Episode 7: How Real Brand Photography Builds Confidence & Converts
Show Notes:
Ready to ditch boring headshots and finally feel at ease in front of the camera? Join host Dani Henneberger and guest Vicki Diesing of VSD Photography as they unpack why brand photography matters way beyond aesthetics, and how it fuels authentic confidence and connection for founders and service-based businesses.
Listen if you’ve been:
Putting off new brand photos because being on camera feels awkward (and you want it to feel easier).
Tired of cookie-cutter stock images and crave visuals that actually match your personality and business.
Ready to leverage authentic images to grow your confidence and your client roster
Key Takeaways:
Diagnose if now is the time: Step-by-step prompts to figure out if the foundation is set (and what to tighten first if not).
“Don’t outspend the funnel”: Dani and Emma break down starter budgets vs. scaling sensibly—what the gurus never say.
Read results like a pro: Emma’s “red flag” data moments (plus, the one number most folks hype that actually means zip).
About Vicki:
Vicki Diesing has been taming clients’ photo session fears for over 8 years. She focuses on headshots and branding, from the solopreneur to large corporations. She’s worked with every type of business owner, from a single entrepreneur to a 70+ person plumbing company. She feels it’s important to work with her clients to understand their brand voice and help their personality shine through in their images. Most people aren’t comfortable in front of a camera, so it’s her mission to help them enjoy the process. She works with her clients from initial consultation to final delivery to make sure they’re comfortable and taken care of each step of the way.
In This Episode:
Why brand photography is an investment in both strategy and self-worth, not just a pretty website
DIY vs. professional images: which ones actually build trust and make your brand feel “real”
How to prep for a photo shoot, without overwhelm or “JCPenney flashbacks”
Outfit, makeup, and prop tips to keep it personal (not cookie cutter)
The confidence gap and behind-the-scenes methods Vicki uses to help clients relax, show their real personality, and truly love their images
Creative ways to leverage your images across your website, socials, and offers for maximum client connection
Audit your current brand images: do they match the YOU that clients meet in person?
Use the flat lay and prop tips to inject more warmth and personality into your content this quarter
Connect with VSD Photography (Alexandria/DC area, and travels) for an experience that actually makes you feel “seen”, not just snapped
Links:
Website: www.VSDphotography.com
Instagram: @VSDphotography
LinkedIn: Vicki Diesing
Find your brand message with Dani: Mise en Plan
Want the dish on her dish?
Drop me a DM on @MiseenPlan and we'll be happy to share her recipe for her excellent cheese ball!
See you next time, I’ll save you a seat!
Transcript:
Dani | Mise En Plan (00:01)
Welcome back to the table, the show where we dive into the real stories and strategies behind building a brand and doing it on your own terms. I'm your host, Dani. And today we're getting into something every founder and business owner honestly rustles with at some point, brand photography. I know I'm probably speaking for myself. So whether you love the camera or you are avoiding it at all costs, having images that actually feel like you can make a huge difference.
make a big difference in you. And not just in how you show up online, but in how confident you feel about your own brand. And today, I want to break down why brand photography matters, how to make that process feel a little bit less overwhelming, and what really goes into creating the images that show off your real personality, and not just some cookie cutter version of yourself that you think you're supposed to have. And so...
Today I am so excited to be welcoming a very special guest, Vicki from VSD Photography. Hi Vicki, welcome. Well, Vicki is the mastermind behind VSD Photography and she has built such a reputation for making people feel at ease in front of the camera. She specializes in headshots and brand photography that capture both your professionalism and your personality, whether you are a solopreneur,
Vicki (01:07)
Thanks!
Dani | Mise En Plan (01:28)
or you're part of a 70 person team, but I will say she also does the most amazing pet sessions. And so she helps make not just people, but for four legged friends feel comfortable too. And she is based in the Washington DC area near me. And so Vicki, I wanted to bring you on because like I said, brand photography really can be a very transformative.
but a very intimidating part of building a business. And you have such a gift for helping entrepreneurs and founders and just anyone who's sitting in front of your camera actually feel like themselves during those photo sessions. And your work just brings so much personality. think I just saw one that you did of a senior session the other day where it was a gymnast and she had all of her medals surrounding her, just like this.
beam of sunshine and it was just so beautiful. And I'm really hoping that you today can help us really understand more about how we should be thinking about brand photography and getting behind the camera and getting inspired to go and do that. ⁓ So thank you for joining us today.
