Need to establish your authority visually without being cheesy?

Here are two images of artist, writer, and former college professor Laura, both positioning Laura with authority, but in different ways.

The more specific and evocative your brand-essence words, the more evocative your images are likely to be. Without a target you don't know what you're shooting for except for bland, generic criteria like “professional” or “friendly” or “attractive”

Simple outfit, classic location, and it’s all about capturing Brigette’s essence.

“The secret to long-term business and personal success is to choose the who and why of your message based entirely on what makes you unique.”

Badassity isn't about trying to be something you’re not.

It's not about achieving or performing or posing.

It’s about uncovering the essence of who you already are and turning up the volume on your singular way of being you -- on purpose and in service of others.

Here's a tip: Get out of the office, literally! A sense of a specific, evocative location can make your brand images more meaningful and resonant.

Boring Brand Images? Get Your Groove On!

Photographs are still, but you don't have to be.

How many headshots and personal brand photos have you seen that feel lifeless and dull? Clients (and most photographers) think in terms of capturing poses, which are of course still -- and often feel static, rigid and frozen. Your life force doesn't come across. But the real goal of any image is to capture a meaningful moment.

In a word, getting exceptional images is a creative process. The conventional process of googling headshot photographers in your area, booking a session, dressing up and shooting photos simply won't get you there. The conventional process is designed for efficiency and puts you in a box. Here are six steps to creating truly compelling brand images.

What is that indispensible ingredient in a brand image that arrests the viewers attention? For me it’s the sense of authentic engagement in the image. When I see your image I want the sense that you are fully present and fully engaged. I want to feel like you’re looking out of the photograph and meeting me personally.