Before You Step in Front of the Camera: Crafting Your Message and Brand Voice

Before you start planning outfits, scouting locations, or thinking about what side you like better in photos, pause for a second.

The real work of a powerful brand shoot starts long before the camera ever comes out.

It starts with your message -the words, tone, and emotion that make people connect with you and what you do.

Your Photos Are a Translation of Your Voice

Every image tells a story. The question is: is it telling yours?

When you haven’t clarified your brand voice, it’s easy to end up with pretty photos that don’t speak. They look nice on a feed, but they don’t connect or convert — because they’re not saying anything true about your business.

Your voice is the heartbeat of your brand. It’s how you sound when you write an email, how you talk to a client, and the kind of energy you bring to your work. Before you book your session, think about:

What do I want people to feel when they see me or my work?
What do I want to be known for?
What values show up in my day-to-day business?

When I do work for Hearth and Craft Candle Co. her big word is cozy. We weave cozy, home, grounded, and organic into each shoot. Her images all place nice together in their tones and look.

When you can answer those questions, your photos naturally fall into alignment. The colors, the setting, the light - all of it starts to say what you’ve already defined in words.

Start with Words Before Images

Here’s a simple way to start:

Write your three brand adjectives. (Think: approachable, refined, bold, grounded, warm, creative.)
Describe your ideal client in one sentence. Who are they and what do they care about?
Write the message you’d tell them if you only had ten seconds.

This doesn’t have to be perfect — it just has to be honest. Those words will guide every creative decision that follows, from what you wear to how you pose.

When I’m working with clients, I like to talk about their brand objectives - that big-picture vision of how they want to be perceived. It’s a grounding question that goes deeper than just visuals:

When someone looks at your images, reads your words, or visits your business — what do you want them to feel or know?

That answer becomes the creative direction for everything that follows.

Create Messaging with a Timeline in Mind

Once you’ve defined your voice and brand objectives, start shaping your content around time. Think about the next three months - what’s happening in your world and your clients’ worlds?

Ask yourself:

Are there seasonal themes that fit your business? (Holidays, back-to-school, or other times of year that matter to your clients?)
Any industry-specific timelines you should align with - like tax season for accountants, a travel season for your club volleyball team, wedding season for planners, or back-to-school for photographers and teachers?
Any big announcements coming up - hitting a milestone, a move, or a new product or service launch, or a player who is about to reach 100 wins in wrestling?
Are there specific services or offers you want to highlight during this season?

When we know your message, we can create content specific to it. You won’t be throwing up posts at random or wondering what to write. Better yet — you’ll have the exact images you need to talk about what’s most important to your brand.

Many of these images can become part of your evergreen content library, giving you a growing catalog of visuals that fully speak your brand’s language. You’ll have a consistent, go-to collection of photos ready to use anytime — across your website, emails, and social platforms — all aligned with your brand message.

If you’re not sure where to start with your messaging, keep it simple — plan just one quarter at a time. Pull out your calendar and sketch out how often you want to post and what your audience will find most helpful or inspiring.

You don’t need a complicated plan — just a rhythm. The more intentional you are with your message, the more your visuals (and your audience) will follow your lead.

Topeka, KS branding photography Still and Wild

Five Types of Posts Every Brand Should Be Sharing

If you’re planning your next quarter of content and aren’t sure where to begin, here are five types of posts that create connection, context, and consistency:

Your People
Show your team, staff, or providers. Share a bit about who they are, what they do, and why they love it. People connect with people - not logos. I always think it is funny the kinds of posts people relate to. They love seeing the behind the scenes, the bloopers, and the realness of your brand. Perfection really is overrated.. instead lean into authentic.
Your Proximity
Give people context for your business. Where are you located? What part of town? Is your building historic or tucked away in a creative district? Even if you’re fully remote, share location-based posts that help people imagine where you work from and what inspires you. Are you traveling to a show or pop up?
Inspiration
Who doesn’t love fresh ideas? Share what’s inspiring you right now. If you’re a designer, maybe it’s your top 10 fall mantel ideas. If you’re a photographer, maybe it’s your favorite local backdrops or light-filled corners of town. Inspiration helps people see your expertise and taste in action.
How-To’s and Why-To’s
Educational content is gold — everyone loves to learn something. Teach your audience a quick “how to” they can use, but don’t skip the “why to.” For example: why to get brand photos before a product launch, or why to keep color samples handy when decorating your master bath. The “why” connects emotionally and builds authority.
Your Products or Services
Don’t assume people already know what you offer. Share posts that clearly show what you sell, how people can get it, and how it helps them. You’re not being repetitive - you’re being clear. Often times businesses ironically hate to post about what they are selling. Sure if that is all you did it would be a turn off, but you have posted all of this amazing content about who you are, inspiration, how tos, about the people you work with (hopefully some fun behind the scenes content)… they want to work with you or purchase from you.. LET THEM KNOW HOW.

These five types of posts keep your content balanced and your audience engaged, while naturally reinforcing your brand message. It also can help clearly identify who your target audience is and help you attract the kind of client you really want. As you are thinking about these five keys posts keep that target audience in the forefront of your mind. For example, if you want to create that post about the ten fall mantel ideas are you posting about inexpensive DIY ideas anyone can do or are you posted elevated designs that someone would hire you do to? Both are ok, but will attract different audience.

The Best Photos Come from Clarity

When your message and your visuals work together, something clicks. You look more confident, your expressions feel natural, and people can sense the real you through the frame.

That’s the magic of brand photography — it’s not about creating a version of you that looks perfect. It’s about creating imagery that looks true.

The Payoff

When your brand message and visuals align, everything starts working a little easier:

Your website feels cohesive.
Your posts start sounding like your visuals.
People remember you — not because of one great photo, but because your story feels consistent everywhere they see you.

Ready to Find Your Voice (and Capture It)?

If you’re building your brand or rethinking your visuals, I help small businesses and creatives bring their message to life through storytelling images.

Before we plan your session, we’ll talk about your voice, your values, and what your brand is really saying — so every photo feels aligned with your message.

Let’s start crafting your story.