Personal Branding for a Travel Content Creator

Personal brand photography truly is one of my favorites. When Esther Susag (@EstherElsewhere) and I started talking out about this session, I knew we were in for something special. Her energy is infectious! What made this session truly special was the mutual collaboration we had at every part of the process. Our planning meeting was a blast bouncing ideas off each other about how to make the most of our session time together.

We narrowed down the goal for this session to Esther’s need for a variety of headshots that she could use on her website. While her camera roll was already full of images that capture her traveling the globe, this personal branding photo session would fill in the gaps to demonstrate her business-savvy side with profile pictures that she could use to impress the brands she partners with for content creation (hotels, blogs, travel gear, etc) and to share with media outlets for the multiple interviews she does each year as a travel expert. She traveled to more than 80 countries across 6 continents, before she ever hit 30 years old!! So she definitely knows a LOT about the in’s and out’s the industry and enjoying memorable experiences while you’re abroad.

The location we picked was a local studio that is a photographer’s dream because of the soft natural light flooding the space. The minimal, white walls as a backdrop allowed Esther’s personality to be the star, with just enough depth to make each image pop. I love spaces that are a blank canvas like this because it really keeps the focus of the image on the person being photographed instead of the background. I would definitely recommend renting out Brooke Elisabeth’s natural light studio for your own brand photos, it is a short drive to the suburbs north of Minneapolis!

When the day of the session arrived, we were full of big belly laughs. Esther is like a ray of sunshine and, like I said before, her energy is incredible. I coached her through poses that ensured she walked away from the session with a handful of direct-to-camera smiles plus a whole lot of candids too! Did you know that it builds trust with prospective clients when they can see your eyes in a photo?! It feels like you’re looking at them which is why I never skip past those classic portraits in my sessions. The candids then fill up a brand library of content that highlights the behind-the-scenes processes that Esther takes when providing her services – packing her camera bag to take content photos for brand partnerships, rolling out her laptop bag as she heads off on her next adventure, raising her phone to snap a selfie like she does while traveling, talking on the phone with clients, scrolling on her phone to stay social with her 66,000+ followers on Instagram, and more.

We played around with different outfits – from bright blazers to relaxed everyday looks. She picked a mix of neutrals and vibrant colors for her outfits that showed off her professional, yet approachable side, and the feminine flair she brings with her in everything she does. Mixing and matching tops and bottoms is the key to maximizing the amount of outfits you can wear during a session and is a subtle way of increasing the variety during your personal brand photo shoot!

Can’t wait until her passport brings her back to Minnesota so we can create more photo magic together again. On a personal note to Esther – you are amazing. Keep up the incredible work! Cheers to capturing your passion. I seriously cannot wait to see where your adventures take you next!!

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Follow along on Esther’s adventures:

Instagram: @EstherElsewhere
Website: estherelsewhere.com