Personal Branding Session :: Norwalk, Connecticut

While last year was a quieter year for me and photography, I still had some really beautiful opportunities to work with families and friends I’ve known a long time and/or work with regularly.

Daryn reached out to me in the fall about doing some branding photos for her new business, and we met up near my old stomping grounds in Norwalk, using the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum as a historical backdrop. It was a gorgeous fall morning, and personally, a really nice break from being at home.

Working so early in the morning, it was easy to keep a safe distance and take all the necessary precautions to keep each other safe while being productive and having fun. That’s the trifecta for me: safe, productive, and fun.

Here are some favorites!

Love Lilacs? Here Are Three Free Stock Photos

This was a really special week, for one reason - lilacs!

I love this flower - the color, the smell, and how beautiful they look!

During this time at home, I've been finding peace in literally stopping to smell the flowers. I've been watching and listening to the birds (they are SO loud and I love it!), and I've been getting to know my neighbors a bit more. From a distance, of course!

The thing about lilacs is, they don't last very long at all. So, when the blossoms started opening up, I jumped to grab my camera. It was that beautiful time of day we call "golden hour", where the sun is low and glowing warm, soft light.

PHOTOGRAPHY TIP

"Golden Hour" is the time of day that is considered ideal for taking photos, especially portraits - an hour after the sun rises, and an hour before the sun sets. The light is soft and flattering, and usually diffused because it isn't above the treeline yet. Midday sun is more difficult (but not impossible) because the light tends to be more direct, stronger and casts harsh, unflattering shadows on faces from high in the sky. If shooting in direct midday sun, I highly recommend finding an area in the shade of a tree or building.

Get Three Free Stock Photos of Lilacs

Free Photos of Lilacs_Shannon Sorensen Connecticut Photographer New England Styled Stock

These are high res photos that you can print and display, or use them for your business to complement your social media posts, IG stories, blog post content, email newsletters - I want you to enjoy them, and share the beauty!

Credit is not required, the photos are yours to use, but if you choose to give photo credit, it’s always appreciated! You can tag me on Instagram @shannonsorensencreative and I’d love to see how you use them!

Photos at Home :: Documenting Living History from a Safe Distance

This week, I have been trying to wrap my head around how to keep my business afloat moving forward while we are all staying home and keeping a distance. It’s been a challenging week in many ways, but also inspiring in even more ways!

As a family, we have tried to get out for a walk each afternoon to get fresh air, say hello to neighbors who are also outside and walking. Connection is so important during times like this! It lifts the spirits and helps everyone feel less alone when things feel very uncertain and scary.

Seeing families outside together reminded me of all the wonderful times I have photographed families outside their homes, together. Now it feels like we are in the midst of a major time in history. Many of us with young kids probably can’t help but think they’ll grow up and talk about this the way we talked about 9/11, or our parents talked about JFK and MLK and the moon landing.

How did you spend this time? How was it challenging? How did you feel? What did we learn about each other or ourselves?

I know it’s not conventional in any sort of way, but I am offering a very small service, to families, small business owners and entrepreneurs who are now at home, to have some pictures taken, from a distance. I can work from your front yard, sidewalk, or driveway and capture you or your family, so you have memories captured of this time in our lives. Small business owners and entrepreneurs, you can use the photos to talk to your clients and audience, share with them how you’re spending these days.

So what do you think? :)

Due to the nature of these things, I think I would only be able to do this within a 20 minute drive from my own home, so Newington, Wethersfield, Rocky Hill and West Hartford.

I will not come close to your family. I won’t come in your house. You might pretend I’m like the paparazzi, just hanging out by your house.

Sound interesting? Fill out the form at the bottom of this post, or email me at hello@shannon-sorensen.com and we can figure it out!

Personal Branding Tip 01: Show Us Your Face

Hey there! Just a note to let you know this post contains affiliate links through which if you choose to click through and purchase items, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. These commissions help offset the costs of running this blog and site. Thanks!

Here’s a little branding tip for you, friend, and spoiler alert, it’s a very obvious one!

Show us your face!

This can be such a tough thing to do for some people. I’ll get into that in a little bit. First, I want you to understand why this is such an important part of your personal brand.

