As a coach, you’re marketing
your services to prospective
clients, but you’re also
marketing yourself.
This is why cultivating and
articulating a strong personal
brand is so important—especially
when research shows that a
consumer’s first impression of
your business is formed within
60 seconds of arriving at your
website or social media page.
One element of personal brandbuilding overlooked by many
coaches is the portfolio of
portraits that they use on their
websites, social media channels
and marketing collateral.
However, by partnering with an
experienced personal branding
photographer, you can take the
first steps toward putting the best
face on your coaching practice.
There is a big difference between
a portrait photographer who
takes a standard headshot
and an experienced branding
photographer who knows how
to draw out your essential
marketing qualities.
If you get it right, your personal
branding image should be
powerful. A good personal
branding photograph:
• Conveys certainty.
• Captures trust, warmth
and personality.
• Shows confidence, integrity
and uniqueness.
• Provides an insight to your
personal brand message.
• Introduces and connects
your ideal audience to
your personality.
• Portrays the insightful
expressions that make
you unique.
• Illustrates your unique
selling point, which no one
else can copy.
• Demonstrates your authenticity.
• Creates the flexibility that is
necessary to meet the needs of
your visual branding message,
to give you marketing leverage.
The Perfect Photographer
Seek a photographer who has
years of experience helping
entrepreneurs build their
personal brands. A good personal
branding photographer should:
• Not just take headshots.
Anyone with a camera can do
this style of photography.
• Understand the exact needs
of your personal branding
campaign message and have
the ability to visually capture
this to perfection.
• Empower you to be the best
you can be in your photo shoot.
• Capture your authenticity
in candid, dynamic and
vibrant images.
• Help you create whatever
looks are necessary to meet
the needs of your visual brand.
• Provide the best customedited and color-corrected
images of you after the shoot.
• Provide guidance as to which
images are most appropriate
for specific uses/occasions
(i.e., which shots are best
for use on your website, on
social media and in print
promotional materials)
• Allow you final selection of highquality, custom-edited images
Asking the Right Questions
Just as you’re prepared for
prospective coaching clients to
ask several questions during
their interview process, a good
personal branding photographer
should be ready and willing
to respond to your inquiries
honestly. Be specific in your
questions to avoid unwanted
surprises later.
A branding
photographer
knows how to draw
out your essential
marketing
qualities.
I always appreciate the
opportunity to answer the
following questions from a
prospective client:
• Do you contract with a
makeup artist and hairstylist
who will help me get ready for
the shoot?
• Do you watermark the images?
• Do you provide a disc of
finished images? Are they
high-resolution?
• Do you shoot mainly
corporate portraits or images
of entrepreneurs?
• Do I get to see the images as
we go?
• Do you put a limit on how
many images you will shoot?
• Do you provide in-depth
guidance with choosing images?
• Do you have before-and-afters
to show the depth of editing
and color-correction work?
Don’t forget to check in
with yourself to see how the
photographer makes you feel:
You should feel excited and
inspired about the process!
A specialist will also ask you
many questions. It is key that
you communicate with the
photographer, so make sure you
are clear on what you like and
don’t like. The right photographer
should feel inspired when
working with you. Don’t be shy:
Ask for what you want. If you are
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Coaching World 25