This August I met up with Katie, from KNH Designs, at her flower farm in Boyertown, PA to photograph her annual branding session. Her field nearly doubled in size since our last brand shoot so we had to update her website and social media visuals.
Something we focus on hardcore for Katie’s brand sessions are action shots. While posed headshots are essential for any small business, we don’t go beyond the necessities for this project. Our core goal for Katie is showing the process and what goes on behind the scenes as a florist. Cutting her florals in her own farm is just what makes KNH stand out. Majority of her time is spent barefoot in her backyard harvesting, planting, and arranging flowers. It’s the exact idea that her clients cling to; Katie’s business has that natural, organic feel.
It’s always important to show the HOW and WHY, not just the WHAT — but it’s even more so for Katie and her homegrown business.
Checking off our shot list, we eased into Katie’s brand session at one of her best blooming flower patches. For any service-provider’s portraits, I always begin by asking them to simply do their thing. I wanted to capture Katie in candid motion, while still being guided in positioning for best light and composition. As we’re chit-chatting about business, I’m grabbing each essential photo:
- A vertical portrait of our subject in-action that can be cropped for 4:5 and 9:16
- A close-up detail shot of our subject’s hands in-action that can also be cropped for 4:5 and 9:16
- A horizontal photo focusing on the space (ex. the flower patch) with our subject in the background that can be cropped long ways for website headers
- A horizonal shot that’s focus is our subject (variety in composition: centered and off-centered) captured wide for website headers and social media banners
Katie’s next essential on our shot list was field and floral images. She was looking for some wide shots featuring her full flower beds and growing field along with a few individual flower photos.
I can’t stress enough how important location, storefront, or workspace photos are for your clients. Displaying your space and showcasing it’s atmosphere builds so much trust between you and your clientele. Katie created such a warm and welcoming environment at her farm. Having these images to share on her website and social media tells her full story. While her floral arrangements alone attract customers, images like these give her followers something to connect to.
Here’s what our shot list looked like:
- Wide images of the flower farm as a whole
- Photos of individual flower types for website listings and seasonal social media posts
The last must-have on Katie’s shot list were a few unconventional brand portraits. She’s not super big on those posed headshots; it just never felt true to her brand. It’s still so integral to any business to show the face behind it all. Katie’s defined her ‘why’ in the presence she’s already built and we’ve captured the ‘what’ and ‘how’ she’s doing it. However, we wanted to find a unique way to show off the ‘who’ that’s created it all.
We went some some flower focused headshots where Katie isn’t looking directly at the camera. In my opinion, these photos represent her business the most. They feel candid and calm with a little sense of pride in her expression. We also snapped a few barefoot cheesing portraits next her blooming zinnias. Whiles these images are aware of the camera, they still feel organic with her casual pose.
Don’t be afraid to stray from the uniform headshots, it might just evoke more feeling in your clients.
Let’s do the same for your small business! Fill out my contact form to work together.
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