Have you ever been so excited for a photoshoot, spent ions of hours preparing outfits, props, and locations, had the shoot and been enamored with the photos and then never done anything with them? I have and I’m a photographer!! Wait, what!!!? Sad but true. Sometimes, the difficulty in making decisions or the overwhelm in knowing how to use photos can cause us to just not do anything. All the while we are sitting on a gold mine of material!!
So let’s remind ourselves why brand photos exist in the first place. Wise entrepreneurs have brand photos done to showcase a product and to build connection with their audience on social media (which in turn, sells a product or service btw.) So, at the end of the day, photos for brands help them sell more products. I want YOU to sell more products and services so instead of having that overwhelmed feeling, here are a few ways to use that wealth of material you are sitting on after the shoot….
#1 is probably the most obvious…. Post those suckers on social media!! After a brand shoot, I email my clients a gallery from CloudSpot. I love Cloudspot because they are SUPER easy to use. My clients can download images for print and social media. They can also order material directly on the gallery. So be sure to get both print and social media rights from your photographer and get those images downloaded for safe keeping. Then start plastering those photos on social media. Just a few sidenotes…. The beauty of having multiple outfits during your shoot creates not only variety on your social media account but it makes it look like you’ve had multiple shoots when you’ve only had one. The other nice thing is that if this shoot was done by only one photographer, you will have a more seamless look to your account. It’s probably just the photographer in me but sometimes I cringe when looking at business accounts that merge multiple photographer shoots. A super grainy and dark photo next to a clear and bright photo shows a lack of cohesion in the brand. Try to nail down the style you most want so that potential customers see a more unified look to your brand. Below is a great example of how Skin Sanctuary used their photos for the circle images of their staff. Minus the very first esthetician shown who is new, all of the photos were done at the same shoot together.
Below is a screenshot of their instagram posts showing photos from their branding shoot scattered throughout. From quotes to holidays to announcements, they did an amazing job of multi purposing the photos for their feed. (Round of applause for office manager, Taylor!!)
#2 Some brands need images for print so that they can create a magazine for trade shows. My favorite resource for creating magazines is MagCloud. They offer great prices and the quality of their printed material is fantastic! You have to first have the magazine designed and then “stitched together” in a program that combines pdf’s but then you are able to order through MagCloud. The finished product really elevates your work! If you are stuck on how to have this done, reach out to your photographer.
#3 Often overlooked but SO professional …. an email signature! Here’s an example of mine just so you know what it could include.
It’s just a nice but unexpected way to sign off. Plus, you are able to put the most important contact info in a spot that customers will remember if they need it in the future.
#4 You know that large photo at the top of a website that stretches horizontally across the home page? That’s called the banner picture and can be used to show certain sales or special announcements or something that is important all the time. This is a great spot to put one of your branding photos. Be sure to ask your photographer for a horizontal image or two for this very area.
#5 Finally, use those images for all of your marketing material….business cards, flyers, pamphlets, etc. I even received a gift card from Skin Sanctuary and they designed the gift card on Canva with one of their images on it. It looks so great!
Skin Sanctuary is a new spa in Marysville, Ohio and they are KILLING it! They also have an office in Bellefontaine, Ohio and decided it was time to branch out because they were growing so much. They are the perfect example of a company that took their brand photos and did something amazing with them. They created art for their lobby (through Mixtiles), post often to Instagram and facebook, put their images into Canva to add text to their photos for special announcements, have them plastered all over their website, use photos in their insta stories and have a photo of each estheticians face saved to their insta highlights where they can post their work or schedules, etc. Check out their resourcefulness on Instagram @skinsanctuary.oh, Facebook @Skin Sanctuary Boutique Spa, and website: skinsanctuaryohio.com. You will be super impressed!
