4 Reasons Your Company Should Invest In Custom Branding Photography vs Stock Photography: From A Dallas Corporate Photographer
Which should you use for your company: custom branding photography or stock photography? As a Dallas corporate photographer, I always recommend to companies that want to stand out from their competitors and establish their reputation to consider investing in custom branding photography.
Custom branding photography authentically tells your company’s story, and these images feel magnetic, whereas relying solely on stock images can feel generic and not resonate with your audience.
Keep reading to discover my top reasons why your company should consider investing in custom branding photography vs relying on stock images. Plus, take a behind-the-scenes look at a recent corporate branding photography session I photographed to give you a better idea of what your own session could look like.
Custom Corporate Branding Photography Session With NDP
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at a recent corporate branding photography session I had:
NDP is a Dallas-based company that “guides and empowers dentists who are exploring potential ownership as well as established dentists looking to enlist a partner or sell their practice.” They are much more than a dental broker, and they work with dentists throughout the US to ensure they are equipped with the insights and tools needed to successfully navigate the buying or selling journey. To learn more about what NDP does, go here!
NDP happens to be a repeat client of mine, and I always love any chance I get to work with them. For their personal custom corporate branding session, they reached out to me and told me they wanted natural, casual, but professional images. They have a beautiful office space, which I wanted to make sure was thoughtfully featured in their session without taking too much attention away from their team.
With any custom corporate branding session I photograph my goal is always to create images for your company that look natural and relaxed, not overly posed or look like stiff, generic stock images.
Remember, your corporate branding session is also designed to be unique to you and your company. I never show up to your session trying to copy what another company is already doing because that won’t connect with your audience.
For NDP’s session, we photographed formal full-body images, but we also mixed in more casual images by having the team sit and converse with each other on their couch and in their conference room.
The images were photographed with the intent to be warm and welcoming, but also professional. I also helped the team with choosing what to wear so that they could all wear their company’s branding colors and have their outfits pair well with their office space backdrop, without all of them looking the exact same.
Overall, these branding images helped put a friendly face to the company and helped to create a consistent and professional image of their business.
4 Reasons Your Company Should Invest In Custom Branding Photography vs Stock Photography
If you’re on the fence about investing in working with a corporate photographer for a custom corporate branding session and think that maybe stock photography is better, I wanted to share more about why working with a professional photographer is worth the investment:
Stock photography doesn’t tell your unique brand story
Stock photos and AI-generated images are everywhere, and that means that everyone is using them. If you want to show what sets your company apart, imagery is a powerful way to build trust and credibility in your company and showcase what makes you different. Stock photography does not truly reflect your brand or help make your company more recognizable.
Stock photos come with limitations
Stock photos can be easy to find and inexpensive, but one of the biggest limitations with these types of photos is that if you use them, you might find them on your competitor’s website because they are so accessible.
You also have no type of ownership over these photos. While the argument for stock photos can be made because they are quick to find and less expensive than a custom photoshoot, these images are not original to you and your company and they lack authenticity.
If your company has a specific physical product that you sell stock photos won’t suffice
Stock photos won’t be able to authentically represent and reflect any physical product that your company sells. Even if you don’t have physical products that you sell, your clients are looking for a company they can relate to and put a name and a face to, and this starts with your visuals.
Your company’s images are a visual representation of everything great about your company and how you can make people pay attention to you and want to invest in your products/services.
Stock photos don’t speak for you or your company
Stock photos can be neat, clean, and aesthetically pleasing, but remember, they were created with the intent to be used for multiple purposes and businesses. If your company has a blog and needs images for it, or you need a filler image for a website page, then I’m all for stock photography.
However, for any of your marketing materials and the majority of your website, I encourage you to use images that reflect your company’s brand. Stock photos don’t capture you and your team in action, the way you interact with each other, how you communicate, or show off what makes you and your team unique.
Ready To Book Your Corporate Branding Session In Dallas?
I hope you found this breakdown between custom corporate branding photography vs stock photographs helpful, as well as why you should consider investing in a corporate branding session helpful. Your corporate branding images are meant to do so much more than something “nice to look at” on your website – these are the images that create a positive image of your brand and establish your unique value position.
Looking for a Dallas branding photographer for your corporate branding session? I’d love to chat with you and get the ball rolling! Your corporate branding session doesn’t have to be boring. Or painful. I bring everything together with inclusive brand photography you can count on to highlight your company’s unique identity and values.
You can reach out to me here, and I look forward to what we can create together!
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