And who am I playing in this so-called Brand Story?
It can be hard to wrap your head around it, and know where to start.
I can guarantee you that there are tonnes of stories that you are sitting on from your life right now, that are either directly relevant to your brand and offer, or can be told in a way that makes them so.
And your processes, origins and values are a well of story-rich content.
I’m not a copywriter (I know some really good ones though if you need one!) But I do have lots of tips in this area which I share with my email subscribers.
So, where do I start?
The first thing to think about in any story are the characters.
When we hear a story, certain characters are immediately recognisable to us. We have this deep inate understanding from all the tales we’ve ever heard from childhood.
They just resonate deeply, and we don’t even have to think about it to understand what they are all about.
This immediate recognition can be a really powerful device in branding as a shortcut to quickly create a powerful perception of your brand.
Who are YOU…?
It’s crucial to know who your brand is in your particular stories.
This will avoid confusing your audience and create a shortcut to connection.
If you’re not already clear on what type of character your brand is, I can help! Take my quick quiz here to help shine some light.
It will only take you about 5 minutes, and it will give you lots of food for thought, and clarity on who the hell your brand actually is, or needs to be, in this story of yours.
If you’re on a desktop, use the arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll through the options.
Why is knowing who I am as a brand important?
Knowing all of this will not only give YOU clarity in your messaging, but it’s a really crucial building block for the imagery that I will create for you…
Your character will shape everything from location choices, props, camera angles, poses, activities, colours…. it’s the basis of everything.
So it’s a win win, really!
And don’t worry, it doesn’t mean dressing up in a cape!
Brand Photography has become a buzz word in recent years, right?
As a small business owner, It sounds like it might be something that you need. But you’re not sure exactly why…!
So, let me share some of the benefits of commissioning your very own set of on-brand Personal Brand images…
Here are my top five:
1. You ARE your business
Even if you have a small team around you, you are the embodiment of what the business is, what it stands for.
You need to stand up and own that, and be the face of your brand.
People buy from people, so don’t go hiding behind a logo. If you have a small business of any kind, you need to have recent professionally taken photos of yourself in your brand pack.
2. Brands with a story behind them are more engaging
We all love a story, and we all love a brand that serves us up a consistent and engaging narrative that tells us what they stand for and what their values are.
We want the story behind their process, or the story of what they’re going to do for us.
A great brand photographer will want to know what the story is that you’re trying to tell, or help you tease it out if you haven’t given it any thought. They’ll then translate that story into visuals that make that narrative clear wherever you use it.
Armed with this clarity and beautiful imagery to articulate it, get ready for your engagement to grow!
3. You’ll feel like a BOSS
This one is HUGE. It’s always the thing that is mentioned in my client feedback – they come out of the shoot feeling sooo empowered, confident and professional.
Your mindset is SUCH a key element of your success in business, so the difference a brand shoot can do for you mentally really is remarkable.
Seeing yourself in your images, and seeing the professional expert that you actually are, will really make a difference to the actions that you take, which will in turn make your business more successful.
4. You will feel like being more visible
Once you have your suite of beautiful, on-brand images to choose from, you’ll find that you’re actually keen to post.
You’ll WANT to refresh your website and put your face on there. You’ll actively seek opportunities to use them!
No more hiding behind your logo…
The process of teasing out your brand story that we go through as part of the planning process, will mean that you have loads of clarity on what you want to be saying, to go with those images.
And I’m sure you don’t need me to point out, that visibility is key to the growth of your audience, and your business.
5. You’ll be ready to grab opportunities that might otherwise have passed you by
I’ve had headshot clients come to me at very late notice, when an opportunity presented itself and they simply had no decent professional picture of themselves AT ALL that they could use.
Press coverage, speaking opportunities at conference, podcast guest appearances, even a feature in your local magazine or a trade listing – you need to have good quality imagery to supply. If you’re interested in getting PR, good imagery is absolutely essential – I’ll have some resources for you coming soon.
Having a bank of great images of you, and which tell your brand story in a visual way, means you’ll be ready when opportunity knocks. In fact – it will make you subconsciously SEEK those opportunities!
So, what do you think – can you see how YOU could benefit from a Personal Branding Photoshoot?
So many of my clients come to me having put off their personal branding shoot for way too long, for one reason or another.
Life gets in the way, sometimes…
But often, it’s deeper than that – they put off their shoot because of some notion that they themselves are not ready at the time.
Say you’ve gained a bit of weight and you’re thinking “I’ll just wait to shift that before I get my brand shoot booked”. Or maybe you’re worried that you’re starting to look a bit older, and so you leave those headshot photos from 5 years ago on your website.
So what happens when you’re striving to look perfect?
Let’s look at a few of the impacts…
1. You turn up to meet a client or get them on a video call – and they maybe don’t even recognise you as the face on your website!
And suddenly there’s a massive crack in your authenticity and trust. The trust that you’ve been curating so carefully with your meticulously crafted homepage copy and relatable social media captions…
It’s so important to live your brand values, especially if one of yours is authenticity. You’ve got to have images that are authentically you, and that show you at THIS point in your life.
You shouldn’t do it on a dating site… you shouldn’t do it on your website 🙂
2. You are missing a chance to connect! Your IDEAL clients are probably experiencing the same issues!
Even people who seem super confident and ‘together’ in their appearance, have self doubt and hang ups. So being brave and facing the world in what you see to be a less than perfect state, is actually going to connect way better to the right people you are trying to reach.
