Personal Branding for Photographers E-Book

By Maurice Jager

Everybody seems to be a photographer these days and there, undoubtedly, is an abundance of beautiful photographs nowadays. For professional, and aspiring photographers, it can be a daunting task to stand out from the crowd and grab an audience’s attention. However, the good news is that there are possibilities to reach an audience and gain a following.

Photographer Maurice Jager is an internationally-renowned headshot and portrait photographer. He has developed a method to build a clientele for his business. In his book, he offers a comprehensive, step-by-step process to identify, develop and share your personal story, brand story, and how it captures an audience’s attention.

In addition to Maurice sharing how he consistently evolves his personal brand, the book also offers the stories of ten professional international photographers and how they’ve built their brands in a way that it has enabled them to reach their financial goals and live a fulfilled life.

These stories illustrate the importance of aligning your passion for working behind the camera and the business of being a professional photographer. It offers readers a chance to see how successful photographers have built their business by being themselves in order to attract your target audience, to create a life in which you do what you love.

As a result, there is no better time than now to start building your brand.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maurice Jager
• Release date: Mar 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9789082858822

Book preview

PERSONAL BRANDING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

ISBN: 978-90-828588-8-4

NUR: 802

KEYWORDS: Personal branding, photography, internet, marketing

Author: Maurice Jager

Editor: Lynda J. Chan

Design: Personal Branding for Photographers

Cover design: Maurice Jager

Photography: Maurice Jager, John DeMato, Peter Hurley, Glyn Dewis, Adrian Sommeling, Dani Diamond, Humberto Tan, Emily Teague, Pratik Naik, Clay Cook, Tony Taafe

First print: April 2021

© 2021 Maurice Jager

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an automated database, or made public, in any form or by any means, be it electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any other way, without the prior consent of the publisher.

Insofar as making copies from this publication is permitted under Article 16B of the Copyright Act 1912, the Decree of 20 June 1974, St.b. 351, as amended by Decree of 23 August 1985, St.B. 471 and Article 17 of the Copyright Act 1912, the statutory fees owed for this must be paid to the Reprorecht foundation. For the reproduction of parts of this edition in anthologies, readers and other compilation or other works (Article 16 of the Copyright Act 1912), in whatever form, one should contact the publisher.

Despite all the care taken in the compilation of this book, neither the editor, nor the author, nor the publisher can accept liability for damage resulting from any error in this publication.

INTRODUCTION

Maurice Jager

Photographer

Founder Personal Branding for Photographers

How amazing would it be if you could build a reputation by sharing your story online, and touch and move people? I’ve been a professional photographer for years, continuously working hard to be seen by my audience. I put a lot of effort into getting noticed in the first few years of my career, but it wasn’t really working--until I turned the camera around. I began to create image content about (surprise!) me, and not just display my finished work. I learned that by sharing more of myself and my personality, I gave people the opportunity to get to know me. In return, people showed more about themselves. This started creating connections and relationships, which led to more clients. Now, I actually help my clients with this same approach, in creating image content libraries they can use to illustrate their stories and gain more clients.

In this book I’ll talk you through all the steps I took. We’ll follow my process step by step, explaining exactly what I did.

Please pay attention to the links in this book. They are short links. Make sure you use https://go instead of https://www.go when using them.

REGISTER YOUR BOOK

Thank you for purchasing this book.

I really love to see how photographers are taking personal branding more seriously.

Please register your book for additional bonuses:

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Exclusive coupons on Personal Branding for Photographers’ events.

Exclusive livestreams and Clubhouse Rooms

And much more…

To make sure you receive all the new information straight from the horse’s mouth, please register your book here:

https://personalbrandingforphotographers.com/register-book/

Use your personal code to access the page:

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BENEFIT FROM ADDITIONAL BONUSES

You have chosen to start working on your personal brand and visual marketing. The world is ever-changing. These changes ask for new insights, techniques and strategies to make sure you’ll continue to benefit from all the options available to you. You've already bought this book, so I can see you're committed to doing what it takes to grow and win. And I'd like to offer you the opportunity to continue to leverage all the new information as it becomes available, for free!

I'm inviting you to join myself and other like-minded keen photographers to my Facebook Group, Personal Branding for Photographers. Here's the link, and I look forward to seeing you there!

https://go.mauricejager.com/personalbrandingforphotographers

STAY INFORMED

And inspired through my social media channels:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mauricejager/

Instagram: instagram.com/maurice_jager/

Facebook: facebook.com/mauricejagerphoto/

Twitter: twitter.com/maurice_jager

YouTube: https://go.mauricejager.com/YT

Website: www.mauricejager.com

www.personalbrandingforphotographers.com

FREE PODCAST

I interview leading photographers on my Personal Branding for Photographers Podcast. The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms. Feel free to subscribe and listen to the dozens of episodes already online.

www.personalbrandingforphotographers.com/podcast

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

REGISTER YOUR BOOK

BENEFIT FROM ADDITIONAL BONUSES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: MAURICE JAGER

THE IMPORTANCE OF A PHOTO ONLINE

Photos on social media

People are naturally curious

What’s your story?

