4 ways to prepare for a personal branding session | Nashville Branding Photographer & Business Systems Educator Dolly DeLong Photography

 Trying to prepare for your first personal branding session? It can feel overwhelming! Here are 4 simple steps to make sure you’re ready to clearly communicate your brand and your business in your content photoshoot.

It’s really important that you thoroughly prepare for your personal branding session so you make sure to get the most out of the shoot! 

If you’ve never had a content photoshoot before, I’ve put together four ways to make sure you’re totally prepared to have the best personal branding session ever! Keep scrolling to learn exactly how to get ready for every aspect of the photoshoot.

Note: the pictures used for this blog post were from my branding session with Daughters on Fire Podcast. 

1-How to Dress for Your Personal Branding Session

My best advice? Hire a personal stylist!

I know that sounds bougie and expensive, but stylists are much more affordable than you may think. You should also think of a content photoshoot as an investment for your brand. Choosing the right clothes – color, texture, silhouette, etc – goes a long way in elevating your brand and making sure your photos communicate your brand’s personality and vibe.

A professional stylist can also help save you money by putting together outfits from the clothes you already have! They’ll show you which outfit will look best in each location (if you’re having a multiple location shoot) and will help you keep all of your looks cohesive and on-brand.

There’s often a misconception that your branding session photographer will serve as your stylist. While I’ve created a super helpful style guide that I send to all my personal brand photoshoot clients, my job is to take beautiful photos that capture the vibe and personality of your business. Hiring a stylist will help you express yourself best in flattering, well-fitted outfits that bring your brand and business to life.

I even wrote an entire blog post about the power of hiring a personal stylist, and you can read about it here. 

2-Hair and Makeup for Your Personal Branding Session

If you don’t love the way you do your own hair and makeup on a regular day, you’re really not going to like it in your branding images. Just like a stylist can help you feel your most confident and choose the best outfits for your brand, a professional hair and makeup artist can help you look and feel your best.

Having a professional handle your hair and makeup will help you relax instead of stressing out about getting ready before your content photoshoot. They will ask specific questions to help understand the look you’re going for and ensure your look is flawless. There’s an art to applying makeup that will photograph well, so going with a pro is always a good idea!

I include the option to add a hair and makeup team when you work with me, so you can confidently prepare for your personal branding session. 

3-Choose the Right Location

If finding the perfect spot is on your list of things to do to prepare for your personal branding session, you’ll want to consider booking an Airbnb. You can find some really unique and chic homes that will give you the perfect vibe and backdrops.

If you choose a public location, make sure you research whether you need a permit to shoot there. Nothing ruins a content photoshoot quicker than getting kicked out of a specific venue!

You should always talk to your photographer about the type of location you’re looking for. They can usually give you good suggestions for nearby places that match your needs. 

And if you decide to photograph at your home, be sure to add personal elements of your brand to your shoot so that you can use those images as stock images for your social media!

4-Communicate Clearly with Your Photographer

Don’t wait until the last minute to talk to your photographer about your goals and expectations for the shoot. As you prepare for your personal branding session, make sure to let your photographer know how you plan to use the photos and what look you’re going for.

I send a pretty extensive questionnaire to all of my personal branding clients, but make sure you over-communicate everything with your photographer so there are no disappointments or last-minute surprises.

It’s super important that you make sure you choose to work with a photographer whose style matches the look and vibe of your brand. If you have a moody brand, you’re not going to want to work with a light & airy photographer (and vis versa). Overall, you will feel #winning when you get to clearly communicate your brand through your photos (and the first step is by communicating your expectations with your photographer). 

Summary

A well-styled, well shot and well-planned shoot has the power to raise or change your brand profile, draw in new leads, and increase your profit. In short, you are investing in the future success of your business by having a strategically planned out photo session.

Now if you are at a point where you would like to elevate your business with a personal branding session, I would love to work with you! Click here (or below) to schedule out your session with me!

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Meet Your Friendly Nashville Branding Photographer

Dolly DeLong is a Nashville-based family & branding photographer and a creative business educator & encourager. Dolly loves serving families, eloping couples, and business owners with her timeless, radiant photography. She loves capturing the joy and emotion in both digital and film photos.

She also has a heart for serving the larger business community. Dolly shares her knowledge of tools like Pinterest, Dubsado, email marketing, and business systems with new creative business owners in an encouraging and supportive way through automation training, helpful blog posts, and her online courses. You can start your automation journey here.

Dolly’s faith and love for her family motivate her to help other business owners find the joy and freedom she’s found in running a successful small business.

Whenever she has a spare moment, she enjoys watching TV (i.e. Survivor), eating way too many sweets, and listening to podcasts while running or walking. To work with Dolly DeLong Photography LLC, please email her at thedollydelong@gmail.com or fill out her contact form here.

Interested in elevating your business with some professional branding photos? Please click on the image below to schedule an appointment with Dolly DeLong Photography!