photographer — Blog — Fil Nenna Photography

1.Be grateful

It is a great privilege to be able to take pictures. To have the resources and the time to take an interest in some aspect of life and preserve it through a camera. I look forward to every photo session. The portraits I make allow me to meet and learn about hundreds of people a year. I get to hear about their experiences and soak up some of their wisdom. Not every one gets to spend time with so may interesting people, and for this I am grateful.

Perhaps you get to spend time in nature, or solve the puzzles of arranging still lifes. Maybe you hang around classic cars, or find local news stories to document. Where have you taken your camera in the last 12 months?

2.Backups

All those digital files! Backing up is a standard practice to prevent a single hardware failure from wiping out your work, and its often overlooked because we have other things to do.

But please do it.

Not only backup, but you could use the opportunity to make sure your files are organized and keyworded.

3.Print Print Print!

Digital files are convenient, but they don’t exist. Not in the physical world. In 100 years time, they could be lost to hardware failure, format obsolescence or worse - people wont be able to access them becaue they don’t know your passwords. Even if they did, would they be able to (or be bothered to) process RAW files? And even if they did would they want to sift through thousands of images to find the good ones. And even if they did, would they find the processed ones?

And so on.

This is all solved by printing your work. Every year I print 4x6s of family photos and store them in a shoebox for my children to find like my parents did.

I also go through my portraits and pick the 30 or 40 best ones of the year and print a low-cost Shutterfly book. I can show the book to clients and friends, and its also an archive of my best work.

4.Review

What did you take pictures of this year? How many pictures did you take? Did any pictures get published in a local magazine? What was your most viewed blog post or instagram picture? I like to document the most important things I’ve done over the past 12 months, especially if it was unusual, like getting picked for the juried gallery at a charity auction, or meeting a cool photographer or business owner that I really connected with. Take stock of what you did and write it down. After a few years you’ll have a collection of these reports and you’ll see how far you’ve come!

5.Plan

When you review your best pictures to print out, you can start to think about what you can improve on. Do you need to look for inspiration in different places? Is there a technique than needs some attention? Its a great time to set goals for the following year knowing that if you succeed or fail, you’ll have to write it in next year’s review!

Don’t just think about it, do it!

My end of year checklist is really important to me and I don’t let it slip. I need to know where I’ve been, where I’m going and to make sure my work is preserved digitally and physically. I love being a photographer and still get excited about where it might take me. Each year is better than the last!

The world of small business is competitive, so establishing a strong connection with your customers is crucial for your success and growth. One often overlooked but powerful tool is having the best small business portrait of yourself and your team on your business website.

You see it all the time - your customers are looking for a local service or store, but their “about” page either has poor quality pictures of the owner and staff, or no pictures at all!

And it is such an easy fix. A quality set of images instantly elevates the perceived quality of your website and will entice your customers to find out more and eventually buy from you. Authentic small business portraits can strengthen customer relationships and pave the way to long-lasting success, especially if it is a level above the iPhone pictures all your competitors have.

These visual representations of entrepreneurs like you, your staff and your activities hold the power to build trust and foster meaningful connections.

1. Portraits Reflecting the Human Element

Your authenticity lies at the heart of an effective small business portrait. In a world dominated by distant impersonal interactions, customers yearn for genuine connections with the brands they support. A well-crafted, beautifully lit portrait of the business owner not only humanizes your brand but also helps customers relate on a deeper level. By showcasing the face behind the business, the portrait reveals your passion, dedication, and values, making your company more approachable and relatable.

2. Building Trust through Transparency

In an age where skepticism towards cliche marketing messages runs high, transparency is key to building trust with customers. Bespoke portraits and headshots offer a transparent view of the people steering the enterprise. When customers see the business owner confidently representing their brand, it establishes a sense of trustworthiness. This transparency instills confidence in potential customers, making them feel like they already know you and encouraging them to choose your business over your competitors.

3. Creating Emotional Connections

Emotions play a significant role in consumer decision-making. The portraits on your website have the ability to evoke emotions such as empathy, admiration, and inspiration. When customers connect emotionally with you through a portrait, it forges a powerful bond between the brand and the consumer. This connection goes beyond the products or services offered, making the brand a part of your customer's story.

4. Showcasing Company Culture

Small business portraits aren’t always just individual portraits. They extend to capturing the essence of your entire team and workplace environment. Showcasing the company culture through these portraits helps customers understand the values and ethos that drive the business. Customers are drawn to companies that align with their beliefs, and company culture portraits demonstrate the brand's commitment to its core principles.

5. Stand Out in a Crowded Market

In a saturated market, differentiation is vital. Authentic small business portraits provide a unique opportunity for small businesses to stand out, especially when your competitors have poor quality pictures or no pictures at all. By infusing personality into the brand and highlighting what makes the business owner and team special, the portraits create a memorable impression on customers. This distinctiveness helps the brand leave a lasting mark in customers' minds, setting it apart from your competitors.

Conclusion

Small business portraits wield a considerable influence in today's customer-centric business landscape. By bringing the human element to the forefront, these portraits and headshots foster trust, build emotional connections, and showcase the brand's values and culture. In a world where consumers seek genuine interactions and connections, small business owners can harness the power of authentic portraits to strengthen their relationships with customers and elevate their overall brand image.

As small businesses like yours continue to navigate the evolving marketing landscape, integrating authentic portraits into your branding strategies can be a game-changer. By celebrating your stories, values, and the faces behind the brand, you can forge lasting connections with customers.

I’m Fil Nenna, the portrait photographer serving Boston’s North Shore who specializes in helping small businesses like yours get more customers through quality images for your website.
Located in Marblehead I provide on-location services in Salem, Swampscott, Beverly, Danvers, Lynn, Boston and beyond. I can work in any space no matter the size or lighting conditions.
Please get in touch at info@filnenna.com to find out how quick and convenient making awesome headshots can be!