The Obvious vs. Non-Obvious: Why Every Branding Photoshoot Needs Both

When I'm creating concepts for a branding photoshoot, I almost always include at least one idea that's a little weird.

But before we get to the weird stuff, let's talk about the obvious.

First things first: I love the obvious branding photos.

The laptop shots. The coffee meetings. The tools of your trade. You working with a client. You doing the thing you actually get paid to do.

These photos have a really important job in your marketing: they create instant clarity.

When a total stranger lands on your website or Instagram, they should be able to quickly understand who you are and what you do. If you're a photographer, we probably need some photos of you with a camera. If you're a designer, I want to show you actually designing. If you're a realtor, we're probably going to photograph you in a home.

There's nothing wrong with any of that.

In fact, I'd argue that every branding gallery needs those images because they're the photos you'll probably use over and over again across your website, social media, emails, press features and other marketing.

But there's a catch.

There are probably 50 other entrepreneurs in your industry taking those exact same photos today.

The obvious photos establish your profession.

The non-obvious photos establish your identity.

So, what is a non-obvious branding concept?

This is where we get to have some fun.

A non-obvious concept isn't necessarily a literal representation of what you sell. Instead, it might focus on a feeling, a metaphor, a part of your personality or an elevated aesthetic that plays up something unique about your brand.

It's the wild card of the branding photoshoot.

For Kaylila Creative, for example, we didn't just photograph business cards, marketing materials and the tools she uses in her business.

We built an entire dinner party concept.

Champagne. Candles. Florals. Beautiful place settings. Her branding incorporated throughout the table. Friends gathered around eating, drinking and interacting with the brand.

Does Kaylila Creative sell dinner parties? Nope.

But the concept communicated something about the feeling of her brand that a photo of her sitting at a laptop never could.

The goal isn't to be weird just for the sake of being weird.

This is an important distinction.

I'm not sitting on our strategy call thinking, What's the craziest thing I can convince this person to do?

The creative concept still needs to come from your brand.

Before I start developing concepts for a branding session, I want to understand what you're building, who you're trying to reach, how you want people to feel when they encounter your business and what makes you different from everyone else who technically does the same thing.

That's where the non-obvious ideas come from.

Maybe there's a visual metaphor we can play with.

Maybe there's something about your personality that your industry doesn't normally show.

Maybe there's an unexpected location, prop or activity that makes perfect sense once you understand the story behind it.

The goal isn't just to make someone stop scrolling and think, That's a cool photo.

I want them to think, I want to know more about this person.

Because your branding photos shouldn't only show what you sell.

They should show people what it feels like to work with you.

That's the part I think gets lost when we talk about branding photography.

Your potential clients can probably find dozens of people who technically offer the same service you do.

Another coach.

Another photographer.

Another designer.

Another realtor.

Another marketing strategist.

So yes, your photos need to communicate what you do. But if that's all they're communicating, we're missing a huge part of your brand.

What are you like?

What do you care about?

What's your energy?

What makes your approach different?

Why would someone choose you instead of the other 50 people whose Instagram bios contain roughly the same job title?

The non-obvious concepts give us space to communicate some of those harder-to-photograph things.

And because they're unexpected, they're often the images that make someone stop scrolling.

The best branding photoshoots balance both.

I don't want to give you a gallery of 100 wildly creative photos and then have you realize you don't have a single image that clearly shows what you do.

And I don't want to give you 100 perfectly useful photos of you working at a laptop that could belong to literally anyone in your industry.

We need both.

The obvious: for clarity and marketing utility.

The non-obvious: to play up your personality, create a feeling and leave a lasting impression.

That's why the strategy portion of my branding process matters so much. We're not creating a random Pinterest board of pretty photos and trying to recreate it.

We're figuring out what your brand actually needs to communicate first — and then deciding what photos can communicate it.

Sometimes that's you at your laptop.

And sometimes it's champagne, pomegranates and your business cards scattered across a dinner table.

Both have a place.

A few of my favorite non-obvious branding concepts

Want branding photos that actually feel like your brand?

If you're looking for branding photography that's strategic, creative and built around what makes your business different, that's exactly what my branding experience is designed to do.

I'm Gali, a New Orleans branding photographer working with entrepreneurs, creatives and businesses to turn brand strategy into intentional, story-driven imagery.