Personal branding photography: Interview with Čedna Todorović.

By Slavica Zlatar-Banika

Highlights:

Q & A with photographer, Čedna Todorović
→ Why is personal branding essential?
→ Not your average headshot.
→ The creative process.
→ Creative challenges.
→ Making the brand shine through.
→ Collaborating with graphic designers.
→ Photography trends and AI.
→ Brand success stories.
→ Images that resonate.
→ How to prepare.

Conclusion.

Recently, I was blown away by personal branding photos posted by Calgary-based photographer Čedna Todorović. I felt like getting on a flight to Calgary to get a set for myself.

Čedna’s (pronounced ‘Che-dna’) focus is on personal branding photography. This takes the concept of headshots to another level.

Unlike traditional headshots, her approach involves a fully customized branding session, including professional hair and makeup, session planning and design, wardrobe consultation, creative direction and in-person image reveal.

This all works to bring out — the brand of you — your personality, style, what’s important to you and your brand message.

Before I head out to Calgary, and — in keeping with my philosophy of learning from those I admire — I had to interview her and find out more.

Q1. Why is personal branding essential?

We live in an increasingly visual world with overwhelming content everywhere.

Our collective attention spans are shrinking. People are more engaged with 10-second video clips than with reading a 2-minute article. In a market saturated with content, it’s more important than ever to stand out from the masses and capture attention and interest quickly and meaningfully.

We want everything quickly, to know as much as possible in the least amount of time possible, and seek small, digestible bites even if they don’t adequately paint the entire picture.

Research shows that it takes just 7 seconds for someone to have an impression and form an opinion of you and your business/website.

It’s critical to make that first impression quickly and to engage the viewer enough to ignite curiosity for them to want to learn more about you and your services.

LinkedIn reveals that profiles with professional headshots receive 14 times more views than those without. (Source: LinkedIn Blog)

Social Media Today reports that posts with images receive 650% higher engagement than text-only posts. Professional photos can enhance the visual appeal of your social media presence, contributing to increased engagement. (Source: Social Media Today)

There is a significant difference in portraying professionalism, credibility, and competence between a selfie against a house wall vs. professional branding photography.

Elevating your visual presence and investing in yourself positions you as an expert others want to invest in.

It also pays dividends through increased trust, opportunities and credibility.

Q2. How do you capture the essence of an individual’s brand through photography?

There are many talented photographers out there.

I think that most things, such as technical competence, equipment, stylistic choices, offerings, systems, and approaches, can be replicated and recycled in the market among creatives, and it often is.

One thing that cannot be copied or replicated is one’s creative vision, unique voice, service and ability to develop true client relationships.

When I meet people, what I create with them is my interpretation of what they have shared and what we have collaboratively planned together.

My interpretation and creative vision is a collection of my experiences, perceptions, ideas and how I experience that individual/business.

Other key aspects are genuine connection and service — when you can build trust with clients, that is the most critical foundation that enables me to capture the essence of their brand and, ultimately, them as a person.

I work diligently to be mindful of the importance of building genuine relationships, creating value, and offering to support businesses and individuals where possible. I believe that the energy we put out there and how we relate to others comes back to us, and I lead with service in everything I do.

Q3. Walk us through your creative process.

My intake process is quite detailed and involved.

When someone is interested in my services or wants more information, I invite them to schedule a discovery call.

I don’t find it effective or valuable to keep exchanging information over email or social media without understanding what someone is looking for, who they are or if I can serve them.

This call allows me to connect with people meaningfully, find out about them, their goals, needs, timelines, expectations, and deliverables, and answer all their questions effectively and promptly.

If we both determine that we are a good fit for each other, a session is secured with payment of a session fee.

After the booking is confirmed, I send out a detailed questionnaire about all the important elements and aspects of their brand and what they wish to capture.

Before the photo session, we sit in person for a detailed consultation/planning session. We plan and strategize the details, styling, message, location/logistics, colours, and other important elements to ensure we achieve our vision and goals.

I spend several hours getting to know my clients before they ever come to the studio for their photo session, and by that point, we feel like old friends.

I am deliberate in creating an environment where people feel comfortable, valued, heard and respected.

Q4. What are some creative challenges you face?

Often, the challenge can be the logistics of finding or securing external locations if someone is looking for an environmental-style branding session vs. a studio one. Finding the right spaces that aren’t generic and aligned with the client’s vision and profession/brand can be time-consuming and challenging.

