our photos are probably great. Your gear is probably better than mine. But if you’re wondering why bookings feel slow, or why inquiries ghost after the first email, it’s probably not your aperture. It’s your voice. The one you use online. The one that’s supposed to make people trust you enough to spend thousands of dollars but instead sounds like it was written by someone speedrunning a personality quiz.
Let’s be clear: in today’s industry, a strong brand voice for photographers is no longer optional. It’s one of the few things you have full control over, and it’s one of the first things potential clients notice, whether they realize it or not. Your captions, your bios, your homepage, your emails… they’re either making people lean in or scroll away.
Unfortunately, most photographers sound like they copied the same Pinterest board of “authentic storytelling, fueled by caffeine, chasing golden light.” Which tells me nothing other than the fact that you’ve been on Instagram long enough to know how to mimic the aesthetic. But mimicking isn’t branding. Mimicking is what AI does when it doesn’t know who you are.
And if you don’t know who you are? Your clients won’t either.
You don’t need to be a copywriter. You don’t need to read Building a StoryBrand (though it really is a good one to read). But you do need to stop writing like a professional greeting card and start writing like a human. One with a pulse, a style, and maybe even a sense of humor. Because in this economy, no one’s paying four figures to hire someone they can’t connect with.
So let’s talk about what’s really costing you clients—and how to fix it.
A forgettable tone of voice is the fastest way to blend in. And blending in, as you may have noticed, is not great for conversion rates. Strong branding is memorable. It creates a feeling. A spark. That gut-level moment when a potential client reads something on your site and thinks, “Oh. This person gets it.” That’s what you’re going for. Not polite. Not professional. Not polished to the point of being invisible. Clear. Compelling. You.
Here’s a real-world example. Let’s say I’m looking for a portrait photographer and I land on your website. If the first thing I read is, “Hi! I’m so glad you’re here. I’m a natural light photographer passionate about capturing memories that last a lifetime,” I’m out. Not because that’s bad, but because that sentence could belong to literally anyone. It gives me no anchor. No sense of who you are, what you care about, or how you’ll make my experience different.
Now let’s say I land on a different site. One that says, “I photograph real people. You don’t need to know how to pose. You don’t need to pretend your kids like each other. I’ll guide you through it, we’ll laugh at the chaos, and in the end, you’ll have photos that look like you, not an influencer version of your family.” That hits different, doesn’t it?
Same service. Different voice. One blends in. The other stands out.
When you get your brand voice right, everything else starts falling into place. Your messaging becomes clearer. Your copy gets easier to write. Your ideal clients show up more frequently, and when they do, they already feel like they know you. That familiarity builds trust. And trust is what closes the sale, not just good photos.
One of the biggest mistakes I see is photographers who hide behind vague language. We’re so worried about turning someone off that we forget to turn anyone on. But here’s the truth: clarity repels the wrong clients, and that’s a feature, not a flaw. Your website should turn people away. It should say, without apology, “This is who I am, and this is who I serve.” If someone bounces because your vibe isn’t their vibe? Perfect. That’s the whole point of a photography brand identity.
When your voice is strong, you become easier to trust. You feel more credible, more memorable, and yes, more expensive. The copy on your homepage, your About page, your Instagram captions—it’s all doing sales work before you ever get on a call. And if it’s doing its job well, it’s selling the experience of working with you, not just the output of a shoot.
Now, let’s talk about the dreaded About page—the place where most photographers forget how to speak like people. You’ve seen it. You’ve probably written it. The usual suspects: lover of light, addicted to coffee, obsessed with storytelling. That’s not a biography. That’s a word salad with balsamic jargon. Your About page should say who you are, what you shoot, and why it matters, but in a way that sounds like you’d actually say it out loud.
If you’re sarcastic in real life, write that way. If you’re mellow and introspective, lean into it. But for the love of clarity, stop writing as if a wedding planner and a yoga studio collaborated on your personality.
Here’s a trick I use when helping clients define their brand voice: I ask, “What would your best friend say about you after two drinks?” That’s the version of you people connect with. Not the polite, over-edited, semi-corporate version you think you’re supposed to present. Let that version go. It’s not helping you.
Now, what about social media? This is where tone really gets tested. If your captions are just photos of beautiful work followed by “still dreaming of this day,” or “can’t wait to share more from this set,” congrats, you’ve officially said nothing. A great caption adds context, reveals personality, and builds trust, even if it’s short. In fact, sometimes especially if it’s short.
Don’t be afraid to tell people how the shoot went. What challenges you solved. What made the client laugh. What your thought process was behind the setup. That’s what builds a connection. That’s what shows me there’s more to you than just a gallery of nice images.
And for those of you still thinking, “But I’m not funny”—good. You don’t have to be. You just have to be honest. If you’re warm and kind, write like it. If you’re high-energy and intense, write like it. Whatever your tone is, the only rule is: let people feel it.
Photography marketing is hard enough. Don’t make it harder by hiding behind vague copy and placeholder bios. Your work already has a voice. Your job is to match it with words that sound like they came from the same person who holds the camera.
Because if your photos are dialed in but your copy is dialing it in, you’re leaving money on the table. Clients don’t just want pretty. They want personality. They want professionalism that doesn’t sound like it was assembled by a committee. And they want to know, before they ever book, that you’re the right person for them.
So read your website out loud. If it doesn’t sound like you, or worse, if it sounds like everyone else, rewrite it. If your Instagram captions are just safe little puff pieces, change your tone. And if you’re still using the word “authentic” unironically, well… I need you to think real hard about that one.
The photographers who win aren’t always the loudest. They’re the ones who speak the clearest. The ones who know who they are, say it without apology, and attract clients who actually value that. Your tone of voice isn’t decoration. It’s direction. It’s clarity. And it might just be the reason someone decides to book you—or bounce to someone who finally sounds like they know what they’re doing.