"What an amazing experience! I am a brand photographer too and I trusted Amanda to take control and help me move outside my comfort zone. Learning what it is like for my own clients to be on the other side of the lens was a powerful experience. It is almost impossible to visualize your own brand and marketing objectives without help, don't try to go it alone!"
Jacy Voglewede, Brand Photographer Mandan, ND
If you have been here for a while, you know I do a blog post every single week. But we actually, (for the first time ever) put a pause on it for a month! We have some exciting things coming next year and we are gearing up! First up is our newly launched website, we haven't officially announced it, but if you are here and reading this, I hope you take the time to browse around a bit.
Today is all about what branding is and is not!
Branding is very often misunderstood. Recently we partnered with Anna Smith of Hibiscus Graphix Brand Management in Charlotte, NC. If you don't know Anna yet, you will want to connect with her. She does all things graphic design, website, design, social media and between the two of us we touch all the pain points you experience in your business. I will be sharing more about our partnership as we move into the new year.
But obviously we’re both in the branding world and as soon as we started working together we knew we had found a special way to bring our clients even greater success. That being said, we've had lengthy conversations about branding in general and some of the best conversations have been centered around what our clients ask us for verses what they actually need.
We find there are two things in particular people come to us thinking they need. People come to me wanting a headshot and they come to Anna wanting a logo. The assumption being these two assets will create a brand. Of course, this is not a brand, these are just the visual elements of a business.
Brand is so much deeper than a headshot and logo.
Because of these misconceptions, it takes a lot of education to explain what it is we actually do as brand and marketing professionals.
I am not a typical photographer who just shows up with a camera and takes a picture. Anna and I are aligned in the type of information we require to deliver a quality brand identity to our clients. You probably don't expect I will need just as much information about you and your business including your background and all your why's as someone like Anna does. But in order to create a proper brand photography portfolio with assets that serve both your website and marketing campaigns it is vital that we have a strategic approach to each and every scene we set up during your shoot.
Branding is the overall look and feel to who you are, what you do, why you do it ... and what people say about you when you're not around!
Elevating your brand into a luxury market, requires a superior level of quality and consistency which creates a custom 'image', meaning the overall image of what your brand is going to communicate (not a picture).
Please don't misinterpret my position on headshots. I know everyone needs a headshot. They are absolutely necessary. When you run a business, you want professional images of your staff and yourself for your website. They are crucial for media kits, business cards, speaking engagements, the list is endless. I am not saying they are not important, I am saying they do not create a brand.
But because these pictures are what are in demand for most of our social media pages and other promotional materials it is understandable the default request is a headshot. For this reason it has become my mission to educate businesses on the difference between branding and headshots.
If you know a photographer who can take a technically nice photograph and edit it well, you have a headshot.
What I deliver is Strategic Brand Photography
It is what you need beyond a headshot. Images that tell the story of what you do, what your clients feel like after they work with you and the elements that connect everything to what you do for them.
Creating those elements are what we call detail pictures, they don't usually include someones face but instead they have purpose and intention for taking them. There will be a reason I capture it horizontally because I know you are using it for an article or verticals for a specific instagram marketing campaign. These photos are unique to you and your business and can not be replaced with a stock image that everyone recognizes.
Every photograph we take is an asset to your business.
I create imagery that ensures we capture your vibe, from your product, your service and your staff, to anything that is recognizable to your specific business identity. There are all kinds of things we can do to make it all about you while making it unique and consistent.
Hopefully you're walking away from this feeling like you understand brand a little better. Thanks for hanging out and allowing me to educate you a little bit better.
FREE B-Roll Video Footage available in December!!!!
Are you overwhelmed with all the holiday deals, yup me too! My team decided they want to give away free video content and reduce your deposit because we are all feeling it!
THE DETAILS:
1. Sign up in December for a Quarter 1 Photoshoot
2. Pay only 25% Deposit to reserve your spot
3. Receive free B-Roll video upon gallery delivery!
(B-Roll is a 30-second loop that runs at the top of your home page or use it for marketing!)
Click the button to get started!