If you are a personal brand - the literal face of your business - we need to actually see you! Seeing your face creates connection. And connection over time builds loyalty. This is a basic, core piece of your branding. It’s not just about what you write, offer or sell. It’s also who you are, where you work, and creating familiarity with how you craft your story.

The difference between a brand and a personal brand…is the person!

Think of it this way...You are your own storefront. With every place you communicate your message, whether it’s social media, email, blogging, networking events or marketing materials, you have an opportunity to greet your audience and welcome them into your business, little stories of your life, and tell them all about the things you love, make and offer. Each post you make is like opening your front door, greeting them with a handshake, high five or hug, and leading them through the door to show them around.

Decide how you’re going to make that connection, and do it regularly. With your face!

Growing an audience is a long game. It doesn’t happen overnight with a single post. It comes with consistently showing up, so you audience sees you over and over and over again. It takes time for your audience to get used to seeing you show up regularly, then for you to become familiar, and then more for connection and trust to build. It can take weeks or months to develop a relationship with your audience, so if you are not getting personal, it’s time to start!

How does this work if you run a shop, or have a studio or other business space? If someone found you on Instagram and decided to pay you a visit, would they recognize your storefront from the street? Same thing. Show your storefront! Create fun displays that are beautiful or interesting to look at! Make sure your sign or name is highly visible. Create an amazing experience for your customers and audience, so when they walk into your store, it feels like home.

Not sure what your brand is? My friend, I have a freebie worksheet for you to help define your brand.

Overcoming Fear

For some people, the idea of showing your face might be less than exciting. You might feel self-conscious, or not feel confident in taking great photos of yourself. You might not know what kind of pictures to take and share. It can actually cause stress and anxiety trying to figure it out and get it done.

We get bogged down by this idea of perfection. We all have an idea in our head of what “perfect” might look like, but the problem with that is it paralyzes us into inaction. The best thing we can do for ourselves is to accept that we are imperfect, flawed, and make mistakes - and show up anyway.

Perfection doesn’t actually exist.

It’s important to me to show my audience that I am imperfect. That is part of my brand. I am not looking for anyone to idolize me or look to me for style inspiration. I am looking to make you feel comfortable, and empower you to show up, just as you are.

We are all messes. I fully embrace my mess! I can do my job, despite my mistakes and “flaws”. I don’t need a big, clean house and expensive styled outfits and a full face of makeup and nice hair (although every now and then, hey, that would be nice!). That’s not me, or my brand. It might be yours! The beauty is in showing us who you are, and sharing pieces of yourself along the way that compel your audience to want to know more. And if I can help you feel better about yourself (“Hey, if Shannon can do it with bags under her eyes and being awkward 90% of the time, I can totally do it!”), I will continue to show up for you!

Here’s my advice:

Start small. But START.

Start with a selfie on a Monday or Friday morning. Find some good natural light and take a picture of yourself. Post it with a short introduction. Tell us your name, where you’re located, and three things about you and your business. Here’s what I would say:

“Hey friend! Happy Friday! I’m so glad it’s almost the weekend, this week has been a busy one in the personal branding world. In case you’re new around here, allow me to introduce myself! I’m Shannon, a personal branding photographer for small businesses and entrepreneurs. I’m based in central Connecticut, and my work takes me all over the state as well as parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts! I have lived in New England my whole life and couldn’t picture living anywhere else (although I have a long bucket list of vacation destinations). I have been in business for close to 10 years, and truly love what I do. I love doing creative work, and helping other small businesses and bosses feel more confident and empowered to share the heart behind their work. And when I’m not working with my incredible clients, I love to write, work on art projects, and spend time with my husband and kids, going out to breakfast, taking long nature walks and snuggling up with some popcorn to watch Disney movies. I live for the simple things in life!”

Believe it or not, for me, that’s short! But you can easily make it shorter:

“Hey friends! I’m Shannon, a Connecticut-based personal branding photographer, and I thought I’d tell you a little bit about me and my business today in case you’re new around here. First, I love working with small businesses and entrepreneurs. It lights me up to watch their confidence and businesses grow! Second, I am all about the holidays, so this time of year is my jam. I don’t break out the Christmas tree for another couple weeks, but I enjoy making our home feel more “festive” starting with music and lots of baking! And lastly, I have an awesome promo I’ll be announcing to my email list for Small Business Saturday, so make sure you don’t miss it and sign up today! I have a link in my bio to make it super easy!”

