How To Design Your Brand: Brand Photography

There is a difference between a photo and a photo, even if the same thing is captured.

One image can be nostalgic and calm, and the other can be crescent and moving. Your brand photography pretty much decides the success of your online store or blog.

From your website and blog to packaging, stationery, marketing materials, and everything in between, images that capture the essence of your business are a real asset to your brand.

The photos you choose to introduce your product or service through will affect your target audience’s understanding of the product’s nature and price.

Suppose your business’s marketing is based mainly on visuals and, for example, on Instagram, a blog, and Facebook. In that case, it is crucial that you carefully design your visual style. Again, deciding which personality group your business belongs to would be best and choosing a matching photographic style when creating your product photos.

What Is Brand Photography?

Brand photography is about creating visuals that capture the essence of your brand and communicate it to your target audience.

It’s not just about taking pretty pictures – although that’s a part of it. Brand photography is about telling your brand story through images that connect with your audience on an emotional level.

When done well, brand photography can be compelling in building trust and credibility with your target market. It can also help you to stand out from the crowd and make a lasting impression.

Whether you’re looking to update your website, create new marketing materials, or just want to capture the spirit of your brand, consider investing in professional brand photography. It could be the best decision you ever make for your business.

Where You Can Use Brand Photography

There is a reason why brand photography and a cohesive gallery of images are so important.

You will need them all over your presence, online – and offline. There are endless possibilities for where you can use brand photography, but here are a few of the most common uses:

Website: Use images on your website to give visitors a quick snapshot of what your brand is all about. Be sure to use high-quality images that accurately reflect your brand identity.

Social media: Share images to engage with your followers and give them a behind-the-scenes look at your brand. Just be sure not to overdo it – too many photos can be overwhelming.

Marketing materials: Incorporate images into your marketing materials, such as brochures, flyers, and email newsletters. Again, be mindful of using too many photos – focus on quality over quantity.

Product packaging: Use images on your product packaging to give customers a preview of what they can expect when they open the box. This is a great way to differentiate your products from the competition.

There are endless possibilities for using brand photography to support your business. The key is to find a way that works best for you and your brand identity.

Company branding aims to improve your business’s reputation by providing a consistent and positive image. It may be used on your website, social media, marketing materials, and even in physical retail locations. You can create a strong visual presence for your firm by using high-resolution pictures congruent with your corporate message.

Here are some more ways to use brand photography:

• For Instagram photos
• In your Instagram stories
• For social media profile photos
• Throughout your website
• On your product pages
• In blog posts
• As the graphics for your paid ads
• To show your process
• In your email signature
• On your email newsletter, alongside your name
• In printed marketing literature
• On your business card
• In digital products (ebooks, e-magazines)
• In your online course content
• To introduce yourself in a webinar
• On the team page of your website
• On a PDF opt-in
• For a client thank you note
• In your PR/Media package

Brand Photography Is Cohesive And Consistent

To make your business look its best, you’ll want a variety of consistent, well-crafted photos that will keep your business looking professional and trustworthy across all your marketing channels.

Follow the tonality, depth, and photographic style throughout every single image you use on your website, social media, and prints. My eBook “Branding For Creatives” will help you find the right style for your brand.

Here are some examples:

Brand photography is cohesive and consistent imagery that tells the story of your company, product, or service.

It should reflect the values of your business while visually appealing to your target audience. Your goal is to make an emotional connection with potential customers, so they remember your brand and come back for more.

Creating a solid brand identity is essential to the success of any business.

And while there are many elements that go into building a brand, one of the most important is visuals. After all, people are visual creatures – we’re more likely to remember something if we can see it. That’s where brand photography comes in.

Brand photography is about creating visuals that capture the essence of your brand and communicate it to your target audience.

It’s not just about taking pretty pictures – although that’s a part of it. Brand photography is about telling your brand story through images that connect with your audience on an emotional level. When done well, brand photography can be compelling in building trust and credibility with your target market.

It can also help you to stand out from the crowd and make a lasting impression.

Whether you’re looking to update your website, create new marketing materials, or just want to capture the spirit of your brand, consider investing in professional brand photography. It could be the best decision you ever make for your business.

Follow Your Brand Personality

Group 1 images are fun, colorful, light, and bright.

They will have a certain warmth and softness about them. Group 2 photos are cooler, more relaxed, and calmer. They have some softness, and some hazy light will do magic.

Group 3 photography is rich, abundant, and intense. They have motivating energy about them.

