Businesses Take Part in a Photo-Shoot with a Twist

TGtS are used to attending photo-shoots, but a MiStock photo-shoot is unlike any we have ever attended before.

MiStock is the brain child of Charlotte Mannion and Mike Morrison.

Mike, a keen blogger and small consultancy firm owner grew tired of shelling out hundreds of pounds on photo-shoots to obtain high-quality stock images - A dilemma that many small to medium sized businesses face.

Thanks to the creation of MiStock, businesses can now eliminate the need for costly photographers, models and venue hire.

Mike said "The premise is really quite simple. A group of individuals from small businesses come together to create their own stock images"

During the sessions held at Basepoint Business Centre a photographer takes a series of natural un-posed photgraphs in a range professional settings.

Depending on the needs of the respective businesses, photographs can include; board room meetings, one on one interviews, mediation sessions, daily office routines and team building exercises.

Mike continued "The idea came to me after I required a service like this for my own business; I was finding it hard to justify spending £500-£1000 on costly shoots. In addition to running my own consultancy firm in West London I'm an avid blogger and constantly need new images"

"You can access a whole wealth of stock images online, but they never seem to convey the right message or sometimes can appear a bit too cheesy. It's nice to have something personal to your needs and something that nobody else has"

"The price you pay for a Mistock session wouldn't get you an hour in a studio"

Participants at the event in West Swindon included Sarah Cooper, Sean Donovan and Steve Gardner of Development Garden. The trio who set up their own training and development business six years ago are currently revamping their website.

Sarah said "So far today's session has been great fun and more importantly relaxed, initially we had tried to take our own stock images but it was a disaster. They all appeared too forced and unnatural"

Sean added "Like Sarah said, we tried it ourselves and it wasn't pretty! The team at Mistock's experience really shines through, they put you at great ease and so far the shots look great. It's exactly what we were after! Although what our business does is really quite serious, as a team we're warm friendly people and we wanted that to be conveyed in the shots. We have a personality and we're not stuffy"

A MiStock session is great for the likes of Bill Barnett, who has recently set up his own dispute mediation firm 'Third Side'. Bill was in need for a selection of images for promotional material and didn't have the resources to go it alone.

Bill said "Mistock is an excellent idea, you're captured in a real setting with real people, you wouldn't be able to do this with actual clients so this is a fun and cost effective alternative. Three hours of my time well spent"

In addition to obtaining a plethora of images participants also get the chance to network with their peers, which is always a bonus.

The event which went down really well with participants is a great solution for one man bands and small businesses that require a cheap yet effective alternative to costly studio sessions.

For more details about MiStock call Charlotte Mannion on 07962 149074.