Brand photography has come a long way from stock photos in the 90’s. Well, for the most part it has. If you’ve been considering a brand photo session but you’re not quite sure the benefits, how to plan one or how to use it with a plan… then you’ve come to the right place. I’m going to give you 5 ways that you can plan and be prepared for your photo session.

1. Have a Strategy

   Booking a brand photo session for the sake of booking one is probably going to leave you frustrated and your finances a little thin. You’ll still probably get value out of it, but without understanding or knowing where you’re going to use the photos, you might feel like you’re grasping at straws.

   I used to think that content strategy was just for those who wrote. Lifestyle bloggers. Influencers etc. As my business has grown, I’m learning the value behind content strategy and how to reverse engineer it. Plan for the year, plan for the quarter, plan for the month(s). Use any brand photos to help you reach your goals and relate to your content,

2. Plan FOR your brand

   When you do your brand photoshoot, you wanna make sure you’ve got your brand at the forefront of your mind. If you’re a farmer and end up taking photos at a coffee shop in a fancy dress wearing jimmy choos – that maaaayyy not relate to your brand. Work with your photographer about what your business is and how you want it captured. This can look like a mini session if you just need some headshots, an hour session for some quick content or a full on half day session for a season of your biz.

3. Take advantage of your time

   Whether you have 30 minutes, an hour or a full day with your photographer, make the most of the time you’ve got booked. Want more outifts but you’re only there for an hour? Bring your outfits with, make them comfortable and easy to change into. Keep in mind locations, too. If you’ve got a few different environments you’d like to capture, pick ones that are close together so you can get as much as time allows.

</noscriptA mom changing her baby's cloth diaper with Elegant Mommy products laying around them. This is a great example to showcase your products in action!

4. Bring some fillers

What I mean by fillers, is bring things that relate to your biz that look nice, could make for great content posts and fit with your brand. Example: when I go for my own branding photoshoots, I bring my planner, my laptop, my mouse, any coffee mugs and my dog. These are all things that relate to my brand and business.

Another example, back to the farmer, if you have packets of seeds, tools you use to farm, clothes you wear while farming, certain brands you use… all the little things that seem ‘extra’ can be great photos and visuals for your audience.

5. Make a checklist and check it twice

You’ve got a plan, the products, your outfits and location(s) figured out. The next thing to do is to make sure you have everything ready the day before and have a checklist ready. If you’d like a free checklist and a little more info on getting ready for your brand photo session, you can download a free PDF I made here