The Power of Personal Branding: 7 Tips to Elevate Your Brand with a Professional Photo Shoot

**This content was updated in June 2024

I absolutely adore brand photography.

If I were to credit two key pieces to my business growth, it would be:

1. Quality Content

2. Personal, Authentic Brand Photos

In today's market, building a strong personal brand is more important than ever. As an entrepreneur, having a professional image can make a huge impact on how your brand is perceived in the world. You've heard it before, but the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" holds true when it comes to personal branding. The images you use to market your brand are key in your non-verbal communication strategy. That's why a professional photo shoot can be a game-changer in elevating your brand.

By investing in a professional photo shoot, you not only get high-quality images but also the opportunity to convey your personality and unique selling points in an effective non-verbal way.

Remember, your photos will be the authentic representation of your brand and are just so fun to have on hand when creating your social media posts, updating your website, running ads, creating YouTube thumbnails and so much more.

On a deeper level, brand photos allow you to capture the attention of your audience through the emotions you evoke in your photos. More on emotional branding here.

To make sure you feel prepared for your brand photoshoot, I’ve included my top seven tips to have a successful personal branding photoshoot and start standing out online:

1. Your Brand Board

2. Clear on Your Top Descriptive Words

3. Inspiration Ready

4. Choosing Your Photographer

5. Choosing Your Location

6. Exude Confidence

7. Candid, Baby!

Importance of Personal Branding

In the market today, personal branding is what sets you apart from the competition. There are a lot of people doing and offering something similar to what you do, so how does someone know you're the brand to work with? Your personal brand.

It allows you to establish your unique identity, build trust with your audience, lead with authenticity, and create a lasting impression. Personal branding goes beyond your products or services; it is about showcasing who you are as a person and what you stand for. Your personal brand defines your values, expertise, and overall image in the eyes of your target audience.

A well-crafted personal brand can help you attract the right opportunities, build a loyal following, and position yourself as an authority in your industry. It allows you to connect with your audience on a deeper level and build meaningful relationships that can lead to long-term success. Want to go deeper into building your personal brand and revenue-generating business? Watch my free, on-demand class here.

7 Tips to Prepare for Your Personal Brand Photo Shoot

Prefer to watch your content?

Check out this recent YouTube video I made talking about my recent professional photo shoot and my top tips.

Alright, sticking around? On to the steps.

1. Have a Completed Brand Board Before Your Photo Shoot

You don't want to go into your photoshoot without having a clear picture of your brand, otherwise, you will just be paying more money for another shoot in a few months.

I ALWAYS have my clients create an inspiration board for their brand. I highly recommend you start with Pinterest or Google to collect photos that mirror your branding and pull from those to create a finalized inspiration board. This isn’t just about your brand colors and fonts, it’s a representation of your overall brand feel. A photographer is going to love to have this on hand when choosing locations, outfits, poses, and more.

2. Be Clear on Your Top Descriptive Words for Your Brand

For me, my top three emotional words for my brand are adventure, freedom, and warmth.

Think of your top three words, which should be evident in your inspiration board. You want those top three words to come through in everything you do during your shoot.

Pick outfits that exude your three words, select a location that matches your three words, outfits that match your three words, a photographer that…well you get the idea.

Here are a few photos from my shoots, over the years, so you can see for yourself how my three words come to life in my personal brand photo shoot.

3. Pull Inspiration Online for Your Photo Shoot

You will tell by the end of this blog that I absolutely love Pinterest, it is such a great resource for business owners. I recommend you turn to Pinterest again for inspiration for your personal branding photography.

Use the search bar to find photos that match your brand and style - choose photos that resonate with you personally and that you think will trigger an emotion in your audience.

Some of my favorite search words are family photos, branded photoshoots, lifestyle sessions, or free people (this is clearly very specific to my brand).

Below is a copy of the board I used before my first shoot. You will send this to your photographer before the shoot so they can get an idea of exactly what you are looking for and can come prepared. Trust me they will love you!

