“What’s the difference between headshots and personal branding photos? And how do I decide which one I need?” As a brand photographer, these are questions I get asked quite often. And so I’m here to shed some light on their basic characteristics and differences, making it easier to decide which one serves you best when.
Headshots
Literally a shot of someone’s head, a standard headshot is usually shot from waist up, on a simple background with the subject looking at the camera. Headshots are often used on the ‘about’ page, business cards or LinkedIn profiles.
Think about it as your image when meeting someone for the first time at a networking event.
A headshot photoshoot is quick and involves minimal preparation – one location, one outfit, one background. Which doesn’t mean you will end up with one image. When I shoot headshots, I create variety by slightly altering the poses, the angles and the expressions. I believe, in today’s world it’s perfectly acceptable, even desirable to move away from the traditional corporate look. By encouraging my clients to show a bit of personality, we create images where they look professional yet authentic.
Headshot sessions are great if you are
• just starting out, maybe your brand persona and positioning are not quite crystallised yet.
• on a less flexible budget but you understand the importance of good quality images in order to convey trust and authenticity.
• only needing a few images, mainly to be used as profile pictures.
Personal Branding Photos
If headshots are your introductory image when meeting someone for the first time, personal branding photos are the story you tell about yourself and your business, and your brand personality in terms of how you are telling it.
A set of images
Personal branding photos are a set of professional images that represent your business visually. Together with your logo, colour palette and typefaces, they create a consistent look which is your brand’s visual identity. They are essential for any business where the brand is really personal – for example, coaches. They can be used in almost every piece of communication – website, sales pages, social media content, blog content, graphics for paid ads, etc.
A lengthier process
A personal branding session can take a few hours – different set-ups, outfit and messages. The aim here is to create images that reflect the brand persona and convey the required message in a style suitable for the target audience, while also meeting the format required by each platform they’ll be used on. Which means a more elaborate preparation process where the client and the photographer work together to collect all the details and ensure the final images meet all those requirements.
A few examples for the type of images you get in a set of personal branding photos: headshots, in-action shots, lifestyle shots, behind the scene shots, styled close-ups. As you can see, headshots are part of personal branding photos. But personal branding photos are so much more than headshots.
Personal branding photos are great if you want to
• take your business to the next level by owning your unique story and brand persona and by confidently expressing it to the world.
• show to your prospective clients who they’ll be working with and what to expect when working with you.
• create more engaging content that’s consistent and unique to your brand.
To summarise
Hi! I'm Zsanett. A Brand Consultant & Photographer, I help business owners find their confidence in who they are so they can show up as their best self in their photos and in their business.
If you need help with building your brand that connects you with your ideal customer and also allows you to be fully yourself in your business, Brand Yourself Confident, my 7-week personal brand consulting program might just be the solution for you.
Check out the details and book your free consultation or if you have any questions get in touch.
It'd be lovely to hear from you.