Visual Storytelling for a marketing professional
It’s always nice to be revisited by past clients, :)
Especially when we're talking branded lifestyle portraits, :)
About two years ago, I worked with Milan on some video blogs to help promote his thought leadership on the marketing state of affairs for the cosmetic healthcare provider space.
Although our personal contact was limited, Milan was on my email list and followed my posts on LinkedIn.
This is why content creation and consistency with that content is important, folks!
One day, out of the blue, he contacted me and we were talking portraits!
After the session, I sat down with him to ask a couple questions about the experience, and why branded lifestyle portraits were so important for him to create.
(Check out some of the images from the branded lifestyle portrait session.)
Q: Why did you invest in a branded lifestyle portrait session?
A: I’ve been helping cosmetic healthcare providers (i.e. plastic surgeons, dermatologists, dentists, etc.) find their ideal patients for more than 8 years now and the primary problem that ties all of them together is – how do you stand apart when all of your competition is offering the exact same service?
Over the years, I discovered the key to that answer was visual storytelling. However, it took me a while to realize that just like my clients, I, too, needed to visually tell stories through still images and video in order to set myself apart from my competition.
Q: How did the pre-session strategy call set up your portrait session for success?
A: I think with anything, if you really want to get the most out of an experience planning is critical. Therefore, the pre-session strategy helped me to gather my thoughts, plan ideas, props, and then bounce those ideas off with John to further enhance that strategy.
Q: What were your concerns going into the session?
A: I had a very specific goal in mind, which was to visually communicate confidence, but in a provocative way - not sexually provocative, obviously, but rather to incite or stimulate to action.
So, I wanted to express or exude confidence, but simultaneously excite the viewer to want to engage, read more, learn more, and eventually take the next step. That was my vision, but I needed direction in how to do that on my end and I wasn’t sure exactly HOW to do that.
Q: Did you feel comfortable throughout your session?
A: In the very beginning I was very uncomfortable, but as we continued, it became much easier and I think that’s reflective in the photos when you look at them from beginning to end.
Q: How did you feel about reviewing and selecting the final images? Were you given advice and suggestions?
A: I think this was more challenging than the actual shoot itself because there were just so many great photos to select from. But yes, John was very helpful in guiding me as to which photos would be best suited to express my vision.
Q: For someone who is thinking about investing in a branded lifestyle portrait session, what are the top three pieces of advice you can share with that person?
A: Select the right photographer - Sounds lovely, right? But how is that done? Look at their portfolio and ask yourself, “Do I like what I see and could I see myself as one of those people?” If that answer is yes, then you know you’ve chosen the right guy or gal.
Plan in advance - If you really want to optimize your experience, some solo planning prior to the consultation is something I highly recommend. This way you’re absolutely sure you’ll get what you want from the experience.
Have fun - If you’re a type A, perfectionist, it’s easy to feel stress and overwhelm and that feel is really difficult to hide in your photos.
Now, let’s turn the attention to you…
Does Milan’s story resonate with you?
Are you looking to capture a bunch of branded lifestyle portraits to help promote your business and brand?
I can definitely help you with that.
Schedule a call with me to see if we’re a fit to work together, :)
PS - For those of you who aren’t in the know, I mail out these blogs 3x a week, and lemme tell you, they’re a real party, so, if you’d like to get in on this, sign up for it here and I’ll throw in a free gift for you...because I care, :)