HOW TO PREPARE FOR A PERSONAL BRANDING PHOTOSHOOT - BOISE BRANDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Personal Branding is how you choose to present yourself to your audience. Whether you are a business owner, an influencer or thought leader, your personal brand is how you package yourself to the world and how tell your story. It is the unique combination of skills, experience, and personality (the who, what and why) that will help attract your ideal audience while repelling those that don’t align with you. How you execute your personal brand should be a thoughtful process, it should authentically reflect who you are and what you want to tell the world. For the purposes of this article I am going to focus on how you should prepare for your professional personal branding photoshoot.

Let’s dive in, shall we?

1. Know what your brand identity and message are. Here are some key questions to answer that can help you carve out the story you want to tell.

   1. How will your brand make people feel?

   2. What sets you apart from the masses?

   3. What are your core beliefs and values?

   4. What tone will you be using in your messaging? (Are you funny? Serious? A combo of both? etc. Hint: It should reflect who you are in real life.)

   5. What aspects of your life are you going to be sharing? (Just business, or pieces of your personal life as well?)

   6. What skillset(s) are you offering?

   7. Who is your ideal client?

   8. What problem do you solve?

   9. What is your niche?

2. Create a plan

   Once you have an idea of your brand identity, you can begin creating a plan on what types of images you want and how you want to use them. Brainstorm the kind of content you want to share with your audience. Poke around the social media platforms you’ll be using, find people in your industry and see what speaks to you. Pinterest is another great tool. Create a board for your upcoming shoot to gather ideas and inspiration.

3. Plan your outfits

   I’ve already written a post devoted to this which you can see HERE.

4. Gather your props

   You’ll want to plan on bringing some of the tools of your trade. You obvs know better than me what those things are. Examples include: Laptop, camera, notepad, glasses, etc. Also include some of those items you are rarely seen without: Coffee mug, your toy poodle, your gameboy. Props are a great way to add in your unique personality. Have fun with it!

5. Decide on a location/s

   I suggest having at least one indoor location and one outdoor location. You’ll want some variety to choose from.

6. Create a shot list

   Again, utilize social media and Pinterest for this. Get out a notepad and jot down the images that you want to have for your brand’s social media content. Get creative and mix it up! This is your opportunity to show your audience your personality. I suggest having a combination of professional images (in the office working, for example) and a variety of more playful images (what you do in your downtime). At the end of the day you want your followers to connect with you, to see you as someone they could be friends with.

7. Find a photographer

   This is rather obvious, but important to include. Find a photographer that you jive with and puts you at ease but also has a portfolio that speaks to you.

I really believe that this photoshoot should be a fun and empowering experience for you! Putting yourself out there for all the world to see can be a very vulnerable thing, but it is also brave and exciting! Investing in a personal branding photo session is investing in YOU. Putting a little thought and planning into it will give you the best bang for your buck. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed :)