PERSONAL BRANDING PHOTOGRAPHY
Preparing For Your Photoshoot
In this article, you will find some really useful tips to help you prepare for your personal branding photography session
Taking the plunge and finally booking a Personal Branding Photography photoshoot is probably the biggest hurdle to furnishing yourself with amazing on-brand photos.
Photos which will help you to show up in your business; pictures which will resonate with your ideal clients; images which will authentically show what makes you and your business unique.
And once you’ve taken that plunge, preparation is key! Every business is different, so working together in advance and on the day, we can make the most of your session. Below you’ll find 6 really easy ways to prepare for your Personal Branding Photography session.
1. Pre shoot Consultation
Getting to know you and your business is really important. A pre-shoot consultation will help me to find out what your brand is all about, and ensure that you receive a portfolio of images that you will love. Understanding your brand will then allow us to plan your shoot and nail down what you are hoping to achieve. It’s also a perfect opportunity to get to know each other. Then, when we meet for your shoot, I won’t be a complete stranger, and you will (hopefully!) feel relaxed and ready to be photographed!
Talking it all through
We’ll discuss your business, brand, suitable location(s), colours, clothing and accessories so that I can get a feeling for the sort of images you want, how you want to use them, what you want them to say and who you want to speak you (your ideal client).
Or, if you haven’t got a clue (and that is completely fine!), this is when you can sound out any thoughts you have and we can work together to come up with ideas. It’s a chance to ask any questions and put your mind completely at ease, so that on the day, we will have a kick-ass plan of action and get as much as possible from your personal branding photography session.
2. Prepare a shot list
To help your session run as smoothly and efficiently as possible, it’s really helpful to collate some form of shot list in advance. This can literally be a working list of ideas and thoughts, or it can be very specific and exact.
I like to work very much in collaboration with you to suggest shots, props, people, angles and situations that will give you the most useable gallery of images whether you’re using them on your website, social channels, press releases or news letters. So whether we’re shooting indoors, outdoors or both, whether it’s just you, two or a gang or you, having a shot list will help us to work through all those creative ideas without leaving anything out.
Having said that, very often new ideas form as the shoot progresses so it’s entirely possible to go off script as well and your shot list needn’t be set in stone when we start!
“Georgina was wonderful. Very professional, friendly and made our photoshoot fun and enjoyable. We are incredibly impressed with the final photos too, she is a magician.”
Sarah Howick, A Noble Gift
3. Brand colours & props
Your brand colours are a really important element to consider when planning your personal branding photo shoot. We want your images to remain consistent with the overall look and feel of your business and to show you off in the best light.
If you have a bright and vibrant design business then we want to convey that through the pictures we take. Or if you run a calm and therapeutic yoga studio, your images will want to reflect that. Using props and accessories – and in some cases locations – to either subtly or boldly reinforce your brand colours, is a great way to keep your images consistent and in-keeping with your brand.
Props can be simple things like pens, mugs, pads of paper, a vase of flowers for example. Or bigger items such as furniture, wall coverings or posters; even the colour of a room or an exterior setting can play a part, so it’s worth having a really good think in advance about what might work for you.
4. Clothing
Choosing your clothing for your photoshoot will arguably be the most important decision you make with regard to your brand photography session. It is really important that you are relaxed and feel comfortable in what you are wearing; so plan in advance, try everything on and if you’re wearing something new, make sure you feel comfortable in it.
Carefully curating the colour of your clothes for your brand shoot is a really simple, but important way to compliment and unite your imagery. You can make bold statements by choosing an item such as a dress or suit in a brand colour…or you can create much more subtle injections of colour by carefully choosing accessories in your brand colours (more on this below). If you’re unsure of what colours will work or you don’t have brand colours, neutrals and ‘corprates’ work really well. White, blue, navy, beige and black are all safe colours where you can’t really go wrong.
But, having said all of this, it’s important you feel comfortable, so go with whatever is YOU!
