Why Respecting a Brand Matters More Than Adding Your Own Spin
As a freelance creator working with schools, sports teams, and local businesses, I’ve learned a critical lesson: your role isn’t to impose your style on a brand, it’s to uplift and amplify the brand that already exists.
Look, I get it: we want to showcase our creative flair, leave a mark, or stand out with our personal style. We as creators all want the Instagram collaborations or tags. We want our name in the same post as the words Minnesota Wild or University of Minnesota. But when working with an established organization, the real value comes from enhancing their identity while staying true to their goals and audience.
If I could talk to my past self, here is what I would tell him:
1. Understand the Brand Before Picking Up the Camera
Before every shoot, I take the time to study the client’s brand. For schools or teams, that means colors, logos, messaging, and the vibe they want to convey. The tone of UW Eau Claire volleyball is night-and-day different than Saint Benedict softball, so why would I force the same style on both of them? My goal is never to overshadow it but to make it shine through my work.
2. Collaborate, Don’t Compete
Being a freelancer is about partnership. While we are a service provider, that service is the betterment of the client. I will, for example, ask questions, listen to feedback, and get a better understanding of their brand’s vision. Sometimes that means holding back on a creative idea if it doesn’t serve the client’s goals. This past season I worked with a newly hired coach who was starting from the ground up. The solution to their needs was not to sell them on flashy edits or a rigorous content schedule. Instead, I helped form a manageable plan of creating basic highlights after every game. Was it flashy or sophisticated? No. But it was something they could be consistent with. In the end, a well-aligned image is more impactful than a flashy one that doesn’t fit. Collaboration can also take the form of understanding that you do not have any exclusive right to a brand. In this modern digital, you better get used to sharing that marketing space. I will reiterate however, COLLABORATE, DON'T COMPETE. We are all working in this shared space to serve our client, focus on that instead of what the other photographer they hired is doing.
3. Subtle Creativity Wins
You can still be creative without imposing your style. Angles, composition, and lighting choices all allow me to bring fresh energy to the work while staying consistent with the brand. Clients notice the difference between content that supports them and content that distracts from them. Take sports videos for example; Tik Tok says flashy edits win the day, but the social media accounts of professional and college teams say that reliable storytelling is what they want. Which one is paying your bills?
4. Build Trust and Repeat Business
Respecting a client’s brand isn’t just good practice, it’s definitely good business. Organizations are more likely to hire freelancers who enhance rather than compete with their identity, which leads to long-term relationships and more opportunities. I a
m grateful to be able to work within a network of reliable Sports Information Directors who are able to give me the sort of brand guidance that allows me to succeed with them. It cannot be you vs me but rather you AND me working together, communicating, and eventually achieving YOUR marketing goals.
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