Top 5 Mistakes Most Branding Photographers Make | Denver Branding Photographer
If you’re a small business owner, solo entrepreneur, or influencer with a personal brand, don’t book a branding photography shoot until you read this article.
As a professional branding photographer, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say that they’ve had a branding shoot but they either can’t use any of the photos, or there’s only 2 or 3 that they end up using… They walk away feeling like it was a waste of time and money, and they’re weary to invest in it again.
I don’t blame them!
But the reason this happens is because most brand photographers think that it’s just another photoshoot – a lifestyle session – with the goal to capture pretty photos of the person in front of them.
That’s NOT the case.
There’s so much more that goes into a high-quality branding shoot that creates assets for your business and brand, which is what this article covers. Here are the top mistakes I see most brand photographers make to help you avoid a bad shoot.
Top 5 Mistakes Branding Photographers Make
1. Shooting Portrait (aka vertically)
This is so common, and one of the biggest things you can ask for during your branding photoshoot. Many photographers treat a branding session like a Senior photography session, where the majority of the final images are all Portrait or vertically shot. Most businesses and brands who use these images online need to create and fill banners with their photos – social banners, website banners, email newsletter banners, etc. In order to do this properly, at least 75% your images should be shot landscape, or horizontal. Ideally, the photographer should shoot landscape and a bit wider than normal because this will leave space needed to properly crop the image into the necessary banners and dimensions they need. A big part of this that I always make sure to discuss with my clients is the various places they plan to use the photos for, and the necessary dimensions needed so that I can actually shoot the photos to fit everything they need. This makes the images actually usable. Make sure the photographer understands what you need to use your photos for and ask them to shoot horizontally for the majority of the images.
2. Low Resolution & Quality
Quick tip, don’t try to save money on your branding photos by going with a cheaper photographer. You will always pay in quality in many ways. There are so many people I talk to who couldn’t use their branding photos because of the terrible quality – their images were blurry, grainy, or the resolution was low resulting in blurry or pixilated photos when they tried to use them on their website or print them. Also, while the cameras on phones nowadays are much better than they’ve ever been, when it comes to using your branding photos the way you need to, a cell phone picture or selfie is not going to cut it, especially to speak to the quality of your business and brand that you want to illustrate through the photos. Most likely, you’re going to want to use your photos on your website, social channels, email marketing, brochures, flyers, and not to mention pull them into Canva to make various other assets to market your business and deliver information to your clients. You have to have high-quality, high-resolution images to use them as you need to, let alone illustrate the quality of your business. Did you know that statistically, people will look at a photo first before they read text, and when text is presented with an image it increases a person’s ability to remember the information from 10% to 65% -- Your photos matter.
3. No Attention to Detail
While this is true in any type of photography session, it is crucial in your branding photos. How many times have you looked at a picture and noticed something that distracted you – someone’s hand looks weird, a collar was flipped up, a necklace was twisted, or heaven forbid someone’s fly was down! There are so many little details that will make or break any image. In branding photography, every detail matters – it sets the tone for the brand, portrays professionalism, and the details can even help to tell more about the brand or the person behind the business that helps potential clients to connect with them and want to reach out and hire them. It’s important to use small details intentionally in branding photos to give off the right information about the brand.
Which leads me to the next mistake…
4. Not Actually Understanding Branding
This is probably the most important point. Most photographers, professional or amateur, do not truly understand branding. Don’t get me wrong, most photographers specialize in photography, but if a branding photographer doesn’t understand branding and the elements that need to be presented in the imagery, then your photos are not going to be the best marketing asset or investment for your brand that they could be. Personally, I specialize in branding and marketing photography because of my unique background in business (BA, MS in Business, and Entrepreneurship for over a decade).
Many photographers may choose their favorite location, or simply choose based on what their clients say they want. But a great branding photographer will consult with their client to understand their brand in order to best recommend which type of location will fit their brand. For example, if you own a landscaping business, then you shouldn’t be doing your branding photos in a studio with a suit and tie – it should be outside by a finished landscaping project in the attire that matches your brand and what you do. It’s also typical for a person to want to wear their favorite clothes in their photos, like a red dress that they feel is most flattering – but if your branding pallet includes purple and teal colors, red shouldn’t be included as it will clash with the branding colors.
A great branding photographer will take time to understand your brand, elements, color pallet, tone, and most importantly your target market and services. This way the whole session can be designed with this in mind so that your photos actually appeal to your target market of potential clients and provide visual assets of your services so they can picture themselves working with you. When this is done properly, your photos actually help attract your clients to hire you, which is what you want.
5. Just a Pretty Picture
Last but not least, most photographers fall into the trap thinking that the goal of all of their sessions is to create a pretty picture. While this might be fine for a family photography session, it’s not going to be enough when it comes to a branding photography session. If you go to many branding photographer’s websites, one thing you might notice is that many of the sessions look pretty similar – they all have the same editing style, a similar indoor or outdoor location, and more than likely, you’ll see someone with a laptop and a coffee cup smiling at the camera. The whole point about branding is to help set your business and brand apart, to stand out, and to appeal to the right type of clients so they hire you. If your photos end up looking like everyone else’s, what’s the point? A pretty picture isn’t going to help market your business or tell your potential clients why they should choose you. Your branding photos must do both, and your photographer should know how to achieve that while making each branding session unique to fit the brand and help them stand out.
Tips for a Successful Branding Shoot
As I’ve continued to stress, great branding photos are so much more than just a pretty picture. An everyday vertical, lifestyle image with your laptop isn’t going to cut it, but more importantly, it’s not going to be a quality marketing asset for your business or return on investment.
When searching for a great branding photographer, ask about these things and make sure they spend time diving into your unique brand. Also, check out my other blog post: Tips for a Successful Branding Photoshoot: A Guide for Clients here.
Ready to Book Your Branding Photography Session?
I have had the honor to travel to and had clients fly to work with me from Las Vegas, Chicago, San Diego, Iowa, Florida, Canada, Finland, and more!
Whether you’re near Denver, Colorado, traveling in, or interested in flying me in, I’d love to chat with you!
The best way to do a shoot — make a Mini Business Retreat out of it!
My out-of-state/country clients will take a weekend or few days to fly into Denver, have their photoshoot, and spend an extra day workshopping their business making the trip into a business retreat! (Plus, it’s a write off!)
I have a professional Hair & Makeup Artist and location recommendations to design your Branding Photography Session. In addition, before your session, I send you a questionnaire to design your session and we book a Zoom consultation call to discuss wardrobe and prop options, details for your shoot, and answer any questions you have.
