New Jersey Branding Photography: Patrick McKeon of Mission20
One of the first questions I ask my clients during our initial planning session is, “What does your business look like a year from now?”
I know, it’s one of the most insanely cliché questions that we’ve all been asked by every business coach we’ve worked with. But for photography, it holds a little more weight than some woo version of manifestation. Because I’m not just looking to know what your hopes and dreams are — there’s a method to the madness.
My goal is to find out who exactly you want to be working with in the future. Where do you plan on working with them? Will your meetings with clients be via Zoom or will they be in person? If it’s the latter, where will you be taking those meetings? At home? At coffeeshops? Your city’s version of downtown?
For executive coach Patrick McKeon the answer seemed easy enough. As a former asset manager of a hedge fund in New York City who was now helping others along their career paths in the financial industry, we originally planned to take his photos in the Big Apple with a focus in the Financial District. Easy peasy.
But, I’d like to think there was a bit of divine intervention brought on by the pandemic when those plans were foiled. As we got deeper into Patrick’s brand, I saw that having stepped away to look at things from the outside was what helped him gain the clarity he needed to find his own path and start his own business. Then it dawned on me.
We shouldn’t shoot in the middle of the chaos — we should shoot with it in the distance.
Jersey City has a beautiful waterfront with the skyline of New York City right in the background.
Jersey City proved to be even more fortuitous than either one of us expected -- not only did Patrick get his start in Jersey City by attending one of the most prestigious private schools in the state there, but there’s also a whole waterfront with the backdrop of New York City’s skyline right there, giving us some distance from the bustle of city life to see the big picture. You know, like the big picture he prompts his own clients to look at when they’re making their next moves in career or life.
As we walked the streets of his old stomping ground, he suddenly called out to someone from across the way. It turned out to be an old friend who now coached boys’ soccer at his alma mater. Community and coaching were two other major themes that had come up during Patrick’s planning sessions — fate couldn’t have worked more in our favor as we were blessed with a few minutes of Patrick speaking to the team while I snapped some pictures.
Patrick got his start at St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City. We decided to honor his roots by taking some pictures on campus, a decision that was rewarded with an opportunity for him to coach the current boys’ soccer team for a few minutes; the one piece of his New Jersey brand photography session we originally decided to scrap for that day.
All of these moments, whether planned or not, were not coincidental when it came to telling the story of Patrick’s brand. These small but powerful parts of creating imagery for your business resonate with your ideal clients, even if it’s initially at their subconscious level.
We rounded out his New Jersey personal brand photography session by capturing another big cornerstone of his brand — his family. Patrick’s wife Cathy and their four beautiful children are the driving force behind everything he does. Whether he uses them in his marketing or not, the pictures still become versatile assets — a new slate of family portraits was included as part of the shoot so they’ll have material for next year’s Christmas cards.
To learn more about Patrick and Mission20, visit his website at www.yourmission20.com
To see Patrick’s entire New Jersey personal branding photography session, click here.
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MEET YOUR BRAND PHOTOGRAPHER
Bernadette Marciniak is a branding photographer based out of Los Angeles & New York City. She works with coaches, healers, educators and creative business owners to create powerful imagery that converts audiences into clients.
A former photojournalist, Bernadette approaches brand photography from a storytelling standpoint, using the emotions of your ideal client to guide a photoshoot. Illustrating the achievable transformations of the people you work with is the most powerful way to create the visibility your business needs.
Bernadette loves good pizza, craft beer and red wine. She watches Parks and Rec, Friends and How I Met Your Mother on repeat.
