Contrived authenticity
Contrived authenticity...
...sounds like a slight, but, I actually take it as a compliment - here’s why...
I was on the phone the other day with a prospective client who was interested in learning more about branded lifestyle portraits.
She mentioned that she’s looked at about 8-10 “brand photographer” websites, and a common thread between all of them was that although their work was beautiful, they all felt ill-suited to be leveraged by business owners looking to build an authentic and memorable online presence.
She said their work looked like it should be in a magazine spread and not on someone’s Facebook page promoting their upcoming talk.
Then, she talked about when she looked at my work, she could envision the essence of the person in the image, and how the portraits felt candid and real, and asked me how I achieve that sensibility in my work.
I responded with two words:
Contrived authenticity.
I know this is an oxymoronic statement, but, it’s the best and most accurate way to describe what I do with my clients during their branded lifestyle portrait sessions.
Actually, the groundwork for this contrived authenticity is laid well in advance of the session itself.
During a typical, lengthy, pre-session strategy call, I ask a million and one questions in order to unearth the juicy nuggets of information that illustrate who you are, who you serve and why you do what you do.
Through this discovery process, I learn what your work/life universe looks like, and how it differs from other people in your space of expertise.
Quick and simple example - although everyone brainstorms ideas, some people brainstorm only with paper and pen, and even further, some only use specific color pens with which to write, while others are digital-only and leverage different types of apps to do so.
Little detail, to be sure, but, when you fill an entire session with a ton of these little details that are unique to your process and personality, this leads to an image content portfolio that is authentic specifically to you and no one else.
Once the strategy has been crafted during that phone call, all that’s left to figure out during the branded lifestyle portrait session is how to capture these uniquely you tidbits in action.
This is the “contrived” portion of the conversation.
Although it would be awesome if I was hired to capture portraits of someone conducting business during their working hours, that’s simply not realistic for either one of us.
The last thing someone needs to see in their periphery as they’re looking to close a deal is a photographer 14 inches away from their face snapping pictures of the moment.
The portrait sessions that I conduct with clients are quite involved, and I need their undivided attention in order to create the images that present themselves powerfully, purposefully and memorably.
As a result, we pick a day, select wardrobe that they wear when working alone or working with clients, choose objects/tools/props that have emotional resonance with them and locations that mimic the environments in which they operate - or, the actual spaces, if possible - in order to capture a real-life, or “authentic” sense of what it looks like in a day in the life of that particular person.
One key point to mention here - the photos that are captured during the branded lifestyle portrait session must feel as UN-contrived as possible, otherwise that defeats the whole purpose of these photos.
I know, making it more complicated - what do I mean exactly?
Well, the whole point is to give your audience that fly-on-the-wall experience of you doing your thing, but, if the photos feel staged, posed and fake, then, those portraits will reflect poorly on you and your brand.
There’s several ways that these images can feel staged, posed and fake:
Every photo shows you either ridiculously happy or really badass, and no emotional shades of gray exist
You’re working with a prop - phone, laptop, etc - and you’re looking directly into the camera
You address the camera with an arm and body pose that feels and looks completely unnatural
You’re having a fake conversation with a “client” and it looks horribly setup and staged
These are just a few examples, but, you get the point.
These photos happen because photographers who are not branded lifestyle portrait specialists for speakers, authors and coaches get hired to do the job that they are not qualified to do.
That’s why I spend a lot of time educating those I serve on how to properly qualify photographers beyond their portfolio and price tag - you need to know that you’re investing in an image content portfolio that will resonate with your audience.
But, when your portraits are on point, the fourth wall has been broken down and your audience can easily envision how it would be to work with you, which goes a long way to establishing rapport with those you serve.
What do you think of the phrase “contrived authenticity?”
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, :)