4. Research Your Professional Personal Brand Photographer

It is so important to find a photographer that matches your style. This is why I recommend you find your photographer AFTER becoming clear on the pieces above.

When choosing a photographer, look at their past work and make sure their style of photography, lighting, and editing matches your brand.

Be sure to ask for reviews and perhaps a consultation, if you've never worked with them before. Remember this is an investment so do your homework and make sure you feel they will be able to capture and bring your vision to life.

I like to look for documentary photographers because their style matches my vibe, however, you might choose to search for brand photographers, or family photographers in your area.

GRAB YOUR FREE PHOTOSHOOT CHECKLIST

5. Pick a Location That Resonates With You and Your Clients

Your inspiration for this will come from your brand board, but be sure to choose a location that is totally in line with your style.

For me, my first location was a no-brainer, as I'm constantly drawn to the woods and nothing says adventure and freedom, like very large trees! Over the years, as my brand has evolved, I’ve chosen various locations, but have always had an outdoor element because it’s a big part of my brand.

I want my photos to match my lifestyle photos on social media, so think about where you enjoy spending your time and where your personal photos might be from. For me, this is outside so it just makes sense.

Research different locations near you, or perhaps you make a small trip to a city nearby - your photographer should also be able to suggest some locations.

A few of my favorites include a coffee shop, home office, garden, high-rise building, Airbnb rental, park, woods, the beach, or your favorite store (if I was a food blogger I would 100% be in Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods).

6. Get In the Zone - Exude Brand Confidence in Photos

Mentally prepare yourself for the photoshoot. You need to be as relaxed as possible, and taking some time leading up to the shoot is so essential.

Have your wardrobe, makeup, and hair details flushed out at least a week before the shoot is scheduled to take place.

Now spend the next week focusing on your inner beauty and brand coming out. You want to seem natural, approachable, confident, and on top of your sh*t with your photos, so spend some time getting into that mindset, so your photos showcase your most authentic self.

One thing I always do is include my family in the experience. We always make it a fun event, kicking it off with music to get in the vibe. My most recent shoot, which took place in our new home, started with coffee, music, and conversations. There’s something really magical about letting your guard down and just being your most authentic self.

7. Brand Photo Shoot Tip: Candid Photos Are the Way to Go

Yes, I encourage you to go into your shoot with poses in mind, but true masterpieces come from candid moments. This is why all of the above is so important.

Having all of your pieces in place before the shoot, allows you to JUST HAVE FUN with it.

I highly recommend bringing a spouse, your kids, or friends to make you laugh and chat with you during the shoot. The results from these moments are priceless. My husband always makes me laugh and some of my favorite photos have been a result of those moments.

CONCLUSION

All in all, you want your brand photo shoot to be an authentic representation of you. All the groundwork you will complete prior to the shoot will allow you to show up and have fun.

After your photo shoot is complete, I recommend updating your photos on your website, adding your photos to Canva so you can easily incorporate them into your weekly graphics, updating promotional materials, and more.

If you want to learn some additional tricks and tips on executing your brand photo shoot, check out this video here.

P.S. In the process of launching or refreshing your brand? My 45-minute on-demand class will take the mystery out of the entire process by giving you my signature Build a Better Brand Method. This class has helped thousands of entrepreneurs gain brand clarity and confidence and you can sign up to watch it here.

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Meet Michelle

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

Three Steps to Overcome a Place of Fear

As we enter into the last month of the year I've been thinking a lot about fear and my personal journey into the entrepreneur world. I've seen a lot of growth in myself, my peers and my clients over the past year, but I've also seen a lot of people staying stuck.

To truly move forward in life and business, you have to recognize when you are acting from a place of fear. My fears often come up around money or letting down the people I love most. Where are your fears coming up?

In January, I had a desire to leave by 9 to 5, and although I was scared sh*tless, I invested in a coach. I have to be honest with you, if I would have allowed myself to act from a place of fear I would not of left my 9 to 5 in 2016 and would still be in a state of just dreaming. Over the past year I've developed a process to recognize these deep fears, to move past them and live in a moment of trust.

