Recently I did something very indulgent and narcissistic. I had a personal branding photoshoot. Eighty photos of just me, by myself, posing, in a field and on a hill.

I recommend this to everyone, no matter what stage of your life you are in.

We seem to talk about our own accomplishments when we are asked in an uncomfortable setting, this is often in an interview or at an alcoholics anonymous meeting or in therapy or when we must introduce ourselves at a work conference. This is not in any order, and I do not recommend doing all these things in one day.

“Hello, I am Melissa, and I am a lunatic, and this is my fun fact” – queue silence.

We should however be celebrating ourselves as unique individuals every day and showcasing who we are, celebrating our successes and our losses and our flaws, and our wins and our faces. Nobody has one face, and everyone has a favorite side of their face. Mine is the left.

I was at a conference last week and there was such a strong emphasis and focus on AI, it left me feeling quite depressed at the end of the day. If AI is going to “do for us” so to speak, then what do we have to offer as first-time humans? I think exactly that, first time human-ness. Raw, authentic, self-indulgent, honest and open humanness. 

A personal brand is your superpower, a personal brand can only be yours, uniquely yours and everyone wants to see it. We want to see it on mountain tops, in your kitchen and in your yoga pants. The face of you is who will be remembered and that face of you is your brand.

Embrace it, indulge it and have fun with it. Your personal brand is your chocolate body paint.

Loreal was not wrong.

My friend and incredibly talented photographer Kelly Harmsen did my photoshoot. She makes the time feel like it is completely yours and she is nothing but a lens on foot, she cares deeply about bringing out you. Her pricing is incredibly reasonable too and she can remove double chins.

If you would like to book a shoot with her, please get in touch. https://everlyphotography.co.uk/services-2/personal-branding/

And of course, you have only read this far and “indulged me” so that I can share some of these photos with you, so here are just a few of my favorites. Please let me know what you think, and if you know me, do you think they encompass me!? I would love to hear your thoughts.