You know how a confident handshake creates a good first impression when you meet someone in person?
Strategic, well-curated photos can have the same effect for your brand.
Brand photography plays a fundamental role in creating a brand's personality. It can help you build trust with customers and stand out in the marketplace. Here’s how to use brand photography to connect with your potential customers’ values, emotions, and identity.
What Is Brand Photography?
Brand photography is a collection of images showcasing your company’s unique personality and what you do. Every photo you use in your marketing—including headshots, product images, social media shots, and website visuals—are part of your brand photography.
How Important Is Brand Photography?
According to a survey of over 1,000 U.S. consumers, 78% of consumers are more willing to buy from a brand and 77% will choose a brand over a competitor after a positive experience with a brand on social media.1
And what do consumers see on a business’ social media page? Photos!
Of course, they will (hopefully) also see clever captions, compelling stories, and friendly copy, but the images create the first impression—causing a visitor to stay and hang out a while… or bounce.
Whether the pictures end up on your Instagram account, website, or in other marketing materials, brand photography is a great way to attract your dream customers. Use brand photography strategically to communicate that you are:
· laid back and casual, or poised and polished
· polished and poised, or free-spirited
· modern and trendy, or traditional and established
· high-end and exclusive, or for the everyday person
· quiet and clever, or loud and hilarious
Humans are visual creatures, and photos of you and your business really do communicate so much about you, without having to say a thing.
Find a Brand Photographer
When you’re seeking out a brand photographer, you want to look for someone who understands high quality, clear, and consistent branding. Your images should reflect the colors, tone, and feel of your business as a whole.
You want a photographer who:
· understands sizing and spacing requirements for websites (i.e. how much bokeh—or space in a photo that is out of focus—you will need to overlay copy)
· will be hyper-focused on the details surrounding you, the subject, and the background
· understands the basics of SEO (search engine optimization) when exporting and titling your image files
· offers some retouching for blemishes, flyaway hairs, etc. as looking your best in these photos is important
· helps you look and feel your best
Types of Brand Photography You Need for Your Business
As I mentioned, your brand photography should include a variety of different types of photos. There will be headshots you use with your bio or “About” page. Lifestyle images perform well on social media. Product images are a must if you are a product-based business, ideally showcasing your product from several angles, in use, and in different settings. And then there are fun shoots for one-offs like your client Christmas card or email.
Here are some examples of ways I have approached branding photography for three unique businesses:
The real estate business is booming in Nashville, so I get to help a lot of real estate agents with their photography needs. In this example, Lisa needed updated headshots. But she didn’t just want the traditional, “this is what my face looks like” thing. She wanted something with a lifestyle vibe that truly showcased her fun, outgoing personality. She wanted photographs that showed potential clients that she’s fun, approachable, and easy to work with. Fun fact: we staged my home office with some of her accessories for this shoot!
My next example is a powerhouse pair of real estate agents who have a Selling-Sunset-meets-Southern-charm vibe. They are in the top 1% of agents in Nashville’s and wanted to showcase their knowledge, chemistry, and work ethic from atop Music City’s skyline.
For my final example, I work regularly with a local therapist and her team. Our shots focus on each therapists’ individual personality. This can help their potential clients start to get a feel for which therapist might be the best fit. We also shoot lifestyle-type images of all the women interacting together in the bright, happy setting of their office. Who wouldn't want to open up to these ladies?
Get Strategic With Brand Photography
Don’t trust your brand photography to just anyone. With over a decade of experience in branding and marketing, I truly understand the thought and vision that goes into building a brand. You deserve to work with a professional who will approach the shoot with your unique personality, objectives, and product or service in mind. And to simply have fun—because at the end of the day, that’s what building a brand should be.