Personal Brand Photos: Ditch the Cringe and Share Your Story

When people reach out to me for personal brand photography for their content, website, social media and all-things-marketing, often I hear something along the lines of, “I’m not trying to become an Instagram influencer or anything” or “I’m not comfortable in front of the camera, and feel a little weird planning a shoot that’s all of these photos of me.”

And I’ll be honest, I get it. I used to cringe at the phrase “personal branding” too… like, forcing a human to be a brand: yuck! But here’s the thing I’ve come to understand the last few years, it’s actually the OPPOSITE…

…It’s not about  making a human a brand, instead it’s making brands and small businesses more human.

And, I love helping entrepreneurs do just that through personal brand photos. Still on the fence? Here’s one way to look at your digital presence more like brick and mortar…

Picture of your beloved local business. Let’s say, your neighborhood coffee shop. When you walk in the door and hop into line, your favorite barista greets you by name and automatically starts preparing your regular order. Once you make it to the register, they enthusiastically ask about the trip to Colorado you just returned from, and pull out their iPhone to show you the latest picture of their new puppy. As you head out the door they say “see you tomorrow!” 

The other option to get your cup of coffee? Walking into a chain coffee shop, repeating your order twice and having your drink left at the end of the bar, with your name misspelled in Sharpie.

Let’s say the coffee is exactly the same taste and price, wouldn’t you rather have the warm, personal experience with your neighborhood barista, than the stagnant transactional order?

As our world becomes increasingly digital, we as entrepreneurs need to bring that barista touch to our business communications and communities online. Less resharing the graphic someone else created, more sharing photos of YOU, your story, your values, a behind-the-scenes look at how you work and why you do what you do.

PS - Want to know what this could look like for your business? Book a FREE 15-minute consulting call and I’ll provide you with some custom recommendations for exactly how to approach content for your service-based brand, or the people behind your product brand too.