Meet Sarah (and Henry, obviously)
Meet Sarah Whigham of Whigham Exec Solutions, who helps busy entrepreneurs and business owners get their time, inboxes, and sanity back.
She’s the person you call when the spinning plates are about to crash – although, to be fair, by the time lots of people call her, there are shards of crockery everywhere. She’s the one who steps in, picks them up, glues them back together again (or finds the perfect replacement), usually before you’ve even noticed what’s gone wrong, and sorts the chaos, quietly getting everything running like clockwork again.
The moment I found out Sarah had a black Labrador called Henry, I knew she was my kind of client. I’ve got a black Lab too, and I’m unashamedly besotted with him. There’s just something about fellow Labrador people – we speak the same language: dog hair on the furniture, soulful eyes, absolutely no concept of personal space. Labs aren’t even dogs, really ... They’re life support systems for a stomach. But we love them anyway. And anyone who chooses life with one is clearly a person of excellent judgement – exactly the kind of person I want in front of my camera!
Brand photography isn’t just a camera and crossed fingers
People assume brand photography begins when I lift the camera and ends when I hand over a gallery of pretty pictures. Ha ha, nope. In reality, that’s just the middle bit.
My process starts long before shoot day – and for many clients, it carries on afterwards too, helping them figure out how to actually use their photos so they’re not just sitting in a folder gathering digital dust.
Every client fills in a detailed questionnaire before we work together. Not a quick tick-box exercise, but a proper deep dive into their business, their clients, and why people rely on them. When Sarah’s landed in my inbox, I knew immediately what kind of story we’d be telling.
Smart, ambitious clients hanging on by a thread. An inbox plotting a rebellion. Too many spinning plates, not enough hands to stop them falling. People just one badly timed email away from tears. And there’s Sarah, the calm in the middle of it all – the person who turns impending chaos into a functioning business, quietly, efficiently, without needing a standing ovation for doing it.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: when your entire business is you, staying invisible is the fastest way to stay overlooked. Stock photos and blurry selfies don’t exactly scream “trust me with your calendar and your clients”. That’s why my shoots don’t start with “stand there and look natural”. They start with understanding what you do and what your clients need to feel the moment they find you online.
How we turned Sarah’s story into scroll-stopping photos
A great brand shoot doesn’t happen by chance. It’s not about crossing your fingers, turning up with a camera and hoping something good falls out of the lens. There’s a process – and Sarah’s shoot is a good example of how I work from start to finish.
1
The questionnaire that tells me everything (without you saying “cheese”)
Before I pick up a camera, I need to understand you and your business properly. My brand questionnaire digs far deeper than “what colours do you like?” or “do you prefer inside or outside shots?”. It’s where I learn about the people you want to work with, what keeps them up at night, and how you step in to make life easier for them.
Sarah’s answers painted a crystal-clear picture: ambitious clients teetering on the edge of burnout, inboxes plotting mutiny, too many plates spinning and not enough hands to catch them. It also showed me how she works – calmly, efficiently, with the kind of attention to detail that makes her clients wonder how they ever managed without her.
All of that fed into the strategy behind the shoot. This is where I start mapping out the story your photos will tell – choosing scenes and moments that will resonate with your clients long before they’ve even read a word on your website.
2
Turning answers into a shoot plan (tea and dog bribery included)
Next, we got on a call and dug into her questionnaire answers properly – this is where ideas start turning into a real plan. We looked at the story we wanted to tell and how to bring it to life in a way that would speak directly to her ideal clients.
We mapped out which parts of her day we needed to show, what she’d wear for each scene, the right locations for her, and the props that would say, “yes, this woman knows what she’s doing.” We talked through those little details that make all the difference – the notebook on the table, the tea in hand, Henry wandering about on the scrounge for food – because those are the things that help potential clients picture what it’s like to work with Sarah and, vitally, let them relate to her on a personal level.
By the end of our call, I already had a clear vision of how the shoot would flow. The bones of a strong shot list were in place in my head, ready for me to shape into a detailed shoot plan that would make sure every image had purpose, not just presence.
3
Shoot day magic: real moments, no stiff poses
This is where all the strategy meets real life. A brand photo shoot isn’t about standing in front of a camera and hoping for magic – it’s about me guiding someone through a series of moments and set-ups that show exactly why their clients need them.
