There’s brand photography that documents. And then there’s brand photography that makes people feel something. At Texas A&M, junior Gerardo Hernandez Espinoza chose the latter.
Lessons from Texas A&M
With 40+ engineering students pouring their hearts into Formula SAE® Electric for months, Gerardo didn’t just want to document their work – he wanted to transport viewers into those exact moments, where you can practically feel the warmth of the sunrise behind the students’ shoulders.He wanted his photography to represent all of the team’s hard work — to be held to the same high standards.Here’s how you can apply those standards to your brand’s visuals:Start with Strategy, Not Shot Lists
When planning brand photography, it’s easy to just focus on shot lists, but that’s not what happened here. They started by defining their overarching story and then broke it down into different elements.
Until you can answer the following questions, it’ll be hard to capture something that’s truly special:
Key Questions for Your Next Photo Shoot:
What’s truly at stake in the story of your audience in relation to your brand?
What emotional connection are you trying to create with your audience?
What obstacles and triumphs from your audience should you highlight?
How can you make viewers feel like participants, not just observers?
Craft Experiences, Not Just Images
The difference between good and great brand photography often comes down to two things: perspective and composition.
But instead of applying these concepts the traditional way, Gerardo broke photography rules in the best way possible: he combined wide angles with intimate proximity. While most photographers use wide lenses to capture everything, he used them to pull viewers right into the scene.
This unexpected combo creates a true-to-life feeling as if the viewer is part of the team, simply looking over their shoulders.
What would taking unconventional creative risks mean for your brand photography?
Show your impact through the eyes of those you serve instead of what “looks cool”
Share the grit behind your brand’s glory, not just the spotlight moments
Like Gerardo did for A&M, seek out viewpoints that make your audience feel like insiders — and don’t be afraid to break compositional rules while you’re at it
Capture the Mood, Not Just the Scene
Beyond the approach to the shots themselves, there’s also the mood you can create which can vary from shoot to shoot. This can give your brand story an edge.
Because his team was only in their second year at the competition, they were the clear underdogs. Gerardo wanted his photography to emphasize this — that they were there to prove themselves. You can actually feel it in his photos — the sense of tension and concentrated focus.
Look for the tension in your own brand’s story. Maybe you’re the industry expert making complexity simple, the established player reinventing yourself — or the underdog like A&M, too. Find that emotional core and let it inform every visual choice – from lighting to composition to subject matter. When you nail the mood, your audience won’t just understand your story – they’ll feel invested in it.
Build Intention into Your Creative Direction
Great creative direction starts with research. That’s exactly what the A&M team started with: studying established competitors, analyzing their visual approaches with a critical eye. But they weren’t interested in copying – they were looking for inspiration. Their north star? A simple question: “If I were an outsider looking in, what would make me want to join?”
Your brand can do the same by turning research into revelation. Study the expected shots in your industry – then ask yourself what perspectives, moments, and stories aren’t being told. Those gaps are where your visual story begins.
Through it all, Gerardo hopes his photography and videography will create a vision reminiscent of his favorite filmmakers including Alejandro González Iñárritu.
As he pointed out:
You can have the best camera in the world but you won’t get great photos without vision. What’s the subject? What’s in the foreground? What would tell the story best?
You can ask yourself the same critical questions to drive every shot you use to tell your brand story.
One thing’s for sure — their creative work is getting noticed. Gerardo’s team has already been invited to submit a video documentary about their experience by the Houston Film Festival with plans to also submit to the Austin Film Festival.
The lesson for any brand?
Sometimes one beautiful photo can embody your entire brand story – but only if you’ve done the strategic work to know exactly what that story should be.
Want to transform your brand’s visual strategy? Deep Varnish can help you move from snapshots to storytelling that drives real engagement. Let’s talk.