Top 5 'S's to Brand 'Elfies'

Yes, 'tis that time of year again! Selfie season where there's opportunity everywhere to show up and share what you're all about. For many I know it's not a favourite pass time and there's definitely been times in my life when I've shied away from it. But, as a business owner, it's so important to show your audience who you are. You are not going to make the impact you want to being the best kept secret.

Here I will share some of my secret sauce to creating your best selfies whilst having lots of fun with it too!

1- STARTS WITH YOU!

When showing up for you and your business, it's essential to reflect your personal brand in all that you do, especially your images. You want to continue to build know like and trust with your audience so consistency of your message is key. It's important to be you, the real you, as that's what people buy into and want to see.

Selfies are a brilliant way to show your personality and values, the essence of what makes you tick and the foundation of your brand. Always have your brand identity at the front of your mind. These are key words which are the building blocks to your brand. (You can read more about it here ) When preparing to take a selfie or before sharing it, I always ask myself, does it show some or all of my values. It's a great way to sense check it's on brand.

2 - STORIES TO TELL

We all love a story, especially at this time of year. Your images are a fantastic way to bring these to life and catch the attention of your audience. Human nature is very inquisitive so if you can show intrigue in your image, people will stop and look into it to see what's happening. Quite often we'll want to create our own happy ending to the story too.

In the same way as selfies need to reflect your values, the stories will link back to your key words and brand identity to continue taking your audience on their journey with you. At this time of year it can be as simple as how you decorate your home, what's behind the advent calendar door that means something or the Christmas presents under the tree. Your photographic take on these will be very personal and reflective of you and your brand.

3 - SET UP

Before you take your selfie it's great to put some planning and thought into what, where and how! We've covered the 'what' in considering the message, values and stories. The where is key 'location, location, location' as they say! Think about how the setting is adding to your story and brand message. You also want to ensure that your backdrop is not too cluttered so the focus can be on you. Although good comedy value (which if this is part of your brand, then great!) watch out for random things in the background appearing like they're coming out of your head! Often not a good look!

Lighting is a key one, especially with the darker days if you're in the UK. I'd highly recommend a ring light (which you can get for your phone or desk) to ensure your face is lit. Whichever your light source, natural or otherwise, ensure it is in front of you highlighting you. This time of year is also a great time to have fun with lighting with all the sparkling decorations. Have fun with them! Experiment and don't be afraid to break the rules! Often scroll stopping images are not perfect but they are stand out because of their lighting tricks.

Don't forget to also prepare yourself! Practise in front of your camera and find your best side that will give you confidence. The best bit with this digital age is you can take hundreds and just delete until you find your favourite profile. I'm not a fan of posing as it can often feel very unnatural and staged. However, in the same way you can find your best side, you can find positions you like that make you feel good. In most cases it's about ensuring you have good posture but also feeling relaxed and yourself. The more you can practise this, the more you will feel at home and comfortable in front of the camera. The results will show for themselves. Trust me. I was camera shy for years and the way I overcame this, started with selfies and finding what made me feel good.

The how? Plan how you will take your images. The selfie with your camera in your hand or on a stick is the obvious; but these can be hard to get any distance and can often have distortion being so close up. Experiment with the self-timer and shooting from the back where the camera on phones is far superior to the one on the front. This can be easy to set up, especially with the mini tripods that often come with the ring lights.

4 - SHOOT TO FIT

When capturing your images, consider your end use and therefore format to use. In many cases you can crop your photos to a square for instagram, for example; but it's difficult to create a landscape from a portrait and visa versa. So, if you are creating visuals for stories, shoot in portrait. For posting, I would advise landscape.

When taking your shots, take the time to frame them correctly so you have less time spent editing. Composition is key to an image looking good and a few techniques are useful here such as rule of thirds and triangles. You can read more about them here with ways to create scroll stooping images . If you are wanting to create images that allow for marketing messages, the rule of thirds is brilliant as you place yourself left or right of centre, with negative space on the other side for your message

5 - SPONTANAIETY!

Whilst it's fantastic to plan your images, often, what I call the 'money shots' will come in the moment when you least expect it. So I would always say, be camera ready! Have your phone set to the option which allows you to quick fire and capture the event. Also have the mindset and intention to see the moments that would otherwise pass you by

Thank you for reading. Here's to having lots of festive fun with your photos.

Kier

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