Why visual artists need brand storytelling photos
When it comes to creating content and/or images to post on social media, visual artists have a leg up to other small biz owners.
See images from recent sessions, learn a few photo tips & tricks, plus small business & branding basics.
If you sell on Etsy, chances are you’ve got amazing shots of your product, craft and/or art. Let me guess, you’re a DIYer and, over the years, you’ve also honed your photography skills using your iPhone for product shots.
Cause we all know we need gorgeous images to sell!
But how many images do you have of yourself actually DOING your craft, your art, your thing? How well do your customers actually know the YOU behind your products?
Lifestyle and brand photos are a great way to elevate your Etsy game.
Brand photos are more than just headshots. They’re photos that tell a story about a business; they allow people to get to know the maker behind the making.
They can include product shots, lifestyle imagery, portraits of team members, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and other visuals that align with the brand’s image and objectives.
In short, brand photos visually communicate the essence of a brand.
We all know that product shots are important for Etsy sellers. If we didn’t have images of our products, we simply wouldn’t get any sales! But Etsy sellers shouldn’t stop there. It’s important for customers to see more.
Lifestyle and brand photos are crucial for Etsy sellers for several reasons:
You can use your Brand Storytelling photos in various ways, including your:
This super fun brand session was with Jessica and Briane, sisters and business owners of Double Dutch Crochet.
Double Dutch sells amigurami crochet patterns, which includes all the instructions needed for customers to crochet your own stuffed animal. They aim to make it easy and accessible for people of all walks of life, so that they can create their own masterpieces. Anyone can use their patterns, with a little basic knowledge of crochet.
Be sure to watch their tutorials on Youtube to learn, yourself!
Double Dutch Crochet’s vibe is fun, supportive and creative….so we wanted to capture that in their photoshoot.
Their style is clean, minimalistic and somewhat refined, with pops of colour and fun.
They want people to feel happy, inspired and confident when they look at their images. What do you think? Did we capture their brand with these photos?
Kate Daniel is a top brand & lifestyle photographer in Calgary, AB. Serving ambitious and creative, women entrepreneurs in YYC, Central Alberta and beyond.
Together, we’ll create authentic & scroll-stopping website and social media photos so you can save time, grow your business & get back to living the life you love!
Let’s connect! Sign up for the NEWSLETTER or book a FREE Clarity Call to chat about your photo needs.
Heard of 17hats? I use it to organize and automate my business. It’s a small business game changer! I’d be lost without it.
Their feature-packed platform saves me time & energy so I can focus on what I do best – photography – not paperwork.
Save 50% off of your first year by using my referral code: KateDaniel. Or sign up for a 7-day FREE TRIAL – simply click HERE.
I’d be happy to share my 17hats experience with you as well! – Kate, 17hats Ambassador
read more
Professional headshots in Calgary. Is that what you’re after?
What comes to mind when you think of a “professional” headshot, anyway?
I don’t know why, but I always imagine someone in a power suit, perfectly posed and serious looking…with a cheesy grin. (For the record, I’m not the biggest fan of that kind of professional headshot.)
So when Nicole said to me, “Thank you for making me look professional,” it kind of stopped me in my tracks.
Professional? Really?
But the more I thought of it, the more I realized that my mind’s depiction of a professional headshot is so 1980’s! It’s time to erase it and replace with something more 2024-ish. Something more authentic.
My ultimate goal when I capture your headshot is to show the real you.
Yes, I shoot and edit in a way to produce a clean, polished look. But I never want the actual creation or composition of the photo to overpower the most important aspect – you!
For Nicole’s headshots, we used a couple basic colours for backdrops – black & white – and kept things simple and clean. What do you think? Does she look professional? Most definitely! (in my humble opinion) And she also looks approachable, friendly and like the real her!
Heard of 17hats? I use it to organize and automate my business. It’s a small business game changer! I’d be lost without it.
Their feature-packed platform saves me time & energy so I can focus on what I do best – photography – not paperwork.
Save 50% off of your first year by using my referral code: KateDaniel. Or sign up for a 7-day FREE TRIAL – simply click HERE.
I’d be happy to share my 17hats experience with you as well! – Kate, 17hats Ambassador
Kate Daniel is a top brand & lifestyle photographer in Calgary, AB. Serving ambitious and creative, women entrepreneurs in YYC, Central Alberta and beyond.
Together, we’ll create authentic & scroll-stopping website and social media photos so you can save time, grow your business & get back to living the life you love!
Let’s connect! Sign up for the NEWSLETTER or book a FREE Clarity Call to chat about your photo needs.
read more
Is there a siblings day? Let’s pretend it’s today. Cause these siblings are just too cute.
I’ve actually had the pleasure of photographing these gorgeous humans for a few years now. It’s been so fun to see how they’ve changed from year to year.
So here’s the fun thing about all those years I spent creating Preschool & Modern School photos…
It’s allowed me to develop skills (such as drawing out natural & real expressions) that come in handy when I’m shooting brand photos for kids.
Cause it definitely doesn’t come naturally, folks! I mean the “natural” smiles…
It’s actually a lot of work to bust through the fake “say cheese” grins that we’ve conditioned kids to create. No fault of theirs, of course!
Yep, brand photos aren’t just for adults.
There are so many amazing & creative entrepreneurs out there that create products and services for children. Are you one of them?
