The Download: 4 Production Trends Changing How Brands Create Visual Content  - Getty Images

Hi everybody. We'll get started in just a few moments. But first, let me tell you about custom content. Picture this. Your vision perfectly captured with stunning images or videos made just for you. At Getty Images, we've got over 550,000 creators worldwide, bringing fresh, authentic, and diverse perspectives to life. tapping into the latest visual GPS databacked insights and our decades of expertise to help guide them. That's why some of the biggest brands in the world trust us to enhance their visual stories. Whether it's for social, digital, video, and beyond, we deliver content that's on brand, on budget, and 100% yours to own. So you don't just have to picture it. From concept to creation, we can make it happen. Reach out to your Getty Images representative to execute your vision with custom content or scan the QR code and complete the contact me form. All right, folks. The download presented by Getty Images starts now. On today's episode of The Download, we're taking a look at how top brands are rethinking visual production to meet demand. Scaling content across platforms and markets. Using Insight to shape visual strategy and producing visuals that connect with audiences. Plus, we'll take your questions live in our Q& A. Now, here's the host of the download, Jennifer Kelly. Hi, I'm Jennifer Kelly, senior customer success manager, welcoming you to the download presented by Getty Images. Before I throw it over to our amazing panel, just a few housekeeping items. As always, I want to give a special shout out to all of our current Getty Images customers and thank you for your business. We truly appreciate it. Portions of today's program have been pre-recorded, but don't forget to drop your questions below and we'll answer them later in our live Q& A session. And yes, today's episode is being recorded. In a day or so, we'll email you a link to this session on our dedicated show page. and feel free to tell your colleagues about it, too. All right, the house is kept. Here to present and moderate today's panel is our strategic custom content specialist, Cole Firestein. — Thanks, Jen. Hello everyone and welcome. Thanks so much for joining us today. I'm Cole Firestein. I work on our custom content team here at Getty Images where we turn your ideas into exclusive campaign ready images and video tailored to your brand and vision. I want to introduce our team here, Felipe Hernandez, Zoe Hammond, Emily McCormack, and Cat Haynes. I have the pleasure of working with customers every day to help them develop exclusive brand content and ensuring their customer experience is top-notch. Today, I'm excited to kick things off and spend the next session exploring how production is evolving right now, and more importantly, how you can use these shifts to create more engaging, culturally relevant, and high impact work. We work handinhand with brands to create content that feels authentic, flexible, and built for today's marketing landscape. Over the last year, through collaborations with partners like Adidas, Grab, Ticket Master, and Land of Lakes, we've seen several production trends rise to the surface again and again, influencing not just the visuals themselves, but how brands are thinking about storytelling as a whole. Today, we're going to walk you through four of the most influential trends shaping creative output right now. First, the '9s flash pop aesthetic. a bold and nostalgic visual style making a major comeback through low-fi textures, direct flash, and high energy framing that really cuts through crowded feeds. Second, regional relevance, where global brands are leaning further into hyperlocal storytelling to make content feel more authentic, culturally connected, and meaningful to specific audiences. Third, special access. A growing shift towards content that feels exclusive and behind the scenes, giving audiences a stronger sense of proximity, connection, and insider perspective. And finally, storytelling, not just as a creative device, but as a strategic foundation. We're seeing a renewed focus on narrative-driven production that connects emotionally and builds long-term brand affinity. As we go through each trend today, we'll share examples from actual customer projects, talk through what's resonating right now, and highlight practical takeaways that you can apply to your own creative planning and production strategies. Let's dive in. Kicking us off is Cat Haynes, who manages creator engagement across Europe and Asia. She's going to take us into our first trend of the day.

