Picture this – building up a new image library
for WaterSafe Register

“How about a day in Brighton to watch some pictures being taken?”

That’s an easy thing to say yes to, but why were we doing it?

It is worth taking a few steps back to look at the overall environment in which WaterSafe Register operates.

Earlier this year we officially rebranded, adding ‘Register’ to our name. This was to reinforce our primary purpose as a listing of suitably qualified and competent plumbers and, for consumers who are familiar with the work of Gas Safe Register, this addition helps us to position ourselves in their minds as offering trusted experts.

When you make that kind of brand change, it also means redoing a lot of your marketing collateral and imagery because you want things to be consistent, hence the new logo, van stickers, advertising, etc.

You also want to have a whole bank of imagery you can use for your website, on social media, and in other places. When you are planning the shot list, it is also an opportunity to think about the kind of story you want to tell with your pictures:

• What’s the tone?

• Do you want the pictures to look very formal and corporate or more approachable?

• What parts of your service do you want to illustrate? 

• How do you want to differentiate yourself from others offering similar services?

These things are all key to telling your story, and among the things we planned out in advance

Working with colleagues from our partner agency Create 51, we developed a list of the shots we wanted to get; they knew a photographer who was familiar with this kind of work, and a WaterSafe-registered plumber to be the star of the show (we wanted to use someone who was actually registered rather than a model).

Having a plan, but being flexible

Our plumber, Riccardo, had found us a location – a house belonging to a customer of his who was happy for us to use it as our model.

It was perfect – a large house with several bathrooms and kitchen areas that would give us a range of shots. Our photographer Ciaran was giving us insights on what shots would work and how to get the most from every picture.

From there we started with recreating the whole experience of having a WaterSafe registered plumber arrive to do work: 

• showing their ID card at the door

• looking at the job

• explaining to ‘the customer’ (my colleague Steph) what would be done

• getting on with the job

• and then explaining what has been done and going through the paperwork.

Having our shot list was a vital back-up, but working with experienced people meant we could also grab other shots as we saw them.

For example, we also took the opportunity to build up a bank of more general shots, e.g. of taps, sinks, stopcocks, fingers pressing WC flush mechanisms etc. 

Why get these? 

Well, they are surprisingly useful, and if you don’t have your own shots then you have to buy them from online image libraries like Shutterstock. Who wants to use the same generic picture of a tap for years at a time?

So, I didn’t get to see much (any) of Brighton, but I did get to work with great people for the day, added some great assets to WaterSafe Register’s library, and, along the way, determined how we position WaterSafe Register with consumers looking for competent and qualified professionals to do their plumbing work.

Look out for the photos cropping up across our website and social media channels.