8 tips for a successful personal branding photoshoot
Great things don’t happen by accident. Personal branding photoshoots are no exceptions. Check out these 8 tips to make sure your next (or first) personal branding photoshoot is a great success.
how to get the most out of apersonal branding photoshoot:
MAKE A LIST OF MUST-HAVE SHOTS.
Think of campaigns or posts you want to create in the next four to six weeks. Do you need photos for your website, if yes, make a list of photos for which pages will need photos and their orientation (vertical, horizontal, extra wide and narrow banners for pages). What kind of social media posts do you have in mind? What kind of photos will go best with them? Write it all out and then share with your photographer.
To help my clients prepare, I use a Personal Branding Questionnaire that I created.
COMMUNICATE YOUR VISION.
It is important for your photographer to understand what kind of photos you set out to create and perhaps the best way to do it is to show photos of others that inspire you, that appeal to you in terms of color, posing, overall mood. Share with your photographer the list of must-have shots and all your other wishes pertaining to photos and be prepared for the magic to unfold.
PREPARE OUTFITS, ACCESSORIES, AND PROPS.
Choose several outfits, make sure they are clean and ironed. Choose matching accessories. Props will show your audience which tools of trade you use and will make posing so much easier. Some examples of props could be a journal and a pen, a laptop, favorite books, a coffee mug, crystals, sage, candles, etc.
PRACTICE IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR.
Your photographer will guide you through the posing process but it is good to be prepared. “Try on” the poses that you found in photos of other people, see if you feel comfortable, if they are “you”, and play in front of the mirror to see what looks and feels right. This will give you the extra confidence when facing the stare of the lens on the day of the photoshoot.
DECIDE ON HAIR AND MAKEUP.
Decide whether you will do your hair and makeup yourself or if you will hire someone to do it for you. A word of caution with makeup: some makeup artists who are not very skilled sometimes apply so much makeup that it looks cakey, or is just simply too much. You don’t want to look like a clown in the final photos, you want to make sure you look like YOU, so if you have a chance, do a trial makeup session with that artist first or trust a professional with whom you have worked before.
I’ve put together this video for women who can’t decide whether they should have professional makeup done before a photoshoot, check it out:
DON’T FACE THE CAMERA HUNGRY.
Be sure to be well fed before your photoshoot! Modeling is demanding work, but you will surely ace it if you follow the suggested steps above and if you chose the right photographer, of course? How can you know if you chose the right photographer? I will share that in the article I will post this month, so stay tuned!
ARRIVE TO YOUR PHOTOSHOOT ON TIME.
Arriving on time shows respect, builds trust and sets a good tone to the interaction you will have with your photographer. It might be a no-brainer for many, but I wanted to stress the importance of this aspect because I have had a couple cases where the model was 40 minutes late. Needless to say, my attitude toward the person I was about to photograph changed and it affected the energy of the photoshoot.
TRUST THE PROCESS.
I know that facing the camera is scary. I have been in your shoes a few times (and even wrote an article about it - check it out!) so I understand that you might be a little apprehensive about the process. The last piece of advice for a successful photoshoot is to just trust the process and surrender to the creative flow. You have prepared well for this photoshoot, you chose the perfect spot for your shoot, your photographer will guide you through the posing process, and you will create beautiful photos together.
I hope these tips above have been helpful ♥
If you would like to see some samples of personal branding photos I created together with a fitness coach Ingrid, check out the video below.
Looking to grow YOUR BRAND? I can help! I have been helping entrepreneurs to promote and grow their businesses and my track record is excellent. I offer different packages to suit everyone’s budget and will be happy to work with you. Please feel free to reach out to talk about what kind of photos might work best for your brand.
more personal branding photography client stories
personal branding for a chef, health coach, and green goddess Rachel
Photos from the photoshoot of Rachel Shapiro, a South Florida personal chef, nutritionist, gardener, and green goddess.
“I was so nervous, I wanted to cry and call you to cancel the photoshoot” Rachel confessed to me when we met at the location of her photoshoot - her friend’s gorgeous AirBnB where we got a permission to photograph.
Facing the camera is a very vulnerable and scary process. Even though I am mostly on the other side of the lens, I can relate, because sometimes I need to have my photos taken too. I talk about it in more detail in this story.
I was able to convince Rachel that it will be ok as she showed me around the gorgeous space that we had at our disposal.
personal branding photography: many facets of you in one photoshoot
Rachel prepared four different outfits to show the different facets of who she is and what she does.
Chef. For her role as a chef, we photographed in the kitchen, Rachel wearing her chef coat. I brought fresh veggies and fruit and some kitchenware that matched Rachel’s brand. I also brought flowers that my husband had gifted me the day before (he rarely gives me flowers so it was a big deal. And perfect timing too! :))
Health coach, nutritionist. In this role Rachel wore a brown dress and we decided to photograph with a basket of veggies outside. There are a few shots of Rachel next to a grill and some headshots near a tree to show Rachel’s connection to Mother Earth and all things natural.
Mindfulness coach. Rachel wore yoga pants and a sports tank the color of her logo and we photographed next to the pool.
Conscious dancer, Goddess. Rachel wore a flowy silky dress and I photographed her with a bouquet of fallen yellow leaves against the backdrop of bamboo, dancing.
Chef branding photos
“I forgot my pants!” she exclaimed as she was changing into her chef outfit. The good thing was, she was standing behind the counter and it is not visible in the final photos that she is not wearing pants :)
These kitchen shots took the longest time to prepare for. Rachel set up the fruits and veggies in a basket and I laid out other things on the counter. The important thing with branding photos is that you don’t want clutter. Since we were photographing in a real kitchen, there were notes and magnets on the fridge, a toaster oven and black kettle on the counter. We were going for a clean and classy feel, so we removed all unnecessary objects from the shot. I am very happy with how these chef photos turned out!
We created a variety of images for Rachel to use in her social media marketing and for her website and we were both very pleased with the results of our work. To learn more about Rachel Shapiro and what she does, visit her website www.integroushealthsolutions.com
You are so much more than just your business! Research shows that we choose to do business with those people we see as similar to ourselves and those we like. Give your audience a chance to get to know you and thus better relate to you and LIKE YOU! Show them the many facets of your personality - what do you like to do in your free time, what is your family life like, how you contribute to your community - through visual story-telling of personal branding photography. Together we will select which stories to choose for your personal branding shoot, I will guide you through picking outfits (or we can employ help of a professional stylist who can help revamp your wardrobe and take your branding and confidence to a whole new level!) and together we will come up with the best locations for your photos. Then, after a few hours of photographing, you will have two, or even three, months’ worth of visual content for your social media platforms and for your website and online marketing. Contact me today for a no-obligation free consultation about what photos will be most beneficial for your business, or browse my personal branding photography gallery. I look forward to helping you elevate your business!
A comprehensive guide to a personal branding photoshoot for real estate agents.