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6 Essential Branding Photos Every Business Owner Needs

By Tash Jay of Natasha Jay Brand Photography

Whether you’re a professional baker or a full time blogger, connecting with your target audience is essential to growing a loyal brand following and a branding shoot plays a key part in making that happen.

That’s because a branding shoot goes way beyond a traditional business photo shoot, allowing your customers, readers and clients to get to know the real you!

That’s the thing about branding photos; they’re not all business. They offer a window into your world, help to get across your personality and capture details that don’t shine through in traditional corporate headshots. It’s the reason branding photos are SO effective at engaging audiences (and converting them into customers). So, with that in mind, here are six examples of the types of branding shots we can capture during a single branding shoot together:

1. Portrait images

Portrait photos focus on your face and give audiences a really good look at who you are. They tend to be closely cropped (usually just above your head to beneath the shoulders) so they don’t reveal much in the way of background or outfit (but we’ll capture these in other shots we take).

Unlike corporate headshots, which tend to be serious and stuffy, branding portraits are natural and relaxed. You don’t have to be all stiff upper lip and looking straight to camera. You can have a little more fun with it and capture a close-up image of yourself that you feel really excited to share.

You might not think you’d get a lot of use out of portrait photos but you’d be surprised! These types of image are perfect for things like your LinkedIn page, website ‘about us’ page, PR and media engagements, and blogs and bios.

2. Lifestyle images

In lifestyle images you’re still the focus of the shot, but unlike portrait photos (that are closely cropped) lifestyle shots show more of your body and your surroundings. These images give you a chance to say EVEN MORE about who you are by revealing your unique personality and style.

Where we shoot your lifestyle shots is entirely up to you. It doesn’t have to be your workspace or business premises if you don’t want, but it’s a good idea to choose somewhere that is connected to what you do. For example, if you’re offering sandwich deliveries from home but not cool with being photographed in your own kitchen, you could ‘borrow’ a friend or relative’s kitchen instead (with their prior permission of course).

Lifestyle images give us an opportunity to start building the wider narrative of who you are and what you do, so it’s important to think about how you want to come across and what ‘takeaways’ you want to leave your audience with. You’ll probably find that these are the images you use the most when it comes to your website, social media and marketing your brand.

3. Product shots

If your business produces a physical product, be it a candle or a cupcake, you’ll want to include product shots as part of your branding shoot. Product shots are images that purely capture your products. They can be shot against a plain background and/or in a lifestyle setting (for example, shampoos in a lovely bathroom).

If you sell your products through a website, product shots are exactly what you need to excite consumers and set those tills ringing. They’re not only great for showcasing your product lines, they’re also brilliant for promoting your products on social media and for sending to journalists who might feature your products in their magazine or newspaper.

4. Detail images

Detail shots are extreme close-ups. These images support your brand storytelling by giving audiences a closer look at some of the little intricate nuances that are unique and special to your products or business. For example, it’s great to see an item of clothing on a model, but it’s also nice to be able to hone in on the little details that you might not be able to see from afar – like the buttons or some delicate embroidery.

Similarly, if your products have an intricate print or pattern that might not translate fully in a lifestyle or product shot, capturing this in a detail shot gives the customer a chance to fully appreciate it.

Detail shots are perfect for point of sale websites and should absolutely be included in your branding shoot if you sell your products online. They can also be great conversation starters on your social media channels too, helping to break up your image feed and give your followers a more rounded look at your products.

5. Action shots

Action shots aren’t just the perfect excuse for me to go into Director mode and yell ‘ACTION’ at the top of my lungs (although this is a fun by-product). In reality action shots play a key role in telling the story of your business and making sure consumers really understand what you’re all about.

When it comes to action shots we can either stage these (I.e. you can pretend to be doing your job naturally as if I’m not even in the room) or I can actually photograph you while you’re genuinely working (say cutting a client’s hair for example). Obviously, if you are going to enlist other people to be in these images it’s important to get their written permission in advance and ensure they’re happy for their image to be used to promote your business.

6. Location shots

Location shots are shots that are free from people but simply capture your workspace or business premises. These types of image work well on website contact pages, ‘about’ pages and to generally publicise your business.

A location shot could be anything from an image of your home office or therapy space to your hair salon or the outside of your bakery at street level. They’re especially helpful if you’re running a business that customers come to in person. That way, they know how to recognise your business if they’ve never visited before and also what to expect on the inside.

These types of image can really help to convert customer trust and brand awareness, particularly if you’ve re-branded or you’re just starting out and trying to build up a loyal following.

In summary…

If you need professional images to promote your business, a branding shoot is definitely an investment you should consider. You’ll come away with a range of images that can be used far and wide across your marketing, website and social media for years to come. Best of all, they’ll be fully re-touched, supplied in both a printable and web friendly size, and completely free from any copyright from me – so they’re yours to use however you like!

You can view my branding packages here or for any questions just write me an email and I’ll get back to you at lightening speed.

Natasha Jay is a personal branding photographer who helps camera-shy women in business to step in front of the camera and show up for their brand with confidence and consistency.

All of the photos in this post were taken by Tash.

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