At Soley Creative, we are lucky enough to work with a variety of wonderful businesses across several different specialisms including fashion, lifestyle, hospitality, jewellery, beauty and many more! From working closely with these brands we have noticed a few questions that have been asked on repeat, so we thought we would share some answers in the hope it might answer some of your questions!

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1. How should I shoot my brand images?

Shooting brand images is a creative and exciting process which should result in being able to share the feel of the brand instantly with your customers, after all they say a picture speaks a thousand words! For this reason, it's important to approach a shoot day strategically to ensure that the images accurately represent your brand and appeal to your target audience, all whilst giving you assets that are usable for the foreseeable future because shoots can be an investment! Here are some tips to consider when shooting your brand images to get you started:

1. Define your brand's visual identity: Before you start shooting, it's important to define your brand's visual identity, including your brand's colour scheme, typography, and overall aesthetic. This will ensure that your images are consistent with your brand's overall look and feel. It’s helpful to share these with photographers, models, agencies and anyone else helping with the shoot.

2. Determine your target audience: Knowing your target audience is crucial to ensure that your images resonate with them. Consider their age, gender, interests, and values, and ensure that your images appeal to their preferences. Basically, you should have done your brand strategy before even thinking about a shoot!

3. Plan your shoot: Plan your shoot in advance, considering factors such as location, lighting, props, poses, outfits and models. Make sure everything is in line with your brand's visual identity and target audience.

4. Consider your image composition: Pay attention to image composition, such as framing, angles, and focus. Consider using a mix of close-up and wide shots, and experiment with different angles to create interest and visual variety. It is also important to shoot landscape shots to ensure you’re covering assets suitable for for all outcomes such as website banners, print collateral and social ads. Shooting in just portrait could cause cropping problems later down the line.

   Pro tip: Shoot a ‘plate’ of the set before putting any props or models into the frame as these can be used for image extension, creating gifs and as a on-theme background.

3. How can I use my design retainer best?

A design retainer is an agreement between us and a business that allows for a set amount of design work to be completed over a period of time. The design retainer can be customised to meet the specific needs of your business, and it can cover a wide range of design services, such as email design, social media design, design to support events or PR and lots of ad-hoc tasks like light retouching.

We like to set up a workspace between us and the client that empowers your team and ours to manage any type of project, workflow and track tasks. This helps to keep everything in the same place, to make communication easier.

4. Why do I need branding icons?

Visual identity often include icon design. These are a helpful component of any brand's visual identity as they prompt the viewer’s understanding of service, feature, benefits and values by being easily recognisable symbols or graphics. This helps create a visual connection between your brand and your target audience.

Icons are great to use across various marketing channels, such as social media, email, and website, helping to improve brand awareness, and also allowing you to communicate your brand’s message more efficiently than a lengthy description of explanation. Bespoke icons are designed specifically for you with your brand strategy in mind, making them unique to you and helping to create a visually strong brand.

We really hope those few q&a’s were helpful and maybe answered a few of your own questions, however if you have something else on your mind, please don’t hesitate in getting in touch! We’d love to hear from you and grab a virtual coffee ☕️