Vicki (02:45)
⁓ thank you. Yeah, that gymnast shot was really fun to put together. She had trained and done a lot of hard work. So it was fun to be able to help her show that off. And that's what I like to do with business people too, is help them show off who they are a little bit more about their businesses to help their clients understand them and who they are better.
Dani | Mise En Plan (03:08)
Well, I'm in here, we're gonna hear all about it and I can't wait. So but before we get into photography, I want to set the table. As I said, I would ask you, but if this were a dinner party, because this is the table and this is what I love to do, I just like imagining that we're sitting at dinner and we're talking about all things entrepreneurship, growing our business. But what would be the dish that you brought to share?
Vicki (03:12)
Awesome.
I think I love a cheese ball or a cheese dish. So it would be like an appetizer, either a cold cheese ball or a hot, maybe jalapeno popper cheese dip.
Dani | Mise En Plan (03:48)
kind of cheese balls do you normally make?
Vicki (03:52)
I think the one that I get asked most about is a chicken cheese ball that's got some ranch, some shredded chicken, cream cheese, things like that, green onions, all mixed in.
Dani | Mise En Plan (04:05)
that sounds so good. And now I'm really hungry. I want the cheeseball. I am a sucker for like a cheese dip a cheese ball. Have you ever seen those little cheese balls that they make look like little hedgehogs with like the almonds along the outside? I don't have the patience for that but
Vicki (04:06)
Yeah.
Yes, I thought of that one. Mine looks like
the Pinterest nailed it ⁓ images. That's what mine always looked like. yeah.
Dani | Mise En Plan (04:26)
Well, look, it's all going to the same place. So I'm
happy. That sounds amazing. Okay, you're invited. You're welcome to come. That's my screening question. All right, everyone who's listening, grab your coffee and let's dive in to talking more about how we can all show it more visually and authentically in our brand. ⁓ And so Vicki, one of the questions that I know I have heard a lot of people
chatting about is this like, okay, well, why should I be investing in this? Because brand photography is an investment. And so for a small business owner who's never had these professional brand photos, sometimes you look at the package prices and you think, ⁓ but I have an iPhone, I can do this myself. So why is brand photography both from like a headshot perspective, but also, I think we don't always necessarily think about brand photography as being
the flat lays and the additional photography that can represent our business without necessarily having our face in it. Why should we be doing those instead of DIY or stock images?
Vicki (05:38)
Yeah, that's a great question because as you said, brand photography is not cheap and anybody who has a small business is trying to make their dollars stretch as far as they can go. So they will try the stock images or the DIY images. And let's talk about stock first. We've all been to the stock image websites trying to fish through and find something that will work for whatever we're needing. Not only does that take a lot of time, but
those images, anybody can use them. So they're not really going to be authentic to who you are or who your brand is. And we've all been to the websites and we can see which images are the stock images. It doesn't bring that layer of authenticity to what you're trying to say, what product or service you're trying to present to your clients. And the DIY ones, some of those could be good, especially with some of the newer phones.
especially with flat lays, if you're trying to promote a specific product and take a quick picture of it, or even DIYing if you wanna do a real or a quick video about something, those can really work. But I say DIY was chic during COVID because you really couldn't hire a brand photographer. Everybody was posting their COVID hobby pictures on...
though on social media, but now we're kind of seeing the trend back more towards professionalism, not perfection, but professionalism.
Dani | Mise En Plan (07:11)
Absolutely, and I realized that I probably should have defined flat lays for people that aren't always familiar with that. Having come from the wedding industry, flat lays are all the rage, but flat lays, if you're not familiar, where you actually, Vicki, how about you go ahead and define it for us?
Vicki (07:18)
Yeah.
Yeah,
most literally they're actually when you lay out images flat on a surface and stand over them and take a picture. Usually try to compose it so it's cute. It's used a lot in the wedding industry to show off details, shoes, rings, perfume, boutonnieres, things like that.
They can be used in business photography with any products that you might sell or any props that you normally use in your business. Those can be considered flat lay or just basically product images.
Dani | Mise En Plan (08:06)
Absolutely. Okay, great. Thank you. Realized that that was a term that I picked up when I was in the wedding industry and not everyone knows what that means. So appreciate that. So flat lays are one thing. Our faces aren't in flat lays, but ⁓ when our faces are in things, know, and honestly, I will be very transparent. One of the biggest reasons I haven't refreshed my own brand photography, which I am grossly delinquent on, but
is there's a confidence issue of I am very I hear this from a lot of other entrepreneurs as well saying like I am not sure how I want to look I'm not sure how I'm going to look I'm not sure if I'm going to be happy with the photos ⁓ and so what is your advice to people who are feeling a little bit of a lack of self-confidence when it comes to stepping in front of the camera especially with regards to if this is your personal brand that's
very personal thing and making sure you feel like you're representing yourself or at least the version that you might have in your head of yourself and how you want to portray yourself in your business. What are your words of advice for helping people kind of like shake that off and and feel good about in front of the camera but also about what comes out of the camera later?
