KEY ELEMENTS OF TODAY’S COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

This is not your momma’s headshot y’all. The new brand photography has more life, more emotion, and tells more of your brand story than a headshot alone ever will. The new brand photography is like a magazine editorial, mixed with commercial photography, created specifically for the modern entrepreneur.

The most important part of your brand photography is your personality. Commercial Lifestyle photography, unlike the traditional headshot, allows us to capture the true essence of who you are, and the unique qualities you bring to your brand. By using props to tell your story, and choosing the location of your shoot strategically, we are able to communicate so much more to your client than ever before.

According to a study by American Express, Women make up 39% of all US firms. That’s not only a lot more competition in the marketplace, but that’s a lot more ingenuity when it comes to how to market your business and reach your ideal clientele.

With strategic marketing efforts that include professional photography, you’re giving your audience the opportunity to retain 65% more of the information you present, versus just using text alone. By using personal branding imagery, you’re creating a connection with your audience by introducing them to you through your imagery. Your audience is more likely to remember the information you present, as well as remember your face when thinking about who to call for your service.

COMMUNICATE YOUR BRAND STYLE BY CREATING AN AESTHETIC

Using your brand visuals to communicate your lifestyle is a powerful way to create resonance with your potential clients. Your aesthetic, or the visual rules you create for your brand, builds a bridge between you and your client that gives them a reason to spend their money with you time and time again. Brand loyalty is not built on savvy marketing efforts alone, it’s built on the knowledge that you genuinely care about your clientele.

Showcasing your brand aesthetic, or your lifestyle can be tricky, since individuals are not reduced to singular interests, but creating an identity for your brand that combines your personal interests with that of your ideal client can go a long way. 

My recent client, Alicia Elatassi, combined her love of empowering women, fashion, and travel to create a visionary boutique that doubles as a meeting place for like-minded women to gather and host workshops. Thinking Boutique is a compelling brand that showcases Alicia’s style expertise and uses her jet-setting lifestyle to bring back unique handmade items from around the world. Alicia loves to spoil the women who meet and learn in her shop, and these treasures from around the world are how she does that, making every gift from Thinking Boutique truly one of a kind.

HAVE A CLEAR PURPOSE FOR HOW YOU WILL USE YOUR IMAGES

Brand photography is more than just beautiful images. Having a plan for how your images will be used, allows you to create the exact imagery that you need for your marketing to be effective. Not all images can be formatted to fit every platform, and knowing that before you build your image catalog will save you time and money. Website imagery should be photographed with your design in mind. Will you be using your personal branding images as page headers? If so, they will need space for page titles, subtext, and call-to-action buttons. They will also need to be sized appropriately, depending on your specific website. Page headers, blog headers, blog post images, and personal avatars all have specific dimensions that need to be taken into consideration before the photos are taken. Some of these images may be able to be repurposed for your social media posts and marketing posts, but the content of ad-specific images is an important factor to consider. 

Here are a few things to consider when planning your brand photoshoot.

• Where and how will your images be used?
• Will they need to be formatted across multiple platforms?
• How many images will you need for each page of your website?
• How many product or still-life images will you need?
• How many portraits will you need?