I'd love to offer you in this moment three things that you can do when fear starts to arise in your life. My hope Is that you will be able to recognize these feelings as feelings of fear and learn to trust yourself, the Universe and the growth that is in store for you.

So no matter what you're currently facing, where fear may be showing up for you, by using the following steps you will start to go from a place of fear and overwhelm to a place of love and trust.

three step process to recognize when acting from a place of fear

Step 1 - Recognize the fear.

Often times when we start to feel overwhelmed with the possibility of a negative outcome we will lash out, yell, cry or just throw ourselves into busy work. When this starts happening in your life take a second to sit in stillness, close your eyes and just breathe. Take a moment to really recognize and acknowledge these feelings as a state of fear.

Step 2 - What's the worst that could happen?

When I was thinking about leaving my 9 to 5 and feeling overwhelmed with the fear that I could possibly let my family down, my coach asked me this simple question, "What's the worst that could happen Michelle?" For me it was that I might have to wait tables a few nights a week; definietely not a reason to NOT go after something that could drastically improve my life and the life of my family. To not go for something, that could impact our lives, because we're fearful of a terrifying outcome, is just ridiculous. So next time this feeling comes up for you reflect and ask yourself "what's the worst that could happen?" I bet it isn't as scary as your fears are telling you it is.

Step 3 - Ask for guidance.

Now, I'm not proposing you ask a family or friend for guidance, I truly believe the answer lies within you and you know exactly how you should act. What I'm proposing is you verbally ask yourself for advice. Ask yourself and the Universe for the advice and guidance that you need. So often we have an idea or opportunity and we instantly knock it down, we don't look deeper enough to recognize that we were acting from a place of fear. When we act suddenly without any sort of thought or reflection we are allowing ourselves to move further and further into fear. The answer you are searching for is inside, you just have to ask.

I want you to make yourself a promise. Promise yourself that you will start to recognize these feelings; that you will really reflect on them and that you will make decisions based on your passions, your purpose and how you want your story to end.  Don't let fear dictate your life, trust me when I tell you it really isn't worth it, life on the other side of fear is so beautiful.

I mean what's the worst that could happen?

BE MERRY!

Michelle Knight

P.S. If you are ready to break free of these limitations and the fears that keep coming up for you and ready to step into your true purpose of impacting the world then you want to take advantage of one of my 5 spots left for 2016. Overcoming limitations is just one aspect of my program Passport to Freedom, but is so important in order to step into your true purpose. Learn more here >>

How to Write Effective Email Marketing Content with a Small EMAIL List

How to Write Effective Email Marketing Content with a Small EMAIL List

**This content was updated in November 2019

Email marketing is important whether you run an online business or a brick and mortar. The reality is every website today needs a website and an online presence. Yet, so many people are relying solely on social media to run their business.

The truth is you (we) don’t own those platforms, if Facebook or Instagram went away tomorrow could you successfully run your business?

Sure, a new platform will pop up, it always does, but how do you plan on telling you’re followers you’ve moved. Email marketing and email lists specifically are a way to stay in contact with your community, no matter what is happening on social media.

When I started my business I began building my online community via lead generation and hosting my own private Facebook group. I learned pretty quickly that even with a small email list I could make sales.

When I officially launched my business in July 2016, the first thing I did was to nurture my existing list, which wasn’t big at all and started building valuable relationships.

This is what helped me get my first paying clients.

I celebrated $15,000 cash with a list under 100 women and had my first $10k month with under 1,000 subscribers.

I’ve continued to implement the same practices as I’ve scaled my business to multiple 6-figures in three years.

Today, I'm sharing the exact 4 steps I used to let my true voice come through so you can implement them in your own business to build valuable relationships with your email subscribers.

1. Discover Your True Voice

Write how you speak, yes it truly is that simple. So many people overlook this or overcomplicate the sh*t out of it because they feel like they should speak a certain way to be taken seriously, that they should mimic what successful people in their industry are doing.

