Creating on Location in Real Time for Branding Portraits
It was great to collaborate with Nefertari for her branding shoot right in her therapy office for Heart & Mind in Monterey. She wanted to feature the office itself as the background for her branding photos, that also showed her as a friendly and welcoming experienced therapist. We found creative ways to show she works with children, by having a case of toys out of focus in the background, for example. We also went outside her office using some natural light areas in the building that resulted in a photo of her looking out into the distance that I really liked for establishing a therapist brand. Not looking into the camera for every photo is something I recommend to clients. Thank you Nefertari for choosing me as your branding photographer!
Dr. Gentry reached out to me about the new psychiatric practice he is opening in Carmel, California, and how he wanted a series of personal branding photos for his upcoming website. As his office space was still coming together, we decided to start in my studio here in Pacific Grove for the first shoot, focusing on branding photos that would prominently show his logo on his white coat. We worked carefully together on both expression and posing to get the look Dr. Gentry wanted for representing himself to patients on his website and other branding materials. That process also involved getting the background color right, choosing the best shirt to wear under his white coat, and then focusing on the most important part of all, his eyes, so they conveyed the right tone. Thank you, Dr. Gentry, for your patience as we worked through all of those details together, and thank you for choosing me as your photographer.
This shoot was a role reversal for me. Instead of being behind the camera, I asked my friend Felix to come into the studio to help make photographs of me! I am not often the one in front of the camera, especially not my own camera. Felix knows about photography some, and we have known each other for a while, so it was easier for me to relax a little while he was making headshots and branding photos for me that I really needed. I set up the lighting and the background, described what I was looking for in terms of photos to Felix, and he helped out also with posing ideas, getting me to relax (not look so serious, ha ha), and just general reassurance — all the things I do for my clients normally!
A Collaborative Branding Session Built Around Personality
I love when clients bring props into the studio, and Mark brought a whole table full! Looking to establish his brand as a dietitian, Mark brought a bag full of fresh vegetables, his favorite cutting board, and a lot of personality to our personal branding photo session. The shoot was a collaboration of shots he had in mind, then he was open to my ideas like tossing the pepper up in the air for a shot! Below you can see the wide variety of shots we made during our session, from some clean white background 3/4 headshot type images, to personality focused photos, to bringing the veggies into the shots! I also got to take some of the veggies home with me after the shoot. Thank you Mark for choosing me as your branding photographer and for the broccoli!
From Photographing the Art to Photographing the Artist
It was great working with Marlene last fall making photographs of her paintings in her studio. So when she called me about this time having a branding photography shoot, I was looking forward to returning to her studio for an entirely different shoot. She had plenty of artist props and settings to get a wide variety of branding shots, but she also wanted a couple of the photos we made to be able to be cropped to a more typical headshot style. The flexibility of my lighting setup and the high resolution of my mirrorless camera allowed me to get just what she wanted in terms of both a branding photo ,and one that could be cropped to a headshot. This provided max value “two in one” photos for Marlene to use on her website. I had one idea for the final shot if Marlene was game for it. I asked if she would be willing to lie on the floor and surround herself with brushes and tubes of paint for a straight down perspective branding photo. She said sure! I turned out to be my favorite photo of the shoot. Thank you Marlene for continuing to choose me as your photographer!
If you run a business, offer professional services, or create anything for a living in Pacific Grove or the Monterey Peninsula, there is a good chance you are already doing “personal branding”… even if you have never called it that. Every time someone lands on your website, reads your bio, checks your LinkedIn, or sees your profile photo next to a review, they are forming an impression in seconds.
Personal branding photography is simply the visual side of that first impression: modern, natural-looking images that show who you are, what you do, and what it feels like to work with you. Here are five practical reasons personal branding photos are one of the best upgrades you can make for your business presence.
A Collaborative Campaign Headshot Session in Pacific Grove
Burcu Mousa (see the headshots I made for her on her campaign website) contacted me about making headshots and branding photos for her campaign to be Auditor-Controller for Monterey County. She visited my photo studio in downtown Pacific Grove, California bringing with her a number of wardrobe changes and I had reggae already playing per her request when I asked her what music vibe she wanted for her photo shoot! This was a fun, collaborative shoot, and yes, having a professional photo session matters because elections are visual. Since I shoot tethered to a 43” screen, Burco and I went through shot by shot during the session getting each headshot and branding photo just right in terms of lighting, background, and expression. She also changed wardrobe several times to match with the background and intention of each photo. In less than an hour long session, we were able to create 10 images she personally chose and that some of which are already up on her website! I really enjoy working with candidates running for political office. It definitely adds a little kind of extra buzz to the photo shoot in my mind! Thank you Burcu for choosing me as your photographer and trusting me to make the visuals that will be used in your campaign!
