The Value of Brand Photography

Guest BlogBrandingTools and Tips

Feb 17

Written By Maura Rooney

Why investing in professional brand photos can boost business.

Photo: Mallika Malhotra of MikiFoto + Co

Businesses that prioritize professional images to showcase their brand are more likely to stand out among others in their industry.

In fact, eye-tracking experts report that, when it comes to mobile use, internet readers pay closer attention to information with images. These studies also report that users take preference of certain images over others. For example, one study showed that viewers spent 10% more time viewing portrait photos of real people connected to a brand vs. stock imagery. What’s more, generic stock images tend to be ignored by viewers and seen as filler.

It’s important to be strategic and intentional in how you showcase the visual aspects of your brand. Photography can elevate the look and feel of a brand; it can help a customer better understand the benefits of a product, and it can make a prospective client feel more trusting of a service provider.

In this blog post, we’re diving in to learn more about the true value of investing in brand photography, including how and when to use it to amplify your brand. We’ve invited expert brand photographer, Mallika Malhotra, to share her expertise and insight. Enjoy!

What is brand photography?

Brand photography is a collection of professional and customized images that represent the essence of a brand. This type of photography focuses on storytelling, and it communicates more about the human side of your brand: who you are, what you do, how it feels to work with you. It helps to differentiate your approach, process, or product from others in your industry. In these photos, a skilled photographer can showcase your personality, your passion, and your process. The aim of this type of photographic approach is to cultivate an emotional bond to the essence of your brand, even more than a simple headshot could do. These images are a visual journey that, along with well-crafted language, educate your audience about the many layers of your business, and helps them get a better sense of what your brand stands for.

Photo: Mallika Malhotra of MikiFoto + Co

Why is it crucial to invest in brand photography?

Now that everyone has a camera in their pocket, more and more business owners turn to selfies and DIY photos for convenience and cost. Unfortunately, these low/no-cost options usually result in detracting from a brand’s professionalism; these images struggle to effectively illustrate a brand’s core message. In order to be taken seriously as a business, and to position your brand as a leader in your industry, your images have to follow suit, too.

Simply put: If you want to look professional, then hire a professional.

Your business can’t rely only on a single headshot or styled stock photography. Although with the right lighting and colors, DIY photos could be considered “on-brand,” they don’t have the qualities that polished, professional photos possess, and you run the risk of looking ill-equipped, and unprofessional, and even generic.

Photo: Mallika Malhotra of MikiFoto + Co

What types of businesses need brand photography?

Short answer: all types. In today’s digital world where everything in the online space is saturated with competition and information, every business needs brand photography to communicate their story. Whether you’re service-based or product-based, a solopreneur or part of a larger team, profit or nonprofit, creative or corporate, online or brick-and-mortar, brand photography can help your brand connect to your audience.

People do business with people, so it’s even more essential to use photos to help you show up as the human behind your brand. Customers crave stories and connections to brands—from showcasing your best work to demonstrating the process of how you work with your client, to expressing your unique personality, brand photos will help you stand out and get your audience’s attention.

No one can replicate your face, space, or place—so your professional photos are a guarantee to ensure your brand is original.

When is it time to invest in brand photography?

The good news is that, no matter what stage you’re at in your business, professional photos can help you uplevel your brand. I’ve had clients who are just getting started opening their business and they want to make a splash with strong imagery. Other brands I’ve worked with have 10 years of experience under their belt but their business feels stale; finally, they feel ready to show up as a leader and invest in taking their brand to the next stage of professionalism.

The one caveat: it’s best to make the investment when you’re clear on your brand story and messaging. It’s time to move forward with photos only when you have a concrete business plan and marketing strategy, then your brand photo visuals can pull everything together.

Here are a few instances where brand photography is the right next step:

Launching a website
Launching a course or offering
Re-branding. New messaging or new positioning
Physical transformation—new you, new space
New press and publicity opportunities (conferences, podcasts, TV)

Photo: Mallika Malhotra of MikiFoto + Co

How do you use brand photos?

The options are really endless for where you can showcase your brand photography. I advise my clients to use their images across all of their marketing channels to ensure consistency and memorability. The more you use the images, the more exposure and recognition you’ll get.

Here is a list of places to consider using your brand visuals

Website (any and all webpages, especially your About and Services pages)
Blog
Media Kit
Speaker Bios
Social Media
Sales Pages
Newsletters
Online Courses and Presentations
Digital Products (ebooks, e-magazines)
Email Signature
Opt-Ins
Advertising
Print (books, magazines)
Press
Business Cards
Postcards
Marketing Collateral (brochures, signage)
Thank-You Cards
Packaging
Photo Art
Lead Magnets
Rack Cards

branding photos contributes to your collateral inventory for print marketing

Remember, when you invest in brand photography, you can:

Connect with your audience. Storytelling images allow a business to breathe life and personality into a brand. When you share your story, your audience starts to know, like, and trust your brand in a deeper, more meaningful way.

Stand out. We live in a noisy world where consumers are constantly bombarded with other messages and distractions. Professional photos help a brand get noticed, grab your audience’s attention, and make your brand memorable.

Elevate your expert status. Professional photos help differentiate the leaders from the amateurs. Great photos can position you as the authority or go-to expert in your market. Take this crucial step to view yourself as an expert, and others will too.

Share your depth. Your brand is more than a simple headshot. Share your process, your personality, and the kind of client experience your customer can expect and you’ll start to build a resonant brand with more depth and purpose. This foundational shift can help you start to attract your dream clients and inspire them to choose your brand from the rest.

We hope this blog post helps you see the purpose, value, and benefit of brand photography.

You can start small, too. Consider updating your About page images this year, and then invest in enhancing your product or process photos next year. The important thing is to make the shift towards seeing and valuing yourself, your brand, and your services as exceptional, unique, and worthy of showcasing. Only then can your brand photos really help your brand succeed.

Mallika Malhotra of MikiFoto + Co is an award-winning brand photographer, branding mentor and author of The Brand Photography Playbook. After years of working in corporate advertising, she now helps entrepreneurs master their story, show up as the face of their brand, and build their brand empires. It’s her mission to empower women entrepreneurs, in particular, to stop hiding and to start emerging as leaders. She recently launched The Brand Attraction Society, a subscription membership dedicated to brand building, mentorship, and community. When she’s not taking pictures or developing brands, she’s at home with her three sons and husband, drinking coffee or red wine and dreaming about their next global adventure.