Do you know the difference between a brand shoot and a content shoot? In today’s episode, I’m clarifying which type of shoot is best based on your business goals and how to prepare for each kind. I’m also sharing my dream home visualization with tons of examples of both branding and content ideas. 

On Quianna Marie Weekly, we’re chatting about business growing pains, finding genuine connections, and celebrating wins of all sizes through the lens of a photographer at heart. Sprinkled throughout stories and interviews with past clients, photographers and other business owners this podcast is designed to help you step into your purpose and to truly create a life you’re proud of, a life worth photographing and sharing.

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Review The Show Notes: 

What Is A Brand Shoot? (4:22)

What Is A Content Shoot? (9:44)

Shout Out To Felicia Romero (13:29)

Dream Home Visualization (14:22)

Taylor Swift Branding Vs. Content (18:58)

Mentioned In This Episode:

How To Prep For My Brand Shoot – Quianna Freebie

Flodesk

The Green House

Review the Transcript:

You know those brutally honest mommy bloggers and influencers that post videos of their gorgeous curated homes, and then share the reality, a wild mess that looks like Monica Keller’s secret closet. Maybe it’s just a hidden corner of the living room, or an extra bedroom packed with crap. Things that don’t have a place to belong really just a big hot mess.

We see that and think, Oh, thank god, she’s normal and everything isn’t perfect all the time. Another example like this was the same energy would be when you see a post about a young family taking a holiday photos, and the photographer shares the lovely happy smiles of their beautiful family. Then you swipe to see the meltdowns, gummy bears, and tiny Matchbox cars just share the reality. I love it like this is the perfect example of Instagram.

Real like Instagram versus reality, right? I love this example, the most because it shares a sigh of relief to parents that a photographer is capable of taking timeless photos that mamas will cherish forever. But it also shares insights to other photographers that getting these images take some Bing and not every shoot is rainbows and butterflies and sunshine and smiles, right, there’s something really relatable about being able to see both the pretty and the proof.

Learning that not everything is perfect all the time, and that we can’t believe everything we see online. Today, I’m going to break down the definitions of branding shoots versus content shoots, help clarify when is the best time to book one or the other based on your business goals. And we’ll even dive into how to prep for these different shoots.

I’m forever and always going to promote hiring your favorite local photographer and stepping into your highest self by sharing professional imagery and videos. But I know time permitting, and our limited budgets don’t always align with our hiring a pro. I learned the best by hearing stories, and I’m totally a visual learner. Having a common connection is an easy way to share my thoughts so we can all apply these lessons to our individual business strategies.

I just took a poll on my Instagram stories to share if you prefer sharing an analogy about Taylor Swift and football or sharing insight to defining branding versus content shoots with the home analogy, sharing concepts about our homes, one with a higher vote. But if you’re Swifty make sure to stay as I wrap up this episode and I’ll share a brief example of how Taylor Swift uses branding and content for her brand and daily life.

I’m actually really excited to walk you through a visual of my own personal dream home, as I explained the difference between branding and content shoots. So it’s a win for everyone that engaged in the poll. Thank you so much. I love having these fun Instagram polls and engagement pieces for us to actually chat to like I’m a real human. And I absolutely love to hear your opinions, your thoughts and answer your questions. So please reach out anytime @quiannamarie

Ready? Let’s dive into exactly what’s the difference between branding and content shoots.

Welcome to Quianna Marie Weekly, a podcast for creatives who love to celebrate wins big or small by dancing in the kitchen photographers who are excited to serve their clients and friends who are ready to chase really, really big dreams. You can find all of the resources mentioned in this episode at Kiana murray.com/podcast. Join me as I share weekly motivation, chat about growing pains, finding genuine connections and celebrating your wins through the lens of a photographer at heart.

Come join me for a dance party ready loves though. These are by far my own definitions, so please take them with a grain of salt. In fact, if you googled the definition of content, you will see the very first definition as an adjective, meaning peaceful, and happiness, which if we’re being transparent here, that really is the definition of content. If you scroll a little more, you’ll see that content also means ideas contained in something written, said created or represented. I feel like that right there is the closest definition to content. Because for many of us, content is far from anything that makes us feel peace or happiness, right.

What Is A Branding Shoot?

Let’s circle back to branding. What exactly is a brand shoot? In my opinion, a brand shoot is something that you would schedule with a professional that captures the visual representation of your business, your personality, your mission, and ties it all together with one headshot or a gallery of images to identify your business. It’s the visuals of your vision and the expression of your mission.

