Your brand images should connect and speak to your target audience.

It needs to communicate a specific message to the right people. But how do you effectively achieve that?

How can you tell your brand’s story through photographs?

If you’re in the market to hire a professional photographer to do a photo shoot and create your brand’s perfect imagery, there are some things to know and think about before making the investment.

Why hire a professional photographer to create your brand images?

If you’re looking to really build your business’s brand, I highly recommend hiring a professional photographer to do a photo shoot. This is an investment in your business that will payoff in more ways than one:

Promote professionalism
Because of the high-quality nature of the photos, your business will be perceived as professional and polished.
Create connection
If you’re highlighting your store or office, you’ll gain familiarity by giving visitors a peek into your place of business. If you work from home, a professional photographer can capture your home office scenes or some shots of you out-and-about in different locations, which introduces visitors to a part of your daily operations and helps them to connect with you.
Gain trust
If the photographer provides headshots for you and your team members, you’ll gain some trust and credibility by showing the real people who are doing the work.
Communicate values
Photographs can instantly communicate your business’s values and ideals, and you’ll be able to harness the energy of your brand through them.
Create promotional materials
You’ll have countless opportunities to use your branded photographs: your website, print materials, promotional ads, social media, and more!

A professional photographer can capture your brand’s essence.

A good photographer will be able to get to know you, get to the heart of your mission and values, and to strategically guide you in what your business needs to visually showcase your brand’s essence. At the end of the day, your brand imagery is more than just a pretty Instagram grid. It should work to attract the right clients and inspire them to engage with you and your business.

How can I prepare for the brand photo shoot?

Every photographer is different, and each will have their own style and recommendations of how to prepare and what to expect. Review their processes before hiring them to be sure you’re a good fit for each other.

In preparation for your photo shoot, get to know your photographer and their work.

You’ll want to:

Provide the photographer with your brand’s color palette or a mood board that introduces your ideas and concepts;
Ask about styling and using props that relate to your business and day-to-day activities;
Determine the best wardrobe and clothing options;
Discuss locations;
Create a basic shot list that helps outline the different types of photos you’ll need for your brand.

What kinds of photographs do I need for my brand’s website?

Always incorporate the use of high-quality images into your website. Using low-quality, badly-lit, or distorted photos is a sure way to not be taken seriously or professionally.

Ask your photographer to take a good mix of horizontally-oriented (landscape) and vertically-oriented (portrait) images. Website page header images in particular, or hero images, are best incorporated into the design as a landscape-oriented image.

Here is a list of photographs (shot list) that will serve your business well and can be used throughout your website, social media, and print marketing materials. This is not an exhaustive list, but a good start to brainstorming what to prepare for:

1. Inspiration sources

Share any resources or items that have inspired you and your business. This could be anything from art, photography, and coffee table books - to textures, colors, and objects in your home.

2. Tools of the trade

Gather the items you use on a daily basis in your business and use them as props to incorporate during the photoshoot. This helps solidify the on-brand imagery and authenticity you’re trying to achieve. For example, if your business relates to design, you could incorporate your laptop, a journal or calendar, a collection of colored markers and swatches, or some mood board objects.

3. The workspace

We don’t all have a glamorous workspace or office that is Architectural Digest magazine-ready. But you can quickly and easily curate a small area within your daily work environment that will help tell your story. For example, if your business is food-related, this may be your kitchen’s countertop or backsplash with carefully place cooking equipment and utensils, a cookbook, or some potted herbs.

4. Products in use

If your business creates or sells products, visitors to your website want to see those products in use. Incorporate your products into “lifestyle” shots that convey your brand’s essence. Using the food-business example again, think of things like hands stirring or mixing, hands flipping through a cook book, a close up of someone opening or pouring wine.

5. You :-)

Whether as a headshot or candid, capture some photos of you within your workspace and other various pre-determined environments. Connecting with your audience on this level really helps them to get to know the person behind the brand.