How do you know if your business is ready for brand photography?
No doubt, branding photography is an investment (my full photography packages START at $525.00+, minis at $249.00). So how do you know if your business is ready to see the ROI of branding photos? And even more, once you have decided you are ready, how do you make sure to make the more of your time with a branding photographer. If you are running a business, product OR service, branding can absolutely change your business. If you are looking to stand out in a saturated market (and let’s be honest - a lot of us are!), you need strong visuals.
Don't worry. I have a simple five step process for you to follow to make sure you get the most out of your branding session. As a Calgary based branding photographer (you can check out my branding photography services here), I have seen how transforming your visuals has the power to bring new life into your business, time and time again. So I can stand confidently and tell you it is well worth the money to book a branding session. If you're interested in booking a branding session, make sure to contact me here for now.
1. Establish a goal for your session.
Do you want to kickstart a new brand or product line, maintain your business presence online with updated Instagram posts, or are you looking to update your visuals to better reflect the customers you want to attract? Visuals are the first impression that a customer will have so it's important that they're kept up to date.
When getting ready for your branding session, it‘s important to look down the pipeline and see what you have coming up. Are you launching a new product line that you need to get ready before you book photos? Are you going to be changing up your branding colors? Do you want to make sure that your new content is seasonally appropriate? If you are a personal brand especially, you don’t want to be posting summer branding photos from last year in the middle of winter. If that makes you sweat, I have subscription packages to solve this need so you always have up to date content. You can read more about them here.
2. What do you absolutely need to walk away with?
Do you know why you want branding photos? Please don’t book a branding session because you read it is a “must” on the internet. Maybe you need photos of you looking at data to show how your company helps customers grow? Or do you need some behind the scenes photos so your customers stop questioning your pricing and understand the process a little bit more. If you're planning a launch, do you need the finished product to be ready before you take the photos? Working with a professional branding photographer will help you establish your goals for the session and make sure you can meet them - BEFORE you actually book your session.
3. Next, drum up some inspiration. What would be nice to have?
Now that we've established what you need to walk away with, what would be nice to have? Maybe it's photos of you reading a book that you always recommend to your education clients, maybe it's a photo of you in the kitchen cooking up some recipes with your new food product. Maybe one of your branding colors is green, and you're hoping to get some photos of you sitting in a lush velvet green chair and your not quite sure you can find one. Don’t limit yourself on the “nice to have” ideas. Create a Pinterest board or somewhere to house all of your inspiration. Doing this ahead of time will not only help maximize our time together on the day of, it also helps your branding photographer give you what you want! For example, you might not know which studios around Calgary have velvet green chairs, but I do! I can help you find spaces that might accommodate a lot of your ‘nice to haves’ so that you don't have to go out and purchase everything!
4. Assemble your dream team
Start your search. Have I mentioned I’m a branding photographer yet? The next step to preparing for a branding session is finding the right team. It’s not just about hiring a photographer though. You also need to consider whether or not to hire a hairstylist/makeup artist (which I highly recommend by the way!). You also might want to consider bringing in models and other people who work for you. Is there anything else on your wants/needs list that might require more people with specific skill sets?
In terms of choosing the right branding photographer, I created a resource for you. I have five important things to ask your branding photographer, which you can check out here. Branding photography as an investment and you don't want to just book someone because they have a pretty Instagram. Make sure you're making a smart investment on your business by asking the right questions.
5. Time to book your branding photos!
Now it's time to book your session and CELEBRATE. After you have a date, check with your team, check with your photographer and book a location. Sometimes branding photos will take place in your office or outside which we don't need to book ahead of time. Then again, you might want to book a studio in advance if it will better fit your needs for the session. When choosing your date, don't push your branding photos too close to a launch because branding photos take time to edit! Check with your photographer what their turnaround time is so you don’t cut anything too close to a launch.
Do you feel ready to book your brand new session?
Do you have any questions about booking your branding photography session? Like I mentioned earlier, I have subscription packages for clients that need regular seasonal content, but for most businesses you might be able to get away with just two longer sessions a year. You can check out ALL of my branding offers (including custom packages) here. Congratulations on taking the leap and booking your session!