It's not all sunshine and roses

During many consultation calls, clients will open up the conversation by telling me what they want.

And generally, that involves looking happy, knowledgeable and confident.

And I agree that this is certainly an important part of the mix.

But, as we dive deeper down the rabbit hole of discussing their needs, I also make a point to talk about other important aspects of what needs to show up in their image portfolio.

Specifically, I mention the emotional spectrum.

You see, experts help solve problems in one way, shape, form or flavor.

The stories that these experts share related to the problems they solve, whether on their website, in social content, or on their blogs, aren’t exactly sunshine and roses.

As a result, the image content they connect to these stories needs to be visually aligned.

What does that mean?

If you’re talking about something that is a major roadblock in someone’s life or business, it doesn’t make any sense to connect a photo of you smiling from ear to ear, because that creates a disconnect between the message and the visual.

It detracts from the intended impact that that post, article or section of your website is meant to create.

For the lack of a better word, it’s weird.

How to avoid this?

During your portrait session, yes, be sure to capture a variety of images that span the emotional spectrum, from vulnerable to victory, and everything in between.

When you have this type of visual variety at your disposal, you and your team can compliment every single story you share with photos that visually punctuate each and every sentiment of those stories.

This serves to create more effective content, overall.

That way, you won’t be sharing content where the visuals and the stories are a bad fit together.

Keep this in mind before your next portrait session.