Carefully curating the colour of your clothes for your brand shoot is a really simple, but important way to compliment and unite your imagery. You can make bold statements by choosing an item such as a dress or suit in a brand colour…or you can create much more subtle injections of colour by carefully choosing accessories in your brand colours (more on this below). If you’re unsure of what colours will work or you don’t have brand colours, neutrals and ‘corprates’ work really well. White, blue, navy, beige and black are all safe colours where you can’t really go wrong.
4. Clothing
Choosing your clothing for your photoshoot will arguably be the most important decision you make with regard to your brand photography session. It is really important that you are relaxed and feel comfortable in what you are wearing; so plan in advance, try everything on and if you’re wearing something new, make sure you feel comfortable in it.
But, having said all of this, it’s important you feel comfortable, so go with whatever is YOU!
5. Hair, Make-up & Accessories
Regarding make-up, I suggest you wear your ‘every day’ make-up with a little extra care and detail thrown in for your session. This could be the full works for some, or just a top-up of lipstick for others.
For your hair, if you’re investing in a personal brand photoshoot, why not use it as an excuse to get your hair done before your session!
Again, accessories are a perfectly simple way to add variety, personality and colour to your images without having to change your outfit. Add a jacket, scarf, hat or coat for wider angle shots. For close up shots, earrings, necklaces and glasses can all make small but significant differences to give your gallery a greater range of options.
6. Hands and Nails
If your shot list includes any images where we might need a close up of your hands, it is well worth heading off to a nail bar to have a quick manicure. You don’t need to have a full on gel or paint (however, this is another brilliantly subtle way to include a brand colour in your images!), but neat and tidy nails and clean hands go a long way to making your close up shots look the part! You could simply use a clear varnish to add an element of glamour, but ensuring your nails are clean and (relatively) uniform length will help your final images to look professional and polished (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun!).
If you’re an artist, gardener, mechanic or something similar and spend your days with your hands covered in paint/dirt/oil/etc feel free to completely ignore this section!
7. Mindset Shift
So many people really hate having their photos taken. It’s often a very large barrier to showing up in their business. So, I invite you to have a mindset shift! The pictures from your photoshoot are going to help you show up in your business authentically, demonstrate your hard work and the impact you make.
Instead of thinking: “I hate having my picture taken” ❌
Think: “These pictures represent my expertise & authority” ✅
Instead of thinking: “I hate seeing pictures of myself” ❌
Think: “Customers connect with real people, not perfection” ✅
Instead of thinking: “I’m scared people will judge me” ❌
Think: “The right people are already looking for me” ✅
8. Relax!
Pretty much every single one of my clients tell me they hate having their photo taken! But my aim with this preparation guide, with our pre-shoot consultation and with some advance planning & thinking on your part, is that you will find your session not only painless, but fun and thoroughly enjoyable!
Throughout your session, I will guide you on where to put your hands, how to hold your head, what expressions work well. I will also show you the images on the back of the camera as we go along. Don’t worry if there happens to be anything you’re not sure of or don’t like, we can rethink and reset! If one set up sparks some new ideas on the day, we can explore those and try to capture something we weren’t expecting!
I want you to love your images. Working together, I am absolutely sure you will!
Who is your Personal Branding Photographer?
It’s Me! Hi, I’m Georgina.
I have a genuine passion for photographing people. My clients tells me time and again how much they hate having their photo taken. By the end of their sessions, they are telling me how much fun it was!
I pride myself in putting people at ease in front of the camera and making each and every photoshoot as much fun as possible.
I have photographed marketing specialists, graphic designers, yoga instructors, screen writers, therapists and many others besides. If you would like to chat about your own personal branding photography session, please do get in touch.
“Georgina was incredible; she captured the essence of the business perfectly and was great getting all members of the team to engage with her, resulting in fantastic, true to life, images. The turnaround from shoot to final edit was very quick and we are thrilled with the results.
Thank you very much Georgina, we look forward to working with you in the future.”
Eleanor Benjamin, DBSJ
Still feeling nervous about getting in front of the camera? Check out FIVE reasons Why You Don’t Have To Fear Having Your Photo Taken