Thank you, Cole. I'm Cat Haynes. I'm based in London. I look after our creators throughout AMIA and APAC. I'm excited to get us started on the first trend. Retro aesthetics are increasingly shaping contemporary photography with a growing return to nostalgic digital styles. This shift reflects how brands are rethinking the way they connect with audiences, moving towards imagery that feels more immediate and emotionally resonant. In photography, the ' 90s flash pot aesthetic shows up through vibrant high contrast color palettes, direct flash, and graphic compositions capturing the playful, high energy feel of early web visuals. Looking at these examples, there's a clear emotional charge. Images feel expressive, bold, and intentionally imperfect with a sense of spontaneity that feels very different from traditional campaign work. For years, photography has leaned towards highly polished, almost unattainable visuals. Now, there's a noticeable shift towards work that feels more original and relatable, drawing on the grit, immediacy, and nostalgia of the '9s, but reinterpreted through a modern lens. What's interesting is how this aesthetic is not just about nostalgia. It's being used as a tool to build cultural relevance, particularly with a younger audience who value individuality and self-expression over perfection. That's what makes it really fresh right now. It taps into something familiar while giving people space to express identity in a more playful, less constrained way. We recently worked with Adidas who came to us with a clear visual direction for this brief centered around the Allstar and Sambber ranges with a strong focus on aligning to Gen Z tastes. They wanted something inspired by '90s pop culture and the face magazine aesthetic, leaning into direct flash, high saturation, gritty environments, and dynamic framing and posing. Adidas also provided reference imagery that clearly defined the look and feel they wanted to achieve. This was crucial in helping us brief our creators effectively and keep everyone aligned with the overall vision. The goal was to create imagery that felt both like a homage to these classic trainer silhouettes while giving them a fresh contemporary edge that resonates with a younger audience. This direction works particularly well for Gen Z who are gravitating towards more expressive, less polished imagery, something that feels real, immediate, and culturally aware rather than something overly constructed. Our creative director worked closely with the client to translate this into a brief that creatives could fully immerse themselves in. One of the standout responses was our creator Trevor Williams submission which really captured the spirit of the brief through its level of authenticity and attention to detail. What really stood out in Trevor's approach was his genuine affinity with the Adidas brand, his resourcefulness and his ability to access unique environments and models. While searching through thrift stores and secondhand shops, he came across a vintage store in central Okayama that specialized in Adidas pieces. It was packed with archival trainers, layered details, and small visual moments throughout. It immediately felt authentic and naturally became a key location for the shoot. This discovery really speaks to the team's resourcefulness, going beyond the brief to find something that added depth and credibility to the work. Trevor then styled the models in layered Adidas looks, contrasting the richness of the indoor vintage settings with more raw urban exterior locations. This included shooting beneath a concrete overpass and along bridge structures, spaces that were defined by strong lines, symmetry, and hard textures. This then gave the images a more graphic, grounded edge. The addition of the skateboard also brought a sense of movement and subcultural relevance, reinforcing the authenticity of the world he was building. Throughout the process, he kept referencing Adidas's Instagram presence to ensure the work stayed aligned to the brand while still pushing it visually, which really highlights his understanding and affinity with Adidas. We also stayed closely involved throughout working with Trevor on model selection to ensure the casting felt authentic to both the brand and the brief and collaborating on the post treatment of the images to maintain that balance between rawness and polish. He used direct flash throughout to create images that feel immediate, energetic, and slightly raw, fully leaning into the visual language

outlined from the start. What makes the final work so effective is that every detail feels intentional from the locations and styling through to casting, lighting, and post-prouction, resulting in something that feels both authentic and creatively elevated. For me, this project works so well because it sits at the crossroads of cultural relevance and strong creative execution. The use of retro aesthetic wasn't just stylistic. It directly responded to what Gen Z audiences are looking for right now. Something more expressive, less polished, and more genuine. Trevor's approach really demonstrates that the value of working with creators who have a natural affinity with the brand. His understanding of Adidas combined with his resourcefulness and attention to detail meant that the work felt both credible and creatively distinctive. What really comes through is how considered every element was from locations and styling through to casting, lighting, and post-prouction. That level of precision is what elevates the work beyond simply following a trend. More broadly, it highlights how brands can tap into nostalgic visual languages and reinterpret them in a way that feels fresh, relevant, and culturally in tune with their audience. — Our next trend is regional relevance. Felipe is going to walk us through how brands are balancing global consistency with authentic local storytelling. — Thank you, Cole. Hi everyone. I am Philipe Hernandez and I work on the custom content team. My role focuses on connecting brands with creators who understand the regions, communities, and