The online life is a funny old one. You have to decide how much of yourself you want to put out there, whether you want to create a niche or go with the flow, whether you’ll just stick strictly to your area of expertise or let people get a glimpse of your life. I’m sure it’s probably true that more people in the generation below mine watch YouTube videos than they do regular TV.
I’ve been blogging for 6 years now and have been toying with the idea of getting a personal branding photoshoot done for a little while. I wanted pictures to unify all the different platforms I have a presence, including LinkedIn (which used to have a photo of me at a wedding from about 8 years ago as my profile pic – current!) but not something too stuffy and corporate.
A few years ago when I was still working full-time, we had a corporate photographer come in to take headshots of us all. It was a disaster with only about two people actually looking like who they were. You can’t take twenty people, get them to all stand on the same spot and face the same way and expect that it’s going to be everyone’s best self. Most of us were embarrassed to use them and to be honest the experience put me off trying anything again.
That was until I saw that a lovely local lady who I know through our 1930s house renovations here in southeast London had some slots available for a photoshoot with her business Donna Ford Photography. She uses a café in Greenwich called Grind which has the perfect neutral backdrop and great natural light and well, there’s just something so naturally relaxing about working with someone you know who also understands what you want to achieve.
I think photography can be such a personal process – not everyone feels at ease in front of the camera (that episode of Friends where Chandler can’t smile for his engagement photo with Monica) and even if you DO feel comfortable, some days you’d rather stay in with 3 day old unwashed hair and your comfiest PJs rather than have your photo taken.
Donna really is excellent at what she does. She chats and takes photos as she does so that we end up with some really natural looking pictures that don’t look staged and really captured how I see myself and what I want to get across on my social media and blog, too. She sent over a gallery of the best images for me to select my 3 which are included in the price, and you can purchase additionals for £25 per photo. All chosen images are provided in colour and black and white.
If you are looking for a photographer for this type of project (or others) then I really recommend getting in touch since although she lives in southeast London, Donna Ford Photography actually works nationwide. This isn’t an ad at all, I paid for my service but I’m just really passionate about supporting small business and especially those run by women. Lots more building each other up instead of tearing each other down. I’m over the moon with my final images and feel like embracing my 40s has got off to a brilliant start so far! Here’s to more stepping outside our comfort zones.
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