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John DeMato Blog

Welcome to the Deliver Magic blog, where experts who speak, coach, train, consult, and write books will find actionable insights to elevate their personal brands through visual storytelling. From strategy tips and branding photography to live event coverage and storytelling techniques, discover step-by-step guides designed to help you align what you say with how you show up in photos. Get ready to unlock the magic behind creating a cohesive visual identity that drives engagement, builds credibility, and inspires your audience. #DeliverMagic

Bring your book to the party...

 

If you’ve written a book that is still available to buy…

 
 

…have it photographed during your next branded lifestyle portrait session.

 

For many experts, they cement their frameworks, processes and systems by writing a book. 

In addition to the value that is held within its pages, the book also becomes a major credibility piece for the expert. 

It opens doors that would otherwise be closed. It changes the perception those have of them regarding their level of expertise and authority. 

And, it’s a nice addition to the ways in which they help solve their clients problems.

Long story short, it’s a valuable asset and needs to be accounted for in your image content portfolio. 

That’s why during every pre-session strategy call, I ask clients if they’ve written a book, and if it’s still in circulation. 

If so, I tell them to bring the book to their session so that I can snap a couple cover and spine shots to help pad their portfolio with valuable visual assets that don’t involve their face or likeness in the shots. 

The best part is that creating these images takes little to no effort and doesn’t eat up any time during the session. 

While the client is changing into their next outfit, I’ll grab the book and move around the space we’re shooting to find interesting backgrounds and surfaces with good lighting in which to place the book to create these photos. 

These photos can be used in a variety of ways, including online content, blog thumbnails and website visual assets. 

With the negative space present in each photo, all your team would need to do is add text and branding elements in there, add a message to BUY NOW, and put a link in there to buy. 

Additionally, you can have your team pull a thought-provoking quote from the book and include that into the negative space of the image and use as a social post.

For your website, include a couple of these photos on the book landing page to add more life and vibrancy than simply posting the digital mockup image of the cover in a fake, 3 dimensional space. 

The point here is that if you have a book that is for sale, throw it in your bag the night before your branded lifestyle portrait session and instruct your photographer to snap a couple photos of it when you’re changing into the next outfit. 

That 5-minute effort will go a long way to enhancing the value of your investment in the portrait session and make for a more comprehensive image content portfolio. 

This credibility-building asset needs to be shared with others through photos to remind them of what you bring to the table. 


For more visual storytelling strategies and insights for experts, I’ll talk your eyes off through my blog.Sign up to receive them directly in your inbox, and if you have any questions,set up a time to chat with me and then I’ll talk your ears off, too :)