In this guest post, Ingrid Urena of Atelier21 Co. shares her best tips for capturing your brand’s story in photos!
Brand photography is not about sitting pretty and getting another headshot. This is all about bringing your story and your brand to life, connecting with your ideal clients effectively and strategically. These photos will turn into your most important visual marketing element as you give your brand’s message a visual voice conveying your vibe in the most beautiful way.
But all those goals can seem overwhelming to plan for, so let’s break it down to the top 5 tips that will help you carry out a successful shoot.
Tip #1 – Clarify your message and vibe.
You have to define what we’re hoping to accomplish with this photo shoot, and how you’d like to capture the essence of your brand by focusing in on your brand vibe and story. This will ensure you have a successful photo session and get a final gallery that will help you convey your message in a unique and true-to-you way.
Grab a notebook from your last Target run and write down:
- What is your story? Give me your best pitch and spell out your mission. This is where we will start defining the game plan.
- Your brand’s mission can be broken into “stories”. What are they?
- Are you showing your business side? A personal quirk that makes you unique? Something that represents your services?
Let’s find how to represent these stories by identifying elements like color and props on the next tip.
Tip #2 – Find some inspiration (Pinterest style!)
I know it’s tempting to go down the Pinterest rabbit hole but I really want you to note what elements, physical elements, call for your attention to feel “this is so my brand!
- Is it the color?
- The item or imagery?
- The texture?
- The composition or “vibe” of the photo?
Take notes.
This will help you to break down the inspiration from this step, pair it with your story from Step 1 and create your vibe’s visual core.
And this core will allow us to break down and pinpoint how we can take the inspiration and translate it into specific details.
Tip # 3 – Narrow down your key elements
This is your guide for your shoot all summed up, this is it, girl!
You see, every photo you just curated from your board has certain elements that can be simplified to a “look”. The sum of these looks will be what defines your vibe.
Tip # 4 – Outfit Planning
We all what to look our best, and sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming while planning, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
- Do wear clothes that make you feel like you could go walking down a crowded street with confidence.
- Keep it simple and don’t pick busy patterns, but in terms of color: I encourage you to pick at least 1 color from your brand and use it as an accent.
- Less is more, so don’t try to dress all in your brand color(s), just an accent!
Tip # 5 – Specialty and In-Action Photos
These are a very nice touch that many miss.
Having images of you captured in your element, doing what you do, showcasing your passion not only adds pretty photos to the mix, but we actually are giving an insider’s look into what it feels like to work with you.
Think about a photographer behind the scenes, a designer sketching, an artist setting up her tools…
Phew! That made it less scary, right?
The most important factor is to have fun with your images, think of the different places you’ll be using them and think of the ideal ones you’d like to have added to your shoot list! I sincerely hope that this guide helps you create a successful brand photo shoot to position your brand a step above from your competition.
Hi there! I’m Ingrid, I’m a visual brand strategist, photographer and Showit Design Partner. I help you uncover your true band vibe and translate it into visuals that connect with your ideal clients to convert and grow your business.
Interested in finding a curated library of high-quality photos that you could use to help tell your brand’s story? Then go check out Ingrid’s stock photo membership over at Atelier21 and get 10% off any level you choose using promo code, bluebird10
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