Your Iconic Image : Choosing a Personal Brand Photographer

Your Iconic Image

Claire Harvey

Claire Harvey Photography / You, Your Brand

Claire Harvey is a mother of three, lover of nature, adventure and food.

For over 20 years Claire has been involved in both the photography and financial worlds.

Claire's initial thrilling photographic endeavor was as an intern at the Christian Science Monitor, photographing President Clinton and other White House events. She had her work published in the international publication.

Over the past 15 years, Claire has worked for two prominate public financial companies, advising executives on how to communicate with investors. For 5 years she worked for CapitalSource, during both flourishing years and the downturn of 2008. She later moved on to oversee the IPO of Walker & Dunlop and stayed on board playing an instrumental role in the stock's 5-year movement from IPO price of $10 to over $50.

Claire brings together her fascination with entrepreneurial endeavors and her love of, passion for, and talent in photography to create meaningful work for her entrepreneurial clients. This unique blend of business knowledge and artistry makes Claire stand out, not just as a photographer, but as a business and brand resource.

www.claireharvey.com

https://www.instagram.com/claireharveyphoto/

www.marlanasemenza.com

Transcription : Vision In Word

Marlana

Today I had the pleasure of sharing the space with my dear friend and colleague, Claire Harvey began as an intern at the Christian Science Monitor photographing President Clinton and other White House events. She brings together her fascination with entrepreneurial endeavors and her love of passion for and talent in photography to create meaningful work for her entrepreneurial clients. This unique blend of business knowledge and artistry makes Claire stand out not just as a photographer, but as a business and brand resource. Welcome, Claire.

Claire

Thank you, my dear friend, this is so fun. I feel like we were talking about doing it for so long.

Marlana

And now it's true. I'll give everybody a little bit of background here. Claire and I are both personal brand photographers, we have worked together, we have traded clients off and on when one was a better fit for the other. So, we have a history. And we have been talking for a while about giving everybody more information about personal brand photography so you can make better choices when it comes to the photographer's you select and the images that you're getting, all those types of things. So, let's just start off Claire by telling people, what should they be looking for, in your opinion, when they are looking for a brand photographer,

Claire

I think the biggest thing that you and I talk about all the time, and one of the reasons we've been really able to give clients back and forth to each other is each photographer has a niche and like their own niche, their own style that works for them. And I think a lot of it goes to the photographer's personality in a way. And so, you really want to be able to click with the photographer themselves and then also fit into their niche. I mean, just to give you and I as an example, I think that's like the best example to use is that you're more towards like the fashion forward fashion driven people and women and I more like put my hiking boots on and go into the woowoo space. And we joke about it all the time. But it's a really good way of framing the discussion that people have different clienteles. And so, when you're looking for a photographer, you really need to find someone that has experienced kind of in your space or that you're comfortable with their style. And I think that you look at them kind of aspiration, you look at them, and you feel something from their images, and you want to have images like you're seeing you feel like it's a fit, but I don't think it should go. Like unnoticed, I think it's especially important that you clicked with them personally. Because when you're in a photoshoot, you need to feel comfortable. And that's when you're gonna have your best images. And I do hear over and over again, I'm sure you do too, that someone will have their pictures taken and they don't like the result or they're not comfortable. And it's just so important that you're comfortable with the person, it's a very intimate relationship, and you need to be comfortable, you're gonna like the outcome if you're comfortable. So, finding someone that

really is in your niche, and that you click with is so important. And if that takes me, that takes a few people, right? You could interview a few different people.

Marlana

Absolutely! Because photography is not a one size fits all. And like you said there are different people and with different styles that serve different niches. And because we have to really get to know you and your brand and what makes you unique and all those. Like you mentioned, Claire, it does become a very intimate relationship. And you really need to click with the person that is going to be sharing that space with you.

Claire

And we want it to be an intimate relationship. We want this to be a partnership that lasts for a long time, we don't see it, especially you and I and people shouldn't be looking for a brand photographer that want it to be a deep meaningful relationship that lasts for a long time, you should be looking for that and you and I really, really value that and so we really want to get to know our clients and our people and oftentimes you and I will become good friends of them. Value it um, and there was something else I was gonna say now I totally forgot about finding someone. Oh! I just want to say another space, I think that's important to really think about or look at is, like, Corp, more corporate business photography. I think it's important, Like I know for me, My style is more artsy, and not as like staged or posed or corporate. And so, I think if someone's looking at something from a corporate standpoint, that's a certain type of photographer as well. So, I just wanted to get that, right?

