How Can You Make Your Branding Photos Stand Out?

The biggest differences between regular headshots and branding photos are the abilities you have to really showcase your personality through branding photos.

Show Your Products or Services in Action

This is a big trust builder with your audience because they can see you in action doing the thing you’re asking them to pay for. Brainstorm some ways to visually show this and choose a photographer that can give you some new ideas. Hearing the point of view from someone who specializes in a visual medium can give you some great insight in the ways that your audience may view your photos.

This is why so many people that sell services have laptops in their branding images, it works! If you sell products, it is a lot simpler. Plan out your work products as the props you’ll bring to your session, and we can plan to interact with them in the images.

What Makes You Different?

There are so many businesses marketing online that this one can be powerful to add to your shot list.

What makes your business different from all the other business out there? What do you do to serve your specific type of customer? If you don’t know the answer to these questions yet, that’s okay! Ask some people around you that you trust such as people you have worked with regularly, or some previous clients. You can also look back at your previous testimonials if you have any. What are consistent things that your customers have said about you? Do you know why they chose you or your product?

Creating images that allow you to talk about what sets you apart could go a long way in your marketing online.

Your Origin Story

Telling your story is a great way to show people who you are, where you came from and to help them connect with you and your brand. If you have a great story about your business’ beginning, try thinking of ways to capture a piece of that story in your images. That could be memorabilia, like a key to your very first office, or your very first product.

Flashback

This is different from your origin story. This is anything along your journey that you could share visually and that you believe your audience could connect to. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that people want to buy from people, so showing your journey tells your audience that you are a real person with real experiences.

You could use a before and after for this. If you’ve improved something in your business, you could use an older photo and capture a new one showing the improvement.

Your Why

Why have you chosen to do this work? What gets you out of bed and makes you want to go into work every day? These aren’t always easy to capture visually, but it’s great when they are!

This can elevate your brand photos even if you don’t have a visual why. Thinking about your why and what you love about your business when you are posing for your photos creates a higher level of engagement in the final photos because your passion will come through in your facial expression. You can then include some text in or next to your photos to really elaborate on your why and give your audience some deeper insight into who you are. When people understand your why, they are more likely to resonate with you and your work.

Your Workspace

This is an easy way to capture a day in the life! These types of images can be used all over the place. You can use these in ads, blogs, posts, and on your website. Photos of you in your workspace allows your audience to picture what it would be like to work with you.

If you don’t have a photogenic workspace, we can consider finding another space that would look great and fit in with your branding.

Books You Love

Is there a book that mirrors the advice you give in your business, or do you have a great read you’d love to share? Potential clients are more likely to trust you if you are willing to share your resources and inspirations with them. Plan to pack up some of your favorite books with the rest of your props for the photoshoot.

Publications You’ve Been Featured In

Have you been featured in any printed publications? Bring one with you to your shoot. You don’t have to pose with the publication, but we can take a picture of it.

Have you been featured online? We can use that as well! If you can print it off for the shoot, great! If not include it in your marketing. Showing potential customers that other people or businesses are talking about you is a great way to build trust and authority.

Your Marketing Materials

If you give your clients a guide or mailer that you’d like to talk about or show off, consider bringing it to your photoshoot for a flatlay. A flatlay is an image shot from above that captures content like props. These can be simple and last you a long time.

Upcoming Holidays or Events

Does your business do special marketing around the holidays? Do you have any special promotions that you offer? Are you planning any upcoming events that correlate with your marketing?

Consider these in advance. It’s a great way to have your content ready to go when the time comes and keeps your marketing consistent for all times of the year.

Upcoming Launch

This goes along with the last idea. It’s a good idea to consider any upcoming launches that you have when you’re planning your personal branding photoshoot. Taking the time to create any images you need for ads, promotions or landing pages will help you to have what you need when the time comes.

If you know you’re launching a new product or have an upcoming announcement for your audience sometime this year, consider the image that you can use alongside the marketing for these things.

Sneak Peek

This is a way to build excitement! Consider how you can build anticipation for something new in your business with an image. Props can be helpful for something like this. Is there anything physical you can bring?

Don’t be afraid to share these things with your audience. Promoting new aspects of your business in advance is a great way to attract new customers and create new interest from previous ones.

Behind the Scenes

Go behind the scenes in your business to capture a detail you’d like to talk about with your audience. This could be the way you choose to do things, or the process you have with your clients. What is your client’s journey with you, and is there a way we could show it visually?

Giving your clients an idea of what to expect when working with you will take away some of the anxiety that can come from starting a relationship with a new business. The more you can share with them in advance, the more comfortable they will be and the more enjoyable the process will be for everyone.

