Visual Narrative vs. Visual Storytelling: The Craft Behind Authentic Corporate Imagery
Photographed along the Newport, RI waterfront, this portrait was created for a client in the fishing industry who wanted an authentic, location-based headshot for their website.
For almost a decade I’ve used the phrase visual narrative to describe the heart of my work. Long before “visual storytelling” became a marketing buzzword, visual narrative was how I approached every assignment, whether I was photographing a CEO touring a manufacturing line, creating corporate headshots, or directing a biotech lab video that needed to feel both polished and real.
Today, both terms show up everywhere. Agencies and marketing teams use them in pitches, campaigns, and creative briefs. But for me, these aren’t trendy phrases. They’re the foundation of a 30-plus-year career that began in newspaper photojournalism.
This blog breaks down the difference, how each applies to corporate and commercial productions, and why this approach consistently results in imagery that resonates.
What Is Visual Narrative?
Visual narrative is the craft of creating meaning through images in a way that feels natural and genuine. It is storytelling that respects what is happening in front of the camera.
When I started using the term back in 2015, visual narrative captured something deeper than “taking a picture.” It meant documenting scenes in a way that respected reality. Not posed. Not forced. HONEST.
My background in newspaper photojournalism shaped that mindset. In the newsroom you learn to:
Observe without interfering
Anticipate unguarded moments
Respect authenticity
Tell a complete story in a single frame
These foundations reflect the same principles outlined in the NPPA’s standards for honest visual reporting.
Those habits never leave you. They became the backbone of how I approach corporate imagery today, whether I’m documenting a biotech team at work, following a CEO through a 300,000-square-foot facility, or creating an executive portrait that reflects leadership and approachability.
Visual narrative is about meaning. It is the story behind the image.
What Is Visual Storytelling?
In recent years, visual storytelling has become a widely used marketing term. It is how brands use imagery to support strategy, shape perception, and guide an audience through a message.
Visual storytelling often involves structure and intention, including:
Scripted interviews
Thoughtful lighting and design
Multi-step production planning
Scenes created specifically to support messaging
If visual narrative is about observing truth, visual storytelling is about directing truth with clarity and purpose.
The best corporate and commercial work blends the two.
Where These Two Meet in Corporate Photography and Video
This is where marketing teams see the biggest impact. Combining truth with intention creates visuals that feel real and align with brand goals.
Photographed before her portrait session, this moment shows how important it is to connect with the person in front of the camera. When people feel comfortable and seen, the images always reflect it.
1 - Creating Real Moments in Controlled Environments
Corporate content often requires planned scenes. A biotech technician repeating a lab process, a manufacturing employee rebuilding a step, or a CEO interacting with staff for the first time.
Even though these moments may be created for the camera, my goal is always the same: make them feel genuine.
One approach I use comes directly from directing video. If I have a script, even when the assignment is strictly still photography, I often have the subject perform the actual lines. What you feel is what you project. For example, if someone is portraying a heated negotiation on the phone, I don’t ask them to pose with a phone. I ask them to move through the lines, feel the urgency, and let that emotion guide their body language. That energy reads instantly in the final frames. You can see this approach in a recent project where I created authentic, emotion-driven moments for a product video and still shoot for Birdie Polish.
This is how you get real connection inside a staged moment.
2 - Portraits That Reveal Something True
When photographing executives, founders, or employees, I may ask for a pose, but what I’m watching for is the unguarded moment just before or just after it. That’s where the personality is. That’s where the story lives. This approach is highlighted in one of my recent executive portrait projects, where the strongest images came from the unguarded moments between poses.
For portraits used in leadership stories, press releases, or website bios, I balance the individual in front of me with the broader narrative the imagery must support.
3 - Facility Visits, Corporate Tours and Natural Interaction
When I document a CEO walkthrough or a leadership visit, the entire schedule may be structured, but my approach stays journalistic. I watch for gestures, quick smiles, conversations, and moments of curiosity. These micro-interactions tell the larger story of connection, culture and leadership.
“The best corporate imagery blends real human moments with intentional storytelling. 📷✨”
Why This Matters for Marketing Professionals
This group photo was created in a studio setup we built directly inside the client’s office. Connecting with their team and understanding the story they want to share is essential and it shapes every expression, interaction and final image.
Authenticity has become essential. Audiences can sense when visuals are overly staged, and they respond more strongly to imagery that feels lived in, not performed.
A photographer and director who understands how to balance structure with spontaneity can create visuals that:
Strengthen brand trust
Support your messaging
Communicate credibility
Feel natural across every platform
This approach leads to stronger campaigns, more engagement and imagery that resonates with real people.
Why I’ve Been Doing This for 30 Years
The camera has always been my entry point into people’s lives, workplaces and stories. It has taken me into clean rooms, factories, financial headquarters, labs, farms, boardrooms and community centers from Boston to Kansas to San Francisco to Asia to Europe.
Every assignment, from breaking news in my early days to large-scale corporate productions today, comes back to the same philosophy:
Capture the honest story and let the visuals speak.
That is visual narrative.
That is visual storytelling.
And that is the heart of my work at Indermaur Media.