Why is branding photography important and what is it?

In short it’s your face. I mean I’m not wrong…

But seriously branding photography is a celebration of you, your business and your talents. It shows your current, past and future clients, who you are, what you do and how you do it in a way that isn’t dull, in front of a white background or lit so harshly your skin becomes a mirror. I’m not talking about stuffy headshots here. I’m talking about vibrancy, colour, personality, confetti, champagne spray, laughter, LIFE.

To me, branding photos are a look behind the curtain at the face behind the business. Nowadays consumers are moving further and further away from faceless corporations and they want to support smaller businesses with proper passion and drive behind what they do. Most of us don’t wake up and start a business for the cash. We lovingly and painstakingly create our businesses to provide a solution, to help people or to create a life for ourselves that is more than blind capitalism. We understand that spending time with family or travelling or doing whatever it is that we want to do is truly living. We aren’t just money making machines.

That being said, money makes life a whole lot easier to live so we run our businesses to help us gain some to fund the lifestyle that brings us happiness. This is where your branding photos come in. If your clients recognise your face and your photos within your marketing, every time they see one they will be reminded about you. Then when they require your product or service you will be the first person that pops into their head. It’s all about brand awareness.

But what actually is branding photography?

Now this one is tricky, because there are NO rules.

If you want to dress your horse up in a white sheet and do a halloween style photoshoot in the dark and that will amuse your customers enough to make them buy from you then that is brand photography. (It’s niche, but if you sell horse halloween costumes then you are on to a winner).

If you want to show your customers that you are a fun loving human with energy and an absolute vibe then let’s grab some confetti in a cool place and go nuts.

If you want to communicate to your clients that you are the perfect social media manager for them then let’s grab those laptop and phone shots. But that doesn’t stop you having some fun with streamers too. We are not one dimensional beings.

So here’s some reasons that you should get some unique and personalised branding images of you and your business:

It makes you stand out.

If you think about your biggest competitor and you imagine seeing a dodgy selfie of them with a half-arsed ‘meet the maker type caption’ what do you think?

Low budget, not engaging, bad light and oh… I’ve scrolled past and ignored.

Brand photography can give you that edge to really stop the scroll and draw new potential clients in.

Creating content gets easier

No more scrolling stock image sites and using the same picture that everyone else in your field is using. You have an online personalised stock image website just for you to use!

You can charge higher prices.

Your website looks more professional, your customers can trust you more because they can see you and your personality easily and it’s not hidden. You invested in yourself and became more premium, so put those prices up!

If you portray a lifestyle where your expertise is being used, your customer will want that too.

But more importantly they will want YOU. You will become their ticket to getting where you are and that will bring your clients to you like magnets. It’s also the reason that I like to do more than just the laptop boring stuff. If you swim in a lido then let’s grab some shots of that. Frequent your yoga mat? We can incorporate it. People are curious and professional photography gives you the opportunity to let them behind the curtain but in a controlled way so you don’t have to bare all.

It’s more than just helping your business. Having your photo taken is empowering.

Photos change your opinion and perception of yourself. You can connect deeper with what you love to do and also you can start on a journey to self healing. (now I promise i’m not into loads of woo woo stuff but try having your photo taken and you will see what I mean…)

Reasons to have a branding shoot with me?

We giggle through the whole shoot. We grab a coffee, have a chat, I get to hear all about what you love most in your business and it is fascinating. One of the best bits of my job is getting to chat to cool business owners. Also you’ll find when chatting to another business owner that the ideas start flying and you’ll leave the shoot with more than just photos but a whole new level of excitement and inspiration to jump straight back into your business.

You don’t have to panic about anything. Right from the start I can recommend the perfect package for what you need and then I guide you through the whole process from planning chat to what to wear, to posing.
We get to creatively collaborate (try saying that when you’ve had a few…). What I mean is, if you come to me with an idea you want to try (no matter how bonkers) we’ll find a way. Fancy flame throwing? Sure, we can make that work. Who needs eyebrows anyway?
I bring labrador puppy energy to my shoots and you’ll be laughing at me within seconds. If you’re laughing at someone else being stupid, you forget there is a camera pretty quickly.

If you’re suitably convinced that getting some professionally photography is the next stage in your business then check out this post about how to plan a branding shoot. In here there are some nuggets on things you need to think about and how to go about getting your dream shoot.