Product Photography

Lifestyle photography that inspires action

Top 10 reasons to invest in Brand Photography.

How do you put your brand in the spotlight? In today’s entrepreneurial space, you have a lot of tools available to you, but one of the most powerful yet is brand photography.

Taking photos for branding may sound easy enough, but brand photography has deeper implications than just making a few promos on social media. Investing in a professional studio can strengthen your brand’s identity and cement it in the hearts of your audience.

Still not convinced? Here are 10 reasons that you need to invest in brand photography.

1. FIRST IMPRESSIONS MATTER

We’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but let’s just face it: this is literally human nature. The majority of the information we process every second is visual, and we absorb visual details 60% times faster than text.

So when a customer goes to your website, what is the first thing they will notice? You can have the best, most convincing paragraphs of text in the world, but they’ll most likely click off by line 2. It just doesn’t reach us on a primal level the way that images can.

Sure, you could break up the space with some stock photos, but this can actually backfire horribly. Your customers will notice if your images don’t have anything meaningful to convey. If it feels low effort, then how much more faith will they have in your actual service?

Having high quality, well-designed product photography for branding draws your audience’s eyes, captures their attention, and makes them stay around for more. Your first move is the most important one, so don’t waste the opportunity!

2. TIME IS MONEY

Everyone has a full schedule these days, which means that you are competing for a mere fraction of your customers’ attention. Luckily, it only takes 13 milliseconds for a human brain to actually process an image.

What does that mean for you? It means that when a customer looks at your website or promos, you better say an awful lot in a very short amount of time. “A picture says a thousand words” certainly rings true here.

The visual medium is a powerful thing, so capitalize on that precious gift of efficiency. When you make every pixel pack a punch, you’re not just being artful–you’re being economically smart by appealing to your audience. When you invest in quality brand photography, every image should be working just as hard for you!

3. CREATE A LITTLE INTRIGUE

So you got your customer’s attention, and they stayed on your page–now what? Chances are, if they like the look of your site, they may peek around at your other pages, your Instagram, your Twitter, and everything in between. You’ve earned their attention, and with a few well-planned brand photography shoots, you can keep that intrigue going by making all of your sites visually-interesting and compelling.

Like a good conversation with a new friend, you can keep the spark alive. The longer the talk, the better the relationship. So keep it fresh!

4. YOUR NARRATIVE IS IMPERATIVE

Any history buff can show you the value of telling a good story. Not everyone is drawn to hearing dull factoids, but put them in the context of a compelling story, and the audience is hooked. We love a good underdog story, and a story’s power to evoke emotion is simply unparalleled.

If you want to evoke a certain emotional response in your audience–or, for your brand, if you want them to associate you with certain emotions–telling your story is the way to go. You can show how your product or service actually impacts your life and others. It makes your brand more real for people, more tangible, something they actually want to reach out and be a part of.

Photography is an impressive medium to tell a story. The colors, lighting, posing, and focus tells the viewer so much in so little time. If you want people to know and trust you, then don’t just tell them your story–show them.

5. SHOW OFF YOUR STYLE

Are you edgy, ambitious, always looking for the next new thing? Is your brand more knowledgeable, supportive, ready to help people down on their luck? Are you sassy, laid-back, down-to-earth, or anything in between?

Your brand needs to stand out in the sea of companies on the market. To do that, you need to show what makes you unique, and more importantly, what makes you you. Brand photography helps convey that in mere seconds, and can be quite creative and visually-dynamic. This can help your target audience find and relate to you faster, and catch the eye of anyone still on the fence.

6. ELEVATE YOUR BRAND

People don’t just buy products. That may sound weird, but think about how loyal you are to your favorite store. People bond to brand names as much as the products they produce, which means that your website isn’t just there to make people love your product: it’s there to make people love you. No pressure!

This is why establishing your brand’s identity is so important. Building your brand’s photography portfolio is like building its wardrobe: you dress for the job you want. So if you want to show yourself as an expert in the industry, a fun place to experiment, or anything, your portfolio can actually rebuild your brand from the ground up and cast it in a new light. Show off not only what type of company you are, but the type of company you aspire to be, and you can build that repertoire with your audience in no time.

7. MAKE YOURSELF MEMORABLE

Your brand isn’t just fighting for your customers’ attention: you’re fighting for a place in their memory, too. Humans are notoriously bad at remembering things. We remember about 10% of the things we hear, 20% of the things we read–but up to 80% of what we see. And if you put an image alongside that information we read, we retain nearly 50% more of the information three days later!

What does this mean for you? If you want people to remember who you are, you have to SHOW them! Brand recognition is huge for small and large companies alike. If you want to grow, your portfolio is going to be crucial in achieving those goals.

8. PROFESSIONALS ADD A FRESH PERSPECTIVE

You may be convinced of the power of brand photography, but maybe you’re still wondering why you need to invest in it. What does a studio bring to the table?

Don’t discount the professionals just yet. More often than not, they can have literally decades of professional and academic experience that bring your portfolio to the next level. They have interacted with similar companies and have a toe in the media waters at all times–they know what works, what stands out, and what has been tried and failed catastrophically.

Professional photographers will also know what poses, colors, and props really pop on camera. They know the equipment you’ll need to make your vision become reality. Don’t be afraid of the studio–they want to help you shine! They may even have suggestions you wouldn’t have even considered before meeting them.

9. EXPERTS CAN GIVE YOU AN EXTRA EDGE

Even the most amaeteur art enthusiast knows when a photo is high quality. Multiply that mindset by thousands–or even millions–and you’ll have an idea of what you’re up against in terms of impressing your audience.

Your portfolio reflects on your brand as a whole, so devoting the time and resources to it really goes a long way.

10. ADDS TO YOUR TOOL BOX

The nice thing about photographs is that they don’t really expire. As they grow older, our perspectives change, but that only makes the picture more special as we compare it to our current world. We can learn lessons, laugh at old stories, and remember fondly the people and things we have lost.

This means that brand photography doesn’t just give you pretty pictures that work now–these products are practically immortal, and that makes them a permanent fixture in your company’s tool box. Integrate them into your story, restructure them to show off a new side of yourself, or build off of them in the future. No matter what, your investment continues to give back for years to come.

TIME TO START!

Brand photography can be a great way to explore your company, yourself, and your impact on the community around you. More than anything, be honest, be patient, and be creative, and this portfolio will pay dividends you won’t even expect.

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