Props. It sounds like we’re in a musical! But whether you’re in a musical or doing a personal branding photo shoot, props are really important to help tell the story of you and your brand. Here are four important kinds of props to use in your brand photos:
1. Human Props
A personal branding photo shoot takes effort to plan, although your photographer (me) can make things easier by helping you think through the various stories you want to tell and determine the best way to bring them to life.
Unless your business is totally online, you’ll probably have real life clients that you interact with. Include a client, or a person posing as a client, into your branding session so your followers can envision being that client and feeling how it is to work with you.
If you have an assistant or a family member that helps in your business, include him or her in a few shots so your readers can place the face with the name.
2. At Work Props
This type of prop may seem like the most obvious, but take some time to think through which ones will work best. Do you write about your love of coffee or have a jewelry business? Include these items in your packing list to take to your shoot. Be sure to use your branding colors to further cement your visual branding.
The image above shows Molly at work – she loves this very special coffee mug that her friend gave her and uses it often when journaling [and keeping up her energy for four children!]
Other work prop ideas are tools of your trade – your sewing machine if you’re a maker, your collection of paint or make up brushes, laptop or cell phone.
3. Life Props
What’s the saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?” It’s the same with developing your personal brand. Your followers are coming to know you as a competent entrepreneur, but what makes you different than someone else doing the same thing? It’s your personality, my friend, and what you do with the rest of your life outside of work.
What are your hobbies or obsessions? How would a friend describe what you are like outside of your business? If you’re an avid golfer, why not include some of your golf equipment in your shoot? Not in a cheesy way, but in a way that showcases you loving life getting ready for golf.
Jenny, depicted in the image above, loves to cook in her spare time, so we captured some images for her in her kitchen creating a salad and of course drinking some wine at the same time. 🙂
4. Props for the Future
What future projects do you have cooking that you might want to prepare for now, in this personal branding photo shoot?
It could be an upcoming holiday [if your shoot is in September but you know you’ll want some holiday-inspired images for a future blog post]. Or, perhaps it’s your plan to start a podcast and you’d like to have some images of you “podcasting” before you actually begin. By doing a little planning ahead, you will be thrilled that you created visual content that will come in handy in a few months.
Robin, above, is a Cabi [fashion] stylist. When we did her personal branding shoot in the late summer, we created some images like the one above that she could use later on into October or November by adding mums.
In Summary…..
A successful personal branding photo shoot takes planning. Hopefully this article “Four Important Props to Use in Your Brand Photos” gives you some ideas to make your session more interesting.
If you’re planning to work with me for your next personal branding photo shoot, you’ll receive a printed and digital version of my 12 page planning guide/workbook filled with ideas to incorporate into your session. We will also do a pre-session consultation call in person or via Zoom to discuss all the details of your branding shoot.
Check out the blog post “4 Tips for Planning your Personal Branding Photoshoot” to learn more about other important aspects of creating converting visual content.
Wondering what types of images you’ll need to use again and again in your marketing, website or other visual content? Download my free guide “Nine Must-Have Personal Brand Images” here!
