How to shift your portrait’s focus from you to your client.
How effectively are your business images communicating with clients who have different expectations of you based on their needs?
When starting the portrait process, my client’s first questions are often related to clothing choices or background selection. Indeed, these are essential questions to answer. However, before the session begins, I must ask some critical questions.
Where will these images be used?
Who will be viewing them?
Are the viewers all the same, or are they different audiences
What messages do you want to convey to these various viewers?
By listening carefully to my client, I learn what will make a compelling image for their marketing efforts. Designing the images with the use of lighting, posing, and expression can create a final portrait that communicates your personality and professional persona. By combining and or altering different parts, we can create an image designed to communicate different messages to different groups. Most importantly, this process also shifts my client’s frame of mind from “Image of me” to “I’m talking to my client.” I share more about this in my post “Mind Set.”
Brian is a professional musician and an educator. When discussing his image needs, we discovered that he had two different types of clients for whom he needed images. One set of clients hires him to play saxophone professionally. He believed these clients would identify with photographs that showed his professionalism, seriousness, and experience. The second set of clients consists of parents of high school musicians who require advanced saxophone instruction. These clients respond to his approachability and friendliness.
Brian is a professional musician and an educator. When discussing his image needs, we discovered that he had two different types of clients for whom he needed images. One set of clients hires him to play saxophone professionally. He believed these clients would identify with photographs that showed his professionalism, seriousness, and experience. The second set of clients consists of parents of high school musicians who require advanced saxophone instruction. These clients respond to his approachability and friendliness.
Both images put a “face with the name.” However, by understanding the subtle differences between Brian’s various client types, we can create images that are more than just a headshot. We created two unique and compelling images that help him communicate with these client groups in meaningful language to each of them.
You can find out more about our executive portrait process: For Executives.
We would love the opportunity to create compelling images for your business branding. Call today. We’d love to hear your ideas.
