What we’re about to say may sound ironic given that we’re writing a blog—words aren’t enough to promote your brand. At least we recognize it. Our world today is dominated by photos and videos. What was once a luxury, brand photography has now become a necessity.
But mastering brand photography goes beyond simply pointing a camera and clicking the shutter. There’s a much deeper understanding of your brand’s identity that actually does translate through a photo. People aren’t dumb. They can tell when you use stock photos and they aren’t afraid to scroll right past an overlit and overly staged product pic.
Why? Because the next five brands they’ll see will have custom photos specific to their brand.
Don’t be the one they scroll past. Take the time now to get clicks later.
What Is Brand Photography?
Simple. Using professional and high-quality photos to visually tell your brand’s story. That story includes your brand’s values and personality.
Custom brand photography tells your story, shows off your people, and allows consumers to experience what your company offers. It’s emotion, it’s cohesion, and it’s recognition. Before we take our feel-good thoughts and crank out a Hallmark script, we aren’t blind to the fact that brand photography is simply one of the best marketing tools out there.
Let’s get into it. But first, if this all sounds good and you want to chat, schedule a meeting with us to see if this could be a great fit.
The Role of Brand Photography in Business
Our attention spans are short. And while you’ll regret asking, we can really only pay attention to one screen for 47 seconds. As a business, you have 47 seconds to: capture someone’s attention, give them time to think about your brand, click on your link, read your landing page, and potentially start shopping.
If it isn’t clear yet, the way to grab their attention is with brand photography. Here’s what it can do for your biz:
- Strengthen brand identity by visually showing off your values and unique selling proposition.
- Build trust and credibility by showing legitimacy and professionalism.
- Connect emotionally with your audience to tap into their aspirations and create a lasting impression.
- Tell your brand story by showcasing a narrative that resonates with your target audience.
- Increase sales efforts because good visuals have shown to improve engagement and clicks.
First impressions matter. Don’t let a weird stock photo be your brand’s identity.
Prevail Fitness
Prevail Fitness was transitioning to an online coaching model during the pandemic. That meant their photos were a driving factor for people to find them. We helped capture custom brand photography to distribute across all their digital platforms.
Personal Brand Photography
If you’re here for a new LinkedIn profile pic, you’ll be disappointed. We’re aiming for much, much, much more than that. In our digital age today, the door is wide open for you to build a personal brand—how you define yourself as an individual and how you sell your experience, skills, and values to clients. Personal branding is becoming too common as people gain followers on social media and pivot to be seen as an expert—or “expert” depending on how you look at it—in their field.
Personal brand photography allows you to visually represent your unique identity and skills to show your expertise, build trust with an audience, and establish yourself as a thought leader. And it’s the same as building any other brand—you need a unique story, values, and consistent design elements.
Think of people like Call Her Daddy’s Alex Cooper, or author and speaker Tony Robbins. They are the brand.
Case Study: Virden MD
Virden MD wanted to attract a younger audience to their plastic surgery website. We sourced models and expanded the diversity representation to give prospective clients authentic photos that showcased Virden MD’s cosmetic services.
Steps to a Successful Brand Photoshoot
It’s a fairly straightforward subheader so let’s jump into it.
Define Your Objectives
What’s the goal of your photoshoot? It might be to build brand awareness, to generate leads, or to tell your company’s story. This matters because it’ll determine the types of photos you’ll need. Here’s where a strong brand identity comes into play so the vibe of your photos matches the tone of your company.
You’ll also need to know who to hire. Are you keeping it in-house, or hiring a marketing agency (like M&P who has extensive experience with photoshoots)? A team can help develop a clear strategy, manage logistics, and collaborate with a professional photographer and models if needed.
Obviously budget matters so once your goals are laid out, you can shuffle around funds as needed.
Create a Mood Board
A mood board is a bridge between your plan and your photoshoot. Think of it as a visual roadmap—images, colors, textures, and other aesthetics all collaborating to create the tone of your shoot. It keeps everyone on the same page and makes it way easier to get your ideas across.
Develop a Shot List
The worst feeling is when the shoot is done and you’ve realized you missed an important shot. A shot list is your blueprint, each shot outlined with notes—like framing, angles, and lighting—so your photoshoot is productive and efficient.
It also gives you clarity on locations. Are you shooting inside your offices? Is it an outdoor shoot in your local downtown? Do you need a studio?
Make your life easy. Make the damn list.
Execute the Photoshoot
It goes without saying but we wanted to end with the fun stuff. Once your planning is done, the shoot is on. Team collaboration is something beyond understated in this type of environment. Having done plenty of photoshoots before, our best advice is to openly communicate, be open to feedback, be flexible, be adaptable, and have snacks, lots and lots of snacks. Everyone wants the same thing.
What Else Have You Done?
Glad you asked. Along with the two case studies we shared above, we specialize in doing behind-the-scenes photography, capturing the business and its people while they work. We did this for a restaurant in Seattle called Lady Jaye. They had just opened their patio for the summer and wanted to drive awareness around it. Acting like a fly on the wall, we followed their wait staff and chefs around while they cooked, served, chatted, and poured drinks. We created an extensive food-specific shot list for the most authentic food photos we could get.
We know a thing or two about photography. It’s not a brag if it’s the truth. If you’re interested in hearing more about how we can enhance your brand photography, schedule a meeting with us. We’d love to share.