On Sarah’s shoot day, I directed gently but purposefully. (Some may say I even verge on bossy at times – but in fairness, so would anyone trying to stop a Labrador stealing props mid-shot!) Small adjustments to posture, a quick tilt of the screen for better light, a suggestion to shift closer to the counter – all designed to make the images feel natural while still hitting the mark visually. There were no stiff poses, no awkward “say cheese” moments, just Sarah doing what she does best and enjoys, while I made sure every frame said what it had to for her.
We built scenes that told her story in full: the calm desk setup where she handles the moving parts of her clients’ businesses, moments of focus during a Teams call, the tea breaks and kitchen time, having a seat with a book, and a conversation with Henry. Each shot was intentional, chosen because it helps her ideal clients see themselves in the picture – breathing more easily, knowing they’ve found someone who can take the weight off their shoulders.
By the end of the shoot, we’d created a gallery that wasn’t just a collection of “nice” photos. It was a visual narrative designed to help her sell long before she ever speaks to a new client.
4
The edit: cutting the clutter, keeping the gold
Once the shoot’s over, my work isn’t. I carefully cull the images, selecting the strongest ones that tell your story clearly and consistently. Too many photos, or the wrong ones, can dilute your message and make it harder for clients to understand what you offer. That’s why you get a strategically curated collection, not just random shots that look artistic and pretty. Find out why this is so crucial in my blog post on curated brand photo collections.
I then carefully edit and deliver every chosen image so they're ready to be put to work straight away. And for clients who want an extra level of support, I offer guidance on how to use the images effectively, from where to put each one on your website to how to use them in social posts.
Sarah's photos now clock in and get on with it
Sarah’s clients don’t hire her because she looks professional in a white shirt. They hire her because she has the brain of a military strategist and the calm of a yoga teacher. That belief – that she can rescue their schedules and restore order – starts with what they see. Clean, composed images. Relaxed body language. Little moments that say “this is someone you can hand the reins to without anxiety”.
Now, her brand photos do some of that marketing work for her. They show the person behind the service: focused, capable, someone you’d trust to rescue your calendar and stop your inbox from plotting against you. They show a workspace that looks like it actually works. They show why clients should choose her, without Sarah having to spell it out in every conversation.
Why I recommend Whigham Exec Solutions
Spending time photographing Sarah really opened my eyes as to what a skilled executive assistant can – and should – do. She doesn’t just manage tasks; she transforms the way her clients work and breathe. Order, calm and space to think again – that’s what she gives them. The level of foresight she has – spotting problems before they even have a chance to surface – is something too many business owners never get to grips with. She steps in, sees ten moves ahead, and makes order appear out of what was complete chaos five minutes ago.
So if you’re one of those overwhelmed business owners whose inbox feels like a ticking time bomb or a to-do list that’s quietly plotting your demise, I can wholeheartedly recommend getting in touch with Whigham Exec Solutions. Having Sarah on your team won't just be helpful – you'll wonder how you ever coped without her.
It's time your photos worked as hard as you do
Most of my clients are brilliant at what they do – but you wouldn’t know it from the photos they’ve been using. Old corporate headshots that make them look like they’re apologising for jamming the printer. Cropped wedding guest photos posing as “professional”. Or worse – a faceless website that could belong to absolutely anyone.
Sarah started out in that same boat. Years of experience, a reputation for making other people’s businesses run like clockwork – but no images to show it. Potential clients had to take it on trust that she could rescue their inbox from plotting against them.
Now? Her brand photos do some of that talking for her. They show a capable, focused human being you’d happily hand the reins to. A workspace that actually looks like it gets things done. A business that feels like a safe pair of hands.
If you’re still trying to build your business behind out-of-date, vague, or non-existent photos, you’re making it harder than it needs to be. Brand photography isn’t about vanity or staged smiles – it’s about letting people see the truth of what you do best, before you’ve even spoken to them.
That’s what I help my clients create: a bank of images that quietly get on with the job of making you visible and bookable. And for clients who choose my signature Soar package, I don’t just hand over a gallery and wave cheerio – we work together to make sure those images actually earn their keep across your website, socials, proposals and more.
If that’s what you need, let’s have a friendly, no-pressure chat about how I can help. Or, if you’re curious about how it all works, start by reading my Ultimate Guide to Brand Photography and Business Headshots in Scotland. Your expertise deserves to be seen – get in touch with me and let’s make that happen.
