This week, I am sharing my seven best tips for planning a personal branding session wardrobe!
The single most asked question I get with branding sessions is, “What do I wear?” I realize it can be hard to figure out how to represent yourself to the world, but below are seven tips for planning a personal branding session wardrobe to help you get started! Be sure to think through these questions when prepping for your session!
#1 Who are you marketing to?
Are you marketing to a professional market that would expect you to look business-casual, pulled together, and professional? Are you a personal trainer or yoga instructor whose clients would expect to see you in comfortable clothing? Are you a life coach that helps busy moms? You would need to look polished and pulled together, but not too dressy. Your clothing has to speak to your audience. Consider how your clients would find you dressed when they interact with you for your more professional looks. Also, consider how you’d be dressed on a weekend for more fun and casual, relaxed photos that show your fun personal side.
#2 How are you going to be using these images?
Your website, Facebook ads, Instagram? If you have a particular platform, I would suggest incorporating contrast in colors to help you pop in that beat. For example, the Facebook interface is predominantly blue. I would suggest incorporating yellow through props and clothing to make images for a personal branding client wanting to do Facebook ads pop. Remember, your images and ads need to stop people in their scrolls.
#3 Other colors and clothing options to consider are bright, solid colors and colors in your actual brand.
My personal brand includes a lot of teal and yellow, so if I were planning my own personal branding session, I would be sure to incorporate some colors in my clothing and props that would highlight those colors. When in doubt, solid colors work best but try to incorporate some different textures in your clothing as well. Great ways to do this are a blazer, a sweater, or a scarf.
#4 Layers, layers, layers.
Layers are the easiest way to achieve a look without a complete outfit change. We can photograph you with a cute dressy top layered with a denim jacket and then pop that jacket off for a quick second look and then add a sweater over that top for look three. This is all without having to take time out for a full outfit change. You can also consider hats, scarves, jewelry, and all other fun accessories for a variety of looks and changing up outfits quickly.
#5 Don’t forget the shoes.
While we won’t be focusing on the shoes in your session, I definitely recommend and I definitely don’t recommend buying new shoes for your session. You need to be okay with your shoes being in the photos. We will be taking a variety of images from the full body to close up and some will include your shoes.
#6. Go for a variety of outfits, from dressy to casual.
We will always start with your dressy outfits first and then move to the casual ones. I save your casual outfits for the end because when you will be most comfortable with me and being in front of the camera. That’s when the fun starts and we can really get you to pop and shine and capture images that reflect your true personality.
#7 How many outfits should I bring?
That’s a common question that I get. Honestly, it will depend on several things, but the general rule is two to four outfits per hour. Some of the things you need to consider are your session goals for your individual branding session, the shot list that we’ve created during your session planning, the number of locations we’ll be using, and other variables like that. Just keep in mind that the more time you spend changing equals the less time we spend shooting. So my general rule is to keep it simple.
I hope these ideas have helped you get started with your branding session. When we start to plan your session, I will send you several questionnaires that will get your creative juices flowing and allow you to start brainstorming looks and outfits, and props that we can incorporate into your session that will truly reflect your brand and give you beautiful style imagery. These images will make you shine online and position you as the Go-To professional in your industry. This allows you to connect with those future clients and grow those relationships.
SENIOR | FAMILY | TEENS | BRANDING
Shelly Niehaus Photography is a Boise, ID-based branding and headshot photographer. Shelly specializes in professional headshot photography, personal branding photography and lifestyle photography. Shelly serves the greater Treasure Valley area including Boise, Meridian, Eagle, and Nampa.
[…] share some great tips, in addition to the ones that I’ve provided in my previous blog post on How to style yourself for your upcoming branding session. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a note in the comments if these tips are […]