11
Photo/Video
Welcome to Pleo’s photography and videography guidelines. In this section, we’ll take you behind the scenes of what goes into every photo and video shoot at Pleo. From our philosophy to the rules we live by, it isn’t always as simple as point-and-shoot.
The fintech industry is overrun with flat product renders and over-stylised imagery. However, our focus is always on people and their work. When shooting campaigns or events, we use real customers and models spanning a range of different ages, body types, genders, and ethnicities.
Our photos should have a loose editorial feel and be as natural as possible, capturing everyday people in everyday life. They should be confident, approachable and human.
RULES TO LIVE BY
01
We always authentically capture customers – nothing should look like stock imagery.
02
We aren’t afraid to shoot from fairly close up. This makes things feel more casual and intimate.
03
Facial expressions should showcase confidence – we want the subject to project ease and be in control. They should always look natural, avoiding clichéd poses.
04
The composition should reflect candid moments. It should feel like we’re capturing their everyday life, making it feel authentic and spontaneous.
05
Our use of a hard flash is to fill up the whole foreground and background, keeping the colours consistent, alive and with high levels of contrast.
06
Nothing is hidden behind blurry backgrounds. We keep the foreground and background relatively sharp.
07
Strike a balance in the amount of visual noise in the background – an organised mess is what we’re striving for. It should be rich in detail but shouldn’t be distracting.
08
Mix both asymmetrical and symmetrical shots. Asymmetry adds a more dynamic, un-staged feel. Meanwhile, symmetry heroes the individual by putting them front and centre, literally.
KEEP IN MIND...
01
Relatability
We do this by showcasing people in realistic situations, avoiding unnatural exaggeration and overacting. The mundane struggles, moments of joy, and daily life seen through our lens are believable and evoke memories of lived situations.
02
Background
What’s happening in the background should be simple. Using the space smartly is key to the success of photography. A certain degree of imperfection is also welcome, but avoid messy environments which can occur with hard flash photography.
03
Clothing
There is not one universal answer on how to achieve this, however, the broader our base is, the more relatable we’ll be. People should be dressed in contemporary clothes and not *overly* trendy or cool. We should be relatable to the industry and place they are working in.
04
Props
We consider the environment and equipment used in the industry photographed. Not every business has the latest Macs or iPhones. The right furniture, props, and location, can elevate the overall feel of the photography.
CAPTURING THE FINANCE LEADER
Finance leaders and admins should always be captured at ease and in control. These forward-thinkers should have a sense of relief when using Pleo, and this should be conveyed through photography.
STANDARD VERSION
Pleo is Europe’s go-to spending solution. We automate tedious spending processes, giving money and time back to teams to focus on value-adding work.
ABRIDGED VERSION
Meet Pleo: Europe’s leading business spending solution that simplifies spending for everyone at your company. Give your employees a smart company card to buy the things they need so you can forget about missing receipts. Get real-time spend visibility, feel in control of your finances and slash your admin thanks to automated expense management, invoices, and reimbursements. Join the 30,000+ companies using Pleo to focus on the work that matters.
CAPTURING THE PLEO PRODUCT
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
Regular signs of usage, covers, or protection sleeves are welcome as they make it more authentic and human.
We’re mindful when taking photos with flash. It makes dust and fingerprints a lot more visible, so make sure to clean the surfaces.
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
We aim for diversity in product photography and we achieve this by:
Straight to the point
Brush and stroke
When photographing devices for UI mock-ups, we consider the angle of the screen. It should feel natural and readable for the viewer to see. If hands are involved, for example typing on a laptop, we make sure they’re captured in actual motion. And we avoid covering the screens with our hands or objects. Additionally, we aim to have alternate versions of the photo. I.e. the same photo with different devices (fx. swap laptops from Mac to Windows). UI is added in post-production.
Spending scenario
Brush and stroke
Our main focus is on the interaction between a phone or laptop and the Pleo app. We don’t capture the screen, instead, we place the app UI next to the subject or device. We keep in mind the space around for placing the UI next to the object, for which mid and wide angles are ideal.