YOUR VISUAL STRATEGY

INTRODUCTION TO STORYTELLING ONLINE

What is a story?

The benefits of storytelling

Professional storytelling

The six ingredients

What are the chapters in your story?

1. Who are you?

2. What’s your background?

3. How do people see you?

4. What do you want to achieve?

5. What are the details?

6. What do you sell?

Information overload prevention

CHAPTER 1: WHO ARE YOU?

CHAPTER 2: WHAT’S YOUR BACKGROUND?

CHAPTER 3: HOW DO PEOPLE SEE YOU?

CHAPTER 4: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE?

CHAPTER 5: WHAT ARE THE DETAILS?

CHAPTER 6: WHAT DO YOU SELL?

THE STRATEGY

DOWNLOAD THE VISUAL SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY TEMPLATE

WHAT CAN THIS LOOK LIKE?

Be fearless

The Hawthorne effect

HELP WITH THE EMOTIONS

Emotions at your fingertips

SETTING PRIORITIES

The right priority

The six chapters

Finding the right balance

The balance

Your flow versus the priorities

THE STORY MONITOR

What is the result of the Story Monitor?

HOW DO I CREATE MY STORY?

HOW TO BECOME PART OF YOUR COMMUNITY

Learn what is important to them

Personas and personalities

INTERVIEW WITH ADRIAN SOMMELING

SOCIAL MEDIA

YOUR HEADSHOT

The importance and effect of clothing

Clothing check!

Collars

Which clothing works for men?

Which clothing works for women?

Makeup tips

Jewelry and your headshot

To the barber/hairdresser?

To shave or not to shave

Expressions

Go for left

Conclusion

INTERVIEW WITH CLAY COOK

YOUR COVER PHOTO

INTERVIEW WITH DANI DIAMOND

YOUR BIOGRAPHY

INTERVIEW WITH EMILY TEAGUE

THE DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

Instagram

INTERVIEW WITH GLYN DEWIS

LinkedIn

INTERVIEW WITH HUMBERTO TAN

Facebook

INTERVIEW WITH JOHN DEMATO

Twitter

Pinterest

Clubhouse

Tumblr

Instapaper

Conclusion

INTERVIEW WITH PETER HURLEY

MY SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

My social media content categories

Interesting articles from others

Own blogs, articles and photos

Promotional messages on social media

The Law of Reciprocity

Evergreen content

Don’t give everything away all at once

Posting effectively on social media

Useful tools

INTERVIEW WITH TONY TAAFE

GET STARTED WITH YOUR BLOG

Tips for blogging

My personal plan of action

Some tips and tools while you blog

My eight guidelines for publishing a blog

Getting started

In the end, you just have to do it

INTERVIEW WITH PRATIK NAIK

CREATE YOUR PHOTO LIBRARY

Create a social media photo library

Tips for photography

GET STARTED

FACEBOOK GROUP

PERSONAL BRANDING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR READING MY BOOK!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: MAURICE JAGER

I was on track to be the best on the pitch. Until 1996, and one small moment changed my life forever.

Sports was the plan and the goal, and my childhood and youth revolved around it. I ate, played and slept sports. I never expected to do anything else, and as dedication, talent and practice paid off, I excelled. But in an anti-climactic moment to my momentum, I was hit by a car when crossing a road. Thankfully, it was not more serious, but it literally knocked my knees out from under me--and never gave them fully back. I could walk, and function on a daily level, but in one fell swoop, my future in sports evaporated. And I was confronted with a situation I had never expected to happen: what else would I do with my life now?

I had never planned to do anything else other than sports. Overnight that was changed, and I needed to look for something else to do with my life.

It was pretty tough for a while, but as in sports, my discipline of Can't quit began to pay off in the bigger picture of my life. I had always had an interest in what moves people, what makes them tick. And now it was 2002, and like a widening path beckoning before me, the internet was slowly maturing, becoming more mainstream. And people were moving, they were ticking! I was intrigued.

Afbeelding met muur, binnen, person, persoon Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving

In my studio

Businesses had started to use and develop e-commerce, and I was fascinated in what makes people choose a certain brand or business. Learning how to creatively present a business successfully online became the new challenge I wanted to take up.

At about this time, a friend bought a camera. From a social point of view, I bought a camera too, and a new hobby developed; probably how most people pick up photography and start as a hobbyist.

In the years that followed, I worked in a competitive corporate world, and used photography as a creative outlet. I started taking pictures of everything and anything in my spare time.

It was just after what became my landmark thirtieth birthday, that I was hit with the realization that I was stuck in a ten-hour-a-day office job--and is this really what I wanted to do for the rest of my life? Did I really want to stay in the corporate world and work for someone else, or did I want to find something for me, which would make me happy?

