As a branding photographer, your job is to create images that tell the story of your client's business.
Having a strong brand that resonates with their target audience is important for their success, and photography is a powerful visual tool that can help connect to their audience on an emotional level.
These ideas are a good start in creating powerful meaningful images for your branding clients:
UNDERSTAND THEIR BRAND
To begin, you need to work closely with your client to understand their brand. What makes their business unique? What is their mission? What are their values? These are all important questions that form the basis of decisions such as the location, wardrobe ideas etc.
Once you have a clear understanding of their brand, you can begin to think about how to use storytelling techniques to convey their message through your images.
STORYTELLING TECHNIQUES
Using Props
Starting with props and tools of their trade specific to them to show how their business works. For example, a photographer and their camera, a chef and their knife. the more relevant and unique to that business the better in telling their story.
Types of images
Capturing behind the scene images of them in the process of doing what they do is a powerful way to tell their brand story. You could even capture a casual meeting shot with a client if that is relevant.
Location selection
Where you shoot is just as important as what you shoot. For example you can show alot about a client by sharing their workspace, whether thats a beach setting for a yoga teacher, or a corporate office for a lawyer, both locations tell a different story for each client.
In an example for me personally, if I was to have a branding shoot I would start with having photos of me going through a shoot plan or inspiration board with and then without a client, then me actually doing my job of shooting, then probably finish up with some images of me working at my computer. This shows the whole shoot process from start to finish which would tell the story of what it is like to work with me.
FOCUS ON THE DETAILS
Details matter when it comes to branding photography. Pay close attention to the colors, composition, and framing in your images, ensuring that they align with your client's brand aesthetic.
Think about things such as, if the client has a product, creating a variety of images from a distance to a tight crop and may be even the product being used.
Also consider the aesthetics of the brand, for example is it minimalistic and requires a plain tonal background, or is the brand retro and vibey and needs all the colours and textures. You need to shot the aesthetic that match the brand voice.
CONSISTENCY
Consistency is key in branding photography and it's one of the major selling points of investing in a branding photographer.
Make sure that all of the photos from the session have a similar look and editing style, and that they align with your client's overall visual identity. This helps to create a cohesive brand that is easily recognisable to their audience, no matter where they interact with it.
USE THEM STRATEGICALLY
Lastly, in order for your client to get the most out of their images, they must have some sort of understanding of where they are going to be used. For example, if its a website banner image then you will probably need to shoot a bit wider to allow for cropping, or maybe you need to leave a bit of white space for graphics.
When you shoot intentionally for the purpose of where they are going to use the images, then they can be used in a more strategic way.
Other locations to use their images are:
-website
-bill boards
-email signature
-product packaging
-course materials
-pamphlets and flyers
-podcast covers
By using the photos strategically, you can ensure that their brand message is clear and consistent across all touch points of the business.
TO SUM UP
As a branding photographer, your goal is to create images that tell the story of your client's business. By understanding their brand, using storytelling techniques, focusing on the details, being consistent with their visual identity, and using the photos strategically, you can help to create a strong brand that resonates with their audience and drives business success.
If you are looking for a Questionnaire to find out the right questions about your client then click here.