“I Actually Look Like Myself” – A Personal Branding Shoot With My Sister

Last week, I photographed my sister, an established abstract landscape painter who spends most of her time covered in paint.

She wasn’t exactly looking forward to the shoot. In fact, she was dreading it. Like so many creative women I work with, she was much more comfortable making beautiful things than being the subject. But I wanted this to feel easy, natural, even joyful.

So I kept things moving: quick, relaxed, energetic. I steered us gently to familiar ground, her materials, her process, her world, and somewhere along the way we ended up laughing, a lot.

The colours were rich and vibrant, I mean, have you seen her work? And when I sent her the photos, she messaged back:

"OMG SELLY I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!!!!! You are seriously good at taking pics like this. I’ve never liked any pics of me let alone most of them!!!!! I actually look like myself. You are ACE!!!!!! Xxxxxx"

This is exactly what I love about personal branding photography: capturing people as they really are, in a way they can feel proud of. Not staged. Not filtered. Just real.

If you’re a creative woman, small business owner, or simply someone who’s never liked photos of yourself, I’d love to show you how different it can be.