By this point, we had been waiting about 25 minutes in a long line of traffic.
Three girls in the backseat, my daughter and two of her closest friends, all hoping that we would be lucky today.
I told them to imagine how amazing it was going to be when we got there, how much fun we would have swimming and playing in the sand, building sand castles and moats, and splashing in the waves.
What I hoped was that if they imagined how amazing things would be when we arrived, it might take their minds off the possibility we may not get a parking spot and be turned away.
The girls happily talked about what they were going to do when we got there, and all that intentional imagining must have done the trick because…
We got one of the last three spaces in the lot! How lucky was that?
But was it really luck? Or was it intention?
Our intention was to make it to that lot in time to nab that space by doing whatever it took — packing things the night before, waking up earlier, rushing out of the house, . Our challenge was that we needed to meet another family, get lunches, and cash before driving to the beach. And we had to do all of this within 25 minutes.
We encountered split second decisions to change meeting points and split up duties, as well as hustling all three girls and their things into the car. We demonstrated that our intention was strong to get to the beach that day.
When we hit that dead stop traffic, there wasn’t anything we could do but wait. . Except, we COULD shift our mindset about our circumstances and maintain that intention. After all, this was our only chance to see this beautiful New England beach and the only day we’d have for our daughter to enjoy time with her friends.
So that was my intention and my “why” for that day. The joy on my daughter’s face as she ran into the waves with her friends was more than worth it.
I’m curious, what’s your intention for your day?
For your week?
Your life?
How about for your business? How are you showing up?
What is your end goal? What’s your why?
When you know what your TRUE brand really is you can begin to make deliberate decisions about how to best capture that message.
My goal is to help you better understand the role photography plays in growing your brand awareness and to share insights with you on how YOU can use photography in a way that speaks directly to your intended audience.
Photography: Intention and Image.
In today’s world, visual content reigns supreme. Images have the power to bring meaning and emotion to our words — so much so, that without them it would be difficult to convey any meaning at all. What we say and how we say it is just as important as what we show and don’t show within the frame of our images.
This means that when we talk about photography in business, we’re talking about so much more than simply taking pretty pictures. All photographs have an intended message, feeling and tone. And if you don’t know what it is that you’re trying to say with your images, odds are the message won’t be received as intended.
Youmust first spend time on understanding your intended message and brand identity before getting in front of anyone’s camera. This means getting intimate with your values, purpose, and vision. It means looking at your brand and what you want your reputation to be in the eyes of those you most want to reach.
With a clear idea of what you want your photographs to convey, you can begin thinking about how best to implement them. What do they look like? Where do they live on the website? How will they be used?
The answers to these questions are all influenced by what you want your photographs to say about your brand. For example, does it make sense for an architecture firm to have angled, skewed lines of their images? Does it make sense for a children’s toy store to use clean and simple imagery?
Having a solid sense of your brand’s identity, any company can begin to answer these questions. It simply takes time and effort.
This is even more important for companies with specific niches or brands that are known by the audiences they’re trying to reach. For example, using bright, bold “happy sunshine” imagery may not be the best approach for a company that caters to professional services. This is because their potential audience will naturally shy away from “happy sunshine” imagery since it doesn’t represent what they are looking for in an architecture firm or accounting firm, etc.
To put this another way, if you were planning on getting dental work done would you want to look at images that are bright, cheery, and full of sunshine? Chances are probably not. Odds are you would want to see something more serious … almost along the lines of perfection.. This is because the target audience for dental work wants to feel comforted by what they see so they can be relaxed enough for you to do your job.
As a company looking to hire a photographer for this kind of work, you would want to make sure they understand this. Good imagery is both purposeful and deliberate — it’s intentional, not incidental.
Final Thoughts
In the end, it’s important to be INTENTIONAL about the image you present online for your business. Because when it comes down to it, there’s no ignoring how influential an image is to people deciding whether or not they want to do business with you. It speaks directly into your audience’s subconscious and plays a huge role in their ability to trust you — without even knowing you.
Have questions about what a brand photography experience would look and feel like for you and your brand? Why not be super intentional right now and just set up a call to talk with me?
What I promise is that you’ll leave our call knowing what is truly the right next step for you. If now is not the right time for your brand photography session, you can count on me to let you know.
That’s just the kinda gal I am!