Oooh, see what I did there? A little business, a little personal, and a call to action. I’m going to high five myself for that one. Feel free to copy and use those two samples as a template for your own captions! All you have to do is personalize it. The more you start writing, the easier it gets.

A “call to action”, or CTA, encourages engagement by encouraging a like, leaving a comment, answering a question, or clicking over to a website, subscription or link.

And if captions are not your thing, I will have a sweet offering for you. Click here to grab 5 free caption templates for your personal business.

Hire a branding photographer.

This is an incredible way you can invest in your business and save yourself so much time and stress. Have someone else do the work for you! You’ll feel more confident sharing your beautiful images and level up your branding all at once.

Take better selfies.

We all know what a stretched out arm means when we see it in a picture, and you guys, I’m guilty of it, too! Luckily, there are some awesome tools you can use to take pictures anywhere! I use these when I’m at home, and when I’m out and about, because they allow me to frame my picture and then step away to create the kind of portrait I want.

Selfie Tripod with Bluetooth Remote - easily to fold up and take with you, or just use at home for photos and video. It comes with a bluetooth remote so you don’t even have to set a timer and run!

Phone Holder Grip with Adjustable Gooseneck - I love this one for attaching to my desk (I don’t have room for a tripod on my desk) and Facetiming or watching videos while I work. I also throw it in the car and can attach it to a window if I’m driving around and see a great spot for a photo. I roll my car window down, attach it and set up my shot. It can attach to so many things: countertops, tables, branches, railings, lots of possibilities! I even attach it to my kitchen cabinets to record videos or Facetime with my mom while I’m cooking. It’s a very versatile tool!

Ring Light - I do not have this light, as I prefer using whatever light I have available, but if I were to start off with a light, I would try this one. Especially if you do a lot of live videos on Facebook or Instagram, or are recording for Youtube, ring lights are very flattering. These are great if your studio or office don’t get a lot of good natural light, they help give you even, natural looking light so you don’t appear yellow or blue from overhead lighting or lamps. There are bigger, more expensive options, but this one has tons of solid reviews if you just want to give it a try for minimal investment. Just know that it creates a little ring of light in your eyes, which some people don’t care about, but you might not like how it looks. You decide! I think I’m actually going to add it to my cart right now…

Start believing in yourself and that you provide value and are worthy of success.

Confidence sells. It has taken me 36 years to feel comfortable in my skin and showing my face as I am. Some days I wear makeup, but most days I don’t. The more you show up as you are, the easier it will get. I say it to my clients all the time, but we all have things we are self-conscious about. I promise you - PROMISE - people do not see us the way we see ourselves. If you are holding yourself back, do the hard work of breaking down those walls. It takes time, but you can do it.

You have important, helpful and valuable things to say and share. You can and will succeed, it just takes work and real passion, because some days will be really hard, and what separates those who succeed from those who don’t is that they keep going on those hard days. I hope you never let feelings of self-consciousness stop you from sharing these gifts with the world. You are smart, you are talented, you are experienced, and there are people out there waiting to hear from you.

I hope to see your awesome face in my feed. If this post was helpful, tag me over on Instagram and let me know, I’ll cheer you on!

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I appreciate any comments, pins or shares you make with this post and any information you find helpful!

 
 

10 Reasons to Invest in Personal Branding Photography

You didn’t leave your 9-5 job with a dream of working 24/7.

Think about that. Read it again. Can you relate?

Running a business is a ton of work, and there’s a reason big businesses have different departments to handle different areas. You should be able to focus on your strengths and have peace of mind that the rest is handled.

No matter what your business is, or what your brand represents, chances are you are immersed in the world of social media and the constant need to churn out content.

And it’s kind of exhausting, right?

Every day, thinking of something new to say that will be interesting to your audience. Taking or finding the perfect (or hey, just good enough) photo that pairs with your message and will make someone slow their scroll. You have mere seconds to catch someone’s attention, and then a few more seconds to draw them in with your words.

Some days, the pressure to do that can make you want to bury your head in the sand. You should be spending your time focusing on the work you love, and instead you spend hours trying to figure out this huuuuge piece of the marketing puzzle.

Confession time: I have these days, more often than I’d care to admit!