Eagle eye perspective =
admin seeing spending in real-time
We make sure to frame photos from the leveraged point of view, this gives us a better perspective of what is happening in real-time. We want to focus on the act of spending, fx. taxi, coffee, meeting etc. as shown in examples. It’s like being on the spot when the expense occurs.
HOW TO MOCKUP UI IN PHOTOGRAPHY
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
First things first, we always make sure we’re using an updated version of the UI.
When using Photoshop, we play with opacity, fill, and screen mode. We always consider keeping natural light reflections captured on a photo to make it look more realistic.
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
Particularly in wider shots showcasing a work environment, desktops might look more interesting with signs of life on them. Whether that’s a drink, notebooks, or plants.
Finally, we always look for opportunities to add easter eggs…
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
STANDARD VERSION
Pleo is Europe’s go-to spending solution. We automate tedious spending processes, giving money and time back to teams to focus on value-adding work.
ABRIDGED VERSION
Meet Pleo: Europe’s leading business spending solution that simplifies spending for everyone at your company. Give your employees a smart company card to buy the things they need so you can forget about missing receipts. Get real-time spend visibility, feel in control of your finances and slash your admin thanks to automated expense management, invoices, and reimbursements. Join the 30,000+ companies using Pleo to focus on the work that matters.
CAPTURING PRODUCT THROUGH VIDEO
Payment scenario with phone
We are covering different angles of the device used. This can vary depending on the scenario, but ideally, we aim to capture at least three different angles: side angle, screen angle, and front angle. Similar to the provided examples.
Admin perspective/
Online purchase scenario
This always happens while at a laptop, with or without the screen at the desk. We’re covering variations of angles: typing on a keyboard, mouse movements, close-ups of a face while looking at a screen or typing. Lastly, we include close-ups and an over-the-shoulder shot of the screen with the Pleo app on.
We record Pleo UI in the space and no post-production is added. Depending on the context we aim to record Pleo app screens to follow the narrative we want to tell. Fx. overlooking expenses, approving the expenses, exporting to an integrated system, setting up the wallet load.
INTERVIEWS
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
The subject should feel at ease in the space they’re being filmed to help them focus on what they’re saying rather than their environment.
We aim to find the quietest places to record, but that can be challenging. A bit of ambience is fine if it provides us with better locations for framing the interview.
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
We prefer that the subject isn’t looking straight to the camera, but to the person who is conducting the interview.
Diversifying framing when conducting interviews with more people for the same video. When we record two or more subjects for interviews, we aim to record them in two different locations if possible.
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
We work with natural light more than with artificial light. If needed to use lights in darker spaces, we’re aiming to maintain the natural feel of light as much as possible.
We record interviews with a tripod and add a camera shake in post-production.
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
STANDARD VERSION
Pleo is Europe’s go-to spending solution. We automate tedious spending processes, giving money and time back to teams to focus on value-adding work.
ABRIDGED VERSION
Meet Pleo: Europe’s leading business spending solution that simplifies spending for everyone at your company. Give your employees a smart company card to buy the things they need so you can forget about missing receipts. Get real-time spend visibility, feel in control of your finances and slash your admin thanks to automated expense management, invoices, and reimbursements. Join the 30,000+ companies using Pleo to focus on the work that matters.
CUSTOMER CASE STUDIES
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
When with our customers, we usually have limited time with them. Therefore we need to be mindful of their schedule. Explaining to them beforehand what needs to be done, and how long it will take is helpful and it can make the recording less stressful for them.
If possible we aim to record interviews first, this ensures we have a better understanding of possible story scenarios and what needs to be covered with the b-rolls.
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
For the b-roll we record what is said; for example, if the person says they use Pleo mostly for transportation, then showing Pleo being used in that way/scenario is effective at amplifying the point made and shows the product (likely the Pleo card) in use.
Ideally, we combine handheld footage with static footage from a tripod. This gives us a diversity of footage in post-production.
