Not all personal branding photographers are created equal

Before you book your next personal branding photo session, know one thing...

Not all personal branding photographers are created equal...

If there’s one thing that pisses me off most about my fellow photographers, it’s the way in which they bastardize the phrase personal branding photography.

First of all, that phrase makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit in the same way that thought leader does. 

But the reality is that this is an extremely popular keyword phrase that speakers, authors and other expert-based business owners leverage when looking to discover and hire a professional photographer.

And that’s why a lot of photographers fling that word around on their websites and social channels as if they owned it.

But that doesn’t mean that the way they promote themselves relates to what they’re delivering. 

When I first created my branded lifestyle portrait niche with the help of personal branding and business building expert, Pia Silva, I leaned heavily on her to understand how image content helps build an expert-based business owners’ personal brand. 

I started my photography business as a studio headshot photographer, so other than producing profile pictures and speaker submission images, I had no clue what they needed to visually support their promotional and branding efforts.

Turns out they need a ton of shit that goes FAR beyond that of a single headshot. 

They need image content that helps them create connection, rapport and ultimately trust with those they serve. 

In order to achieve this, they not only need a diverse set of images that look and feel different from shot-to-shot, but they need to fall across the emotional spectrum so that many aspects of their personality will be on display across their entire online presence.

This is why I included candid lifestyle portraits, process photos and images of props as images to include in their image content portfolios.

In other words, the whole shabang-a-bang.

Why am I bringing this up?

For some newbies in the speaker and author space, when they look to invest in images to promote themselves, if they come across a headshot photographer who touts their work as personal branding photography, they might naturally assume that getting a headshot is all they need to check the box next to invest in photos.

While sharing a headshot that illustrates confident and approachable aspects of your personality is an absolute necessity, it’s merely a STARTING POINT.

One awesome photo does not an entire personal brand makes, folks.

And it irritates me that headshot photographers are creating this confusion in their messaging for speakers who don’t know otherwise. 

Let me be the one to set the record straight, :)

And while we’re still on the record, here’s another issue I’ve noticed while thumbing around social media and encountering other personal brand photographers.

Truthfully, I will say that I’ve seen a lot of beautiful work put out by my fellow shooters. 

Wait, if the work is beautiful, then what’s the fuckin’ problem, John?

Okay fine - jeez, no need to yell at me, voice inside my head!

Beautiful work - flattering lighting, interesting composition, wide vistas, colorful location, etc - is not enough to convey the personal brand of the subject in front of the camera. 

Those elements are needed to DRAW attention to the subject, not BE the center of attention on it’s own.

Unfortunately, a lot of work in circulation falls under the latter category, and that’s problematic.

Why?

If the image is beautiful, but yet has no soul, no emotion and the personality of the subject is not clearly evident by looking at them, then what exactly is the point of this image? To help illustrate the photographer’s personal brand? 

If you’re looking to create a conversation with your audience, give them the opportunity to qualify you by sharing portraits that clearly illustrate your personality - who you are, who you serve and why you do what you do.

If you share image content that looks like it belongs on a wall in a museum, yeah, that’s great for your ego, but it doesn’t do shit in the relationship building department with those you serve. 

You need photos that allow your audience an opportunity to get to know you better and will start conversations with potential clients without you ever uttering a word. 

That’s what personal branding photography is all about.

Keep this in mind the next time you’re looking to hire a photographer to create image content to help illustrate and syndicate your personal brand across your entire online presence. 

Before you pull the trigger, look a little more deeply and see the types of image content that s/he is creating and decide whether or not this photographer is able to capture your essence with every single shutter click. 

When you look at their work in their portrait galleries, think to yourself, “is this simply pretty photos, or do I truly get a sense of who this person is and what they stand for?”

If it’s the former, then that photographer is not for you. 

Keep searching for the one who will capture you in a way that draws a crowd, not because the photos look great but because your personality is clearly evident and draws people under your tent. 

If you found this article valuable, awesome! If you want to learn more about branded lifestyle portraits and storytelling strategy, I invite you to sign up for my blog (you can do so here). 

So rather than hunting this down on my website, I’ll do you a favor and shoot it into your inbox when they’re ready!