Group 4 – premium branding photos are crisp, clean, bright, intense, clear, or the opposite: understated, edgy, and grounded. They always bring up a solid emotive reaction.

How To Choose The Right Brand Photography Style For Your Business?

Build a portfolio of images for your brand, and keep brand consistency by styling all of your visual elements cohesively. Creating gorgeous marketing materials becomes much easier when you have a wide selection of beautiful images in your gallery.

When you run events, hire a professional photographer. The same goes for product images. But for social media platforms and your blog, using visual media created by yourself is okay. Maybe you even want to supplement them with stock photos. Whatever the source of your images is, make sure to brand consistently with visual content that follows the same cohesive style.

I have divided brands into four different personalities, naming their groups 1, 2, 3, and 4. Which group does your business belong to? My eBook “Branding For Creatives” will help you find the right style for your business.

G R O U P 1 – fun and playful branding

Fresh and clean, moving and lively, joyful and bright images.

• Choose warm, bright, and gentle colors. The main thing is to create a light and welcoming impression. Avoid heaviness, darkness, and dominance.
• Dots and spring flowers, colored buttons, and balloons – anything that adds warm cheerfulness is welcome.
• Colored plastic, paper, painted wood, ribbons, and textiles are all excellent background choices.

When you shoot outdoors, a flower garden, colorful façades in happy colors. Avoid dominant, sharp angles, iron fences, and sharp objects.

Learn about group 1 brand styling here: Brand Styling 1: How To Brand a Youthful, Open, and Happy Business.

G R O U P 2 – feminine and elegant branding

Soft and romantic, pastel and formal, feminine and hazy. Elegant and relaxed feel.

The tonality of the colors is cool but delicate and muted. There is a soft haziness over the images.

Your goal is to create a calm and graceful atmosphere that is breathtaking in quality.

When shooting, you can use a very open aperture, creating a beautifully blurry background with sharp details of the subject. Let the light play, creating a blurry glow around your pictures. You can create bright and light images, but darker and moodier photos work well too.

• Simply make sure that the elegance, balance, and softness pass through.
• Flowers, leaves, houseplants! So in all its naturalness as textiles, paper, or anything else. High-quality fabrics, pastel tones, naturally treated wood, silk ribbons, white porcelain, etc.
• Bright, gray-chestnut, cool dark pink and blueish shades of greenery, cool beige, silver, light vanilla yellow.

Learn all about group 2 brand styling here: Brand Styling 2: How To Style an Elegant, Feminine Business

G R O U P 3 – earthy, abundant branding

Earthy, authentic, and warm. Can also be bold, masculine, and moody.

Abundant, cozy, nostalgic, and warm.

• The supporting details are natural wood, natural linen, antique, and old books – whatever emphasizes rustic coziness.
• On the other hand, very intense tones are present in this group (but also profound and subtle).
• Any ethnic theme is right here, whether it is folk textiles or other elements of Siberian, Guatemalan, or Indian origin.
• Autumn fruits and vegetables, abundant autumn flowers, and wildlife.

When shooting outdoors, this personality is ideal for taking advantage of the old buildings’ magic—wood, limestone, and stone walls.

Learn how to pull together all Group 3 visuals for a cohesive result: Brand Styling 3: How To Style an Earthy, Community-Focused Business

G R O U P 4 – premium and luxury branding

Geometric and clean, intense and crisp. Here you can also see edgy and abundant photographs.

• Be bold and intense. Dark, sharp shadows and details dominate heaviness, cement, and marble. Or lightful photos full of gold and sparkle.
• Or you can choose minimalism in its direct meaning, leaving clear lines and minimal colors to the pictures. Colors are clean, black-colored accessories or backgrounds can be in place.
• Geometry, sharp objects, cool overall impression. Excellent styling and perfectly arranged images.

It’s time to find old factory buildings, high fences, shady streets, and tall glass buildings in the outdoor environment. A heavy stone, massive glass, stormy sea, high mountains, busy metropolitan train station, snow-covered fields, etc., are excellent choices.

The group 4 photos can be divided into two extremes: very sharp and clear pictures or misty, gray images. Generally, there is no midway.

Ensure you learn all the tricks necessary to create cohesive luxury branding: Brand Styling 4: How To Style A High-End, Luxury Business.

Professional Brand Photos Build Trust

As you can see, photography plays a huge role in your brand identity.

