Caleb Low is a brand coach. He knows, perhaps better than most, how much a strong visual identity matters because he helps others craft theirs for a living.
And yet he had gone two and a half years without updating his professional photos.
You see, he had gone bald during that time. And somewhere in that transition, he quietly lost his reference point for how he wanted to show up. He didn’t know how to pose the way he used to or what worked anymore. So he kept waiting, kept looking, and kept not finding someone he could trust enough.
“I find it very hard to just trust someone to give me exactly what I need,” he said. “It’s been too tiring finding someone who can do that.”
I think Caleb’s story is more common than people admit. The delay is rarely about being too busy. It is almost always about trust.
The Trust Problem Nobody Talks About
When people come to us for a headshot or a personal branding shoot, they are not just booking a photographer. They are deciding to let someone see them. Really see them. And for many professionals, especially those whose work is built on how they show up, that is not a small thing.
The question people often ask is whether they need a headshot or a personal branding shoot. It is a fair question, and the answer depends on how visible you need to be. A headshot is a clean, confident portrait: the visual equivalent of introducing yourself in a meeting. It is exactly what you need for LinkedIn, a company profile, a speaker bio. Focused, professional, direct.
But a branding shoot goes further. It tells the story around you… how you work, what your environment looks like, who you are when you are in your element. For business owners, consultants, and entrepreneurs whose brand lives and breathes through their personality, a branding shoot gives you a whole library of images to work with. It is something to reach for every time you need to show up online.
But here is the thing. Neither type of shoot will serve you well if the person behind the camera does not know how to make you feel like yourself.
What Actually Happens in a Session
I have always believed that the best photos are not taken but are drawn out.
Every person who walks through our door is genuinely interesting. They have a story, a way of seeing the world, a personality that is entirely their own. My job is simply to be curious about that. To ask, to listen, and to pay attention. Something almost always happens when people feel truly seen, they relax and become comfortable. They stop performing for the camera and start just being themselves. That is when the real photos happen.
For Caleb, it happened within the first five shots. He came in uncertain about how he looked now, without the hair, without the familiar visual reference points he used to rely on. What he discovered during the session surprised even him.
“The way Grace coached natural shots out of me made me realise — oh, this is how I look,” he said. “My session with her got me clearer about my natural energy, and how this energy is going to translate to the new business I’ll be entering.”
Caleb walked away with clarity about who he is becoming, and that was such an honour for me to be able to do that for him.
So Which One Do You Need?
If you are a professional within a company and you mainly need a polished image for your profile or directory, a well-executed headshot is exactly right. It does the job cleanly and confidently.
If your work involves building relationships, growing a following, or inviting people into your world before they ever meet you, branding photos give you so much more to work with. They make content creation easier. They give your audience a sense of who you actually are.
But honestly, why not choose both? A strong headshot for formal settings and a wider set of branding images for everything else. Together, they create a visual presence that feels complete. We can do a 1-2 hour photo session for you that will give you a variety of images to add to your collection. If you would like to see the different styles of headshots and personal brand portraits that we can create for you, check out this article!
But wherever you are starting, the most important thing is this: your photos should look like you. Not a polished, flattened version of you. Not a stiff, posed approximation. You, in the fullness of who you are right now.
Caleb had been waiting two and a half years for someone he could trust with that. If you have been waiting too, maybe it is time to stop. Drop us a message and let’s start the conversation.
