It’s common knowledge that we need to show up in our brands- we need to be the faces and help to build the likability factor which leads to trust. But it can be hard to know how personal to get. So I thought I’d give three ways on how to get more personal in your business.

Choose your content pillars

You might think the only thing you can talk about is your business and indirectly or directly selling what you offer. But actually that kind of content gets really boring even if you are offering something great. So you need to mix it up a little and choose a variety of content topics that work with your brand to showcase what you do and your personality. I am a photographer, and I predominately work with women. Either female entrepreneurs or women looking to regain their confidence and learning to love themselves. I know how important it is for potential clients to see me as Donna and not just a generic photographer. They need to get an idea over my personality. I can be funny and light hearted and so I do like posts that show that side of me. Silly mistakes that I make and having the ability to laugh at myself. I think it helps them to see that I don’t look at myself through rose tinted glasses even though I’m an advocate for self love. We all have insecurities and that’s ok. I like to empower women too, and a lot of content I share is about female empowerment or how I like to empower myself and about learning how to do that. Or calling out the injustices that women face. It’s about starting those conversations. I’m a big fan of the local area as well, and will often share places and other businesses in the area that I like to use because it helps build a picture over who I am, where I hang out, my lifestyle and my hobbies. I’m a mum and I know many of my clients can relate, so I will post up bits about my children and my home life. Your content pillars really will depend upon your brand. My aim is always to make people feel comfortable and to feel like I’m a friend because that way if they come in for a photoshoot they know enough about me to be relaxed in my presence because being in front of my camera can be a vulnerable position for many. At the end of the day if your personality shines through, people will want to work with you because you ignite excitement, laughter and joy in them.

Blogs

Your website should include a blog. It’s such an important part of how you can be found online. Don’t underestimate the importance of blogging. Being personal on blogs is a way to connect to your audience. Using your platform to speak your truth and get personal in a professional way is a great chance to capture an audience that want to learn more about you and more about what you’re skilled at. I love photography but my clients want to learn about business and building their brands or about how to learn to love themselves and take better care of their mental wellbeing (coincidentally my some of my content pillars). I find that you can cross promote information from socials into blogs or vice versa. With a blog though you have more room to get deeper with your clients and form stronger connections.

Create your social media presence

Being on social media really does rely upon being social. It’s not about posting something and waiting for clients to come in and just watching your like count go up. The reality is it makes no difference if you have 6000 views on a reel if you’re not connecting with the people reaching out to you. In fact big numbers on socials doesn’t necessarily equate to a busy business. You need to really look deeper into the connections that can be made on socials in an organic way with the people that follow you and the individuals that could be your ideal client. You need to be replying professionally and as your brand dictates to comments left on your posts. You need to be getting your name out there by connecting with other local brands or individuals. You really just need to have that presence without being spam like. If you consistently show up and you’re of service and value to your followers, your hard work will pay off.

Personal branding is a relatively new concept in terms of what it can do for business. A headshot is simply that, a corporate headshot typically just of a persons face, but personal branding brings in personality and your unique self. For entrepreneurs being part of your own marketing has never been more important. It’s the part of your business that’s unique and will be what captures your clientele to you and your brand specifically.

I incorporate headshots into my personal branding sessions, but I also want to be able to tell your unique story through lifestyle images, photographs of you in action, photographs or you and your products. We can capture fine details and so much more. All of my sessions are customised to my clients so once we have an idea over your brand we can build a vision that works with you and your needs.

The end goal of a personal branding session is to make you more profitable in business so it’s an area you’ll want to invest in.

You should consider a personal branding session if you:

• Are an entrepreneur

• Want to level up in business with your visuals

• If you are the face of your brand and you want to confidently put yourself out there to connect with your clients

• You want your marketing to look polished and professional

When you first start out as an entrepreneur it can be really overwhelming. There’s so much you need to do to be able to successfully launch. And being able to start on the right footing will enable you make and build decisions around your brand that keep your brand message clear and prevent you from overspending in areas that don’t require it.

There are 3 key investment areas that I believe all entrepreneurs should make when it comes to their personal brand, whether that’s starting up a brand or rebranding. These are the areas that should be focussed on.

Website

A good, clear website speaks volumes for your personal brand. If you aren’t tech savvy this is an area you may want to outsource. But with programmes such as Wix or Squarespace, it’s never been easier to create and develop a website on your own. This website is a Squarespace website and having used a variety of platforms over the years I have to say Squarespace is particularly user friendly. It’s just a matter of selecting a website template and then putting in your own images and copy to make it personal.

Logo

Your logo needs to help you stand out. It’s design is symbolic of what your provide and aesthetically it gives out a clear, concise message. There are cheap logo designers online, or logo programmes that churn out affordable logos. But this is an area you’ll want to invest in I believe, I’ve done it both ways and from experience hiring a designer is going to provide you with a bespoke logo.

Personal brand photography

The photos you show of your brand will be what brings your brand to life. It shows what you do, how you do it and the expertise and professionalism you have. You want your clients to meet the best version of you. A great brand photographer will help to create pictures that speak to your clients and build that trust with them. Your photographs will be used in all areas of your marketing, so you have to love the images of yourself so you can confidently put yourself out there in the various ways- on blog posts, in social media, on your website, on your business cards, on your LinkedIn profile etc.

