Image by Monisa J. Photography

Branding as a wedding photographer is one of the most important steps in building your business. It helps set you apart from the competition, helps your future clients understand you and your work, and builds your credibility in the field. 

When most people think of branding, they often think of logos and color palettes. But your wedding photographer brand is so much more than that. While those are essential, your brand also includes your photography style, the voice you use in your communications, and personality. Because creating your wedding photographer branding is so important, we know that it can be an overwhelming process, to say the least. That’s why we’re here to help you create a business that will help you stand out and land clients.

Tips for Creating Your Wedding Photographer Branding

Create A Brand Mood Board Before You Begin

As a wedding photographer, you’re likely familiar with mood boards. In fact, you probably tell most of your clients to browse Pinterest before their engagement session. Pinterest can be your best friend during the branding process as well. Browse through the site and save anything that catches your eye. This could be various logos, color palettes, branding of products, or anything you think you’d like your business to emulate. 

As you scroll through the images you have saved, you’ll likely notice a pattern in the colors, fonts, staging, etc. This will give you a better understanding of the visual side of your brand.

Image by Sadajiwa Immagine

Competition Can Serve As Inspiration

Hear us out–when we say to use your competition to your advantage, we don’t mean rip off their work. We definitely don’t mean you should constantly compare your business to another brand, either. We mean taking notes of aspects of their brand that you notice are missing from your own, things you like, things you dislike, etc. What are they doing right? Where are there opportunities for improvement?

By taking note of this, you’re filling in gaps that are otherwise missing in branding—and maybe even within the industry. Knowing more about what your competition is doing helps you determine the services and experiences you want to offer to your clients.

Focus On Typography, Logo, And Color Palette

As a wedding photographer, you understand the importance of visual appeal. While clients may not have the same eye that you have, aspects like your typography, logo, and color palette can make or break your branding.

If your photographs tend to be light and airy, it may be odd to come across a very dark and moody website. On the other hand, if you specialize in destination weddings that take you to adventurous new locations, a muted Earthy color palette makes sense. It’s also wise to consider the psychological effects that color has on the human brain. For example, red is often associated with romance and passion, while orange is high-energy and playful.

Your logo–and all other typography used on your website and advertising–will be a key piece of your branding as well. When clients see your logo on social media, in emails, and even on Pinterest, it becomes ingrained in their minds, helping you establish brand identity and loyalty. If you’ve got the means, hiring a graphic designer to personalize your logo helps ensure that it’s truly one-of-a-kind. However, if you don’t want to spend the money or don’t have the Photoshop skills to create your own, there are plenty of easy-to-use, low-cost options–such as Canva.

Image by Bruno Garcez Fotografia

Define Your Personality

The essence of any wedding photography brand is to showcase who you are and what makes your business unique. This helps your clients feel emotionally connected to you and helps them understand what you’re like before even sending the first email.

Are you a hopeless romantic who is all about sharing love-filled moments? Or are you always cracking sarcastic, witty jokes any chance you can get? Maybe you’re a little bit of both. No matter what personality type you have, convey it anywhere and everywhere that you communicate with clients.

Your couples are choosing you for your photos, but they’re also choosing you because of who you are as a person. Your job is to help them feel comfortable and confident on their wedding day and the days leading up to it.

Image by Tess Schilke Photography

Consider Hiring A Professional

Part of owning your own business is putting money into it. You’ve spent the money on the gear, the editing software, the educational courses–so why not spend the money on your branding? If web design is not your strong suit, that’s okay! There are hundreds of professionals out there who can make your dream brand come to life.

Keep It Simple

There are many different directions available for business branding, and it may be easy to get caught up in hundreds of fonts or colors or writing social media captions with jargon that most people can’t understand. A viewer should be able to land on your website or social media platforms and know what you do, why you’re different, and what they can expect from you within ten seconds.

If it takes them multiple clicks or minutes of endless scrolling, they’ll likely become uninterested and keep searching elsewhere. If you feel this is the case for your existing site, consider a website revamp.

Image by Vlasta Weddings

Make Sure Your Content Is Consistent

Much like every other aspect of your business, consistency is crucial. If you don’t put thought into your branding that you can use consistently, your audience will likely end up confused. This goes for your color palette, logo, and even your editing style. 

Think about famous photographers–Ansel Adams, Slim Aarons, etc. They spent decades creating a very specific and cohesive visual identity that can be spotted almost immediately. You want people to take one look at your work and recognize that it’s yours.

Use Social Media To Your Advantage

Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest are a wedding photographer’s best friends when it comes to marketing. It costs nothing to post your work, engage with other photographers, and meet potential new clients. They’re also the best platforms to share personality and behind-the-scenes moments.

Staying consistent on these platforms is just as important as staying cohesive on your site–especially on Pinterest, where you’ll be sharing both a mixture of your original work as well as others’ work. Take advantage of the free marketing to show off your portfolio as well as content that you’re interested in capturing.

We highly recommend using every platform’s feature to the best of your ability. This includes Instagram’s reels and stories, TikTok videos, and Pinterest’s story pins.

Image by Hennygraphy

Take Advantage Of Styled Shoots

When shooting weddings, you have no control over the decor, the location, or the fashion. That’s why styled shoots are so beneficial to your branding as a wedding photographer. They give you the freedom to create more of the content that you want to shoot.

This helps you build up your portfolio and gives you a chance to network with a team of vendors that can be used for referrals down the road. Most couples tend to hire a photographer who has experience capturing the style of wedding they are hosting, so demonstrate your skills, create relationships with other creatives in the field, and land some new leads while you’re at it.

Now that you’ve become a wedding photographer branding pro, don’t miss out on these must-haves for building your website

Image by The Vincent Alexandrias