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Personal Branding Photography

Posted in Personal Branding Photography

So what is Personal Branding Photography?

It’s about creating a visual stock library of images with you in the shots! Putting it briefly! Of course it’s more than that but that is the crux of what Personal Branding is.

So why have one?

There are so many reasons to! Here goes…

  • People want to buy from someone they feel they can trust (proven fact!) thus by having you in your own social media photos you start to develop the story of who you are and why you do what you do/sell etc
  • Potential customers want to hear your story – branding photos help give you the opportunity to tell your story & let me tell you – your story matters! People want to hear your story!
  • Carrying on from your story – by sharing the struggles, the battles and all the other stuff you have overcome to get to this point is priceless and motivating for others to hear! Like minded people are inspired by stories they can relate to. They help you to connect to your own tribe. And what better way to inspire your audience with your courage and passion so they too can tap into their inner strength.
  • Your own photos are…your own photos! They don’t come from a stock library that other people in the world can take from! That is, they are as unique as you
  • You are real – so now you can show that you are real and not just a voice behind your brand! People love real, authentic, passionate…you get my point!

And lastly…because you’re worth it!

Meet Jessica of Inner Vibrant

Posted in Personal Branding Photography, Professional Headshot Photography, Women in Focus

Jessica Harrington recently made a career change and ran with her heart – she moved from Graphic Designer to Naturopath. Go Jessica!! There is nothing more beautiful than to meet someone who follows their heart within their work space. So Jessica set up her Naturopathy business, Inner Vibrant!

Jessica provides Naturopathic advice for women wanting to improve their wellbeing, in particular focussing on their menstrual cycles. She also assists women before, during and after pregnancy so they have an abundance of energy during these traditionally draining periods of time!! I should know, after having 3 kids!

Jessica was referred to me by a friend who I photographed a year earlier (also for her business). Together we met and nutted out all of the details of the look and feel of what she wanted photographically for her website. Going through the details is super important so I can execute the look and feel for each brand. Along with incorporating any props and specific locations. Sometimes it is a bit of luck with what we might discover along the photo shoot journey – like the super cool jetty complete with amazing sunlight!!

As part of my brainstorming session Jessica and I came up with these key words she wanted the photos to represent of her and her business…

  • Balance
  • Connection
  • Vibrant/ Energy
  • Journey
  • Gentle
  • Respect

After working through a lot of questions to extract this and more out of Jessica we chose Port Noarlunga as our location. We also discussed colours for her clothing, a small collection of props. The main focus was to get some great shots of her so potential clients could feel they related to her through her website images.

Take a look at what we created…

Meet Pebble & Palm

Posted in Brand Photography, Personal Branding Photography

Amanda Ewbank owns and runs Warradale’s local Homewares store, Pebble & Palm on Sturt Road. We caught up to brainstorm images that would capture elements of her store in the local environment. After working out the logistics and finding a timely date with good weather (actually it ended up being a slightly impromptu ‘let’s go before the weather turns’ approach!) we hit Seacliff Beach. The day truly was divine! After loading the car up with as much as we could possibly carry (also knowing we had to ferry it from the car to the sand dunes!) we set about making the most of the beautiful weather and location.

You can see from the images Amanda wanted to focus on capturing a few things – textures (I mean who isn’t driven by the beautiful texture of a soft blanket), colours (focusing on what was on trend for the upcoming winter) and of course product. As well as of course tying it into an environment that would allow her followers recognise their lovely local beach thus strengthening the bond to being the ‘local homewares store’!

Overall we captured a wide range of shots for Pebble & Palm’s socials and website. It was an in intense shoot as we hurried to beat the sunset but as I’ve discovered over the years, I work better when under pressure and need to create within a short time frame! (yay for a skill I didn’t think would be so important post study!)

You can check out a selection of shots here and of course, I encourage you to visit Pebble & Palm’s online store or for an even better experience, visit them in person on Sturt Road, Warradale – you’ll find them on the corner of Sturt & Launceston Ave.

Meet Jayne Lehman of Ed Health

Posted in Brand Photography, Personal Branding Photography, Professional Headshot Photography, Women in Focus

I honestly have to pinch myself some days with the amazing women I get to work with and create images for! I met Jayne at a wedding, one of her girl, Bree, she employs was my client (I was doing her wedding!) and at the end of the day I sat down with Jayne and Kirrily for a quick bite to eat before I finished for the day. We got chatting about what they do and some months later we were meeting up to have a chat about creating some team images for Jayne’s new website she was having created.

Jayne is one of these amazing women, incredibly talented with the vision of a business ninja! She set up EdHealth to specifically providing services to support people with diabetes with a cognitive disability. She trains and supports workers, advocates for change, is influencing opinions within the public and private practice, and innovates within this sector.

I was seriously blown away by what Jayne has created and the impact she has had. As she puts it, no one wants to talk about this because it’s incredibly hard. Jayne had a daughter with a disability so she has lived first hand with someone who needed the skills she acquired as she managed the day to day needs of her girl.

I absolutely loved working with these three women, each bringing to the table a set of unique skills and talents that bring EdHealth to life.

During our brainstorming session we wanted the shoot to represent EdHealth as…

  • Caring
  • Effective
  • Person Centred
  • Team work
  • Focussed
  • Brave
  • Confidence/ Trust

As part of the photo shoot we wanted to ensure we captured team shots of the girls together, in both posed and relaxed, movement shots, demonstration shots of Jayne educating people, head shots of everyone, and various product shots. In regards to location, we agreed we needed a blend of nature and structure with a professional look and feel. We had planned on working along the River Torrens but chose the Adelaide Oval entrance on the east side as the clean lines of the grounds worked well with the landscaping. We did move to the other side of the river for additional head shots and product shots. I can’t wait to see their final website!

