Presentation Training Personal Branding Photography Case Study with Simon Raybould
A case study this week featuring Presentation Trainer and Author Simon Raybould.
This is a great example of pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. Simon was very upfront with me about how much is HATED the idea of being photographed for an updated set of Personal Branding Photographs. Even though Simon is a PRO at commanding a stage in front of hundreds and thousands of people, he is equally aware of what scares him.
If the idea of showing up more as a Personal Brand fills you with dread then keep on reading.
About This Presentation Training Personal Branding Photography Case Study
Meet Simon Raybould – Presentation Trainer & Author
Simon Raybould is known as THE Presentation Genius. Why? It’s for a couple of reasons really. The first, he wrote the book on it:
The second is that he lives and breathes presentations and speaking coaching.
Dr Simon Raybould
I first time I met him in the flesh, was at the PSA (Professional Speaking Association). Worryingly, I was doing a professional photography presentation on headshots there and I knew that he was a bit of a stickler for marking the visitors with his reputable barometer on public speaking. Kind of a double-edged sword isn’t it? Great for the feedback, but knee-knockingly scary at the same time.
Presentation Training Personal Branding Photography Planning
Simon was slow and steady in booking his shoot. From experience in working with many people who admittedly HATE the idea of being in front of the camera on a full shoot day, I am calm and patient. It takes some people a long time – just as it would likely take me DAYS to shuffle along a diving board before springing into the water all the way down there.
Simon Raybould’s Personality
From the unique and meandering consultancy that was happening with Simon’s Personal Brand Photography planning over the months I’ve just described to you, I had already formulated a good idea of his true nature and personality. When it came to planning the professional photography side of things, it was key for me to match all of that along with Simons’s key objectives. They were incredibly direct and succinct:
3 Clear Personal Brand Values
- Practical – His methods are always practical, he is a doer, as well as a thinker.
- Proven – No BS. Whilst science-based, it’s not too “science-y”.
- Prophetic – He has a LOT of knowledge to back up his style of training and coaching.
Having these 3 very clear and succinct brand values gave me some precise grounding. We were then able to pull out some more practical plans for shooting these concepts. I was able to challenge Simon’s reluctance to get into the nitty-gritty of the actual shoot arrangements. He made it very clear he was stalling on this because he did not like having his pictures taken.
Location Scouting Hurdles
In the run-up to the shoot, I had a venue in mind and I struggled to get it confirmed as perfectly as I wanted to. It would make me a terrible Professional Photographer if I were to name and shame the venue involved in this process, but I still want to tell you that after about two days of scouting, persuasive phone calls and endless emails with Press Officers and their Superiors, it all died on the vine.
Hey, it happens sometimes.
Nevertheless, my trusty contact list and a few more phone calls paid off. Having explained my bind, and being let down, I was able to secure some ultra-exclusive access to an INCREDIBLE venue for Simon’s Shoot.
Newcastle City Library
I met John Musham when co-working at the library in 2016. Having explained to him the details of my venue situation, and the type of shoot I had in mind, he simply said,
“Laura… Leave this with me”
I gave Simon a rough overview of where we would be going “Libraries n books n stuff…… to your happy place”. His face lit up with joy when he found out that we were going to be accessing the vaults and archives behind the library’s secret walls.
Huge thanks to John and the team at Newcastle City Library for welcoming us to the library and for saving the day. If you would like to find out about the extensive work that the City Library does for regional small businesses you can follow this link here:
The Art of Distraction
Simon was filled with (natural) glee at being granted ultra-exclusive access to the library archives.
Simon literally jumped up and down at finding map records from hundreds of years ago.
Central Arcade & Tyneside Coffee Rooms
After getting a couple of more formal shots of Simon at Newcastle Central Arcade (See the Blog Feature Header Image), I told him that we would head for a cuppa to shoot his testimonial video. That was a complete lie, I wanted to get a couple more shots of him. This is one of my absolute favourites from the session.
Distractions (Again)
Simon was completely relaxed and mid-writing some fake notes that I had him sketching out as I’d told him I was testing the balance of the camera. By this point, he was a complete pro-poser and unaware of it.
Simon Raybould’s Edit
Simon and I met online to narrow down his selection of images from his private online gallery to a final collection.
He’d had a few trusted colleagues visit the gallery and pick out their favourites, so it was fun to compare which images they had chosen to each other and discuss why that might be.
Methodical
We then cross-referenced this back to our original brief and those uber-succinct branding buzzwords that Simon had as the foundation of the shoot in the first place.
Scientific and formulaic? You Betcha!
The Retouch
Retouching on this collection was hugely tonal in focus. Given that we spent a lot of time capturing professional photography under fluorescent lighting in a library archive, it took a while to ensure that these images balanced (within reason) with the images we shot outside in the much more natural lighting at Newcastle’s Central Arcade.
Reflecting On Simon’s Presentation Training Personal Branding Photography Case Study
Simon Raybould obtained a new collection of Personal Branding Photography that was infused with his personality.
He was also able to step outside of his comfort zone and face the resistance he had about being on a shoot day in a public setting. I’m excited to see how his in-person and online audiences react.
