Product Photography is just One Part of Branding Photography
Branding photography is such a newly defined area of photography, that it can feel a bit elusive. At the same time, it’s really nothing new and has been practiced really since cameras were first used.
Branding photography incorporates everything about a brand. It is a collection of photos that includes headshots, but also shows products, spaces, processes, personalities, people, and so much more! Just as every brand is unique, the resulting custom visual library is created to meet the individual business’ needs and goals.
This morning, I had the chance to play around with cookies created by the up and coming custom cookie designer, Emily Norton of Chicago. I thought I’d share a few of the photos from that shoot along with some images from behind-the-scenes.
Scroll through below to view a few of my favorites.
I didn’t have a plain white mug (or a pink mug) on hand, so I edited the images in Photoshop. I could have just spun the mug around, but usually we see the handle ready to grab from the right. (Sorry, I realize this is so very exclusionary to all the left-handed people in the world.) Below is a before and after of the Photoshop edit.
For most product photos, you don’t really need a fancy setup. This is a view of my office. (Yes, I entirely realize the calendar still is set to November 2022. I just like that photo of my family and never made a new calendar for 2023.)
When I was shooting, I cancelled out the warmth of the corner light by my desk with my off camera flash on the right. I also tethered my camera to my computer so that I could see the setup on a bigger screen. (So much better than on a tiny LCD screen.) Shooting tethered also helps because I have a trigger through my computer mouse. I had a low enough shutter speed that I would have blurred details through camera shake otherwise.
Let’s chat about the kinds of photos we could make to show your small business/brand off to your audience. Or maybe you’d just like to learn a simple way to take your own product photos. (I was a high school art teacher in a previous chapter in my life and love to teach still.)
