Whether you’re a creative entrepreneur, a blogger or influencer or small business owner, developing your own personal brand is paramount for your continued growth. People do business with people they know, like and trust. By building a personal brand, you’ll set yourself apart from others because your followers will feel like they know you! [Find out if creating a personal brand is right for you.] Planning your personal branding photoshoot will ensure that your images will help you tell the story of you and your business.
So you’ve decided to set up a personal branding photo shoot [great decision!] You know how important it is to be seen in your marketing, social media and on your website. A branding photo session will give you plenty of visual content to make telling your story easy.
Here are four tips for preparing for your next shoot:
- Determine your stories. What makes you unique? Think about not only business related stories but also personal tidbits. Is kayaking your first love, for example? People can relate to you if you show and talk about kayaking in addition to work related content! So make a quick list of stories you’d want to feature in your branding shoot.
- How do you want to be seen? How would your friends and clients describe you? Are you artistic, soulful and moody? Or would they say you’re the fun, colorful and quirky girl? Take what they tell you and run with it! Building a brand isn’t about wearing a facade, it’s all about being authentic. So flaunt what makes you you and it will look genuine in your personal branding images.
- Gather your supporting cast. Make a list of your branding colors, props, work tools and other items that work with your brand. Incorporate them into your branding shoot to bring your brand to life! Let’s face it – you don’t want a collection of beautiful images of just your face! You’ll want images of you working on your laptop, creating the jewelry you sell in your Etsy shop, making your signature recipe in your Instant Pot for a blog post and more. Incorporating colors of your brand make the shoot cohesive, so add those pops of color too!
- Plan and prepare your look. Consider professional hair and make up for that polished look. Clothing that fits well and feels good are sure to up your Wow! factor. Consider a professional outfit, a casual one and at least one other look. Include cardigans or jackets with your clothing for more variety.
Planning your personal branding photoshoot doesn’t need to be terrifying! I’m here to help every step of the way, too. I provide a printed planning guide workbook when you book your session which will help you even more!