Boosting Your Speaking Business with Visual Storytelling with John DeMato

Aug 19, 2025

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“A photo in general is not going to win you business, but bad photos are going to lose you your business all the time because it absolutely crushes.”

Ever dread getting new headshots or wonder if your photos help your speaking business? On this episode of The Speaker Lab, Grant Baldwin chats with photographer John DeMato about what matters when it comes to imagery and visual storytelling for speakers.

John’s best advice is that your branding photos aren’t for you; they’re for your audience. Every image should invite people into your world and show how you help them, building trust and credibility. This means going beyond stiff portraits and staged shots. John stresses having a strategy: your photos should tell the story of who you serve, how you solve problems, and what working with you looks like. Think candid behind-the-scenes moments, action shots, and authentic glimpses of your process, not just you on stage with a mic.

Additionally, John advises focusing on natural, in-the-moment photos rather than stiff posing. And while iPhone snaps work for everyday social posts, invest in professionally captured images for your website or speaker kit. Bring outfits you’d wear on stage, choose simple backgrounds, and use natural light to keep things genuine. Most importantly, if your brand changes, refresh your photo library!

You’ll learn:

The purpose and power of speaker photos
Definition of visual storytelling for speakers
Strategic approaches to speaker branding
Common mistakes speakers make with photography
Building authenticity and comfort in photos
Dealing with skepticism
Capturing genuine “magic moments”
And much, much more!

“[Branding] photos aren’t for you, they’re for them. They’re for the people that you serve.”

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