What Is Personal Branding Photography?
Personal Branding Photography is a specialized genre of photography that aims to capture an individual's unique personality, story, & professional identity. The purpose of a Branding Photoshoot is to create a visual narrative that goes beyond simply depicting you, your products, & your services - this form of photography provides you with a customized set of images that reflect your business's core values, communicate your brand message, & show examples of the experience you provide to your clients & customers. A session with a Personal Branding Photographer will provide you with invaluable content that you can use to fill out your website, refresh your marketing campaigns, update your social media pages, & more!
Personal Branding photos are carefully planned, styled, & created for specific marketing uses - these photos show both the people & the personality behind your brand in addition to the actual products or services that you offer. A business with a solid Personal Brand is consistently presenting its value & purpose in a way that is informative, visually interesting, & cohesive.
Detail Shots | Location Photos | Team Photos | Action Shots | Behind-The-Scenes | Promo Shots | ETC.
Why Is Personal Branding Photography Important?
In today's fast-paced & visually-driven world, Personal Branding has become increasingly important for professionals, entrepreneurs, influencers, & small business owners. Branding goes beyond a well-crafted resume or an eloquent elevator pitch; your brand encompasses a holistic representation of who you are & what you stand for. Personal Branding can be defined as: “The unique presence & personality that you display both online & offline to your potential clients & customers.” Visually, this includes your brand colors, graphics & logo, fonts, images, etc. - all these elements work together to create a recognizable brand that identifies your product or service & differentiates it from your competitors.
Personal Branding Photography is a particularly powerful tool for shaping a strong & authentic brand. When it comes to establishing or refreshing your online presence & marketing materials, most of us start out by spending time stalking our competitor’s websites for ideas, exploring hashtags, & making Pinterest boards full of design inspiration - all with the intent of creating content that will attract potential customers & motivate them to trust you, work with you, & buy your product. There are endless blogs, youtube tutorials, & other resources available online that provide lists of marketing strategies & branding ideas, & many of them advise the following: The face that you present to potential customers via your online presence & visual marketing must inspire them to read more, explore your products, browse your galleries, & ultimately be driven to purchase a product or contact you for a service. Easier said than done, right?
In our current digital age, not only do consumers have shorter & shorter attention spans, but our potential clients & customers also expect to get their answers & solutions instantly & easily. If you don’t have a visual presence that catches a potential customer’s attention within the first few seconds, they will click away from you in their search for something more compelling that fills whatever need it is that they have. So how do we keep a potential customer’s interest without over or underwhelming them?
A simple solution to the challenge is this: Personalized Visual Storytelling, aka a series of images that instantly presents your brand concept or story to your viewer. Your visual story may be told using photography, graphics, video, or a mixture of all three. The human brain processes visuals much faster than text, & savvy advertisers know that telling a visual story with their marketing & branding is the most effective way to quickly relay information & catch & retain the attention of their customers. Recent studies show that potential clients & customers actually prefer to get their information visually, & they’d rather watch a video or see a set of images that communicate a concept than take the time to read a long block of text, no matter how well written it may be.
Content leads to conversations, & your visual presence is either working for you or against you in a world that is overflowing with many, many competitors!
DO I need Personal Branding Photography for my business?
Nowadays, anyone & everyone can create a platform online to highlight themselves & their products & services. It’s become absolutely essential that businesses are constantly refreshing their websites, social media feeds, & even their print marketing with media that shows potential customers how their lives will change for the better if they choose to engage with you & your brand.
You may be ready for a Personal Branding Photoshoot if:
You’re offering new products & services.
You want to encourage repeat customers.
You’re building a new website.
You want to build a loyal following.
You want to keep your marketing fresh & consistent.
You have a blog, an email newsletter, use social media, etc.
You want to drive more traffic to your site.
You’re becoming an industry leader.
You run ads online or in print
You need industry-specific content.
You purchase stock images.
…& more!
Marketing consultants, content creators (videographers, designers, & photographers) & you, the business owner, can all work together to create a powerful visual marketing plan that includes portraits of you & your team, images of your product & place of business, & styled photos that show the customer how your service or product is created, used, & valued.
If you are willing to invest the extra time & resources required to illustrate your business’s story in a way that is both personable & practical, it will undeniably help you to target the right clients, increase engagement with followers & potential customers, & build strong relationships that can lead to repeat sales & customer referrals later on down the road. If you choose to invest in Personal Branding Photography, know that you are taking the first step towards creating a strong visual identity that will resonate with your audience, enhance your professionalism, & set you apart from your competition!