Your Routines

Are here things you do all the time that you could share with your audience? Think about things you do every day that you could share. This could be as simple as drinking a cup of coffee while you check your emails.

Even the things that seem mundane to you can spark interest from your audience. You’ll be resonating with those that share your routines. This can also give people outside of your industry and idea of what it is like from your point of view.

Your Inspiration

Are you working on a project, or do you have a part of your business that was inspired by something else? This could correspond with your why or include new ideas that you’ve gotten from someone that you respect.

It could even include your inspiration for wanting to succeed every day. Maybe your family is your inspiration. Maybe it’s wanting to be your own boss or travel. Is there something we could show visually?

The Tools You Use to do Your Work

What are your tools of the trade? Consider bringing some of these as props to your photo shoot. Mine is certainly a camera, but there are many other tools I could also bring to drive home the work that I do.

List out some of the things you work with regularly. Especially include the tools that you use that might not be so obvious or that others don’t use. The more you can personalize this to your business the more it will stand out in the crowd.

Education

Everyone loves a good quick tip and how-to. Think about the questions that you get asked on a regular basis by your audience and demonstrate these in an image.

Your Daily To-Do List

This is another behind the scenes option to show what your every day is like. It is also a great way to show your clients all the things you are willing to do for them. Create an example of your to-do list and bring it to the photoshoot, and I will capture you holding it, or we can capture it on its own.

Share One of Your Big Goals

Is there something you’re working hard to achieve that you could talk about in a post? This is a great way to keep your audience engaged in your journey.

Announcement for This Year

Are you moving to a new building this year? Bringing on new staff? Launching something totally new? We can come up with images to help you share what’s going on in your business.

Introductions

If you have a team, consider bringing them to your photoshoot so you can create content to introduce them to your audience. This is especially helpful if your clients will be interacting with your team directly.

This can be easily done as a team photo, or you could create even more content by doing an introduction of one person at a time. By elevating the image of everyone on your team, you will be elevating your entire brand.

We also recommend creating a consistent look for your team that aligns with your brand’s image. Having them wear your brand colors or capturing them in a consistent space are just a couple of ideas of how you can keep your image constant throughout all the members of your team.

A Relatable Failure

These can be hard to share, but if you’ve failed in a way or had to pivot it can make for a really great story that really connects with people. It can also show your audience that you have learned and grow from your struggles, and maybe even help prevent them from going through similar struggles.

Different Emotions

This can be fun to capture at a photoshoot, and sometimes you need more than just a smiling photo. If you’re communicating a failure or disappointment, those less than overjoyed shots are great. Some clients ask for angry or sad images because they’re running an ad that talks about how something needs to change, and they’ve got the solution. Capturing photos of different emotions as well as some more neutral business photos can create variety in your marketing while also keeping your image consistent.

Post About a Freebie or Content Upgrade

If you’re giving away a freebie or content upgrade to get someone on your email list, consider showing that in an image. You could print out a physical copy or plan an image that captures what the freebie or content upgrade is about.

Showing these visually can help to get your audience excited about them. You can also use these photos to explain how this freebie or upgrade will benefit them.

Celebratory Images

These are so much fun to create! You can post celebratory images any time you have a humble brag, achievement, or even as a thank you page for your clients. These can be as simple as you overjoyed, confetti, wine, champagne, dancing, or balloons. Just keep in mind that you want the props that you include in these images to align with the rest of your brand as well.

Your Personal Life

Give your audience a peek into your personal life by capturing images with your family, at your home, or with a pet. These images will show that you’re more than just a business and help you build those relationships with your audience online. The more you can showcase your personality in your images the more your audience will be able to connect with you.

Pointing Pictures

These work great for content with text you’d like to make in the future. I love seeing what my clients create with the blank space. These images are also helpful for sharing information that you might not be able to show visually, but still want to share with your audience in an interesting way. Consider getting a couple of these at your photoshoot because you’ll never know when you’ll need them.

Integrating these ideas into your personal branding photoshoot will elevate your photos by showcasing your personality and connect you with your audience. You don’t have to use them all. If you’re new to personal branding ease yourself into it. Pick your favorite and start there. You can always add more photos. Many of these ideas are also easy to combine. Choose the options that you feel relate to you and your business most because the top priority of the brand photos should be to show your audience who you really are.

You should also update your photos every year as you grow and change. Pick the options that are most relevant to your brand at the time and remember that you aren’t alone in this. We know that creating marketing content that accurately and uniquely represents your business can be daunting, so we are here to lead you through every step of this process. Through questionnaires and conversations all about you we will get to know who you are and how you want to be showcased through your marketing.

If you’re interested in refreshing your personal brand photos, or you have any questions about how these ideas might apply to you, reach out to us through our website, phone, or email.