environments where they are producing content. This is particularly important in projects where regional authenticity is central. Authenticity is something we hear constantly, but for graph, it comes down to something very specific. Place, people, and the everyday environments where their partners and customers leave and work. That became the thread running through all the work we produced together. Graph operates across Southeast Asia through mobility, delivery, and financial services. And together we produced 11 briefs covering a range of services and uses that included delivery partners, mobility drivers, small businesses, seniors and rural communities using technology as well as initiatives focused on economic opportunity in the region. Across all these briefs, the requirements stayed consistent regional relevance. Grab needed the work to feel consistent as one brand in Southeast Asia while still reflecting the reality of each local market and community. That matter because not two markets look or function in the same way. The streets are different. The pace is different. The way people look, move and work shifts from market to market. The challenge was to hold consistency across the brand without reducing those differences. That is where creators became central to the process. Regional relevance comes from people who already understand the environments they are working in. Another trend in production that we're seeing is a move towards documentary style storytelling. Less constructed imagery, more real environments, real people, and absurd moments from everyday life. That approach shaped our work with Grab from the start. Across the 11 briefs, we collaborated with more than 60 creators in Southeast Asia and produced more than 3,000 images. The creators were based in the regions Grav wanted to see. They knew the streets, neighborhoods, transport hubs, and local businesses of their communities. Their work came from real environments where graph partners and customers are likely to be found. That familiarity changed how the work came to live. People were captured working, interacting with others, or in those in between moments when taking a break with friends or just moving through the city to get to the next point. Those in between moments can make a difference. They make the work feel believable, not just authentic. They allow us to sit alongside people and see the streets they move through and the environments they work in. As one of our creators, Tar reflected after working across this reefs for graph. The standout moment was casting a writer who uses a power wheelchair. Seeing her in full graph uniform with the delivery bag, smiling and completely in her element was one of those rare onset moments that quietly takes your breath away. working closely with a group of people

across these shoots. He described how important it was to let real connections form naturally on set. So, the interactions felt genuine rather than directed. The human connection between models was central to these briefs. The key was patience, letting the group settle into the space so the warmth between them felt real. It did not feel like work anymore. It felt like we were just documenting something true. To support consistency, Grab shipped branded service elements directly to creators across countries, including delivery bags, jackets, helmets, and operational items used by their partners in real life. That created a shared visual reference in all locations while still giving creators space to shape the work through their own local access and understanding. The result is a body of work that stays consistent as one global brand while still reflecting the reality of different countries in this region. That creatorled structure also shaped how casting took place. Many of the people featured came through creators own local networks which meant casting already felt connected to the environments and services being represented. The models reflect the wide range of communities and everyday service roles across Southeast Asia. Different cultural backgrounds, ages, and genders formed part of how each market was represented. These also include a representation of different religious backgrounds and different abilities in everyday service roles, all captured in a way that stay grounded in real environments. There was also a strong emphasis on women in active and visible roles across services, reflecting how present they are in graphs dayto-day. Many of the briefs also connected to themes around economic opportunity and access. Some focused on small businesses, others highlighted delivery partners, mobility drivers, seniors, and rural communities using technology in daily life. What stood out across all of them was how grounded the work felt in real environments. The strongest work comes from creators who already understand the environments they are working in. That understanding shapes, casting, locations, timing, movement, and the small details that make the work feel real. That same approach carried through even when the context changed. that included Graph's premium mobility services, Grab Xc and Graph Car Premium. These projects focused on more elevated business and executive travel experiences with more control environments, but the approach stayed consistent. On the production side, that meant thinking about how these services are experienced on the ground from pickups to the flow of movement in and out of vehicles and how those moments take place within real city environments. The work still focused on recreating real journeys, real environments, and observed service moments. Details remained important. How people move through the space, how drivers interacted with passengers, how the service appeared within diff different CDM business context, even within more structured production setups, the work stayed connected to environments that felt authentic and familiar to the creators producing it. That consistency across very different types of projects is what defines the approach. It comes from working with creators who understand