5 Ways Personal Brand Photography Can Up-level Your Brand

If you're like many motivated entrepreneurs, you've taken time to develop your voice, write your brand story, and hire someone to design a beautiful logo and website. But you might be missing one of the key elements to showing up successfully in a crowded market: professional photos.

Professional photos aren't taken by your son with his iPhone. They're carefully planned, styled, and shot to capture and convert your ideal client by presenting your brand with authenticity. Here are 5 ways professional personal brand photos can up-level your brand.

1. build likability, a cornerstone of trust

Move over, corporate headshot. During a personal brand photo shoot, your photographer will coach, not pose you... the REAL you.... looking awesome, feeling fabulous, and exuding confidence. This will capture you looking like the true, approachable entrepreneur that you are and make your clients feel like they already know you.

2. tell a story

Your personal brand stories are intersection points between your interests and your clients’ interests. What are your passions in life? Sharing your stories adds dimension to your brand and offers a starting point for conversation so you can build a relationship with your clients before you try to sell them your products or services. The more you feel like a friend, the more they will trust in the awesomeness that your business offers.

3. set you apart from competition

Having your own personal brand images puts you ahead of the competition, not only because you’ll become more approachable to your clients, but also because your marketing will include YOUR images, your products, and your services.

4. show vulnerability and authenticity

As Brené Brown said, “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage.” Offering clients a behind-the-scenes peek of you in your element shows them that you’re willing to let them in to your world. You might show your work space, chillin’ at your favorite hang-out, or passionately engaging in your work. The authenticity in these images will make your clients feel like insiders and seeing yourself in these images will stoke your passion.

5. show quality and consistency

The internet is flooded with entrepreneurs telling their stories. Currently, Instagram has 800 million monthly active users. Jaw drop, right? You can’t afford to show your brand through blurry, inconsistent images snapped from your smart phone or stock photos that the next ten entrepreneurs in your area are using. Your clients want to trust that you will deliver quality, and you start building their trust through their first impressions of your online presence. By having your own professional personal brand photos, you can build that trust from the first moment a potential client lands on your page.