You’ve likely heard time and time again just how “visual” of a world we live in. And it’s true! But what they don’t tell you is that because of this, our standards for visuals today are extremely high. The average American sees more than 5,000 ads in a single day- a majority of those using imagery! Because of this, it is more important than ever to not only have images but to make sure they are consistent with your brand.
Lisa owned a catering company and knew she wanted to elevate her business and brand. She was transitioning from an event catering focus to providing fresh and freezer take-home meals.
Before we were brought on to take photos of their dishes, Lisa's photos didn’t perform well on social media. In general, for food photography lighting, texture, and composition are necessary to entice the viewer. Think about when you are ordering from the menu, you are significantly more likely to order an item that has a picture than one without. In the photos above, it was hard to tell just how delicious the food was. Lisa wanted her pictures to make a lasting impression so that customers would purchase meals each week.
For our first session, we took photos using an iPhone and edited them using the Lightroom app. We consulted on best practices when DIYing social media photography. We started by pulling props such as plates, silverware, linens, and garnishes that complimented the food.
While shooting, we made sure to leave negative space to allow the eye to rest, as well as to display side items and props as well. After consulting how to style the food and compose and take images, we helped edit the photos using a custom preset, all while making sure to stay consistent with the brand.
When creating, or selecting a preset, it is important to consider your brand’s personality and the purpose of the preset for your photos. Because of this, we created a preset that improved the texture and coloring of the food so that the images were appetizing and highlighted the balanced comfort of the food. Some of our recommendations for photo editing resources can be found in this blog post.
Even with the iPhone photos, shortly after posting images from the shoot, they saw an increase in followers and activity on their social media, which in turn increased the demand for to-go meals.
A couple of months later, Lisa was opening a second location and knew that it was time for a re-brand to match the new direction of the business. With the fresh, modern re-brand, updated photography was needed as well. This time our brand photographer was brought in to take the photos since they were going to be used on their website as well as their social media.
Our goal this time was to create strong, elevated images that reflected the new brand and made a strong impression on those hearing about and seeing the brand for the first time. Before this shoot, we created a shot list and curated props that would work with the new brand. During this time we also took photos of the new location’s exterior and newly branded items (such as labels, bags, and signage) in addition to all of the delicious food.
Imagery can only be as strong as the brand.
If the imagery is strong but isn’t consistent with the brand,
it simply won’t make a strong impression.
Do you need help with keeping your brand consistent?
Check out our Staying on Brand Resource found here. It will walk you through:
What to keep in mind while branding your business (for both product-based and service-based businesses).
Photography checklists including for DIY and professional photography
A list of our favorite resources we use to keep branding consistent.
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QUESTIONS?
Email Eloise at eloise@eloisedesignco.com