Guest Blog

Putting yourself out there in personal branding

By Suzie Booth, Psychotherapist (MSC. MBACP accred.)

Personal branding is about promoting yourself – putting yourself out there and showing who you are. For a lot of people this sounds really scary. The idea of putting ourselves out there means exposure, judgement, attention and feedback; all of which can mean vulnerability. I recently had my personal branding photos taken by Danielle at Bee Focused Photography and I will tell you, I was SO nervous. And what I was nervous about was feeling vulnerable and of people’s judgements.

But what I know is that vulnerability is absolutely necessary and essential in order to form connection. If you’re thinking about personal branding photos, then you will be thinking about wanting to promote yourself, your business and connect with your ideal and target audience.

So, in this blog post we are going to explore the idea of vulnerability, why we need it and how to use it to our advantage.

Why do personal branding photoshoots cause feelings of vulnerability?

What we are doing during a photoshoot is asking someone to look at us. We have an idea in mind of what we would like the photos to look like, how we want to come across, who we want to be seen as, and we wonder whether we are capable of achieving that vision.

And let’s be honest here, a lot of us have hang ups about the way we look and our bodies or the way we come across. We imagine that the camera is going to capture, and maybe even exaggerate those parts we aren’t comfortable with and then everyone is going to see them and is going to judge us. A lot of people worry about looking awkward in front of the camera and what we are scared of here is others seeing our vulnerability. Seeing that we aren’t confident and aren’t comfortable.

By releasing the photos, we are asking to be seen and are asking to be judged. If we are projecting that those judgements will be negative, then we are going to be feeling frightened and vulnerable.

We need vulnerability for connection

“Connection requires vulnerability and the courage to be authentic and genuine” – Brene Brown

As Brene Brown (the absolute queen of vulnerability research) tells us, we cannot have connection without vulnerability. You will not connect to your target audience without putting yourself out there. That is because vulnerability is about being authentic and genuine. So, in terms of a personal branding photoshoot, firstly, if we don’t have the photos done at all, we can’t connect. People don’t connect to businesses; they connect to people and so we need to give our business a sense of the personal. These photos need to be a true reflection of who we are in this setting.

Now, that person might be different from who we are in our entirety. For instance, I love sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea, bar of chocolate and watching Netflix – my therapist branding photoshoot isn’t going to look like that. It needs to reflect who I am as a therapist. I had a few photos where I was laughing and a couple of people questioned whether they were appropriate for a therapist’s website. But actually, I do laugh with my clients at times and so they are a true, authentic and genuine representation of me.

The point here is that you are trying to connect with your ideal audience. If clients would prefer a therapist who is very neutral and non-emotive it is important for them to see that is not me and then they can find the right fit for them. But this is what makes the photos feel so vulnerable, we are asking the photographer to capture who we are and we are then putting that out there and asking others to accept us for who we are.

How to put yourself out there

So, what can we do in order to feel this vulnerability and allow it to create authentic photos that we are comfortable with or even proud of?

Make it conscious – be aware of what you’re scared of; what makes you feel vulnerable? Is it failure? Judgements from others? What is it? What are you scared people will see in your photos?
Be honest with the photographer – they will help you to loosen up and be more authentically you.
Remember that you are in control of the photos – if you do end up not liking them, you don’t have to use them! You are in control of that.
Distract yourself – do something with your hands like hold a coffee cup, write notes, actually answer some emails or chat with the photographer. They will be able to capture who you actually are if you are doing something and are out of your head a bit.
Surround yourself by things which make you feel comfortable and safe – a familiar place, clothes you are comfortable in, an actual cup of tea, a nice scent.
Look after yourself in the run up – the more relaxed, rested and happy you arrive, the more those things will be communicated in your photos.
Practice self-compassion and love – be kind to yourself, that care, compassion and warmth will shine through on your photos. Do not berate yourself.
Do not aim for perfection – aim for the photos to be ‘good enough’. Perfection involves no vulnerability and will be much more difficult for your audience to connect with.
Focus on what you will gain from it – the gain here is connection, exposure and growth. You want people to see you and see what you do.
Just do it and celebrate the achievement – do it anyway. Accept the vulnerability and go for it! And celebrate yourself for your bravery.

I ended up LOVING my photos and even buying extras because they looked like me – not that I love how I look but I recognised myself. They were an accurate representation of me and my brand; they were authentic. If your audience can see some vulnerability, that’s ok; that’s who you are and that’s who you want them to connect with. Remember, vulnerability doesn’t ruin photos, vulnerability MAKES photos.

“Vulnerability is the first thing I look for in you, but it’s the last thing I want you to see in me. In you, it’s courage. In me, it’s inadequacy. In you, it’s strength and lovability. In me, it’s shame.”
― Brené Brown

Let your vulnerability be your empowerment!

About Suzie

Suzie is a qualified and accredited psychotherapist with over 10 years’ experience. She works one-to-one and with couples and also supervises other therapists. Discover ways you can work with Suzie at www.sbcounselling.org