One of the hardest things about being a Personal Branding Photographer is explaining what it is and why business owners can benefit from it. So, I thought I’d ask a client for their take on it all. But who could I ask? Then it came to me. I wanted to ask someone who had used a few photographers and had some good and bad experiences. But also someone who wasn’t a predominately online business. My good business pal Fiona would be just the ticket! What follows is a transcribe of our Q&A session.
Tell me a bit about your business?
I am a holistic therapist and I work with women using a blend of aromatherapy and heart centred therapies to bring balance and harmony to their lives.
Describe what the term Personal Branding means to you.
Personal branding to me means everything about my business – how it looks and feels and how it ties in with my business and personal values. In essence, when I was building my brand, I wanted it to represent how women feel when they think of my business – you will notice that hearts are incorporated in my logo, which is mostly my signature – I am my brand so that was very important – I am at the heart of my business.
Your business isn’t a primarily online business, when did you decide you needed more than a professional headshot and why?
During lockdown, my business was closed due to regulations and so I spent a lot of time online and working on my business – and I noticed that when I posted on social media that photographs of me accompanying my message always got better engagement with my client base than when I used a stock image or one that had been “borrowed” from somewhere like google images.
This got me thinking about getting photographs taken and initially I got professional headshots done and they were great! For someone who hated getting their photograph taken and felt very conscious, I had a great time!
I uploaded them into my website, for the first time having a picture of myself that I really liked to share around and all of a sudden, it was so simple when anyone asked for a photograph, I could just nip to the folder on my laptop and grab one – no deliberation!
In 2021, I went on a retreat for female small business owners in North Wales and as part of this weekend, each of the participants got a mini brand shoot with a brand photographer – I was really apprehensive however there was absolutely no need to be, as she put me at ease immediately and it was like having fun with a friend – the photographs from that blew me away! And I still use them to this day! That experience totally changed my mindset – investing in proper brand photography was definitely worth it!
How did you search for photographers?
As I mentioned before, I met one of the brand photographers I use through a mutual business friend, however I have found the other two photographers I have used on social media and I used them because I could relate to the content they shared and knew there was a spark between us and my intuition proved to be right!
Is it a Once and Done type thing?
Yes and no – some of the images you will get from a brand shoot are evergreen and you can use them forever – for example, shots of your work tools, your hands etc will never really be out of date, however there are many reasons I have had another session – time of year, a product launch, specifically for Christmas, and most recently, because I look so different to the main shoot I had done for my website two years ago having lost a lot of weight and grown my hair – it is important to me, and more importantly my prospective clients, that I am the woman I portray online.
What do you use your pictures for? Do you decide before the shot or after you’ve seen the pictures?
I use my photographs everywhere! On my website, and on social media mostly – I use them as they are, sometimes add quotes and my logo to them with Canva, or use parts of a photograph to suit a particular piece of content I have curated. Many of the images from my brand shoot were taken with this in mind and my photographer and I discussed this beforehand.
What’s the experience been like with the togs you’ve used (the good, the bad and the ugly)?
I have had good and not so good experiences – I would say that the most important thing about choosing someone to create your images is that you feel that they get you and your business, and really understand what you want to create and work with you. I use two different photographers for my images now – the reason behind that is versatility – and a different look, which is still in line with my brand as both photographers really understand me and my businesses.
How did you feel when you saw your images for the first time after a shoot?
To be honest, for the last few shoots I have had I thought “Wow! Is that really me?” They were amazing! Sometimes you look at a picture of yourself and it’s easy to be really critical but good brand photographers have a knack of getting the very best of you and when I look at them I often see myself from a much better perspective – probably the way others see me!
Brand photography isn’t cheap. What do you think the return on investment (ROI) is for your business?
It’s hard to quantify the ROI on brand photography. For less than the price of two Flat Whites from my favourite coffee vendor each week, I have an awesome bank of images that I can dip into at any time for any reason. I have a very active social media presence with good engagement and a website that gets about 400 hits a week. People recognise my brand – and you can’t put a price on that!
Finally, do you have any advice for businesses looking to invest in some personal branding photography?
Do it – even if you start small, investing in your brand through professional images is one of the greatest gifts you will ever give your business!
Thank you, Fiona. You can find Fiona’s website here.