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
In some cases we may record sensitive data. Therefore, we need to ensure that all information (i.e. recorded screens, whiteboards, sticky notes etc) is ok to showcase.
We record interviews with a tripod and add a camera shake in post-production.
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
STANDARD VERSION
Pleo is Europe’s go-to spending solution. We automate tedious spending processes, giving money and time back to teams to focus on value-adding work.
ABRIDGED VERSION
Meet Pleo: Europe’s leading business spending solution that simplifies spending for everyone at your company. Give your employees a smart company card to buy the things they need so you can forget about missing receipts. Get real-time spend visibility, feel in control of your finances and slash your admin thanks to automated expense management, invoices, and reimbursements. Join the 30,000+ companies using Pleo to focus on the work that matters.
EVENTS
Capturing events through photography
We capture the general feel and look of the event. But we don’t want to be the centre of attention. This can be tricky because of a hard flash. People aren’t always comfortable in front of a camera, especially when there’s a giant flash — it can feel invasive and unnatural.
We always try to read the room and not force anything. If people feel intimidated by Flash, we always give people a heads-up about what we’re doing. It’s more important to make people feel comfortable and secure than to get the shot.
Capturing events through video
Online purchase scenario
As with photography, we try to capture events in a non-invasive way. We’re there as observers, not intruders.
We avoid bringing big lights and cameras. Picture this, there’s a person surrounded by intimidating camera equipment… They don’t look super approachable, right? Plus, moving around with all this heavy equipment isn’t ideal.
We record Pleo UI in the space and no post-production is added. Depending on the context we aim to record Pleo app screens to follow the narrative we want to tell. Fx. overlooking expenses, approving the expenses, exporting to an integrated system, setting up the wallet load.
PRODUCT EXPLAINER VIDEOS
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
We frame the subject in the middle.
These videos are addressed directly to the viewer and therefore the subject speaks directly to the camera.
For props, we use a laptop. After all, that's the purpose of these videos. Talking about how to interact with Pleo.
On the whole, the tone of voice should be friendly and approachable and with a smile. We are helping our customers learn how to use Pleo.
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
We prefer that the subject isn’t looking straight to the camera, but to the person who is conducting the interview.
Diversifying framing when conducting interviews with more people for the same video. When we record two or more subjects for interviews, we aim to record them in two different locations if possible.
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
We work with natural light more than with artificial light. If needed to use lights in darker spaces, we’re aiming to maintain the natural feel of light as much as possible.
We record interviews with a tripod and add a camera shake in post-production.
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
STANDARD VERSION
Pleo is Europe’s go-to spending solution. We automate tedious spending processes, giving money and time back to teams to focus on value-adding work.
ABRIDGED VERSION
Meet Pleo: Europe’s leading business spending solution that simplifies spending for everyone at your company. Give your employees a smart company card to buy the things they need so you can forget about missing receipts. Get real-time spend visibility, feel in control of your finances and slash your admin thanks to automated expense management, invoices, and reimbursements. Join the 30,000+ companies using Pleo to focus on the work that matters.
EMPLOYER BRAND
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
Employer brand has a slightly different look and feel. We’re trying to combine videos with photos, phone footage, analogue pictures, and analogue videos. This adds authenticity to videos and a sense of nostalgia.
We encourage combining videos from different devices, professional cameras, analogue cameras, and phones or aim to recreate them in post-production.
Use of analogue noise, film burns, and 8mm/16mm film look and feel are encouraged.
On the whole, the tone of voice should be friendly and approachable and with a smile. We are helping our customers learn how to use Pleo.
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
We prefer that the subject isn’t looking straight to the camera, but to the person who is conducting the interview.
Diversifying framing when conducting interviews with more people for the same video. When we record two or more subjects for interviews, we aim to record them in two different locations if possible.
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
We work with natural light more than with artificial light. If needed to use lights in darker spaces, we’re aiming to maintain the natural feel of light as much as possible.
