6 important elements to keep in mind when getting personal branding headshots taken

In today’s world, our mind is constantly bombarded with multiple marketing messages from various brands across several marketing & advertising platforms. The constant challenge for any business is how to carve their space in the industry & create an elevated brand appeal to attract their target audience.

As entrepreneurs, you are the face of your business & you are your brand and so to stand out, you need something beyond the traditional headshot. You want to be able to put your best face forward because you don’t get a second chance to create a first impression. Personal branding headshots help you do just that, as they truly help capture the personality and passion of the business owner, the essence of their business, their story and how their products or service, serves people making a difference in their lives. They not only look stylish and contemporary but also exuberate personality, creating trust and an authentic connection with the target audience. This helps positions them as an expert in their industry, resulting in more business.

Here are 6 things to keep in mind when getting your Personal Branding Headshots:

1.     Know your brand personality: Images invoke feelings, so its important to understand & know what you want the audience to feel about you & your brand. Based on the nature of your work, what do you want to project. For eg. a lawyer might want to look strong & powerful, a mortgage agent might want to look reliable, honest & trustworthy while a healing coach might want a look of being warm, approachable & safe.

2.     Know your brand colors: It may sound simple, but there are lot of times businesses miss how important this is. Colors represent & talk a lot about your brand personality, having too many or too bold colors might overpower the look, whereas too little or extremely neutral colors might dilute your look & may look boring. Also you don’t need to dress head to toe in your brand colors, maintain a balance by pairing it with neutral colors, sometimes keeping everything neutral & using your brand color as an accent works wonders. Remember less is more.

3.     Choose & invest with the right photographer: Every photographer has their unique style. Make sure you visit their website & see if their style matches your vision. Speak with them & get to know their personality & process, share with them your vision & work with someone who will guide you & coach you every step of the way because when you are relaxed & completely at ease, your personality will shine through.

4.     Think beyond traditional headshots: Personal branding portraits are lifestyle images so think in terms of marketing. How will you use a particular image to position yourself as an expert & give value to the target audience as opposed to always selling a product or service. Think of creative ways & different points of conversation to have with your target audience to help build an authentic connection with them.

5.     Maintain consistency: Keep a consistent look and feel throughout your branding shoot in terms of look, feel, colors, personality. This will help in maintaining consistent brand message across all your marketing platforms & help the target audience co relate the images back to your brand, in turn helping in elevating your brand presence.

6.     Choose proper outfits, accessories & makeup: This is key, as having busy patterns & contrasting colors distract the eye of the viewer. For women - choose outfit styles & accessories that work with the look you are intending to project. Avoid glitter & overly bright colors for your eyeshadow, lip color or nail paint, choose a natural day makeup look with neutral nail color.

Pujua Misra owns Zoom Into Life Photography.