Kristin Sherry is a career educator, best-selling author, and founder of YouMap, amongst a long list of other things. You could say her plate is pretty full, but that isn't stopping her. Just this year she won the 2020 Career Innovator Award by Career Directors International, is launching a children's book series, and contributed to the 2020 Career Industry Trends white paper. Some of Kristin's best selling books include:
- YouMap: Find Yourself. Blaze Your Path. Show the World
- 5 Surprising Steps to Land the Job NOW!
- Your Team Loves Mondays...Right?
One could say, she's he's kind of a big deal.
While many holed up in 2020 (due to Corona), Kristin did just the opposite, setting herself up for even larger more exciting accomplishments to come. With that she asked us (Sprout Connectors) to update her "digital portfolio" for social media and web to more appropriately showcase her personality and kismet for life. *Side Note: Her last professional photograph was over ten years ago, and it was a selfie.
We met Kristin over two years ago at a LinkedIn networking event and hit it off instantly. Kristin is our type of people, unassuming, polite, kind, and a power pack of knowledge and intellect. In speaking with her at the event, we quickly learned about her recently published book, YouMap: Find Yourself. Blaze Your Path. Show the World and we agreed to collaborate together to help share her story digitally through a video anthem that has garnered over 100,000 views across digital channels, including LinkedIn. Two years later, we were asked to descend upon the Sherry dominion to create more content, tell more stories and showcase a talent that you really should get to know (check her out here on LinkedIn).
Crafting Kristin's Story
Crafting the story of a career storyteller is no easy feat, as you can imagine. This is compounded when your subject is “not comfortable in front of the camera” (her words), and you have less than one week to pull it all together. Oh, we forgot to mention, she was also being featured on the cover of Authority 5.0 and our images were going to be used. WOOT! WOOT!
Where to Start?
As a Digital Storyteller, it's your job to over-deliver. In today’s marketplace your brand is competing with millions of eyes every second, so standing out from everyone else is priority ONE. To make matters even more compelling, your client is a storyteller herself, so the level of expectations are even higher.
Digital storytelling encourages you to craft a personal and emotional connection with the tale being told. The power of storytelling is not in telling about an event or someone else's life, but rather in shifting the lens to using the setting, details, and events for telling your story with the experience of the image.
To successfully do this, requires skill, patience, observation and intuitive talent - the very best storytellers all possess. So how do you do this with a self-admitted introvert, photography objector, author and in one week’s time? It all starts with a highly functional Discovery Process that deep dives into not only the WHO, WHAT, and WHY, but the science behind the art.
Storytelling is an essential part of human, social and psychological context. In a marketing context, storytelling is not just about telling stories, it is also the inherent capacity to connect with individual beings on an emotional level. It’s the creative element of finding the hook that grabs the viewer's attention and holding them in suspended animation for a moment, and engaging them with visual impact, touching on their heartstrings and emotional wellbeing and telling the story of the image without descriptive words. In essence, the image should do the talking.
Kristin’s story begins at her house. She works primarily from her home in South Charlotte, and as she describes, is where she is most comfortable. So we redesigned her home office into a makeshift set, transported all of our off-camera lights (thank you Profoto for your mobile accouterments) and set off to showcase Kristin Sherry, author, entrepreneur, mother, wife, intellectual powerhouse, who never takes herself seriously, and imbue her vivacious, lighthearted kindred spirit that so many others have come to love.
Check out some of her story below, drop us a line and tell us what you think. If you would like us to help you craft your personal story or brand’s story CONNECT WITH US.
The critical aspect of [realizing] personality and relatability is one of the greatest possibilities we have in digital storytelling. So every step of the way, our intention was to make Kristin’s visual story personal, relevant and relatable.
We cannot wait for the book launch, the magazine cover and all the ensuing stories we get to tell with Kristin in the very near future.
After receiving the pictures back that Fusion Photography took, Kristin wasted no time changing her LinkedIn profile picture, which is no doubt one of the first places many go to learn about her. Here's what she had to say in a post on LinkedIn after doing so:
"I admit I was wrong. But it's Friday night when no one is around to read my confession. (Sneaky, I know.) In my old profile picture, I had no make up and it was a selfie I took. That's how I'm comfortable. I didn't believe a photographer could capture my fun, lighthearted personality. I don't take myself too seriously. However, I tighten up like a drum when I have to pose for photos. I want to thank Deevo Tindall of Fusion Photography for proving me wrong. I love my new profile picture and it's 100% me. Lila Smith, you were right, too. The right photographer can reveal the soul of the most difficult subject.
Mmm....humble pie doesn't taste that bad.
Do you think my new picture captures the essence of "expert in my field but approachable and easy-going?"
Needless to say, it sounds like we hit the nail on the head with telling Kristin's story. She is fun, she is lighthearted, and she is also brilliant. All you have to do is look at these new pictures of Kristin and get a sense of who she is. We are happy to have captured all of that in this content creation session.
Are you a business, brand or entrepreneur that needs your true story told via photo and video content? Fusion Photography based in Charlotte, NC is happy to help bring the story of YOU and your brand to life. To learn more about working together, click below!
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