"I'm just a little old lady that likes to write," were among the first words out of Sue's mouth on our brand discovery call.True statement -- except for that little word 'just'. Novelist Sue Burke is so much more.

The first job your personal brand images need to do is to capture attention. The internet is crowded with faces competing for my attention. A creative, vivid image of you can stop the scroll long enough to take a look at what you have to offer.

I don't know about you, but I'm constantly evolving - usually on several fronts at once! So I work to update my brand images once a year to keep up with the most current me. Matt, a recent client who's a talented amateur photographer himself, offered to photograph me recently. So I went for it!

Ditch the fake background and get out of the studio! A sense of a specific, evocative location can make your brand images unique, meaningful and resonant. And will definitely set you apart.

Here are three tips to using location to create images that tell me something meaningful about what kind of transformational expert you are.

As we explored how Roxanne relates to her clients, the words trust, groundedness and listener emerged. On our calls together she shows up as this rock-solid, grounding presence who genuinely cares.

THAT'S what we wanted to be sure to express in her photos.

If you're a coach, consultant, entrepreneur, or transformational leader you know you need compelling brand photos to presence your authority. But step in front of the camera and . . . CLUNK. You feel awkward, stiff, self-conscious, adrift. And, yeah, the images often reflect your discomfort.

Okay, first take a breath. YOU ARE NOT A GEEK.

The past few months I've been presented with a few opportunities that were tempting, but felt off to me. Nothing nefarious. More like, "That's not really what I'm up to." Or, "I feel like I'd compromise my standards to do what you request."

So last month I took some time to really reflect on my core business values? What is Badassity really about? How do I want to relate to my client? What do I want to be a stand for?

As with most clients, we started off with an essence exercise, soliciting reflections from friends, coworkers, and clients about how Ariana shows up in service.

She's off the scale for enthusiasm and curiosity!

And though she's got hardcore business and financial skills, she's keenly tuned in to people as well. At one point Ariana told me, "I love bringing people together, getting them aligned, and driving toward a shared conclusion."

A coach's website home page presents some unique challenges. How do you create a home page that simultaneously:

• Gets noticed by the people you serve (draws attention)

• Connects with the people you serve (meets your clientele where they are in their problem state)

• Communicates the possibilities of coaching (Many people have not had the aha *experience* of coaching, the support of accountability, or the joy of celebrating new territory take with someone who sees the best in you)

• Presents you as the coach for them

• Inspires to pick up the phone

In the bullshit world of control (like so much of business culture), positive acknowledgement is often a manipulative technique, a way of "buttering people up," so they are more pliable and accommodating to me getting my way. No wonder we so often react to genuine compliments with suspicion and self-deprecation.

Several years ago I took improvisational comedy classes at Second City. Of course we all wanted to brilliant and funny and stars. My first instructor MIchael was absolutely brilliant. After each scene he gave us in depth, insightful analyses of what worked and didn't work in our scene and why. We all learned sooo much.

And we all got paralyzed.

I see so many coaches' websites where obvious thought has gone into the home page. There's an alluring metaphorical photo of some desired state (peace, success, abundance, vitality, etc.), a compelling tag line and message, clarity on who the coach serves, an attractive, authority photo of the coach.

Okay! I'm intrigued! I want to contact this coach!

I click on the Contact button and . . . THUD!

With your About page, you have a unique opportunity to presence yourself to your client base.

I admit it. I need to redo my About page. It needs to be better focused on my primary clientele -- coaches, consultant and transformative experts. And I need to sharpen it up by making it more specific.

"You should come to Chicago, and I'll photograph you." Little did I know.

I'd met Sam(antha) on a sales call a few days before. She'd called me to follow up on my interest in her company. Despite turning her down, we hit it off immediately with a great conversation, then responding to each others' LinkedIn posts (Sam is a LI strategist) and carrying on PM conversations about business, marketing, places we'd lived, and photography.

You get to break more rules. You get to hone in on the vibe. You get to toy with literal “reality”. What’s not to love?

I found myself in an online conversation with two coaches this morning about self criticism taking the form of the question, "Do I have what it takes?" Ever asked it yourself? Do you have what it takes?

Coach Karen came to me wanting a non-corporate look for her brand image. She already has a corporate headshot and feels it just doesn't reflect the clientele of her private coaching practice.

One thing I hate about typical team pages on websites is that everyone's photo looks identical. The same pose. The same lighting. The same background. Blah. My eyes glaze over. The uniqueness of each individual doesn't come through - or it's at least severely muted.

What does each of your brand images SAY about you? What do they communicate about about you and your business beyond, "Here is what I look like. I dress like a professional and I'm passably attractive."? Too often we miss the specifics of what we want to say about how we show up for our clients. We miss opportunities to create real connection.

One of the reasons I hate over-reliance on headshots is they're just that - a photograph of just your head (and maybe a bit of your shoulders.) That's great for those tiny social media icons where every pixel counts. But they miss all the dimensions of expression found in your body!