Brand Storytelling Through Your Headshot

You have a personal story. But have you considered storytelling through your headshot?
Your reasons for starting your business, going into a specific industry, and what you hope to achieve are unique to you. Therefore, your branded headshots should reflect your story. When you take control of your headshot process with Headshots.com, we’ll help you plan your well-thought-out narrative. The team of experts at Headshots.com provides guidance on how to tell your visual story, and our world-class editors perfect your headshot image. But at the heart of this journey is YOU. You will be the hero. 

BE THE HERO OF YOUR OWN STORY

Know Your Story

It’s really tricky to tell a story you don’t already know by heart. Before you start your hero’s journey with Headshots.com, you’ll want to do your homework. Think about who you are and what you have to give. Identify the traits that make you unique. Write it all down, highlighting words that stand out as key indicators of your personal brand. As you write, consider the impression you want to make. Are you funny or serious? Laidback and casual or fastidiously professional? 

Remember that how you dress in your photo should reflect how you typically present yourself. If you present yourself in the real world completely differently than you do in your photo, it can be confusing to those you meet. They might feel you’re not the person they thought you were, or feel unclear about your brand. Thus, don’t act how you think you ought to, but rather aim to show your true self. If a picture is worth a thousand words, think about the messages you want your headshot to get across to your clients or potential employers.

Think About Your Audience

Before you can begin storytelling through your headshot, you’ll need to identify who you want to share your story with. Imagine your dream client or employer. You should know him or her inside out. What are their favorite brands, preferred colors, fears, dreams, etc.? These details will help you plan your photoshoot and how you use storytelling in your headshot. Your personal branding headshot should help you make an instant connection with your ideal audience. 

Dress the Part

On the day you will be taking your photos, wear clothes that communicate your personality and fit your narrative. Of course, you will want to look your best! However, your best doesn’t mean you have to get all dressed up if that’s not your persona. Consider these tips to help you plan your headshot attire for men and women. 

STORYTELLING THROUGH YOUR HEADSHOT

Use It For Your Business

Brand photography is for entrepreneurs, bloggers, freelancers, and many other industry professionals. If you’re someone whose branding calls for an all-encompassing visual package, you can communicate brand storytelling through your headshots. With personal brand headshots, you’ll focus not only on promoting yourself or your product but also on the lifestyle concepts. These are the ideas that make your business stand out in today’s competitive modern marketplace. Your headshot is a visual counterpart to your brand. It allows for greater creative freedom to articulate what you do and how you do it.

Your headshot can be used for publications, websites, blogs, social media, calendars, annual reports, and more. It can be used in any other visual marketing materials you need to promote you, your business, and your people. Whether you are looking to promote yourself, a specific aspect of your work, or both, the headshot you create can meet all your professional needs.

Great personal brand photos are so much more than good-looking headshots. They tell the entire story of you and your brand through images. They capture your personality and help bring your entire personal brand together. Your headshots help your clients and customers know who you are, what you can offer, and why they should hire you. All with just a glance! 

Storytelling Through Your Headshot: A Powerful Marketing Asset

Your image is a key part of your brand. In fact, there are many parts to developing a personal brand, and it’s best to think about how they all come together. You don’t want any of it to feel out of step or awkward. Your headshots are part of your visual branding. You want this to be solid. Your brand needs a clear tone of voice, it needs to act a particular way, and your personality needs to shine through. 

Plotting out brand guidelines using the Headshots.com guide will help you understand the following:

• Who are you?
• Where are you going?
• How are you making use of your professional headshots? 
• What stories are you telling through them?

Here you are, with an amazing service or product to offer the world. Maybe you’ve dreamed up an innovative new venture, or maybe you’ve been in business for a while. Either way, you’re ready to create a new and fresh brand identity. So you sit down to review that business plan, solidify your goals and values and start brainstorming ways to get yourself out there and to create some excitement around your product.

Do Your Homework

When it comes to establishing or refreshing your online presence and marketing material, most of us start out by spending time stalking our competitors’ websites for ideas, exploring hashtags, and making Pinterest boards full of inspiration. Your intent is to create content that will attract potential customers and motivate them to trust you, work with you, and buy your product or service. There are endless blogs, articles, and other resources available that provide lists of marketing strategies and branding ideas, and most of them say relatively the same thing: The face that you present to potential customers via your online presence and visual marketing must inspire them. You need to draw them in to read more, search for products, browse your galleries, and ultimately be driven to purchase a product or contact you for a service. 

Easier said than done, right? We live in the information age – a time where not only do we have shorter and shorter attention spans. As a result, our customers expect to get their answers and solutions instantly and easily. As a result, if you don’t have a visual presence that catches a potential customer’s attention within the first few seconds, your customer will click away from you in their search for something more compelling that fills whatever need it is that they have. 

Create a Narrative Hook for Storytelling Through Your Headshot

In great branded headshots you need a narrative hook. Being memorable cuts through the noise and it makes you unique in your marketplace. For example, if you work in a more technical, less colorful field, consider how you can stand out. Perhaps a more unique background would fit your personal narrative and really help your images pop. In fact, whatever story you choose to tell, make sure it’s an authentic addition to your brand.

MAKE YOUR BRANDED HEADSHOTS WORK FOR YOU

We’ve all had our photos taken at some point. Maybe it was a school portrait, a family photo from a relative’s wedding, a quick iPhone snap by a friend, or an old headshot taken at some office job you had 5 years ago. Wherever it originated, your headshot is a portrait you’ve been using to apply to jobs, submit to agencies and editors, or stick on your “About” page. In fact, if you have a recent professional headshot, you’re a step further than most people. But did you know that a headshot is only one part of your visual narrative? If you didn’t put thought and intention behind your most recent headshot, it may not be conveying the message you’re hoping for. 

So how do we keep a potential customer’s interest without over or underwhelming them? If you have a website, you likely have more space to fill. This is a great opportunity to work with Headshots.com to create multiple images that instantly present your brand concept or story to your viewer. The human brain processes visuals much faster than text, and savvy advertisers know that telling a visual story with their marketing and branding is the most effective way to quickly relay information and catch and retain the attention of their customers. 

Therefore, there are multiple factors to consider when planning your storytelling headshot. Think about the background, your outfit(s), branding colors, your brand messaging, etc. Make sure your headshot is customized to best reflect the type of business you run and the message you wish to convey about your brand. In business, you may be familiar with the idea that people buy YOU just as much or even more than your exact services and goods. Therefore, make sure you put yourself out there as a top-quality product!

GET STARTED ON HERO’S JOURNEY TO STORYTELLING THROUGH YOUR HEADSHOT

Now you’re well-equipped with lots of resources to begin your hero’s journey. You can start by signing up with Headshots.com and downloading our guide to creating a winning headshot. Use this guide to focus on how you will be storytelling through your headshot. Then get started on your perfect headshot today!