What story do you want to tell about your business? Your potential customers want to know who you are beyond the product or service you are selling. I’m a visual storyteller. Together, we’ll create a session (or series of sessions) that will help you build the “Know, Like and Trust” relationship with your customers.
As an entrepreneur, you need more than just a basic headshot. You need a portfolio of great photos that you can use in the many places your business is represented – your website, social media feeds, speaker profiles, book covers, marketing materials, podcast pages… (so many possibilities!) Depending on the stage your business is at, you may just need a small collection or you may want a sustained supply of fresh material throughout the year. I’m here for you – book a single session to get started or save some money and sign up for a subscription series.
A starter image portfolio for your website or social media. One hour of shooting, allowing for 3-4 wardrobe changes. This gives a larger proof collection from which to select a portfolio of 15 finished images. Can be booked in Sarah Sims studio, at your business location or a 3rd party studio (recommendations provided, an additional charge may apply) Includes a pre-session consultation to review your brand story and shot list needs. The cost is $550.
A robust image portfolio for presence in multiple spaces. Three hours of shooting in up to three locations (limited by travel time) 30 delivered images. Includes a pre-session consultation to review your brand story and shot list needs. The cost is $1025
In an environment where ongoing fresh social media content is so important, I offer a subscription service which gives you a Basic Branding session once a month for a reduced cost of just $425/month (minimum three-month commitment) or $4250 for the year of twelve sessions. Quarterly Update - Start with a three-hour Complete Branding session and then have a quarterly "refresh" with a one hour Basic Branding - one year package $2275 - (pre-paid)
We start with a conversation that lets me get to know you and your business. What is important to you? What are your values, aspirations, core messages that you want your images to convey? This is also an excellent time for you to ask ALL the questions so that you can be as comfortable as possible heading into the session. We will figure out the ideal location for your session, what your wardrobe will be (number of outfits, styling, accessories, etc.), a plan for hair and make-up, what props we’ll need, and a rough list of the “must have” images.
This should be the fun part! I know that most people aren’t super thrilled about having their photos made. Really, I get it. I like to keep things flexible, working with our plan as a starting point, but also allowing the energy of the day to inspire us. If you have ideas as we go, I encourage you to voice them - we are partners in this project. I make lots of suggestions, posing prompts as we go, but you never have to do anything that doesn’t feel right to you.
There are two parts to delivery. First, I whittle down all of the shots that I’ve taken during the session to the best ones. I aim to have a wide variety for you to choose from without redundancy of images that are too similar to each other. This first pass gets an overall light and colour correction and then feeds into your online proof gallery.
After you make the decisions about which images are your favourite, I retouch them to make the images sing with perfection. And finally, you download polished image files ready to use on your website and all your social feeds, making you look awesome.
Retouching
My approach to beauty retouching is a light hand. You should still look like you in the final images, but the best version of you. My goal is that your reaction is “Wow, I look GOOD!” If you have any specific concerns or requests, I’ll do my best to address them.
Location
My default suggestion for a branding session is to use a location that is most similar to where you interact with your clients. But these days there’s an increasing number of businesses that are virtual, you meet your clients on zoom. In these situations, I can provide suggestions for a number of locations in the area where we can work that will help you tell the right story. Some have a small rental fee, but it’s always worth it in the end.
Wardrobe
This really comes down to the story you want to tell, the vibe you want to project. It mostly depends on the nature of your business. A typical wardrobe will be a mix of the outfits that you wear to work with your clients, as well as some that just reflect the essence of you. For example, a personal trainer might include some workout outfits, along with some regular “street” casual outfits. I’ve got more ideas and examples in my blog post HERE
