How building a personal brand transformed my photography career
By September 2023, I’d had enough of being the ‘starving artist'.
Sure, I’d had some big wins, like two five-figure months selling my photos as NFTs (or 'digital prints'), but deep down, I knew there might be a better way to make my money.
My income was more unpredictable than the weather in Northern Norway, and I desperately wanted more consistency. Peace of mind.
I’d watched from the sidelines as others turned Instagram into their goldmine, and I couldn’t shake the thought: I could crush this.
I had the skills, the vision, and - most importantly - the drive to make it happen.
And after chatting with a great friend in France (you know who you are :) ), I decided to hop in.
And - everything changed as a result.
Now, I’m not here to paint a picture of a perfect, challenge-free life of mine. It's far from it. But I do hope my story might show you why building a personal brand is worth considering.
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Before we get started, earlier this week I launched a free quiz called How Ready Are You To Succeed on Social Media?
I'll score you based on simple Yes/No questions - and will show you where exactly to improve.
If you're a photographer looking to succeed on social media...
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Using Social Media following to land client gigs
This was the 1st advantage I saw of having a personal brand.
I wanted to take a trip to Northern Finland... but I didn't want to pay for a car rental. (This was back when I didn't own a car.)
I thought... how could I get a car without paying for it?
And well... the answer emerged.
I contacted a car rental company in Finland, and we started chatting.
Not only did I get the car for free for 3 weeks... but I also got paid.
That felt pretty good.
What did I deliver for them in exchange?
I believe it was 8 photos and 1 short-form video.
Not that bad, right?
The most valuable part of that package was the video where I was talking about their car rental systems.
This was posted to my TikTok at a time (where I only had 6k+ followers), and their social media where it gained 80k+ views for their target audience.
(See, you can land deals like that even with a smaller following.)
If I had no social media presence whatsoever... the video would've not been as effective.
Although I didn't have many followers on TikTok, I had 17.6k+ on Instagram and had gone viral multiple times on Finnish TikTok.
This meant there were people who knew my stuff.
And when they know me, they trust me more than a random company.
Buying comes down to trust.
That's why promoting as a personal brand becomes much more effective: the company gets more results.
But this was the 1st time I saw the results this way.
Before I had done some other occasional promo posts, but they weren't like this.
After this I've explored collabs with other companies and people... and getting some cool possible opportunities, which all I didn't even take due to my timings.
If you do client gigs... with a personal brand you'll be able to:
1) Get more client gigs - and
2) Charge more for your gigs
Doesn't that sound nice?
Yeah, personal brand building isn't built overnight. But it can be done, and you'll reap massive rewards for it overtime.
Using social media for direct income
At the end of 2023, it was time to launch my coaching program for social media.
I had succeeded myself, so I thought why not help others do the same?
I launched small - only took 2 students at a more affordable price to make it easier get the first people in.
We hopped on calls, and I shared all I knew about social media and about growing there.
I started to notice that I really like doing coaching. I was helping people achieve their own dreams.
Once I had gone through everything with them, I took a couple more students, one from Germany and one from France.
I started to raise my prices step by step as I felt I was getting better as a coach, and my students had already seen some amazing results.
My 1st student of the program, OJ Perry managed to blow up his account. He had struggled with Instagram before hopping onboard to the program... and I must say, it's one of the most fulfilling things I've done - help him - and others - succeed.
The 2nd student, Jukka, managed to get multiple viral videos as well.
Throughout 2024, I've onboarded new clients, guided them through the ways of Instagram, helped them build their personal brands, and implemented systems for gaining more clients through it.
And today, I make my full-time living by teaching others online. That's pretty nuts... especially considering I was making flat 0€ a bit over a year ago from education.
Hugo, why do you teach instead of doing client work now?
I'm open to working with clients too if there are cool projects. But I've found I personally enjoy helping others realize their full potential.
And - this way - I get to choose what to photograph and where... I have more freedom.
But yes, we'll see what cool client stuff could pop up. I do miss working as a team on projects, so maybe I'd accept one that comes my way at some point. (Marketing managers, feel free to reach out, haha.)
And this leads us to how I got to work with a dream brand... and in a bit... with another dream brand.
Working with dream brands
At the beginning of 2024, my social media gave me the chance to work with my dream brands.
First was Sony earlier in the year. They found me through a video I posted and reached out to me directly.
They sent some gear over for me to play around with for months (although, often it's not that long I must mention) - and they made an article about my photography and translated that into many languages.
Also, they gifted me a 100-400mm G Master lens... which is wild. I always wanted to have that part of my kit.
And now in October, I got another huge opportunity which is coming now in November.
Next week, I'll be flying to the States... which is SO exciting.
(But my US friends, don't start a civil war there due to the election, alright?)
My travels are getting fully covered which is so insanely cool...
And I get to fulfil my weird dream of being in a massive AirBus, the biggest commercial airplane in the world.
(I've always wanted to be on one, haha.)
Anyways, who presented this opportunity?
The Lightroom Team.
Yes, THE LIGHTROOM TEAM!
It's crazy.
I'll be meeting them, and other "Photography Leaders"... (I must say I feel like an imposter, LOL)
I don't know how much can I really tell so I'll leave it at that.
But the fact I'll be going to San Francisco, for free, is mental.
I'm not saying when you build a personal brand opportunities like this will come immediately.
But a personal brand will position you as a leader, and that can bring you lots of different things.
Summary - why to build a personal brand
I highly recommend building a personal brand. I see it as the biggest advantage we photographers and others, have in today's age.
In 10 years it's obvious one should have one... and that's why everyone will have one then.
But those who build it earlier will have a massive advantage.
Not only will you be able to charge more from clients... (because clients will specifically want to work with you), you'll get more of them... and you'll stand out from the crowd.
Where to start?
Well, I'd craft strategies and systems... those are crucial.
Feel free to take the free quiz here to get a score on how ready are you to succeed - and where to improve to boost that score.
And if you're ready to get my personal help to build your personal brand, and grow your following, with the concepts I used to build mine...
Fill out this form to join the waitlist for my Social Media Accelerator :)
I hope you enjoyed this Letter, my friend.
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Till next emails,
Hugo
P.S. If you're one of those people who just scroll till the end (did I get you?), take this free quiz to find out how ready are you to succeed on social media.
