you only have tiny web res photos when you really need full res. No realizing in April that you have NO. FREAKING. SUMMER. PHOTOGRAPHY. I have lived through all of this – it’s avoidable. You can do this!

Photography is the magic spark to all of your content and marketing needs. Just because you CAN take a photo on your phone doesn’t mean you SHOULD take a photo with your phone. It’s fine for your own vacation photos or Insta page. No so much when your business or your clients’ businesses depend on it. And as I have always said, it’s more about the hands (and eyes) behind the camera than the camera itself. I am so impressed with the pros that do it well! I wish I had that talent! But the next best thing is appreciating the value of those that do.