When going into business for yourself, there’s no colleagues or company to hide behind when it comes to your branding. You and your expertise are being put front and centre.
As part of your launch, you’ll need to come up with your look and visual feel, which means brand photography. Gone are passport-style corporate headshots, it’s time to get serious and promote yourself and your business.
So why is personal branding photography important and how can you prepare yourself for the all-important photo shoot.
First impressions count
One of the first things people see is your imagery. And we all know how much first impressions count. How do you want people to view you and your business? Do you want to come across as knowledgable, fun, quirky, friendly, serious? This is something you will need to discuss with your photographer.
Having unique, identifiable photos establishes a connection with your target audience quickly. They already know something about you before they delve further into your content.
Look your best
Photoshoots are often booked weeks or months in advance. This gives you plenty of time to look your best on the day. Carefully choose your outfits, makeup and accessories. Get your hair cut and have it styled on the day, most photographers have links to stylists who can accompany them on a shoot.
You can start prepping earlier by having some treatments with dermal rollers that use chemical etching to produce needles that are non-invasive but give you a beautiful glow.
Discuss everything with your photographer first. They will be able to help you choose flattering colours and patterns that will match your brand and make you look your best.
Work with the right photographer
The photographer you choose is key to your personal branding success. There are a lot of photographers out there. Choose on that specialises in personal branding imagery rather than strictly corporate shots.
Building a rapport with them will help you to relax when on the shoot and get the very best shots. They will work collaboratively with you. Be encouraging but never convince you to try a style or look you aren’t totally comfortable with.
Create a narrative for your business
Your photography should tell the story of you and your brand. It should give people an instant insight into your personality. You might think that’s a lot to achieve for a few photos but many entrepreneurs use their brand imagery to their advantage, building recognition and increasing conversions.
Takeaways
If you’ve come from a traditional corporate background which is all stern headshots and posing in power suits, next to other people in power suits, then you might initially dismiss brand photography as style over substance. But in a market where you and your skills are the product, then you need to make sure that your imagery reflects who you are.
Enjoy this part of the process, that you have full control over and have fun creating your own visual story for your own business.
Photo by Céline Druguet on Unsplash
