• Brand Identity: WESC is a premium streetwear brand born in the streets of Stockholm, offering 
innovative and contemporary clothing and accessories for the intellectual slacker who is seeking to express originality in a world of uniform thinking. Their Target Audience is people in the late teen to mid-thirties.

• NYC Public Service Campaign: The NYC public service campaign on hearing loss aims to encourages people to lower the volume when using their headphones in order to prevent future hearing loss. According to NYEE (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary), “Hearing loss is a critical public health issue. According to The National Institutes of Health, approximately 36 million Americans already have some degree of hearing loss…”

• Image Ideas:  Close up photos, different perspectives of the subject wearing the headphones, focus on a laidback-and-friendly attitude.

Most health insurance companies are using photo’s of people who appear to be happy, showing it by smiling or having fun alone, in family/group photo’s, either in portrait style photos  or while doing activities or hobbies they seem to love. The photo’s use bright lights that highlight the model’s face. The ads themselves are bright with light or white backgrounds. The type is inviting and colorful to catch attention.What should be communicated by an image promoting the company Health Care for All are photos of healthy people who are happy to be where they are because they are insured. Their faces and attitudes should be highlighted to show their contentment. They should be close us to have a personal and inviting feel to it. During our photo session i will try to capture the bight and warm side of the model. I want the focus to be on the models smile.

Results: it’s definitely difficult to capture moments when you aren’t sure how to direct your model. This was challenging. One of the photos I like and will use will be one taken by another photographer :). It’s a group shot that shows confidence and comfort.

Summary: Firstly, the companies I viewed were Anthem, United Health Group, and Aetna. After scrolling through several health care company sites, I began to notice a striking similarity between them. All of the company websites contained extremely positive photographs. This includes people smiling, looking up towards the sun, and doing energetic activities. In addition, adults were often seen playing with their children. In terms of lighting, almost all photographs seemed to be very bright. This creates an enlightened feeling in my opinion.

Communication Problem: In terms of promoting Health Care for All, I believe the image must express a feeling of self-worth. The image should show an individual doing what they like to do, whether it be hiking, reading a book, painting, or even laughing.

Image Ideas: I’d like to capture an image of an individual happily reading a book. But my image idea will vary depending on props that can be used.

Results: My initial plan was to have a partner happily reading a book. This would radiate a feeling of joy, relaxation, and comfort. Nonetheless, it may look too much like a promotional advertisement for a local library more than a HealthCare ad. So in that case, I chose to use an image of my three partners. Considering they’re of various races, I thought this would describe “healthcare for all” perfectly.

The three companies I looked up were AbbVie, Abbott, and American Addiction Centers, while focusing on their choice of photography I noticed some striking similarities. First of all, majority of the photographs had people, and some focused on environments. The photographs of people were well lit, giving the subjects a very warm and inviting look and most of the shots were either head shots or 3/4 shots. Also when the health care companies used photographs of people they used very energetic images, any image that had a multitude of people were quite engaging and looked very natural and full of life. If scenery was used, it was used in to ways, by itself or with people. The scenery would be something very peaceful to look at, being very easy on the eyes, when used with people, the people are usually in focus while the background scenery would be soft and blurred.

For a company trying to promote themselves as a health care company, certain key elements should be incorporated within each photograph. Each photograph should invoke a warm and inviting feeling, so that people would not feel, for whatever reason threatened or hostility to your company. Each image should also flow with energy and not be static or boring, to be able to catch people’s attention.

I would like my photographs to be a mix of some breathtaking scenery and some positively inviting looking photographs of individual. This blend would not only make costumer feel invited but I believe it will also leave them with a very tranquil feeling.

Photography: In researching images used by healthcare providers, I noticed that in terms of color schemes, there were a lot of whites and blues, and very rarely were reds involved unless they were part of a banner or icon invoking the imagery of “healing”, such as crosses and bandages. People, when they were involved in the layouts, were overwhelmingly positive and upbeat, and only ads serving as PSAs showed anything in a negative light to dissuade certain practices. On the subject of lighting, there were never harsh highlights or glaring light sources in the ads I saw, instead they used diffused lighting to create a calm, inviting image that was easy on the eyes.

Communication Problem: Health Care For All New York’s mission statement , to me, conveys a sense that the company is a stern benefactor for people under its protection. While on one hand, it’s a priority to show the calm, inviting side of a healthcare provider, it is also a priority to showcase the uncompromising service of HCFANY.

Image Ideas: Smiling patrons with HCFANY’s added to the composition in post.

Results: The warm, happy and inviting aspect of healthcare ads got through a lot more than “uncompromising”, I would think. The photographs taken were all complimentary portrait shots, and some were even lit in classic photo studio styles such as Rembrandt and butterfly lighting. Even then I am pleased with the results of this week’s shoot, and I believe the group produced enough material for their HCFA ad. My subject having a band-aid on during the shoot was very fortuitous for me, because it went very well with the topic.

Kinds of Photography: Health Care companies use a lot of individual and group portraits, full body shots. People look happy enjoining spending time with families, friends, doing excises or just walking in a park. Usually image shows simple things of everyday’s life which can be impossible with illnesses or injures. We can see a lot of natural light on photos and usually an outdoor environment.  Age groups: senior people,  young people, families.

Communication Problem: Taking a photo for Health Care for All in photo studio can be challenging because it is more common to use natural light and an outdoor location. The goal is to show happiness and positive emotions.

Image Ideas: Group shots, showing relationships between members in a group.  Using a lot of studio lights to make it look closer to the natural light.  I might change the background image to more fitting image.

Results: The final image has a different approach from my image ideas. I have decided not to use group shots and not to change the background. However the chosen  image communicates in a clear way. The face expression shows confidence and  it fits the AD. The ball in hands,  which is also was used like a graphic element  emphasizes the name of the insurance company  and brings the attention. All and all the design looks clear,  interesting and it can deliver the message clearly.