Hey guys, I'm just going to talk about branding photography and a recent shoot I did with a small business in Monterey.
As some of you know, I work with a lot of small businesses in the Monterey and Salinas area—from car dealers to real estate. Recently, I had the pleasure of working with Monterey Med Ink on their branding photography.
The owner, Ashley Hernandez, chatted with me about her website, social media, and other promotional materials using "stock photography." You know, the kind—where it looks all the same and forced. Well, I chatted with her about creating her own images that had her working with her clients. Make it authentic, real, and true to the work she does.
Before we move on here, here is some background about Monterey Med Ink, a paramedical tattoo business that helps people who have gone through some tough stuff, like breast cancer or other medical procedures. Ashley, the owner, is a pro at tattooing nipple and areola impressions for folks who've had mastectomies, and she's also a wizard at camouflaging scars to match people's skin tones. The thing is, so many people are touched by breast cancer, and they understand how important it is to help survivors (and those battling) through their journey. That's why Ashley's work is so amazing and meaningful.
Anyway, back to the branding photography shoot. We were able to do a ton of shots in a very short period of time—ones with Ashley working on clients, a few where she was working on a client for scar camouflage, and a few with her consulting. We also took a few shots just of her and her equipment.
At the end of it, Ashley walked away with a whole suite of branding images she loved. I think that in general, you want to have a set of imagery that you can use across all your platforms—your website, social media, ads, print materials, the whole nine yards. And that imagery is going to be so much better if it's custom photography of your business, your team, and your clients in action.
"I'm so grateful for the work with Juan and his attention to detail in bringing my work and brand to life," said Ashley Hernandez. "The result is a website that I'm just so proud to show off—it's made all of marketing look so incredible!"
Now, I get it—a lot of my clients can't always have me on-site to shoot their services. We do in-house, in-studio mock-ups to ensure the imagery looks as close to the real thing as possible. We really want to help our clients look their absolute best.
When you invest in branding photography, you're taking control of your brand and your image. Those digital assets can be used for everything—your website, social media, Google Ads, local print ads, you name it. It's an investment in the long-term health of your business.
So, if you're a small business owner in the Monterey or Salinas area and you're looking to improve your branding and digital presence, reach out. I'd be happy to chat. Let's take your branding to the next level.
I'll have more about branding photography shoots I've been working on for the blog soon. Stay tuned.
Juan