Is this the reason you're not investing in portraits?
Getting burned in business is real...
...but don’t let it dictate what you have to do to promote your brand.
Although I, and many of those I serve, view a portrait session as an amazing opportunity for clients to feel empowered and overjoyed at creating magical images that help serve their businesses, there are others out there who see it a little differently.
Recently, I was on the phone with a colleague and we were discussing why he doesn’t leverage portraits of himself in his online content, and, his hesitation was interesting.
He equates a portrait session that includes multiple outfits, multiple locations and a million and one photos of himself as one big, dog and pony show that serves as a monumental ego stroke.
I asked him why he felt that way, and that’s when it all began to make sense.
He talked about how he was attracted to working with this prominent mindset coach a couple years ago through all of his glitzy, polished and high-end marketing content, which included a ton of glossy, magazine-quality portraits.
He was enamored by all of the production value and sentimental copy, and it inspired him to start a conversation with the coach, which led to him signing on the dotted line for one of his pricy, 5-figure programs.
Did this decision lead to massive amounts of insights, business successes and ultimate happiness?
Um, nope.
It lead to him digging a gigantic, bottomless hole that he was filling with thousands of dollars month-after-month.
It also led to a heaping amount of resentment towards the coach because - shocker - the guy didn’t fulfill one single promise made in all of that flashy copy in his supposed “heartfelt” social media content.
It also led to my colleague vowing to never do that type of shit to anyone that he serves. This decision not only includes avoiding the hollow promises, but also the visual display that this coach concocted to reign him in in the first place.
Although being burned is a pretty brutal experience that usually leaves us resentful and much lighter in the wallet, I wanted to help him reframe this slightly skewed mindset.
First, I suggested that he disassociate the resentment he feels towards the coach from the images that he leveraged. They are not mutually exclusive, despite the nefarious ways he used them to gain his attention.
Second, I reminded him that the power and influence that visual imagery plays in drawing a crowd of those you serve can be used for good intentions, as well!
I opened up my site, went to the portrait gallery, and pointed out how all the amazing people there are leveraging the photos we created to help get themselves out into the world and build larger communities that support each other.
No bullshit scammers on my roster, thank you very much, :)
At the end of the day, he realizes there are plenty of business owners out there who have wonderful intentions behind their services and products, and they actively choose not to leverage high-end photography, and other marketing materials dripping in coercion and scarcity mindset tactics, to lure people in and loot them of their hard-earned cash.
But, the sting from getting duped is real, and the scars don’t fade in hours or days.
It will take some time for him to get over it to the point that he will commit to creating an online presence that includes portraits of himself...
...eventually, I will beat him into submission and get him in front of my camera, but, he doesn’t know that yet, :)
Turning to you…
Can you relate to this story? Dealt with a similar experience?
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, :)