Your Headshots Are Not Branding Photos. Here's The Difference.

There's a version of "branding photos" that has taken over Instagram and I need to talk about it.

Someone books a studio. They show up in a blazer. They hold a coffee cup. They walk away with a gallery and call it a brand shoot.

But, it's not, baddies!

I said what I said.

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. And the reason it's not is because not a single question got asked before the camera came out.

A portrait session and a branding session are not the same thing.

A portrait session is about you. Your face, your energy, a good image. That's it, and that's fine! Portraits are valuable. Updated headshots are valuable. But they have one job: to show what you look like.

A branding session has a completely different job. It's *mostly* not about what you look like (of course you’re going to want to look good, duh).

It's about what you do, who you do it for, and whether a total stranger can figure that out in about two seconds of scrolling past your website.

The questions that actually matter

Before I shoot a single frame for a branding client, we're talking. Not about outfits (yet).

About this ⬇️

What are these photos for? A website homepage has different needs than an Instagram story. A LinkedIn banner is a different size than a sales page header. If nobody has asked you where these images are going to live, that is a problem.

Who is your audience? If you're a family therapist, your photos should not feel like a fashion editorial. If you're a brand strategist who works with startups, they probably shouldn't feel like a corporate directory either.

The energy of your images should match the people you're trying to attract, not just look "professional."

What do you actually do? This sounds obvious until you look at someone's website and genuinely cannot tell. If someone lands on your page with no context and sees only your photos, do they know if you're a hairstylist or a business coach or a real estate agent? If the answer is no, your branding photos are not doing their job.

The blazer is not the branding

An image from a branding photoshoot I did for a psychic medium!

You can wear a blazer and have incredible, intentional brand photos. You can also wear a blazer and walk away with a very expensive portrait session that does nothing for your business. The outfit is not the strategy.

The strategy is in the storytelling. It's in the props that make sense for your work, the environment that reflects your client experience, the expressions and body language that communicate who you are before anyone reads a single word on your website. It's in making sure that when someone lands on your page at 11pm deciding whether to book you, they feel something. They feel you.

That's what branding photos do when they're done right. They close the gap between "this person looks nice" and "I need to work with her."

So before you book, ask the questions!

What is the goal? What platforms? What sizes do you actually need? What story are we telling, and who are we telling it to?

If the photographer you're talking to isn't asking you any of this, that's your sign.

Grand Rapids business owners, coaches, creatives: let's talk before we shoot. The difference between a good photo and a photo that works is a strategy conversation first.

With love,

Olivia 🖤