With the big difference in both the time and monetary investment, you may wonder, what is the difference between headshots and branding portraits anyway…
Photo from Bonnie Juma’s branding session for MAFU.
Headshots
This is probably what you are most familiar with. Almost all professionals have a headshot, whether for use internally in a large organization or a customer-facing environment. These tend to be very basic and uniform, and the price is representative. You can often get a high-quality headshot in this area for under $200 per person.
A standard headshot usually includes sitting or standing in front of a standard background. Occasionally, you may also run across an environmental headshot showing the office location or an outdoor environment for extra personality.
Another unique feature of a headshot session is the session time. Headshots are usually very quick. Often resulting in 1-5 final images in 10 minutes or less. You show up, smile in the predetermined location, and are on with your day.
Who are headshots good for?
Headshot sessions are the perfect fit for employers with a large number of employees, someone who needs a quick profile photo (think LinkedIn), or a generic website/email signature photo.
Branding Portraits
Branding portraits are a little newer to the market, especially with more businesses relying on selling online through websites and social platforms. Brand photography digs deep into the brand’s ideal client, mission, and aesthetic to ensure the images connect with the right people.
Brand Photography Planning Process
If you invest in branding portraits with a photographer specializing in this niche, there will be a strategic planning process before the session. This allows the photographer to take beautiful photos and the right photos for YOUR brand. Even if you do not know exactly what you are looking for, this planning process will help compile all the important pieces of your brand into something visual that can be captured by a camera.
Some questions your brand photographer will likely ask you, in addition to the typical ideal client questions, might include: what are your goals for the next six months? What is your ideal work environment? What is your business superpower/what are you uniquely good at, and are there any misconceptions about your brand or business? These questions help us understand the nuance and underlying tones of the brand and help you show your audience why you are so awesome and why they should buy from you.
The Brand Photography Session
The session experience for brand photos will also vary significantly from a headshot session. Where a headshot session is a quick in and out, brand photography sessions will oftentimes be at least 90 minutes (often longer), depending on the goals we have set for your shoot. The session may include multiple locations and/or different ‘sets’ at a location. We will also encourage as many outfit changes as we can fit into our time together. This helps create a diverse set of images. Your brand photography experience is an investment, and we want these photos to stand the test of time and not feel repetitive to your audience.
The Brand Photography Final Product
While a headshot session will give you a great photo of yourself making eye contact with the camera, a branding session does so much more. The exact deliverables from your session will vary depending on your unique needs but will include a wide variety of images, everything from headshots, images with white space, showcasing your products, or showing the behind the scenes of your process, the options are virtually unlimited.
How to Choose?
Consider your current image needs. Headshots may be great to update your social media profile image or need a singular image on your About page. Branding portraits are the way to go if you are doing a rebrand, building a website, creating a social media marketing plan, or a printed marketing plan.
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