Should you get brand photos before or after your rebrand or website redesign? There is an order that will save you money and make your rebrand last longer.
I’ve been having this conversation with a lot of founders lately, so let’s talk about it.
The Four Components To Consider In a Rebrand
When a small business owner is considering a brand refresh, she is usually thinking about four things:
- Messaging: what you say, who you say it to, and how you say it
- Images: brand photos and video
- Your website
- Visual branding: logo, colors, fonts, and that whole look and aesthetic
All four are worth considering. But how you address them, and what you need to hire for, can greatly affect how much time and money you spend on your rebrand project.
Who Does What in a Rebrand?
Before we get to the order, it helps to define who does what:
Messaging Strategist: helps you figure out the heart of your business. Who you serve, what you help them with, and what makes you different.
Brand Photographer: creates the photos (and often video) that show your messaging, so people can see what it’s like to work with you. This is the emotional trigger that helps your dream clients decide if they can trust you.
Web Designer: builds the website that brings it all together, and typically helps you pick your fonts and colors along the way.
Copywriter: writes the actual words for your website, emails, and sales pages, built from your messaging. A Web designer will almost always include copywriting as part of their process (they either do it themselves or have someone on their team).
Brand Designer: creates your logo and visual identity, sometimes with a full style guide. Some brand designers also include message building.
Step One: Establish Your Messaging
Messaging isn’t just one piece of your rebrand. It’s the key that unlocks the entire process.
Your website copy comes from your messaging.
Your Web design comes from your messaging.
Your photos and video come from your messaging.
Even your colors and fonts should reflect your brand’s overall messaging.
When your messaging is solid, it’s a foundation that all the other components can build on. When it’s not, it’s all a guess – which means you’re going to spend more money, and possibly end up having to redo your entire rebrand sooner than if you had gotten it hammered out from the start.
Do You Need to Hire Someone for Your Messaging?
Here’s the good news: probably not!
If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you most likely already have your messaging nailed down. You might not have it written down in a neat little document, and you might not know exactly how to put it into words yet. But it’s there.
How to Tell If You Already Have Your Messaging
If you can answer these four questions, you’ve got it:
- Who do you serve?
- What problem do you help them solve?
- What do your clients say about how it feels to work with you?
- What makes you different from someone else who does the same thing as you?
Your answers don’t have to be perfect or fancy. If you can talk through them, you don’t need to hire someone to develop your messaging for you.
In fact, an experienced strategic brand photographer will help you sharpen your messaging and turn it into images, and a good Web designer will do the same for your website.
When a Messaging Strategist Is Worth the Money
If you’re brand new in business and those questions have you staring at a blank page, a messaging strategist can be a smart investment.
Also, if you’ve been a business for a while, but you’re completely reframing your brand (new audience, new offers, new direction), a messaging strategist can be super helpful in getting you where you need to go more quickly.
Working through it with someone who does this every day is worth it when you’re starting from scratch, or time is an issue for you.
What’s the Difference Between Messaging and Copy?
This one trips up a lot of people, so let’s clear it up.
Messaging is the core of what you want people to know and feel about your business. It’s the big-picture stuff: who you’re for, the problem you solve, and why someone should choose you.
Copy is the words people actually read. Your homepage headline, your About page, your service descriptions.
Your copy comes from your messaging. Some messaging strategists write copy too, and some copywriters help with messaging, but they’re two different jobs.
One figures out what you’re saying. The other writes it in a way that will engage the reader.
Step Two: Search for a Local Brand Photographer
I truly believe the next step in your process should be to find a brand photographer, and here’s why…
Wherever you live, big city or small town, there’s probably a good handful of brand photographers within a couple hours of you. And probably even at least one brand photographer who is experienced in using strategy to plan your session!
On the other hand, a Web designer can live anywhere, and it’s very common that my clients hire a website designer who is not local to them.
But picture this: You live in Seattle, WA, and you hire a fantastic Web designer in Toronto.
They tell you, “You’re going to need photos for your new website.” But unless they’ve worked with photographers in Seattle in the past, they probably don’t have anyone in their back pocket to recommend. So if they make a recommendation, they’re doing the same Google search you’d do, and they’re making their best guess about which brand photographer might be a good fit for you.
I frequently get founders who reach out to me based on a referral from their Web designer, because their designer found me on Google. But when the founder and I get on a discovery call, it’s clear we’re a complete mismatch in style, needs, or philosophy, and I end up referring them to another Chicago area photographer who I feel is a better fit for them (yes, I did the work that their Web designer failed to do, for free).
My point? Save yourself lots of time and energy and just find that local photographer yourself.
How to Find the Right Brand Photographer
If your photographer shows up on shoot day and just goes on vibes, then you better have everything figured out before you book them. You need to have your arms around your messaging, your website, and your plan for every photo. You might need to come up with shoot ideas, props, location…all of it.
The reality is, someone has to bring the strategy in order for you to end up with photos you can use, and if it’s not your photographer, it’s going to be you.
However, a strategic brand photographer works differently.
I start with your business. I ask you all the questions about your messaging, like what you’re selling, who you’re talking to, and where these photos are going to be used. I create an entire plan for your shoot based on that information, well before shoot day.
Should You Use the Photographer Your Web Designer Recommends?
If you haven’t already hired a brand photographer on your own, definitely use your Web designer’s recommendations as a starting point.
But my biggest tip is this: choose your photographer yourself.
Recommendations are great! But you can do that same search just as well as they can, and maybe even better because you’re searching locally (the algorithm is going to show you more options locally than your Web designer in Toronto).
Pick one or two photographers in the area where you want to do your shoot, hop on a discovery call with each of them, and make the decision yourself. You’ll be so much happier in the end.
