The exercise that changed how I think about my own brand – and how I help my clients think about theirs.
Have you ever been told you’re too much?
Too loud. Too enthusiastic. Too colourful. Too honest. Too intense. Too something.
I want to talk about that. Because I think it might be the most important thing you ever reconsider about yourself and your business.
The Exercise That Started Everything
A while ago my business mentor gave me an exercise that stopped me in my tracks. She asked me to name the things about myself that I thought were too much – the parts of my personality I sometimes tried to dial down or apologise for.
And then she told me those things were my USP.
Not despite being too much. Because of it.
My “Too Muchness”
When I’m honest with myself, the things I think of as potentially too much are:
Too colourful. Too honest. Too much of a perfectionist. Too enthusiastic.
And yet – look at what those things actually mean for my clients.
Too colourful means every gallery I deliver is vibrant, eye-catching and impossible to scroll past. My clients stand out online because I refuse to make anything bland.
Too honest means when a client asks me whether a location will work, I’ll tell them the truth rather than just agreeing to be agreeable. It means their shoot plan is genuinely right for their brand, not just whatever they first suggested.
Too much of a perfectionist means I hand-edit every single image. I’ll reshoot a setup if I know I can get something better. I care about the details long after most photographers would have moved on.
Too enthusiastic makes my photoshoots fun and high energy. This helps nervous clients relax and smile naturally. It brings out their true personality in the photos.
When you put it that way – those aren’t weaknesses. They’re the exact reasons people book me.
Your Ideal Clients Will Love Your “Too Muchness”
Here’s the thing about your ideal clients: they’re not looking for a watered-down version of you. They’re looking for the real you – the full, unfiltered, slightly-too-much version – because that’s the version they resonate with.
Your vibe attracts your tribe. And the parts of your personality you’ve been quietly apologising for are often the very things that will make the right clients think “yes, that’s exactly who I need.”
The shy photographer whose quietness translates into patience and the ability to capture unguarded moments. The overly enthusiastic coach whose energy is exactly what a burnt-out client needs. The perfectionist designer who drives themselves slightly mad obsessing over kerning – whose clients never have to worry that anything has been overlooked.
What you think of as a flaw, your ideal client sees as a feature.
And Here’s the Business Case
Beyond the personal resonance, there’s a practical reason to lean into your too muchness: people buy from people they know, like and trust. And you can’t build that kind of trust with a carefully polished, everything-is-fine, nothing-too-distinctive version of yourself.
Authenticity isn’t just a buzzword. It’s the mechanism through which genuine business relationships are built. The messiness, the personality, the behind-the-scenes reality of who you are – that’s what makes someone feel like they know you before they’ve ever spoken to you.
And it’s exactly what great brand photography captures.
What We Do About It in Your Shoot
When I work with a client, one of the things I think about most carefully is their personality – not just their brand colours or their industry, but who they actually are. Because the images that work hardest for a business are the ones that feel unmistakably like that specific person.
The woman in the riot of colour and the jewellery and the chihuahuas – that’s not accidental. The man in the paint bar surrounded by pigment jars – that’s not generic. Every detail is chosen to show the real person, the specific person, the person their ideal clients will look at and think “I need to work with them.”
That’s what I mean when I say your too muchness is your USP. It’s not something to hide. It’s the whole point.
What’s your too muchness? I’d genuinely love to know – drop it in the comments.
And if you’re ready to show it to the world through images that actually capture who you are – let’s have a natter.
