It's Not Just About the Outfit: 13 Women on Being Seen
Earlier this year, I was really excited to share The Photography Shift with you, the second series of interviews with extraordinary women where we explored identity, intention and how these affect your market positioning and business growth. Through these interviews, I really wanted to explore what happens when female entrepreneurs choose to use visibility to move their business forward.
In my previous series, The Visibility Shift, we talked about taking those first brave steps to being seen - recognizing opportunities, stepping forward, and putting your face in the picture. This latest series is about what comes next: understanding how we want people to see us, having the right messaging and embodying that.
Before I go any further, I want to say a huge thank you to the women who joined me: Claire Bannister, Abbey Booth, Grace Fogarty, Kamilla Norrman, Sandra Garlick MBE, Hazel Turner, Jess and Sara of Level Up Ladies, Lorraine Thomas, Aarti Palmer, Lynne Parker, Sam Pilling and Sarah Jepson, without you guys there would be no series, and the wonderful advice and insights you all shared are what makes this so special.
The Common Thread: Intention
My guests actually all came from very different worlds- styling, coaching, property, comedy, design, marketing, networking, and community building- and so it was interesting to see how the same ideas repeat again and again. In fact, if I had to sum up the theme that came through in these interviews, it would be this:
Decide to be seen. Show up with intention. Then invest, strategically, in being seen at the level you work at.
Intention comes before the camera
This was the strongest message of the series, with nearly every guest mentioning it. Lorraine Thomas put it most simply: "Prepare your message before your outfit."
It sounds obvious. But I know from experience that many of us start a shoot by thinking about what to wear, rather than what we want people to feel.
Sandra Garlick plans every shoot around what's coming up in her business over the next twelve months. Her VA even sketches stick-figure poses for the graphics she'll need. Sandra told me that she believes many people who don't like or use their photos went in without a strategy. Aarti Palmer agreed, reinforcing the need for real planning and awareness before a shoot. Photographers are not mind readers, she said. "The onus is on you as a business owner to know your brand from the inside out."
When I spoke to Jess and Sara of Level Up Ladies, they were honest and told me that their first shoot had no real plan behind it. Sara described the risk perfectly: go in blind and "you'll come out with photos that are fine, but they're probably not what you want." For their next shoot, the pair chose three words to direct them: fun, energy and welcoming. This really helped them get the photos they wanted.
Claire Bannister chose words too. Grace Fogarty went a step further and planned her shoot by thinking about the person she wants to be a year from now, a character she calls "CEO Grace" - isn’t that great! As she put it, "It's not about pretending to be someone else. It's just about stepping into the shoes of your future self."
In her interview, Sam Pilling described her approach to messaging as peeling back the layers of an onion until you find "the gold", the thing that makes you different. Everything else flows from that, including your photography.
Unanimously, these amazing ladies agreed: Intention isn't a cherry on top, it's the fundamental understanding that turns your brand pictures into a tool for your visibility strategy.
Being seen at the right level
The second theme of the conversations was investment. Not just money, but also time and consideration.
Repeatedly, my guests told me that investing in their imagery was as much a signal to themselves as to anyone else. Sandra Garlick told me she treats photography as a fixed part of her marketing budget. "If you're prepared to invest in something," she said, "it shows your audience that, oh, she's invested time and money into that." And Lorraine Thomas said something very similar. People want to see that you've invested in yourself, so they think, "she's a serious player."
For Sarah Jepson, investment was strategic and very specific. As she transitioned into speaking, she paid for professional photography and video at a large London event because she needed people to "instantly see Sarah is a speaker." Those images now form a ready-made kit she sends with speaking applications. Through it all, it was interesting to hear Jess of Level Up Ladies reaffirm that there's no shortcut: "You can't ChatGPT a photo that's real."
Some guests spoke openly about the commercial side. Grace Fogarty told me she's now charging roughly three times what she did when she first started working with small business owners. And she believes that is thanks to the confidence that came from a clear, professional brand. Similarly, Sam Pilling described a client who elevated her brand photography with styling, colour, and location, and began attracting clients further along in their businesses and ready to invest more.
Aarti Palmer offered the most honest framing of all: "It's never one thing." Photography works alongside everything else you do (your words, your consistency, how you show up in the room), and it builds what she calls a "transference of trust". Because brand photography isn't a magic switch; it's a key part of a visible, credible business.
Your imagery needs to keep up with you
Another, more subtle thread ran alongside the first two. As our businesses grow, so do we - but our photos don't always keep up. Abbey Booth looked back at images from eight years ago and noticed her body language straight away. She's worked with more than a thousand women since then, and is more comfortable taking up space now. She told me her photos need to reflect "where you're going towards rather than what you once were."
