Nowadays, brand photography is an integral part of having a business or being a public personality. Your brand identity has to be represented in every image that is related to your brand, whether it’s shown in social media or in traditional marketing campaigns, so your current and potential clients can readily recognize your business.
Continue reading to learn more about brand photography and its benefits!
What Is Brand Photography?
Brand photography consists of taking or creating professional images of entrepreneurs, small business owners, their teams, offices or stores, and their products, that showcase their brand identity.
When these pictures are taken to present a particular person, it is called personal branding photography, and it is a great tool for professionals—like artists and politicians—who are trying to promote themselves.
These photos can be used in your website, social media, marketing materials, business cards, and in any other publication used to show the visual identity of the brand or the brand’s story to potential clients.
A brand photoshoot can involve clients, the company’s team and style, and processes involved in the making of products or when providing services. Your brand photographer will make sure that your photos stay on-brand, while showing a professional image.
Brand photography is a great service to hire when you have a new business. However, you could also be the ideal client for a branding photography session if you are:
- Planning and designing a new website.
- Changing the image of your current website.
- Creating a marketing strategy for new products and services.
- Going through a rebranding process for your business or startup.
- Your appearance has changed significantly since your last photoshoot.
- When your brand starts to get more attention by the media.
- Recently seeing an increase in social media engagement.
- Having a decrease in business numbers.
Getting a high-quality brand photoshoot is a very effective way to invest in your business, since these images are going to become the first impression that potencial clients are going to have of your business.
A professional branding photographer will be able to deliver photos that truly represent your brand, and that are unique enough that your clients are going to be able to identify them whenever and wherever they see them.
Types of Brand Photography
Brand photography isn’t as simple as just taking some headshots. A good photography business will provide different options depending on the wants and needs of the client. These are the types of photography that are covered under the scope of brand photography:
Headshot Photography
Also called brand portrait photography, headshot photos are the most used type of brand photos. Headshots are profile photos of team members. They include the person’s face and upper body, and their goal is to showcase their personality and transmit a professional image that lets clients know they can trust your team.
Headshots usually include one person, but they can also include multiple people. They can be taken at the workplace, or in any other place that represents your business.
Service and Product Photography
These are carefully crafted and unique photos of your products or services that will make them stand out from the crowd.
There are plenty of things to consider when taking product photos: whether you want to capture them in use or just showcase them on a surface, what you want to have as a background, the color palette, and what angle suits your products the best.
A professional brand photographer will know how to highlight your products and services in a way that attracts clients and sparks interests in different communities. This will help expand your business, and push your products and services to new heights.
Company Workspace Photography
Even if your company does not sell any products, you will still need brand photos, and you can choose to do a workspace photoshoot that shows your team doing their work and your company’s relationship with clients.
It is ideal for these photos to be organic, to show what the place where the magic happens really looks like. If they seem forced or overly planned, they will look like stock images—instead of genuine photos of your workspace. This can be off putting for some clients, since you wouldn’t be showing the true identity of your business.
Lifestyle Photography
These are images that show how your clients can implement your products into their day-to-day life. It’s also important for these photos to be taken in a way that feels authentic and real, as if you’re taking a peek into someone else’s life—and you can see them enjoying or buying your products.
An experienced professional photographer will be able to provide unique photos that show your product’s personality, without it feeling repetitive or tiresome.
It is recommended to include models from different backgrounds in the photos, so potential clients can feel represented and see themselves using your products: this can make the difference in them deciding whether to purchase your products or not.
Abstract Photography
Abstract product photos highlight the details of your products, instead of focusing on the bigger picture. Their goal is to create an atmosphere around your products that will create a visual brand for your company, and let your clients know what is the sentiment behind your brand by just looking at a picture, instead of just showing them how the product looks, as you would do with a normal product photo.
These are photos where you can let creativity run wild in favor of creating images that have your brand stamped all over them. The idea is to focus on the elements of your products that could tell a story, and bring more variety to your product library.
Personal Brand Photography
Personal branding photos are mostly used by influencers, entrepreneurs, small business owners, artists, and anyone whose own brand is intimately linked to their business brand.
These types of photos are meant to be a combination of professional headshots and lifestyle photos: they show the subject at work, on the streets, or maybe even at home, depending on what image they are trying to project.
The goal of these pictures is to market yourself as the whole business. Therefore, they are not ideal if you’re planning to expand that business in the short term, because your new clients are going to expect to see you—and not someone from your team—when closing a deal with your company.
Corporate brand photography
Company or corporate brand photos are taken in a professional setting. They usually feature people in a meeting, handling paperwork, or performing other activities related to your company’s line of work. They usually feature logos or other identifying characteristics of your business.
These photos show you and your team working hard, and their goal is to displayyour business’ trustworthiness and professionalism.
6 Benefits of Brand Photography
Brand photography is fundamental for any new and established business, not only to help them grow but also to separate themselves from their competition. Let’s look at some of the benefits this type of photography provides:
Gives a Professional Image
Your brand image will project more professionalism if there is harmony and consistency in the imagery of all your platforms. Always using the same logo and the same style of photography for your marketing materials and social media platforms shows you have a professional and well-established brand.
Create a Unique Image
Having a unique image that is easily recognizable is extremely important, because your target clients will be able to associate certain photos with your brand when they come across it in social media or in advertisements.
You will stand out among the rest of the companies in your industry if your photos are unique enough to allow this type of brand recognition.
Make Your Brand Reliable
Using high-quality, professional and genuine photos will help your brand build trust and credibility with potential clients. It also elevates the value of your brand, positioning you as a high-level professional that takes care of their clients’ needs.
Establish a Connection with Your Customers
Your brand photos have to transmit your brand’s story, and this story has to make people want to be a part of your journey and learn more about your products and services. They have to see themselves reflected in your brand to incorporate it into their lives.
Grow a Community
Getting pictures of the different groups of people that are part of your business, your team members, your clients, your suppliers, your family, will show potential clients the behind-the-scenes of your business, which will create a community of people who have an emotional connection to your brand.
Show Your Potential
Your brand photos have to show what you have done, what you are doing, and give hints to what you will be able to do. This will give your clients something to look forward to, which will make them aware of your brand's future movements.
As a professional photographer, I’ll make sure to reflect the best version of your brand. Contact me to schedule your brand photoshoot!
