This is What Your Portraits Say About You and Your Brand?
Ahhh…. Portraits — a Major Love/Hate Relationship for a lot of Entrepreneurs
Every business owner needs a portrait — really, they need more than just one. But the thing with portraits is that a GREAT one can boost your confidence and make you feel like you’ve got it all together. This is especially true when you have to send one out for promotional purposes, whether that’s a podcast interview, speaking on a panel, or updating your website.
Conversely, having to share a portrait that you don’t love — whether that’s because it’s outdated, not created technically well, or because you just don’t like how you look — can feel incredibly defeating!
Not sure what yours are saying about you? Keep reading!
While I love this photo and fondly remember the place I was at in my business when this was taken, it’s over 3 years old — plus my hair is quite a bit shorter these days!
1. The “2+ years Outdated” Portrait
We all have our reasons for not updating our portraits (commonly called “headshots”), but they all end up being excuses.
I don’t have time to schedule one!
I like the one where I was 10 pounds slimmer
I look the same as I do in my portraits from 10 years ago
No matter your reason/excuse, an outdated portrait tells the same story to your audience —” I don’t care about how I’m being presented as a business owner.”
A good rule of thumb is to update your portrait every 1-2 years. Booking a branding session once or twice a year can help keep you looking fresh and up-to-date, no matter how quickly you change your hairstyle or fashion sense.
I honestly have no idea who this person is 🤣
2. The “Heavily Filtered” Portrait
Leave the filters for Instagram stories. Editing styles (warm, cool, etc) are different than social media filters.
Since they were so widely used, most people can tell right away that you put a filter on your portrait. Unfortunately, a filter doesn’t replace proper Photoshop airbrushing and even if it did, no one’s skin is that smooth! Pores are real and it’s ok to have them — I promise! :)
If you aren’t as confident about your skin (blemishes happen, Minnesota winters are brutal on us too!), booking a makeup artist and/or hair stylist before your portrait session can really boost your self-esteem and professionally cover any problems areas.
Whatever the makeup artist doesn’t cover, I can take care of the rest!
A silly outtake from one of my branding sessions, but it doesn’t fit my brand to put on my website. Photo by Kristen Olson / Quincy Street Kitchen
3. The “Not ‘On-Brand’” Portrait
By now, we all know how important it is to maintain a consistent brand across all platforms — web, social, business cards. Everything your business touches should have your brand identity in mind and your images (and portraits) are no different.
I like to ask my clients, “If your brand was a person, how would you describe their personality?”
The adjectives they use tell me a lot about how to begin styling.
Approachable
Friendly & Welcoming
Bold
Understated
These words help me piece together the “vibe” each client wants their brand to reflect. This is how I determine the type of lighting, props, editing, and how we’ll tell their story through images.
Think about it — if you visit a beautiful website that’s light and bright, pops of color, high-quality product images and when you visit the about page, the founder’s photo is a grainy, green-hued cellphone selfie.
What does that tell you? Either that the brand isn’t as professional and established as the website makes it seem or that the founder doesn’t take themselves (or the brand) seriously enough to invest in proper images of the person who build the brand.
A fun selfie while I was gardening last spring, but not something that should go on my website.
4. The “Personal Selfie” Portrait
Posting a selfie from a girl’s weekend on your brand’s social media profile isn’t a bad thing! You’re letting your audience get to know all sides of you and showing other parts of you that can help prospect customers/clients relate to you.
HOWEVER — using a selfie or a cell phone snap of you doing something that doesn’t relate to your business on your website… not so much.
This type of portrait signals to your website visitors that this business isn’t a serious endeavor. You’re telling them that it’s not your livelihood and that you also don’t take it as seriously.
Now, I understand that it takes time to build your brand (and you checking account) to invest in things like brand photography. But if you’ve been in business for more than 2 years (full-time) and haven’t invested in professional photography, it might be time to reconsider.
Wait — does a human run this business? I can’t tell!
5. The “Wait, Who?” Portrait
It’s a toss-up. I honestly don’t know if having no founder’s portrait is better than having a low-quality one.
As many folks shift their shopping habits to keep their money local and support smaller businesses, they want to know who they are supporting.
It’s important to show who you are as you explain what drew you to the work you do on your about page. Make sure you’re showing up proudly as the badass business owner that you are!
Inspired?
Reach out to start planning your brand photography session!