the places, communities, and services they are capturing and allowing that nuance to shape the work from the beginning. What this example shows is that regional relevance and global consistency are not opposing ideas. They work well with the support of creators who already understand the environments they are creating in. In this case, creators were not just executing the work, they were shaping how it was seen from the beginning. In doing so, it demonstrates how Graph has become a trusted global partner with content that carries genuine local context far beyond the region in which it was created. — Thanks, Felipe. We're going to stay on the theme of authenticity, but shift into another dimension of it, access. Zoe is going to walk through how brands are using unique access and insider perspectives to create work that feel feels more real, immersive, and connected to the audience. Hi everyone, my name is Zoe. I'm a producer on the custom team and I'm diving into a production trend we're seeing around access. And in an age of AI generated content, how leveraging exclusive access can bring your audience closer by capturing moments that can't be manufactured. As a producer, access is something that

I manage daily. Whether that be access to locations, talent, equipment, parking, you name it. How to bridge the gap between this is a great idea and how can we execute this idea is my forte. We were presented with an opportunity to leverage access when Ticketmaster came to us with a need to show sports fans in real fan moments. Ticket Master knew from their own production experience that casting fans and staging games wouldn't cut it. Their target audience is sports fans, and sports fans will let you know when something looks legit or looks fake. Ask any referee. The crowd knows instantly when someone's trying to sell a bluff call. There's also an intangible feeling during live events that you can't capture from a staged production. We have some new visual GPS research that will be coming out soon which further explores what matters to audiences, the fandom. Our charge was to capture that intangible live event feeling and the fandom around it. We quickly realized the only way to do this was by showing real fans during real games while still producing images Ticketmaster could use. The first access obstacle to overcome was the fans. How could we get real fans to participate in our shoot? The answer was simple. Meet them right where they were in their seats during the game. By working with ticket master and sport venue contacts, we were able to pre-select fans ahead of the event based on their seat. The on-site contacts introduced us to fans who would be the most engaged during the game, including season ticket holders and super fan sections. By working with ticket master and the on-site contacts, we were given access to some really incredible fans, including a couple who had been Anaheim Ducks season ticket holders for over 20 years and an entire section of 300 fanatics for the LA Clippers called the Swell. We also had on-site producers working to clear additional fans throughout the game, which added to the overall volume of fan participation. The next access obstacle to overcome was the location. How will we shoot during a game? Good news for us, we're getting images and we already have sports photographers at every major sporting event globally. While our photographers could get access into the venues easily, we still needed to get permission from the venues to get access a bit further from the sidelines. To really capture those authentic fan moments, our photographers would need to be in the stands with the fans. By coordinating efforts with the on-site staff, our photographers were able to move freely around the venue. Since we were given permission to move around the venue, on-site producers also moved some of our fans to get closer to the action. Creatively, this gave us unique perspectives and views of the venue that helped to drive that feels like I'm there energy. Keeneyed sports fans are also able to connect deeper with the content, knowing that this is what the venue really looks like during game day. Since this content would be co-created with Ticketmaster, Ticketmaster was able to use their existing relationships to feature official team logos with the necessary rights and clearances. These permissions along with signed appearance releases collected by producers and location permissions from the on-site contacts gave Ticket Master the approvals they needed to ensure the final content was fully cleared for commercial use. Leveraging access to real fans, real locations, and real events gave the final content this insiders only feeling. There's an exclusivity created with these authentic moments that drives a deeper connection with audiences. It begs the question, is there exclusive access you can leverage to give your audience content that can't be manufactured? Maybe this looks like behind-the-scenes content of how your products are made or day in the life videos with your senior leadership or even your own customers. Audiences are savvier and more discerning than ever before. And authenticity and access are quickly becoming a brand's biggest creative advantage. — To wrap things up, we're going to move into our final trend of the day, which is storytelling. In an incredibly crowded and noisy marketing landscape, storytelling continues to be one of the biggest ways brands can truly stand out and create lasting connections with audiences. Emily is going to dive into

