How To Prepare For Your Personal Brand Photoshoot

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Gone are the days of the classic headshot with the bland background and the high school pose. Visual assets are extremely important when telling your story and building your personal brand. It might feel scary or unnatural to be planning a photoshoot for yourself, but it is essential for any female executive building their personal brand. Below are a few tips on how to prep for your photoshoot so you can feel confident about the day and the final images!

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  1. Communicate with your photographer—From the get go it is really important that you find the right photographer and that the photographers understands your vision for the photoshoot. There is no shortage of photographers, whether through recommendations or on Instagram. Make sure to find a photographer that specializes in lifestyle and/or personal brand photography. Next, make sure that you have agreed upon the number of setups/outfit changes and delivery of images. We would recommend at least 2-3 outfit changes with the same number of set ups. Wendy Yalom is a fabulous personal branding photographer that I follow and has great examples.

  2. Create a Pinterest board of poses—Posing for a photoshoot can feel very uncomfortable. To help you prepare for the day, create a Pinterest board and pin various shots and poses that you would like to capture. You can search, ‘personal brand photoshoot,’ ‘personal brand photography,’ ‘lifestyle photography,’ and more to uncover poses to pin. Pin as many as your heart is inspired by. Then go back in and edit down to 5-10 poses and share with your photographer. It is super important that you share with your photographer so they help to guide you on the day of the shoot. Here is a great post on various poses.

  3. Compile outfit ideas—In a separate Pinterest board or saving to your Instagram Collection, we recommend saving ideas for the outfits you would like to wear for the shoot. Before deciding the outfits, think about how you want to communicate your personality and what you want to be saying with your images. Depending on your industry, it is standard to do 1-2 outfits in a dress or suit and heels and another outfit a bit more business casual—maybe jeans and a blouse.

  4. Find the right location—Another very important aspect of the storytelling through your images is the location. If you are an executive at a corporate company, then it might be best to have the photographer come to your office and shoot you around your office. If your office space is bland, then work with your photographer to find a space that showcases your personality and professionalism. An easy thing to do is look into co-working spaces in your area or rent spaces on Peerspace—there are tons of various setups to choose from at your fingertips.

  5. Prepare for the day—Make sure you are not running around the day of! You might already be feeling uncomfortable or stressed about the actual shoot, so make sure you:

    • Send your list of poses to your photographer at least a week before the shoot

    • Get your outfits together—whether trying on your own clothes, purchasing or borrowing—including jewelry and shoes at least 1-2 weeks in advance

    • Follow up with the photographer and venue to confirm timing of shoot

    • If you are getting your hair and makeup done, make sure to allow plenty of time for it all ahead of the shoot so you are not late

Tag us in your personal brand photos on Instagram so we can see how your photoshoot turned out! And make sure to click the FOLLOW button to stay up-to-date on all that we are working on.

And if you want to know the next steps to build your personal brand, take our quiz: “What Is Your Personal Brand Missing?” It takes 5 minutes and provides your the tools and tips to start building your personal brand today!