What you need to know before you have a personal branding photoshoot.

Know your audience

One of the main goals to having a personal branding photoshoot is to increase your reach and attract new clients. If you don’t know who your target audience is or you simply forget to plan the shoot around your target audience you may well increase your reach but struggle to attract new clients, as they aren’t your people. Planning your photo shoot to attract your target audience is fundamental to the success of reaching these goals. How do I make a hotoshoot checklist?

Your goals and needs are imperative

Setting clear goals

Goals should be centred around the results you want to achieve: For example to stand out from the competition or Increasing your perceived value as you will increase your prices. Getting into the details will help you and your photographer work towards the same goal and will also help you in the next step. 

Understanding your needs

Your needs can be as simple as needing new refreshing images for your website. Now, create a shot list (list of photos) that is specific to your needs. If you have a marketing manager they will likely have a list of content that you can make for specific launches and campaigns. If you’re looking for new website images you can list down exactly what images you want to include on your site.

Wardrobe

Wardrobe! This is either a love or hate for many of my clients. If you love it, then great. You and the photographer or set stylist can work together to discuss which outfit will work best in which locations. If you really struggle with wardrobe and feel at a loss then worry no more! There is plenty of help out there for you. Firstly a shameless plug to another blog post I wrote where I teamed up with stylist Chanel Sade who tells all on basic styling. You can also hire a stylist who will work with you to create your own personalised style book for your body. An incredible asset that you can continue to use for the rest of your life. My go to stylist genius based in Thailand is Jade, who is also available to go shopping with you! Another interesting option is to look into your power colours with Jill Stewart. She also offers one on one virtual styling sessions.

Hair and makeup

If you have the budget, getting a professional hair and makeup artist is the way to go. It will relax you and help you feel more beautiful and confident. Normally my male clients don’t feel they need this, but, there’s nothing wrong with getting a professional groom and maybe some powder. It does add that extra finesse. Remember the makeup artist should be aware of your brand voice, target audience, the photoshoot mood and goals. Makeup is an extra layer of artistry going into the photoshoot and it one hundred percent needs to align with the overall objective and mood of the shoot. If it doesn’t it will be noticeable. If you are hiring professionals individually make sure everyone has a mood board. 

What’s a mood board?

A mood board is a visual aid that provides the style, theme and mood of the shoot. Each person involved in the photoshoot should be pulling their inspiration from the mood board. This keeps everything cohesive. Normally you and the photographer will work together to create a mood board that aligns with your brand.

Deliverables

This is obvious but sometimes it’s missed. I’m not sure why. Make sure you know when you will receive your images, how they will be received, the editing that will go into them and the rights that you have from the photographer for your images. All of this should be stated in a scope of work document or a proposal and a contract.

Download my Photoshoot checklist so you know you’re prepared!