Stop staring at me already!

If every image in your photo portfolio shows you looking directly into the camera...

...you’re doing it wrong.

The other day, I was on a call with a potential speaker client, and he had a problem. 

He just invested in a portrait session with another photographer and sent the album of 320 photos to his website design team. 

About an hour after the photos were delivered, the team emailed him. 

While the photos in his portfolio all looked wonderful, they all show him directly addressing the camera. 

The team, however, created a multi-page overhaul of his entire site where some of the photos they requested are of him thinking to himself, working on his laptop, and interacting with other folks, in person and virtually. 

Hence, the reason why he called me :) 

So, I walked him through the process of addressing how and where we’ll shoot these additional images, and ultimately, it’s going to work out for him. 

I bring up this conversation as an opportunity to impress upon you the need to not simply hire a photographer to capture pretty headshots and wider portraits during your session. 

While they are an essential component to your overall image content portfolio, they are simply a piece, and NOT the whole pie. 

When creating a dynamic online presence that positions you as the authority in your space of expertise, you need a wide variety of image types to fit the bill…

...and most of those photos involve you engaging in some sort of activity in front of the camera without acknowledging the camera is in the room with you. 

Candid. Fly on the wall. In your element.

These types of photos create an opportunity for your audience to gain an entry point into your life as they can see how you work. This creates an added layer of familiarity with those you serve. 

And since all experts are in the business of building relationships with their audiences, posting candid lifestyle portraits help create that connection, relatability and rapport.

Keep this in mind the next time you book a portrait session. When qualifying photographers in your area, be sure to check out their work and see if they offer a balance of looking into the camera portraits as well as candid, lifestyle photos, too. 

It’s not one or the other.

You need both.

A lot of both. 

For more information on persuasive and compelling storytelling for Expert business owners, I share a ton of insights in my newsletter. I also talk about photos, too :) 

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