Yep, I’m gonna say that again. Right now. Branding shoots are the visuals of your vision and the expression of your mission. These branding shoots are well curated, styled and designed to help bridge the gap between who you are today and how you want to be represented. It’s sort of like creating your own reputation or first impression with a photograph or video, Branding photo shoots take a lot of attention to detail with selecting the perfect location, picking out your outfits, styling details, and glamming up your vibe to represent yourself as the highest most polished version of yourself.

Now, please don’t mistake branding as a red carpet glam. If that’s your vibe, run with it, and I’m here for it. But if you’re more casual and productive without high heels, and a pencil skirt, you can absolutely dress in anything that makes you feel professional, capable and trustworthy. In my opinion, branding photos are taking any time you’re making a pivot in your business, expanding or moving your business to a new area.

Really, you just need to inject some confidence into your social media and online presence. Typically, these are booked about once or twice a year. But please, please don’t go any longer than two years without investing and updating your brand photos. Brand photos are used for headshots, cover photos, email signatures, profile pictures, podcast interviews, business graphics, of course, your website, and for any upcoming speaking events. When we book brand shoots, we are literally giving ourselves an excuse to post, share and celebrate these photos, making your business top of mind and relevant in your industry.

Need More Help? Grab The Free Guide!

Make sure to grab my free guide how to prep for my brand shoot in the shownotes. This guide is packed with location ideas, outfit inspiration, posing tips, and even tips to finding the best local photographer. I love working with entrepreneurs that are passionate, mind hearted and truly the best at what they do. I light up when I can feel their energy in person or even over the phone, hearing their mission and starting to understand their offers products and programs gets my ideas flowing. I’m not even kidding. I start flooding with ideas. Call me crazy. I like to say them angels talk to me without sounding too woowoo or just too out of this world. But I love it.

Capturing Behind The Scenes At Your Next Brand Shoot

The brands and businesses that have a hard time articulating what they do online really set my soul on fire. It’s like I can feel their frustration with showing up online authentically. And that’s where a professional photographer comes in. It breaks my heart to meet someone in person see the sparkle in their eye when they talk about their business and, and then when I scroll to find them online, it sort of feels like a balloon deflating.

I don’t mean any disrespect, I really don’t I just mean that I find it so frustrating when I meet these people that are shining, like you literally see beams of lights like flowing out of their head, and they’re just lit up. They’re high energy, they’re excited.

And they’re authentically themselves in person. But then you go to see them online or see their posts on Instagram and you think Wait, that’s not the same person. It reminds me of when I was a kid. And I would get frustrated trying to draw a person like, you know, like I would try to draw the shoulders and the arms and a cute dress or pants or something.

But I could only draw stick figures. My artistic abilities didn’t match up with the visions in my head. I can feel this frustration with entrepreneurs too, when they don’t know what to post or how to attract their dream clients online. The key to colliding your real life vibe and online presence is branding, photos, branding and content shoots are like the pretty and the proof. The pretty being your curated brand photos and proving your expertise with content. Kind of like your brand is what you say you’re gonna do, and your content is actually doing it.

Wanna Try Flodesk?

Hey, business owners if you’re feeling flustered with social media and wish your dream clients, current clients and past clients could see what you have to say in chronological order again, it may be the perfect time to wrap up your email marketing. I love growing my email list with freebies just like the one I mentioned earlier, how to prep for my brand shoot.

I love gifting guides and educational resources in exchange for the emails of friends that actually look forward to hearing from me. This helps me reach a new interested clients, nurtures my current customers and helps me send love and appreciation to past clients. Thanks to Flodesk, I’m able to build my email list. Sell out my seasonal mini sessions in less than two hours, booked out my lucky 13 events, cross promote my favorite affiliate links and stay up to date with my growing audience. Lotus makes designing sending and organizing my email list seamless and I can’t recommend them enough. If you’re ready to try it out and receive a fat discount, check out QuiannaMarie.com/flodesk!

What Are Content Shoots?

Let’s crack into content shoots and what exactly my definition of a content shoot is. Now that we have an understanding of what brand shoots look like, to me, your content shoots are the proof that you’re legit. It’s the documentation or in today’s lingo your receipts, branding photos are completely controlled with a power to convey anything you dream up. Content shoots are less curated, but still relatable. It helps increase your authority and builds brand awareness. One example I love to share with brands when planning a content shoot is to consider your client experience. What does it look like from the moment someone slides into your DMS or fills out a contact form?

