What is the difference between headshots and a personal branding photo session?
One of the most common questions we get asked as personal branding photographers is what the difference is between headshots and personal branding sessions. It’s a great question! Quickly, a headshot session is a simple and short session where we’re focused on getting you 1-2 professional headshots for you (or your team) for a professional profile. A branding session is more than headshots – much more, in fact! It’s a longer session or day that’s focused on creating visual content for your small business. We make sure to create content that can be used on a variety of platforms and different places instead of a lone headshot that you can use. You can absolutely market your business with your headshot, but there are limitations. A personal branding session is the way to go if you’re looking for more long-term content.
Personal branding sessions can tell more than one storyline about your business.
During your branding session, we have the chance to document you in a variety of settings and experiences. Maybe that’s showing how you work from home but also how you work 1:1 with a client or maybe what you do with your dog on days off. Because we have more time, we can create content that will allow you to share those multiple lines. By planning ahead, we know that there are parts of your business that need to be on display beyond a nice headshot and can capture those accordingly. These sessions will allow you to create more connection points with your audience as your share your content.
Personal branding sessions are personalized.
I know that sounds like kind of an obvious point, but think about it. We all live and run our businesses online these days. If you’re sharing the exact same photo or graphic as the business owner down the street, how are you standing out? Personal branding sessions allow your story and personality to come through to your ideal audience. This allows your business to stand out because people are getting to know you! There’s something powerful about showing exactly who you and your business are!
Personal branding portraits can be used all over the place!
Because we capture such a variety of images, your branding photos can be stretched out and used in more ways. You’re going to receive more images in more outfits, locations, and setups so that means you’ve got WAY more content to use. We always ask our clients if they have specific needs in mind for these images. Maybe you need something with a lot of white space for your website hero image. Or maybe you need more vertical images for pin graphics. Whatever it is, we’re going to try to capture it for you. And, if you’re smart about it, you can purposefully plan your session to include images you might need in the future. Think for launches, seasons, or big moments in your business!
In the end, headshots are a better fit if you need one image for a professional profile and that’s about it. But if you’re trying to build a brand, personal branding photos will serve you better in the long run. They’re going to capture more of who you are behind the business. Plus, they’ll provide you with a variety of images to use everywhere you need them! It’s a good option when you need to create a lot of content regularly!
Ready to ditch your boring headshots and update your professional profiles with personalized branding portraits? Let’s talk!
Xxx Catherine