Personal branding photoshoot - best tips for a great result

Personal branding for small business owners is now more important than ever. You are the face of your business and what you sell, so it really helps when potential clients get to know you. As with everyone increasingly working and spending a big part of the day online, we are all craving for a connection. We gravitate to people that have similar struggles that speak to us, who have a similar aesthetic and a lifestyle. We want a sense a community and to be able to trust and feel good with the person we are considering to work with. And the best way to help create this sense of familiarity is a great personal branding photoshoot. I will share my best tips below that will help you get a great result.

Personal branding photoshoot – 6 best tips for a great result

1. Get clear on your brand’s vision and your goals for the photoshoot

It probably goes without even saying, but before doing a branding photoshoot, you should sit down and work on your brand strategy. Get very clear on your vision and your goals.

Ask questions like: what feeling you want people to get from your branding and photos? What should they take away from it? Which color scheme suits your voice the most? What makes you and what you can offer unique, how you could stand out? Which other brands inspire you? (and see how they have approached their branding and tones.)

2. Create a visual moodboard for the personal branding photoshoot

Visual moodboards is a single best way to get a very clear idea on the aesthetic, direction and the tone you want to achieve. It helps you and it will help the photographer you choose immensely to be on the same page.
You can simply create a secret Pinterest board to make it super easy, and start by pinning what seems similar to your brand’s aesthetic. And soon you will notice a pattern – try to stick to one direction. The aesthetic, colors and details should all be very cohesive and flow together, or else you might be trying to achieve too many different things at once.
Things you should include in your moodboard: outfits you like and that work on your brand. Poses that you feel you would be comfortable in and would work with your brand message. Location examples and ideas. Details and close ups – including props.

From the moodboard, it not only helps you choose the best photographer, but to plan the outfits, location and props you might want to use.

3. Find the most suitable photographer

Research photographers – it can be as simple as searching on instagram for “photographer + your location”. Bookmark the ones you like any time you find one. When choosing your favorite that you actually want to hire, look at your moodboard and make sure they have a similar aesthetic and tones. Because photographers have their go to color tones and the way of shooting and it would be unrealistic to hire a photographer that has super bright colorful tones and then ask for a very neutral minimal result.

4. Choose a perfect location

Location is a huge part of how the pictures will come out. Think of what you do and what would represent you the best. You could take pictures outside, in a cafe, at home, in a studio.. Or you could rent out something like an airbnb/location house as we ended doing for the shoot I featured in this post. We had a very specific vision of what we wanted and we looked at many other options until we settled on this flat. It worked really well with the neutral tones and minimal background we wanted.
The other extremely important thing – if you want it shot in natural light (if you like natural looking, softer photography / don’t like how flash looks), then you have to make sure the location will have enough light in it. Which is extremely difficult in London! I always look for south facing big windows in any location and try to pick a sunny day if at all possible. Or then consider using flash / lights and discuss it with your photographer.

5. Plan a detailed shotlist

You need to think through where the images will be used and make sure to tell that to your photographer. Do you need weekly/monthly content for your instagram and other social medias? Is it a rebrand / introduction of a new service or a product? Will you need to use some of the images as a long banner in a landscape format for your website? Will you need a picture with a lot of empty space on the side to add text? Make a list and mention all that to the photographer! Or you might end up with a lot of portraits but not as many alternatives in a landscape format for example.

It should look something like this:
– outfit one, white top/ jeans sitting on a sofa writing in the notebook. Landscape format, a lot of empty space on the sides.
– close up of the laptop and a cup
– outfit two, pink top, close up portrait by the window to use for “about me” page
– standing by the table picking colors / images for a brand moodboard

And so on – it all depends on what you do, so pick actions that represent it of course. Use your moodboard for ideas!

6. Pick outfits and props

The main and number one thing I always recommend is to pick the clothes that you feel comfortable in. Yes, you want to represent “the best” you on a photoshoot, but don’t pick something you wouldn’t normally wear. (Like a dress that is too short and then restricts what poses you can do.) Most of all, you need to be you and play on your unique strengths and have clothes reflect that as well. If your brand aesthetic is very neutral, elegant – pick clothes that are like that too. Also make sure to pick colors that will go well with your website / brand colors.

Props – again think what you do in your job every day, and give the viewer a glimpse into it. What would tell the story of your brand?
So of course a laptop, phone and a coffee cup are the most often represented in the branding shoots, but it’s because it’s what all of us use everyday. Try to add anything else extra that might visually show what you do. (Like flowers if you’re a florist, camera if you’re a photographer etc.)