There's a time and place to break the 4th wall
There’s a time and a place to break the 4th wall in your photos.
Here’s an example of how NOT to break it.
This morning, I was cruising through Instagram and came across a portrait of a speaker sitting at his desk in front of a laptop.
The location was beautiful.
The lighting was wonderful.
The speaker looked impeccable.
His facial expression was genuine and it immediately drew me in.
But…
…within 2 seconds, I had to immediately scroll past the photo and forget I even saw it.
Why?
The speaker was fake typing on his laptop keyboard WHILE looking directly into the camera.
Ugh.
Now, you might be wondering why this is such a big deal. I mean, you’ve seen this type of photo dozens, if not hundreds, of times in the past, right?
Well, regardless of the frequency, those experts are sending a confusing message to their audiences.
You see, as part of your image content portfolio, you have an array of images at your disposal.
To start, you have headshots and wider portraits where you’re directly addressing the camera.
Those images are intentionally breaking the 4th wall as they are meant to digitally look your audience in the eye to give them a chance to qualify whether or not they want to learn more about you.
Your audience understands the photo is staged, and it’s okay based on the type of photo it is.
In addition to the direct address portraits, you have candid lifestyle portraits where you’re engaged in some type of activity, such as working on your computer, that allows your audience a fly-on-the-wall, non-staged experience to get a sense of who you are, how you work, and what that process looks like.
In this case, the 4th wall isn’t broken in order to give the audience an unobstructed view into how the sausage is made. These images provide your audience an entry-point into your life.
BUT…
When you share an image where you’re directly addressing the camera WHILE “working” on your laptop, you’re muddying up the experience for your audience.
And the photo feels artificial and extremely forced.
While this may not seem like a big deal, the reality is that every image asset counts when looking to position yourself as an authority in your space of expertise who commands a premium rate for your services and products.
Offering confusing photos like this, ultimately, cheapens your brand.
They feel like you’re trying too hard to grandstand in front of your audience, rather than simply being genuine and in the moment.
The next time you’re in front of the camera, remember that there are two distinct lanes of photos that belong in your portfolio:
Photos that intentionally break the fourth wall - headshots, wider portraits, self-portraits with friends, family, clients and colleagues.
These photos welcome your audience through the front door to your entire online presence.
And photos that don’t break the fourth wall - candid, in the moment shots - lifestyle portraits, keynotes, facilitations, working photos, etc.
These photos give your audience a well-rounded look into who you are, who you serve and how you solve problems, while also injecting a splash of your personality and disposition through your body language and facial expression from shot-to-shot.
Under no circumstances, never the two shall meet in the middle.
Keep them separate in order to allow your audience a clear and focused experience.
Otherwise, it’s a bad look - one that is not befitting an authority in your space of expertise.
For more information on visual storytelling for experts, sign up for my blog where I talk about the value of lifestyle portraits, virtual and live events, and book photos for authors - it’s pretty magical stuff :)