As a small business owner, I understand that you might not have a massive budget set aside to put back into your business. I also know though, that investing in your own business is really important, whatever stage you are at. So from the get-go of setting up Self Made and Seen, I knew I wanted to have brand photo packages available for businesses of all budgets and at all stages.

So I decided to offer ‘Mini Branding Portrait Sessions’ at a fraction of the price of my larger packages, with the aim that I could help even more business owners and entrepreneurs stand out and be seen, through beautiful brand images.

Earlier this month I ran my first round of Mini Sessions across 3 days in 3 London locations. I got to work with 6 amazing entrepreneurs and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them all, their businesses, and of course creating their new brand portraits!

So, let me introduce my mini session clients…

On my first day of mini sessions, I was shooting in a nice quiet area of Shoreditch.

First up was Naomi Huynh who is a registered nutritional therapist specialising in IBS & SIBO. When chatting with Naomi during her shoot we found out, completely by coincidence that we grew up in the same area and even went to the same sixth form just a few years apart! Such a small world! Naomi has just set up her business website and is excited to use her new brand images on it. You can find out more about Naomi & her business Nutrify Health here www.nutrifyhealth.co.uk and here @sibo.nutritionist.

On my second day of mini sessions I was shooting in colourful Spitalfields.

First, I shot with Freja Smith who is a freelance graphic designer, web designer and developer. Freja likes to work with artists and small businesses to bring their personal aesthetic and branding to life. It happened to be Freja’s birthday the day we shot together so we made sure to have some extra fun! Freja chose the Spitalfields location, as she wanted some colourful portraits to match her design style. She is looking forward to having a professional portrait to use on her linkedin profile and website. You can find out more about Freja and her business Cascading Styles here www.cascading-styles.com and here @cascading.styles.

I also shot with Ceylan Mustafa who is a private speech and language therapist working in Enfield. She works with children of all ages (and their parents) to develop their communication skills and provides assessments and therapy for them on a regular basis, for as long as they need. As Ceylan works with kids she wanted some extra fun shots, so she brought along her bubble wand (which she uses during her therapy sessions) and we got some amazing bubble photos too! Ceylan is fed up of using phone photos for her advertisements and social posts and is ready to make an impact with her new professional portraits. You can find out more about Ceylan and her business Play On Words Speech and Language Therapy here @pow.speechtherapy.

And on my final day of mini sessions I was shooting at Barbican.

This day I go to work with Amanda Sefton, who offers wine tastings and teaches women all about wine. Amanda doesn’t do “pomp or pretence” when it comes to wine, she likes to make it fun and help women find wine they really like. You can find more about Amanda and her business Sip Sip Wine here www.sipsipwine.com and here @socialsipclub.

I also shot with Ramona Tipnis, who is a professional trustee for pension schemes. Ramona wanted a professional and welcoming head shot to use on the website of Capital Cranfield, who she consults for. In her spare time, Ramona is also an aspiring jeweller. She enjoys creating beautiful hand-crafted sterling silver jewellery. You can find out more about Ramona here capitalcranfield.com and here @ramonatipnisjewellery.

I also got to work with Julie Gilby at all three locations! Julie is an actor who works on stage, screen, and voiceover. She loves to play roles that really connect with the audience and make them feel something. Julie wanted some portraits to use on her website and social platforms that show off her “real life” personality, as alternatives to her actor headshots which she uses for castings (which I previously shot via my other photography business.) You can find out more about Julie at www.juliegilby.com and @julie.gilby.

I had such a lovely time working with these inspiring, entrepreneurial women. Part of what I love about being a personal brand photographer is that I get to meet other small business owners and entrepreneurs and build relationships with them. I can’t wait to see how these lovely ladies use their new brand portraits and to watch their businesses grow!

My next round of mini branding portrait sessions will most likely take place next spring, so keep your eye on my social accounts for when I open up more sessions!