What is Personal Brand Photography?
When you hear about a new company that you are interested in, what do you do? Chances are, you go online and Google the company’s name and check out their website. If you are like me, you also head over to Facebook and Instagram to take a look at their social media presence and learn more about not only the business, but the owners and who they are.
We are living in a time where it’s not enough to build a website, purchase a few stock images and display just the info for the services you provide. Nowadays, consumers are nosy! And that’s great because if offers you an opportunity to prove to your potential clients why they should choose you over all the other people in your industry… even in our world where most industries seem hopelessly over-saturated! Every business owner is an influencer in their own way, and we want to know all about someone before determining whether we like and trust someone enough to do business with them. When potential clients check you out on social media, they are not only looking for a list of services and pricing. They are interested in the whole package… which includes who you are, your personal values, and even your hobbies and what kind of coffee you are addicted to!
While it’s certainly not necessary or even advisable to feel the need to share every detail online about every single thing you think, say, or do… it is important at a bare minimum to give your audience a little insight into who you are and why they should consider hiring you. This is what personal branding is all about… communicating who you are and the value you bring to those who choose to interact with and possibly hire you. Personal brand photography is the visual side of this. An effective personal brand photo session will leave you with what is basically an entire gallery of amazing, personalized, on-brand images that you can draw from over and over as you post regularly on social media. No more endless scrolling through your phone while despairing over your lack of presentable selfies, or unsuccessfully attempting to take those selfies in the first place. Personal brand images provide you with your own library of high-quality, absolutely-you stock images that you can use on a variety of platforms.
Whether you are planning to update your website or have made a new resolution to post regularly on Instagram or Facebook, the images from your personal brand session can be used over and over where they are needed. When you are booking your personal brand photo session, you should communicate to your photographer where you will be using the images so they can take that into account when composing the images during the photo session. Many personal brand photographers will have you complete a questionnaire where you can share this and other information to assist in the planning process. There will often be a telephone call to discuss what images you plan to create, and other pre-planning to make the session run smoothly and to ensure that your session provides you with the images you have been hoping for. Be sure to ask your potential personal brand photographer what the planning process looks like for their particular sessions.
Personal brand photo sessions generally include informal lifestyle portraits of you in your environment, action shots of you doing what you do best, and even product photos if your business involves selling any type of products. There might be close-up images of your work station, and images that allude to the hobbies and passions you have outside of your work life. Sometimes informal, lifestyle family images might even be included in a session. Because personal brand photography is essentially the story of you, your session will be absolutely unique and not exactly like anyone else’s… just like you and your business!
How many personal brand photo sessions will you need? Some entrepreneurs will only want to begin with one month’s worth of images to get a taste of what this type of photography can do to help their business, but many entrepreneurs end up coming back again and again when they see the potential that these sessions hold for business growth! Many photographers offer a few different packages depending on your needs, and some photographers even offer a subscription which include perks for business owners who sign up for the subscription.
All in all, a personal brand photo session is something that every person who wants to either sell a service, product, or even an idea should consider doing at least once! It will allow you to create an online presence that matches the amazing person you are, showcase what you and your business have to offer, and will help you draw in the clients you’ve been hoping to reach! It’s also a great way to take a deep look into yourself and your business, and it can even help you streamline your business goals through all the planning and discussion involved in the process.
If you are in the Calgary area, I would love to be your personal brand photographer! If you are interested in seeing whether you and I would be a good fit to work together, I’d love for you to schedule a free phone consultation so we can discuss your business goals and potentially move forward from there with your very own personal brand photo session!