Here’s why it matters so much: you’re going to spend a lot of time with your photographer. You’ll plan together, and then you’ll spend your whole shoot day with them. You want to feel comfortable with this person, probably more than any other vendor you hire. That connection matters, and it will show up in your photos.
Step Three: Hire a Web Designer
Really Step 2 & 3 can happen at the same time, but I do encourage founders to look at brand photographers much earlier in the process, instead of waiting until the website is nearly finished.
I worked in marketing before I picked up a camera for a living, and I’ve spent years building relationships with great people here in Chicago and beyond. I have several website designers that my clients love, and they all do different things and have different styles. I’ll happily tell you about all of them, but I’ll most highly recommend the one I think fits your brand best, not the one that matches my own taste.
And if none of them are the right fit for you, I’ll go find someone who is.
What Web Designers Do You Recommend?
I don’t gatekeep any of my recommendations. Most of the people I refer my clients to are right on my favorite vendors page for anyone who needs them.
And once your photographer is booked, you might want a few more people on your team for shoot day, like hair and makeup or a stylist. I wrote all about building that team in who to hire for your brand photoshoot.
Why Should I Hire a Photographer and Web Designer at the Same Time?
I always recommend looking for and booking your photographer and Web designer around the same time, because it may save you money, and it will definitely save you time.
Your photos and your website are built for each other. Your website layout decides what kinds of photos you need: a wide shot with room on one side for your headline, a warm portrait for your About page, a detail shot for your services section. When your photographer and designer are talking, your photos get planned to fit those exact spots.
If you hire your Web designer and then don’t hire your photographer till the website is near completion, your Web designer is left to wait until the brand photos are planned, shot, and delivered. That can be another 2-3 months, and meanwhile, your website is sitting unfinished.
This is a big reason my Signature Brand Session starts with strategy and planning. If you’ve already got a Web designer, I love connecting with them before your shoot so we’re all on the same page.
Step Four: Logos and Other Extras
Okay, here’s where I might ruffle a few feathers. For most service-based small businesses, a logo, color design and style guide are not necessary.
As a personal brand, your clients are hiring you. They want to know what it feels like to work with you, and your photos and your website answer that question far better than a logo ever will.
Most of us don’t have six- or seven-figure marketing budgets. We’re trying to do as much as we can with what we’ve got. So when I talk to business owners who spent a big chunk of their budget up front on a brand identity package, and then had to stretch what was left over the website and photos, it breaks my heart a little.
Plus, a good Web designer is already going to walk you through fonts and colors as part of building your site. So paying someone separately to design a logo and a full brand identity (before you even know your messaging) is overkill for most business owners.
A simple, clean wordmark of your name or business name will do the job beautifully for most.
Why the Logo Should Never Be First
I see it over and over: Founders often start with the logo and the visual branding (like fonts, colors, etc), because it’s the fun part and it feels like the “real” rebrand.
But the reality is all of that stuff is just window dressing. It can be fun to have, but isn’t necessary when you’re designing around a personal brand.
In fact, starting with the logo can be a bit like picking out throw pillows before you’ve decided which house you’re moving into. It’s out of order, and if you start with the visual branding, you may end up with a visual brand that makes zero sense for you and your dream clients.
When a Logo Makes Sense
There are times a bigger branding project is worth it:
- You sell a physical product with packaging or labels
- You have a storefront, signage, or printed materials that need to match
- Your current logo is truly broken or confusing
If that’s you, go for it!
Ready to get started in finding the right photographer?
My Investment Guide walks you through my brand sessions and what each one costs, so you know exactly what to expect before we hop on a discovery call. Get the Investment Guide.
Rebranding FAQs
Should I get brand photos before or after my rebrand? Right in the middle. Get your messaging set first, then book your photographer at the same time as your Web designer, so your photos are planned to fit your new website.
What should I do first when I rebrand my business? Start with your messaging. Your copy, web design, and photos all come from it, so your photographer and Web designer need to know what you’re saying and who you’re talking to before they can do their best work.
What’s the difference between messaging and copy? Messaging is the core of what you want people to know and feel about your business: who you serve, what you help them with, and why they should choose you. Copy is the actual words on your website and marketing, and it’s written from your messaging.
Do I need to hire someone to develop my messaging? Probably not, especially if you’ve been in business a while. If you can say who you serve, what you help them with, what it feels like to work with you, and what makes you different, you already have your messaging. A messaging strategist is most helpful if you’re brand new and still figuring that out.
Should I hire my photographer or Web designer first? Hire them around the same time so they can plan together, but start your search with a local strategic brand photographer. Your Web designer doesn’t need to be local, so a photographer can recommend great designers anywhere.
Should I use the photographer my Web designer recommends? Use it as a starting point, but choose your photographer yourself. If your designer isn’t local, they may not know the photographers in your area. Reach out to one or two photographers where you want to shoot, have a discovery call with each, and pick the one you feel most comfortable with, since you’ll spend a lot of time together planning and on shoot day. And make sure the brand photographer includes strategy and their planning and creative process!
Do I need a logo before I build my website? Not usually. Most Web designers help you choose fonts and colors as part of building your site, and a simple wordmark works well for most service-based businesses. Many personal brands do not need to invest in a logo design.
When does it make sense to hire a brand designer for a logo? If you sell a physical product, have packaging or signage, or your current logo truly isn’t working. Even then, it’s best to do it after your messaging is set.
Can a brand photographer recommend a Web designer? A strategic brand photographer should be able to recommend good Web designers for your website. They work alongside designers regularly, and since Web designers can work from anywhere, a local photographer can recommend the one whose strengths and style best fit your business.
