Shirlee Engel | Visibility Coach | 20 Women, 20 Stories: The Personal Brand Experience
Photographed in Lisbon, Portugal
This was my second personal brand session with Shirlee. I first photographed her two years ago in Arizona, USA, and when she heard that I would be in Europe over the summer photographing personal brand photography sessions, we arranged to meet again.
Shirlee flew in from Canada to join me in Lisbon, Portugal, for her second personal brand photography experience. The day before her session, we spent some time walking through the city together, scouting locations and finding the most on-brand settings for her photographs.
For me, personal brand photography is about so much more than finding a beautiful backdrop. It’s about creating images that feel congruent with who someone is, the work they do and the life they lead. Every location, moment and detail becomes part of telling that story, creating an image library that gives people a real sense of the person behind the business.
Meet Shirlee Engel: Visibility Coach
What inspired you to start your business, and what keeps you excited about the work you do today?
Video has been in my DNA for most of my career. I spent years as a television journalist, where being on camera, interviewing people and telling compelling stories was simply part of what I did every day.
But Magnetic on Video actually grew out of a completely different business. When I left journalism and eventually started my first business in interior design, people kept asking me the same question: “How are you so good on video?”
I realized that something I had spent years learning had become second nature to me, but it wasn’t second nature to the small business owners and experts around me. They had valuable ideas and expertise, but they didn’t necessarily know how to communicate them through a camera in a way that made people want to keep watching.
That’s how Magnetic on Video was born.
Today, I help business owners and experts become more confident, compelling and magnetic on camera so they can use video to build their authority, grow their audience and create opportunities for their businesses.
What keeps me excited is seeing what happens when someone stops thinking about video as a performance and starts using it as a way to genuinely communicate and connect with other people who they can genuinely help. That shift can completely change how they show up.
Who is your ideal client, and what transformation do you hope they experience after working with you?
My ideal client is a business owner, expert or professional who has something valuable to say and understands that visibility matters, but knows they aren’t yet communicating with the impact they’re capable of.
They may already be making videos. They may already be speaking, teaching or building a personal brand. But they want to become the kind of communicator people remember.
My work goes beyond simply becoming “comfortable” on camera. I want my clients to understand how to use their voice, body language, energy and compelling storytelling to hold attention and communicate authority without losing what makes them themselves.
Ultimately, I want them to leave feeling like the camera is no longer something they have to conquer. It’s a tool they know how to use.
What is one challenge you’ve had to overcome in your business, and what did it teach you?
One of the most humbling parts of building this business has been learning that being good on television did not automatically make me good at social media.
I think people sometimes assume that because I was a television reporter, social media and video content must have come naturally to me. I assumed that too!
But they’re completely different forms of communication. I actually had to unlearn some of the things that made me a good television journalist in order to become a better storyteller on social media.
I had to learn social media from scratch like everybody else, while the platforms and algorithms were constantly changing around me. I’m still learning this every single day.
And I was doing all of this while learning how to be an entrepreneur and raising a family. I grew up with two self-employed parents, but I never imagined I would become an entrepreneur myself.
It’s been one of the most challenging and rewarding learning curves of my life.
How has becoming more visible helped your business grow?
Visibility is the foundation of my business.
Showing up consistently on video has allowed people to experience how I communicate and teach before they ever work with me. It has brought clients into my world, grown my audience, created speaking opportunities and connected me with people I never would have met otherwise.
But I’ve also learned that visibility isn’t simply about being seen by as many people as possible. The right person needs to see you and immediately understand what you know, what you stand for and how you can help them.
That’s the kind of visibility I care about, both for myself and for my clients.
Many women hesitate to put themselves out there. What would you say to someone who’s holding back from showing up?
Stop waiting until you feel completely ready.
You don’t become comfortable being visible and then start showing up. A huge part of that comfort comes from doing it repeatedly and discovering that you can handle being seen, having an opinion, making mistakes and trying again.
And don’t confuse polish with presence.
Some of the most compelling people on camera aren’t perfect. They’re clear. They’re connected to what they’re saying. They allow you to see something real.
Your job isn’t to become somebody else when the camera turns on. It’s to learn how to communicate more of yourself through it.
What did you enjoy most about your personal brand experience?
Ironically, for someone who has spent most of her career on camera, I’m much less comfortable having still photographs taken.
Video gives me movement, voice and personality. In a photograph, suddenly I have to pose! I’ve always found that much less natural and even cringe!
Monica was incredibly good at recognizing that and helping me get out of my own stiffness and loosen up in front of the camera.
What I appreciated most, though, was how much thought she put into telling the story of my brand. She wasn’t simply taking beautiful photographs. She was thinking about colour, composition, locations, mood and what each image was actually communicating.
There are lots of people who can take a beautiful photograph. It’s much harder to create images that capture the essence of a brand and tell a story while still feeling artistic and interesting.
Monica has that eye. The result was a collection of photographs that felt like they belonged to my brand, not just photos of me.
How are you using your personal branding photographs in your business?
Everywhere!
I’ve used the photographs across my website, social media, marketing materials, speaking materials and other places where I need strong visual assets representing Magnetic on Video.
For a personal brand, having a library of images that actually tells your story is incredibly useful. Instead of constantly searching for a photograph that will “work,” I now have images that were intentionally created around the visual identity and message of my business.
If someone was considering investing in a Personal Brand Experience but felt nervous, what would you say to them?
You don’t have to know how to pose. That’s part of why you’re hiring a professional.
I know how to work a video camera, but put me in front of a still camera and suddenly I don’t know what to do with my hands either.
The right photographer doesn’t just operate the camera. They direct you, notice when you’re becoming stiff or self-conscious, help you loosen up and create an environment where your actual personality starts coming through. They also think way ahead to how the images will be used in marketing. Monica is especially gifted in that regard.
And for a business owner, these aren’t simply nice photographs. They’re business assets. You’re creating a visual library that can support your website, content, PR, speaking opportunities and marketing for a long time.
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about the woman behind your business?
There’s a very spiritual side to the way I think about entrepreneurship.
I see building a business as a personal journey as much as a professional one. Entrepreneurship has a way of showing you where you need to grow. It challenges your identity, your confidence and your willingness to keep evolving.
I’ve reinvented myself professionally several times, and I’ve learned that every version of my career has required me to become a slightly different version of myself.
That’s probably why one of the words that resonates most with me right now is “becoming.” I don’t think we’re ever really finished.
Outside of your business, how do you love spending your time?
Family is a huge part of my life, and I love spending time with my husband, two daughters and Cronkite, our very beloved Goldendoodle,
Travel is probably one of my biggest passions. One of my best friends is a travel advisor, which doesn’t exactly discourage the habit! We like to take “momcations” together.
I also still love interior design and doing home improvement projects around my house, and friendship and exercise are important parts of my life.
Oh, and my morning latte is non-negotiable. I don’t speak to anyone until I’ve had my first few sips.
A Few Quick Favourites
Three words your closest friends would use to describe you:
Ambitious, fun and compassionate.
A book every woman should read or listen to:
Be Your Future Self Now by Dr. Benjamin Hardy.
A podcast you love:
Speak it Into Being with Cathy Heller
A favourite quote or mantra you live by:
“Life’s a journey, not a destination.”
And: “What got you here won’t get you there.”
One word that describes the season you’re stepping into:
Becoming. I’m becoming who I’m supposed to be.
Where to Find Me
Instagram: @magneticonvideo
YouTube: https://www.youtube.
LinkedIn: https://www.
Website: magneticonvideo.com
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