When you’re starting a business you’ve got a lot on your plate. You’re learning new things, working all hours and trying to prioritise not only your time but also your budget. You’re thinking about content, a website, and getting your business seen. So, how can personal branding photography help with that?
RECOGNISABLE CONTENT
One of the biggest ways personal branding photography can help you before you officially launch your business is by giving you content. When launching a business you need your visual imagery to be eye-catching, memorable and high quality to make your business stand out. By creating unique content during a personal branding shoot, you’ll have strong, consistent imagery that can be associated with your brand right from the outset.
SOCIAL MEDIA
When getting ready to launch a business you’re likely to kick your social media channels off to create some buzz and begin to build up your following. Having photographs ready to go means you can easily introduce yourself to your audience, share sneak peeks and have content ready to use for graphics.
WEBSITE
Have you ever tried to design a website without images? It’s not the easiest task. Using placeholders and stock images can be great, but if you’ve got your own branded imagery ready to use then you’ll be able to more easily see and create the vision of your website and it will be easier to stay on brand during the design process.
PRESS
One way you might decide to gain traction around your business when launching is by approaching publications or sending out press releases. Using images in press releases help to make them stand out and you’re making their job easier by them not having to source or chase up for images.
TIME
Having a personal branding shoot will actually save you time. In that two hour shoot you’ll get a whole load of content suited to a variety of needs within your business. So whenever you come to need an image, you know you’ve got one for the job and don’t have to spend time trying to find suitable places, props or light to take photographs yourself. You can focus your time on other things within the business and can tick worrying about photographs off your list!
So while having photographs before your business is up and running is a great idea, there are a few things that you need to think about first…
AN IDEA
You know you want to start a business - great! But what kind of business will it be? If you want to be a coach what kind of coaching will you do? If you’re going to sell a product, what sort of product will it be? To get the most appropriate and useful images you need to have the basics of your business down. Otherwise, your shoot will end up just a mix of headshots of you - and while headshots are great for introducing yourself to your audience, they won’t help as much in telling the story of what your business is about. The best personal branding shoots have a mix of headshots, behind the scenes, action shots, details and more.
BRANDING
Having an idea of your branding is also a massive help before a shoot. Your branding will influence the clothes you wear in your images, the locations we choose and the style of imagery. You don’t want to end up with a gallery of images of you in a dark underground bar and then decide that you want your branding to be light, airy and full of nature. Your branding doesn't need to be completely finalised but having a few words to describe your brand and an idea of colour palate will be invaluable in creating imagery that represents your brand in the best possible way.
IDEAL CLIENT
Just like you need an idea of branding, an idea of who your customer is is also useful. This way we can make sure that we create images that are going to appeal to that demographic of people.
SAMPLES
If you’re product-based, having a few samples will come in handy for photographs that support your process. Being able to use your own products as props during a shoot helps to give your images context and means your product is included in images even when it’s not the main focus, helping keep it in your audience’s mind. Plus the more standard products shots will be invaluable for you when setting up shop.
Not sure if having photos taken will benefit your business? Drop me an email and I'll see if I can help with any of your questions lucyhannahphotography@gmail.com
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