There's a helpful article called 7 Tips for Successful Branding from PDNonline.
Some advice from a photo consultant:
"Ideally, your brand should reflect your unique personal identity—something that arises from your DNA that nobody else can appropriate, explains photo consultant Allegra Wilde. Figuring out what that is, exactly, may call for intensive self-reflection. "
"So many photographers lack distinction—and compete with each other—because they try to appeal to particular markets. That sounds logical, but it’s backward, Allegra Wilde argues. Instead of thinking, “I’ll shoot some beauty images and go after cosmetic clients,” she suggests, figure out instead what interests you, and what you know intimately (your hobbies are a good place to start) and shoot those subjects. You’ll have intimate knowledge of the subjects closest to you that other photographers won’t have, and that will be conveyed in your pictures like some secret insider’s language to others who share your knowledge. "
"Market aggressively and position your portfolio in such a way that speaks to the smartest people out there who are just like you. Most photographers do it the other way around—they go after the most literal thing, and what they’re forgetting is, so is everyone else!"
"From the minute your first promotion is in their hand, until you send the final invoice for the job, everything should be consistent, and clean, and readable,” Wilde says. The reason is because your graphical look builds what she calls “visual equity.” She explains, “With enough broadcasting, enough promotion, [your graphic identity] becomes attached to your images—so that eventually people are going to be able to look at your typography and conjure your imagery. They’ll be able to [imagine] your images before their eyes even if they only see a tag on a portfolio.""
In slowly building a commercial portfolio this is something I've been struggling with. Should I do a quick visual survey of what images are commercially viable and try to emulate that? Or do I pursue a personal vision and hope that it will speak to a small but dedicated audience? So far I've opted for the latter and continue to shoot a personal project that may, or may not, be "suitable" for a commercial portfolio.