Vicki (09:27)
Yeah, well, I would say 99 % of my clients do not feel comfortable in front of the camera. We all have issues with that. ⁓ And we all have issues about certain parts of our bodies that we don't like. So what I say is the session is more of a conversation between me and my clients. I really try to sit down with them not only during the session, but before the session to figure out who they are, what they want to say.
how they wanna present themselves. So we get a lot of that figured out. I understand if they have any issues with themselves, how they look, things like that. And then during the session, if I can tell that they're stiff or just not relaxed yet, we can do some breathing exercises. I do that to help them relax. It ends up just being a conversation between me and them. We can turn on music and that kind of relaxes people. And then,
just talking throughout the session, helping them move into the next pose or the next thing, it takes the focus off of themselves and more onto just the experience. And it ends up being a lot of fun.
Dani | Mise En Plan (10:41)
Yeah, I can imagine that it's because I think we, if you've never had brand photography done, you feel like it's kind of like going to JCPenney's or Olin Mills back in the 90s, right? It's like, okay, set head tilt, like, look this way. ⁓
Vicki (10:54)
Yes.
There are photographers
that do that and I've heard horror stories. People have had bad experiences before and I say it is my job to help you feel relaxed and for it to be a good experience for you so that you enjoy those images and you enjoy using them.
Dani | Mise En Plan (11:15)
Absolutely. And I bet there is, like you said, just talking and better understanding what people are looking for. What are some of the other aspects of preparation that we, as business owners or just as people in business period, should be thinking about when it comes to preparing for a brand shoot with a photographer like you?
Vicki (11:38)
Yeah, preparation is key. And that's where I think most of the effort and energy is actually put towards the session is the preparation. Some of my clients come and they already have their brand voice and their personal brand figured out. They know what they wanna say with the images. They know what kind of images they wanna take. They've got their outfits planned out. They've got some shots planned out. ⁓ And so we roll with that. Other.
Other people come, business people come, and they don't quite know what they want to say. They know they want pictures, but they're not quite sure how to put it all together. So I have a questionnaire that I can send them that helps them figure out what they want to say, how they want to say it, what kind of images do they want to take? Are they using them for their website or for social media? We go through all of that. We talk about outfits and wardrobe. I can give tips or I can hook them up with a wardrobe stylist.
if they are really concerned about what they're going to wear. And this wardrobe stylist can help them either shop their closet or actually do some shopping. So we go over wardrobe tips, makeup, if they want to have a makeup artist or not, we go through that. We talk about the shot list because we don't wanna show up on the session day and just take hours of random pictures and not know what we're gonna use them for. So creating that shot list helps. And then also a prop list.
what you're going to use in the pictures to talk about your business and yourself. So we create a checklist that they can use to bring to the session. It helps them prepare for that so that we are all ready for the day.
Dani | Mise En Plan (13:20)
Amazing. What would you say? Cause I know you mentioned recommending a, a, stylist. Brain just completely went blank there. A stylist. Have you found that there are specific types of outfits or tips for helping people?
know what outfits are going to work best for them or that you've seen be like the most effective in brand photography.
Vicki (13:51)
Yeah, my quick tips for everybody is classic colors always work. But if you have a brand color and you want to bring that in, you can bring it in with your wardrobe or things that you're using. Classic colors always work. Tighter clothing fits better. I know we all feel better in looser clothing, but it doesn't really photograph well. So I would recommend it doesn't have to be sexy, tight. Just more form-fitting is better.
⁓ If you don't like your upper arms, don't show those. Wear something that covers that up. ⁓ Yeah, solid colors tend to be a little bit better unless you're known for wearing stripes or florals or patterns. Solid tends to be better because the focus is brought more towards your face, especially for headshots. That's what you're trying to show off is your expression. ⁓ But I always say rules are meant to be broken.
So I will go over these tips with them and tell them what to do. But if they want to wear something bright and big, then let's go with it.
