Twelve Places Your Brand Photographs Should Be Working

The most expensive photograph is the one that was never used. A session pays for itself not on the day but over the two years afterwards, every time an image does a job you would otherwise have to do with words. These are the twelve jobs, with a note on what each one needs from the shoot.

1. The website hero

The first thing a visitor sees, usually full width, often with text over it. It needs space: a frame with room to one side for a headline, shot wide enough to crop for mobile and desktop. One of the three looks should be planned for this and nothing else.

2. The about page

A different mood from the hero. If the hero is authority, the about page is approachable: closer, warmer, the look you would wear to meet a client you like.

3. LinkedIn, twice

The profile picture is a tight, clean crop with a plain background; the banner is a wide frame, often from the same setting as the website hero, so the two platforms look like the same person. Plan both crops in the session rather than hoping one frame does both.

4. Instagram and the other profiles

A square or vertical crop with the same palette as everything above. The look in motion often works best here; it carries energy at small sizes.

5. The speaker page

Conference organizers ask for a high-resolution image, usually portrait orientation, usually against a simple background, and they ask for it with two days' notice. Have one ready and named clearly.

6. The press kit

Two or three images, horizontal and vertical, with your name and a credit line in the filename, in a folder you can send in one link. Editors use what they are given; if you give them nothing, they use a screenshot.

7. The book jacket and the author page

If a book is anywhere in your future, shoot for it now. Publishers want a clean portrait with headroom and a neutral tone that will not fight the cover design.

8. The pitch deck and the one-pager

A founder's photograph on the team slide is the one most investors look at longest. A small, confident image against a background that matches the deck is worth more there than anywhere else.

9. The email signature and the newsletter

Small, round-cropped, shot close with good light on the face. This image is seen more often than any other, by the people who already know you.

10. The podcast guest page and the webinar lobby

Hosts need a horizontal image for the episode artwork and a vertical one for social clips. Have both, in the same look, so the audience recognizes you across shows.

11. The office and the studio

Printed, framed, hung where clients wait. A photograph on a wall says something about standards that nothing on a screen can.

12. The quiet uses

The badge at the event, the directory listing, the award nomination, the alumni magazine, the panel announcement. Each one is small; together they are how most people encounter you for the first time.

Planning the shoot around the list

Count the jobs you actually have. Three or four means The Frame, 90 minutes and 8 professionally edited images planned across the hero, the about page, the profiles and the speaker page. Eight or more, or any job that needs video, means the Hot Seat Experience. A single, specific job, such as the book jacket or the deck, is often a Custom Experience: one hour of photography with 7 professionally edited images, from $750, with a second hour at $500 if the list grows.

Whichever it is, bring the list to the vision call. A session planned against the places the images will live produces frames that get used; a session planned around looking good produces frames that get admired once and filed.