The Power of Professional Photos For Your Brand
When it comes to creating a visual brand, you know that you need a logo, a brand voice, and a color palette that you are using consistently across your platforms. But have you considered the importance of your professional photos?
The photos and graphics you choose to represent your brand are often the first (and possibly the only) thing someone is ever going to see of your content.
Visual content is processed 60,000 times faster than text, so it’s no wonder you need scroll-stopping images to create engaging content on Instagram. Your visuals need to grab someone’s attention quickly and give context to inform them of what the written content is about.
Did you know that 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual?
When someone visits your website, they skim the page and look at the pictures before they read a single word. They want to get an idea of what they'll be reading and ensure they aren’t wasting their time.
Your visuals need to reflect your message just as much as your brand voice, fonts, language, and everything else. It all comes together as your brand story.
A great example of this would be children’s books. Before a child knows how to read, they learn to interpret the story through the illustrations on the pages. The people interacting with your brand are doing the same thing!
COHESIVE BRANDS BUILD BRAND RECOGNITION
I believe the #1 worst thing you can do to your brand is imitate your competitors! You need to tell a consistent story so that your audience will recognize you when they see your brand.
If you're using stock images like everyone else, no one will distinguish you from the other brands doing the same thing. The professional photos you use for your brand should help you stand out from the crowd.
A great example of this would be Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Both companies sell cola beverages, but their branding is very different.
Coca Cola uses their advertisement photography to promote their message of being happiness in a bottle. They have a timeless and iconic aesthetic and tend to use glass bottles in their imagery as opposed to the can or plastic bottles that more common to buy in the store to emphasize their branding. Coca Cola also uses unrecognizable modes that are always smiling so you can imagine yourself using their products.
Their Pepsi rivals, on the other hand, use celebrity endorsements to influence their audience into purchasing their products. They want to make it seem like if you choose to drink Pepsi, you will have fun and be associated with the stars that are in their ads.
HOW PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS BOOST BRAND CONSISTENCY
Reading words on a page isn’t as relatable as seeing a picture of a face. When you combine your face and name, your audience starts to build trust in you. This is why “About” pages are so important!
As much as we hate to admit it, we are constantly making snap judgments. A great first impression through your visual content could be the difference between someone choosing to find you on social media or leaving forever.
Being cohesive with your branding is crucial because you're telling a single story of your business. Your visuals need to reflect your brand, just like your fonts and language do.
When there’s a disconnect, people get confused, your message becomes unclear, and your audience loses trust because of inconsistencies.
Are your images and graphics telling the same story as your written content? And do the images on your social media match the quality of those on your website?
A great example of brand consistency can be found in the soap industry. Dove, for instance, spreads a message of tolerance and acceptance, and they reflect that in their visuals by showing diversity and inclusion in body types, sizes, colors.and even abilities.
Now, if Dove were to release an ad campaign that only showed one type of person, their audience would be confused, and they might even lose loyal customers.
BRAND RECOGNITION + TRUST = SALES
When you create brand recognition and build trust with your audience, it results in sales.
A cohesive brand allows your audience to get to know you, like you, and trust you—and people love buying from those they trust.
For example, imagine a clothing designer offering high-end quality blouses. She needs product photos for her website and has three options:
1. Lay the shirts on a white background, flatlay style with a camera phone.
Photo by Wander Fleur on Unsplash
2. Display the shirts on hangers, DIY style with a DSLR.
Photo by Henry & Co. on Unsplash
3. Hire a brand photographer and have models wear her blouses to show how they will fit on customers.
Photo by averie woodard on Unsplash
The obvious choice for her brand would be option #3. The other options would be inconsistent with her branding and likely result in fewer sales.
MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME IWTH CUSTOM BRAND PHOTOGRAPHY
The good news is, you don’t have to spend your time trying to capture your own photos or searching for stock images that everyone else is using. You can focus on what you do best—growing your business!
When you invest in a Content Creation Day with me,, you’re not just getting photos—you’re getting a full day of custom brand photography and content creation tailored to your unique needs. In just one session, you’ll walk away with months of professional photos and pictures for social media that align perfectly with your brand.
We’ll start by sitting down over coffee (or virtually!) to discuss your brand voice, the specific image you want to project to potential clients, and how to maintain brand consistency across all platforms.
During your content creation day, we’ll capture a variety of custom images designed to create scroll-stopping, shareable images for your website, social media, and marketing campaigns. These photos will help you build a cohesive visual story that resonates with your audience.
After the session, you’ll receive a gallery of images that perfectly reflect your brand’s identity, saving you the hassle of finding or creating visuals on your own.
Some key things we’ll discuss include:
Where will you use your brand photos? This will help us decide whether you need mostly horizontal photos for your website or verticals for platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, ensuring your visuals are optimized for every channel.
What words come to mind when you think of your brand? This helps guide our choice of locations, props, and styling to perfectly represent your unique vibe and deliver brand-aligned images that stand out.
DOWNLOAD THE BRAND CLARITY WORKBOOK
Before we dive into creating your custom visuals, you’ll need to make sure your brand is crystal clear. If you’re still working through that, I’ve got you covered.
Download the Brand Clarity Workbook, a compilation of the exact questions I ask during our consultation. My clients have told me that these questions helped them gain a deeper understanding of their business and how their professional photos could support their message.
“Working with Caitlyn not only gave me photos that were cohesive to my brand but also helped me get a better understanding of my business and how my photos could support my message.”
Be sure to grab your copy of the Brand Clarity Workbook and start building your confident, cohesive brand today!
