When you launch a business, there is so much to do to make sure it’s a success. So many different pieces of a puzzle have to come together – your products or services, your messaging, tone of voice, and how you visually present everything. Some genres have it easier than others in some of those aspects but imagery is a topic everyone should invest in at some point.

Audiences react well to visuals – photos and videos – but snapshots or stock footage can only get you so far. Let me highlight 3 major benefits of having your own professional branding photography and brand films made to support your marketing and business efforts.

That’s not a shocker, is it?
Stock photography can look really beautiful and it doesn’t even have to cost anything but the problem is that you’re not the only one using them. You’ll end up in a pool of generic photos used by hundreds of other businesses trying to sell the same or even completely different things to you.

And I guess I don’t even have to talk about selfies, right?!

So hiring a professional branding photographer means you’ll get a bank of images that only you will have. They will work with your now colour scheme, speak to your audience and show why you are different to others thanks to the work we do together to prepare your shoot. Those photos will show what YOU do, how YOU look and how YOU work. It can’t get more personal than that!

Have you noticed that posts on Instagram with your face on get at least double if not triple the attention than anything else you post? And what do you think is the most-visited page on any business website on the planet? I’ll give you a clue: It’s not the contact page. (It’s at the “About me/us” page, just in case you weren’t sure).

The reason behind that is that we people are nosey. We want to know who you are, how you live, what your puppy did today and we especially love that weird little thing you don’t like to mention that we always thought we’d be the only ones to do (like being terrified to calling people or buying more books than we could ever read in a lifetime). Those details are what connects you to your audience. While we appreciate that you can help us with something, we also like feeling as if we personally knew you.

By using photos that show your face, pictures of your hands doing your job (like creating an item that we’ve had on our wish list for weeks) and hearing you talk about your products and who you love working with, you create a genuine connection to the people who want to buy from you. You can’t possibly create that same connection without showing up online.

I know very few people who love being in front of a camera. If we look at my point above, as freelancers or owners of a small business, we don’t always have a chance though. Without repeating myself, your audience wants to see you. Working with a professional photographer and/or filmmaker can help you become more confident. We have “tricks” to make you feel at ease. Most of the time, they’re not really tricks though but there is a way to work with people in front of the camera to take a bit of their nervousness and help them to be calm. We do that by talking to you about the thing you are passionate about. Your pet. Or your business. Probably the latter but pets are great too.

The result of working with me for example is that you’ll get a bank of images that I know you will love. Hopefully, you’ll ignore all your little flaws that you love to pick out in images. Don’t pretend like you don’t do that – we all do. It’s ok. But seeing photos of yourself through my eyes (i.e. my camera  and lens) showing up as a passionate badass business owner, will bit by bit help you see yourself that way in every other situation too. You’ll find it easier to use those images online because of the meaning behind them.

Having a brand video produced goes a step further even. Because it’s not just the way you look but also the way you move and sound that you’ll have to get used to. It might take a moment but I promise that the feedback you’ll get for having a brand film made, will be an immense confidence boost. I guarantee that the responses you’ll get will lift your spirits veeery high!