As a branding photographer with close to 4 years of experience, i’m here to tell you exactly what a branding photographer is and why you need one anyway.

I have the pleasure of working with a variety of individuals and businesses to help them establish their brand identity and elevate their online presence through professional branding photography. From commercial and personal brands, to service-based businesses and hotels, and even dog trainers – I’ve had a diverse range of clients. No matter who I work with, they all understand the importance of brand photography and how to use it for one’s business, and I’m here to spread the word. But before we dive into why branding photography is important, let’s get clear on what one even is. 

 

What is a branding photographer?

A personal branding photographer focuses on creating imagery for individuals and businesses that captures the experience and essence of their brand, as well as their services and/or products. As a branding photographer, I take your brand’s story, message, identity, and mission, and create personalized and authentic images that reflect you, your personality, and your brand. 

Because a branding photographer covers so many aspects of a brand, they sometimes end up taking on the roles of a product and commercial photographer as well. While a product photographer will take great images solely of your product, a branding photographer will take more of a lifestyle approach to showcasing your product and your overall brand. When I take photos of my clients and their products, I do my best to show my client’s audiences exactly what it is like to use the product AND how it’ll make them feel.

A commercial photographer, on the other hand, shoots for advertising and marketing purposes – typically on a very large scale. While a branding photographer does this as well, they have more of a personable approach in telling you and your brand’s story. A branding photographer will strive to have who you are and your personality shine through your photos to make sure your audiences build a connection with you before they even meet you.

No that we’ve established exactly what a branding photographer is and what they do, let’s talk about why they are an essential investment for your business’ success.

 

 

Why is branding photography important?

BuilDING A CONNECTION WITH YOUR AUDIENCE

Let’s be honest, people want to connect with other people. When customers make a decision on what businesses to purchase from, they tend to be more drawn to the brands they find relatable. In one of my previous blog posts, “5 Signs It’s Time For A Brand Refresh,” I talk about the importance of having up-to-date headshots for you and your team as well as capturing the personality of you and your business. The thought of being in front of a camera is scary (trust me, I get it), but when customers can see and relate to the people behind your brand, they will start to develop a sense of trust in your business.

As you can see, branding photography is a crucial component of establishing a relationship with your clients. It gives you the opportunity to showcase your brand’s human side, its purpose, and the team that brings it to life. Through branding photography, I help my clients show themselves and their process to their ideal clients so they can create a  sense of trust, authenticity, and authority with their audiences. 

Having A Consistent Visual Look For Your Brand

The visual look of your brand is incomplete without strong imagery for your ideal customer to associate it with. Your logo, fonts, and colors are a great foundation to build off of; but you need your own personalized branding images to complete the foundation of your brand identity. The imagery for your brand is just as unique to your brand as your logo is. It may be tempting to use stock photos, but people can spot them in a second nowadays.

So how does a branding photographer help you with consistency? By helping you utilize color, wardrobe, location, etc. to depict your brand. As I discuss in my blog post, “5 Things You Need To Do Before Your Branding Session,” whenever I’m working on the mood board and shot list with my clients for their session, I tell them to take their brand colors into account. I give my client suggestions on what color their outfits should be and what type of locations best suit their brand identity. By using all the elements of a strong visual brand identity (imagery included), you are giving your audience better opportunity to recognize your brand. 

Enhancing your online presence

In today’s digital world, your online presence is defined as how easy it is for people to find your brand online. When you have a strong online presence, you increase brand awareness and establish your brand’s reputation. Think about what platforms your ideal audience uses and how you can best show up there. If you think of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter; having your own content on those platforms will increase your chances of showing up online before your competition. One of the best ways for any brand to create their own content is through branding photography. It is my job as a branding photographer to help my client create and curate photo content that is the best representation of them and their brand.  The images you get from a branding photography session are used as content to share online and on your social media platforms. With a strong online presence, you will not only increase engagement with your brand, but also drive sales up!

Now you have a clear understanding of what a branding photographer is and why they’re important to your business’ success, but what exactly do businesses do with their images once they them get back? 

What do you even do with your branding photos?

Your branding photos are meant to be shared with and seen by your audiences. Here are some of the ways my clients have used their branding photos:

And many more!

I hope this clarified some questions you had about the world of branding photography and highlighted just how much it can do for your business’ growth.  If you’re considering booking a branding photographer, send me an email here! I’d love to hear about you and your brand, and how I can help you take your brand to the next level.