We record interviews with a tripod and add a camera shake in post-production.
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
STANDARD VERSION
Pleo is Europe’s go-to spending solution. We automate tedious spending processes, giving money and time back to teams to focus on value-adding work.
ABRIDGED VERSION
Meet Pleo: Europe’s leading business spending solution that simplifies spending for everyone at your company. Give your employees a smart company card to buy the things they need so you can forget about missing receipts. Get real-time spend visibility, feel in control of your finances and slash your admin thanks to automated expense management, invoices, and reimbursements. Join the 30,000+ companies using Pleo to focus on the work that matters.
INTERVIEWS
Finance leaders and admins should always be captured at ease and in control. These forward-thinkers should have a sense of relief when using Pleo, and this should be conveyed through photography.
STANDARD VERSION
Pleo is Europe’s go-to spending solution. We automate tedious spending processes, giving money and time back to teams to focus on value-adding work.
ABRIDGED VERSION
Meet Pleo: Europe’s leading business spending solution that simplifies spending for everyone at your company. Give your employees a smart company card to buy the things they need so you can forget about missing receipts. Get real-time spend visibility, feel in control of your finances and slash your admin thanks to automated expense management, invoices, and reimbursements. Join the 30,000+ companies using Pleo to focus on the work that matters.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Frame rate
Preferably we’re recording at 25fps. Sometimes we need to modify frame rates according to the lighting conditions of the space to avoid flickering of the lights or screens.
It’s both for interviews and b-rolls. Rarely it can happen that we’ll record 50fps b-rolls, but if it’s not requested then we stick to the default frame rate, which is 25fps.
Aspect ratio
Online purchase scenario
We publish videos on a variety of platforms, therefore we aim to stick to the rules and aspect ratios for each channel.
We record Pleo UI in the space and no post-production is added. Depending on the context we aim to record Pleo app screens to follow the narrative we want to tell. Fx. overlooking expenses, approving the expenses, exporting to an integrated system, setting up the wallet load.
Subtitles
Online purchase scenario
We prefer to use closed subtitles, allowing subtitles in different languages to be used without changing the video itself.
INTERVIEWS
Finance leaders and admins should always be captured at ease and in control. These forward-thinkers should have a sense of relief when using Pleo, and this should be conveyed through photography.
STANDARD VERSION
Pleo is Europe’s go-to spending solution. We automate tedious spending processes, giving money and time back to teams to focus on value-adding work.
ABRIDGED VERSION
Meet Pleo: Europe’s leading business spending solution that simplifies spending for everyone at your company. Give your employees a smart company card to buy the things they need so you can forget about missing receipts. Get real-time spend visibility, feel in control of your finances and slash your admin thanks to automated expense management, invoices, and reimbursements. Join the 30,000+ companies using Pleo to focus on the work that matters.
resources
Frame rate
Preferably we’re recording at 25fps. Sometimes we need to modify frame rates according to the lighting conditions of the space to avoid flickering of the lights or screens.
It’s both for interviews and b-rolls. Rarely it can happen that we’ll record 50fps b-rolls, but if it’s not requested then we stick to the default frame rate, which is 25fps.
Aspect ratio
Online purchase scenario
We publish videos on a variety of platforms, therefore we aim to stick to the rules and aspect ratios for each channel.
We record Pleo UI in the space and no post-production is added. Depending on the context we aim to record Pleo app screens to follow the narrative we want to tell. Fx. overlooking expenses, approving the expenses, exporting to an integrated system, setting up the wallet load.
Subtitles
Online purchase scenario
We prefer to use closed subtitles, allowing subtitles in different languages to be used without changing the video itself.
TYPOGRAPHY
Always consider the environment you’re animating the text in, is it an ad? Is it an explainer video? Is it a campaign? We’ve put some examples in place.
BEHAVIOUR
When putting things in motion, keep in mind some basic animation principles: setting, timings and action. Avoid too many things happening at the same time, or jittery animations. We aim at creating movements that feel relaxed or exciting at times, depending on the context.