Case Study: Branding Photography in Leicestershire with Dr Folake Yusuff Property Photography
If you want to talk about someone who completely embodies the phrase “taking advantage of every minute”, you have to meet Dr Folake Yusuff. As a Leicester branding photographer, I get to work with some incredibly driven people, and she is an absolute powerhouse. She’s a Clinical Lead GP, an entrepreneur, a podcaster, a public speaker, and even a travel concierge!
We actually met at a ScreenPop business networking event in Loughborough that she hosts every month. After I did a presentation of my work there, we got chatting and she mentioned she was well overdue for some updated headshots to cover all the different plates she keeps spinning.
Sorting the Diary
When someone is juggling that many roles, the biggest hurdle is usually just finding the time! To make things as easy as possible with her packed diary, we decided the best plan was for me to bring the studio to her.
Setting the Scene
Whether I’m doing headshots in Loughborough or wider branding photography in Leicestershire, I find that shooting in a client’s own space is often the best way to get them relaxed before the camera even comes out.
I headed over to her house in Leicestershire and started setting up my usual lights and background. While I was getting the gear ready, we just had a good natter about her various businesses and her family. She had a really clear vision; she wanted to come across as a friendly, approachable, yet strong and independent woman. She also needed some suitably professional shots specifically for the GP side of her career.
Mixing It Up
We started off with the backdrop and a beautiful red outfit. She was a bit worried it was going to look too flashy, but I knew it was going to be perfect for capturing that vibrant, energy she wanted to put out there. I took a few test frames, gave her a bit of gentle guidance, and made sure to let her know when she was absolutely nailing it. Once she was feeling more at ease, we decided a change of scenery was in order.
We wandered upstairs to her office where she actually records her podcasts and got some fantastic shots of her in her element. She changed into a smart black, white, and navy blue outfit. After a bit of that, we headed back downstairs and used the kitchen countertop and the backdrop of her home to get some brilliant, relaxed lifestyle shots. We even chatted about a few photos from a previous shoot she’d liked, and we recreated them with my own little tweaks on the lighting and angles.
Then we headed back to the backdrop and got some lovely polished, professional GP shots.
We finished off the shoot mixing up the kitchen countertop and the backdrop to make sure she had a really good variety.
The Turnaround
I love keeping the momentum going after a great shoot, so I got my head down that evening and the next day to get the editing sorted. I fired them over to her and almost straight away got a WhatsApp ping: “Hi Chris. Just seen your email. That’s super quick!”
Later that day, she replied to the email with exactly what a photographer loves to hear: “They are lovely. I love the ones in the red outfit. I thought it would be too flashy but it’s come out quite well. I’ll take them all!” She’s now got a massive bank of images ready to go for LinkedIn, her social media, speaker profiles, and podcast promos. When she popped one up as her new profile photo recently, she received some great feedback from her friends and business contacts. I am absolutely chuffed with how these turned out, and it was a real pleasure working with someone so driven!
