What IS Brand Photography? And why do we need it?
Brand Photography - where do I start?!
Well, firstly, let me address the elephant in the room. Who can say they don’t like having their photograph taken?
Funnily enough, those are the first words that 90% of my clients say as soon as we meet! I get it, I really do. But to communicate our businesses, our brands and our work with others, we NEED images. A photograph is still worth a thousand words, especially when it’s a profile photograph on LinkedIn, on your brand’s grid on insta, or even one of the homepage images featured on your website. These are all the places that our potential clients find us when we’re not standing in front of them. These examples are as important as any physical shop front is, and with a little care, they can be just as impactful, or even more so.
Your Brand is much more than just what you do. Your Brand is the identity and story of your company or business that makes it stand out from other competitors. It communicates what you do to your potential clients in a way that combines both the tangible aspects of your business with the intangible: the experience, or the way that interacting with your business makes someone FEEL. Creating your Brand is one of the most important things you can do in business, but also one of the most fun, and keeping it relevant as well as fresh is key.
So now you know how important these images are, as a Professional Photographer, it’s over to ME to capture you and your brand in the best way possible. And as you would guess, I know many tips and tricks to do so, and actually we have lots of fun on my shoots… especially when I accidentally sit in a thorn bush or call my clients Wendy (sorry to Clinton, a recent headshot client of mine who happens to be an Estate Agent with thankfully a good sense of humour!)
We always start with a chat. Over a phonecall, video call or a coffee (in person!), I want to know about you and your brand. Your business; what makes it tick, how you interact with your clients, what your core values are, what makes you unique. As we talk, you’ll see my brain whirring… formulating a shoot plan for how to tell your brand's story through images, in a way that your future clients will connect with. How you make your products, the experience you give to your clients, how much your team members love their job and put their passion into their work is all there to be captured. Would it make sense to shoot in a home space, in an office space, in a coffee shop? What makes the most sense for your product and story? Whether you have bricks and mortar, whether you work online… I find ways that your future clients can identify with you, in a way that helps draw the conclusion - that’s a great brand, I want that product, I want to work with them, let me reach out. Which is exactly the blood flow to every business.
Then on the day of the shoot itself, I love to really get involved to see you through your clients eyes… whether you’re mixing a cocktail, taking a call, fixing a lock, having a board meeting, giving your client a treatment, pollarding a tree on a busy one way system. I’m tying in your brand colours, your brand ethos, the essence of what you’re doing, capturing as much in that image as we can so that when you see it, your reaction is “Yes! That’s us!”
When your gallery of images arrives back with you, it might be for the first time that you have seen the essence of your brand on screen. The people, the vibe, the products as pride of place in a story. Making those potential clients, the ones that will see those images across your marketing (social media, website, flyers, you name it) really connect with them. Making them think “Yes, I want that… let me reach out”.
Once you have made your selection of your favourite images from our time together, I do a little retouch to make sure they’re the best they can be, such as removing scratches or blemishes. This means the images that you are supplied at the end of our time together are beautifully crafted and encapsulate your brand story in the best way possible. A set of images that you can be truly proud of, and those images are there to sell you and your brand in the places you can’t physically be all of the time. Your website, your social media, your leaflets and brochures, your posters. All of which are now supercharged to work hard for you and ready to help your business to grow and flourish. And a brilliant return on your investment.
If you'd like work with me, or chat more about how a Brand Photoshoot can work for you, please drop me a message.
Wishing you a productive month ahead!
With love, Rachel x
Rachel Thornhill ABIPP rachelthornhill.co.uk
