In prior life, I had a career in marketing and sales in hitech. I found “seeing the world” from both a marketing and sales perspective gave me a very balanced look at markets, customers, value, how to differentiate, along with how to relate to customers and provide solutions to their particular needs. Doing this for companies (and clients when I was consulting) came naturally to me (I’d been selling since the age of 15). When I started my headshot photography business, I soon realized that marketing oneself is a whole different ballgame – thoughts like I’m not as good as other photographers, taking what I do for granted (ie, doesn’t every photographer do this?), etc. all rolled around in my psyche making it difficult for me differentiate myself and show the value I bring.

Fortunately I have a strong network of friends, former colleagues, and business professionals I’ve come to know over the years to help “open up my eyes” and become more aware of the value I bring and how to differentiate myself. One of those people is Darrin Fitzgerald, founder of Arte Media, a video production company for businesses. Darrin and I connected immediately as we both have a marketing “bent” when it comes to business – who is your target audience, what resonates with them, how do you differentiate yourself, messaging/positioning, etc.. So when I decided to update my branding video for my business, I ultimately chose him.

As a headshot photographer, the combination of lighting/technical expertise combined with helping people with expressions/looks is fairly complex to do it right. Video takes that to a whole other level as you have motion and dialog/scripting to deal with. Getting the words, tone, cadence, delivery right adds a lot more complexity. Darrin had me practicing, jumping up and down while practicing, being silly, using different voices/energy – I’ve never taken acting classes but a part of me has secretly wanted to act. The entire process was a real eye opener – and it’s a lot more work than I realized to get it right (I’m NOT complaining – it was fun!).

Darrin “got me” – and I’m thrilled with the video. It gives my clients a window into the value I bring, my thought and work process, what it’s like to work with me, and the results. It has the right “tone” (ie, informative but not salesy). It was shot during actual sessions with actual clients so it’s also authentic. The footage with clients wasn’t staged, nor were there multiple takes. It’s a true story. When I first viewed it, I had goosebumps and it brought a tear to my eye.

So thank you Darrin – you’re an amazing producer, director and am thrilled to share this video with the world – and am confident it will have a significant positive impact on my business!

To view the video, go to my website homepage, www.barrybraunsteinphotography.com, and click on the thumbnail just below the first images.