The term personal branding photography has come a long way in gaining traction with professionals and business owners alike. While there are always people who will need corporate headshots for their specific company needs, there is a growing awareness by C-suite executives that their professional image, and thereby their brand, must transcend their workplace to support their career growth outside of their current roles.
The same goes for business owners. Gone are the days when we could hide behind cool logos and design savvy websites. We have to put ourselves out there as the face and point of contact for our businesses and reveal ourselves to our potential clients in ways that are authentic, appealing and trust building. In a world of never-ending competition, how you personally come across to your target audience can make the difference between a won or lost lead.
So, what’s the different between a brand headshot and lifestyle portraits?
Headshot are portraits of a client looking at the camera (the audience), from the waist or chest up. These are direct, engaging, expressive images that should convey a strong glimpse into the subject’s overall persona. Choice of clothing, colors, background tones, and overall style of the images should convey an authentic best for the viewer of this person’s temperament and character.
(Headshot)
Lifestyle images are more creative and at times less posed or direct. For example, the subject could be looking off camera caught in a laugh or staring intently out into the “future”. They could be full length body shots or closer cropped with the intent to capture a moment or a feeling in that person. It could also be a shot of a public speaker on stage or a baker laying out their freshly baked pastries. These images help entrepreneurs expand and build on their brand story to share more about themselves and what they do in order to connect and grow their target audience.
Whether you’re a careerist or a business owner, either type of portraiture can play a role in establishing your personal brand because they can be used across a variety of online and offline marketing platforms. Such as blog posts, websites, LinkedIn profile, speaking engagements, social media feeds like IG and FB, magazine articles and PR pushes, book jackets, advertising creative, billboards, thank you cards, bus benches, even online dating sites. From headshots to lifestyle portraits to behind-the-scenes images, brand images are helpful in showing your ideal clients who you are, what you do and how you do it. They tell a story and that story is your great differentiator.
(Lifestyle portrait)
To learn more about booking a brand shoot with my team and I, contact me directly at 310.622.4580 or email nicolette@NJPphotography.com
And if you aren’t ready for a shoot just yet, you can request my 101 Guide To Personal Branding here.
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