Dani | Mise En Plan (14:57)
Awesome. And I know that one of the things, I'm curious if this is true for brand photography as well, is for the ladies having makeup. ⁓ I know a lot of times makeup for photography...
kind of sometimes needs to be a lot heavier in order to show up more than it does when it comes to just you know a normal day. Is that something that you find or recommend to just might feel a little heavy but it won't come across that or is it just where what is feels right to you?
Vicki (15:36)
I will recommend that if people do wear makeup that it is a little bit heavier because you're right, the camera does wash a little bit out. But if people aren't comfortable with that, I don't want them to feel like they've got a bunch of stuff caked on their face. It's not going to come across well in their photos. And they will think that they don't look like themselves. If they do wear makeup normally and you apply just a little bit more, they will find that
they do look like themselves in the final images. But what's great now with post-processing with my editing software is we can add some makeup if we need to. So less is always more, I would say.
Dani | Mise En Plan (16:21)
That's good to know. think all people who wear makeup, it's, I know sometimes, again, coming from the wedding industry in the past, there was always a, people who their makeup done are like, ⁓ don't look like me. It's like, it's okay. It'll balance out. But you're right. Post-processing can really help kind of even out a lot of the stuff that you might not necessarily want to see, but also doesn't have to if you feel like that's what I look like.
Let me embrace that, which is great.
Vicki (16:50)
Right, right. Because you want to
look like who you are for your clients. If you are normally a no makeup person and then you get all done up for your headshot or your website photos, social media photos, that's not you. That's not really being authentic. So I like to say we just want you to be you just a little bit more elevated.
Dani | Mise En Plan (17:12)
Yeah, amazing. And so once the photos are done, you've gone through and you have a collection of great photos because you've made them feel so comfortable, made sure they're being themselves authentically. How have you found to be the smartest way that business owners can actually use them across their marketing or across...
there across their business.
Vicki (17:42)
Yeah, some
of that goes into the prep work. So we try to understand how they are going to want to use these images. Sometimes they need to update their website. And so I'll have them pick out the specific images, parts of the website that they want to update. So we know what we're shooting for. So those will just be plug and play. You put those into the website. Then if you're shooting for social media or other types of branding, you'll end up with a bank of images.
that you can just go pick and choose from and continue to use over and over again. mean, you as a marketer know that it's a very small percentage of your ⁓ followers that actually see any individual post, right? So you can reuse these images for as long as your brand voice doesn't change very much or your image doesn't change very much. You can pull from these bank of images
to keep telling your story, whether it's your brand story or personal story, use them over and over again. yeah, and you can use the website images in your social media. You can end up switching out some social media images for your website. So they're really, that's another thing about cost. It is a stretch for a lot of small businesses, but you end up having a lot of resources that you can use over.
a long time.
Dani | Mise En Plan (19:10)
That's a really great point is just how flexible those photos can be. mean, even if it's the same photo, you can always remove the background and put it on something else or use it in different places. ⁓ And whether it's as a YouTube still or a cover photo or a podcast headshot or anything, there's so many different ways and places that you can use it. And I think ultimately,
People love to see you. ⁓ And so to be able to have a lot of different representations of you that are, of course, on theme and all work together and you look relatively similar, not 10 years apart, and your photo is on your website, or that photo was taken 20 years ago and you're still using it on your About Me and then they meet you in person and they're like, that's not what I was expecting. Who is this person? ⁓ Just being able to show yourself.
Vicki (20:01)
this.
Dani | Mise En Plan (20:06)
on your website and in your materials can really help people have a strong connection with who you are and what you're about and just feel like they can know you because marketing is no like and trust and so if they see your face they're gonna know you they're gonna like you and they're gonna trust you a lot more than if they don't have any idea of of who you are so yeah exactly I'm I'm I'm eekin towards guilty of that so I gotta gotta fix that
Vicki (20:26)
or 10 year old version of you.
Dani | Mise En Plan (20:35)
And so how often to that point do you recommend entrepreneurs should be refreshing that brand photography so that they can stay current and not feel completely dated?
Vicki (20:48)
Yeah, I would say as long as your brand message or just overall branding stays similar, then you can keep using these images as long at the time that you drastically change your branding or your look, that's when you need to update your imaging because of that no like and trust factor. You want it to be consistent. And that's one of the things I wouldn't recommend going super trendy.
in outfits or memes or themes or things like that in your branding photography because you want to be able to use them over a stretch time. So when your branding changes drastically or when your look changes drastically, I would say that's the time that it's time to invest in new branding images.