Sometimes, that challenge is that the client is not 100% confident in communicating the key aspects of their brand or preferences and desired outcome, and more of that responsibility, direction, and vision falls on me. Ensuring alignment of wants/goals can be tricky because I am trying to fill in certain gaps, and/or the client must trust me immensely to make those decisions for them.

I think it’s also always a unique challenge to create images that stand out in nuanced ways and are not the cliche stock-type images that many have come to expect and associate with branding photography.

Q5. How do you ensure the client’s personal brand shines through?

In the last few years, there has been a great emphasis on the ‘brand’ aspect and what it means.

To me, the focus is always on the individual(s) behind the business because they are ultimately the brand. They are the soul, energy and driving force behind their businesses.

I tackle challenges by collaborating, documenting preferences, and communicating clearly and often in various formats.

Q6. How can a graphic designer collaborate with a personal branding photographer to elevate the client’s brand experience?

Graphic designers bring a different skill set and expertise that aligns and integrates well with branding photography.

They can offer valuable advice on optimizing colours, styling, and design for a cohesive final output.

They also can provide design services and templates for marketing content for clients — that incorporate their new images.

Q7. What’s your view of the latest photography trends and technology?

I have never followed or taken a keen interest in trends. I try not to be influenced too much by other photographers’ work.

I want to be creating from a place true to my style and my client’s preferences.

I always want to create from a place that feels true to me, my style, and my clients’ wants. I think trends come and go, and often, what was popular just a year ago is often dated today.

Capturing someone truthfully and in a way that aligns with who they are and what they represent has a more enduring power than anything made famous by the masses.

The advancement of AI is a major disruptor, and there is much debate and differing views on its benefits or disadvantages.

Although powerful on certain fronts, I still believe that AI cannot replace human connection, service, personalization and meaningful experiences that make us feel something.

Q8. Can you share a memorable experience in which your photography significantly contributed to a client’s success?

In my portrait business, there are many heartfelt stories of how going through a portrait session with me has changed people’s perceptions of themselves.

Using photography as an art form that has the power to inspire people to embrace their individuality, story, and potential is the most rewarding part of what I do.

Most of those stories can be read on my website.

Q9. What makes your images resonate with the audience and create lasting impressions?

My clients often tell me that the dynamic element, expressiveness, and soulfulness they see in my images attract them to my work. They say they often feel curious to know more about the person or if there is something that they find emotive about it. My primary focus is on the individual before me and striving to bring out aspects of their character, personality, strengths, and energy.

I look for unguarded moments and nuances that can't often be extracted by simply telling someone to just mechanically sit a certain way, smile, etc. It has to be organic and genuine.

My lighting, framing, direction, styling guidance, editing, and post-processing also contribute to my style.

Hopefully, when all these elements come together, something resonates with people and leaves an impact.

Q10. What tips would you give people looking to invest in personal branding photography?

Tip 1. Portfolio.
Choose a photographer whose experience, style, personality, and approach align with your vision and values.

Review the photographer’s portfolio, look for their use of lighting, how convincing people’s expressions are or how relatable the subjects feel, how natural are their body language and poses, their editing and skin tones/texture.

Assess the use of props and location preferences (studio vs. outdoor sessions).

Tip 2. Communication.
Prioritize professionalism and clear communication throughout the process.

Understand how to brand, what you wish to achieve from the session and what deliverables you want.

Tip 3. Understanding the process.
Ensure a clear understanding of the photographer’s process, including your role, inputs required from you, and expected outcomes/deliverables. Make sure you understand and respect the set timelines to allow the photographer to serve you in the best possible way.

Tip 4. Client preparation.
Clearly define your brand identity, values, goals, and intended use for the photographs.

Bring visuals for inspiration, and be prepared to discuss ideas, locations, and props. Select a wardrobe that aligns with your brand and the desired image.

Tip 5. Collaboration.
Actively engage and collaborate with the photographer throughout the process.

Trust their expertise while ensuring your specific requirements are understood and addressed.

Personal branding photography goes beyond standard headshots. It allows for a more diverse range of images which can be used for multiple purposes.

— Čedna Todorović, Owner / Photographer, Cedna Portrait Stories

Conclusion.

Whether we actively cultivate one or not — we all have a personal brand.

Like any brand, a personal brand should reveal our true character, values and essence.

It is how people get to know us. It is how they learn to connect and interact with us.

But beyond that, personal branding goes much deeper.

It helps clarify who we are — to ourselves. It reveals our aspirations — how we want to be.

Visualizing yourself this way is powerful. Think about it. If you don’t know where you want to go, you can’t get there.

If you do, it is just a matter of working out the details.

In my case, I hope to be booking that flight to Calgary soon.

Happy branding.