Photography

Photography is how we frame DevOps in the real world. It is a useful tool for brand storytelling that allows users to see our product in action. It is important to keep visual consistency among all images, whether selecting stock photography or curating photos in-house. Images should be crisp with true-to-life colors and a natural editing style. When featuring subjects, include people from diverse backgrounds, ages, body types, races, and genders.

Customer and contributor portraits

Customers and contributors are our heroes, so their portraits should feel heroic. We capture this by photographing people at eye-level on a neutral background with soft, natural lighting. A shallow depth of field minimizes background distractions and draws the viewer’s attention to the person.

Metaphors

Metaphorical photography allows us to convey intricate ideas in an abstract way. These photos are primarily shot top-down, with a focus on texture, patterns, or paths. The imagery should bring feelings of innovation, sustainability, positivity, and/or repetition. Images featuring infrastructure, people, nature, and structural repetition are excellent starting points.

Collaboration

Collaboration is a common theme at GitLab, as it highlights our mission that everyone can contribute. Capture collaborative scenes top-down or over a subject’s shoulder to show their working environment in a positive light. Subjects should be using their devices in a natural, candid way to show GitLab and DevSecOps as a normal part of everyday life. This technique draws attention to the working environment, rather than to the individual.