Marlana

Which is important, because the style that you see on someone's website, that's the style you're going to get. And also, while we're on the subject of websites, if you go to somebody's website, and they are a personal brand photographer, and all you're seeing our headshots, or versions of headshots, my suggestion is to move along, because that's not what brand photography is, you know, I use the analogy often that, you know, a headshot is like a book title, it gives us an introduction, but that's all that it does. But the reason that we buy the book is always for the story. And that's what personal brand photography is, it's the story that we tell. So, make sure when you go on to somebody's website, that is what you're seeing, you're seeing storytelling.

Claire

Totally agree. And not everybody does that, not everybody necessarily wants that, right. Like some people may just need that corporate headshot. But if you are in it for telling your story and having deep meaningful images that are unique, and scroll, stopping, and will make you stand out from the crowd, you need to find someone that is showing that because you can't expect someone to give you something you want, if they're not showing you to you originally.

Marlana

And that's really a specialized skill that you and I know have both developed over time, because of our backgrounds, it wasn't a foreign concept to us. But it's something that I think we have honed and gotten better and better with over time.

Claire

It's so true. And I think with experience, you really understand how to develop the stories more and we work with our clients for hours and you know, we meet with them and have zoom calls with them and do creative briefs and intake forms. It's not just “Hi, show up”. And here you are, and I take your pictures, it's a lot of preparation to come up with figuring out who they are and where their business is now and where their business is going in order then to create the imagery for now into the future to take them into the future. And it's really a cool process, because you're like, you're learning so much about people and business and how they work, their vision and their creative genius.

Marlana

And their quirks too.

Claire

Yes, it's such a cool collaborative experience. When I got into this, I'd already been doing kind of lifestyle storytelling images of families. And that was my style with families. And so, when you and I met, and we were kind of introduced to this style of photography, which is basically like five years ago, now five and a half years ago, we did already have that in us. It was just this was brought to light and you're like, oh, I mean, I just remember a light bulb going off. We were like, this is what I meant to do. Like, I get to work with entrepreneurs, which has been my dream and I love being an entrepreneur. And then I get to bring together the photography aspect of it. And so, working with entrepreneurs to really figure out their entrepreneurial journey and story and then to bring the imagery into it. It really is the coolest process.

Marlana

And because you know we keep using that word (story). Let's dive into that a little bit. How would you describe a story? I'm gonna help you out a little bit.

Claire

Where do I go? The true definition, I'm thinking in my head, I don't know. You go ahead.

Marlana

It is a journey that you are taking people. Okay. That's why we work together so well. I know. You know if you've ever read any of the books like story brand by Donald Miller or any of those

types of things. Storytelling is one of the most powerful things there. Is inviting people on into your brand, and so, that's what we are trying to do, is tell your unique story in a way that it relates to the people you are trying to reach. So, how do you get to the heart of the stories that you need to tell?

Claire

What does your process look like? So, when someone initially contacts me, I think we kind of have a brief conversation about what they want, what they need. And then I have a very in depth questionnaire that's standard for all my clients. But what I tell them is that I want a complete brain dump. So, I don't want like perfect sentences and answers, I want them just to like spew information in these questions that shows me their personality. And then it gives me a ton of information about who they are trying to reach as clients, who they're currently reaching, where they are in their marketing strategy, where they are in the life of their business, and gives me like a complete holistic view of them. And then I get to pick out or I am able to pick out really good nuggets of information from that. And from there, I kind of come up with a creative brief and plan based on that. And then we go through that together. And I say, is this what you're thinking? Is this accurate? And I would say 100% of the time, it is what they had been thinking. But I think really the point there is the communication. And I will say some people in our initial conversation aren't sure they don't know. And so, and I'm sure you said, I wonder if you see this too, like going through the questionnaire actually gives them a lot, it really helps inform them. And again, we're not brand professionals, we are not doing the website and doing the copy and logos and everything that a brand professional does. But going through the process of answering these questions in order to figure out which imagery to create, it is very helpful to these entrepreneurs in their brand journey.

Marlana

I know for me, I tell people all the time that I am not a brand strategist, so I'm not going to help you with your messaging, or those kinds of that, how to monetize your brand, any of those kinds of things. My job is to communicate your brand. And just like you I have a questionnaire that they fill out initially, and then we discuss it. I don't know if you find this, I usually find that the real answer is never really what they wrote.

Claire

Yeah., I think that is why it's important to have the follow up discussions after, because there could be real aha moments for them, when you ask them a follow up question of Is this what you meant? Or am I reading this correctly? Or, oh! You said x? Where do you see x in two years? Or, you know, so those follow up questions also is really what gets them thinking and then could be like, a total aha moment for them.

Marlana

Agreed. So now, let's say, you know, we go out, you and I both are location shooters. I know, for me, the idea of working in a studio is too confining. I think it's too restrictive. I would rather find the right spot, because that's also part of the story. You and I also that's what our background is, it is shooting in that manner anyway. But now we go out, we take their images, what should they be getting from us? Or any brand photographer as far as deliverables go?