that a bit more and walk through how brands are approaching storytelling in a more intentional way today. — Thanks so much, Cole. So, everyone is searching for content that looks and feels fresh. And when we are depicting real people in real settings, audiences feel much more connected to brand visuals. We work closely with our customers to dig into what specific content serves their needs. We can deliver deep research storytelling thanks to our databacked insights, visual GPS, and esteemed network of creators. So today I'm going to focus on a recent relationship with Lando Lakes and highlight how our creators connections to their communities influenced our storytelling. Last year we partnered with Lando Lakes to launch Repuring Rural, a playbook offering both content and perspectives that brands and medias can use to tell more authentic elevated stories about rural America. Our visual GPS research revealed that urban settings are four times more likely to be seen than rural locations. With demand rising and authentic content scarce, the timing was perfect to capture genuine visual narratives of this essential aspect of small town life. Using the information from our visual GPS research and working in collaboration with Lando Lakes, we identified 10 gaps that we could turn into custom content briefs. These topics addressed Lando Lakes's immediate need for accurate depictions of rural communities and set us up for long-term program committed to growing the library and changing perceptions. So, we began in Atlanta where our Getty Images in-person creator meetup called Create was taking place. These events are incredible environments for our creators where they work together on challenging briefs and shoot under our direction. And one of the topics shot at this event was small town sports. So, before the event even started, one of our creators, Courtney, tapped into her close-knit network to find suitable models who would be excited to participate in a shoot. And now, we've got a little clip from Courtney where she shares how that outreach went for her. So, when I started producing that, the first step was to find a team in Atlanta. I'd never been to Atlanta, but I am part of an online mom group that I joined when I was expecting my first daughter in 2013. Um, and I knew that there were some moms that I've stayed connected with for all these years from that area. So, I reached out to them. Um, I knew that their kids played sports because we share our lives online. Um, and so I said, "Hey, does your son have any friends that might want to be a part of this and um explained what we were doing, sent her a little snippet of the brief? " I' I talk about my job a lot with my friends, so they know what I do. Um, so it wasn't like a foreign concept to her. And she um checked her calendar. She said, "We're busy, but I know exactly who you need to talk to. " and she sent me the contact information for one of her friends who was the mom manager of the high school softball team in Sugar Hill, Georgia. And that's how I connected with that team. Um the softball team. Um while I was waiting for her to get back to me, I had sent out some other messages. You know, I'm always trying to get double coverage for something difficult like that in case something doesn't work out. Um, so I knew another lady in Atlanta who had um agreed to do a shoot with me about Rural Friends, which was another one of the briefs. And so I just sent her a message just I knew she was a mom. I knew her child was older, but I assumed she had connections there. And I just said, "Hey, do you know any sports teams? kids that play sports that would be interested in this? " And she said, "Oh, I know uh this wonderful lady who is running this sports organization for children and they do flag football. " um she lost her husband recently, but she's taken over the program and it's just such a great part of the community here. And so I that's how I connected with Miss B, who um runs Elite Sports in Mcdana and we set up both shoots. Um I spoke with Crystal throughout the entire process and said, "Hey, would you want me to shoot two different sports teams? " And of course, she was happy to um jump on that and help plan that. So that was kind of the process of finding them was just [clears throat] asking. As mentioned in the clip we just watched, Courtney secured connections with both a softball and flag football team. For softball, the mom Courtney worked with handpicked players from her daughter's high school team, and that really ensured authentic camaraderie and

teamwork. When we look at the imagery produced throughout the shoot, Courtney captured different dynamic moments inside the dugout, during game play, team huddles, trophy celebrations, walking off the field, and even in the locker room. The genuine bonds between teammates shine through in every frame, perfectly capturing the spirit of small town sports. So that afternoon, Courtney teamed up with another creator for the flag football shoot. Together, they captured dynamic drills alongside candid moments of mentorship, discipline, and camaraderie. Mentorship was a key pillar to this group, and showcasing interactions between players and volunteer coaches further added value and authenticity to those scenes. This group was so passionate to participate that we had more models than expected, and we even had a walk up. An alumni of the program happened to be walking by the shoot and recognized his friends. He stopped by to say hi and see what was going on and then he asked if he could join. We of course said yes and he actually ended up being one of the best models of the day. So, as you can see in these two examples from Courtney, our creators know how to seize the moment and through their networks and resourcefulness, they can gain access to communities we might not otherwise be able to see. Another creator who was heavily invested in these Lando Lake briefs was Johnny from Fly View Productions. Johnny and his partner decided to plan a fivemonth road trip around the USA with their family in a converted sprinter van. They worked with Getty Images to help establish a loose plan of the cities or narratives that they could capture along the way. And as the trip was coming together, the Lando Lakes briefs were published and created a great opportunity and direction for Johnny. Many of the themes outlined could easily be shot as he traveled, and they were able to capture a lot of in the- moment content that you can't really plan. So, one success I'd like to highlight about this specific journey was Johnny's willingness to go wherever the opportunity takes