A Not So Corporate - Corporate Shoot with Kundalini Yoga Boston
The face of how we do business is changing. Seriously, it's the FACE that's changing. Image is everything and it sells a message. It sells a feeling. It sells a brand, and ideas and all things are key in marketing today. I have seen more crappy LinkedIn photos than I care to share. I have wanted to tap into the world of corporate photography but I’ve been told that my style isn't what big corporations would normally consider sell-able. Luckily, I don't believe that for a second. Traditional image marketing is stiff and doesn't express an approachable/relate-able brand. I have wanted to reshape the way business does its visual branding by using personal portraiture to really sell an business. I basically call it “personal image re-branding”. I have done a bunch of headshots for clients who wanted something different in terms of a “just a headshot" and it was very successful. No blue backdrop, no suit and tie, no harsh lighting and it worked.
But would this be effective for an entire business model? It turns out the answer is YES. Enter KYB Boston in Harvard Square.
Siri Bani Kaur is a successful artist, a teacher of both art and yoga and an all around fantastic woman. I was lucky enough to photograph her wedding a couple years back and we were always trying to find ways to work together. Last year she curated a gallery show featuring my portraits of people with autism. She just gets me and I get her.
Siri co-owns the only Kundalini yoga studio in the Boston metro area with her former studio in Inman Square. While the business was doing well, Siri and her team felt like the visual image of the studio needed a boost. So they took a risk and opened KYB in Harvard Square. The team wanted to create a fresh approach to yoga and how the public perceived the image of yoga. With an amazing new logo, they needed photographs to match the vibe of that logo. Enter Moi.
Below are some of the photos we did on a very hot day in July. Siri and her partners wanted to really communicate the fact that they are IN Harvard Square and that the location was just as important as what the studio offered. So off we went to hang with the people and businesses of Harvard. I had the subjects interacting with one another to give it an approachable vibe. Then we did head shots that were more out of the box and as the women got more comfortable with me I threw all the "rules" of head shots out the window and just played. The results exceeded their expectations, which made me super happy. But the best part was seeing the text for ads over the photography. It just blended so well together. My goal was to "Hipify" her image and I think between myself and Siri, we achieved that.
Yesterday Siri and I were talking on the phone and she told me she believes that her business is doing even better since using the images. It's so satisfying as an artist to achieve what you set out to create, and especially with such wonderful clients and friends.
