TOP SEVEN Things to Look For When Choosing a Brand Photographer

So, you are building a business but facing the daily scrabble of what to post, what images to put on social media, how to get you and your brand out there.

You have marketing, but without professional images you are a bit stuck.

You can purchase stock images, but they don’t necessarily tell the story of you and your brand, your business, your journey. Anyone could have those.

You want to be different, show your uniqueness, portray your own personal and business brand values.

You realise you should really hire a professional photographer, but its nerve wracking trying to find the right one. Add to that the stress of just the thought of having your photograph taken - all you can think about is your smile, your bum, your arms, your belly, how to style your hair, what clothes to choose - the list is endless, I know…

Choosing your Brand Photographer can be really easy, if you forget your nerves and fear and go with a little bit of head and a little bit of heart.

Help yourself to do that by thinking about these seven things.

1. Specialist

A fantastic wedding photographer or family portrait photographer isn’t necessarily a fantastic l branding photographer. Look for a photographer who specialises in brand photography and is well practiced in how to tell a story.

2. What’s included?

To have a successful brand photography shoot, there’s usually a lot more elements that go into it than just you, your photographer, and the camera.

Find out whether your photographer offers a pre -shoot consultation and what that includes.

Discuss what will you get, what quality the images will be (high resolution, web quality), how will they be delivered to you and how quickly, what else will you receive.

My clients are guided through the whole process with full pre-shoot consultation, workbook, detailed planning call, visual cues and relaxed direction during photoshoot. But I also offer something more - an afternoon tea or a nice lunch to get to know each other, video clips, graphics, a social media planning guide and content branded to you.

3. Portfolio

Every photographer has a unique aesthetic and style. Are you looking for classic and sophisticated branding photos? Is your look brighter and more colorful? Or is it friendly and relaxed? While any good photographer will be able to listen to your vision and try to capture it, it’s best to choose a photographer whose previous work connects with you.

Ask to see a full gallery of a couple of shoots, not just a selection of the best images.

4. Connection

If it isn’t offered, insist on a consultation - I call mine a Discovery Call. During this, focus on how your photographer makes you feel.

Do you feel confident in yourself and his or her ability to make you look your best? Do you feel comfortable and relaxed? Do you feel like he or she understands you and your vision? Do you like them and get on with them? If so, it’ll definitely show in your photos!

5. Testimonials

Check out testimonials and reviews of clients. Its good to see the experience that others have had with your potential photographer.

If you don’t see any listed, ask. I like to put my potential clients in touch with past ones - real conversations have more weight than snippets and decontextualized comments.

6. Think about the future

As you and your business evolve, you’ll want to update your bank of photographs to best reflect the natural evolution of your business and to keep your online presence fresh. You might need a monthly or quarterly photoshoot package to regularly update your photos.

Is this something your potential photographer offers? At what cost?

7. Investment

While we all have budgets to work to, you do get what you pay for.

These images are going to be around for a long time, portraying you and your brand.

They have to be right.

More than that, they’re going to help you grow your own business and bring in more money for you - worthwhile investing as much as you can.

When it comes to choosing your brand photographer, look for a photographer who knows how to tell a story with the camera, one that will make any future potential clients want to know more about you.

For something as important as your brand, you can’t just look for someone who will get the job done for the lowest price - an experienced professional will assist you in representing your unique persona and vision. You are going to have to invest heavily but they will save you time and make you money!

That’s a worthwhile investment in you and your business.

Book a free 30 minute discovery call and let's chat about your brand, values and messages, pinpoint where you are, what it's likely you'll need and then settle on a course of action that corresponds with where you are and where you're heading.

At the end of our call - I promise - you'll feel empowered, ready to unveil yourself to your idea client and with a much clearer idea of exactly how to do that.

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The 6 mistakes you should avoid when building your brand

It’s quite easy to get wrapped up in getting good results for your clients when you first start a business, but this often means entrepreneurs let aspects such as their brand fall by the wayside. In order for customers to want to do business with you and recommend you to others, they need to feel connected to you, which is where branding comes in.

If you want your brand to flourish, here are a few of the most common mistakes to avoid.