you. And with that, I've got a short clip from him that captures this flexible attitude perfectly. — One of the opportunities we had was when we were in Wyoming in a place called Vivvu Park. I had two shoots fall through prior to leaving for a land of lakes brief that featured adult male friendship. And I believe the brief app asked for four to six talent. I came across what I thought was a small group of guys and it ended up being a bachelor party of 13. And what was supposed to be a couple hours ended up being 6 to 8 hours of me just hanging out with them and shooting them enjoying life. I think it would be not impossible but really hard to recreate what we did if had I tried to produce it uh from scratch. There's just so many logistical elements that go into producing a big shoot like that. And so for me, it just felt like the absolute perfect storm of things coming together in a good way and being able to find a group of guys that love being together, that were doing something that they were passionate about and loved and celebrating a milestone, their buddy getting married. The content from all these shoots delivered authentic and relatable visual narratives that resonate with people in rural America. By photographing real people in their own communities, our creators captured the genuine bonds that make these moments so meaningful. The imagery not only filled a critical content gap, but also powered meaningful storytelling for Lander's purposes. Getty Images can make successes like these happen because of the unique resources we have at our disposal. Our creators have access to people in the community and have built trusting relationships that allow us into their spaces. We have a large reach with our creators and can highlight different perspectives all within one brief. And this reach is further expanded with our create events which brings creators to locations they might not normally have access to. It's really if we build it, our creators will come. So, as you've seen today, a lot of intention goes into every production planned. In addition to highlighting key trends, we also wanted to share a short checklist that can help you in your own ideation stages. Every production is a little different, but Zoe has some great starters that always apply to brand visuals. We put together a checklist as a thought starter when planning your next production. This is not all-encompassing, but this checklist should help when organizing the most effective ways to tell your stories. As a bonus, we included some budget smart approaches to help you get the most out of future productions.

First, strategy. Simply, who are you trying to reach? Who is your audience? Do you have a clear idea of your audience's values? And can you narrow that down even further? Clear audience insights will help you maximize your production resources. A budget smart exercise to start with is aligning every planned asset to a specific business goal or measurable KPI. This will help focus resources and align to broader organizational goals. You can set your next production up for success by knowing exactly the challenges you are trying to solve for and who that content will be seen by. Next, storytelling. Will this capture your audience's attention? As we discussed, audiences are increasingly drawn to content that feels authentic and emotionally resonant. Strong creative should not only align with your brand identity visually but emotionally. Consider before your next production if the content you are producing will create a sense of human connection with your audiences that encourages them to engage, trust, and ultimately see themselves within the story being told. for our budget smart approach. See if there are any stories you can tell using the existing resources within your organization. Tapping into existing human capital may allow you to tell more unique stories that have a deeper connection to your organization. Our next focus area is efficiency. Can you maximize on content capture? The most valuable production relationships are collaborative, where your partner understands your broader objectives and can help to create scalable, adaptable content. By choosing your production partner thoughtfully, you can create downstream efficiencies that will pay out in the long term. For the budget smart approach, consider how you might capture multiple formats or account for multiple needs in one shoot. This might look like adding another camera onto your shoot to capture social content, or building your shot list out to capture both campaign assets and evergreen content simultaneously. Capturing multiple formats allows you to walk away from a shoot being more efficient with the most important resource of all, time. Lastly, distribution. How will this content be seen and shared? Consider two things. platform optimization and stakeholder buyin. Often content is created without a distribution plan. And the reality is every platform has different audience behaviors and technical requirements. Thinking about distribution early in your production planning allows you to be intentional with your content and how it is used. At the same time, stakeholder alignment is equally important. Ensuring stakeholders are aligned on the distribution objectives upfront can help to avoid revisions and shifting priorities later. For our budget smart approach, format your final deliverables to be more flexible across several platforms. When thinking about video, I recommend capturing content in a 16-9 horizontal aspect ratio. Because although vertical aspect ratios dominate social platforms, a horizontal master provides far greater long-term versatility. Similarly, for photos, I recommend shooting horizontally and allowing wider framing beyond the intended crop. This creates more flexibility for future placements and evolving content needs. On the custom team, we work with clients to develop these focus areas and bring your creative vision to life. If you have a need, we would love to hear more. Now, back over to you, Cole. — Thanks so much, Zoe and Emily. As we wrap things