A Guide on How to Plan a Personal Branding Shoot for Instagram
If you use Instagram to market and grow your personal brand, or you’re planning to, you obviously understand how important visuals are. A professional Instagram shoot will leave you with creative, eye-catching imagery that truly represents your personal brand. However, great shoots don’t just happen, they require some planning.
Here is what you should keep in mind as you plan your upcoming session:
The Theme
What is the theme of this Instagram shoot? Are you launching your personal brand for the first time? Have you started a new business or launched a new product? Outlining the theme of your shoot will help guide the rest of the planning process.
The Location
Where do you want your personal branding shoot to take place? What location will best represent what you want to achieve as well as your unique style? Whatever location you choose, keep the lighting top of mind – the more natural lighting the better.
The Props
Next, decide whether you want or need to use props in your shoot. There is no rule that says you need to but if props will help you tell your story, you should definitely incorporate a few. Just make sure they match your brand as well as your personality. Naturally, if you’re launching a new product, you already have your props.
The Shot List
If you spend a lot of time on Instagram, you probably have a good idea of the types of shots you want to get. Consider your theme as well as the location of your shoot and develop a shot list that you can share with your photographer. A shot list can consist of everything from up-close headshots to product-specific shots.
The Outfit
Your outfit is also worth a thousand words, so choose carefully. If you have specific brand colors, find ways to incorporate them into our outfits. As for branded clothing, it’s better to leave this at home. Your personal branding shoot is about you as a person. And above all else, make sure your outfit is comfortable and makes you feel confident as any discomfort will show up in your photos.
With these tips in mind, you will soon have a number of memorable personal branding photos to share on Instagram.
Jamie Salima Love is a FingerLakes, NY and Boston MA based Headshot and Personal Branding Photographer extraordinaire. She has helped thousands of small businesses, brands, and entrepreneurs over her 20 yr career by creating updated photo libraries with stellar imagery. She is available for a multitude of services, whether you’re looking to work with her to simply update your Headshots, or to create an extensive Personal Branding Photography strategy and library with all the bells and whistles she’s got you covered.