There’s more to your personal brand than a headshot.
“Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business.” – Steve Forbes
Whether you’re a small business owner, an entrepreneur or a professional, how you portray yourself — your brand — is an essential part of your success.
Increasingly, businesses are looking to elevate their marketing with collections of beautiful, branded photos they can share with their audiences. Rather than simply get headshots for their website or annual reports, a branded photoshoot is about producing a collection of photographs that visually communicate your personality, energy and brand story.
So, if you’re looking to up your marketing game, know there’s more to a personal or professional brand than a headshot. Much more.
Read on!
The Classic Headshot
Let’s start by understanding the headshot. Often taken from the shoulders up, headshots are straightforward. One outfit in a single location or background. Clients receive a small number of professional photos to share as they like, for example on a Linkedin profile photo, a website or on a visual resume.
A good quality headshot is essential to show your professionalism, build trust and engage clients or prospective employers. Essentially, it’s a little window into who you are.
Therefore, I find that a headshot session is best for those just starting their personal and professional branding journey, who have a smaller budget to invest or those only needing a small number of images.
Personal Branding Photos
Personal brand photography includes headshots, but adds more variety of photo style to the mix. Working at your desk. Talking to a client. Having a team meeting. Taking a coffee break or walking down the street. All types of scenes are available for a personal branded shoot. What kind of feeling do you want to elicit form your clients when the see the photos?
I often share these key benefits with clients::
- They make a great first impression. Consider branded, professional photos as an opportunity to demonstrate your credibility. It helps increase your customers’ trust in your brand as an authentic one, and one they want to support.
- Multiple uses makes them cost effective. Websites, social media, marketing materials, presentations, brochures… the list goes on! Having a cache of professionally taken photos saves time and makes it easier to build effective brand recognition.
- They help tell the story. We’ve all heard the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” One of the most important aspects of establishing an attractive brand is the ability to clearly convey who and what your business is, while offering your customers something that’s immediately recognizable as desirable. Professional photography empowers you to tell this story without actually saying a word.
If you want your business to get noticed and stand above your competitors, personal branding photography will really help.
The clients I have worked with on their personal branding have all seen an increase in their engagement on their social media, website and other marketing tactics, as well as in overall business.
What are you waiting for? If you’re ready to get started and help your brand grow, I’d love to help. Contact me today.