Personal Branding Photography

With the new year, we are introducing a new service, personal branding photography. The idea of personal branding began when Fast Company magazine ran a cover article called “The Brand Called You” by Tom Peters in 1997. So what is personal branding? Your personal brand is your reputation, which is defined by your character. Your personal brand is also your legacy; it’s the way others remember you through your actions, your expertise, and the emotional connections that you make. Your personal brand shows your authenticity from the inside out. (Chritton, Susan (2014-06-25). Personal Branding For Dummies. Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, once said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room”.
While it’s impossible to control what others say about you, it’s imperative you guide it. Your personal brand is something you can consciously manage.  You manage your personal brand by putting out into the world what you wish to be known for. Said another way, you are what you do. What I see of you is what I believe you are. Thoughts become things. What do you want to be known for? This is you defining your personal brand. Once you’ve defined your personal brand, how do you show it? This is where your personal branding photo shoot comes into play. When you hear coaches and marketers talk about “being seen” or gaining more visibility, a big part of that is the actual images.

There are three types of images included in your personal branding photo session.

The Headshot

A headshot alone is not personal branding but may contribute to your personal brand. a staple headshot is still important. For example, your social media profile photos should be close up, recognizable images of you.

The Funnel

In the online business space, product launches are king. Selling a coaching package? You’ll need funnel images, pointing the way toward your killer content. Landing pages with your lead magnets and opt-ins benefit from visual cues. This might be a photograph of you, eyes pointed directly at that freebie as the solution to your potential client’s problems. Or it might be you pointing in the direction of your newsletter signup on your website.

Brand Images

The third kind of personal brand photography is the real goal. The most effective photography for you will be very different than the best photography for another. Discovering and living by your core values can keep you grounded when it comes to your photo shoot ideas. We begin by designing a photography session that can show those values and imply the results you deliver is the goal of your personal branding photo session. Investing in high-quality, authentic photography is required if you want your visuals to play a crucial role in delivering the personality of your brand. We shop with our eyes. We make many purchase decisions based on first impressions. And buying is often an emotional decision more than a practical one. Therefore, your branding is about influencing the way consumers think about you and your business or product. As a result, personal branding photography can have a huge impact your business and your bottom line.

The following images are from a personal branding session with Dr. Deana Duggin, owner of Find the Balance Chiropractic in Virginia Beach. We had done a head shot session and other photography for her business in the past. I knew Dr. Duggin to be very interested in health and wellness, healthy cooking, and the outdoors. her about page on her website describes her this way: In her spare time Dr. Deana enjoys hiking in the mountains and spending time reading books from her library. She loves to listen to all sorts of music and has an insatiable appetite for learning, helping those in need, and advancing her practice through the latest in business and medical techniques. We designed her personal branding session to highlight these values. We will be doing at least one more session at her office in the near future.

Let us help you control your brand. Contact us to schedule a consultation to plan your personal branding photography session.