Welcome to the second installment of our branding series! Next, we’re talking about how to start creating your brand, and these are some basic but vital steps! Branding is an important part of any business. Here are five tips for starting to create and build your brand!

1.     Decide who your audience is, and what you want to give to them. 

Knowing what specialized services or product you want to provide is the first step and knowing who your target audience is the second! Think how you want people to see you: are you specializing in outdoor photography or indoor? Natural shoots (lifestyle) or more posed portraiture? Do you use mostly bright colour palettes, or are muted tones your thing? Use this in your initial branding; show who you are, and people who love your style will come to you!

2. Know your target market clientele. 

Are you appealing to the masses (sharing straight off camera images for the lowest price in your area) or are you appealing to a higher end market (fewer finished polished images for a higher price)? Where do your clients shop? Where do they buy groceries? Where do they eat out for dinner? All of these aspects of your client’s lives can be clues as to how to market effectively to them. There is no right answer here, and there are profitable businesses in many markets, the key is attracting them to you.

3.     Choose how you’re going to show your branding to your audience. 

Reflect your initial branding when you choose your colour scheme, graphics, and fonts in all places your potential clients will see you. If you favour shooting with bold colours, then reflect that in your logo, your image shares etc. If you prefer muted tones like I do, then simple graphics and soft pastels and neutrals are the tones I use on my website, in my logo and in my photo sessions.

4.     Only show what you want to shoot. 

If you show every kind of photography that you are capable of then you will not appeal to one specific audience. Once I knew I wanted to specialize in maternity and newborn portraiture, that was the only thing I showed. That way it didn’t confuse people and clients knew that I always delivered consistent results in their images. They knew exactly what they would be getting in their galleries. 

5. Be unique from others in your local industry. 

Remember that it is important to stand out from the photographer down the road. Copying someone else’s work that is doing well in your local market will never end well. Find out what YOU are passionate about and stick with that. Your skill and own style will emerge if you are true to yourself.