And every step of the way until the final request for review and a sweet thank you. What does the client journey look like working with you. Each of these steps can be pulled out and photographed or recorded to share. Content shoots are a great way to share your personality, your sense of humor, share what you love, and what you’re not a fan of.

This is the best way to attract and repel your people. Share your quirks what you love to do outside of work, share your passions, hobbies and why you wake up and get out of bed every day. I love booking content shoots monthly, quarterly or a couple of times a year to help my clients create a bank of photos and behind the scenes videos to easily shine online. Booking a content shoot with me is the perfect blend of professional photos, capturing your client experience and workflows.

As well as finding fun trending audios for reals and tiktoks. It’s so important to me to be really intentional with these content shoots. We don’t only get creative with the trends, but I also prioritize behind the scenes or B roll videos to bank and share with any audio or future app.

We all know how quickly these apps right? Instagram, Facebook, tick tock they’re starting to like fleet, right? I mean, when my answer all over tick tock. I’m thinking okay, wow, like this isn’t just a younger generation thing, like how much longer is this going to be relevant. So it’s important for us to not only come up with these really fun ideas, but then also lay the foundation for future stuff. Trends come and quickly go. But our missions remain the same. It’s important for me to offer both fun and engaging trendy clips, as well as evergreen content, sharing your expertise and educational pieces with clients that will still be relevant for years to come.

What Do You Wear To A Content Shoot?

So what do you wear for a content shoot? I love this question. Because we have tons of a variety of play with for content. I always ask my clients, what does your typical week look like? And what kind of characters and I’m doing air quotes over here? What kind of characters do you play throughout your week, both in life and business. For example, if you’re a realtor, you may have an outfit for showing homes, one for busy work in the office without facing clients. Another outfit for when you’re home gardening.

One while you’re hiking in the desert, another character for team meetings. You see how I can just rattle off the different outfits or vibes for the week? What would your characters look like if you can look at a snapshot of your calendar? What does it look like? I suggest pulling out those outfits and those relatable moments and getting them online.

When we sprinkle in our real life experiences with our business we blur the lines and create the brand of our dreams. Content shoots typically are booked in your place of work out and about at coffee shops, working with real clients or anywhere that your industry thrives. Scheduling content shoots at a wedding venue as a wedding photographer will have a much deeper impact than just working at a coffee shop. You see what I mean? We can get really intentional with what we’re planning for content shoots. Highlighting one of my favorite clients. Felicia Romero does a great job of booking both brand new shoots and content days with me throughout the year.

Up Leveling Your Online Presence

The branding shoots are perfect for up leveling her online presence, updating her headshots and feeling expansive with fresh photos. Then monthly we book content shoots to fuel her social media content and bank. This is where I can highlight new offers upcoming programs and showcase upcoming events. There’s an energy exchange that occurs when we work together and lots of deep work that my clients are experiencing in their own growth as well.

When you have a new offer, big launch coming up, or something you’re excited about in your business, having fresh content and honoring this next level of yourself and business needs to be celebrated. It helps to have updated photos and fun videos to showcase this new version of yourself. Now that we have an understanding of the difference between content shoots and branding shoots, I’d love to walk you through an example of my dream home.

This visualization will help you really understand the difference between the two and why they are both equally important in your business strategy. Okay, let’s all take a deep breath. And I’d love for you to take some time to dream up your own dream home. As I share my thoughts please take note of what you would change or how your home will be different. The more we can visualize these thoughts together the more it will make sense promise like Please stick with me for this.

My Dream Home

Okay, so am imagine a home blended with an Italian villa and Spanish mission vibe sprawling against the large saguaros in the desert underneath a gorgeous Arizona sunrise. With a circle driveway and courtyard that welcomes you before a humongous double wide wood paneling front door. You’re greeted with a smell of lemon and citrus with a hint of sandalwood. fresh, crisp air with a lot of bacon coming from the kitchen. Floor to ceiling windows let in gorgeous morning light. And you hear 90s Country softly playing outside in the backyard.

This home has a beautiful blend of natural wood, Italian tile, rock and whatever those Adobe Pueblo plaster walls are called. Yeah, those are in there too. Each wing is divided by long hallways that have French doors facing the courtyard and the beds are luxurious but those fluffy duvet covers that may make you want to take a morning nap. It feels expansive, but warm and cozy at the same time. Love Light and laughter dance among the walls.

Outside towards the foothills, you’re drawn to a large greenhouse. Half of it is busting at the seams with plants and veggies and tons of vines with a beautiful long wooden table crammed in the center for tea parties and farm to table suppers to share with family and friends. The other half is a gorgeous naturally lit studio, sort of like a hosting barn with a large living room, industrial size kitchen and cute hosting bar. It’s the ultimate entertaining space.

