Brand Photography

Written by Kate Hollingsworth on May 19, 2020. Posted in Featured Article.

Branding is more than just a logo, colours and fonts. Your visual identity is actually made up of lots of different elements, including photography, but what is brand photography, why is it important and how can you get some for your own brand?

What is brand photography?

Brand photography is the opportunity for you to have a wealth of professional images that represent your business visually, and fit with your brand identity through their use of colours, tone, props, sets and more. These can include photos of you, your team, your products, your process, your space and other things that make your business unique.

Maybe you’ve had a headshot taken before for your LinkedIn profile or website about page, and while a beautiful, professional headshot is important, it’s just one piece of the branding puzzle. To make your business look it’s best, you’ll want a range of consistent, bespoke photos that will keep your business looking tip-top across all of your marketing material over time.

“So pleased with the photos Kate took for me. The lifestyle shots were great and just what I wanted for social media and ultimately saved me a huge amount of time and stress. She’s a delight to work with; relaxed and adept at capturing exactly what I was after. Thanks Kate!’ Seaforth

Brand photography makes your brand more approachable and human

82% of consumers trust a company more — and 77 % are more likely to buy from a company — if the founder uses social media. This isn’t to say that these photos are just for your social media profiles, or that they should all include you, but to point out that people want to connect with other people, relate to others and see the face behind the company.

Now I know what you’re thinking, and as someone who hates being on the other side of the camera – I’m with you! But I’ve realised how important it is that people know who I am, I found a photographer who made me feel comfortable and confident, and had my first set of branded photos taken just before Lockdown! So from one crazy gurning business owner to another, I can assure you that it’s doable, not as scary as you think, and totally worth it!

When you and/or your team can be seen throughout your marketing, potential clients will be able to see who they would be working with, get a glimpse into the process, and imagine themselves being a part of that experience. Photos with humans in them take your products and services from seeming unattainable or conceptual and bring them into reality as something tangible and desirable.

Brand photography sets a fab first impression

People form a first impression in just nanoseconds seconds, so everything you share has to grab them fast! Good quality, consistent, professional photography is going to help capture and retain clients. They will see that you appreciate attention to detail, high quality content, consistency and great aesthetics. I know that if something is presented well, I’m already mostly convinced without even knowing anything about the product or service!

Brand photography increases engagement

We all know by now that visual content goes a long way and has a much better engagement than text-only content, and if you’re not convinced yet, here are some cold, hard facts. 65% of marketing execs say photos, videos and illustrations are key to communicating your brand story; Facebook posts from brands that included images earned 87 percent of all engagements; 51% of B2B marketers prioritize creating visual assets as part of their content marketing strategy; tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than tweets without images; articles with an image once every 75-100 words received double the social media shares as articles with fewer images; Facebook posts with images see 2.3X more engagement than those without images. (Hubspot) Have I hooked you yet?

You need images and more importantly, you need good quality, on-brand images.

Consistency is key, and photography increases brand consistency

You might have your logo, colours and fonts down, but if your photography doesn’t match, you’re in trouble. Having all of your visual elements work together cohesively is vital in maintaining brand consistency. Brands that are consistently presented are 3 to 4 times more likely to experience brand visibility and 90% of consumers expect their experience to be consistent across all channels and devices used to interact with brands.

Now you may be able to find some good stock images that kind of work but chances are they won’t be on-brand, or if they are, a hundred other people are using the exact same photos in their brand. Stock imagery is good when you first started out, but it should be the goal to have your own, unique and perfectly on-brand photos to use instead.

Where you can use brand photography

I get that maybe you’re wondering where you could possibly use all of these photos and you’ll totally want to get your money worth if you’re investing in a photographer, so here’s a few ideas for how you can use these images once you have them:

As your social media profile photos, especially if you’re a team of one, or your brand is really personal, like a life coach or blogger.
For Instagram photos
In your Instagram stories
To show who you are on your about page
In blog posts
As the graphics for your paid ads
To show your process
As the sign-off of your email newsletter alongside your name
On one side of your business card
To introduce yourself in a webinar
On the team page of your website
Throughout a PDF opt-in
For a client thank you note
As part of your PR/Media/Press package so others can write and share about you and your business
In your email signature
As podcast artwork
In your online course content

Time to take action!

Now it’s time to make it happen! If you don’t already have a photographer in mind, have a look around my pages and then if you want to chat more – drop me a line, we can jump on Zoom, have a cuppa and catch up.

It’s really important that you get on with whoever you partner up with on this. So make sure you get references and find someone whose work you enjoy, and who you get along really well with. The most important thing, especially if you are going to be getting photos of you and your team, is to work with someone who makes you feel comfortable and you can have fun with, because this will show in the photos.