Brand Photo-Journey Of A Successful Lifestyle Business
Have you noticed that having professional photos as part of your online branding is all the rage these days?
There’s a reason for it.
Increase your expert status
The difference it makes to how you and your brand are perceived is huge. It instantly elevates your brand, visibility and quality in the online marketing space. Strong personal brands are the ones that are achieving great success in the crowded online sphere these days. You want to be on the pulse of what lights your ideal clients up and you want to be there, in front of them for when they’re ready to invest in themselves to make that happen.
Consider how you want to be perceived, first impressions count and you want to look like the kind of person your clients want to invest with. You want to show that you have achieved a certain level of experience, understanding and personal growth in whatever area it is that you work in, represent that through your photos and you want your personality to shine through.
Want to stand out from the noise? The right photos will showcase who you are so that your ideal clients are attracted to you.
Stand out. Be seen. Accelerate your journey to expert status.
It’s not something you need in the beginning to make money in your business but it’s definitely something that I would recommend investing in early on – plus it’s super fun.
Here’s an example of my journey so far to give you an idea of how photos represent your brand.
1. France 2012 Naturopathic Nutritionist, women’s health and fertility. Casual home-made photo.
I had just brought my business online and raised my rates just a smidgen. The general look and feel of the photo represents natural health and what I stand for/who I am. It shows success on a personal level but not necessarily a professional level.
2. London 2013 Naturopathic Nutritionist bringing online programs to women entrepreneurs (still general health and fertility).
Professional head-shots.
This looks professional but doesn’t show my personality. Too generic. Pretty perhaps but not captivating.
3. Paris later in 2013.
My first branded photoshoot with my friend and awesome entrepreneur photographer Wendy K Yalom.
Head-shot to use in my bio, articles and interviews. More modern than the one above, more sophisticated. This photoshoot marks my first ever $14k month.
4. as above. My personality and sense of fun really stands out in this one. Health + joy + an original, stand out from the crowd type of photo. This photo has and continues to have a lot of impact when I use it.
5. as above. Another side of who I am. The simple, joyful, nature based living, openness to life. The energy given in this photo was a big part of what I was teaching as a natural health practitioner.
I had a whole series of these done and used them as my website banners which gave an overall feeling of serenity yet zest for life (really, it did ;)). And again, this stands apart from your standard professional photo.
6. 2014 Thailand. Shift to business and lifestyle mentoring.
Professional shoot (not with a brand-photographer specialist).
These show my love for travel, for the sun, the tropics and outdoor living. We were living in Koh Samui at the time and this environment is my ideal location. I was brought up all over the world and have spent a lot of time in Asia, warm climates and casual, flipflop living in these countries is what I love. One of the main reasons for this photoshoot was to show me living, travelling, working abroad with my family.
This photo demonstrates that I have a location independent business at the same time that still shows who I am – the casual, laid back-side.
7. as above. My business is on the up, this photoshoot bringing my income from regular $10k months into the $20k+ months and six figures. Why? Because my ideal clients really resonate with these photos. The tropical living, the casual barefoot style, the ‘relaxed success’, on your terms, at your pace. This really feels like me. This is the pinnacle of a lifestyle business which is what I am known for today. This is my brand’s calling card and I am regularly asked to take part in summits, radio shows and other interviews around the topic of lifestyle business and freedom based living and working.
As you can see, clarity comes out more and more at each stage of your business growth. I’m interested to see what my next photo shoot will look like and what it will represent. As a business owner you evolve, fast, and you want your visual branding to echo this growth and expansion.
If you’ve had a professional photoshoot done, go ahead and post a photo below – there’s nothing like inspiration to get someone else booking their shoot in.
