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Brand Photography: Securing a Spot Among Competition

Brand Photography: Securing a Spot Among Competition

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Brand Photography: Securing a Spot Among Competition www.sleeklens.com

As the age of technology and social media marketing grows, so does the demand for photographers with creative concepts and ideas. Multi-million dollar and newly found companies now seek help to create images that portray a particular personality of their brand or a specific campaign they might have. You may see it every day on Instagram by bloggers, some from New York or LA taking shots wearing certain brands then tagging them for these brands to see with the possibility of it being reposted. Also if you observe the social media pages for beverages like Pepsi or Coca Cola, you notice there is a specific pattern of mood that they carry. In this article, I’ll be giving you a few tips and some insight as to how the world of Brand Photography and how it’s used by different businesses in their Marketing. This article will help to give you an idea of what your clients want and steps in which you can understand what they are looking for regarding brand image and personality.

Table of Contents

Target Audience

Each brand has a specific demographic who they seek to grab their interest and following. Be mindful of this when creating concepts to propose to your client for their product. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case, one picture can be worth the interest of a group of the right or wrong audience.

As the photographer, if you are not a part of the target audience for example in a particular age group; you should then seek to gain information on what are the trending topics or what’s popular amongst them. This will then help you to incorporate a few things into your shoot that may grab the right attention and more importantly catch the eye of your client’s target audience.

Brand Guidelines

As much as your creativity will be appreciated by your client, make no mistake that there are still a few rules you have to follow. Think of these rules of more like small boundaries to keep the company from getting a lawsuit or .. your client asking if you’re crazy because you took an image associating their brand with something not supported by the company. It is very Important that you understand and follow these rules given to you, as it even helps you to save time because you’re mindful of what images your client will and will not use to represent their brand/company.

Brand Identity

After about 3 years of doing my fair share in brand photography, I’ve learned that each brand entails its own Identity or personality. For Example, if your client is Pepsi, one could use adjectives to describe Pepsi as if it’s a person. So if one was to say Pepsi is a very conceited and selfish brand regarding the personality, it ascertains then this could make the Job of the Photographer easy and by extension even fun.

With that description of the brand personality, you then know that when taking brand shots for that company the product should stand on its own and be the center of attention. See how that can help? People often think that every brand wants their product to be the center of attention which is a common mistake. Others may want the product or products to be an element of the shot but not the un-argued subject, for example when taking Lay Out shots of everyday Items. Thinking of brand as if it’s a person potentially gives you an Idea of what it should be associated and combined with. Therefore you’d know not to put two total opposites in an Image thinking they both compliment each other and your Image concepts will then make sense.

Be Unique!

Don’t let the brand guidelines scare you, still try to be creative. As much as you may face the challenge of your ideas or concepts being shut down because it’s breaking a brand guideline, never allow it kill your creativity. If everybody followed the rules, then many things in this world would be dull and lack excitement and interest. So test your boundaries and still add a little creative photography spin to each shoot concept you may have. Even though these brands have strict rules, remember they still want to see what you’re capable of within those rules and expect to be blown away.

Maintain a certain level or balance of creative influence and professionalism with your shots, and it’s almost guaranteed to have you clients jaw drop or even put a grin on their faces. Let’s face it, some of the people who are in charge of these brands itself are often not up to date as to what’s trending with their target audience but would like you as the photographer to encompass that in your images. With that said, kill them with creativity for their brand and give them an insight as to what can help their brand excel digitally because make no mistake you play a fundamental role in it all. I hope the article has contributed to give an Insight and an Idea of how to approach brand photography for marketing other companies.