creating connections through photos

How do I show my niche in my personal branding photos?

I’ve got a few questions on my questionnaire that helps me flush out this answer as well as talking with you. Starting out you may not know your niche and that is ok. Many times we just have to work with all sorts of people to know who we want to work with and who we don’t want to work with. As you do your work you're always refining who you are talking and marketing towards, figuring out that ideal client as you go.

My #1 Tip is to show up as yourself! Create connections through common interests and similar stories. Showing who you truly are, pulling people in with your authentic. Those people that like you are the ones you want to be working with anyways. 

Define yourself, your values both personal and business. Then start defining your ideal client’s values. These mostly will match. Your images are about showing the connections points you and your clients will share and bond over. 

In the case of my client Nicolette at Training with Nikki, she has created workout programs specifically working with women, the busy mom that doesn’t have time to go to the gym. Being the busy mom herself with a little boy and another job, she doesn’t always have time to visit the gym. She focus on convivence from your own home, fitting health and fitness into your busy schedule and being a part of a positive and supportive community.

This first personal branding photography session was focused on her and the day to day life with her family. We wanted to show working at home, working with a baby around and still managing to get in the home workouts and nutrition as well as some of the relaxing moments. 

For the kitchen shoot

We planned making a smoothie (to also be used in other sets) and a salad. This was both just her and with the baby. As a mother we are always going to be also dealing with our kids at the same time as the tasks we need to do like making food. Many times we are also giving our own food to feed our kids. As moms and parents we can all relate and connect with this. 

For the Workouts

We planned for both baby being in the workouts and also without the baby. Many times being a mom means working out around your kids. Those self care moments sometimes can happen during nap time or while the baby is playing around you. He wasn't quite big enough for my initial photo vision. I wanted to have him laying on Nikki while she was doing a plank, it is a "fun" way to get in a weighted workout, but since he isn't stable enough for that, safety first, we did some on the ground around her photos.

However when you're working and need your kids to not be in the room, like while you're leading a live class, the baby gets put down for a nap. We wanted to show the full space of her workouts. You don’t need a lot of space to do a workout. You can see in the background that things were still on the counter, which is what life is. It isn’t always perfect, many times it is still a little messy, but you’re going to connect with people when you show you’re just like them and sometimes the containers don’t always get put away. 

The Casual Photos

These are great ways to really show who you are outside of the business. The time to add in the family, if they aren't included during the business part. The hobbies, passions, self care etc. The thought process when thinking about these images are about showing you and letting people connecting with you on the personal level. The personal values like the importance of family and God for Nikki was something that she wants to share with people who want to work with her. Her clients will choose to work with her because they also feel safe and secure working out with her.

Overall her images represent family, woman's health and fitness, convivence, and fitting tasks into your daily life. The woman that view her images are going to feel many of these things when they see her images. Our goal in her images is to help create common ground and make those connections between her and the woman she is talking to. When you are specific to who you are talking to in your marketing it makes it easier to know how to show up with in your images and your copy.

So why do we want to know who we are talking to and marketing too? A fitness business owner with kids is going to understand the challenges other mom's will also be having with their post baby body, lack of time and exhausted body to stay motivated to take care of themselves. For example, when my kids (or another mom's kids) are acting out in a public place we can share an instant connection with each other, because we've both been in that place of exhaustion, frustration and embarrassment. In that brief moment we have connected on a very raw level with shared experiences.

Know your audience and understand how to connect with them!