So, how can you make this piece of your business easier? How can you take the guesswork out of social media and get hours back in your day and week?

The answer is Personal Branding Photography.

Maybe you’ve heard of it. Maybe you haven’t.

Blog post: What is Personal Branding Photography?

I’d like to share from a photographer, small business owner and maker’s perspective how adding personal branding to your business will not only make your life easier, but will also grow your business.

10 reasons to invest in small business or personal branding photography today:

10. SAVE A BUTTLOAD OF TIME

Spend more time doing the work you love/with your family/traveling/etc - the reason you started your own business to begin with.

Content creation and social media planning can suck up your time and take you away from your work…and sometimes friends and family, if we’re being honest. It takes time to plan your visual content strategy and then write your captions or website copy. And if you don’t already have visual content to work with, that’s another task that will take time to plan and execute. And what if you don’t have great photo skills? Or equipment? Or know how to edit? You might not feel as confident to post your content, which is a real bummer when you have amazing products and services to share!

When you have person al branded photos ready top use at your fingertips, you immediately get hours of your life back. You can spend an hour a week planning and scheduling your content and spend the rest of the week on your business, your art, your product development, with your family, sitting on a beach or at a cafe in Paris enjoying your coffee.

Tip: It’s far easier to get work like this done in batches. Instead of deciding, writing and posting each day, sit down and do it all in an hour or two. The more you do this, the easier it becomes and the less time it takes. Read more about the Productivity Power Hour here.

9. TAKE THE GUESSWORK OUT OF “WHAT SHOULD I POST?”

So picture this:

When you sit down to schedule your week of posts, or write your email newsletters, or make updates to your website, you have a full, cohesive collection of branded photos to choose from. No pulling ideas out of thin air that you must then plan, create and edit. No wracking your brain trying to strategize all the pieces to the puzzle.

You’ll have variety of interesting and storydriven images that have been planned out to tell your story. This will inspire your captions, blog, or email content to correspond easily with your photos.

Depending on the nature of your business, a branding photography session could provide you with anywhere from one to three to six months to a year’s worth of content, depending on how you plan, schedule and reuse evergreen content over time.

Tip: Remember, every person in your online audience won’t see every single post you make. This allows you to cycle through and reuse your best images and captions, saving you even more time in the future.

8. SIMPLIFY YOUR SCHEDULE

Chances are, social media isn’t your specialty. There are many facets to running a business. And in order to grow and make money, you need to be working on what you sell.

Did you know it can take 3-6 hours a day to work on marketing and grow an engaged audience if you don’t have a plan? Nobody has time for that!

And even if you hire someone and outsource your marketing, you’ll need to provide visual content for them to use.

So, whether you do it yourself or outsource, having a library of images to choose from saves hours of time each week trying to think up what to photograph, taking the photographs, choosing which ones to use, editing, and finally writing and posting.

Tip: Once you have your images to work with, schedule time to build out your posts for the week. Create a simple template for a social media calendar and keep track of which hashtags you’ll use, and your call to action. Want a free template? Boom. I just saved you a couple hours. :)

7. BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE

Do you have a clear picture of who you are speaking to and what you want to say when you post or send an email?

Do you have a strategy, or do you tend to post on a whim?

Having a branding session with a photographer will help you take a good look at your business, your story, and the message you want to convey. Working with a photographer who cares about and knows what they’re doing, they will take the time to get to know you and your business, and help you figure out your visual story.

And when you have images that truly and beautifully represent your business or brand, you will feel excited and empowered to share about your business, why you love what you do, how your business can serve your audience well, and create real engagement.

Tip: Never post “same day” without strategy. Giving yourself time to plan and strategize your images and captions, you can post with more confidence and certainty that your message and intent is clear.

6. GROW YOUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND EXTEND YOUR REACH

Collaborative sessions with other small business owners and service providers can extend your reach, and create lasting connections, support, and community. Recognize areas where you can work together with other businesses on sessions (maybe a seasonal styled shoot or event).

The people you choose to surround yourself with as a small business owner, entrepreneur, artist, maker, or brand matters. No one knows better than the self-employed how impactful one person can be on your business. Now imagine you form a network of people you can work with, recommend, support and lift up.

By lifting others around you, you build a valuable community.

