Branding can make or break upstart fashion labels. Your brand represents an attitude or a lifestyle. And that’s what attracts customers.

Working with a talented fashion photographer can elevate your branding. A great Atlanta fashion photographer has the ability to perfectly encapsulate your brand in images and create a look that speaks directly to your target audience.

Compare ads from any of Atlanta's top fashion brands. It’s easy to see how brands represent themselves in photos.

Supreme, the New York-based streetwear label, uses a distinctive style in their ads. Supreme photos are hip and have that signature snapshot look. Compare that to the photography used in Michael Kors ads. The styles couldn’t be further apart. Michael Kors uses a polished look that screams luxury.

So how do Atlanta fashion photographers do it? How do they achieve that distinctive look for the brand?

Great Photos Start with a Well-Defined Concept

Producing photos that epitomize your brand doesn’t happen by accident. Great fashion photographers are artists. They utilize lighting, composition, directing, casting, lens selection and more to create a signature look in their photos.

Yet, it all starts with your concept.

A photographer can have the best equipment, stunning wardrobe and styling, and attractive models. But without a strong concept, your brand’s attitude and style might not be noticed.

What makes for a great concept for your photoshoot? Think about what makes the most sense for your brand and what you’re trying to convey.

Are you an outerwear brand that makes backpacking gear? A backcountry photoshoot that depicts models surrounded by nature would achieve a certain look for your brand. For a high-end couture shop, an avant garde shoot might make more sense.

A strong concept provides an Atlanta fashion photographer with exactly what he needs to bring your vision to life. It provides clear direction. And tells the photographer exactly what your vision is.

On Set Choices: 3 Ways Fashion Photographers Bring Your Concept to Life

Great photographers make creative choices on location that make the photoshoot. Creative choices can help to solidify your concept and help bring it to life. A particular angle or shaping the light in a certain way – that can make all the difference.

So what types of creative choices do photographers make on set that can help define your branding? The best New York fashion photographers have a variety of well-honed skills. Yet there are three that do the most to sell your concept:

Lighting
Lighting is a powerful tool in photography. And the best photographers are masters of using light to achieve certain results.

Lighting can be dramatic – like Rembrandt lighting. It can be soft and natural, or it can add playfulness to an image. In other words, lighting elevates your brand concept. The right lighting choices can help you achieve the desired look. It might be subtle, but without impeccable lighting design your images won’t be as memorable.

Perspective
Unique perspectives make images more eye-catching. And that’s an absolute must for making your advertising campaign memorable. Photographing a model from a low angle adds a sense of strength and will make your model (and clothing) look more powerful.

Of course, you’ll have your planned shot list. But once you’ve achieved those shots, a great fashion photographer will experiment with perspective, looking for novel angles to shoot a model. This on-set experimentation often yields some of the best results.

Style
Atlanta fashion photographers have unique styles. Some have a “low-fi” look, while others are masters at capturing beauty. This style will come through in the images that are produced for your brand.

It’s important to choose a photographer whose style meshes with your brand or concept. Photographers often build decades-long collaborations with brands, and their photographs can even define the brand. Think Bruce Weber for Calvin Klein.

A great fashion photographer will bend his or her aesthetic to fit your brand. But choosing a photographer with a style you love can lead to successful collaborations.

Bottom Line: A Great Photographer Can Make or Break Your Campaigns

Brands have to really capture attention to stand out. Brands have so much to compete with. And that’s why well-conceived and compelling branded images are so important.

Interesting photos on your website and in your ads draw customers in. They tell a story about who you are and what you stand for. And that’s something great fashion photographers get paid to do. Their job isn’t just to take photos; it’s to take photos that tell a compelling story about your brand.