So as a company you are presenting your product and images, and giving your customer a visual cue as to what you and your product are all about, and what do you want those cues to say? And we're gonna be coming back to this a lot throughout the next few days and lessons. There are two types of images that you need as a small business. The first, and I would say they are equally important. The first is storytelling so that's gonna go out for your marketing, your social media, your headers on your website on your blog, on your Etsy shop, wherever you're selling your product. Those are also, can go on your business cards, so anything that we're presenting to the world to sort of tell them the story about us and our product. The other are factual images. So this is where a lot of people get caught up as well because you have to be able to shoot on white and shooting on white is one of the most difficult things as a novice photographer to do. So we're gonna have a whole segment and lesson c...

overing that but we're gonna start with storytelling because if you can't tell the story of who you are you're gonna get lost out there in the world of creatives. So this is the difference between the two. On the right we have a very factual image, and just like Kenna said I am the marketing director for My Mind's Eye and so I actually also create all art imagery, because I want all of our branding to match and be consistent. So I handle all of that, and it's a lot to do but we have to have both of these images. So this image on the left is actually from Instagram taken with an iPhone, we're talking about iPhones today, and no one would ever know. In fact our designers asked me for that image for the catalog and we had to re-shoot it so it could be bigger, blown up for our booth. And then again we have that image on the right that's just factual. This is what the product is. But which image sells to you? It's generally not the factual image. We have to have that factual image to be like "Okay this is the packaging it comes in "and this is how beautiful it is." And "Yes I want that packaging and I wanna buy that." But we have to have the feel and the story to bring our consumer in. Here's another example of that. The pumpkin banner is adorable, it's an amazing seller. But if we just presented it like that, it's not gonna reach the audience in the same way as how they would use it. So a lot of times our story is showing people, the story actually is "Here's how you use this product in your own life." So your product should either solve someone's problem or give someone a pleasure, give someone pleasure. And an image that sells a product will tell the story of how that product does that. And you address those two things very differently. If you have a product that solves a problem then we need to show people "You're sad, you're angry, "you're upset, you have this problem, "look at how happy you can be when you fix it!" Right? But when you're selling something, and most creatives are, that bring pleasure, it's not a required object, it's something that we need people to really want and to really love, it's a luxury item. Well then we have to show them how that product is gonna bring such joy to their lives. And we have to do that through our images. And a lot of companies just think of branding and their logo as creating their image and it's just not right. I would say images are equally important as your brand and your logo. Okay, so, in this section of the class we're going to be talking about how to tell a story visually. And first I went through and I was looking at how they teach authors or writers how to write a story. What are the five elements of telling a story? So the first is character, the second is setting, the third is plot, the fourth is conflict, and the fifth is resolution. Okay, well, we're not gonna have like a major plot line in one visual image. So we've adjusted this a little bit, so the four elements of showing a story as opposed to telling a story is character, setting, mood, and the viewer. Because as a photographer or as a creator you also have to have a relationship with the person that's viewing your images. You have to know them. And we're gonna talk about that.

Class Materials

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Creating Visuals For Your Brand Assignment

Slide Presentation for Lessons Part 1

Slide Presentation for Lessons Part 2

Prop List

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Candice Stringham

Candice is the Marketing Director for My Minds Eye, an editorial photographer, and one of the founders of the lifestyle and DIY blog Handmade Mood. She has her BFA in photography. She is a former editor at Creating Keepsakes Magazine. She has worked and taught with many brands such as Canon, Tamron, A Beautiful Mess, Atly and the Creative Photography Retreat. Her work can be seen on blogs and in magazines all over the country. She lives in San Antonio, TX with her husband, three sons, and a tiny but grumpy Scottish Terrier, Dickens.

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Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student

This class taught by Candice was amazing. She teaches in such a step-by-step, easy to understand pace. She shares so much of her own tips and tricks she uses to create beautiful images without spending a fortune or having all kinds of expensive equipment. Having the DSLR lessons included was really great for anyone who wants to do more than the camera phones are capable of. Learning the basics of how to use a DSLR is confusing for most people, but Candice broke it down in the simplest way possible. Social media is all about imagery, so if you want to put out the most beautiful eye-catching photos, then you want to learn how to use more than the camera phone. I don't have a business where I need to take photos of things I sell and I still enjoyed her class so much. As a photographer, I am going to use her ideas and insight when I photograph things for fun. There is so much to gain from this class. I would highly recommend taking her class. She is a wealth of great ideas and information and has that friendly personality of someone you'd want to sit and have coffee with.

yomichaela

A wonderful class to get you going with craft/product photography. Candice provides (and shows) fantastic examples and it's really fun to watch her work through a shoot, moving items, etc. to create the final image. She also covers some basic photography tips which is very helpful. Great class! I definitely recommend to others!

Melinda Malamoco

I loved this class! Candice is so personable, clear and relatable. I would want to hang out with her and be creative! I have been taking pictures for YEARS, and for my Etsy store for over two years, and I still learned a lot in her class. The lessons are set up in a way that you can follow, take what you want and don't worry about what you don't need. I will say that I got a TON of ideas for how to better display my brand, what my personal style is and how to be consistent with it. I so recommend this class for anyone who has small business or just wants to be able to take better pictures of their products. Okay, off to build a prop kit!

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What Your Visuals Say About Your Brand

What Your Visuals Say About Your Brand

Lesson Info

2. What Your Visuals Say About Your Brand

Lessons

Introduction to Craft Photography Fundamentals