Don’t Be Scared of ‘Different’

All of us want to stand out, more so when you are running a business. It’s a jungle out there and you need your brand and business to rise above the competition. I am happiest when I help my clients achieve that stand out, when their branding images attract attention and stimulate interest. That’s my job. Capture your brand/product/service essence and showcase its brilliance.

However, one of the things many of my branding clients share is a nervousness to do something a bit different. And I get that. I run a business too and no one wants to appear unprofessional or too ‘outside the lines’. However, in today’s visual society, where we scroll past the familiar within micro-seconds, it is important to create branding shots that ‘pop’.

I have always loved photography. I am not a landscape photographer, and while I do find myself sneakily training my lens on any four-legged furry friends on a shoot, it is people and their passions I have chosen to focus on for a reason. I love the glint in someone’s eye when they believe in what they are doing, and my favourite client partners are those that are willing to get creative in communicating that passion.

Of course, we will do all the obvious shots on the shot list, the ones you require for functionality or communication. But it is in the creative direction I find my own passion.

A headshot doesn’t have to be boring or predictable. It can pose a question or create a curiosity with the viewer to learn more about you.

The use of props and colour, effects and lighting can produce amazingly creative results, even before we get to the editing stage.

But you have to lean in to being different. Sometimes you have to try things. While there are times the hero-shot of a day shooting comes from a random idea that forms from the synergy between model, photographer and place, they are the exception. Mostly, creativity takes planning.

I am lucky to work internationally with clients who are happy to hand over creative direction (and are brave enough to keep smiling confidently as smoke flares and pyrotechnics go off all around them). Often prospective clients will see my work and say ‘oh I want something like that’. Nothing makes me happier to produce creative content, but it takes planning. It also takes bravery in trusting your photographer and a certain amount of trial and error.

Of course, layers can be added in post-production, but most of the best creative work I do comes from good planning and a sprinkling of on-site improv.    

Be brave with your brief. Leave room for ‘different’. Don’t settle for branding images that are the same as everyone else’s. You are different. You are better than your competition. Let your photos make that clear.