This is my second branding session with Cana Vineyards and Winery of Middleburg Virginia. This most recent session was a stylized branding session. The goal was to create high-quality images that could be used on social media, their website, and in general marketing. Many local publications have been writing about Cana since they recently won the Governor’s Cup.

One of the keys to a successful stylized branding session is that every detail needs to be discussed. Many business owners are unaware that having models and a signed model release is important. If you have models or people to stage an activity you can also influence the attire and color scheme.

Use of depth of field makes the viewer focus on the Virginia wine.

If your business wants to put an ad in a local magazine you might want to feature your logo. This is why photographers leave “negative space” in the image. It is the perfect place for a logo or text.

Staging moments that would typically happen during a wine tasting make the photographs more believable.

For this photoshoot, I provided the models, flowers, food, and the tablescape. Of course, Cana Vineyards supplied the delicious wine and items from their deluxe picnic!

When editing this image of the wine being poured, I enhanced the highlights and sharpened the lines. This draws the viewer’s eye to focus on the stream of wine being poured.

Playing with depth of field can make an image more appealing.

Make sure to capture the atmosphere in the background when taking commercial portraits.

Don’t forget about black and white particularly if you have a colorful logo.

Photographing the buildings and grounds will give clarity to guests who are interested in hosting an event at your venue.

Be sure to capture people enjoying the grounds.

Remember to consider harmonious colors when making a tablescape.

In the first session, I photographed their award-winning winemaker, Melanie Natoli who is featured in this photo. You can view her branding session here https://www.jenniferjulestudios.com/blog/virginia-governors-cup-winner-photography-branding-session/ When photographing for a vineyard you might want to feature the winemaker. You will notice that in this image the group of people to the right are out of focus. The purpose is to put the focus on the winemaker whose wine they are enjoying.