Personal Brand Shoots – what you need to know

As a photographer of people and products (sometimes even pets!) I love that no two subjects are ever the same. Each and every brief is entirely different to the next. One thing that is a common factor with any shoot from my clients is what you need to do in order to prep for the perfect shoot.

Today I’m talking purely about brand shoots.

There are SOOOOO many photographers out there but when it comes to capturing something as important as the perfect scroll stopping images for your business, you need to make sure you’re working with the right photographer.

So, first things first…

What do you want to get out of your shoot? Why are you looking to have a shoot in the first place?

Do you simply need a few fresh images of you to show the person behind the business?

Or do you need a full library of content to use across your entire brand? This would be things like photos of you, close up details, products, ‘in the making’ or behind the scenes, lifestyle imagery…basically imagery you can use across all of your marketing materials.

Once you’ve discovered what you’re looking for, next think about the style you want to achieve.

Does your brand have a light and airy aesthetic? In which case you’ll be wanting a photographer that has this style to their photography.

Looking for something warmer and perhaps with an autumnal tone to your imagery? Then you’ll want a photographer that has this more earthy style.

It’s certainly not a case of, ‘oh I know someone with a camera, I’ll book them’. Well, that’s if you want to get the right images for your brand.

Getting your images right is SO essential if you want to create a consistent look and feel across your entire brand. Getting the photographer that is the perfect fit will give you a library of images you can use for years to come.

Have a look around at different photographers who specialise in brand photography. Many will also shoot other subjects but you want to make sure you’re working with someone that understands what you will need from your shoot and for anyone that’s camera shy, this is even more important. The right brand photographer will be able to direct you and help with your shoot plan.

Right, so let’s say you’ve got that perfect photographer and have your shoot booked. YAY!

All photographers will have a different onboarding process with their clients. Most will ask you lots of questions about you as well as your brand. They may even ask to see a moodboard, shot list or Pinterest board of your ideas for what you’d hope to achieve.

If you’re new to Pinterest, I’d highly recommend you spend some time to work on creating a single board just for your shoot. Here you can pin any images that fit with your brand aesthetic and/or have shots similar to what you’d like from your shoot. It might be ideas for poses, clothing, locations etc.

Make a rough list of shots you would love to get from your shoot.

As an example, this might be things like:

• Wide shots for your website header with you and your products
• You holding your phone or on your laptop (great for using on contact pages or showing you at work perhaps)
• Behind the scenes style photos or in the making shots of you doing your thing. Great for showing potential clients/customers what’s involved in the process of working with you.
• Photos of you in your home environment doing things you love. These are great for using on your about page on your website or when saying hello to new members of your audience so they can get to know the person behind the brand.
• Your products! If you’re product based make sure you bring along some of your items so you can get some photos of you with them.
• Images to show what clients get when working with you. Perhaps you send out welcome gifts or sample boxes of a product. Maybe you send beautiful branded stationery and packaging when sending orders out. Photos of you boxing up an order, wrapping a ribbon around a box for a client welcome gift etc. These are great to show off that your customers get that luxury experience!

So, you’ve got your photographer and a rough shot list.

If your photographer doesn’t already do this as part of the service, now you’ll want to think about the location. There are so many options for this.

You could have your shoot at home or in your workplace. Perhaps you have an outdoorsy brand and your shoot will all be outside. Maybe it will be at a variety of locations such as cafes, bars, pretty streets with interesting houses or backdrops, maybe a lovely park.
Another great option is to hire a location house or photography studio. This gives you a great base for a shoot and there are some amazing ones out there. Obviously this will incur an additional cost for your shoot so think about your budget and discuss with your photographer about options that would work for you and your shoot.

To get the best possible photos from your shoot I would highly recommend working with a professional hair and make up artist. Even if you don’t usually wear make up it’s a great idea as it will give that little extra boost of confidence on the shoot day and will help you to look even more fabulous in your images!

Think about what you’ll bring along to your shoot. Depending on where your shoot may be, you may not want to bring a huge amount but a few key items can really make all the difference.

Some props to consider bringing to your shoot…

• Coffee table books
• Your favourite mug or one with a quote that perfectly fits with your brand voice
• A diary/journal and pen (great for those contact page shots)
• Fresh flowers or plants
• Any branded stationery or packaging for close up details
• Something to change into to mix up your outfits (your photographer will be able to recommend the number of outfit changes for your shoot)
• Laptop, iPad, phone plus any tools you use on a daily basis to do your job

As a photographer, the main thing for me is that my clients have fun on their brand shoots.

Following some of the above suggestions can really help you to relieve any stress or anxiety you have about your shoot and help you to feel excited about capturing some fresh new content for your brand.

Below are a selection of some of my brand shoots I’ve worked on with some of my lovely clients over the years.

If you’d like to book in a shoot with me or one of my trusted team members in the UK just let me know.

Jacquie x