Mistake 1: Not getting yourself out there

If you want people to do business with you, you need to show them who you are – be the face of your brand, don’t hide behind a logo or a statement. In an age where consumers are bombarded and overwhelmed with advertising, entrepreneurs and business owners need to give people a reason to trust them. Build trust by being visible: have your brand photographs taken by a professional photographer who specialises in brand photography to really make an impact; consider using video and going live on social media more often.

Mistake 2: Not building your network

To grow your brand, you are going to need to keep making connections and nurturing your relationships with customers and potential clients. The internet makes it easy to avoid face to face interactions, but they are still important in order to create genuine connections. So remember - grow and build your network both online and off.

Mistake 3: Failing to share your story

Tell your story and show people why you do what you do. Why do you feel so passionate about helping people with your product or service? People need to be able to relate to you to trust you, so if you want to grow your brand, you need to be willing to share your story. Storytelling is a powerful marketing tool and one which can be used in loads of ways on many different platforms.

Mistake 4: Being inconsistent

Your brand needs to be prominent and consistent if you truly want to make an impact. Consistency in the look and feel of your content is as important as in the regularity of you showing up. Be where your audience is and make sure that they’re hearing from you on a regular basis. Consistency is another way to build trust - it’s something I talk about often but it’s because it’s so crucial to the success of any business.

Mistake 5: Failing to grow your online presence

It’s no secret that we live in a world of technology and instant gratification. Customers can find almost any information they want within a matter of minutes. If you want your brand to thrive this year, it’s important for you to create a digital footprint that will ensure more people are finding you online more often. It’s also a good idea to review which platforms you are currently present on: are these the places your ideal client can be found? Are you missing out on any key opportunities to get in front of them?

Mistake 6: Being afraid of lives and video

Your ideal client needs to get to know, like and trust you before they will do business with you. Get yourself out there. Get behind the camera. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Your ideal client will love you, no matter how you trip over your words, or what your hair looks like. They are looking for the real you, warts and all, so flaunt yourself as you truly are!

Are you looking for more information about brand photography?

Book a free chat.

We'll talk about your brand, values and messages, pinpoint where you are, what it's likely you'll need and then settle on a course of action that corresponds with where you are and where you're heading.

At the end of our call, you'll feel empowered, ready to unveil yourself to your idea client and with a much clearer idea of exactly how to do that.

Click "Book Now" to arrange 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

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How to schedule posts in Canva (Pro)

Are you looking for a scheduling tool for social media? Use the one you already love: Canva Pro!

In just a few minutes you can schedule posts to numerous social channels, repurpose your high value, engaging content to multiple audiences and streamline your workflow.

If you prefer to watch video tutorials, click the button and learn how to schedule your daily content for Instagram, facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter – it works for Pinterest and Tumblr too - in under 10 minutes!

Watch video tutorial

If, like me, you prefer to scan for the information you need, follow these straightforward instructions to scheduling your content.

1. Navigate to your Canva "Home" page.

Canva Home Page

2. At the left of your screen, find "All your designs"and click. This will take you into your library.

Canva All My Designs

3. Click the design you want to schedule or click the purple button at the top right, "Create a design."

Canva Your design

4. When you have edited and are happy with your design, click the button with three dots (...) This will open a window with lots of options. Navigate to and click "schedule" (the icon is a calendar.)

Canva Your design and options

5. A calendar will appear. Select the date and the time you'd like to schedule your post. Click "Next" to confirm.

Canva schedule/ calendar

6. Select the social media channel you'd like to post to. Then add the text content for your post (including any links.) Click "Schedule post" and you're done! You're first post has been scheduled!

Canva Your design social channel and written content

7. A new window will appear when you've finished with the option to "Make a copy" or head to the "Content Planner." If I'm re-purposing the content across more than one social media challenge, I always click "Make a copy" which takes me straight back into the "Your design" page.

Canva Your design is scheduled

8. To view "Content Planner," return to either "Home" or "Your designs." On the left hand side you'll see a link to it. From this page you can edit any of your posts and/ or change the date and time they're scheduled for.

Canva Content Planner

Did you try it as you read through this post? Did it work for you? I'd love to see your scheduled Canva posts - share them with me on social media!

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Would you rather watch the video tutorial? You can find it by clicking here:

Watch video tutorial