For your brand to stand out amongst the rest, you need top-notch brand photos. To help you out, you can find 11 excellent branding photoshoot ideas throughout this post!
In a world full of ads and constant social media posts, unique photos can help your brand shine. A photoshoot isn’t just about showing off what you sell, though – it’s about sharing your brand’s story and vibe. Think of it like giving your brand a personality that people can connect with.
As a Pennsylvania brand photographer, I’ve helped many founders and business owners craft stand-out photos for their businesses. In this article, I’ve got some cool and easy ideas to help you take incredible photos that’ll make everyone stop and look.
Keep reading to learn some fun branding photoshoot ideas.
The Importance of a Brand Photoshoot
Great photos help tell the world what you’re all about without saying a word. They show off the heart of your business, making it easier for people to remember you.
With everyone on social media and shopping online these days, good pictures can help you stand out. Significant companies might have loads of money for fancy ads, but a cool picture can do wonders for small businesses like yours.
And the best part? With some creativity, you can get amazing photos that show off your business in the best light.
When you are thinking about your branding session, you want your photographs to represent your small business. You are passionate about what you do, and your photos deserve to reflect that!
Ditching stock photos can make a massive difference for your business. You just need to have some ideas to get you started!
Branding Photoshoot Ideas: The Ultimate Shot List
Headshots & Portraits
Though it may seem obvious, you can’t forget to get headshots and portraits during your branding photoshoot. But they don’t have to be just your “regular” headshots if you don’t want them to be.
Use fun backgrounds that match your brand colors, or wear a bold outfit to get rid of that “corporate headshot” vibe for your portraits. It’s always good to have at least one set of headshots in your brand photos so that you have them for any speaking engagements, your about page, and even your brand profile photo on social media.
Photos with Space for Text
Next, be sure to get photos with space for text. This is perfect for your website, any presentations you may make, advertisements, or even social media.
It’s important to remember where you will be using your photos, too. If you’ll be using them mostly for social media, then get photos with scroll-stopping elements in mind. If you’ll be using them on your website, then get a range of vertical and horizontal photos.
Behind the Scenes
As a small business owner, you’re known for something in particular. So, one of the easiest branding photoshoot ideas is to get photos of you doing what you do best!
For example, if you’re a hairstylist at a salon, get photos of you cutting or styling a client’s hair. When they say that a photo speaks a thousand words, it’s photos like this that really do. Anyone who sees the photo will be able to quickly look and see exactly what it is that you do and offer in your business.
Other examples include:
- If you’re a painter, get photos of you working on a canvas.
- If you’re a florist, capturing you in your element as you work on an arrangement.
Photo Bursts
Photo bursts are a more fun and unique type of brand photo to get. Essentially, think of this like photo bursts that you’d take on an iPhone – a set of photos taken right after the other that, if swiped through quickly, look almost like a GIF.
These can be super fun to turn into GIFs for your website or on social media, and also help you to have more candid photos that you can add to your brand photo toolkit. I’ll dive into it a little bit more later, but personality pictures can be a real game-changer!
Process Photos
Process photos are a little bit different than behind-the-scenes photos. These will show the creative process behind what you do in your business.
For instance, if you’re a web designer, get some photos of you coming up with the creative direction for your client’s website. Brand designers could get photos of creating color palettes with printed-out Pantone swatches or even design a mood board on a wall.
Have fun with it!
Branded Stock Photos
When you’re coming up with branding photoshoot ideas, be sure to consider what type of detail photos you could get taken that work as branded stock photos. These types of stock photos can be used in social media backgrounds or even backgrounds with text on top for your website.
While you can definitely go and find your own stock photos to use on other websites, there’s power in using branded ones that were taken just for you. Most people will recognize a stock photo when they see one, but a branded one will stand out from the rest.
Some ideas for detailed stock photos for your brand could include:
- If you’re an artist, a pile of your paints, brushes, and other tools.
- If you primarily work online as a copywriter or graphic designer, your laptop, notebook, and other items you normally always work with.
- If you’re a hairstylist, your scissors, hair dye, and any other items you always have on you at the salon.
- Textures or street art that match the vibe of your brand and are in your brand colors.
Props That Represent You
What do you need to complete your job? One of the best branding photoshoot ideas is to bring these items as props. For instance, if you use a laptop, camera, or paintbrush, bring those items with you.
You can also bring items that showcase your personality, like a fun coffee mug.
Lifestyle Photos
Lifestyle photos are what’s really going to help your brand stand out amongst others. Think of popular big-name brands, like Target or American Eagle. The photos always showcase people doing other activities while promoting a lifestyle that their brands stand for.
Your brand photos can do the same! You just have to have some fun with it and think of unique ideas.
Consider Your Ideal Client
Think about what message you want to send to your ideal clients. What are your company values? How do you want your brand to be reflected?
If you’ve worked with a brand designer before, then you may have some of this information easily accessible to you already. Look back on that and figure out how you can visually showcase your values and the way you want your brand to be perceived.
Luckily, a brand photographer like me will be there to help you come up with some great branding photoshoot ideas that could help with this.
Personality Pics
For us small business owners, we offer the same service as many others. Often, the proponent that sets us apart is ourselves! So, be sure to get personality pictures that showcase exactly who you are.
This could be photos of you laughing, smiling, drinking coffee, or even just having fun.
Website Header
Lastly, don’t forget to get a photo that can easily be used as a website header. This is often one of the most overlooked photo types! This should be the most scroll-stopping photo of all.
Branding Photoshoot Tips
Create a Pinterest board of inspiration
When you’re in the initial brainstorming phase, one of the easiest things to do is to start to put together a Pinterest board of inspiration. The key word is inspiration here; don’t copy, but finding photos can help you to explain to your photographer the kind of vibe that you’re going for.
Another great idea is to think of other big brands that you like. What do you like most about the photography that they use in their marketing?
Think About Your Location
You should consider the location of your photos as well. Are you looking for a clean, sleek look in a studio? Or maybe you’re looking for photos in an outdoor location, like downtown in a city or at a park?
Luckily, by working with a brand photographer, you can usually get some location-scouting help.
Wear your brand colors
The clothing you wear in your brand photos can really make or break them. What are your brand colors? Focus on wearing solid colors and avoid super distracting patterns if that isn’t the look you’re going for or clothing with a logo (unless it is YOUR logo!).
If your brand is luxurious, then you may not want to wear a colorful sweatsuit to your photoshoot. A suit jacket with jeans could work, though.
However, if your brand is super laid-back and lowkey, then some matching sweatsuits or even jeans with a t-shirt in your brand color could work perfectly.
Final Thoughts: Ideas for a Brand Photoshoot
Well, there you have it! This post was all about the best branding photoshoot ideas. Hopefully, you can take everything you’ve learned from this post to get some of the most unique brand photos for your business.
If you’re still looking for a brand photographer in Pennsylvania, click here to learn more about my services. I’d love to learn more about your brand and help you get photos that truly represent your business!
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