Perfect for hosting retreats, photoshoots birthday parties and intimate gatherings. This my love is my dream home. I love to know what yours is like by the way. Together, let’s break down what exactly I would define as branding versus content with this example, picturing the front of the house. The branding imagery would be photographs of the space maybe videos too. But visualize Architectural Digest vibes. content for that would be waving at the front door welcoming new friends into your home, maybe watering the flowers out front or busting groceries into the kitchen. Inside the house. The branding photos would encompass the senses.

What does your home smell like? How does it make you feel? What kind of decor Do you love? Is it vibey? Is it bright? Moody? Is it cozy? Modern? Like what does it feel like? Content is actually living in the space gathering with girlfriends in the kitchen, a chat over the counter and in the kitchen? movie nights with your family in the living room? chores or anything that proves it’s actually your home and not just a model home? Or an Airbnb you rented for the brand shoot. Content is your experience with in the space? Do you see the difference? I love sharing this home analogy because each of our homes although many of our dream homes are probably similar.

They’re all very unique. Just how our businesses and brands are unique. So our homes, I’d love for you to take some time to imagine your dream home in relation to your business. What does it look? How does it feel? How do you want others to perceive you?

And what do you want them to witness when they’re invited in? You know how they always say best friends don’t care what your home looks like if it’s clean, organized or with laundry on the couch. I personally believe clients are the same way. Just like you wouldn’t dump your dirty laundry aka share personal secrets to a new friend right away.

But eventually your true colors come out and they either run or they stick around and never leave. I think it’s the same for clients to clients want to see that you’re professional, but relatable. They want to know that you’re reliable, but also real. Okay, I think I’ve laid it on thick with the home analogies here.

Taylor Swift Branding vs Content

But before we go, I want to add a quick reference for all of my Swifties and exactly how I would define Taylor Swift and recent football posts to connect them to branding and content shoots. Let’s break down my thoughts for T swift branded would be her magazine photos, snaps of her elaborate concerts, album covers, music videos and anything she’s planning to photograph or record for her brand.

These are meticulously planned, curated and documented with her initiative and design in mind. She may even bring her cat but they’re all very intentional. content for Taylor, on the other hand would be the in between moments during her daily life.

They’re hand holding with hunky Travis Kelsey, cuddling with her cats sharing exclusive images of her birthday party. Which by the way, if you didn’t know Taylor and I share the same birthday on December 13. Okay, back to content ideas for Taylor.

Okay, think about all of the behind the scenes and in the recording studio, getting interviewed for red carpet events, young home video, the baby Taylor singing her heart out either in the living room for his Christmas morning when she opened up a guitar or at Crazy old state fairs, right where there was like maybe four people in the audience. And that’s where she began.

Behind The Scenes

That’s the behind the scenes set the content and the proof, anything behind the scenes or maybe even like sound checks for her to write like not those curated gorgeous photos of her rocking it onstage with the sparklers going off in her elaborate concerts and all the just really fun stuff going on for her, her to her tours. But the sound checks with hers talking to the people in the crew and making adjustments and taking notes like those are all pieces of content.

If your brain is anything like mine, when it comes to learning all these stories, analogies, I hope this episode helped clear the air for you. It’s important to have a blend of both branding and content sprinkled on your website for you and for your social media strategy. I am beyond grateful for you and happy you’re still here. This was kind of a doozy. One with my thoughts kind of everywhere. This is your sign to start sharing your gifts. Put yourself out there and align your real life energy with how people are perceiving you online.

You are already doing the work my friend. Let’s get an online to amplify your voice and create a ripple effect with your impact. Thanks so much for listening. If you’re interested in booking a content or branding shoot with me, I would love to work with you. I’m based right here in Scottsdale, Phoenix and the Mesa Arizona area. But my bags are always packed and I’m more than willing to travel to the studio near you. Please check out QuiannaMarie.com

Let’s Connect – Quianna Marie

Anything where it says Crush Your Content, anything where it says portfolio, Let’s connect. Don’t forget to check out the show notes to grab the links and resources for you mentioned in this episode. Looking forward to chatting soon. Okay, love you. Bye!

That’s a wrap on another episode of Quianna Marie Weekly. Thank you so much for your listenership and support. You can find the resources and show notes for this episode and more at QuiannaMarie.com/podcast. I’d be honored if you show your support by leaving a review and rating on your favorite podcast app. Until next time, keep on dancing!