While pondering this heavy and almost startling question, I found myself staring at that little hobby camera of mine, sitting across the room. Perhaps quietly waiting for just this moment. I had a heart-to-heart conversation with my insightful girlfriend Maaike, who supported me with: You should go do it, if you think you can do it, and if it makes you happy. And so that's just what I did. Totally clueless, mind you, but that's what I did.

Thankfully, the internet that I was so interested in provided me the resource to take me from clueless to professional. I stumbled upon some photography videos by a fellow named Peter Hurley. It wasn't just his videos that made the difference for me. It was him.

His website was easy to find, and I emailed him. In the couple of days I had to wait for an answer, I found out Peter wasn’t just a photographer. Peter was and is the authority in the business when it comes to headshots. He had recently launched his education platform. Excited, empowered, I was in, and he helped me become a headshot photographer. I had finally found my calling.

Headshot photography didn’t exist in the Netherlands. Nobody was taking headshots. My competition on Google were games like Call of Duty, to learn how to take a headshot with a sniper gun. At first glance, that could look discouraging, but instead, I saw a great opportunity here.

Maurice Jager & Peter Hurley during HeadshotMania.

Myself, Peter Hurley and a whole lot of Crew during HeadshotMania

While I was following Peter’s training, things changed quickly. I figured I’d either had to go all-in or stay stuck at an office desk. So I went looking for a studio space and the gear that could help me do the work I wanted to create. I started to reach out to entrepreneurs and the C-level executives I used to work with. All I did was explain my situation, how I had left the corporate world and started a brave new venture, and that I’d love to get them in front of my camera. I sent an email to 25 people and 20 responded! I actually shot these people for free, but the quid pro quo was that they would each refer me to five peers if they liked my work.

After only a couple of months, I had 100 people on my client list, and I realized I had a business I could build. After that, things moved quickly. I started to get noticed on social media.

Brands approached me for sponsorships, and I started speaking at trade shows worldwide to talk about my journey and work. My photography and business grew and accelerated. At this point, all I was focused on were those. Fortunately, my amazing girlfriend Maaike stuck with me, and found a way to deal with the new reality. So many things to learn, so many things to do. It just never stopped.

Thankfully, I now have found a way to balance everything better. I’ve been going for nine years now, and I’m fortunate to be considered one of the best headshot photographers in the world, while I continuously help my clients give a boost to their professional appearance.

What can I say about this guy! He's been a force of nature in more ways than one, whether he's building his own brand, supporting all things Headshot Crew or single-handedly giving HURLEYPRO a presence in the European market. This guy is focused, committed, passionate and talented to boot. I'm just psyched that we met and feel fortunate to have been able to work together for these past few years. Maurice, can't thank you enough for all you do!

Peter Hurley

And this brings us here today, where I not only help clients with headshots. My client base continued to grow. At the same time, more entrepreneurs and businesses have started sharing online content on social media, blogs and other media outlets. More of my clients started to ask me if I could offer other kinds of images for them to use online. Just using your studio headshot in all the blogs and social content isn’t telling the whole story, and doesn’t show the full brand. There’s just not enough context in it to help them create rapport with their audience.

One of my close friends, who’s also a photographer, John DeMato, turned his whole business upside down from photographing anything to just one offering: Branded Lifestyle Portraits. He helps entrepreneurs, speakers, authors and expert-based business owners by visually punctuating their stories through photography.

I thought that John's work, and his brainchild with branded lifestyle portraits, was amazing. I was inspired, and it totally fit my clients' needs as well. John graciously helped me as I began my own research on how I could adapt his idea for my market.

Afbeelding met persoon, buiten, person, mensen Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving

Myself and John DeMato during a workshop in NYC

At the end of the day, every photographer is unique, even when we work in the same genre. I decided to apply my own marketing strategies to my clients, and the new product Branded Business Portraits came to life. Basically, I follow people for a day and shoot as much image content as I can to help them tell their story through photography.

This photo library will set them up for the future, to have enough images with them and about them, to add to whatever social media or blog post they’ll create in the future.

Of course, we don't just go out and shoot run & gun mode. Before we actually schedule the day of shooting, we strategize the needs a client has. This usually turns into a 2-hour Skype call. I ask them everything I can think of to learn what their story is, what important locations are in their daily routine, significant items, books; we talk about clothing, the kind of emotions they want to portray, why they do what they do. It really is an extensive interview.

Afbeelding met persoon, buiten, geweer, wapen Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving

Branded Portrait shoot in New York--working those angles!

By the time that Skype call is done, we are ready to start creating the photo library. We schedule and move forward to our actual day of shooting. The content around the images is for the clients to write, or they outsource it to someone else.

In this book, I’ll take you through the same steps as my strategy call with my clients. I’ll use the same questions and the same approach to get your personal brand identified, and to give you all the tools to get more visibility for yourself and your photography.

Everything I learned and all my hard work is compiled here. You do not have to reinvent the wheel. It's ready to take you where you want to go! How awesome is that?

I’ll also help you step by step to develop your own personal brand and learn how to generate the much-needed online visibility.

My personal branding efforts have turned into a routine. It doesn’t eat up too much of my time anymore.