Listen, if you don’t write like you speak people are going to start connecting the dots and realize that you are not authentic and will not trust you. If you like to give a lot of detail and are a storyteller like me, then write that way.

The reality is there are already going to be people who don’t read your whole email and don’t like your style, so don’t even worry about pleasing them. Be yourself and connect with your ideal client.

By doing this, you’ll build trust faster with your true fans, rather than worrying about pleasing everyone and muddying your message.

Two strategies I use are:

• Pretend you are writing a letter to your friend

• Utilize a speech to text tool. Google Docs has an option called Voice Typing, simply talk about your subject and Google will turn that into written content. This is a great option if you are just starting out or find yourself freezing every time you open your computer to write.

2. Become Clear On Your BRAND Messaging

You need to be speaking to one person when you write your emails, posts, live streams whatever. This person needs to be so clear in your mind that you can pinpoint their pains and pleasures.

Now, I don’t want you to get wrapped up in exactly what your client needs and try to reformat your life and language to meet them, but I do want you to become clear on those pains and pleasures in their life so you can speak to them using your real-life experiences.

There are three things to keep in mind with your messaging:

1. Your purpose (why are you doing this?)

2. What you do, who you serve, what they are struggling with and how they benefit from your expertise

3. Their 3 major pains and 3 major pleasures

Use your three pieces above as a reference point to check in with yourself to see if you are still on track when it comes to your messaging every time you send an email to your subscribers.

If you’re looking for more support with your messaging, Check out this post.

3. Uncover Your Story

It is important to have your brand story laid out from the very beginning, but also be super aware of micro stories that are happening in your day to day. To start think of three major shifts that have happened in your life. For me, it was the loss of my brother to childhood cancer, the birth of my son and my decision to skip college after high school graduation (not in that order).

As you can see these shifts can be both major or subtle, it doesn’t matter, what matters is the impact it had on you and the lessons you learned (i.e. how you grew). Narrow down your three and write each story out, paying attention to details that you might share with your ideal client.

For instance, if I’m writing to my client, who struggles with time, I give them tips for how I manage time, but I also share my personal story of starting a business, working 9 to 5 and raising my son who ultimately led me on this path to entrepreneurship. Bring it back to your story every single time.

Looking for additional tips on Brand Story? Check out this post here.

4. Pull From Real-Life Experiences

There are a few tools I like to use to plan out my content. I love spreadsheets and I’m sorry if you don’t, but I love them and I use them in every area of my business. I create a spreadsheet with columns for each week of the month and columns for the number of emails I send. I use this to plan out my content because it allows me to see from a month’s view exactly what I’ll be sharing with my community.

You can download my free content calendar and learn my top strategies here.

While I’m mapping out my monthly content, I pull from real-life experiences and encourage you to do so as well. I look at every single opportunity in my life to get inspiration from. I take note! I use a few tools to keep track of all of this:

• Notepad in my phone (my favorite by far)

• I have a physical notepad reserved for ideas and stories I can share

• My journal, these often come to me in morning meditations

At the end of the month, I pull from these various places and develop my content for the month ahead. If something really stood out to me and I feel like my community needs to hear it because it is so in alignment with my purpose, message and characteristics of my ideal client, I will rearrange my schedule to fit it in.

Conclusion

My biggest tip for you as you begin to nurture your small email list is to focus on story. It’s true that in the beginning, you don’t have as much to share and that’s ok. Maybe you’re just getting started and don’t have much content, but you do have your story.

Use your story to connect with your audience in a deeper way.

**If you’re interested in learning more about storytelling and branding specifically then I’d love to invite you to check out my new training where I’m sharing The Build a Better Brand Method.

P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? I spending time in my IG Stories these days, sharing behind the scenes of my life and business.
Head there now. 

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meet michelle

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

What I Learned in Amsterdam

#DREAMMERRY

Ok, let me begin with the disclaimer that this is not going to be that kind of email. I’m sure Amsterdam is one hell of a city without children ;) Or visit was a little more mild, but oh so impactful.

