Coach Minda's
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I AM A COACH, NOT A BRANDING EXPERT. But anyone who offers a service or sells a product knows that personal image is crucial. At the very least, it needs to be positive.
And if you have a coaching practice you have a brand image, like it or not. My brochure needed a new photograph. A good friend was kind enough to spend a morning shooting photos of me in her home studio, where she spends much of her free time. After only two hours in the heat of lights, posing on demand, interpreting what was wanted in terms of position of chin, head and shoulders, not to mention my smile, I decided the work of a model is unexpectedly tough. At the end of the shoot, we reviewed all 80+ photos, quickly eliminating the unacceptable shots. The second round of culling was more demanding. Viewing non-candid, posed photographs of oneself, trying to be natural and authentic, is mostly a terrible experience (except if you are a model perhaps). You tend to see the unflattering elements – unwanted lines, grey hairs and asymmetry. Finally, we settled on the four best photos – finalists for the brochure. One I liked was disqualified after my photographer friend said, “I’m not sure if you laughing this hard is the right image to project as a coach.” And I will ask the brochure’s graphic designer (who I’ve worked with for years) to weigh in with her preference – because image is her line of work. That brings us to the big question: What is the right image? And who says it’s right? How do we know? Our persona is in part the image we present to the world. I remember reading an article on a portrait photographer who said something on the lines of, ‘the surface is very important because it is often all you get from someone.’ Image and branding raise sticky and tricky questions:
We know that first impressions matter – in both the physical and digital worlds. Sometimes we retract our initial judgments once we get to know the person and, other times, we are pleased to confirm that our initial impressions were correct. More often than not, none of this matters past the first minutes, as long as the person has qualities you like or admire. When we display or publish an image, we are not there to interpret the image for the viewer. For example, in two pictures I eventually disqualified, I appear (to my eye) either:
I have no conclusions – except that I hope you will like my new photo. I did find the exercise of being photographed and editing the output to be an interesting one. And it raised more questions than answers. Enjoy the days and weeks ahead, Coach Minda, not, Model Minda Photographer: Danielle Charron
13 Comments
Felicity Fanjoy
7/9/2015 10:24:16 am
I would eliminate the middle two pictures, and of the two remaining ones, I prefer the one on the far right as it seems the most spontaneous and natural, but possibly the one on the far left looks more "professional". All are very nice photos, though. Lookin' good, girl!
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Coach Minda
7/9/2015 11:12:36 am
Thank you for weighing in on this matter! I wasn't intending to solicit input but I am very glad to receive it. I'm with the far right one too!
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Miriam Shuchman
7/9/2015 10:39:42 am
Independently I reached same conclusion as Felicity -- no to the 2 middle ones and the first one is fine but I love the final one. Maybe because some of the spontaneity there is what you bring to your interactions, professional and personal. Have a great week...
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Coach Minda
7/9/2015 11:16:14 am
I should have run a focus group with blog readers to help me select the winning photo. I'm glad there is agreement...with a few of us at least! Thanks
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Lisa
7/9/2015 07:58:04 pm
Miss you Minda. I agree with the two above comments. Fourth is fabulous and first is super too being a bit more "professional" is that's the "professional" image YOU want to portray. I would hire either one:). Best to you and will probably speak again in the new year.
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Coach Minda
8/9/2015 12:56:57 am
Lisa, so nice to hear from you. I was thinking of you today, honestly! Looking professional is one thing- being a professional is something else, isn't it! Get in touch when you feel like it. The door is always open.
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Cindy
8/9/2015 01:41:55 pm
Hey. I know you were not asking - but I guess we all felt like contributing. You are beautiful, and your face is lovely and expressive. I would go with the 3rd one from the left..... just because to me this is the photo that appears to be the one that is most listening to the 'other person' - your client. To me it appears to be the expression of someone who is intent on hearing what is being said...focused, caring and listening. Anyway that's my first impression.
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Rachelle
8/9/2015 03:05:44 pm
I agree with Cindy, though all four photos are gorgeous.
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Coach Minda
8/9/2015 04:50:41 pm
Thank you too Rachelle. my response to Cindy covers it! Branding is tough.
Coach Minda
8/9/2015 04:52:39 pm
I appreciate your point of view about picture 3. I too had a similar feeling but when I uploaded it, I wasn't sure if it expressed what you are saying.
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Darren Schlemian-Trempet
8/9/2015 10:12:40 pm
Great photos. The first one doesn't grab me. The second one looks confident and powerful. The fourth funny and warm. The one I like best is the third. It projects someone who is curious, searching, receptive, intelligent and compassionate. Just what I want from a coach.
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Larry Argentian
8/9/2015 10:24:30 pm
I have a visceral negative reaction to the idea of cultivating image which seems to me to be something contrived, opposite or different from essence which is what is real. I feel we should be working on being real, being our most essential self and gravitating towards areas of life and work which are in accord with our true selves. However, upon reflection, I feel this may be more a question of definition and semantics. When you talk about what image you want to project, perhaps you are really talking about knowing, like an artist, how to present in a more coherent and connected way aspects of our true self.
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Coach Minda
9/9/2015 03:38:11 am
Thank you for your reflections on this. I am of the same mind Larry which is why this exercise - of taking a photo and selecting one to represent myself has been an interesting experience. What is true and authentic? Which element of our true self do we "project" into the world. The warm? The funny? The serious? How do we roll this into one?
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August 2024
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