Trendless – How To Ensure Your Brand Photos Are Always In Style
There’s a fine line between adapting your brand to the changing times and losing your brand’s identity to fleeting trends.
Sometimes walking that line can feel like traveling a tightrope over shark-infested waters, but I believe it’s easier than that.
Think of luxury magazine images throughout the years. Across their pages, fashion trends come and go, but their overall aesthetic and visuals remain unswayed.
They remain true to their core. Clean. Minimal. High-end. It’s just good business.
In this blog post, let’s take a look at how good, strong brand imagery can remain consistent and focused through changing trends – as well as the reasoning behind our minimalist aesthetic.
Here’s the thing about minimalist photography: It looks expensive.
Minimalism, by nature, conveys a sense of luxury – specifically, a luxury of space. The conveyance comes on a subconscious level. Although it may seem contradictory, clutter portrays a scarcity mindset, while minimalism reflects abundance.
A scarcity mindset is the belief there’s never enough. There are never enough customers and clients to go around, so you had better fight for every one you get. Because there is never enough, scarcity breeds competition. You have to get to the customer before someone else does.
On the other hand, an abundance mindset is the belief there is always enough. There are not only enough customers to go around – there’s a select set of customers who are perfect for you. You don’t need to compete with anyone else, and those with an abundance mindset can work collaboratively with “competitors” elevating their businesses.
Minimalism (and the abundance mindset behind it) will infuse your images with an air of confidence.
By stripping away all the things we don’t need, we pack a bigger punch. When we no longer need to rely on things, we can let composition, expression, or movement do most of the talking.
But that’s not to say there are no props used in minimalist photography; it’s just that we’re more intentional about the ones we use.
Photography with a clean aesthetic comes from careful curation. The few props we use are all well-intentioned and thought-through. For each one, we ask: is it adding to the story or detracting from it?
We find that when your photography is less about things, it becomes more about your brand story.
But Beware The Risk Of Minimalism Done For The Sake Of Photo Aesthetics Only
For many years now, I’ve noticed people sharing images that are clean, minimal, and aesthetically pleasing – but that somehow fall flat.
For the longest, I couldn’t put my finger on what bothered me about these images, but one day, I finally figured it out: The picture wasn't saying anything...or sometimes it was saying the wrong thing.
The beauty of minimalism is that it allows you to say more with less – but you have to know what you’re trying to say.
You can have a beautifully minimal and clean aesthetic to your brand photos – but if your expression or actions in a photo aren’t actually saying anything, it will never connect with your audience.
If there's no story behind the composition or if you look uncomfortable, minimalism isn't going to magically work for you – it will only further point out how much it doesn't work! You’ll find you need things to distract from the lack of story, and then, sigh, you’re back at square one: cluttered imagery that isn’t elevated.
Because the more stuff you add, the less luxurious your brand will appear to others.
But there’s good news: If you don’t yet know your brand story, a strategic brand photographer can work with you to figure out the story you want to tell.
When Storytelling Photography Meets Clean Aesthetics…
As a brand photographer, I believe in harnessing the power of storytelling and then pairing it with minimalism and clean aesthetics.
When we work together, I’ll focus much of my attention on your body language and expression – so that not much is needed when it comes to composition.
I will also make sure we do plenty of pre-session prep work. We will get super clear on the story we’re trying to tell before we reach the day of the photoshoot. From our preplanning, I’ll develop a plan and ideas, so that we perfectly execute your vision.
It's all got to work together to tell a single story – your story. Fortunately, I’ve been doing this long enough to know how to get us there.
Say More – With Less
With simple, uncluttered compositions, you can convey a sense of sophistication and modernity with each photo you take – as long as your photos send the right message.
I’m here to help.
I've already helped hundreds of creatives shine as their unapologetic, fully expressed selves so they can book the clients of their dreams – and I can help you.
If you’re in (or will be in) the Austin, Texas, area, check out my story-driven, results-getting experience, and message me when you're ready to chat.