Head to by Brand Storytelling page to learn more about my offerings. Let’s connect about your business & brand photo needs.
Does it feel like you simply blinked yet years have gone by?!
It’s true, our kids are growing up before our eyes. Freeze this moment in time with simple studio session. Click HERE to join the waitlist.
Black & White or Colour? I can never decide.
Actually, I tend to lean towards colour, myself, but there’s something so classic about a B&W image.
That’s why I always like to include complimentary black & white images with all of my studio sessions. Then you don’t have to decide.
Kate Daniel is Calgary’s go-to Brand Photographer for creative & ambitious women entrepreneurs. Serving Central Alberta & beyond!
Together, we’ll create authentic & scroll-stopping brand photos so you can save time, grow your business & get back to living the life you love!
Wanna chat about which session is right for you? Book a free clarity call (over Zoom).
Or simply contact me online or sign up for the newsletter to stay connected.
Heard of 17hats? I use it to organize and automate my business.
It’s a small business game changer – I’d be lost without it!
Their feature-packed platform saves me time and money, and lets me focus on what I do best – photography – not paperwork.
Use my 17hats referral code: KateDaniel when you sign up for a 7-day free trial to receive 50% off your first year of 17hats. Or simply click HERE.
I’d be happy to share my 17hats experience with you as well! – Kate
read more
It’s true, photography can make or break a website. I’m so thrilled to have Suzy Rounce of Switchback Creative guest posting on this topic!
Suzy and her husband, Trevor Rounce, are the power houses behind Switchback Creative, a small digital agency that offers creative branding, website design & development, logo & graphic design and advertising for brands. Head to their site to check out some of their latest work!
One of their fabulous website creations was for Christina Vaillancourt. I had a great time helping Christina create some images for her new site; from headshots to brand storytelling pics. See some of them below while Suzy talks about the five things to focus on with respect to website photography. – Kate
Photography can make or break a website. Take your website from something you have seen before, to a truly customized representation of your brand that tells your company story. Based on our experience with building custom websites for 100’s of brands, for more than a decade – here are five things to focus on that will make your website standout through photography.
Knowing how easy it is for businesses to gloss over great photography (or default to stock photos) when they build a website, we wanted to remind business owners why they should take it seriously, take it to another level. The difference between good and great websites has a lot to do with what your photos say about your brand.
A photo is worth a 1,000 words. Tone and vibe are hard to explain in words, but showing that in a photo is much easier. It could be serious, dark, light, colourful, curated, spontaneous, or luxurious. All of these show personality in an unexplainable way. Do you have a space that can bring that out? It could be a store, friend’s house, backyard or street that suites your brand narrative. Think about two things you could photograph that represent your vibe.
The spaces we spend time in, and the environment where we do our work, says a lot about us. Sharing a piece of that and going out of your way to create that peek-behind-the-curtain is helpful for potential customers to see on your website. It can be your office, your home, your favourite location or objects and vignettes that share a taste of your company. A couple things to note: in order to ensure you look prepared and professional you will need to put your best foot forward. It should be staged but still an authentic version of your space. You might need to pare down clutter and mess and up the ante on the visual aspects. Make sure it’s recognizable when people visit your office or shop, they shouldn’t feel confused about where they are in comparison to your website. Remember under promise, over deliver!
Putting your face, as well as your name and team behind your business is really important. Especially in this time where everyone has an opinion on social platforms, but rarely is it your face and reputation standing in-front of that brand. Team members will always come and go – believing in your culture and people to trust them on your website is a signal to customers how much you care. If you can go the extra step and show more of your personality to your audience, that is even better. Don’t just do a group shot standing in front of your building in your in a suit – show who you are and what you stand for.
People want to see how to use your product or how you work when offering your service. Action shots, of your team, of your product in use, helping customers and doing what you do best. See if you can capture a moment that matters in your business. Event, demonstration or idea of how you work. It makes your website less generic and instantly custom to only you! Not AI generated, fake or stock photo people in make believe offices.
A professional photographer – expert in their field, that specializes in brand photography is a great way to use their artistic eye to bring out the best in you and your team. They will have a process, suggestions and ideas that will make your photos better. Their experience will have taught them things that work and don’t, combining that with your ideas and vision will make the secret sauce that will stand out to everyone that views your site. A website isn’t a place for Instagram candid type photos. You are trying to put your best foot forward so find a photographer that suites you and dive into their process and ideas.
When you combine these 5 aspects together you will have a website that feels authentic to your brand, unique and very informative to your website visitors. All of that means they are 5 steps closer to buying from you and understanding what you are all about.
Written by Suzy Rounce. Suzy is a visual communicator and the co-founder of Switchback Creative who runs it with her husband Trevor, a full-stack web developer. Suzy has been in the industry for more than 20 years and considers storytelling the foundation of what all companies should build their marketing experiences on. Over the past 9 years Switchback Creative has worked with more than 275 businesses helping them connect to people’s hearts and minds through digital experiences. They have been recipients of the Airdrie Business of the Year Award and finalists in other award categories over the years. Suzy, along with the Switchback team craft design experiences that create not just customers – but raving fans!
Brand Storytelling photo sessions – Capturing the visual story of your heart-centred business.
Kate Daniel is a Calgary, Alberta Brand Photographer serving creative & ambitious entrepreneurs.
Contact Kate to book a session or sign up for the newsletter for special offers & seasonal discounts.
read more