Branding Ashleigh Henry | The Cheetah Company

I recently traveled to Asheville, NC for this GORGEOUS Branding Photo Shoot for Ashleigh Henry, owner of The Cheetah Company. Ashleigh is a global marketing and sales strategist and consultant who works with high performing women in business. This shoot was a true vision come to life….I KNEW what it could look like. As we began the research for Ashleigh’s locations, I searched local hotels online. Hotel lobbies can bring a really cool vibe and once I found THE ONE…I knew we had to use it. Ashleigh had already booked a studio space for really clean images with her and the models and as we searched for the second location to give her a plethora of images…with lots of variety…we booked this hotel space for just a few hours. All of this that you see below was done on a tight four hour schedule….but we also completed some city street shots after the hotel in a total of JUST THREE HOURS!!!!

Ashleigh was interested in elevating and evolving her brand visuals to build visual trust with intention while shortening the process of trust with her potential clientele around the world. Here’s the thing, we, as business owners, must set the intention for who we are, who we help, how we can help them, and what it looks like to work with us. This shoot SHOWED all of that and now Ashleigh has the brand visuals to move forward as a global brand who works collaboratively all over the world.

In her post session interview, Ashleigh said, “Corry was the leader in the room, driving the shoot, keeping the time, and evaluating what needed to be completed in our short timeframe.”

When you are working on shoots like this, as the photographer and the business owner, communication and planning ahead of time is crucial. I work closely with my clients for weeks ahead of time as we plan out their sets, the types of images needed, a timeline, props needed, locations needed, what’s working best for them currently and what’s not really working well for them. As a brand photographer I’m also a brand strategist, helping to create impactful brand visuals that will take them to the next level in business and make content creation so much easier.

Our customized approach looks like this:

-content mapping: where are you planning on using these images, what content is working for you now and what is not working

-storylines: what stories need to be told about your company visually, who needs to be included in these stories…your family, clients, models, etc

-locations: are we using my studio space, booking a studio if it’s not local to me, a rented space, your own work space, a friend’s home, an outdoor location, etc

-timelines: based on the amount of content we will shoot, the locations we will be using, and the stories we will be telling

-prop list and organization: looking at what we will be shooting, we will decide on props and I’ll help you organize how to bring them and I will gladly bring some of the items as well

-inspiration images: we will create a pinterest board of inspiration ideas to help with the creative direction of what we envision creating together

I send a customized shoot plan for us to work off of the day of the session. A well organized plan equates a well organized shoot and therefore a photo shoot that is EPIC!!!!!

After Ashleigh’s shoot she said, “She understood our brand; she was easily able to bring to life a high-end editorial style that married a feminine and masculine touch as needed for our industry (global marketing and sales firm). There’s more consideration than a local and geographical approach when creating brand imagery for a global company; the images must evolve beyond words, languages spoken, and unspoken to capture the heart and viewer on the side enough that they pause on the World Wide Web to consider working with our firm…

…Corry made it seem like it wasn’t even difficult to do because she’s such an incredible artist, and a professional in her industry and easily crosses the divide (and jumps backward and forwards!) between consultant, photographer, and strategist. And has a smile, a laugh, a joke, and an encouraging word while doing so.”

When you are looking to elevate your brand, a photo shoot is always needed…but remember, it’s more than just a headshot!!! There needs to be time for dreaming, planning, looking at your strategy in how you create content, and ultimately…what do you want the visual storytelling for your brand to say to your potential clients!!

My education background is extensive in the study of the Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory…basically not how smart are we, but HOW are we smart. This simply means that we all have various ways we take in and process information. We all have learning styles that fit into about 8 categories.

-Some of us are visual learners (why your brand needs GREAT imagery)

-Some of us are auditory learners (why some people LOVE podcasts)

-Some of us are interpersonal learners (those who are into retreats and masterminds, relationships)

-Some of us are musical learners (those who learned the fifty states by singing the song)

So how does this apply to business?

If you are a content creator like Ashleigh is…it’s great to cover as many of these modalities as you can with your offers…free and paid….so that you can support a variety of people and their learning styles. And Ashleigh is doing just that in her current offers, projects and upcoming releases of BIG things!!!!

More on this in a future blog post….but it’s so fascinating as we dig in further!!!

You can find Ashleigh and all of her brilliance at https://thecheetahcompany.com/ and on instagram: @thecheetahcompany

Branding Ashleigh Henry | The Cheetah Company

Blessings,

Corry