Personal branding photography for a sports massage therapist in Harpenden
From garden kettlebells to treatment room technique, one day captured all of Michelle Stacey's work
Some shoots ask you to capture one thing well. This one asked for three: a coach who runs technical strength sessions in her garden, a hands-on therapist who works from a quiet studio, and a business owner who needed images confident enough for a website relaunch. Michelle Stacey needed all three to look like the same person. Because they are.
Michelle is a sports massage therapist based in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, specialising in women in their 40s and 50s. She’d outgrown her existing website photos and wanted a fresh set for her site, her social content and her newsletters. Images that actually reflected the person her clients meet, not a set of stock photos standing in for her.
What a hot Harpenden summer’s day means for a shoot
We picked a date in the middle of summer, and the weather picked the hottest one on the calendar. There was some cloud cover through the morning, enough to soften the light and take the edge off the heat, so we made the most of it before the sun properly took hold. After that, it turned into a day of managing the heat rather than beating it: regular breaks, plenty of water, and grabbing shade between setups wherever the garden would give it to us.
The plan was straightforward on paper: a headshot indoors, exercise demonstrations in the garden, then treatment images in Michelle’s studio. In practice, a brief like this needs a full day, not a couple of hours, because each part needs its own setup, its own light, its own pace, and on a day like this, its own cooling-off period.
The day started indoors, before the heat took hold: Michelle's updated headshot.
Building a complete set of images
Michelle brought in a colleague and a friend to help. One modelled the exercise routines, one stood in as a treatment client. That meant we could show her actual working relationships rather than a single posed portrait of Michelle on her own.
We started outside. Michelle’s garden became a temporary training space: weighted exercises, balance work on a step platform, stretching routines, the kind of movement-based coaching she does with real clients every week. She was hands-on throughout, correcting posture, encouraging effort, adjusting a stance mid-rep. None of it was staged for long. The strongest images came from the actual coaching, not a recreation of it.
Michelle coaching a kettlebell step-up, correcting form as she goes.
Some of the best images from the whole day came from a genuinely unplanned moment. Three women mid-exercise, dumbbells overhead, all three laughing at the same time. Nobody asked them to do that. It happened because the session had a good atmosphere, and the camera was ready when it did.
An unscripted moment mid-workout. The kind of shot you can't direct, only be ready for.
From the garden to the treatment room
After a break, we moved indoors to Michelle’s studio, a wood-panelled treatment room that already does a lot of the branding work by itself. Michelle had a fan on full blast between every take, we’d switch it off just long enough to get the shot, then straight back on before anyone started to wilt. Shoulder mobilisation, deep tissue work on the back, wrist and arm stretches: the full range of what a sports massage session actually looks like.
This is where the pace of the shoot changed completely. Exercise photography is fast and reactive. Treatment photography is slow and precise, close in on hands, on grip, on the exact moment of a stretch. Getting both right in the same day, in that heat, meant switching mindset as much as switching lenses.
Shoulder mobilisation in the treatment studio, Harpenden.
Deep tissue work in progress. Close, precise, and unhurried.
Arm mobilisation technique, with the studio's anatomy chart visible in the background.
The anatomy chart on her studio wall, the exposed timber, the quiet natural light through the windows: all of it became part of the story rather than a backdrop to work around.
Who this kind of photography is for
If you run a hands-on business, whether that’s sports massage, personal training, physiotherapy or coaching of any kind, your website photos are often the first real impression a potential client gets. A tired headshot from years ago, or worse, a stock photo of someone else’s hands on someone else’s back, doesn’t tell anyone what working with you is actually like.
Personal branding photography for therapists and coaches needs to cover three things: a strong, current headshot for your website and LinkedIn, action or technique shots that show what a session with you actually looks like, and a few relaxed, human images for social content and newsletters.
I photographed a similar brief for a tennis coach in St Albans earlier this year, and the challenge is always the same regardless of the sport or specialism. One shoot has to produce enough variety to carry a brand for a year or more, not just one usable photo.
How the shoot came together
Michelle was easy to work with from the start. She knew exactly what images she was after, but she was also open to trying a pose as a landscape shot instead of a portrait, or adjusting an angle because it would work better on the page. That flexibility, plus a fair bit of negotiating with a fan for control of the room, is what turns a long shoot day into a genuinely productive one.
A quieter moment in the studio, showing the calmer side of Michelle's treatment work.
Here’s what she said afterwards:
“I had a brand photo shoot with Mike over the summer and I’m absolutely delighted with the results. From the very beginning, Mike took the time to really listen to what I wanted to achieve and helped me think about how to prepare for the shoot in advance. His guidance made such a difference and meant we got so much more out of the day.
He captured everything I needed, from professional headshots to natural action shots, and also made recommendations for additional images that I hadn’t considered, which added real value to the shoot.
Mike has a fantastic eye for detail and a real ability to put you at ease, which makes such a difference when you’re in front of the camera. He was patient, professional and genuinely great to work with.
I couldn’t be happier with the final images, and I’m now really excited to update my website and social media with them. I would highly recommend Mike to anyone looking for professional, natural and high-quality brand photography.”
Thinking about a personal branding shoot?
If you’re a therapist, coach or hands-on practitioner in Harpenden, St Albans or anywhere across Hertfordshire, I’d like to hear what you’re working on and what your images need to do for you.
You can see more of my personal branding work here, or get in touch to talk through what a session could look like for your business.
Detail shot: hands at work during a treatment session.
Q&A
What is a personal branding photoshoot for a therapist or coach? It’s a photography session built around your actual work, not a generic headshot. For Michelle, that meant a professional portrait, exercise coaching images and treatment technique shots, all in one day, all telling the same story about who she is and how she works.
How long does a session like this take? A full personal branding session covering multiple settings usually takes most of a day. Michelle’s shoot ran across headshots, garden exercise photography and studio treatment images, and each part needed its own setup and pace, which is why it’s worth blocking out more time than you think you’ll need.
Do I need help from other people during the shoot? It helps enormously. Michelle brought in a colleague and a friend to model exercises and treatments, which meant the images showed real coaching and real technique rather than a single posed portrait of her alone.
What should I wear for a personal branding shoot? Wear what you’d genuinely wear for the work you’re showing. Michelle wore her usual studio uniform for the headshot and treatment images, and activewear for the exercise photography outside. Current, clean and true to her everyday brand works better than anything overly formal.
How much does personal branding photography cost in Hertfordshire? Pricing depends on the length of the session, the number of locations and how many final images you need. The best next step is a quick conversation about your business, so the quote actually fits what you’re trying to achieve.
Based in St Albans, also covering Harpenden, Hemel Hempstead, Watford, Hertford, across Hertfordshire and London.