Tip: Make a point of direct messaging at least one fellow local business per week. Introduce yourself, give them some encouragement and love. You never know whose day you might make with a simple act of kindness and community!

5. STAND OUT AND RISE UP

We’ve seen it happening in many types of markets - you seem to be one of thousands of photographers, coaches, makers, bloggers. How can you compete?

You must elevate your brand to stand out among the crowd. You do this in a few ways: using your authentic voice, providing excellent stand-out service, and putting forth a brand that looks and (more importantly) feels next level.

The quality of your images will speak volumes, and consistency is key. When you have plenty of gorgeous, professional photos to choose from, you will stand out and first impressions can be the difference between growth and riding the struggle bus.

Tip: Create a visual branding board on Pinterest or in a program like Illustrator or Photoshop. Include images, graphics, typeface, your logo and 10 words or phrases that describe your brand. Use this as a guide and for inspiration for everything you post, share and send. Just starting out with branding your busienss? I’ve got you covered with a free personal branding worksheet.

4. TAKE YOUR BUSINESS SERIOUSLY

Do you get that random comment from friends or family that your job “must be so fun” and you don’t have to work hard, or that “it’s nice you can make money on one of your hobbies.” These comments sting, but the hard truth is, to be seen as a business, you need to conduct yourself as a business. This includes (but is not limited to) having a clear brand voice and image. This will differentiate you from “just another mom with a camera and a Facebook page” or someone making some extra cash on Etsy.

Having a clear story to tell through your images and posts will set you apart from sharing whatever random pictures you take on your phone on any given day.

Tip: Use an app like Planoly, Plann or Mosaico to plan and schedule your Instagram posts. You can move your images around to whatever arrangement you like best, write your captions (or copy and paste them from your social media calendar), add your hashtags of choice and post each day according to your schedule.

3. REACH THE RIGHT CLIENTS AND CUSTOMERS

It’s the law of attraction, friend!

We’ve all done the Instagram scroll, right? What makes you stop and double tap a post, or take a minute to read the caption? First and foremost, it’s interesting images that appeal to you. The content, the quality, maybe you recognize the brand quickly and easily for the person, the color story and style.

No one wants to be standing in the middle of crowded Times Square shouting to the masses “LOOK AT ME!” It’s exhausting and pointless. Maybe you’ll get a little extra attention. But before you know it, those people have moved on with the crowd.

You don’t want to be the shiny object of the moment.

But what if you set up shop on a specific corner and show up every day where you know your audience is hanging out, be there consistently, speaking directly to your target audience. They want to stay and chat and hear what you have to say. They come back again and again, bringing friends who they think will like what you have to say.

By knowing who you want to reach, your message is clear, and you establish trust through consistency. Your images reflect your specific business and brand, and your words amplify your message.

Tip: Get to know your “Target Audience” avatar. Give them a name. Specify as much as you can about them so that when you are speaking to them through captions, emails or blog posts, your are speaking to them like you would your friend. You know them that well.

2. GROWTH TAKES TIME AND WORK

I’m just going to say this. You’re probably not going to go viral. And you’re not going to get rich overnight. Growth takes hard work and consistency. For many it takes years. But you can take upward steps each day, and a year from now, look back at how far you’ve come.

Maybe professional photography seems out of reach, or you keep thinking “I’ll do it in a few months, maybe when I’m a little bit bigger and more established.”

What if you invest in your business now and start growing tomorrow, with a professional “starter pack” of images to work with?

You can keep dreaming and planning, or you can decide and act.

Tip: No matter where you are in your business, write down three actionable steps you can take today, this week, or this month, to propel your business forward. Then do them.

1. YOU ARE WORTHY OF SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS

That last one is important. We get caught up in being busy and “the hustle”, and many days forget why we started in the first place. For me, it was to be able to provide for my family and be there for them when they need me. But that doesn’t work if I’m working around the clock, tied to my phone or laptop.

Great photography is not just for big established businesses. It’s not a privilege or luxury. It’s not for the businesses and brands that we admire and maybe aspire to. It is a business tool that will help you grow, just like the right software, apps, skills and equipment. It’s easy to look at someone else’s photography and think “I’m just not there yet, maybe I will be someday. Probably not, but maybe.”

That’s so not true! Let me tell you a little story.

