Commercial Branding Photography: Cherry Beesley on Building a Successful Photography Business
Angela Adams talks to Cherry Beesley
For businesses today, photography is about far more than simply creating attractive images. The right photographs can communicate a brand’s personality, showcase products and services, build trust with customers and help a business stand out online.
That is where commercial branding photography comes into its own.
For Suffolk-based photographer Cherry Beesley, of Simply C Photography, understanding the business behind the camera is just as important as taking the photograph itself.
Cherry works with businesses across Suffolk and the UK, creating commercial, candid and creative imagery designed to tell her clients’ stories across websites, social media, printed marketing and other platforms.
With a background in interior styling and design, Cherry brings a strong understanding of branding and visual presentation to her photography.
Angela Adams caught up with Cherry to find out more about her journey into professional photography, how she works with commercial clients and what she has learned along the way.
Discovering a Passion for Photography
Cherry’s interest in photography began when she was just 13.
While holidaying in Belgium with her uncle, Rex, she was given a film camera to use during the trip.
“I was both delighted and hooked.”
Having always enjoyed drawing and other creative pursuits, Cherry quickly discovered that photography gave her another way to express herself.
She became fascinated by the creative possibilities offered by light and colour, while her father, an amateur photographer, encouraged her developing interest by giving her his photographic equipment.
That included two Pentax film cameras and several lenses, which Cherry still owns.
From Part-Time Photographer to Full-Time Business
Cherry’s route into professional photography was not an overnight success story.
In 2010, while raising two children alone and working two other part-time jobs, she began working as a part-time photographer.
Initially, she sold photographs as greetings cards and framed fine-art prints online and at craft fairs, while also taking on commercial commissions from local businesses.
Over time, she built her reputation, developed her network and gained confidence in her abilities.
As her children became older and less dependent, Cherry was able to devote more time to developing her photography business and expanding the services she offered.
Eventually, consistent bookings across different areas of photography allowed her to move into photography full-time.
Then came 2020.
Just four weeks after launching her business, the country went into lockdown.
“It wasn’t great timing, to say the least,” Cherry explains.
Rather than simply waiting for circumstances to change, she adapted her services around the restrictions and worked to maintain enough business to keep going through an extraordinarily difficult period.
That ability to adapt became another important part of her professional journey.
What Does a Commercial Branding Photographer Do?
Cherry describes herself as a commercial branding photographer, working with businesses of all sizes and across a wide range of sectors.
Her role isn’t simply to take photographs.
She wants to understand what makes a business tick.
“It’s not just learning what my clients do, but why they do it.”
That approach allows Cherry to create photographs that communicate something about the business behind them.
Her work can cover fashion, food, products, hospitality, events, press, interiors, property, headshots and editorial photography.
The common thread is storytelling.
Cherry uses photography to help businesses communicate their identity through imagery that can be used across websites, brochures, social media, press coverage and other marketing materials.
Understanding the Client Behind the Business
For Cherry, getting to know a potential client before a shoot is an important part of the process.
She believes reputation and photographic style play an important role when attracting clients, but she also wants to establish whether she is the right fit for the business.
That conversation can reveal what the client actually needs from their photography.
A business may think it needs a collection of attractive photographs, for example, when what it really needs is a consistent library of images that can support its website, social media and wider marketing strategy.
Understanding that bigger picture can make the photography far more effective.
Building a Photography Business Through Relationships
Although Cherry doesn’t employ a permanent team, she has developed a network of specialists who support her business.
Depending on the requirements of a commission, she can also bring in other photographers or videographers.
For Cherry, having people she can rely on is an important part of providing a consistent and professional service.
It also highlights an important lesson for photographers building their own businesses: working independently doesn’t necessarily mean working alone.
Building a reliable network of creative professionals can provide additional expertise, capacity and opportunities.
The Most Important Piece of Kit Isn’t Camera Equipment
Asked which piece of equipment she couldn’t live without, excluding a camera, Cherry’s answer was:
“My patience and sense of humour.”
