Are you thinking about redoing your website? If so, you absolutely 100% of the time need to get new brand photos taken. It’s an absolute must for your website because it brings your brand to life.
Today, we’re going to talk about what exactly you need to do in order to get brand photos taken, how to go about that, and how to make sure that they represent your brand and your personality.
Why Do You Need Brand Photos?
First of all, brand photos are absolutely essential, because they will make or break your website. Have you ever gone to a website, and you felt like the design was great, but the photos were not? You might even think “I’m not sure I’d trust them with my money.” Chances are that they did not have professional photos taken.
There’s such a difference between getting someone to take your photos who understands what you’re going after that these aren’t just headshots. It’s not just someone taking a picture of you sitting behind a computer. But it’s getting someone to take your photo that understands that their photos are what’s going to breathe life into your brand.
Your brand is so much more than your colors, your fonts, all of that. As a personal brand, your brand is you. It’s your personality that is shining on the web. And we need to make sure that your photos reflect that well.
Be Clear on Your Brand First
The first thing you need to do before you ever even book a brand photo session is make sure that you’re super clear on your branding. What is it that you’re trying to tell the world? How are you trying to represent yourself in the digital world? That’s what we want to bring to life.
If you’re not clear on that, then everything that you do after the fact is going to feel a little off. It’s not going to reflect your messaging. It’s not going to reflect the words that you use. It’s not going to reflect the colors and the fonts because everything will be a little bit disconnected.
It all starts with having a really clear idea on your brand as a whole, and the message that you’re sending out. And then everything branches off of that: your photos, your fonts, your colors, everything. It all comes back to who you are and what you’re trying to say.
How to Book the Right Photographer for Your Brand Photos
Now that you’re really clear on your brand, you’re sure that you are ready for this, where do you start with booking a brand photo session? The first thing that you want to do is book the right kind of photographer. We are not at all looking for headshots of you in a studio up against the wall, feeling a little bit cold like a school photo. That is not what this is about.
This is about bringing life to your brand. So we want to make sure that you use a photographer who understands that. There are some amazing brand photographers across the country, but I know that it can be hard to find a brand photographer in some places, it’s just not an option. People don’t specialize in that. What I would challenge you to do is look for someone who does lifestyle photography.
Look for a Lifestyle Photographer in Your Area
You want to work with someone who makes you feel comfortable to be you in front of the camera. You don’t want to work with someone who is posing you or having you turn your head a certain way. It’s super awkward, and that awkwardness will show in your photos. That’s not what we want.
You want someone who is comfortable taking photos of you doing life, whether that’s you working behind a computer, you on your phone, you hanging out with your family, whatever that is. You want to make sure that they’re comfortable doing that without needing to give you a whole lot of direction and just letting you be you.
You really want a photographer who specializes in letting your personality shine through your photos. So first of all, look for a lifestyle photographer, if there isn’t a brand photographer in your area.
What to Wear for a Personal Brand Photoshoot
The second thing that you want to do is choose the right clothes and accessories to wear. And I know especially for women, this is so hard. This is where everyone gets tripped up. “What do I wear, what do I wear?”
You don’t have to wear your brand colors. But if one of you brand colors looks good on you, then absolutely try and find an outfit that has a piece of your brand colors shining through in it. It’ll really help bring that across and really make things look really professional.
However, whatever outfits you choose, make sure that it doesn’t clash with your brand colors.
That’s the biggest thing. We don’t want something that just feels really like that’s off from the rest of the website and the rest of your marketing. You want to make sure that it all flows together.
Now in terms of the outfit specifically, this really goes back to being clear about your brand. If you are someone who’s really coming across as a professional, if you are marketing to corporate America, if you’re marketing to other professionals, then you’ll want an outfit that you would wear to a meeting. That’s how you want that to come across.
If you are someone who is reaching out to more customers individually, if you want more of a relaxed feel to your brand, than don’t feel the need to wear a suit. Make sure that the outfits that you choose reflect your brand.
Make sure that it’s okay with your photographer that you have an outfit change during your photoshoot.
The worst thing you can do is pay a lot of money and spend a lot of time getting photos taken of you in just one outfit. Because then in all of your marketing, it’ll be really obvious that you just had one photoshoot done.
If you can switch it up, try and change outfits, add a jacket, take off a jacket, add a sweater, take off a sweater, whatever you can do to get as many outfits as possible out of this one photoshoot will really help you use your photos for a longer period of time.
Choose season neutral outfits.
Also be really mindful that unless you plan to have a brand photoshoot taken multiple times a year that you really don’t want to have very seasonal outfits. So if you get photos taken in the middle of the winter, which I did this year, and it was colder than crud out, you don’t want to have photos of you in very obvious winter clothes with scarves and layers and so on. You want to still be able to use your brand photos in the summer and not have it look odd.
So make sure that whatever you choose, it reflects kind of an overall season. If you want to do short sleeves, or three quarter length or even just a long sleeve shirt, but make sure that it could be worn in multiple seasons. That way you’re getting the most use out of your photos.
How to Pick a Location for Your Branding Photoshoot
The last thing that you want to consider is location. Where are you going to get your photos taken? Once again, it all goes back to branding. What’s a location or locations that will represent your brand?
If you have a relaxed feel to your brand, then consider having a relaxed feel to your photoshoot. Maybe have your brand pictures taken in your home or in a coffee shop or at a park. If you have a professional or corporate feel to your brand, then have pictures taken in an office or in a board room.Your location will reflect your brand just as much as anything else.
Choose a location that fits where you’d actually work.
I won’t suggest having your brand photos taken all outside. The reason is that it really gives a certain feel to the website when all of the photos are outdoors. So unless you only work with clients outside or you only do something outside, really consider having indoor photos taken as well.
I know sometimes having an indoor photoshoot is hard to do, especially in our current world. But really make sure that you get as many photos as possible of you in different situations that feel like they would fit your services. So if you work on a computer, you want to make sure to have pictures of you on a computer. If you teach clients how to manage their time, then have a picture of you at your planner.
All those things are really important because they’ve helped bring the ideas that you’re sharing with the world through your words to life in your photos, and a picture is worth a thousand words.
If you need help getting clear on your brand, then let’s connect to make sure that you are crystal clear on your brand before you go and get your brand photos taken.
