Carrying on from the Epic and Energetic Shoot with Shaune Clarke of Big Branding Speaking, I wanted to share a few key images that were a little more subdued – emotive.

As a photographer for many years, a lot of the things I do are so INTUITIVE now I am not even aware of them. I recently began a journey of studying me – studying my behaviours on a shoot – and understanding why it is that I do things in my particular way – in order to elicit the response I want from the person I am photographing.

I am acutely aware that it is my skill with people that allows me to connect in a way that alleviates self-consciousness and exposes vulnerabilities to my lens. It is in these moments when I really get AUTHENTIC CONNECTION from a person.

I wanted to share with you a particular moment that was really endearing to me – when I was photographing Shaune… After a lot of energetic and physical action shooting in the morning I wanted to soften the mood, to peel back another layer of this complex man. I asked Shaune to share a story that is very personal to him – and whilst he was talking…

I clicked….

I observedI askedI listenedI anticipatedI waitedI encouragedI participatedI laughedAnd I shared

I won’t go into the story that got us here – it was personal and a “shared moment”. However I know that it took a huge level of trust for us to get here. Shaune was not merely saying words when he talked to me through my camera – he was reliving the story.

These sorts of “moments” don’t just come about with the regular people I capture. A huge amount of effort goes into getting to know clients genuinely so a real connection can be formed – then we can create a safe space for these moments to unfold.

As I look at this small collection of images (in relation to the entire collection taken on the day), I can see so many different elements of Shaune’s “Personal Essence” coming through.

Each image is engaged & genuine – you feel connected to him in that moment.

To me that really is what personal branding is all about – connecting people to you. Combining different layers of your personality so that your images not only have emotional dimension but also resonate with who it is you want to talk to and ultimately ATTRACT.

AND THE BONUS – any one of these images could be used across multiple platforms to help Shaune share his unique talents with the world (I highly recommend you check him out). 

So my parting message… Emotional Elicitation is one of the greatest skills you should always look for in a your photographer. As it is with this GIFT that someone with great intuition can capture the “real” YOU