Investing in branding photography for your business should not be a one-time purchase. The overall frequency in which you schedule a session however is dependent on a few factors: the nature of your work, the size of your business, your budget, your social media and marketing needs, and your willingness to participate. All those details aside, we still recommend that all business owners schedule a brand session at least once a year, and here is why:
1 // YOU ARE ALWAYS CHANGING
It is important that your branding photos accurately reflect you; and moreover, that they are a representation of who you are now—not you ten years earlier or fifteen pounds lighter. Your clients want to know that the person they see in photographs is the same one they will meet in real life.
Change is a beautiful thing—and we all go through it. From different hair styles to fashion preferences, health journeys, and life events (pregnancy, marriage, moving to a new location and so much more) your personal journey has you in a constant state of change. We encourage you to embrace these new chapters and to incorporate them into your brand. Authenticity is exactly what your clients are looking for—not perfection.
2 // YOUR BUSINESS EVOLVES
As you learn, gain experience, and develop a deeper understanding of your clients’ needs your business systems and practices will start to evolve. You will make changes to your products or services that better serve your clients. You will find more structures and systems for better productivity and more efficiency. You will become more confident in your abilities as an entrepreneur. You may also expand your business to create new products or add members to your team.
As your business evolves, it is important to make sure that your photographs reflect the changes taking place. As we have discussed previously (see WHY A BRANDING SHOOT IS A PRIORITY INVESTMENT FOR YOUR BUSINESS) visuals are an extremely powerful, and impactful, way to communicate with your clients or customers. Use your branding photos as a tool to educate your clients too about upcoming events, achievements, speaking engagements, or other accomplishments.
3 // YOUR STORY IS MULTIFACETED
A strong brand uses a portfolio of images that together represent the multifaceted nature of a business. Every business is created with a unique purpose, offer, and intent. Each business owners’ story is different and influences the products, service, and practices in a way that is incomparable to any other. Herein lies great potential and possibility.
The trouble is, you simply cannot capture all the different pieces of a business’ story with a single photo session—it is just not feasible. This is a mistake all too commonly made. A branding shoot will be most successful with a planned theme and attention to one specific aspect of a business. Try to incorporate too much, and your portfolio will end up scattered, incomplete, disjointed, or all the above.
Branding your business is a journey all its own. Each new session should build upon the last. Below we included a short (not exclusive) list of possible ideas for branding shoot themes to help further illustrate this idea. Notice how each of these gives you new opportunity to connect with, to educate, or to share your story with clients.
Potential Branding Photo Shoot Themes:
Demonstrate a Product
Explain a Service
Show Behind the Scenes Footage
Introduce the Owner
Introduce the Team
Feature a New Launch or Promotion
Highlight a Location
Share Your Workspace
Detail Your Creative Process
Represent Client Relations
Share Tools or Resources
A blogger, virtual assistant, café owner, life coach, real estate agent, software developer, or lawyer will all have different needs when it comes to the quantity of branded photographs they use. (Do not worry, this is definitely a topic that we will be expanding on in a future post!) The important thing is that you understand, no matter what your line of work is, branding photos are an important regular investment for your business!
What theme will you focus on at your next branding shoot? Let us know in the comments!
—Written for Ilona Jade by Mandi Ann