I DON'T LIKE coffee shop brand photos.... I don't use coffee shops. I don't even drink coffee that much!
Branding photography Cornwall
These were the words of a great and regular client of mine. These were NOT the shared views of Sophie Hutchings, as featured above, during her branding photography Cornwall. If this was Sophies opinion then we simply would not have made these images at all.
Coffee shop branding photos, it really depends on how we frame them and also what they physically ‘look like’,(locations/styles/visual approaches?), to whether we (ourselves) like these photographic interpretations or not.
Every coffee shop branding photo holds a different interpretation. It also depends on what connotations they hold for you as a business leader and individual, doesn't it? Also it depends on the actual venues/coffee shops themselves.
There are 'coffee shops' and then there are 'coffee shops' ??
When I say the words 'coffee shop', do you visualise a contemporary surf-side brunch-munch with artisan milk selection and a cool chill out, mocha-chocha, latte, white-walled Mediterranean outdoor cushioned space and wooden interiers and a chalk board? (like Sophies above).
Or,…
Do you imagine a dark slightly shabby stately with sad looking cakes?
Or, a burger chain with disposable cups and mucky tables?
Or... (fill in your own version here. Yours will be totally different again!)
We all have visuals in our heads of what 'things/products/places' mean to us. Some of those visuals will satisfy and elate us and some will repel us. It's depends on our experiences related to those words. It is the same with any location and potential locations that we may consider for a client shoot.
And I might change your views by illustration and visual interpretation. But, equally, I may not.
V, my client, she saw Sophies 'coffee shop' images. She really liked them. Suddenly her mind was racing.. oh I know a really nice place.. it’s just perfect, it even looks like this one………! You see, V, now she had her visualisation challenged. Now she is open to new possibilities. And she LOVES Sophies photos.
In Sophies images, she has seen much MORE than just another 'coffee shop' . The visual that she now holds in her head, concerning 'coffee shops' has changed forever, (until the next challenge ofcourse), prompted by an updated version created by Sophie (my client) and myself, during our branding photography shoot.
V’s visual interpretation:-
It has been challenged!
It has been reassessed.
It's been updated.
It's an EMOTIONAL response.
We buy on emotion.
This is how photos arrest and change our vision. They update our beliefs and challenge our ways of looking and thinking.You might still arrive at the same conclusion, but have allowed yourself to be challenged. Challenge how you feel. Challenge how you perceive. And if these visuals appeal to you as a potential client, they should challenge you to buy (buy in to that business or service).
So back to V. Should she NOW commit to coffee shop locations for her next shoot?
What do you think?
(look away and write your answer down on a bit of paper).
My answer IS still..
NO!
What?, I hear you cry. Why?
You have convinced her to change her perceptions?
The answer in being, is because as much as V. likes Sophies images, and holds a new 'vision' of coffee shops, she simply does NOT use them within her business. Coffee shops are not RELEVANT to her business and so why would we photograph her situated in them? The most important point here is that photos must to be RELEVANT to your business and brand. If not, we just don't make them, because they won’t serve you accurately. And they send mixed messages to your potential clients.
The only exception to the rule here is if V’s potential clients use coffee shops themselves and regularly. If they talk about working from these spaces, then it becomes obvious that these photos are now relevant to include into her image branding portfolio, because she will better attract and connect with potential clients by using them in her own socials.