Anyone who has worked on a commercial photography commission will probably understand why.
A professional shoot can involve clients, models, products, locations, schedules, lighting, unexpected problems and plenty of moving parts.
The ability to remain calm and adaptable can be just as important as technical photographic ability.
Learning From Mistakes
Cherry’s best piece of business advice is simple:
Take failures as lessons.
Mistakes are inevitable when building a photography business, but Cherry believes they can become useful opportunities to learn and develop.
That mindset is particularly important for photographers who are establishing themselves professionally.
Not every job will go perfectly. Not every marketing campaign will work. Not every client relationship will develop as expected.
The important thing is to understand what happened and use that experience to improve.
When a Dog Became Part of the Shoot
One of Cherry’s funniest commission experiences involved taking her dog on a fashion shoot when she was a puppy.
The puppy immediately took a liking to one of the models and refused to leave her side.
There was another dog on the shoot too, meaning Cherry suddenly had to manage dogs, models, the schedule and all the other elements happening behind the scenes.
What could have become chaotic instead turned into a fun shoot — and the dogs ultimately became part of the final images.
It’s a reminder that even the most carefully planned commercial photography shoot can produce unexpected moments.
Sometimes those moments create the most memorable photographs.
What Cherry Loves About Photography
For Cherry, one of the greatest attractions of professional photography is being able to combine creativity with commercial thinking.
She enjoys taking a client’s story and turning it into imagery that can help communicate their products, services and personality.
But the rewards aren’t purely commercial.
Seeing a client smile when they receive a headshot they genuinely like is something Cherry finds incredibly rewarding.
Ultimately, she says, her clients’ success and growth make her happy.
Overcoming the Challenges of Running a Photography Business
One of Cherry’s biggest frustrations is also one of the most common challenges faced by independent photographers: there are only so many hours in a day.
As the main person responsible for Simply C Photography, there are limits to how much work she can personally take on.
Building a successful photography business therefore isn’t simply about finding more clients.
At some point, photographers also need to think about capacity, workflow, collaboration and how they can grow without compromising the quality of the service they provide.
The Importance of Community Over Competition
Cherry believes strongly in the value of professional relationships and networks.
Her approach is one of community rather than competition, recognising that having a good network of local photographers and creative professionals can benefit everyone.
That can mean sharing knowledge, recommending work to other photographers when you’re unavailable, collaborating on projects or simply having people around you who understand the realities of running a photography business.
For photographers working independently, that network can be invaluable.
Cherry’s Advice for Photographers
Looking back at her own journey, Cherry’s story demonstrates that there isn’t necessarily one straightforward route into professional photography.
She started with a film camera as a teenager, developed her skills over many years, began photography part-time while raising her family and eventually built the confidence and reputation needed to make photography her full-time career.
There were setbacks along the way, including launching her business immediately before the COVID-19 lockdown.
But adapting, learning and continuing to develop allowed her to move forward.
Her philosophy can perhaps be summed up by her personal motto:
“Always look up.”
For Cherry, that means more than simply looking upwards with your eyes.
It is about remaining curious, appreciating what is around you and continuing to learn.
Finding Joy in the Journey
Cherry says she feels grateful to be doing something she has been passionate about throughout her life.
Every day brings opportunities to learn something new, meet people and develop both as a photographer and as a person.
Her work allows her to capture and share the things she sees and believes are beautiful, while creating imagery that can have a genuine impact on her clients’ businesses.
For a commercial branding photographer, that combination of creativity and purpose is at the heart of the job.
And for Cherry, it is what makes photography such a rewarding career.
More from Cherry Beesley
Cherry Beesley is the owner of Simply C Photography, based in Ipswich, Suffolk, working with businesses across Suffolk and the UK.
Her work focuses on commercial branding photography, visual storytelling and creating imagery for use across websites, social media, print and marketing.
This interview originally appeared in Professional Imagemaker.
