Professional personal branding photography for female business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals who want confident, natural images that show both their personality and their expertise.
Whether you run your own business, work as a consultant, lead a company or are building your professional profile, the photographs you use online say a great deal about you before a potential client has even spoken to you.
My personal branding photography sessions for women are designed to create a varied collection of professional photographs that you can use across your website, LinkedIn, social media, marketing, PR and anywhere else your business needs to be seen.
Sessions take place at my large photography studio at Spinners Mill in Leigh, Greater Manchester, with location photography also available when it suits your brand.
Personal branding photography shouldn’t make you look like somebody else.
The aim is to create photographs that look professional while still showing your personality, your style and the person your clients will actually meet.
For some women that means polished, professional business portraits. For others it means relaxed photographs working on a laptop, talking on the phone, sitting with a coffee or simply looking approachable and confident.
Most clients need a mixture.
During your session I can create traditional headshots, relaxed portraits, full-length photographs, working images and lifestyle-style branding photographs so you leave with much more than a collection of similar headshots.
If that sounds familiar, you are certainly not unusual.
One of the biggest reasons business owners delay arranging personal branding photography is simply because they don’t enjoy being in front of a camera.
You don’t need to know how to pose.
You don’t need to arrive knowing what to do with your hands.
And you don’t need previous modelling experience.
Directing people is part of my job.
Throughout the session I will guide you with your posture, hands, body position and expressions. Small changes can make a considerable difference to a photograph, and I will talk you through them as we work.
The intention is not to force you into unnatural poses. It is to help you look confident and relaxed while still looking like yourself.
People increasingly want to know who is behind the business they are considering working with.
A logo may identify your company, but photographs allow potential clients to connect with the person behind it.
Good personal branding photography can help communicate professionalism, confidence and personality before somebody has ever contacted you.
It can also solve a very practical problem.
Instead of repeatedly searching your phone for a photograph whenever you need to update LinkedIn, create a Facebook post, send a press release or change something on your website, you have a library of professional images ready to use.
One good branding session can potentially provide photographs for months of marketing.
I photograph women working across many different industries and professions.
Your session can be adapted to suit whether you are a sole trader, entrepreneur, consultant, coach, creative professional, company director, author, speaker or established business owner.
A solicitor probably requires a very different collection of photographs from a fitness instructor.
An accountant may want clean, professional portraits whereas a designer or creative business owner may want something much more relaxed and colourful.
There isn’t one fixed personal branding style that works for everybody.
The photographs should fit your business and the clients you are trying to attract.
A successful personal branding shoot isn’t simply a matter of arriving at the studio and standing in front of a backdrop.
Before the shoot it is worth thinking about your business, the type of clients you want to attract and where the photographs will actually be used.
If you are rebuilding a website, for example, we may need horizontal photographs with space for text as well as vertical images for mobile and social media.
If Instagram is important to your business, we may want a much larger collection of informal photographs.
If LinkedIn and corporate marketing are your priorities, the session may need to feel more polished and professional.
Planning these things beforehand means we can create photographs with a purpose rather than simply producing lots of attractive pictures that you don’t know what to do with afterwards.
This is one of the questions I am asked most frequently.
The simple answer is: bring options.
Different outfits can completely change the impression created by a photograph.
A jacket or blazer can create a strong professional image. Removing it may immediately produce something warmer and more relaxed. Changing again into something more casual can give you another completely different set of photographs.
You don’t necessarily need to buy anything especially for your session.
Clothes that you already feel comfortable and confident wearing are often the best starting point.
Think about your brand colours, the type of clients you work with and how you normally present yourself professionally.
If you would never meet a client wearing a formal business suit, there is little point creating an entire gallery of photographs wearing one.
One of the major advantages of working in my studio is the amount of variety I can create without spending your session constantly travelling between locations.
I have a large dedicated photography studio at Spinners Mill in Leigh with different backgrounds, furniture and shooting areas available.
Within one session we can potentially create:
The idea is to give you variety, not 50 photographs that all look almost identical.
Your branding photographs can be created with specific uses in mind.
A website homepage image has different requirements from a LinkedIn profile photograph.
Instagram Stories require a different crop again.
During a branding session I therefore photograph with different orientations, compositions and amounts of space around you.
This can make the finished photographs much easier for you or your web designer to use.
Your personal branding photographs can be used for your website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, press releases, blogs, advertising, brochures, speaking engagements, podcast appearances, email marketing and other business promotions.
Personal branding isn’t simply about looking professional.
Potential clients also want to get some idea of what it might actually be like to work with you.
That is why some of the most useful photographs from a branding session are often the less formal ones.
A relaxed smile, sitting with a coffee, working at a laptop or simply looking away from the camera can sometimes communicate far more personality than a conventional headshot.
We can create both.
You may need a confident professional portrait for LinkedIn and a much more relaxed photograph for an Instagram post.
Your branding library should give you options.
My photography studio is based at Spinners Mill in Leigh, Greater Manchester.
It gives me the space to produce several different styles of photograph during the same session rather than relying on one background.
The studio is conveniently located for clients travelling from Manchester, Bolton, Wigan, Warrington, Salford and across Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
There is space for outfit changes and preparation during your session, allowing us to work through different looks without rushing.
