Five tips to maximise your personal branding shoot
A personal branding photo-shoot is a big deal - it’s about digging deep into who you are, where you’re going on your business journey and who it is you want to connect with. It’s an opportunity to look at who you are at your best, and how we can celebrate your story, and share your gifts, talents and message in the most beautiful way. It’s a real investment in yourself and your business. So how can you make sure you’re getting the most out of your shoot?
Well, here are my five top tips:
1. First things first, choose a personal branding photographer that takes beautiful photographs and that just feels RIGHT. Look at their website and social media pages, get a sense of their work and who they are as an individual. Creating brilliant photographs is a process, it’s not instant; it takes conversation, co-operation and above all, trust and a willingness to be open. Therefore, being able to get on well with and relate to your photographer is essential. You can expect to be spending time talking about yourself, your business, what inspires you and who you aspire to be, and if your personal branding photographer doesn’t get it, believe me, your photos will reflect that! You’ll know when it feels right. Gut feelings count for SO much!
2. My next tip is to be open with your photographer. Your photographer is there to support you, and the more you can invest in the preparation process, talking clearly about what you really want from your photo-shoot and also raising any concerns about being in front of the camera, the better your shoot will be. It’s a collaboration and it’s imperative that you’re on the same page.
3. For women, I really recommend working with a make-up artist. I work with a fantastic make-up artist called Caroline who’s an absolute wizard. She can take the pressure off on the day of your shoot – the right make-up prep for your skin, the right colours for your complexion, uneven eyeliner flicks (we’ve all been there!), she’s got you covered! I want to capture you at your best and if you feel confident and like a real sparkly humdinger, it’ll make the process infinitely more enjoyable and you’ll get even more amazing photographs from your shoot experience!
4. I always arm my clients with cheat sheets for preparing their clothing, props and themselves in advance. Make this a priority – you want to look and feel your best on the day of your shoot, and you want to be able to look back on your personal branding images with pride, so it’s important to invest the time beforehand in great self-care.
5. Throughout the whole planning process and on the day of the shoot itself, keep your ideal client in mind. This will influence the stories you want to tell, the places you want to be photographed and how you want to look and come across. This is about you up-levelling your brand and business to a place of pride, celebration and excitement in order to attract those dream clients to working with you!
