I’m so glad you asked! As an entrepreneur or influencer in the internet era, you must have some sort of online presence to connect with the people you’re trying to reach. Could be as simple as your website. Maybe you also have a blog you use to get the word out. Perhaps social media is your jam and you use Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or the like to connect. The key word there is: CONNECT.
The people you’re trying to reach are looking for a connection. They want to know they’re connecting to a real, live, genuine person. If they feel more connected to you, like they really know you, they’ll be more likely to invest in your business. Bonus points if they feel you’re a kindred spirit—someone they’d actually enjoy sitting next to on a cross-country flight.
Whether you realize it or not, you have a personal brand. The more you insert that personal brand into your business, the stronger sense of connection your followers, customers, or clients will feel towards your business. To make that happen, you have to share your stories, show you have something in common with your followers, breed loyalty. They’ll see you understand them, where they’re coming from, and what they need.
Makes sense, right? Let’s swing back to your website, blog, and social media accounts for a sec. Your audience will have a stronger reaction to your web content, blogs, and posts if they’re accompanied by photos. That means you need photos for your website. Photos for your blog. Photos for your social media posts. Authentic photos. And if you are using social media, you need lots of photos. Possibly. Every. Single. Day.
How does a library of images to pull from sound?
Think beyond selfies, beyond your headshot. Personal brand photography takes it leaps and bounds further. Remember, your pictures should tell your brand stories. Your brand themes, rituals, or routines. They should focus on your who, what, where, and why. Does family come first? Do you love to cook? Would you rather be at the beach? Do you need a double-shot to kick it into gear every morning? Regardless of what it is, your followers should be able to see and follow your story through your pictures.
I’ll share more about telling stories with photos in a future post. For now, let’s focus on the benefits for you!
You see, personal brand photography isn’t exactly the same as other types of photography. Don't get me wrong, the resulting pictures may feel like a hybrid of traditional photography styles. They’re a little bit traditional portrait, a little bit lifestyle photography, a little bit environmental photojournalism, a little bit commercial photography. A little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.
The pictures may look familiar to you, but the process and policies around them are new. And, they’re designed with you—business owner, entrepreneur extraordinaire—and your needs in mind. Here’s how:
You’ll save time. No more DIYing it. How many prime business minutes (or, ugh, hours) do you waste trying to take your own pictures? Or search through page after page of stock photography? In one shoot, we’ll create a bank of images that'll cover you for three months. Seems like a more efficient use of your time, no?
You’ll get digital files! All the files. The package you choose will determine exactly how many, and they’ll be the size and resolution you need. Yes, even full resolution if you need them for print. You’re the boss.
You’ll get exactly the shots you need. We take the end-use into account when composing the shots. Need profile banners? We’ll shoot a bunch horizontally. Are you a Pinterest wiz? We’ll get portrait-oriented shots. Instagram? We’ll make sure the subject'll fit within a square crop. Need space to add text? We’ll frame it so there’s plenty of extra white space.
You can modify the images to your heart’s content. No boundaries. Yup, the images are yours to do with what you wish! You can edit them, add text, even add filters—whatever you need to do to make sure they fit perfectly into your feed.
You’ll get commercial usage rights so you can use them for (almost) anything! As long as you aren’t looking to resell the images as stock photos, prints, or image-only products, that is. Other than that, you’re good to go. And there’s no time limit. They’re yours forever and ever.
You don’t have to credit me when you use the photos. Of course, if you insist, it won’t hurt my feelings!
You decide how much (or little) I share about our business relationship. I respect the trust you have with your audience—I'll only share our connection with my own followers if you give me the okay to do so. And I’ll be very clear up front about how I would plan to do that. Whether it's as simple as including some of your pics in my portfolio, or as involved as featuring our shoot on my blog. We'll agree to agree before I share anything.
You’ll get a new batch of pictures every three months, assuming you opt for an annual subscription. We’ll regroup every quarter to refresh your library of photos. As your stories evolve, as your brand evolves, so will your image library. As the seasons change, as your hairstyle changes, so will your image library. And bonus, the more I work with you, the better I’ll get know your brand and your audience.
Sound good?
Okay, so, personal brand photography seems like a good call. So, why should you choose me as your photographer? I'm new to the photography business. Not new to photography, just new to making it my career. But here’s the thing, I was drawn to personal brand photography specifically because of my non-photography background. In my previous professional life, at least the last 20+ years of it, I worked in the online arena. The second half spent specifically concentrating on web content development, strategy, and usability. It was my job to get to know what customers were looking for from subject matter experts to help my colleagues see past their advanced knowledge of a topic and focus on delivering just the critical information. Not to mention ensure they were speaking their audience’s language. No mean feat when the colleagues in question were life-long government employees with decades of habits formed!
I really do get it. Knowing your audience and connecting with them is crucial. And I have user-experience experience to apply to getting to know your audience and translating your stories into photographs that will speak to them.
If you're interested in learning more, my entire home page focuses on my personal brand photography services. If you think it’s something that would benefit you and your business, send me a note at info@annecorcoran.com. Or fill out the form at the bottom of my home page and let’s get the ball rolling.
I look forward to hearing your story!
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