Why I’m not the photographer for you

Whoa! Hang on there Guy – that’s a hellava concept to start with!

I know, right? But it’s true. The whole point of crafting the perfect personal branding shoot is to attract your ideal customer. Don’t get me wrong, I want you to look good – but what does “looking good” look like to your ideal customer?

Most people don’t need model-level hair and makeup. Certainly, no-one needs forced smiles and awkward poses. What they want is to see you at your authentic best. And there’s no point wearing a suit and tie if when the customer meets you for the first time, you’re going to be wearing a polo shirt and smart jeans. If you’re the sort of person that wears vibrant clothing and dyes their hair all sorts of funky colours, don’t put on a plain white blouse and dye your hair black for your shoot.

Through your branding, your ideal customer wants to get to know YOU – the person they’re going to meet. Not some watered down, generic, pseudo-professional-looking clone.

And by the way, that’s who I want to meet too.

While I do offer occasional Headshot Pop-Ups, my personal branding service is designed to enable you to get the most from your shoot.

I ask you to invest in two pre-shoot meetings for good reason. Firstly, so that I can get to know the real you. We spend some chatting time over coffee and working out exactly what message you want to portray to your customers. What’s your story? What’s the angle that we could use to hook your ideal client? How can we portray this in images?

I’ll bring in some ideas (shoot locations, colours, clothing, mood boards) as a starting point, which we’ll then work through to figure out which are appropriate and practical, and which resonate most with you. We’ll then discuss your own ideas and see where this takes us. It helps to remember that in the creative process, there is no right or wrong – keeping this mindset throughout the process will open doors you would never have thought about before. We’ll also talk about how and where the images will be used, and how you can use them to attract your ideal customer.

I usually find that after leaving the first meeting, both you and I will come up with more ideas, so the second meeting is designed to finalise the plans, structure the shoot day, and answer any new questions that might have arisen.

After the shoot I’ll work with you to ensure that the edit style of the photos matches your expectations, and I’ll also be on hand to talk you through how best to use the images.

Look, I get it – not everyone is as willing as me to make themselves look ridiculous on camera. I did it professionally for ten years, so it’s second nature to me, and – well – quite honestly as soon as that camera comes on, I just can’t help myself. I admit it can be a bit of a problem sometimes.

BUT – you don’t need to go OTT like me. Injecting character into your personal branding shoot can be as simple as choosing the right location, the right prop, or the right colour clothing. And remember – we can take as many photos as we like – you don’t have to use any of them if you don’t want to!

I’ve worked in many creative settings – writing music, comedy and theatre. One thing I was taught about writing within all of these genres is that you’ll only get to the gold once you’ve paddled through the swamp – so let’s paddle through the swamp together.

Many of the best shots come after something hasn’t worked, or after we have tried something a little out there. Remember – there is no right or wrong when it comes to creativity. No one else other than you and I are going to see the images – so why not try something new? I’ll happily delete evidence of anything you think to be THAT bad (it won’t be), and I promise you that the gold on the other side of the swamp is worth it!

Your personal brand is important as a freelancer. Your personal brand is the sum of your colours, your words, your actions and your imagery. Your personal brand is a large part of why people remember you.

If your personal branding is the same as every other professional in your field, you’ll struggle to stand out. If you’re in a crowded market, this can be a problem.

I’m here for the people that want to stand out. The people that do things differently. The people that aren’t afraid to put their true, authentic selves out into the world. Maybe you just need a little help doing it. I’m here to give you permission to be yourself – unapologetically.

Your personal branding will be the thing that separates you from the competition. It’s all very well writing the things your ideal customer wants to read, and it’s all very well creating images that you think your ideal customer wants to see. But what better way to do that, than by BEING the person that your ideal client wants to work with?

Here’s the good news – you already are. I’m just here to help you show it off.

And finally – a contentious one. OK, so this one isn’t quite as serious as the others, because there can be many reasons that you don’t like animals, but I keep reading that people prefer lists in odd numbers and the last heading was the fourth in this article, so I’m bowing to the gods of marketing psychology.

Speaking of gods, I am an unashamed cat man. I love dogs too, but if you made me make an arbitrary selection for the sake of a pointless argument, I’d have to side with the cats. They’re feisty and independent and do what they want – they’re definitely my spirit animal.

I love all animals and I hate when humans mistreat them. I’ve often considered volunteering at a rescue, but I just know that I’d get way too attached and would be a permanent emotional mess.

If prompted I can – and will – talk to you for hours about the behaviour and quirks of all the pets I’ve had over the years, so if you are unable to relate or empathise, you’re probably not my ideal customer.

And I’m cool with that – because it fits with my personal brand.