It can be all too easy to think our brands’ visual identities are limited to just our logos, alternate marks and color palette. In reality, the types of images that we share on our social media accounts, our blogs and our websites all have the power to represent our brands visually, building consistency and recognition across a myriad of platforms! With this in mind, it’s so important to be crafting on-brand images that will not only represent your brand online, but will also engage your audience and capture their attention. But don’t fret! You don’t have to be a professional stylist in order to take beautiful photos that will represent your brand’s aesthetic well. With just a few simple tips, you can be taking quality images and styling captivating vignettes in no time.

Incorporate Your Brand Palette

When you’re just starting to represent your brand visually through imagery, whether that’s on your social media channels or your website, it’s important to focus on creative ways to create consistency. One of the best, and easiest, ways to go about this is by incorporating your brand’s color palette into your image! With an inventive assortment of props, you can effortlessly create a set of photos that are in line with the colors already found on your website or social channels. For example, the b is for bonnie design brand incorporates a palette of white, blush and gold, so whenever I style an image for Instagram, I utilize that overarching color palette to create consistency and an easily recognizable aesthetic. I also use a similar approach for the illume retreat brand, as seen in the main image above.

Represent Your Brand’s Aesthetic Visually

But you aren’t just limited to colors as you incorporate your brand’s aesthetic into your images! You can creatively integrate your brand’s overall aesthetic through textures, signature props and unique angles. Is your brand earthy and organic? Throwing in some succulents, kraft paper backdrops, or soft linen swatches can convey the natural, laid back aesthetic your brand evokes. Have fun with this component! This can be a great way to set your images apart from others in the industry, all while infusing some personality in strategic places.

Focus on Quality Over Quantity

When representing your brand visually through images, it’s important to remember that quality matters. Every image you share, regardless of the platform it’s shared on, has your brand’s name attached to it. So what kind of images do you want your brand to be associated with? Share high quality, crisp and thoughtfully styled images even if that means sharing images less frequently. Personally, I like to carve out time in my schedule to style and shoot different vignettes for work, giving myself the opportunity to create a small amount of high quality, styled images. This helps me have something to share when I need it, without having the take the time to style, shoot and edit something on the fly.

Edit Consistently

As you build consistency throughout the images you take to represent your brand, don’t overlook the effect that editing can have on your photos! Using different filters in a post-processing app like Instagram, Photoshop or VSCO can create an inconsistent blog or social media feed. Not to mention, it makes it difficult for your audience to recognize an image of yours if you’re constantly switching up the editing process. Play around with different edits, whether on your phone or your desktop, to find that signature set of editing steps for your images. I personally use VSCO for Instagram images, and only edit the exposure, contrast, and sometimes warmth.

Partner with Professionals

If you don’t want the sole responsibility of creating all the imagery for your brand, I highly recommend partnering with a professional photographer! A few years ago, I hired Shay Cochrane to create the styled banner images seen on my site, and I can’t speak highly enough about the difference those beautiful photos made for my little business. Whenever I didn’t have something to share on Instagram, I could use one of those images. If I needed an image to create a graphic for the blog, I could use one of those images. And by using those lovely photos, it not only represented my brand beautifully, but it created a high quality set of consistent visuals people could easily identify on Pinterest, Instagram, and elsewhere. I later had the pleasure of partnering with Shay and her SC Stockshop to create a set of styled brand builder images (seen here and here), which you may recognize from my site, too! Although working with a professional photographer can be an investment, think of it as investing in quality marketing for your brand in the long run. Those are images you can use countless ways for your business, which in the end will draw in new clients and build brand recognition!

Are you curious to learn more about building a visually stunning social media presence, all while crafting intentional messaging to connect with your ideal audience? Then join us for our March 8th Instagram with Authenticity class! From identifying your audience, to crafting heartfelt messaging, to curating beautiful visuals, we cover it all. And did I mention you get lifetime access to all materials, plus unlimited email support with me, plus access to our growing community of movers and shakers? Snag your seat for our March 8th session here.