Why photographers must build personal brands
I used to only post photos to Instagram.
I had a tough time getting views. But I didn't tell much about myself either.
Then years later, I realized, I was close to a feature page.
Most photographers are feature pages.
They don't differ.
What is a feature page you may ask?
A feature page:
reposts others photos (or videos)
doesn't post their own stuff
is built around just 1 small niche (such as landscape photography)
Am I saying most people don't post their own stuff?
No, I am not.
What I am arguing, however, is that from an external perspective, they're close to the same.
Many, just post photos. And that's it.
And if you want to do that, that's fine. I'm not to judge you. Especially if this is just your hobby.
But you're missing out a ton.
I bet you'd want your page to have a soul.
Many people do lack the soul from their pages.
If you only post photos - and nothing else, you're not different from a feature page with no soul.
In this Letter, I wanted to talk to you about why posting personal things on your account is extremely beneficial.
The benefits
I got hired by a massive organization in Finland to take portrait photos.
Yes, portraits.
Am I a portrait photographer?
Oh heaven no.
Why did they want to get me then??
Because of my story.
Because of who I was.
This is one massive benefit of putting your story about there.
You don't need to be as open as me. I just like sharing some things. (I don't share everything.)
Share something.
Maybe show how you got here.
How you overcame something and teach how others can do the same.
Or maybe, talk about your passion for coffee in your Stories.
The more you share, the more people can connect with you.
The more people connect with you, the more likely they are to buy from you.
This applies to photography clients as well.
Think about it - who hires a photographer for a project?
Often a marketing person at the company.
Are they a robot? An alien? Or a human who has feelings and likes to connect with others?
For the portrait photography gig, there were many better photographers than I.
Of course, I wasn't terrible at it.
But there were better photographers for it.
But I had been open about my story about being bullied as a kid.
And this organization was looking for a photographer for a campaign against bullying.
They saw an article about me where bullying was mentioned.
And they reached out to me.
I barely had any portrait photography examples on my website.
My story was the advantage.
That + my negotiation skills, got me the gig.
If I had been like most photographers, I would've not shared my backstory.
And in that case, I would've missed out on one of the most meaningful projects to date.
See, let's take 2 examples.
Imagine you're about to hire a photographer.
You have 2 options:
1) Someone whose IG is full of pretty pictures.
2) Someone who has pretty pictures, but also shares your weird passion for butter coffee.
Who's gonna get hired?
I would say the 2nd one. Every. Single. Day.
Connections are so important.
And you make them by searching for things in common.
And by sharing other stuff than your photographs, will make you make these connections more easily.
(Read this Letter to learn more about networking.)
So yes, one of the reasons for sharing other things than pure photography is that:
I stand out - my page has a soul and personality
I have fun sharing other interests too
I make more money. Whether this is from clients or those interested in my services and products.
I believe having a strong personal brand is a thing that will help you crush it.
It's a bulletproof plan for the long term.
Now, I am not saying to post a photo of an oatmeal to your feed randomly.
No. Don't do that.
But there's a way to bring and combine other interests together that make sense.
Such as photography, photography business, travelling, and nature.
They kinda fit well, don't you think?
And see, you also have many more things to talk about. You more easily get your content out there.
Now you might think Hugo, people probably won't care about anything else from my photos, right?
Well, you might get less likes.
When I post photos, it's close to always what gets the most likes.
However, what gets the most engagement might be something else.
I made a video on how I make my coffee with butter.
Does it have anything to do with photography?
No.
But it showed off my weird interest.
And it has one of the best engagement rates I've had in a long while compared to likes a post gets.
People learned more about me.
People connected better with me.
Even, when it wasn't photography.
I'm not saying you need to do videos like I do.
I'm saying, post something that feels easy for you to do - where people can see more of who you are.
What about your feed? Won't it get "ruined"?
Well... 1st of all, I'm thinking many photographers overestimate someone's feed.
