What is Business Branding Photography? Images that give a face to your business and present the story behind you, the owner. They demonstrate a personal side of your business and throughout this post, I will help you learn a little more about why these images are important.
What types of branding images are out there?
Editorial/Story/Documentary – Tell your story, personal or professional.
Headshots – Does your portrait make me want to reach out and have a coffee with you? Who are your staff? Who will greet me when I visit you?
Food or products – What do you offer?
Events – What is it like to be there? Are your events showing an evening full of laughs?
Architectural – What does your space look/feel like? Your workspace is a direct reflection of your company and how your company treats its employees.
Why do you need them?
Your business likely has a website, Facebook page, marketing ads, printed flyers, brochures, business cards, advertisements, magazine articles, an email list or newsletter, Instagram, and don’t forget LinkedIn and Twitter and, and, and… The list is endless! So, you will need images for everything.
As small businesses, your online presence is EVERYWHERE.
It is proven statistically that your consumers and clients are reading less and less. So that leaves you with … you guessed it … your images!
Can I use stock photographs?
Sure, you can. However, your friend Google, when crawling your content and reading for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), will be watching you closely. Above all, if the big G sees that your image is also used on 800 other websites, this won’t help you and actually could hurt your rankings.
More importantly, stock images are not interesting to your audience. Your clients don’t want to see just any chiropractor, yoga instructor, or bank teller in action — they want to see YOU. More and more the importance of the person behind the business is at the forefront of nearly all marketing strategies.
The story behind your business is what people are interested in. Unique, custom images will not only help solidify your brand, but will also make it, and you, stand out in your field.
Custom images will:
- help your website get found in the image results,
- allow your website to perform better in the overall search results,
- engage customers and keep them on your site longer, and,
- encourage them to choose you over a competitor.
TIM Makeup before and after branding image
So, how do you form a connection to your clients using your unique images?
Once your branding is concrete, your colors are set, your vision is “boarded,” and your target market defined, it is time to visually brand your business. Keep in mind, whether you are a new business or an established one, this can only improve your online presence and notoriety. Your website’s homepage must capture your consumer’s attention within a short 7 seconds. Images give the fastest first impression. With business branding photography, business owners see immediate results in the ranking, inquiries, and online business presence.
How do I find MY perfect branding photographer?
As with any photography work, the match between client (your business) and your photographer is crucial. They should be cool. That’s it! Oh, they should also be someone who is able to clearly see your brand in a truly unique way that will help them guide you in completing the perfect vision for your brand.
Your photographer’s agenda should be your agenda, sprinkled with their expertise. They should be extremely creative. Working in branding, a photographer’s job is to create different branding images for a variety of companies. It requires a high level of skill to be able to create images using a wide variety of looks and styles.
Most importantly, your photographer should have a clear understanding of and relationship with the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). This organization guides media photographers on all things related to the field. A clear understanding of licensing and pricing is crucial because copyright registration and protection of your business’ images are musts.
Genesee Country Museum & Village
The day your clothing matches your produce at the Brighton Farmer’s Market
I wish you the very best in getting started with your business branding photography! May your beautiful images bring you an abundance of success and amazing clients!
Jess Kamens, owner of Jess Kamens Photography, has been a member of RWN for nearly two years and is an active member of the Referral SIG II group. Jess specializes in unique wedding photography, custom family portraiture, business branding, and corporate photography.
Contact and credits:
Photography by
Jess Kamens Photography
jessicakamens@gmail.com
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