Shrewsbury Brand Photographer | Personal Brand Photography for Writers & Creatives
There’s a particular kind of person who is very good at putting their own story into words and knows exactly how to make it resonate with other people.
Nicola Slawson is that person. She’s built a whole career on it, a newsletter, a book, years of personal essays that have clearly struck a nerve with a lot of millennial women who recognise themselves in her writing.
She had one photograph that her publicist kept sending out. One.
The Brief
Nicola is a freelance journalist, author, and creative writing teacher. Twelve years self-employed, a staff stint at HuffPost, a popular Substack newsletter called The Single Supplement, and a debut book, Single (I’ve read her book and it’s very good, definitely give it a read!).
She needed a library. Headshots. Wide shots for publications. Images for the website she’s building. Content for her newsletter and socials that actually looks like her life and her work rather than a stock photo of someone vaguely typing.
The Shoot
We spent the day at The Hive on Belmont in Shrewsbury, which was the perfect creative space for a shoot like this.
We worked through headshots and wider editorial portraits inside, the kind that sit well alongside a byline or a feature spread. Then out into the garden for something softer and more open. Nicola with her book. Nicola with coffee and a notebook the real textures of a creative life, made visible.
Bright colours, as requested. Real moments, as always.
The goal was a library she could actually use. Not one perfect photograph but a full range of images for every context, website header, newsletter, social media, the next publication that emails asking for something by Thursday.
“I’m obsessed with the results! They are brilliant. And Lisa really went above and beyond during the session. I would highly recommend to anyone needing some photos if they are freelance or have their own business.”— Nicola Slawson
Find Nicola
If you’re not already reading her, now is a good time to start.
- Book — Single, out now
- Substack — The Single Supplement
- Instagram — @nicola_slawson
Are You a Writer, Journalist, or Creative Who Needs Photos?
If you’re freelance, you are your brand. And if the only photograph your publicist has is three years old and taken at someone else’s book launch, it might be time to do something about that.
A brand session gives you a library you can reach for whenever you need it. The right headshot for a new byline. Something warm and real for your newsletter. An image that actually looks like who you are right now, doing the work you’re doing right now.
For writers, journalists, coaches, therapists, artists, anyone building something around themselves and their expertise.
Get in touch to talk about your session
The people who tell everyone else’s stories deserve to have theirs told too. 🤍
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