What is a branding session? (and how is it different from a headshot session?)

May 31, 2019

Two of the primary services Omaha Headshot Co. provides are headshot sessions and branding sessions. So what is a branding session?

Different strokes for different folks.

Our branding sessions can be just about anything you want (or need) it to be! In fact, we weren’t sure what to call it…and still aren’t sure if we nailed the title quite right. A branding session can be commercial photography, an influencer photo shoot, corporate events.

The session is geared to be flexible for a variety of client needs. Some of our clients use their branding session for product photography. Some need photos of them in action, working with clients, etc. While other clients have a completely different set of circumstances they need photographed. For example, a company we recently worked with needed headshots for several employees. Because the photos were primarily going to be used internally, the company didn’t need the same high-level-of-detail we typically give our individual headshot sessions. As a result, we were able to offer them a package using our branding session price-point to photograph more employees on a lower budget. Corporate events are another perfect example of a situation that we can use our branding session as a basis for our price-point.

Branding sessions =lots of photos.

You come in for a headshot, you might leave with as few as one photo. When you come in for a branding session, you might walk away with hundreds of photos (depending on what we are shooting and what your goals are).

Effective use of a headshot is to get one fabulous photo and use it everywhere. Your branding session photos are great because you can use a vertical image for Pinterest, a square crop for Instagram and a horzontal image for your Facebook banner image. We can create varieties of compositions from a variety of different scenes.

Your Instagram is hungry for photography.

Our branding sessions are the perfect cure for a neglected social media presence. A lot of our clients who book our branding session do so because they are in need of content to feed their Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn accounts. Are you a creator? Our photos are fantastic to create stunning title images for your YouTube videos. Use a simple and free online software like canva.com to use the photos we create for you to make breathtaking Instagram images with motivational quotes or testimonials.

Ever wonder if influencers walk around with professional photographers following them all the time? Well some might…but most just have great photo sessions like our branding packages.

Freshen up that website with branding photos.

If you have specific needs for website imagery, we are your solution. If you already have a design and need to fit specific spaces with photos, we can shoot to your specifications. Or if you just know you need a lot of new images for a new design, we can help you with that too. Modern websites love big, flashy images and mobile-friendly content. We understand the needs of a web-designer and can fill that roll.

Are branding session files retouched?

Here’s one key difference between our headshot sessions and our branding sessions. Typically when somebody comes to us for a headshot, they want one or two highly edited and retouched photos. On the contrary, most of our branding clients want buckets of photos.

Our branding sessions are designed to deliver dozens (sometimes hundreds) of images, some of which will get a lot of mileage from our clients, some will get tossed in the virtual waste basket. For this reason, our branding packages come with some exposure and color correction, but are not retouched upon initial delivery.

For our clients who would like retouching done after receiving their photos, they can choose images they’d like individually retouched with a charge per-photo.

“I heard from a friend that you can use a branding session for senior photos.”

Indeed! There are very few differences between a branding session for somebody who is a social media influencer from a senior photo session. If you have a senior in high school who is needing senior photos, you can use our “branding session” package for a fantastic experience. Depending on your senior’s photographic desires, we usually recommend adding a little time to the base package.

Here’s an example of a branding session:

The gallery below is just a small portion of the photos recently delivered to Kim Bultsma, who owns and operates Kim Knows SEO, A Cup of Content and Content A La Mode. Among other things, Kim is constantly posting content onto various social media platforms. A lot of the images we delivered allow for space for text to be laid on top of them.