11 tips for a Successful Brand Photoshoot
I’ve had at least 5 brand photoshoots over my 8 years in business and over this time I’ve discovered that a successful brand photoshoot is the result of a lot of thought and planning.
So today I want to share my top tips on how to prepare for a brand photoshoot for a successful day!
1.Pick a photographer who makes you laugh
I’ve worked with four different photographers over the last 8 years, one of which I’ve hired multiple times.
For most of us mere mortals, transforming into a model doesn’t come easily so you want to pick a photographer who makes you laugh and sets you at ease.
They should get you and what you want to achieve.
You can get a sense of this from their social media and website but if possible try to meet them in person first to make sure you have a good energy together.
And if you can’t, ask for recommendations from other business colleagues.
2.Understand what’s included in your package
Different photographers will price their packages in different ways so look out for:
Are you getting all the photos, a certain number of photos or paying per photo
How many locations are included in your shoot
How long does the photoshoot go for
Do you pay upfront, on delivery or a deposit and then the balance
How long will it take them to provide you with the final files (expect a few weeks at least)
What other inclusions do they have
3.Invest in looking and feeling your best
Whenever I have a photoshoot I book a hair appointment for the first thing that morning, followed by make-up (I book in at Napoleon Perdis) and I get my eyebrows waxed and nails done a couple of days before.
Trust me the investment is worth it!
Don’t try new hairstyles on the day - speaking from experience - go with what you know works!
4. Write a list of what you need the photos for
As I said earlier, good photoshoots take planning so the first thing is to think about what do I need these for?
For a website, what pages do you have and what do you want the photos to impart to the visitor.
If you are doing them for a new program or course, think about what will tell the story of that offering.
If you have a free-opt-in, can you print out the materials and include them in the photos?
For my latest shoot I was clear that I needed photos for my new business Pisces Creative Co. and more specifically:
Brand Signature Offering
Images of my Summary PDF
Images of Mood boards
Images of my Archetype cards
AstroLuxe Offering
Images of me designing work
Images of my Brand Guide
Images of my Full Brand Boards
Images with client
Free Guide
Images of me with the astrobranding guide
5.Think about what type of photos you need
This might seem like the previous point but it’s more about the composition.
Do you need landscape or portrait?
Do you need headshots?
Fun or Professional?
White space or background?
Inside or outside?
6.Write a list of locations
Based on the previous two points think about what locations would work for what you need?
This can be on the beach, in the country, in a forest, in a cafe, at a market - really whatever works for your brand!
I’ve done photos on the beach, in cafes, in wineries, in a hotel room and in my home.
In my recent shoot we decided to do it all in my home for ease but we had multiple locations including the front of my house, my office, my bedroom, my lounge and dining area and in my outdoor living area.
7.Think about the colour scheme
Your brand photoshoot should bring through the colours of your brand. So you should collect props that match the vibe and colours of your brand - this can be through:
Outfits, bags and jewellery
Cushions or Rugs
Candles or Crystals
Books & Notebooks
Flowers
Food & Drinks
Oracle or Tarot Cards
This can be done in endless ways but be intentional about it!
Before my photoshoot I went out and bought cushions, drink bottle, coffee cups, pens, flowers and plant pots and even a chair in my brand colours.
8.Plan outfits ahead of time
Don’t leave your outfits to the last minute! In the past I have shopped with stylists to help me plan my outfits.
For my last shoot I bought clothes in my brand colours in the month or two leading up to it and a week before I planned out 5 complete outfits and set them aside for photoshoot day.
I recommend multiple outfits because sometimes something you think will look good in the photo won’t always turn out as you think. I purchased a gorgeous white lace dress for the last photoshoot but I’ve notice that in certain photos it wasn’t sitting quite right and the material stretched a bit as I wore it.
On the other hand another outfit with a floral jacket and feather earrings looked way better than I expected!
Here’s my outfit list from my last shoot:
New jeans, boots, pink singlet and floral jacket and feather earrings
New jeans, white singlet, grey wrap
New Jeans, pink lace top, beige heels
Jeans, floral t-shirt, white sneakers
White dress and heels
9. Brief your photographer
Collate your needs and locations into a document for your photographer and prepare a mood board with types of images that you like.
Don’t be to set on this list - you need to leave room for creativity and the “magic” but it will help keep you focused and get what you want from the photoshoot.
I literally provided this to my photographer:
Sitting on floor with laptop
Placing images on wall mood board
At computer in office on pinterest and adobe illustrator
On floor with swatch book
On floor with sketch book
Outdoor area with laptop
Client images with archetype cards
Wide photos with white space
Close up photos for headshots
10. Buy fresh flowers
On the morning of the shoot (or the day before) grab some fresh flowers in your brand colours, trust me - they really lift the photos!
11. Have fun with it
Finally - photoshoots can be fun but expect to need a little bit of time to warm up, don’t take yourself too seriously and just have fun with it. And if you are anything like me, you’ll need a big sleep afterwards!
I hope you found this useful and now feel you know how to prepare for a brand photoshoot - I can support you planning your shoot as part of my AstroLuxe package, so just get in touch!
My Photographer for this photoshoot was the divine Emma Hannan of Lifes Light Creative
