Photography for a new website

Getting a new website can be a big project, it can be very exciting and also nerve wrecking, often all at the same time. Where do you start? Website first? Logo and colours if you are rebranding or starting out? Where does photography fall into this puzzle?

Brand photography is the biggest part of your branding, because it takes up the most space, it has a chance to capture attention (your amazing copy won’t get read if your audience doesn’t stop to read it), tells the story of your brand without a single word, expresses the mood and the energy in a split second.

I believe it’s good to have a website template first, so that you have the image holders ready: the ratio of photographs needed, the action you want the photographs to inspire, how dark or light you need the photos to be if a menu will be displayed over it for example. Once we know what spaces we need to fill in with photography, we can create a shot list to have options for each image holder. It’s a good idea to have wide shots including environment, portraits, detail shots of products or tools and processes, plus some filler images to calm down the flow of the site where needed. The thing is, you want to do it intentionally rather than getting a bunch of photos and then trying to fit them in somehow.

Branding photography experience (with me) starts with gaining clarity on the brand, which can be very helpful later, when working with a logo designer for example.

Pro tip: branding work needs to flow FROM WITHIN to be authentic and robust. If it’s inspired by pinterest boards or competition, it’s unlikely to pass the test of time or be magnetic to your audience (having said that, mood boards and collection of inspiring images are fantastic at communicating the desired look, as long as you don’t expect to recreate anything already existing).

Warmly,

Karolina

PS. Check out 6 types of photos you need for your website article.