Dani | Mise En Plan (21:38)
Yeah, and that's a great segue to another question that I've been thinking about, which is, you know, as your business evolves and you rebrand, should, would you recommend brand photos be done as part of the figuring it out process or after everything feels figured out? Because I think we all kind of fall into a trap of never really feeling like it's figured out. So what's the happy medium?
Vicki (22:05)
Yeah, I think small businesses are like houses. You're never fully finished getting them ready. So yeah, there's always some iteration going on. I wouldn't start out like if you're just starting a business, I would not start out with the brand photography because you need to figure out your voice. You need to figure out what you're trying to say and how you're trying to say it. I wouldn't wait until the end though, because we know there is no end.
I think that at the time that you are creating your website, that you have the bones of your website ready or with a rebrand, when you have the bones of that ready, that's the time I think to start thinking about brand photography. Because you've got some framework to build a website, you kind of need to know what you're wanting to say with that website. So at that point, you've had some time to think about, what am I trying to say with these images?
How am I trying to get this across? Who do I want to be to my clients? And at that point, you can start working with a photographer to create these images. And then you can use those images to start pushing out your brand and your product and your services and use those as your marketing as an introduction to your business.
Dani | Mise En Plan (23:22)
Absolutely, that is.
Great advice. And it's because I like, and we had this conversation on the last episode ⁓ that I did with Emma about paid ads and how honestly investing in your business, especially as a new business owner is one of the hardest pills to swallow. know, having to spend money to make money and whether it's on paid ads or whether it's on brand photography, there are things that are hard, especially when it's the first time you've done it to feel like you can rationalize the return
Vicki (23:27)
Thank
Dani | Mise En Plan (23:55)
on the investment, but I do feel very strongly that the return on good brand photography to make you look like you know what you're doing can go a really long way. It's just me talking to myself more than anything right now, ⁓ but to all of you out there as well. And so it's nice to know that whether you're saying it's because of the money or you're saying because I'm just not ready to get in front of the camera.
there are people like you, Vicki, who are available to help people feel more comfortable and make sure that when they do make that investment, the return is there with quality photos that you more than anything, which is the most important thing than anything I should say, feel good about and your and feels like it represents you and your business and you'll be proud to put yourself in front of
other people and say like look at these great photos go look at my website because I can't tell you how often I've had people be like just don't go look at my website I haven't updated it in a really long time. No we want to be proud of sharing it and having really great photos of yourself is is step a to to making that whole great message and great photos are like an unstoppable combination.
Vicki (24:57)
Most people really like that.
Yeah, and to
alleviate some of the budgeting fears, you, I would mix, you need to mix a bit of the professional with some of the ones that you take, just ad hoc, day in, day out of yourself and mix those up and that will help ⁓ save a little bit in your budget. You don't have to use 100 % professional imaging. You can mix it in with some of the things that you take yourself, some of the DIY stuff.
Dani | Mise En Plan (25:37)
That's a great tip. Thank you. Well, Vicki, how can people get in touch with you and learn more about the magic that you do behind the behind the camera to help them look amazing?
Vicki (25:41)
Yeah.
I'm on three platforms basically. My website is VSDphotography.com. Instagram is at VSDphotography and then I'm on LinkedIn. You can just search my name, Vicki Deesing and you should be able to find me there. Those are the platforms that I'm on.
Dani | Mise En Plan (26:15)
Amazing. And you're based in Alexandria and do you travel anywhere or do you stick around the DC area?
Vicki (26:21)
I can travel wherever a plane takes me, so I can do ⁓ any type of photography, branding, headshots, pets, anywhere in the world, but yes, mainly in the DMV area.
Dani | Mise En Plan (26:35)
Amazing. Well, it has been such a pleasure to have you. Thank you so much for sharing all of your insights on what we should be thinking about when it comes to brand photography, whether we're relatively new in business or we've been in business a long time. I think we all need to remember that those photos need to get retaken and that there's an amazing person out there to help you do it. ⁓ Thank you for joining me today and for
being an amazing person. I've had the privilege of working with Vicki. And so this is just such a nice full circle to be able to have her here now. Yeah, it's been fun. Come back anytime. One day I'm gonna have a real dinner and we're gonna have everyone bring those dishes that they say. We're gonna have a great chat being entrepreneurs. Awesome. Okay, well.
Vicki (27:09)
Thanks for inviting me on, I enjoyed this.
Dani | Mise En Plan (27:25)
Thank you everybody for tuning in and make sure you stick around and you come back next time. I will be sure to save you a seat.
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