Why is Branding Useful and What in the world is Branding Photography?
I love the clean look of this Anne Klein ad! Even the model’s hair has a very clean look to it. It is no-nonsense, bold and the model looks like she is an executive.
81% of shoppers do online research before making big purchases. Even if your goal isn’t to attract clients online, people will still want to do research on you and you will still want to have a good, strong online presence. Therefore, it is a good idea to think about your brand.
But what exactly is a brand and what is branding? Branding is the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design. Brand photography is a suite of professional images that represent your business visually, and fit with your visual identity through their use of colors, tone, props, styling, sets and more. Good Branding allows who you are to line up with what you do so that your business is visible, easily recognizable, credible and people get a good sense of who you are and what you do. Your online presence needs to make your buyer feel comfortable and confident in buying from you or hiring you for a service!
Contrary to the Anne Klein ad, This Dolce & Gabbana ad is quite busy. There is tons of visual interest and the models pop in the ad from with the vibrant prints and colors. This ad portrays a sense of free-spirited luxury and spontaneity.
So how in the world do you develop your brand? One of the first questions you should ask yourself is, how do you want to be perceived? How do you want your shoppers to think of you when they look at your online media platforms? Are you a company that wants to be people friendly, down to earth, enticing every day people? Or, are you looking for a specific high-end niche? When developing your brand it is important to keep your target audience in mind.
In order to get a cohesive brand, you must use the same fonts, colors, and types of images across the board. Your look should be the same in your advertisements, your social media, your website, vouchers and gift cards. There should be a flow in your design, things should be interesting visually and draw the viewer in. I tend to like lots of space in my designs and photos and a more minimalistic style. An uncluttered space makes me feel better - that is my personal preference. Someone else might like something with more visual interest, like a style with lots of florals.
This Ralph Lauren ad evokes a sense of calm and luxury. You see the old-style villa in the background with the arch and stucco. The all-white outfit and relaxed attitude of the model also portrays a sense of luxury and calm.
I found when I decided to work on branding for my business, I was overwhelmed by it all. To be honest, I avoided it for some time. I knew eventually I would have to bite that bullet. I started by writing down adjectives that I thought described my style. I spent time doing research and going through magazines. Look at other websites, magazines and screen shot things that speak to you. Break down the reasons why you are attracted to certain brands. Do you like their colors and fonts? Why? What feeling do they invoke in you? I found my fonts and colors because certain magazines had a clean look that a really liked! This is a process that you can tweak along the way.
Most importantly, you want people to be able to recognize your brand, your work and know that it is you. You want your customer to feel that your work is consistent. You want your customers to be confident that you will deliver the same product every time. Being consistent with your brand helps you to convey that feeling to your customer. Does your profile photo align with your colors and fonts? If your brand is clean and minimalistic - does your profile photo show you wearing boho outfits, vintage or something other than clean and contemporary? If your website is light, airy with a flowery script font, does your photo align with that? Or are you wearing black and looking more chic and severe? Make sure the visuals in your website and in your content align with the colors, the fonts and other details. Again, if you are clear about the type of client you want to attract, then you will have a better time attracting that client if your photos, and your style are consistent throughout!