Personal Branding Photography for a Pacific Grove Attorney
Golden-hour branding portraits on the Pacific Grove coast with attorney and mediator Crystal Gaudette
It is always especially meaningful when someone I already know chooses me as their photographer. For Pacific Grove attorney and mediator Crystal Gaudette, we took her personal branding session outside and used the coast and golden-hour light to create a collection of professional portraits with a strong sense of place.
It’s always great when people that know me choose me as their photographer!
I first met Crystal (of Gaudette Law & Mediation) through various business networking activities around the Monterey Peninsula area, and then had a chance to first work with her earlier this year when she hired me to photograph the PG P.R.I.D.E. Great Taste of PG event at The Inn at Spanish Bay. So when she later contacted me about creating new personal branding photographs for her, I was very glad to have the chance to work with her again. I always really appreciate when people I know choose me as their photographer!
Crystal wanted to feature the beautiful Pacific Grove coastline in her branding photos. We waited for the right evening that had a good golden hour and worked with her busy schedule as well. Things all came together, and I was able to get an assistant to help with the shoot in time, plus Crystal’s two daughters helped out too holding a reflector for some of the shots! I was glad for all the help and assistance in making these branding photos with the sun backlighting Crystal as we utilized a bench and the Monterey Bay for the photo shoot. I really like making these kinds of environmental shots because it means I create a totally unique image for the client, even if I were to come back to the same bench, the light would always be different, etc. In this way, environmental on location shoots are always unique!
It was a true team effort on this shoot. Thank you to Felix for assisting me throughout the shoot, and to Crystal's daughters for helping us along the way too! Thank you Crystal for continuing to choose me as your photographer.
Personal Branding Photography the feels like you
Personal branding photography gives us much more room to create than making one traditional headshot. Location, light, expression, pose, composition, and the surrounding environment can all contribute to a collection of images that works across a website, LinkedIn, social media, speaking engagements, marketing materials, and other professional uses.
For Crystal, photographing along the Pacific Grove coast allowed us to keep the photographs professional while giving them a local identity that feels connected to both her and her business.
Golden-Hour Branding Portraits on the Pacific Grove Coast
Professional location lighting that keeps the natural feeling of the coast while producing studio quality portraits
Every photograph from this personal branding session was made using professional off camera lighting. The goal was not to make the portraits look obviously flashed, but to balance Crystal with the changing golden hour light so she remained consistently and naturally lit while still preserving the atmosphere of the Pacific Grove coast.
This is one of the things I particularly enjoy about working on location. I can expose for the ocean, sky, and warm evening light first, then shape the light on the person separately. That gives me much more control than relying on natural light alone and allows me to create portraits with the refinement and consistency of studio photography while still taking advantage of a beautiful outdoor setting.
As the sun moved lower, the background changed from warmer golden tones to cooler ocean blues, but the off camera lighting allowed Crystal to remain the visual focus throughout the session.
A Variety of Looks From One Branding Session
Full length, seated, horizontal, and closer portraits create more options for professional marketing
One photograph rarely needs to do everything for a business owner or professional. A website header may need a horizontal photograph with open space for text, LinkedIn may call for a tighter crop, and a biography, speaking profile, or article may work better with a vertical composition.
That is why I like creating several types of photographs during a personal branding session instead of simply making variations of the same headshot. Crystal left with seated and standing portraits, full length photographs, tighter compositions, and horizontal images with useful open space.
Using off camera lighting throughout the session also helped give all of these different compositions a consistent professional look. Whether I was photographing Crystal close up, seated on the bench, or standing farther away with more of the Pacific Grove coast visible, I could control the light on her independently from the background.
The result is a collection that feels visually connected while still giving Crystal very different options depending on where each photograph will eventually be used.
From the Pacific Grove Coast to the Gaudette Law Website
Seeing personal branding photographs actually representing a client's business is the real payoff
One of my favorite parts of a personal branding shoot happens after I deliver the photographs and get to see how a client actually uses them.
Crystal selected the seated portrait from our Pacific Grove coastline session for the About section of the Gaudette Law & Mediation website. The photograph now sits alongside the story of her legal career and experience, introducing website visitors to the person behind the practice.
This is exactly why I like creating a varied branding collection instead of simply handing a client one headshot. The photographs have a purpose once the shoot is finished. They become part of the website, social media, biography pages, announcements, speaking materials, and all the other places where a professional needs to visually represent themselves.
5 Reasons Personal Branding Photography Matters
A branding session gives professionals more than one good photograph. It creates a useful visual library
There is absolutely still a place for a great professional headshot, but a personal branding session solves a different problem. A single headshot gives you one image, while a branding session gives you choices for all the different places you need to represent yourself.
I previously put together 5 Reasons Why You Need Personal Branding Photos in the Monterey Peninsula, including how professional branding images can strengthen first impressions, give you more useful content for your website and social media, and help people see the person behind the business.
Crystal's shoot is a great example of this in practice. The session produced vertical and horizontal photographs, close portraits, full length images, seated compositions, and environmental photographs, all created with professional off camera lighting so the collection remained visually consistent. One of those photographs is now actively representing her on the Gaudette Law & Mediation website.
Personal Branding Photography in Pacific Grove and Monterey
Professional portraits created in the studio or on location around the Monterey Peninsula
A personal branding session does not have to happen against a studio background. For attorneys, business owners, consultants, creatives, entrepreneurs, and other professionals, the right location can add another layer to the photographs while helping the final images feel connected to the person and the work they do.
Working on location also does not mean giving up the control of a professional studio. I regularly bring professional lighting equipment with me so I can shape the light on the person while independently controlling how bright or dramatic the surrounding environment appears.
For Crystal, that meant combining the Pacific Grove coast, golden hour atmosphere, and professional off camera lighting to create portraits that feel natural while still having the consistency and refinement expected from a professional branding session.
I offer personal branding photography in Pacific Grove, Monterey, Carmel, Pebble Beach, and throughout the Monterey Peninsula, with sessions that can take place in my studio, at a client's business, or outdoors at a location selected specifically for the look and story we want to create.
Jason Collin Photography provides professional personal branding photography for attorneys, business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals in Pacific Grove, Monterey, Carmel, Pebble Beach, and throughout the Monterey Peninsula, using professional studio and location lighting to create portraits both indoors and outdoors.