Let’s be honest… the world does not need another photo of an entrepreneur holding a coffee cup or typing on a laptop. So how do you create photos for your business that truly stand out? Let’s dive in!
As an entrepreneur, creating strategic brand photos is essential to the success of your business. Your brand photos help to communicate the values and personality of your brand to potential customers. They also help build a strong visual identity for your business. Think about the following businesses:
Apple
Patagonia
Pepsi
I’ll bet that you were able to instantly recall the “look” of these brands without searching for them online. This is because these brands have built strong visual identities and today I’m sharing how you can create the same for your brand.
Here are five steps to create strategic brand photos that will help your brand stand out.
Step 1: Define Your Brand
Before creating any photos for your business, it is important to have a clear understanding of your brand. You’ll want to establish your brand values, personality and target audience. For personal brands, you should consider your unique skills and what sets you apart from your competitors. You’ll also want a complete list of products and services you offer. Finally, you’ll want to consider what messages you want to communicate through your brand photos (more on this point 3 below).
Step 2: Choose Your Photography Style:
Your brand photos should reflect your brand’s style and personality. When you envision your brand, do you have a certain “look” in mind? If your brand is playful and fun you might choose a bright and colorful photography style. If your brand is more serious and professional, you might choose a more understated style. It is also important to consider your target audience and the style of photos that will resonate with them. Once you’ve dialed in the photography style for your brand, consistency is key.
Step 3: Consider Your Brand’s Key Messages
Brand messaging that attracts your ideal client involves understanding their needs, desires and pain points and positioning your brand as the solution to their problems. If you are a feminine fitness brand, your ideal client may be looking to improve their health and lose weight. Their pain points might be a busy schedule and lack of confidence. Think of how your brand addresses these pain points and what kinds of photos might help your ideal clients identify with your brand. For example, a busy mom may struggle to exercise regularly because she’s busy driving her kids to school and all of their activities. A photo of a mom in the driver’s seat of her minivan is something that your ideal clients will immediately identify with.
PRO TIP! One of my favorite things to do is to create photos to illustrate answers to your business’ Frequently Asked Questions. This is a creative and engaging way to communicate with your ideal audience.
Step 4: Plan Your Shoot
Once you have a clear understanding of your brand, style and messaging you are ready to plan your brand photo shoot. You’ll need to decide on the location(s), props and outfits you’ll need. You will also want to determine if you will need to have any models for your shoot (these don’t need to be professional models). It’s a good idea to make a shot list to ensure that you capture all of the photos that you need. Another important consideration is where you will use these photos and what size and orientation you will need. Do you need a hero image for the homepage of your website? Do you need photos for social media ads? Be sure to consider this before your shoot.
Step 5: Hire With a Professional Brand Photographer
It can be overwhelming to plan and execute a brand photo shoot on your own. The good news is that there are talented brand photographers who are able to help you create brand photos that will help you tell (and sell) your story. A professional photographer that specializes in brand photography can help you with planning, locations, styling, posing and directing your photo shoot to capture photos that truly reflect your brand. They will also provide you with a commercial license and ensure that you have appropriate model-releases that will allow you to share the photos both online and in print. I will be writing a future blog post on how to choose a brand photographer so stay tuned for this.
Follow these five steps to create brand photos for your website that stand out from the competition, help you show up in your business, and communicate your brand’s values, personality and unique selling proposition to potential customers. Your brand photos are an important, long-lasting investment in your business.
