by Yvonne
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?
by Yvonne
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
