Media Mavens: In conversation with Bruna
With an eye for design, Bruna realized that her photography could reach across more than one industry. Starting with wedding photography, then moving into portraits - focusing on maternity and boudoir, she realized she could go further and entered personal branding and product photography. She uses her social media as a portfolio but also as a way to connect with future and current clients, as well as with the photography community. Working with Bruna means knowing you get an artistic lens mixed with a professional experience, each and every time. So how do you begin to gain the trust of people who become long-term clients and referrers? The same place that is made for showing off your photos: Instagram.
We chatted with Bruna about how she utilizes her social media to gain clients, keep connected with her community and feel supported, and what tips she has for others working to create a beautiful online portfolio.
Cleo: Since Instagram acts as a secondary portfolio to you, how have you decided to set up your accounts so that it shows the different areas of your work?
Bruna: Social media has always been a challenge for me but I have now found a method that I feel works well! I started out by posting all my work in one account, @brunarico but I found it all got too mixed together: old photoshoots, personal photos (of my cat mainly!), personal branding, maternity, boudoir, contemporary portraits. My portraits and maternity photography leans towards a fine art style, while my personal branding is more “true to tone.” While this diversity in my work was good for my business I had to put myself in the shoes of a potential client and could see how confusing this seems.
I decided to clean up my main account and only keep contemporary portraits, maternity, and some boudoir shots (as I move towards branding I still enjoy those photoshoots!). I started keeping my personal branding and product work on a second account called @torontopersonalbranding and noticed that more potential clients started popping up through social media.
Cleo: You get some lovely comments from people on the amazing work that you do - how do you find the support from the community you’ve built online?
Bruna: Seeing the way people take the time to stop scrolling and post a comment on one of my photos really helps keep me motivated. I cherish the community around me and can see how important it is in the day-to-day of your work, especially in an industry where you are personally responsible for everything that you do: what work you bring in, how it goes, and how you feel about it. The support I feel is everything.
Cleo: What do you find works best on your social media channels to engage your audience and of course, sell your products and services?
Bruna: I’ve noticed lately how showing the behind-the-scenes on my Reels has upped the engagement on my social media channels. This is a great way for people to see how I work with my clients. I find people also like when I share tips on how to pose or give suggestions of the types of photos that work best for various professions. Recently I posted a reel explaining how leaving negative space in photos is important for personal branding shoots. When I had discovery calls with clients a few people mentioned wanting to do photos like the ones they had seen!
Cleo: What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to social media?
Bruna: I find there is a lot of pressure on social media to try something new all the time. Every week there is something new popping up on my feed about how to get more engagement or how the algorithm is changing, and it stresses me out. I post authentically whenever I can - I know this is not ideal, but it is what I can do and it works for me.
*Note: we’ll be releasing tips on how to show up on social media, and keep up with updates later this month, follow @cleo.social to stay up to date.
Cleo: What advice would you give to a fledgling photographer about growing their social media accounts?
Bruna: Only post your best work. Remember that you’re putting your work out there as your portfolio to get people interested in working with you - if you are unsure about something, don’t post it. Be authentic and honest. Also, show up once in a while in your stories! It’s called social media, so be social :)
Cleo: And a fun one to finish off, what’s your favourite way to take a break from work!?
Bruna: Because I spend a lot of time in front of the computer, when I take a break I try to stretch, do some weird dance moves and have something to drink - usually water, but don’t blame me if I have a glass of wine on a Friday afternoon!