This last month has been one of my busiest ever. I think it's a combination of being let out of lockdown, but also the exciting fact that many people have re-invented themselves during this period and are now ready to re-introduce themselves. It's the perfect time to get some pictures done, but someone asked me recently, why a Personal Branding Shoot? What do you actually use the pictures for?
Well the answer isn't really very different whatever you do. I have, in the last year photographed life-coaches, social media managers, product business owners, creative artists and even landscape gardeners, but the two things these entrepreneurs all have in common, is that they all have websites and they are all on social media channels. In order to keep these fresh, they need content.
For some business owners, it might be easier if you have a tactile pretty product to sell, but if your business is mainly written content or you have a personal service to offer, you still need a relevant photo to accompany your content and to grab your reader's attention.
When I schedule a Personal Branding photo-shoot, I have a pre-discussion based on the answers to my questionnaire I give clients, so that I can get to know my client better. I then identify the kinds of photos that might be useful for their business website and the updates they might wish to post on socials. I have a lot of experience on Instagram (I first posted in 2008!) so I am able to think about the kind of content that will work for your business and the stories you might wish to tell.
With all of this in mind, I make a shoot list and a mini mood board so that we cover as much as possible on the day of the shoot as it can be quite full on. I like to try and get as much variety of pictures as possible, so this can include clothing changes and location changes.
The crop of a photo is not something I expect my clients to have to think about, but I do. It can be absolutely key to consider whether it's an image for a wide banner on your website or a square on instagram and with this in mind, when you receive your personal Gallery of photos, I edit them so you can clearly see the photos that will look good on your website pages and those that are ready for Instagram.
I have loved meeting all my new clients during these past few weeks and look forward to the ones I have in the diary. I'm fairly booked up now until the Summer, but please do get in touch, even if you want to discuss a shoot for the future.
Thank you to the featured businesses in this blog
Mmaa Social https://mmaa.social
Tina Disley Wellbeing https://www.tinadisley.com
Harriet Rand Designs https://www.harrietranddesigns.com