Meet Sarah Fleetwood

Posted in Women in Focus

Meet Sarah Fleetwood- Personal Coach & Owner of ‘The Soul Nourishing Project’

I worked with Sarah on her Personal Branding Shoot back in December as she was ready to launch into her new Personal Coaching business, based here in Adelaide but serving beautiful souls all around the world!

I caught up with Sarah recently and asked her a few questions about her desire to jump into the personal coaching arena, what keeps her motivated and what advice can she offer in her experience for success.

Kick Start your service business with these tips…

Posted in Brand Photography, Personal Branding Photography

Starting a small business can feel overwhelming – much like organising a big event, however once it’s going it can be soul satisfying!! Here are some tips I have picked up over the years to help me get cracking on my ideas. I am the type of person who just jumps right in when I have an idea and figure I’ll work out any problems later! You see when I want to start something new I get all excited so I jump into the design, for example, and create a set of business cards, then design the website map, design a website, set my pricing and then set about getting clients!

So what’s my point? If you are setting up a service driven business and feeling overwhelmed with where to start – this is what I recommend…

  • Get a business name – brainstorm, thrash your ideas, ask others
  • Research your name – is it available as a domain name (website), Facebook/Instagram/Twitter etc? This step can often result in going back to the drawing board or creating an alternative one – in which case go back to step 1!
  • Registration – Yay – you have an available domain name (this to me is the important step), you can have an alternative Facebook name or Instagram name but your website is most important to nail as it’s really your face and business card to your business. Now lock it in – find a domain name register, such as VentraIp (they are Australian owned!) or there are a myriad of others!
  • Now set up your socials – register Business Facebook page or Instagram Business page/ Pinterest/Twitter etc
  • Brand – do you have a feel for how you see your brand? Colours? Images? Fonts? I’m a very visual person, so I recommend using Pinterest to create a mood board for your business with a range of images that represent the look and feel for your business. There are logo samples, fonts, pictures etc etc that can help you define the look you are after. Then I suggest meeting up with a Graphic Designer who can turn your ideas into a beautiful brand that is all you!
  • Business card Print run– to me this is a valuable step in getting out of the starting blocks – because when you are at an event and talking proudly of your new business idea/venture, you are going to be asked if you have a business card! We’ve all been there with someone who has been like ‘oh yes…well I’m designing a new card but I just haven’t had the time to print a card yet!” You know what this says? “I’m not ready to commit jut yet!” Seriously you can print a set of 250 business cards for $25 at Vista Print and if you don’t like them, it’s no big deal! If you can, get your graphic designer to whip up a design for you and arrange printing yourself! There are so many great printers around. I personally have used Vista for a long time but now use Moo because I can print a collection of images with the same back which showcases my work for weddings/families and personal branding or headshots!
  • Network – I don’t mean brag about your business at every opportunity, instead join a fabulous group that suits your needs (like SA Woman) and just get to know other people in your area. In places like Adelaide, getting to know your local businesses is super cool because you can learn from them and recommend them when someone asks about needing a particular service/product. Remember it’s not about you! Don’t ‘network’ with the intention of talking about yourself the whole time, get curious with others and find out how you can help them! You never know – they may come back to you when the time is right, or share your details with someone else who needs your services?!

So there we have it…these are, in my mind, my top tips for getting out of the starting blocks! Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither will your business. It is ever evolving and growing, just like you!

Tips for Launching your Personal Brand

Posted in Brand Photography, Personal Branding Photography

Here are a few tips to assist in launching your personal brand to guide your social media and networking…

  • Set up your campaign launch task sheet – this is like building your social media muscle, being organised and consistent with your posting on social media
  • Send out conversational content – by creating content that is live, real and involves other people will assist in driving your personal brand. Get involved with others too in sharing others posts that relate to you and your brand.
  • Give more than you receive – by sharing, forwarding and reposting content. Remember that it’s not all about you. It’s about developing relationships online.
  • Be aware of criticism (and ignore most of it) – Be aware that you may face criticism at some point. It’s most likely due to jealousy. The best thing you can do is ignore it and move on!
  • Be consistent – if you think of your personal brand as a relationship just like one with a loved one, you can understand that it takes time and consistent love to work on that relationship making it stronger.
  • It won’t happen overnight – but it will happen! – Just like the Pantene ad your launch is a process, building your brand is going to take time and energy that will build a healthy and strong personal brand! Followers will gradually tap into your branding and if they like it they will keep coming back, then sharing and cheering you on. Stay positive and know you’re in it for the long term.
  • About being socially awkward – imagine having a conversation with someone who changes the topic every minute! You would probably start to feel slightly frustrated (I know I would) because you can’t follow what they are saying – the same goes with your social media. Apply the same principal – create a list of what you want to say that creates consistency and in general supports you and your brand.
  • Broaden your toolbox – don’t just rely on one tool, like Facebook for example. Have you considered the likes of Pinterest or Twitter? Your brand could be suitable for a variety of platforms. But in saying that, you don’t need to be across all of them (that could do your head in!). Focus on what works best for you and your brand and be consistent.
  • Don’t share unworthy content – we all know those moments when someone has shared something on social media that has made us cringe or take a step back wondering why on earth they shared or posted it! We all know what is content worthy!
  • Don’t hard sell – yep..we’ve all seen it, the person who loves to hand around their card pushing their business onto you, assuring you they can be of assistance. Same goes with social media – build the relationship first so your audience is inspired by your story, they know where you’re coming from and now they can see how you can help them. Start with a conversation and go from there!

These are just a few tips from “Branding yourself” by Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy.

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