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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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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Instagram

LinkedIn

Twitter

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

Watch video tutorial

Why Brand Photography is a must for business owners and entrepreneurs

Photographs play a crucial role in how you portray your brand to your customers and clients. They’re crucial to how potential clients see you.

First impressions are made almost instantaneously but they last a lifetime.

The images you show to your potential clients will often be the first thing they see, their first interaction with you: visuals are usually their first impression.

Brand photography involves influencing the way potential customers see you and view your products or services: it’s why personal branding photography has such a massive impact.

When planned properly, professional brand photos are an asset that will serve you for years to come.

You’ll have a bank of on brand, professional, memorable and bespoke images. You’ll save time. You’ll attract more of the right clients. You’ll make more money.

Interested in how you can benefit from a premium brand experience? Keep reading!

Send them with your press releases

If you usually send out press releases or are planning to in the coming year, professional photos will help your submission stand out.

Use them throughout your website

Businesses that feature professional photos of real people inspire more trust than those that use stock photos. Real life, bespoke photographs - ones that are personal to you and your brand - tell your business story authentically.

Use them throughout your social media channels

For every post or social media communication, you can choose the right image - the one that provides a clear visual which sits alongside the written content and heightens the engagement that your post gets.

Place them in your email campaigns

By having a large bank of images, you’ll be spoiled for choice and can take your email funnels and campaigns to the next level - each one will be unique, stand out and on brand!

Include them on your landing pages

If you rely on landing pages to help you generate sales, adding brand photography to them can boost your results. Having consistency across all of your marketing pillars is a must but you don’t want to find yourself using the same picture over and over again - that’s not consistency, it’s boring and doesn’t help you to sell all the great things you do.

Create a killer biography or about page

You want to your ideal clients to connect with you. Help them on that journey by adding a professional headshot and brand photos, alongside your carefully crafted copy and incredible story.

Make your email signature memorable

Not everybody remembers a name but almost everyone can recall a face. Adding a photograph to your email signature can help to make you memorable and to build trust - they’ll feel like they know you personally.

Add them to your printed marketing materials

If you print your marketing materials on a regular basis, photographs can be used to make your brochures and business cards stand out. Photographs of you help to build connections; photographs of your products or services help your ideal client to visualise how you can serve them. Including a mixture is the best way to ensure that you’re noticed by them.

When you need to have a professional photograph for something - usually for an amazing opportunity or PR - on hand. It has to be one you’re proud of, one that makes you smile when you look at it. It’s almost impossible to capture these photographs on demand.

You need the time to choose your photographer, find someone who understands and believes in your brand. You need someone creative who can crawl inside your head and reproduce exactly what you imagine your photos to look like.

Book a Discovery Call