Styling yourself as part of your brand.

Marcus is going to talk about your personal brand. He wantsto talk about the aesthetics of this. First, what is a personal brand. So, it’s a combination of who you are, what you do, what you are known for a who is your target audience. Marcus is going to focus on how we look.

Marcus thinks women are much better at this than men. Marcus thinks that when people book a photographer, they have certain expectations. He thinks people expect photographers to be cool and a little arty. This expectation makes a difference to our brand.
We have had a couple of stylists on the show including Nick Hems and Suzanne Suthers
Marcus says the first thing is to know your size. Get properly measured so you can work out what is going to fit you. Marcus thinks are then you need a “capsule wardrobe”. This is a few items of clothing that work well together.  Marcus recommends getting clothes second hand. He thinks higher quality second hand clothes are better than cheap new clothes. He says you need some items that match your brand. Marcus says if you can’t decide on a colour go for black. Something small with your brand colour can work well with black.
Marcus says there are several points of contacts with people. Usually on Zoom, Networking, on your website and then on the shoot. On Zoom calls it’s important to get the background right. Arrange the background well. Some artefacts in the backgrounds that show you are a photographer are great. Marcus doesn’t like the artificial backgrounds. Marcus does suggest a slide show in the background. He also suggests getting a good webcam or use your SLR as a webcam. Get the camera level and lighting right. Also ensure your label on Zoom clearly says your name and business.

Marcus says then on the website you want at least twophotographs of yourself. Sam and Marcus agree a photo of you on the homepage is important. Marcus says a behind the scenes video is useful. Sam says it shows you interacting with customers which is very powerful. Marcus says a photo onthe about page is also important, and you need to be in your branded calls. Sam says also using images for example of you having a nice chat with someone by the call me button may help put people at ease.