Not every photograph needs to be taken in the studio.
Location photography can be particularly effective when your workplace, office, shop, salon, workshop or another environment forms an important part of your business story.
We can also use suitable outdoor or urban locations where this complements your brand.
For larger personal branding sessions it may be possible to combine studio and location photography, giving you an even wider selection of photographs.
The right approach depends on your business and how you intend to use the images.
I prefer to keep my personal branding photography pricing straightforward.
A two-hour session provides enough time to create a strong and varied collection of personal branding photographs without the shoot taking over your day.
There is time for outfit changes, different backgrounds and several styles of photography.
This is a good choice if you need new photographs for your website, LinkedIn and regular social media content.
£350
For businesses that need a much larger image library, the four-hour session gives us considerably more freedom.
We can introduce additional outfits, backgrounds and setups and spend longer creating both formal and relaxed branding photographs.
Depending on what we plan beforehand, a longer session may also allow us to combine studio photography with suitable location images.
This is particularly useful when you are launching or rebuilding a website, undertaking a rebrand or want enough photography to support several months of marketing.
£500
Your finished photographs are professionally edited and supplied digitally through an online gallery.
If you primarily need fresh website photographs, new LinkedIn images and a useful collection of social media content, the two-hour session will suit many businesses.
If you are rebranding, building a new website, need a substantial bank of social media content or want to create several noticeably different looks, the four-hour session gives us considerably more flexibility.
I would rather produce a genuinely useful collection of photographs than rush through a list simply because the clock is running.
If you’re unsure which session is right for you, tell me what you’re trying to achieve and I can advise you.
You are welcome to arrive ready for your photography session or, if you would prefer, professional makeup can be arranged.
The aim with personal branding makeup is generally not to make you look dramatically different.
It is about helping you feel confident and camera-ready while still looking recognisably like yourself.
If professional makeup is something you would like to include, ask me about it when enquiring.
There is sometimes a misconception that personal branding photography is primarily for influencers, coaches or people who spend their lives posting on Instagram.
It isn’t.
If clients buy from you because of your knowledge, experience, personality or reputation, then you already have a personal brand whether you deliberately created one or not.
Professional photographs simply allow you to present that brand more effectively.
For a sole trader or small business in particular, you are often the face of the business.
Showing that face can help potential customers begin to know and trust you.
I have spent many years photographing people for business portraits, headshots, personal branding and other professional photography.
My approach is straightforward.
I won’t expect you to arrive knowing how to pose and I won’t leave you standing silently in front of a camera wondering what you’re supposed to do.
I’ll direct you throughout the shoot.
My studio also allows me to produce a wide range of photographs in one place, which is particularly useful when the objective is to create an entire image library rather than one or two headshots.
Most importantly, the session is built around your business.
The objective isn’t simply to create photographs that I like.
It is to create photographs you can actually use.
No.
Most of the people I photograph are not professional models and don’t arrive knowing how to pose.
I will direct you throughout the session and help with body position, hands, posture and expression.
That is extremely common.
Tell me at the beginning of the session and don’t worry about it.
The shoot is not a performance or test. We work through different positions and photographs until you become more comfortable in front of the camera.
It depends on the length of your session and the variety you want.
I would normally suggest bringing several options rather than arriving with only one outfit.
Jackets, tops and accessories can also change a look quickly without requiring a complete outfit change.
Think about your existing brand, website and the impression you want the photographs to create.
Neutral colours work well for many businesses, but if colour is part of your personality or branding there is no reason to avoid it.
Most importantly, wear something you feel confident in.
That is entirely your choice.
Some clients prefer to do their own hair and makeup while others enjoy having it professionally done as part of the experience.
Professional makeup can be arranged if required.
Yes. If having somebody with you will make you feel more comfortable, you are welcome to bring them.
Yes.
A personal branding session can include professional headshots specifically suitable for LinkedIn alongside the wider branding photographs.
Yes.
These are often some of the most useful personal branding photographs.
Depending on your business, this could include working on a laptop, using a phone, writing, meeting a client or using tools or equipment associated with what you do.
Yes, where appropriate.
If your office, studio, salon, shop or other workplace is important to your brand, location photography may make sense.
Tell me what you have in mind when enquiring.
Potentially, yes.
This is particularly suitable for the longer four-hour branding session, depending on travelling time and where the location is.
Your selected finished images are professionally edited before delivery.
My approach is to produce polished professional photographs while keeping you looking natural and recognisable.
Finished photographs are supplied digitally through an online gallery, making them easy to download and use for your website, social media and other business marketing.
My studio is at Spinners Mill in Leigh, Greater Manchester.
It is within easy travelling distance of Manchester, Bolton, Wigan, Warrington, Salford and many areas of Cheshire and Greater Manchester.
If you’ve been putting off new photographs because you don’t like being in front of a camera, don’t know what to wear or simply don’t know where to start, that shouldn’t stop you being visible in your own business.
A good personal branding session is planned around you, your business and what you need the photographs to achieve.
Whether you need a professional new LinkedIn image, photographs for a new website or an entire bank of content for your marketing, I can create a session around what you actually need.
Based at Spinners Mill, Leigh, Greater Manchester.
Get in touch to check availability and start planning your personal branding photography session.