Aarti Palmer told how she was looking for a picture for a post and realized she didn't want to use her older images. As she said, she had outgrown them. And I loved how Sara of Level Up Ladies compared out-of-date photos to an old dating profile; when people finally meet you, it's not who they expected. Claire Bannister was even more direct - if your LinkedIn photo doesn't look like you, "that builds a mistrust."
Lorraine Thomas told me that, where she is now, in the middle of a business transition, she wants her imagery to show where she's going, "but not leaving behind where I've come from." And Hazel Turner, a designer who has spent years helping others look the part, has just put a photo of herself at the top of her homepage instead of her portfolio. "We need to practice what we preach, don't we?"
So, here’s something for you to think about: Is your imagery keeping pace with the business you're building now? (I explored this in more detail in How Strategic Photography Supports Business Growth at Every Stage.)
What my guests would tell you before your brand shoot
In most of the interviews, I asked for one piece of practical advice for someone preparing for their own shoot. Together, the answers make a fantastic guide.
Before the day: know your message
• Choose your words. Pick two or three words you want your images to convey, as Claire Bannister and the Level Up Ladies did.
• Brief your photographer properly. Aarti Palmer makes sure her photographer understands her brand story and knows the purpose of the shoot.
• Plan for the year ahead, not just the day. Sandra Garlick maps her shoots against the next three, six and nine months of her business. Sarah Jepson writes a shot list based on where each image will be used, and even asks for space around her so she can add text later.
• Collect inspiration, but don't copy. Sandra keeps a folder of screenshots of photos she likes, and Aarti builds Pinterest boards for poses, lighting and outfits. Sarah's caution is worth remembering: the point isn't to mimic someone else, it's to work out what feeling you want to convey.
Outfits: have a plan
• Plan and prep. Abbey Booth's first piece of advice was to plan your outfits and be realistic about how many changes you can fit in, because changing takes time.
• Use layering. A jacket or a change of accessories can change an outfit in seconds.
• Try everything on beforehand. Especially anything you haven't worn for a while. It needs to fit, feel comfortable and move with you.
• Photograph each full outfit. Claire Bannister had a brilliant tip: hang each outfit up, complete with jewellery, and take a photo on your phone so you don’t get stuck mid-shoot wondering what goes with what.
• Dress as you, not a costume. Lynne Parker advised wearing what you'd normally wear, and if you don't usually wear much make-up, don't pile it on for the camera.
Location: know your space
• Comfort shows. Level Up Ladies shot at home, because it's where they spend most of their time and feel most themselves. As Sara put it, don't go somewhere "swanky" just because you think it will make good photos.
• Don't be afraid to hire a space. When the light at home wasn't right, Aarti Palmer hired a location and saw it as part of investing in her brand.
• Match outfits to settings. Sarah Jepson planned which outfits would suit each room she shot in.
• Plan for the weather. If you're outside, bring layers. Abbey is "the coldest person ever" and always packs extras.
On the day: trust, be brave and have fun
• Trust your photographer. Sam Pilling trusts her photographers because they know their craft. Jess of Level Up Ladies found that seeing a few images during the shoot helped her relax.
• Be bold. Sam asks her photographers not to put her "sat on a laptop in an office". If you've got a quirky location in mind, she's all in. (This is something we looked at in How to Create Brand Photography That Feels Like You, Not Everyone Else.)
• Bring your personality. Sarah Jepson brought a playful mug her daughter gave her because it said something true about her and her brand.
• Look after yourself. Sarah's list for a good day included a playlist of songs that make you happy, breathwork or movement if you're nervous, a friend who lifts your energy, food that won't leave you bloated and plenty of water.
• Remember the nerves pass. Sarah has watched it happen many times: within 20 minutes, shoulders drop, and people start laughing. "The thought of it is worse."
From showing up to stepping up
When I introduced this series, I wrote that after making the effort to show up, the next step was to step up. These twelve amazing women have shown me what that looks like.
It looks like knowing your message comes before choosing your outfit.
It looks like investing in being seen at the level you already work at.
And it looks like letting your imagery grow with you, instead of hiding behind who you used to be.
It’s important to point out that none of my guests described this as easy; several even told me they still don't love having their photo taken. But each of them chose to do it anyway, and they always did it with intention.
Here's my question for you. If someone found you online today, would they see the business you're running now, the person you want to be seen as, or the one you started with?
Watch the conversations
Every interview from The Photography Shift is available to watch now. You'll find them all on The Photography Shift interviews page. If you missed the first series, The Visibility Shift interviews and my wrap-up, How to Become More Visible in Business: Lessons from 12 Brilliant Female EntrepreClick Meneurs, are a lovely place to start.
If this has you thinking about your own visibility, or whether your imagery is up to date with your business, I'd love to chat.
Creating marketing images with intention and strategy is my speciality and I would love to help you create your next steps into intentional brand photography. Please DM to find out more.
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NB Please note Images in the title picture are provided by my interviewees and copyright belongs to various photographers.
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