For a long time, I got caught in the mindset that running a small business is just a long, hard journey and maybe I’ll always be poor. I would tell my friends and I started believing that I was just always going to be on the struggle bus. Someone would always have a nicer camera, better lighting equipment, a gorgeous studio and all the right things to say. I didn’t believe that I could be that person. I accepted that I’d be a permanent passenger on the struggle bus.

That’s not a great mindset to have.

You have to start believing that you deserve and will achieve great things in life.

You deserve to be happy, to have a successful business, to make changes in the world, have that family life, travel wherever you want and eat amazing food.

You. Can. Have. It.

But it does take work.

And confession time? I am still working on getting there. That’s the beauty of life. We’re all in different places and want different things. There are still many who have nicer equipment and gorgeous studios and all the right words. But I no longer think that I’ll stay stuck where I am. I’m working towards more and better.

What has your mindset been like lately? Do you believe you can have the life you want? How can you get off the struggle bus and grow your business, reduce your stress and feel happier and fulfilled?

Tip: Write down a set of affirmations for yourself, no matter where you are in business. Revisit it monthly and write new ones to help work through whatever bumps, snags or turns you are facing at the moment.

With 13 years of experience working as a photographer and graphics specialist, it has been my goal to grow a business that I can be proud of, support my family, and work with other small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to do the same - but don’t have the time, knowledge or tools to make these vital connections.

I want to hear from you. Where are you at in your business journey? What are you stuck on? What do you love about your work, and what do you think is just the worst?

Whether it’s one thing or ALL THE THINGS, let’s help each other on our path to success. We all have so much to offer!

For a weekly dose of creative juice and inspiration, listen in on the Creative Happy Life podcast!

Shannon Sorensen is a Connecticut-based small business and branding photographer. Personal branding photography for small business and entrepreneurs focuses on showing the heart behind the business, compelling stories to help your audience get to know you and your business better, and turn fans into paying clients! Learn more about personal and business branding photography.

Book your branding session with Shannon!

Related blog posts: Twelve Months of Personal Branding Photoshoot Ideas to Grow Your Business, The What Why and How of Personal Branding. What is Personal Branding Photography

What is Personal Branding Photography?

“What is personal branding?”

You’ve probably heard “personal branding” popping up more and more in conversations among small businesses and entrepreneurs. Or maybe this is the first time you’re hearing about it! Either way, I am here to help you learn and understand what it’s all about in relation to photography.

Personal branding photography, or “PBP” as we call it in the photography world, has always been around as a style of branding and marketing, but it is certainly gaining popularity in the world of small business and online marketing! In short, it is photography that tell your story, that you use to market and grow your business.

“But isn’t it just headshots and lifestyle portraits?”

It’s actually so much more!

Personal branding photography is about storytelling and creating connection with your clients and audience. By creating images that showcase not only what you look like, but who you are, infused with personality, action and purpose, you can easily and professionally tell your story. The images give your audience an intimate look at the life, the work, and the person behind the business. Paired with copywriting that is specific to your brand voice, you engage your audience to not only pay attention, but to care about you, and want to support your business as it grows!

And personal branding photography is not just about photos of you. A solid PBP collection will include a variety of marketing images for you to use. To get the most bang for your buck, you should work with a photographer who gets to know your business’ needs AND knows how to shoot this variety of images.

Here’s an example of a set of images for a 2-hour personal brand session. Kyndra’s Kitchen is an at-home prepared food service based in Kingston, Massachusetts. Kyndra often collaborates with her husband on meal preparation. She wanted to photograph several pieces of her business:

  • her kitchen where she cooks

  • what a typical day looks like while she works on order processing and meal planning

  • what deliveries and her branded bags look like

  • cooking together and sharing a meal with her husband to show one of the many benefits of her service

  • her family, including their doodle, Nixon

  • and behind the scenes of cooking, photographing and packaging her meals

Depending on your business needs and time of year, a personal branding session might include:

  • WHO ARE YOU - The face and the heart behind your business, images of you at work, at home, with your family, working on location or at your office, studio or shop, giving both a bigger picture and distinct branded details of what your life looks like as a business owner, and why you are passionate about what you do.

  • WHERE DO YOU WORK - people love to see where you spend your days and how you get work done. Whether it’s a studio, a shop, an office, a coworking space, or a desk tucked in the back corner of your closet (a “cloffice”), you are further painting the picture of how and where you spend your days. People want to see your stuff. Trust me.