There 3 areas will help to bring your brand message to your clients and achieve higher sales in your business. Investing in a great website, a bespoke logo and brand photography will always be worth it.

Branding is a word that’s thrown about a lot when it comes to establishing your business or brand. It goes far beyond the website design or the customised logo. Branding is all about the story of your brand and how you communicate that with your clients. In essence it’s what makes your business unique by conveying your skills and expertise in the field you work in in a variety of ways- photography is of course one of those areas and I wanted to talk to you today to be able to tell you how photography can be one of the most powerful elements of branding.

It helps to connect with your current and potential clients

A photograph allows consumers to connect with you on a level far beyond just a name or a faceless website. Brand photography shows clients who you are and that you’re trustworthy, because having your face out there shows a confidence in your product or service. It’s a fact that people are much more likely to buy something from someone they feel a connection with. And branding can help you to create that connection because photography gives them an insight into you.

It tells your story

With so many businesses now online, being able to stand out makes a difference. Studies have shown that opinions and judgements are formed in mere seconds of someone clicking onto your website. With that in mind you have limited time to tell your story to capture your potential clients interest. Visuals are the most eye grabbing when it comes to making that first impression. Great personal brand images tell your story and reveal your uniqueness within the market place, and that will increase conversion rates.

Pictures connect faster than words

Good copy is essential at being able to communicate with your clients but it’s the pictures that’ll grab them first and make them interested. For example, when you choose a hotel or a spa to book, the first thing you do is look at the images and see if the place aligns with your expectations over what you want. And then you go on to read the copy to see if what you visually like matches up with what is written. It’s the pictures that connect first and foremost with potential clients. Once you’ve visually pulled them in you then have your opportunity to tell them why you are the correct choice. But to do that you need to connect fast.

Wherever you are on your journey of being a business owner, having branding images will elevate you. and give you the power to be where you want to be. They help to communicate your story and to build trust in a fast, effective way. Brand photography is building a connection with clients on a deeper level and that’s why personal branding photogrpahy is so important.

Are you ready to create your personal brand story? Let’s get you started with a personal consultation.

Today I wanted to share with you an article written by Most Curious- The Wedding Show for the Style Savvy Couple where I go in depth on the the Hold Still wedding picture that was selected as part of a nationwide hunt to become a digital exhibition, in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery that was spearheaded by the Duchess of Cambridge.

I discuss the micro wedding we had and the regrets I have over it. I really wasn’t present on the day, I can’t even remember the meal we ate or whether I enjoyed it or not. Emotionally it was a very difficult day for me where I just rushed my way through it. I also discuss the plans for our wedding in Crete and how the picture that was chosen as part of the exhibition came into existence.

Hope you enjoy the article and the pictures which are from our actual wedding day too.

My portrait “Lockdown Wedding” not only made it into the Historic England archives, but it was also selected as one of 100 portraits out of 31,000 to represent the UK during lockdown. Spearheaded by the Duchess of Cambridge, I think this is one of the biggest accolade’s to have come out of Lockdown for me and it certainly gave me the much needed boost to fulfil my dreams of becoming a portrait photographer.

A panel of judges including the Director of the National Portrait Gallery and the Duchess of Cambridge, selected the final 100 portraits which were also shown to Her Majesty The Queen, and went on to make up a digital portrait exhibition for The National Portrait Gallery.

In collaboration with Co-op, there has also been a community exhibition. The images have been displayed around the United Kingdom on posters and billboards up and down the country, including the hometowns of where the images were taken. My image has been displayed in Camden, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, London Waterloo and of course Bishop’s Stortford! A physical digital exhibition also took place in the grounds of the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

A poster has kindly been created for me which I will be framing and hanging up with pride in the studio!

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As a portrait photographer I’m constantly learning and refining the way that I work. I spend a lot of time educating myself to provide my clients with the most exceptional portraits of themselves and their family members. Which is why I often submit images that I have taken into international competitions so I can get feedback on what I’m creating.

This year I have been so pleased to have been awarded four bronze awards from The Portrait Masters which is judged by internationally acclaimed photographers and educators.

I’m very much looking forward to submitting more images and continuing to learn from the very best in the portrait world and working towards my accreditation.

During Lockdown, Historic England asked people to submit images that represented their experience. I submitted an image that I felt represented many people during this period- those that had to miss out on their weddings altogether.

While there are still restrictions in place on weddings currently, back in March the official Lockdown meant all planned weddings were cancelled. That included our own plans to get married in Crete.

The picture I took was taken on the day we would have been getting married. Although we were confined to our home, we celebrated in the best way we could. We got out of our pyjamas, we dressed up for the occasion and we drunk champagne while enjoying the beautiful heatwave that the UK was experiencing. In fact on the day, the weather in the UK was warmer than it would have been in Crete!

This was the first time the public had been called upon since World War II to submit photographs to represent a certain time period and it was a proud moment to know that my image was one of the 100 public submissions that made it into the archives at Historic England out of 3000.

The image made it into a lot of British media as well and it was lovely to see the picture being enjoyed by so many.