Personal branding is so much more than selecting your favorite colors, choosing a logo & getting your headshot taken. When done properly, personal branding photos help you tell stories. They help you connect with your ideal audience. They help you show up visually on your website, in social media posts, and within your marketing materials.
Simply, stories are a collection of pictures representing you, your personality & your business. Pictures help your audience gain an understanding of who you are, what you can offer, and why they should hire you.
Stories invite your audience into your life, both business & personal.
What kind of stories should you tell?
Share stories about your business, products & services.
With the help of your personal brand photographer, curate stories that show what you do. If you’re the owner of a brick & mortar store, these could be pictures of you stocking shelves, operating the cash register, helping clients, or decorating the front window display.
Think about how you can portray your personality in these stories. Let things like clothing, props, and even facial expressions guide the way.
Are you crafty and make the products you sell? If so, suggested pictures would be of your workspace, your raw materials, you creating the products, as well as you showing your products to clients.
Perhaps your business is primarily service-based. Perhaps you’re a small business coach. Images of you working behind a laptop, meeting with a client, or speaking at an event provide your audience with a vision of how you show up for your clients.
Share stories about your personal life.
You know the proverb: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy? Well, the same is true when telling stories through personal branding photography.
In general, your audience knows what you do. What they don’t know is why you do it, and better yet, what you do when you’re selling your products or services. It’s not about sharing every minute of your day with possible strangers. It’s more about sharing the things in life that are most important to you. The things that motivate you to do what you do. It’s sharing your passions with others that may be interested in your services or may just want to learn more about you.
The following are some simple examples of stories outside of work you can share:
Morning routine: exercise, meditation, walking the dogs, getting the kids ready for school,
Social: drinks with friends, favorite coffee shop,
Weekend: hikes in nature, playing board games with the family, snuggling with your partner
Passions: Do you like to paint with watercolors? Read the newest novel while enjoying coffee. Volunteering at a 5k run benefiting a local charity.
In each of the stories above, let your personality drive the energy of the pictures. Are you whimsical & energetic? Perhaps you’re more of a quiet bookworm? Make sure that your photographer understands your personality and curates a personal branding session that shows it off!
How to plan a personal branding session with your photographer.
As mentioned above, personal branding photography is not about sharing everything you do with your audience. It’s about sharing the things that are most important to you that very well may be the same things that are most important to them.
Before your personal branding photography session, you and your photographer should discuss your target audience. What brands do they support? Where do they spend their time? What age group are they?
Even though you’re planning a session to tell your story, you’ll want to ensure that these stories also conjure up emotions & feelings that are meaningful to your audience.
For example, if the majority of your audience owns a dog & supports the local animal shelter, photographing you and your dog will tell a more powerful story than photos of you at the zoo.
In all of the above examples, always remember to show your personality.
The best stories are the ones that share your business, your passions, and your dreams & aspirations. Your personality.
When planning your personal branding session, photograph stories that provide an insight into your business, your life outside of work, and your passions. Note that all stories should show your personality.
Not sure what your audience is interested in seeing? Look at your social media feed for posts that received the most interaction. How about frequently asked questions? Just a little bit of detective work will bring clarity.
Just think. If a picture tells the tale of a thousand words, imagine what a whole personal branding portfolio can do!
Interested in learning more? Schedule a discovery chat today!