up today, I want to quickly bring us back to the four major trends we explored together. First, the resurgence of the '9s flash pop aesthetic where brands are embracing bold, nostalgic visuals that feel expressive, energetic, and culturally current. Second, regional relevance and the growing importance of creating content that feels genuinely connected to local communities, environments, and audiences. Third, special access on how authentic behind-the-scenes moments are helping brands create deeper audience connection. And finally, storytelling, which continues to be one of the most powerful ways brands can differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded content landscape. Thank you all again for spending time with us today. We really appreciate it and hopefully this gave you some inspiration and practical ideas you can bring into your own production planning moving forward. And with that, we're back to you, Jen. — Thanks everybody. Now get your questions ready. We'll be back with live Q& A right

after this. Welcome back downloaders to today's live Q& A session. We've got a full house today as we're joined here once again by Cole, Cat, Zoe, Felipe, and Emily to answer your questions about the production trends and challenges they're seeing in 2026 and how they're helping to solve them. We have over 250 of you viewers watching today. I welcome you all and thank you again for being here live with us today. We'd love to know where you're joining us from, so go ahead and say hi in the chat. The floor is now open and I already see a few questions coming in. So, let's get right to it. Hey, everybody. Um, all right. The first question here I have is for you, Cat. Um, why do you think this aesthetic, meaning the '9s flash pop aesthetic, is connecting so strongly right now? — Thank you. Yeah, great question. Um, I think it's connecting so strongly now because it acts as a response to how digital and AIdriven everything has become. As imagery becomes more polished and synthetic, audiences, uh, especially Gen Z are looking for something that feels more tangible and grounded in the real world. So, it's not just about nostalgia. It's giving people a visual language that feels honest and relatable. — Great. I love that. Uh, Felipe, I have one here for you. Uh, how do you see brands maintain a consistent global identity while still creating content that feels locally authentic? — Great point. Uh, thank you, Jen. So, what made actually this work was that we were aligned with Graph on what their brand stands for at a global level. From there, consistency did not just come from making everything look the same, but from giving creators a clear framework and trusting them on the ground. They are closest to the people, places, and everyday moments in each market. So, they are best placed to bring that authenticity uh to life while still expressing what a brand like Graph stands for globally. — Great. Thank you. Let's see. I have another one for you, Felipe. You're not off the hook. Uh, they say, "Really incredible photos. I might have missed it, but were the Grab models actual models or actual employees of Grab? " — Great follow-up question, Jen. Um, so yeah, these were models who met actually Graph's uh brief and casting requirements uh from the briefs that we worked with them. So, we have on occasion also worked with other customers to include actual employees in shoots. And if that's something um people are interested in that's something that we can definitely uh do and we can discuss uh further in best ways to handle that as well. — Perfect. And everyone just a reminder this is live. You can drop your questions there in the Q& A below. Uh Zoe I have one for you. Do you think audiences are becoming more emotionally connected to brands that show real access and real experiences instead of polished perfection? Jen, I do think that audiences are becoming more emotionally connected and for brands that are really intentional about showing audiences authentic content, they're inherently building more trust. When you're able to pull back that curtain and give audiences exclusive access, it almost allows your viewers to connect with brands like they would a real person or a friend. And then once that trust is established, your content becomes a two-way street. you're more likely to see that authentic engagement back from your audience. — Yeah, I feel like people like to see people that look like them. Approachable, right? Authentic, like you said, is the word. Um, Kat, I have another one here for you. Uh, this is nice to see more accessible images, more editorial feel images. Are you still going to develop your productions with more diversity meaning um as far as

mental and physical disabilities uh models and especially more European market feel than American? So, a couple of issues there, a couple of questions. — Yeah. No, great points. Um so, we work with local teams uh in local markets to ensure that we maintain um a look and feel that is true to the customers key markets. This absolutely includes Europe and Asia where all the Adidas content was created. Um, Felipe also spoke to us about regional relevance and his work with Grab showcase real market and workplace environments. Uh, realness and authenticity is top priority for us which these examples showcase and we're always looking to do more local content. — Perfect. Uh, Emily, hi here for you. uh how did you decide which content gaps to focus on first and what was the reasoning behind those? — Great question. Thank you, Jen. So, we start with talking with the customer about what they're looking to capture and then we continue the conversation with our knowledge and resources like the visual GPS research that we did. So, using these resources, we can better flag what content is most useful and will be most impactful and we can make our decisions from there. Great. Let's see. Uh, Zoe, back to you. What was the most challenging part of capturing photos during games? — Such a fun question. So, because we were in a live sport environment, personally, I thought the most