What Is Brand Photography (and Why Do I Need It)?

A picture says a thousand words, and when it’s an image of your brand, it needs to say it all. Brand photography, sometimes called identity photography, is important to establish and maintain brand identity.

Especially for busy marketers, it’s super-efficient to have an expansive and diverse library of current, high-quality brand and on-brand images to ensure your team always has the right shot at their collective elbow.

Branding Photography – You Know It When You See It

Brand photos meet set criteria of brand standards, including filters, colors and image content. They’re typically “action shots” that show the company and its employees at work. This type of photography establishes customer expectations and lowers barriers to conversion by showing what happens when they engage with or purchase the product or service.

The 5 Main Benefits of Professional Branding Photography

Branding photos are an important part of a brand’s voice and tone. Most marketing and sales teams keep a substantial library of on-brand images for sales enablement, social media, events, paid media and numerous other applications.

Here are the main benefits such a library of imagery provides to your marketing team and your business or organization:

1. Branded photography improves marketing efficiency.

Instead of coordinating several photo shoots throughout the year, a single well-planned one- or two-day branding photoshoot can be planned to include every shot and location you need for the year. This keeps costs in check and reduces strain on project stakeholders with fewer schedules to accommodate,  more streamlined input, and fresh assets for the full year ahead.

This keeps photography costs to a minimum and arms your team with all the quality photos they need for the foreseeable future.

2. Branded photography keeps marketers moving.

With all the shots they need to create amazing content for the year, your marketing team will be empowered to go and go without stopping. From social to email, sales to print, a sizeable library of photos streamlines operations and keeps your brand’s marketing humming.

3. Branded photography improves brand retention.

Brands with consistently unified photography are easier for consumers to learn and instantly recognize, improving brand recognition and your potential audience’s comfort level with it. Using the same camera, photographer, filter, light levels and composition improves brand retention. Give it a test: Mix five of your brand’s photos with 20 similar images from across social media or the web; can you spot your brand’s imagery from the rest?

4. Branding photography complements your style guide.

Any company that allows retails, distribution partners or affiliates to use its name and logo should provide them with a style guide. Giving these partners access to approved photos and clear directions for using them improves the chance that brand unity will be maintained. Apple’s product image guide is an excellent example of how setting strict and clear guardrails can protect and benefit your brand as it grows.

5. It’s not stock.

Stock photography works in a pinch, but … savvy internet users – i.e., your existing and potential customers – can spot it from a mile away. When you use stock, go a few pages deep and avoid using photos with over a million downloads – seriously.  We’ve also found considerable evidence that using stock photography can negatively impact your site’s SEO.

Get Your Brand Out There

With Original Brand Photography from Our Experienced Team

You only get one chance to make a first impression; our media production team can help you make that first look last. See the difference that two decades of marketing experience make; get in touch or call (231) 922-9977 today.