Here is the deal, I KNOW it is hard to switch gears and be in front of the camera. Trust me, I know. I absolutely hate it too.
But I do it anyways.
Because it matters. A lot.
Don’t believe me?
Here is the thing, your community and your followers really do need to see your face. Trust me, I used to battle with this too… “Do they really even care? They don’t want to see my face!”…. But y’all, every single time I show my face in my feed, my engagement skyrockets. Truth!
In 2020 one of my goals was to show my face frequently in my feed. I decided to both try my hand at self-portraiture and also to hire other photographers to snag professional images of me. I have always seen other photographers’ branding work and really loved it and had a deep appreciation for it. So I promised myself that this year I would follow their lead.
And after having 3 sessions just this year alone, I can tell you that I am SO HAPPY that I have done them. And I am planning on doing them semi-annually for ever and ever.
Why?
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Engagement– My audience responds really strongly to seeing my face in my social media feed. If you don’t follow me on Instagram, let me tell you that I am no stranger to showing my face in instastories. I do it pretty much daily. So my audience has seen me already. But seeing beautiful, on-brand images of me in my feed is different! Every single time I share a professional brand session image, the comments and likes are through the roof.
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Professional- Would you choose to work with a professional who didn’t have a picture of themself on their website? What if the only image they had on their website was a blurry and discolored selfie? No, you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t take them seriously. The same thing applies here. To be taken seriously as a professional in the photography industry, you need to have professional, on-brand images of yourself to use on your website and social media.
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Experience– Another reason you need to have a branding photo session done is just for the experience. Any time you have the opportunity to work with another photographer in this industry, you are learning, growing and making connections. Whether you know the photographer you have hired or you are meeting them for the first time, building industry relationships is so important. Plus you might learn a few tricks by watching someone else work.
And for fun, a few behind-the-scenes shot from the session. See that big smile on my face below? I promise it really was that much fun!