Claire

That's so interesting, because wait for you at that I was thinking about how, in my process when I'm getting to answer your question in a short wait. So, I in the creative brief, I will put kind of sample images that fit with the story and what we want to do, the location and so forth. And I will look on Pinterest, and I'll google image and you know, looking for, and a lot of times, most times I have to say to people, well, you know, don't take these kidneys for surface value, because there's really not anything out there that I can find. That's what we're creating for you. And I'm not just saying that it's true, like when I go searching for blank. I'm like, is this all exist? So, like, what you should be getting from us though, is something that's complete The unique and to you and your store. So that's first and foremost, it should.

Marlana

let me just throw one thing in with that is going back to somebody's website, if you go on there, and the quote unquote, storytelling that you are seeing seems to be the same. It's people working on a computer, it's people having coffee, it's people talking on the phone, in my personal opinion, that does, I would rather see images of you doing those things than you use stock images, however, or everybody does those things. So that is not saying anything unique about you.

Claire

that's one of those things that when you really work with someone, prior to the shoot to prepare, that's where you pull that stuff out. Because yeah, it may be like, you know, as a photographer, or with your camera with your computer, this and now you're an entrepreneur, but then there's so much else behind it, like you may be an online entrepreneur, but who are you? Like, who are you? What is behind that? Who is your family? How do they play into things? What are your interests, what got you here, and where are you going? It's not just the computer, it's not just the internet. A really good point. And I think also, there's something else that you and I talk about all the time, and that runs throughout my, whatever kind of images I'm creating. That's the motion. And that goes along with storytelling. Because when you're telling a story, what really bring someone in is the emotion and the feeling that they get from looking at the image. So, you need to have images that are not stagnant and not lifeless, you need to have images that when someone sees it, they're like, oh, they get you, they get your story, they get your brand. And it's while it's unique to you, it is also full of authentic emotion, that is, your, your emotion, your brand and your values. It's communicating all of that. So that is key to me, whether I'm taking pictures of a newborn in their new home with their new family that just

brought them home, or an entrepreneur on site, like we've talked about, it's the movement, it's the emotion, that does make it unique to them. But that also just that is what part of what makes it something that resonates with your viewer.

Marlana

I agree with you. And, you know, here's the thing, people meet us online, before they ever meet us in person. Oftentimes, they never meet us in person. So, people need to look at these images as relationship building, you are trying to bridge that gap, and cross that bridge between you and the person that you want to them to know you. And so like you were just saying Claire, the more you can show of yourself, the more emotion you can put into these, or we can pull out of you for these. the better off you are. And you know, a lot of people have said to Well, I'm just not good in front of a camera or things like that. And the other thing that you need to realize is that that's not your job. That's our job. That's why you go to a professional, just like if I walked into a hair salon. And, you know, I, I bring my hair, it is what it is. But I expect the professional to be able to do something with it, that that I like, and it's really good point. And so, it's the same thing with photography, if you haven't had images that you like, or you feel like you're not photogenic, all those kinds of things, it very well may be that you're just not working with the right person for you. And I'm not necessarily saying that it's you or me, but it's just not the right person for whoever that is.

Claire

I totally agree, and I will say what I usually tell people when they say that is like, I mean, it's basically a conversation. When I am with someone, I'm incredibly like open and informal. And again, that's not for everyone, right? That's who I am. And you kind of get that and you're going to work with me, if you like that if you click with that, but that is part of I think how you get people to be open because you're really just having a conversation with them. And then intermittently taking pictures both like it's it shouldn't be an uncomfortable process. And you should be able to trust the person you hire. You're exactly right.

Marlana

Exactly. way. So now let's say somebody comes to one of us who is an ideal client for you. Because we do have overlap and a lot of things, but there are also distinctions. And, for example, Claire mentioned earlier that if you're going to go put on some boots and go hiking up in the woods, and with all the snakes and the critters, I'm probably not the girl for you. I have clients. Well, I had a client that that's very much his world. Yeah. However, in general, that's not really my world.

Claire

But I know you are Googling high heeled hiking boots.

Marlana

I'm baffled, I have to currently buy a pair of hiking boots. And I'm just baffled by the whole thing, because I found myself instead buying a pair of high heeled boots that were very much not hiking, because that is my world. So, if you have like, what I jokingly refer to as the lashes and Lobato Specter, that's my girl. Yeah, that's my client. But if you are kind of Earth, motherly person, you know, getting in touch with your spirituality. Claire's your girl.

Claire

You know, it's so interesting. I know, so many of our mentors have said, No, it's down. That's so much better. And I resisted for so long, saying what I felt called to have be my niche. And now I feel totally call into the mompreneur or the female entrepreneur. And I am not apologizing for that,