Capturing The Perfect Image For Your Brand
Working with a variety of different clients and brands, we find ourselves needing to adjust the way we photograph, write, and edit to help tell each story in a way that best fits their needs and audiences. It’s an interesting challenge in finding the best way to present each brand. Whether they have an up-beat and colorful personality to share with their followers, or a more educational and straightforward tone… we always need to match their personality, style and audience with every photo, video or post that we share on our client’s social media channels and websites.
A picture is worth a thousand words. With our photography, every project and photo shoot requires a different approach depending on the subject and the brand. We’d like to take you along some of our client’s photo shoots to give you the tips and tricks needed in every situation!
For BRASA Rotisserie, a Peruvian-style restaurant in Santa Ana, we work to capture their personality, color and flavors in the photos we take. Shooting food in particular can be tricky… we like to make use of all the bright natural light in their restaurant to capture their colorful Peruvian fusion dishes. An easy trick for bright natural lighting is simply… right next to the window! The light here is usually perfect and not too harsh as it can be outside… unless you are going for a more vibrant look like that delicious steak sandwich above. If the conditions aren’t right, use the tools around you, like a white table cloth to help balance light.
A lot of creativity and effort goes into capturing the right image. Each tray and dish is intentionally plated by the chef. Then we come in to set the scene. Whether we’re capturing action shots of making the food, or still shots of a table setting, we look for props and people that could be added to bring life to our story. We might add things like a cell phone, cutlery, napkins or a drink alongside the plate. We might even add a person, or bring in hands… this helps to create an inviting environment that followers and people can relate to. Finally we edit BRASA Rotisserie’s photos for slight touch ups to lighting or placement, to bring out the bold and bright colors of their restaurant.
Jeffrey Court creates high quality and beautifully crafted tiles that are sold in retail stores, online and through dealer networks as they renovate and build gorgeous homes around the US! Working with tiles can also be a little bit of a challenge… with all those shiny surfaces, no wiggle room to move around, and not to mention, how to make a wall or floor stand out in a big room?
When capturing Jeffrey Court tiles, we get to actually see the finished product in beautifully staged model homes… a photographer’s dream! We make use of the props and appliances already in the homes to create gorgeous lifestyle settings in the kitchen and bathrooms where their tiles are featured. Creating a space that looks like home gives their followers and customers a good idea of how they may want to style and design their own homes. Of course with every shoot… lighting can change throughout the day or even from room to room, so we play with lighting and make sure to book the shoot at an appropriate time of day to get that perfect shot!
Make use of the space around you, if reflections and harsh lighting are ruining your day… move props, adjust your stance and keep going until you find that right angle and light to create a picture-perfect scene.
CASA of Orange County is a nonprofit organization that helps advocate for neglected children in Orange County. They do incredible work to ensure children’s safety and their best interests. This shoot is a little different from everything we’ve talked about so far as it was shot in a studio in controlled conditions!
To capture the high-quality and professional portrait look they wanted for their website, we made use of our equipment… a tripod, to ensure camera stability and consistency within the frame for each person. We also set up several studio lights and corrected the white balance to make sure our exposure was on point. For this job in particular it was necessary to use studio lighting because it gave a more consistent and professional look. It also helped as we needed to take photos of each person on staff over a course of a few days and times, meaning changes in natural light! The studio lighting helped control these changes.
At Rogue Creative Development, each photo we capture is created to tell a story and every person (or brand) has a different story to tell. Be sure to consider who your audience is first and then find the right tools, people, and even props to help create your visual story. It’s all in the details!