OK so a morbidly obese personal trainer may not get many clients – but I’m guessing if you’re a personal trainer, you are not! But I would totally choose a personal trainer who looked like she understood my struggles, because she’s lived with them herself and found some solutions, over one who looks like she’s always been fit and toned.
YOUR people will feel more of a connection to you, if you can let your true self show.
3. You won’t have the right type of professional brand images you need, when you need them.
For sure, you need to have some polished ‘best you’ shots for certain of your brand visibility strategic needs, but it is equally important to have an array of quality images of the less-than perfect, more relatable you.
Different platforms have a different vibe, and different stories need to be told.
This is why the full personal branding shoot experience with me always involves several outfits, and locations – so we can capture the polished you, and the more real one. We’ll aim to capture your unique quirks and passions, so you’re ready to show up professionally online as the real you that your competitors can’t possibly copy.
4. Even worse than this – you won’t have any professional brand images AT ALL, when you need them!
Imagine you’ve got an amazing opportunity to have a full page editorial spread in a magazine with an audience packed with your ideal clients. There’s a print deadline, but all you have are some phone selfies and a low res photo from Facebook that your mate took of you at someone’s wedding that looks pretty nice, though you’re wearing full wedding guest gear.
For sure, your editorial piece won’t get past the edit stage, if you haven’t got any good high quality images to go with your story.
Don’t let your need for perfection mean that you put off your branding photoshoot till the 12th of Never, and let these sorts of opportunities float by.
5. You’re missing the chance to make your business more credible.
In a world of AI and filters, it’s becoming increasingly hard to trust that things are real any more.
Which is kinda scary really!
I don’t know about you, but it gives me an extra layer of resistance when I’m buying anything, especially online. I check reviews and never follow links from social sites, but rather do a fresh search for the company on Google.
So in this AI crazy context, being less than perfect is actually a BENEFIT to your brand!
Showing yourself as the real you, and in your real environment, rather than just a plain studio headshot, lends you credibility in a world that’s increasingly hard to trust. Even better if you have a suite of brand shots showing you actually doing the thing that you do.
So really (and I say this with sooooo much love!)… you just need to get over yourself 🙂
I’ve heard countless examples, from my clients and others – about how they have embraced imperfections and seen their engagement skyrocket.
Your personal branding photoshoot with me will be a fun experience!
You’ll be relaxed in front of the camera in no time. I’ll guide you to make you look your best, and you’ll start to feel really comfortable and confident – but there’s really no need to aim for perfection!
And the best thing is, you’ll feel a million dollars afterwards – So many of my clients say that their confidence is much higher after their shoot, it’s such an empowering experience!
AND they all say that it was much more fun than they were expecting!
What are you waiting for? Your time to shine is NOW xx
So, we’ve all heard the term “Personal Branding” by now, but what actually is it?
If you’ve been wondering, let me tell you what it is all about…
Branding Photography is a rapidly growing genre of photography, and for a very good reason.
According to the government (and they would know!): “SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) now account for 99.9% of the business population. At the start of 2023: there were estimated to be 5.6 million UK private sector businesses”.
That is a LOT of businesses clambering for consumers’ attention!
So, Branding Photography is the art of providing small businesses like yours with a selection of bespoke high quality images to draw from that allows you to stand out from the competition.
It’s about understanding the value your business offers to your ideal clients, and translating that message into a bank of stunning on-brand imagery for you to use in a wide variety of ways.
What it looks like will be different for each and every brand. The images will tell the whole, unique story of YOUR brand – your mission, your brand values and ethos.
It’s not just about demonstrating the services or products you offer (although it does usually include that!) – it’s as much about capturing the feeling of what your brand is about. The “personal” bit is because it’s portraying what makes you unique.
In a saturated market, it’s more important than ever that you make a quick, and lasting impression on your ideal clients.
Consistent visuals will give your brand the polished, professional look that does exactly that.
This doesn’t mean that the images have to be all stiff and corporate – quite the opposite! Your unique brand voice will be what shows in your images, but in a consistent, professional way, no matter how unconventional that voice might be!
It’s what allows you to shout (with confidence!) about what you do, who you are – and how you (and only YOU) can serve your ideal clients
Personal Branding Photography is all about YOU…
(did I make that bit clear?)
Check out some of my other blog posts coming soon, about the benefits of having a personal branding photoshoot, and how you might use your images.
Have you heard people talk about documentary photography, and not been entirely sure what it actually means? Read on…
This is the sort of thing that I aim to capture during a documentary photography shoot…
…But in an artful way that my dad and his shaky hands certainly couldn’t (bless him!).
The fundamental basis of this type of photography is the premise that real life is beautiful EXACTLY as it is.
Think back to your favourite childhood photos, and I’m willing to bet that they are the ones that show lots of the context of your childhood:, the toys, the clothes that speak of the time that you grew up in.
Real life stuff happening in the frame, not just a tight crop of the family sitting posed in a studio or in a field. Even the cups, or the branding on the jars you can see in the frame will take you back.
So, when you have a documentary shoot, I come into your space and just hang out with you while you do your normal thing. I’m like a (friendly!!) hawk watching for those moments that tell your story.
But I won’t be telling you what to do.
It’s a job that requires patience and great observation, as well as the ability (gleaned over years of practice) to predict what may happen next and where it will happen.
Sometimes the thing you’re waiting for happens, sometimes it doesn’t.
Occasionally something else entirely random happens…
This is the magic of documentary photography. No two shoots are the same, because what we capture is entirely you…
…I just provide the artist’s eye to show you how beautiful your everyday actually is.
