Going Beyond The Headshot

The world has been changing quickly and as a business owner, you have to keep up with where things are headed. You can't stick your head in the sand and hope for the best.

What I've seen is that the client experience will be a dominating factor in business. But what does that mean?

It means that how you provide your services or product is just as important as the end product.

A key element I cover in Brand Camp is the benefits you offer which speaks to the How. Think about how you want your clients to feel, think and respond to what you do. You need to create an emotional connection with your potential clients.

I took a look at our own brand and realize that the photographs of our work on the home page - while stunning - didn't say anything about what it's like to work with us.

And after quite a few reviews and emails from clients recently, I discovered that engaging with us was a BIG reason why we got the work in the first place.

We needed to tell our brand story through images.

Naturally, we wouldn't be in business if we weren't really, really good at what we do.You can run a business on personality alone.

You need substance. And thankfully we've got both!

I decided to book a photoshoot to capture the experience of working with as well as how we work in our studio. I wanted photos with our clients and that would make people say "hey, I want to work with them!"

I hired Heather Davidson-Meyn from Fun Love Photography. I sent her inspiration and we planned out a shot list and schedule for the day. We went in with a clear outline of the images we wanted to achieve as well as orientation. This is such an important detail! For a website, most images needs to be landscape (horizontal) to fill the screen. There were so many amazing images, and below are 15 of them that we are already using throughout the website and will be using on social media as well.

The next step will be more video. Video content will make up approximately 80% of internet content by 2020...so it's time to get onboard!

Here is my list of how to prepare for a Branding Photoshoot:
1. Hire a professional photographer
2. Search for inspirational images that fit the style you want.
3. Prepare a shot list for the photography
4. Discuss with your designer what orientation the images should be. (especially if for your website)
5. Hire a professional makeup artist.
6. Hire a stylist (I hired Lynda Felton to come in and style our studio)
7. Don't cross your arms!! I repeat, do not cross your arms.
8. Be you and be approachable.

Are you ready to take the next step? Send me an email if you're ready to move away from stock photography and product images into client experience photography!