challenging part was really being patient and waiting for those perfect moments to capture. Uh we were working with sport photographers and they have this breadth of knowledge knowing the cadence of these games, knowing when those perfect moments just in their intuition may happen. But a lot of it was just kind of being patient and waiting for something to be happening either on the court or on the rink that would give us the emotion that we were looking for out of our pre-selected fans. — Yeah. So unpredictable, which makes it so much more exciting. Um, and you're not off the hook. I have another one, a followup here for you. Uh, how did the fans give consent? — So, we worked with Ticketmaster to pre-seelelect fans ahead of the game and then once we were on site, we had them sign consent releases. Uh, we also had on-site producers that scouted additional fans and we would present those fans with the same content release to be signed. — Awesome. All right, Felipe, here we're going back to you now. How do you balance giving creators creative freedom while still making sure that the content stays aligned with the brand globally? — Great question, Jen. So, as Kat just mentioned as well, regional authenticity for us, it's a big thing. It's something that we pay close attention to and we rely on our creators uh in every market, in every region to be our experts and our eyes on the ground. So, they are the ones who are best placed to do this, right? um to create that content that does really speak to an audience that reflects the community that they're in. So, uh we just give them a clear direction, a clear framework um that they need to use when they're working on our briefs and with customers that are that have a global presence, but they are really the experts on the ground in the markets that they're working in. — Perfect. Uh Cat, back to you. How do you make sure that using nostalgic aesthetics doesn't feel dated or like you're just copying the past? — Uh, another good question. Um, it's something we're very conscious of. Um, for us, it's not about replacing the past exactly. It's about reinterpreting it through a modern lens. In this case, the '90s aesthetic gives us a foundation. Uh but casting, styling, and the environments were all grounded in uh contemporary context. Uh which helps fe it feeling current. Um it's really a balance between familiarity and newness. Uh that's what makes it resonate rather than feeling like a throwback. — Great. Uh and Zoe, going back to the shoot for the ticket master shoot, you said subjects were selected by seat location. Did the photographers scope the venue and seat locations based on the scenes he wanted to capture on multiple visits prior to shoot day? So, like what does that prep work look like? — So, we did not have any pre-scout that went into these shoots, but we were working with photographers that often worked in these venues. Um, so they had some prior knowledge before going in. Truly though, where our access and collaboration with Ticket Master was really key was in getting access to these venues. We worked with venue contacts to isolate specific blocks of seats during the game. Um, and we were drawn to areas that would be a little bit closer to the action, somewhere that

still our photographers could be nimble and work um, the way that they needed to, being able to move around quickly and get those key moments in the high energy environment. — Great. And then followup for you. They're asking how much of the focus is on video footage as opposed to sills. — So broadly across what we do um within Getty Images and on our custom content team, we love shooting video briefs. We didn't do any as part of that ticket master content that you saw. But whenever we have the opportunity to do it, we are welcome to that opportunity. Especially when we're talking about social first content, user generated feeling content, our creators really shine in those areas. — Yeah. And you're always going to get, you know, more engaging and dynamic with video, obviously. Um, Emily, I have one for you. What are some common pitfalls you find with productions trying to grow their audience? — Yeah, for sure. So, if growing an audience is a key performance metric, then thinking about storytelling and how stories can evolve over a longer period of time is a great way to do this. And that's really a part of why Lando Lakes has been so successful. It's a collection we continue to build on and it has longevity. It's more than just a single campaign. So, I recommend thinking about your editorial calendar and building a program that is quarterly and annually that ladders up to the storytelling that you want to do. — Great. Thank you. Let me see if we have any more questions coming in. Feel free to drop them in the chat if you have any more. Uh, let's see. I don't see any other coming in, but if you have any, let me see. Double checking. We're live here, guys. This is a live show. All right, let's see. Looks like there's no more questions for today. If you do have any, you have your Getty Images representative or customer service that you can call in to. Uh, but that is our show for today. Thank you for submitting your questions. Answers to anything we didn't get to today will be followed up with in the next week. I want to thank again our amazing panel, Cole, Cat, Zoe, Filipe, and Emily. As a reminder, you can catch all past episodes of the download on demand on over on our dedicated show page. If you have any questions about custom content, visual GPS, or any of the products or services, contact your Getty Images representative or email us at the downloadtyim images. com. For those of you on Zoom, as you exit today's session, you'll be as you'll be asked to answer a few brief uh poll questions. Please take a moment and let us know how you like today's program and what kind of topics you'd like to see us cover on future episodes. Thank you once again for being a Getty Images customer. We truly appreciate your business. I've been your host, Jennifer Kelly, and I'll see you next time on the download. Oh