I mean, how often does one look at one's feed anyway?
I feel by trying to maintain a superb feed, can limit your potential. Both creatively, but also money-wise.
But sure, I think some repetition in your feed is nice. But there are people with terrible feeds too crushing it.
If you want to have extremely clean feed - there's a work-around.
Post the personal stuff as Reels. Then remove them from the main feed.
And there you go. Now you still got the clean feed - but you have also posted personal stuff! :)
And of course, before the next point, I must mention this:
Building a personal brand also will make you stand out in the world of AI.
Read the last week's Letter on AI's threat to photographers here.
Creative freedom
As you might be aware, I am not building my business to work with clients.
I just haven't found it as much fun.
I want to have fun.
When I have fun, I will probably make more money long-term - because I can sustain that business model for a long time.
And I'll have more passion towards it.
And even if I don't, I've had a better time here on Earth.
(For those marketing people reading this, you can still reach out, lol. But I must love the project, and I must be compensated well haha.)
What I don't like about working with clients, is that often, they limit your creativity.
They tell you what they want. Some are stricter than others. And then you push a button.
At times, I've felt a bit of a robot by doing that.
I wished I had more chances to use my skills and creativity.
When can you use your creativity to the fullest?
When you take photos that you love. When you take photos for yourself.
And you can achieve this, by selling your own stuff.
That's what I'm building towards.
I have now offered 1-1 coaching services about starting a personal brand since last December.
Things have just got better from there. And I've seen results for my students.
(Which is such a fulfilling feeling, honestly.)
And the income I've brought from it has allowed me to not take client gigs.
I did the same with Cryptoart when I was super focused on that space till last fall.
I get to take photos I want to take.
I get to take photos where I want to take them.
I get to take photos when I want to take them.
That's the power of building a business around selling your own stuff.
And you get to sell things more easily when you have a personal brand.
You stand out from the crowd of "feature pages."
Let me ask you a question:
Why did you start photography?
Did you start it to take photos for clients?
Or did you start it because you wanted to take photos for yourself?
For me, it was the latter.
The client part was just because I thought it was the best way to make my income.
But then later I realized, I didn't enjoy it anymore.
There are nice clients. But in 99% of the cases, I'd rather just take photos for myself.
That's what is most fun for me.
And if I can make income by selling things online, why would I not do that?
Of course, you might be someone who absolutely loves working with clients. And I would say, keep doing that!
But if you don't love doing that, think, should you adjust the direction where you're going?
Why would you want to live a life you don't enjoy?
Whether you want to go:
1) the client route, or
2) sell your own stuff route
I would not miss the opportunity to create a personal brand.
Most people don't have one.
And it's a rarity, especially amongst photographers.
I see it as one of the biggest opportunities. And that's why, I've been all in on that since last fall. There was no way I was gonna miss out on this one.
In case you don't want to miss this either, I have a way I can help you.
I'm hosting Social Media for Photographers at the start of May.
After that, you'll know how to start building a strong personal brand. And how to start making income online.
The waitlist is open.
You can join it here, my friend.
Last words
This is the best decision I've made in the last 6 months - to start building a better personal brand.
I hope I've communicated well enough for you to see its importance.
Let me know if you have more questions about it.
I happily answer them to you personally. Or, I might write about the topic more in the upcoming weeks. :)
Here's the link to join the waitlist once more.
I hope you found this Letter interesting.
If you did, feel free to share it with a friend.
If you were forwarded, you can subscribe here:
Till next Saturday my friends,
Hugo
P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 3 other ways I can help you:
#1: Ready to crush it on social media in 2024? Want my personalized help instead of the cohort of Social Media for Photographers? Click here to apply to my 1-1 Social Media Coaching Program.
#2: Have you seen my YouTube channel? I've put stuff out there too. I bet you'd find it valuable. Check out my latest videos and come give me a like and subscribe. :)
#3: I have a lot of free resources out there. Read the past Letters here.