While visiting Amsterdam for a day during our 10-Day European Adventure, my husband insisted on visiting the Van Gogh Museum. To say I was not really excited is kind of an understatement. I’m really not an art freak, my husband is an artist, but besides his art work, which is totally free to me, I have never purchased or acquired art for my home.

However, our life is all about compromise so I strapped in my little guy and prepared to mindlessly wander through the Van Gogh Museum. Boy was I in for a rude awakening.

I found such joy in reading about this complex man’s life - he was so much more than just a revolutionary artist, he was a man with so many levels. WHAT TRULY STOOD OUT TO ME AND WHAT I REALLY CAN'T STROP TALKING ABOUT IS THAT VAN GOGH DECIDED HE WANTED TO BECOME A PAINTER AT 27!! Yeah you read that right, one of the most acclaimed painters in the world, decided that at age 27, well into his adult life, that he had a passion for art and was going to pursue it.

I was seriously blown away reading this within the first few minutes of entering the museum. The rest of the time I spent reading as much as I could about this man, studying his work, reading about his personal demons and leaving a different person than I came in.

I have always believed that it is never too late to change your life, it is something I preach on a regular basis. I mean I became a mother and started my own business at 28, so I definitely know it is possible. But what really stood out to me was that a person, could follow their passion and impact the world in such a small window of time.

Now I don’t know him personally and honestly don’t know much aside from what I learned during my time at the museum, but I truly believe that Van Gogh made a decision - he wasn’t going to keep doing what didn’t inspire him and was going to make his future exactly what he wanted.

We all have this power, the power to achieve greatness, paint our own future, rewrite our own ending. What we have to do is make the decision and not believe that it is too late for us, because it isn’t. I don’t care how old or young you are, if you have the passions and the purpose you can do anything!

BE MERRY!

Michelle Knight

P.S. It is a new month, yes November is here and there are only a few months left before we jump head first into 2017. I’m offering the phenomenal women on my email list the opportunity to get a head start to 2017 by offering custom, affordable coaching. Schedule a call with my this week to learn about this special opportunity. Don’t wait another minute to make major changes in your life and get the support and accountability to make it happen quickly >> bit.ly//BrandmerryChat

Confession: I have a control problem

#LIVEMERRY

Hello! We are back from our 10-day expedition to Europe and survived traveling to three countries with a 10-month old!! I've had a lot of time to really think about what I want to share with you and something very powerful came up for me - I have a control problem.

I've always been the type of person who wants to do it themselves. I often feel like it is easier to just take care of it by myself, because I know it will get done quickly and will be done right. Do you ever feel this way?

As a new mother, I'm realizing more and more that it is just not possible for me to take care of everything. To be honest, I thought that by becoming a full-time entrepreneur and leaving my 9 to 5 I would suddenly have a ton of time. Now, I do have more time in the day, but the ideas for my business just keep coming and coming and I'm spending my time making each one of the possible.

This all came up for me before we left for our trip to Europe. In the past I’ve really been on top of my sh*t and had our trips planned out weeks in advance. However, just three days before we were set to leave I realized I hadn't booked the train tickets, I still needed to go to the store, laundry wasn't done and I had not even started compiling a list of things we might want to see and do, oh and I didn't even notice they changed our departure time!!

In that moment I seriously felt like I had dropped the ball. Why did I let this happen?

Oh yeah because I felt like I needed to do it all myself. My husband is so supportive, but let's be honest he can't read my mind, I mean no one can that would just be scary. I have to ask for help and I definitely didn't.

My business has grown so fast and continues to grow, we were leaving on a major European adventure and oh yeah I still have to take care of the day-to-day tasks, no wonder I lost it. I needed help and after a small cry fest with my husband he reminded me that asking for help and releasing control is not a weakness.

I repeat, releasing control, reducing the pressure, asking for help, taking the time, is not a sign of weakness! It is so important to get the help and support you need. Let it go and trust that it will all work out, controlling every single situation is not beneficial to you or your life of freedom.

If you are struggling with this or feel like you have to do it all alone, you don't. Reach out and get help from someone who supports you and genuinely cares about you and your happiness!