  • WHO DO YOU WORK WITH - Do you have a support team or partner? Do you work solo at home? Are your kids running circles around you while you write your blog? Does your partner or best friend help you out? Who are the people you most closely surround yourself with? They are part of your story.

  • WHO DO YOU SERVE - The most important part of branding is not to speak to everyone, but to speak to your audience. Create a clear picture of who you serve by showing them in your images, working with clients, greeting customers, gathering at networking events and meetups, and addressing your audience directly through your writing.

  • HOW DO YOU SERVE - Do you create a product or provide a service? Take your audience through the process with you. Show the steps you take in brainstorming, organizing ideas, sketching, designing, editing, and making. How do you package your product? How do you choose your packaging to make it special and your own? How do you make your customers feel special and well taken care of? The same goes for providing a service. How do you make your clients feel and what are you helping them achieve or accomplish?

  • WHAT DO YOU LOOK LIKE IN ACTION - This ties into other points above. What does a typical workday look like for you? Where do you make or build? What do you wear? Do you mostly work in the same space or do you work on location? Take note of all the various things you do to run your business, and what that looks like to your audience if you were to zoom out a bit. If you had an audience watching you, what would they see?

  • TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT - What do you use daily to run your business? Is your work mostly on your phone or laptop? Do you work with power tools or photo equipment? What do you use to organize your business, like a planner or calendar system? Do you work at a gym or studio? What physical elements do you need to get work done? And which ones are your favorites?

  • STYLED/DISPLAYED PRODUCTS - If you are a product based business, you want to show what you make! This can be done several ways. You may be a home-based maker and style your photos for your Etsy shop or e-commerce site. You may run a brick and mortar shop and have displays and styled areas that showcase the product and environment.

  • ROUTINES AND RITUALS - Consider sharing your morning or evening rituals. How you prepare for the day ahead, or unwind when the workday is over. What are some things that are important to you to stay grounded and happy? Some ideas may be journaling, prayer or meditation, working out, preparing a meal or coffee, skin or body care routine, favorite books or music you’re currently enjoying.

  • A GLIMPSE AT FAMILY OR HOME LIFE - You get to choose what elements of your life you share as part of your personal brand story. You might include occasional family updates, a glimpse at your home, where you rest or have your routines and rituals, a favorite space in your home or recent project. Find ways to tie these little pieces in as it relates to your brand. Maybe your lifestyle is part of your brand: where or what you eat, travel, hobbies or activities.

  • SEASONAL UPDATES - Even if you don’t live somewhere that experiences distinct seasons throughout the year, there are changes and holidays that occur that may affect your story. And not just nature, but seasons of your life may change, with a move, a promotion or recognition, or life event such as marriage, pregnancy, stages of parenthood, friendships, loss, and personal growth.

  • PRODUCT OR SERVICE LAUNCHES - A whole session may be dedicated to capturing a new product, service, course, podcast, book. So many possibilities!

  • BUSINESS GATHERINGS OR EVENTS - Networking events, conventions, retreats, meetups, coffee with a friend, coworking, launch event, book tours, celebrations, seasonal markets, holiday events. Again, lots of possibilities to share important happenings with you and your business throughout the year! You can look at the year ahead and what you already have scheduled, or book a la carte coverage as these events come up.

So, as you can see, there is a lot to personal branding photography. It’s not just a couple pretty pictures of yourself. It’s showing an in depth picture of your business in whatever way that you want to share it.

Another important thing to consider is growing a close relationship with your branding photographer, so they can help you maximize your sessions and create the best assortment of personal branding images for you to choose from. As you work together over time, they will be more and more in tune to what you need for your specific business!

What questions do you have about personal branding photography? Have you had a PBP session yet? Do you know how to find a PBP photographer who is local to you?

Shannon Sorensen is a Connecticut-based small business and branding photographer. Personal branding photography for small business and entrepreneurs focuses on showing the heart behind the business, compelling stories to help your audience get to know you and your business better, and turn fans into paying clients! Learn more about personal and business branding photography.

Book your branding session with Shannon!

Related blog posts: Twelve Months of Personal Branding Photoshoot Ideas to Grow Your Business, The What Why and How of Personal Branding