People form a first impression in just 50 milliseconds, so everything you share has to impress well! Good quality, consistent, professional brand photography helps capture potential clients in a flash as they’ll see you appreciate the attention to detail, high-quality content, consistency, and great aesthetics.

When we present something well, is the audience already mostly convinced without even knowing anything about the product or service?!

Personal Brand Photography

Personal branding photography tends to include a lot of headshots.

Headshots can be done differently; professional personal branding photographers know when to use which style.

Traditional portraits are a great way to connect with your audience; you can use them for your social media profiles and About page, mainly if you sell to other businesses.

Though relaxed, happy shots of you doing your thing perfectly express your style without formality. Even headshots can help you to tell your brand story, especially the informal ones.

A great brand photographer can help to transform your business and elevate your brand when you understand the power your image as the business owner brings to your brand.

Clients, fans, followers… they all want to see and get to know the person behind the message.

Personal Branding Photography For Small Business Owners

Personal branding photography is generally more suited to entrepreneurs and small business owners than companies.

Personal brand photography is usually a series of photos based around you as the business owner, using your brand to promote the organization.

A personal branding photography session is a fine combination of corporate and lifestyle images, mainly portraits of the subject at work and/or home.

They’re fantastic if you’re trying to build a personal brand, but if you plan to grow and expand your business, this photo style can become a problem, as you’re marketing yourself as the entire business.

Be Your Own Brand Photographer

It is advantageous if you know how to take pictures with a digital SLR camera in a manual setting.

Otherwise, please attend a few useful photography workshops.

The second skill I recommend learning is the use of Adobe Lightroom. With these two skills, shooting goes much faster, and the results are more exciting.

The good news is that you can also keep taking pictures on the phone, using one of those great apps for editing – like Adobe Lightroom or VSCO Cam. These images are perfect for your social media and blog.

Styling Your Business Photography

Styling images is about following a few basic design principles; I have a few tips for you here.

• Keep your brand values in mind. Think about what you want to be known for and what impression you want to give with your images.
• Focus on what’s suitable for your brand. You may fall in love with many of the fantastic designs on Creative Market or admire your competitor’s visual assets, but is it right for your business to target completely different customers? Who are your ideal clients, and what captures their attention?
• Think about the setting. Check out the personality of branding styles described below, and think about what kind of environment is best for your brand.

Background and environment are crucial.

You can add accessories and textures that reflect your business’s personality group to the right background, adding life and purpose to your pictures. I can not count the times I’ve seen images damaged only because of lousy background choices.

The suitable backgrounds and accessories support your message and help you bring up your audience’s emotions.

For example, the viewer feels cold and uncomfortable if you take pictures of a delicate lace shawl and have a winter landscape in the background. However, if you choose a mild and “soft” environment that gives a delicate sense, the product will immediately reach a completely different emotional quality.

If you use flowers and plants for styling your pictures, choose the nature of these plants carefully.

For example, delicate English roses are not suitable for a masculine product photo but do well in a romantic image.

Brand Photos In Four Personalities

Group 1 – Youthful And Happy Brand

Fresh and clean, moving and lively, joyful and bright images.

Group 2 – Elegant And Feminine Brand

Soft and romantic, pastel and formal, feminine and hazy. Elegant and relaxed feel.

Group 3 – Earthy And Abundant Brand

Images should be earthy, authentic, and warm. Can also be bold, masculine, and moody.

Group 4 – High-End And Luxury Brand

Your images should be geometric and clean, intense and crisp. Or the opposite, you can also use edgy and abundant photographs.

Brand Photography Builds Trust

As you can see, photography plays a huge role in your brand identity.

People form a first impression in just 50 milliseconds, so everything you share has to impress well! Good quality, consistent, professional brand photography focuses on capturing potential clients in a flash as they’ll see you appreciate the attention to detail, high-quality content, consistency, and great aesthetics.

When we present something well, the audience is already convinced without knowing anything about the product or service!

Businesses That Prioritize Professional Photography To Elevate Their Brand Are More Likely To Stand Out Among Others In Their Industry

You have now understood that photographs are a powerful, artistic, and vital part of your brand.

An eye-tracking experts report that users take preference some images over others. Also, one study showed that viewers spent 10% more time viewing portrait photos of real people connected to a brand vs. stock imagery.

It’s essential to be tactical in how you display the visual aspects of your brand. Photography can advance the look and feel of a brand. And it can help a customer better understand the benefits of a product.

Read More

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 To Brand a Youthful, Open, and Happy Business

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