So you’ve made the leap, you’ve booked a photo session, but you’re now wondering “what photographs do I need from my personal branding shoot?
There are usually a few standard photos that you’re going to need from a branding shoot, but then you’ll also need to think about some other things too.
- Headshots
- website images
- Advertisements
- Product photos
And these are just a few that I can think of…
Headshots
You’re going to need a straightforward, head & shoulders image for social media, your website and basically anywhere that its important to be visible . But as I mentioned in my previous post “How to choose a location for your Personal branding shoot” you don’t have to stick with the standard plain white background. As you can see from these photos; shooting Carolyn in her own studio provides the photo with a bit of context and its easily recognisable.
Website Images
Do you need photos for your website? But which areas?
The usual place is your ‘about’ page, so perhaps a selection of photos showing you workings, relaxing etc.
However lots of people use images on the front page of their website too. There’s often a large image (referred to as a ‘hero’ image) that could be a photo of you but with space to one side for copy. You might also want a photograph on your blog to introduce yourself.
I always suggest you go through your website and decide where it might be good to include a photograph of you or your products.
Product Images
Do you create or sell something physical? Do you need photos for your shop or gallery? Even if you don’t produce or sell anything, you might still have things that you’d like photographing that give your audience a better understanding of you. Whether thats a photo of things you love, your favourite perfume, clothing etc.
Advertisements & Special offers
Here I’m thinking of photos that you can use to either advertise your business or you can use to publicise special offers. You’d only be a small part of the image but it would leave lots of room for offers or information. As you can see from my Facebook cover image, on the left hand side I could easily add copy.
Do you need photographs for your Instagram feed? The options for Instagram are pretty much endless, so perhaps rather than have a photographer take the photos for you…get some training from one and you can do your own (think I might be talking my way out of a job here…).
So hopefully these suggestions will give you just a bit more help with planning your personal branding session. In the next couple of days I’ll be sharing ‘what to wear for your personal branding shoot’ and ‘why props are important’.
Thanks for reading.
M x
