Headshots or personal branding - what’s the difference?
So, you know you need images for social media but with so many differing terms around the kind of images you require, its easy to get lost.
The two key approaches are headshots or personal branding images and they both serve entirely different purposes. A headshot simply focuses on you while personal branding images encompass you, your business & your personality.
Headshots are just one part of the visual story you may want to use - they tend to be very simple, focused on the face/head and upper body. While personal branding images are a complete celebration of you, both in your business and also away from your business, which allows your ideal client to resonate with you. Personal branding shoots dive deep into who you are and what you do allowing you to create a variety of images to tell your “business story”.
Headshots are perfect for creating a professional look and also establishing credibility while custom personal branding images makes it easy for you to tell your own unique story and show off the real you. For us entrepreneurs and small business owners, having unique branding visuals is a game-changer. It helps us stand out from the crowd and make a lasting impression.
So, what’s the difference…and decide whether you need headshots or personal brand photography or both?
Headshots
Headshots are straightforward & classic professional portraits, offering a polished and reliable way to portray yourself on LinkedIn, company websites, and business cards. Their simple focus on your face and shoulders conveys professionalism and credibility, usually within a traditional studio setting and clean background further solidifying that impression.
Several of these are headshots taken on location, part of a wider branding shoot, giving clients the flexibility of having both sets of images as part of their image bank. In some instances, the background can be removed either in Photoshop or a package like Canva, depending on how you want to use it.
However, headshots alone might not do justice to your personality or brand story. Add in your ‘secret sauce’ with a custom brand shoot, which allows you to go beyond and tell a much richer story of who you are, who you serve and how.
Personal Branding
Personal branding photos are all about showing off the real you - your quirks, your style, your whole vibe.
Branding images from one of the clients above to really highlight the difference between headshots & personal branding images.
It's quite simply your brand story through pictures, and you can use them everywhere - social media, your website, your business card or to support a launch of a new product or service.
Branding photography has style, personality, and it helps you market your brand with such ease, as you have a bank of images that talks about every key element of your business.
…so, where do you start?
Take some time to understand where you “promote” yourself.
You may only need a handful of images for online profiles and professional directories, then a headshot/ brand portrait session is just fine for you. However if you are active on social media or have a website or are launching a new service or product, then a personal branding session will be ideal for you.
A headshot - or brand portrait session as I like to call them - is relatively quick and easy, requiring you to turn up as your best self and ready to go.
Creating a series of cohesive images that tell your brand's story is a comprehensive process and time is taken to plan these well.
Every shoot is personalised in every aspect to ensure it accurately reflects you & your brand, considering everything from location and clothing to incorporating your brand colours and props. Every detail is carefully planned to ensure you get the most out of your shoot and you walk away with compelling visuals that meet your marketing goals.
My Brand Portrait sessions allow you to create headshots as well as lifestyle images that give you the best of both worlds. We get that all important headshot as well as allowing you to show some personality in your other images.
I hope you’ve found this useful…if you’re thinking about it, then by all means get in touch for my Personal Branding Welcome Guide and then lets chat.