How Do You Choose the Best Branding Photographer in Seattle?

What I can give you is the information on how to find the best branding photographer for you and your business. Understanding what makes a branding photographer different from a portrait photographer is important and it can be a little confusing if you don’t know what to look for.

First let’s start by talking about the difference between headshots, branding and portrait photography.

Headshots: Are taken from the waist up, or cropped in closer to be chest up. You are looking directly at the camera and engaging with the viewer. Headshots are used for the profile photos, About Me pages, email signatures, on business cards, added to media kits and used for any other marketing and advertising that needs to show who the owner is. This is a fully professional photo with little preparation.

Tip: If you can use the same headshot throughout all this, you’ll create consistency and recognition of your business. 

Branding: Includes all types of photos the business needs for the rest of the marketing and advertising materials. It includes headshots, lifestyle headshots, in action, behind the scenes, working with clients, product, the space/location, stock photos, vertical and horizontal photos, detail and full scene. These photos are used on the website, on social media, in emails, on presentations, advertising print outs, magazines and the list goes on. Branding can include both the professional and personal side to who you are as the business owner.

Portraits: Are the personal side of photography focusing on the face. Commonly family, high school seniors, and boudoir are all listed as portraits.  This also contains little preparation, mostly outfit and location chatter.

Where do You Start?

Start with the end mission of your photos.

• Where will your photos be used? If you're unsure of what types of photos you'd need, analyze your website, social media, email, blog etc and what types of photos are you using there? Are you using cellphone photos or stock photos? You want to replace all stock photos, all DIY cellphone photos and old headshots. Websites need wide/horizontal photos while, social posts can work with tall/vertical photos.
• Who are your target market, your ideal client? This comes definitely comes into play if you have client models coming to the photoshoot.
• What types of photos do you need? What stories do you want to communicate? Photos are storytelling, within one photo we can tell many different stories like the client experience, who you are and what to expect.

The intention of photos is to help capture attention, create an expectation of the experience of working with you, and support your clients in their decision making process.

Next let’s talk about the portfolio

1. Do you like their portfolio? Does it match what you envision for your own brand? 
2. Is there variety within their portfolio? Meaning they are showing samples of vertical and horizontal photos, headshots, lifestyle, in action, with clients, products, the space, details and full shots. 

While it is important to like what their portfolio shows, there is more to it. The portfolio is a quick indicator of what type of work they focus on. Headshots and portraits are a piece of branding, but branding is a much larger beast (we will delve more into this below).   

I’d love to point you to my Portfolio Page, as you scroll through my portfolio I use it as an education piece. Showing samples of all different types of photos I take within a session. The key is to look for variety.

Preparation and Support Before Photoshoot

Like I said above, branding photography is a beast. It is a beast in the sense that there is A  LOT of preparation that happens before photoshoot day. The preparation is what will make the photoshoot day a success and go smoothly. 

All branding photographers should list an outline of their process. If they don’t list this on their website then asking during a call or email inquiry is the next best thing.

Ways a photographer will prepare you or ask “How do you help me prepare for a branding photoshoot?”

This list is what I do as a branding photographer to prepare businesses for their photoshoot day.

• You take a Discovery call, these are typically 30-45 minutes.
• You’re given an extensive questionnaire that helps me understand all about you and business.
• A Shoot Prep PDF is emailed to you.
• Either I'll give advice on how to select the best location and client models or I can source and do for you. 
• We take another video call 1-2 weeks before the photoshoot to talk about the plans for the day, after this I create a detailed photoshoot plan.
• I'll answer your emails between the first call and after photo delivery.
• A photoshoot plan aka “product sheet” is created for the photoshoot day, you’ll get a general guideline of planned shots, sets, outfits and timeline of how the day will go.

You can find a basic outline of these preparation steps on both my Home page as well as my Experience page. When I’m on Discovery calls we also touch upon the process and steps I take to prepare you before our photoshoot day. 

Communication and education are so important within this preparation process before the photoshoot. I would say it is the most important part. Both headshots and portrait sessions do not do the level of planning and preparation as a branding photoshoot. If another photographer has added branding to their list of services they may not have this level of planning and this is what you will need to find out.

The last thing you as the business owner wants to do is create a photoshoot outline, when you have no idea how to actually plan one. Hire a branding photographer that has a page dedicated to educating you on how they will support and guide you through the process.  

Photoshoot Day

Have posing directions been mentioned? Have you seen any BTS (behind the scenes) footage for posing directions? It’s hard to pose yourself, especially if you have no idea how to pose your body with intention.  Photoshoot day should also be guided and supported. Helping you select the final outfits for each set and posing guidance. The branding photographer is the leader for the day, keeping schedule on time, outfits checked, setting up each story set and helping the day go as smooth as possible.

In Conclusion

The best branding photographers are going to support and guide you every step of the way. A great branding photographer will be leading you through this experience and by the end will be a positive one.

• Find photographers that specialize in branding photography
• Make sure they have a strategic process that helps you prepare for the photoshoot