You've come to realise that your old corporate headshot & the occasional selfie aren't doing your business justice, but you're not sure where to start to up-level your business imagery? Read on to find out!
1. What personal brand images can do for you
Research conducted by Amy Cuddy of Harvard Business School has shown than when forming a first impression of someone, over 80% of that first impression is based on how trustworthy and competent we think this person is. Stock photographs, by their generic nature, won’t help your potential clients judge how trustworthy and competent you might be - only photos of yourself will.
“ A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer's decision to choose one product or service over another ” - Seth Godin
But even more importantly, gaining clarity about your brand values and what makes you unique through your brand photoshoot planning process and seeing the stunning end results will fill you with confidence to show the world what you have to offer.
2. Start with your intention - what do you want to say?
Your brand images require meticulous planning - that’s if you don’t want to end up with photos of yourself smiling at your laptop whilst holding a cup of coffee, or scribbling in a pink notebook on fake marble paper... like so many other people do!
The whole point of personal brand images is to make you stand out and make you memorable by showing what’s unique about you.
When planning a brand photoshoot with a client, I always ask them a series of questions, which include:
What's your brand about and who is it for?
What was the journey that lead you to doing what you do today?
What problems do you solve for your customers?
If your brand was a person, how would you describe them?
How do you want people to feel each time they interact with you?
What is unique about your products / services?
What are the core values that drive your everyday business decisions?
What do you love most about your business?
3. How to capture what you stand for
After the information gathering comes the creative planning process - one of my favourite parts!
It’s time to design creative ways to capture the answers to the questions above in striking photographs. If you are working with a photographer, they will likely take the lead on helping you figure this out.
If you are trying on your own,
Think about the type of portraits that are best suited to your brand, that will help your customers know, like and trust you
Think about conveying emotions in your images - think about the scene set-up, the lighting mood, and the location
Consider showing your products, your space, your surroundings, the tools you use, or the little touches that make your customer experience unique
Consider showing your everyday, your morning rituals, your behind-the-scenes, places you love to spend time in. It’s all part of your story, and all tells a message about your brand that will attract your ideal customers.
How/where you ultimately intend to use your images also needs to be taken into consideration. Do you need wide images for your website? Do you need negative space to be able to make banners? Do you need images that will work well as a square for Instagram? Do you have any campaigns coming up around any specific themes? etc...
...In a nutshell
“Branding is the process of connecting good strategy with good creativity” — Marty Neumeier
Personal brand photography isn’t about snapping lifestyle shots in a cafe, it requires:
Clarity on who you are, who you serve, and what makes you unique
A concept for how to will visually tell your brand story
Once the above homework is done and your photos are skilfully captured, your personal brand images give you the opportunity to:
shape how you represent your business and your values
attract the right kind of people to you
and feel more confident as the face of your business
I hope you find this framework helpful! If there is anything you'd like to learn more about, let me know in the comments!
If you would like to find out more about my personal branding photoshoots, schedule your free 15 min consultation now.
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