3 Essentials for Any Brand Photograph
LIGHTING - STYLING - DIRECTION
Yes that’s it, simply put a combination of all these three elements will mean your brand photographs will pop off the page, ensure your brand is authentic and draw in your ideal clients!
I am going to break down these elements over the next three posts and provide you with examples using some of my latest photoshoots
Starting with lighting….
“Without light there would be no photography” - somebody must have said that!
So it’s a good place to start.
I always bring along my own lighting to a shoot, why?
Because it helps me tell the story of your brand.
Take the three images above.
They were all photographed in the same room - a rather stunning kitchen, within the space of an hour.
And hopefully, it looks like they were shot at different times of the day.
In my view this makes it authentic, think of a movie or TV soap, it’s not just filmed when the light is perfect - sometimes the scene might be in the evening or night…that’s how we live our lives, you get the idea I’m sure.
Anyway that’s why I work with assistants, they can be beavering away and set up the lights and I can be sitting down having a coffee… no that’s not right!
I use assistants so we can get a lot more scenarios photographed in your 3 hour branding shoot.“
I have always been interested in Style
It all started when as a snotty nosed teenager I discovered Mods (no not in the early sixties, I’m not quite that old!). The quintinisential British youth culture that was all about style - suits, scooters, fancy loafers and all of that.
As you probably know, because I am always banging on about fashion, I was a fashion photographer and a lecturer at university in the same.
I also have far too large a wardrobe stuffed full of all my favourite clothes!
So yes style is important to me!
And it is a key component when putting together the branding photoshoots with my clients.
It could be style in putting together the room set. In the first example we have Kerry Coleman photographed in her beautiful house. Kerry is a top notch marketing consultant for premium brands and may I say has exquisite taste. So styling was important and I purposeful included plants in the photograph - in the garden, print on the wall and a graphic potted plant.
I have included Paul Clegg ( marketing guru) in the second photograph as an example of clothes styling, I helped persuade him to don one of his lovely suits, and doesn’t he just look amazing in it!
Finally as an example of style in the editing process we have Clare Forrestier - the go to person for Emceeing events and public speaking coaching.
Clare really knew how to work the camera and we got some great shots from the session but I particularly wanted to make this image more cinematic and a bit moody! All done in the edit and hopefully with style.
What I would love to hear from you is how do you incorporate style into your business?
