Written & Photographed By John Ferguson
My new series of newsletters will also coincide with the launch of my new Personal Branding Photography website and service. I've added this to my practice due to the regularity of calls I was receiving before the lockdown.
It's now becoming a significant part of what I produce for my clients.
I began receiving calls from businesses looking to 'brighten up' their online presence. They needed visuals that complimented their particular professional practises. I was more than able to assist them, but not just by supplying the photography, but by providing marketing ideas and concepts; new visual content that would drive interest towards their businesses. Initially, business owners wanted traditional headshot images of their staff members, straight portraits against white walls. Happily, I was able to offer them a more contemporary approach to this rather staid and tedious way of photographing their staff members.
Companies, especially in the States, but also here in the UK, are waking up to the realisation at their online business presence needs to reflect a more humanistic, approachable, engaging and believable enterprise. And whether you agree with me or not, the American way of representation for businesses will gradually follow on here too. More and more companies are looking for modern, contemporary profile photoshoots, images that represent and align with their brand identity. If you want your Brand to say something more stylish and fun, then your photos should also have a fashionable, smart and elegant air to its overall theme. However, if your Brand needs to communicate a more professional, studious or formal but relaxed feel, then a more collaborative process is required. The client and I will toss suggestions around, developed and defined different concepts and ideas until eventually, we have a thought-through collection of insights that genuinely tell your companies story.
This mindset also applies to the many solo entrepreneurs which I now work with, from Influencers, Speakers to Business & Well-Being Coaches, to Sportsman and women looking for sponsorship and others who need professional Branding images which speak to their clients and target audience. The truth is that more and more people are turning away from the more traditional working practices, either through their own choice or because of other circumstances which participated in their decision to work for themselves. Indeed, the recent Pandemic has contributed and will continue to affect the way many of us work. This rapid change of direction, as seen a marked shift in our professional endeavours and thinking. We're living in a rapidly accelerated culture, things are moving ever-faster, more and more individuals are becoming online entrepreneurs with new start-ups now being launched every day. So the market is growing. This is where I can help with Personal Branding Photography.
Yes, many people will start to do their photography themselves because this is what seems to make sense. But eventually, they get to the point where they haven't the time and the idea of being stuck to their phones all the time to get that perfect Instagram photo or whatever they need to grow their business is going to get lost in the day to day running of their business. Plus they might not necessarily have a visually creative eye; they don't know what looks good and what doesn't. What I do is more than just headshots; Brand photography, a combination of portraiture and lifestyle/ editorial imagery aims to tell your story, the story of you and your business in a way that's visually appealing, elegant, contemporary and enlighted.
The other great benefit of working with a Brand Photographer is that you can build up your personal library of photographs, ready for all your social media platforms. Whether you know this or not, but the key to successfully build your Brand on social media is consistency. The bigger your presence, the more regular you are on social media, the more your business will eventually prosper from your engagement and dealing with others - your prospective clients. Part of my service which I offer my clients is in producing, up to three months of visual content, social media images for their online presence. These include photographs for their blog posts, Instagram, LinkedIn or any other, plus promotional and printed media which they might need. My clients want somebody who understands how best to use visual content, someone who can take professional-level images that create or strongly emphasises their Brand. Growing their business, promoting their Brand, helping them to acquire more clients.
Business owners need professional photography for marketing their Brand.
The sharp rise of entrepreneurs, Influencers, and Small Business Owners trying to forge their way in today's business world is evident, the online world is changing fast, and the internet is your shop window, so use it wisely. There as never been a better time for individuals to start a new business enterprise than today, even if it's only a side-hustle....at the moment.
What’s at the centre of Personal Brand Photography?
Working with and understanding who my client's audience is and creating sets of images will help them connect with their followers in a meaningful and exciting way. Spending time and getting to know my clients, their needs, the type of person they're trying to connect with, and planning out how to create images that strengthen their Brand and create that connection is paramount.
This is why 'story' is at the heart of every strong Personal Brand.
Everyone loves a story, when you're able to find that connection between your business story with your clients or audience, that's where the relationship begins. The use of storytelling based images in Personal Brand Photography is one of the essential ways of getting my clients Brand persona across to their audience.
Storytelling in business is growing in a big way because it works.
When you tell a story to someone, they feel what you feel; you've got your audience's attention. When people feel what you feel, experience what you experience, and want what you want, it builds a massive connection to you. From marketers, tour guides, to doctors, they all tell stories, too. The most successful sales and advertising executives know that the most effective ads have narratives that surround their products. Teachers also understand that forming narratives around facts is essential to learning. When used in conjunction with excellent text, you're able to draw your potential customers closer to your Brand and Business.
I limit the number of clients I take on during the year; I like to maintain a level of personal care and attention when working with each of my clients. If you would like to work with me, then please request a consultation by clicking this link. I'd be happy to discuss how I can help you.
I’m an awarding winning editorial and commercial ‘People’ photographer based in both London & Suffolk. I now specialise primarily in Personal Branding photography for a range of commercial and corporate clients. I also work with a variety of entrepreneurial professionals producing creative and contemporary portraiture.
To see my other commercial Photography click here
