In this post I focused on a branding a blog header image with a person, but it could also be with a brand logo or related imagery. It’s up to the blogger whether they want to disclose exactly how they look and such. There may be privacy issues. I just converted this site from being static to a blog so even I have to add my mug to it. I’ll probably add my face to a video section at the top of one of the sidebars. ~Jesse

I agree about replacing the template image w/ a custom header image, and just want to add this: Folks, please don’t steal images (photos or drawings) off the web. Just because you found it via Google Images doesn’t mean it’s free for the taking. Assume that everything is copyrighted, unless it specifically says otherwise. If you can’t get in touch w/ the photographer to request permission, find another image or at the very least, credit the source of the photo.

As for names & portrait photos, I think that depends on the person’s level of comfort and what they hope to achieve with their online presence. Using the same nickname & avatar on Twitter, Flickr, Gmail, WordPress, etc, still creates some kind of branding while at the same time protecting the person’s identity.