Branding photos that go beyond a basic headshot give business owners powerful tools for both marketing and press.
These images of Maxfield Bala with his latest American Graffiti mural were created not only to document his work for his website and social channels, but also with the goal of earning placements in local media.
See how we leveraged these personal branding portraits for placement in local publications by creating images they naturally want to feature and share.
Personal Branding Photography Made for Digital PR and Marketing
Compelling personal branding portraits goes far beyond a single polished headshot. For business owners and creatives, the goal is a set of images that work hard across websites, social channels, and press opportunities. When the photos are planned with digital PR and marketing in mind, they become assets that local media and online outlets actually want to share.
The key to creating effective branding portraits is to make them compelling first and foremost to consumers of press and media. To make these branding portraits compelling, I captured many environmental portraits that featured the mural, Max and all of the supporting people that helped make the project possible. I also honed in on detail shots of the hot rod as this was the main centerpiece of the trades mural.
These portraits and supporting photos tell a clear story all on their own without supporting text making them naturally attractive for press features.
The Project: American Graffiti Mural at Petaluma High School
The mural sits on the wall in front of the auto shop at Petaluma High School. It celebrates the trades taught at the school, including metal shop, auto shop, and wood shop. At the center of the composition is the yellow hot rod made famous in the movie American Graffiti, which was filmed in Petaluma.
A historically accurate replica of the yellow hot rod, built by Shawn Anderson, was brought in from out of state specifically for the photo shoot. It was parked directly in front of the mural so Maxfield could be photographed alongside both his mural and the and the actual vehicle he painted into the mural.
Faculty from the Petaluma High School trades programs and members of the Cruising the Boulevard group helped arrange the car’s appearance, adding genuine community involvement to the project.
Branding Portraits We Got Featured by Local Press
Maxfield regularly has his mural projects photographed so he can use the images on his website and social channels. This session followed that same approach, but with an extra layer of intention.
Before the mural was complete, Max reached out to local press outlets including the Petaluma Argus-Courier letting them know that the mural was close to being finished if they wanted to feature it as a story. By simply reaching out at the right time with a story perfect for their audience he secured an organic press feature. Because of his efforts, he also got the cover and featured story for West Petaluma Living Magazine’s September issue.
Once we knew the images would appear on the magazine cover, we adjusted the shoot to meet magazine’s needs. That included vertical compositions suitable for a front cover along with supporting photos that could run inside the article. The result was a set of branding portraits that served both Max’s ongoing marketing and a concrete press placement interesting to the publications readers.
How These Personal Branding Photos Establish Max as a Bay Area Muralist
Public art projects with strong local roots create natural opportunities for press and authority building. The combination of a mural at Max’s alma mater, the American Graffiti connection unique to Petaluma, and the exact hot rod from the movie made this particularly appealing to local media.
By documenting the work thoroughly and reaching out to newspapers, magazines, Facebook, and Instagram while the story was still fresh, Max earned organic press mentions for his mural painting company.
Cross channel marketing like this doesn’t only make people remember you, it also supports more branded search on Google when people see the project in print and search your brand to find out more. This improves how AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Gemini surface his name and work when people look for a Bay Area muralist.
In short, these branding portraits did more than just build his portfolio on his website, they also became the branding photos that helped position Maxfield as a trusted entity within the mural artist community.
