If you have landed on this page, it means you are either considering a personal branding session or you have already booked one. My goal here is to educate and make a personal branding session seem a little less daunting. This blog post is a long time coming. I have been wanting to do a big post of how to prepare for your personal branding session for awhile now to help educate clients and important things to keep in mind when preparing for your own sessions. Personal branding sessions are so vital to help your business create an identity, to be the face behind your brand and also to help the world know who you are and what your business stands for. Beautiful branding images take time. From the planning stages, to the shooting, to the delivery of the images. It is a total labour of love, and you need to be willing to put in the work to get the result.

Why is personal branding important?

First impressions
Trust + Reliability
Helps convey emotion
Increases engagement

A personal branding session is so much more than just updating your headshots. Yes, that is 100% important and we will do that. But these sessions are about digging deep into your brand to let its identity show through. Even if you do not have a product to sell, we have so much content to create for you to use in your day to day work life.

Below I have created 4 in depth ways to help you prepare for your personal branding sessions.

01. BRAND IDENTITY

First off, you need to determine your brand identity, your colour scheme, your values, your ideals, your focus and then create a mood board. All of these things matter when planning your branding sessions.

So, what is personal branding? Personal branding is what shapes the perception of an individual in the eyes of the public. Personal branding is all about building your reputation, creating an image of yourself for the outside world and marketing yourself as an individual.

Is your brand light and bright or dark and moody? These are all questions you need to ask yourself so we can plan the session location and vibe. I will touch more on this in point 04 down the page. Do you have a logo and colours associated with your brand identity? We typically like to take those colours and pull them into your personal branding session in forms of a notebook, decor in the space, an outfit choice or even flowers to set on a workspace.

I really want you to dig deep and do some visual brainstorming on the values of your business, what your ideal client is and what your purpose is with doing this session.

02. PURPOSE

This is a huge part of planning your session. Are you doing this session to focus on headshots, social media content, a specific date for a product launch, content to post on holidays, content for newsletters and stock photos. There are so many different types of images we will take at a branding sessions. Here are some questions to ask yourself in the weeks leading up to your session?

WHAT IS YOUR WHY?
WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?
WHAT ARE YOUR VALUES?
WHAT IS YOUR GOAL?

A FEW DIFFERENT IMAGES TYPES WE CAN CREATE:
- Headshots
- Behind the scenes
- Flat lays
- Detail shots
- Action shots
- Lifestyle shots
- Stock images

Remember your branding session is SO much more than headshots. Those are important of course, because everyone loves to see the face behind the brand. But you also need filler images which allows your content to be so much more than just your face.

03. SHOT LIST WISH LIST

I call this the wish list. Who doesn't love a good wish list? This is a huge part of the planning process. In point 02, we talked about your why and what kind of images we can capture. Now it’s your turn to dig deeper and figure out what content you want to capture and write down your special requests. Are you bringing a specific prop that you want to use for holiday content? or balloons to prepare for a birthday post? You want your branding photos to tell your story.

HAVE FUN WITH IT AND TRUST YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER.

Let’s show your workflow and how you step by step deliver your product or service. If you create something, lets capture the process of you doing so. Do you drink coffee every morning while replying to emails? Or drink wine after a long day of work? Or buy yourself flowers to celebrate your wins? Let’s capture that, because it’s who you are.

Are you launching a new product or service in the next few months? Is there a caption to a IG post but you never have a photo to match it? Are you launching your website and need negative space imagery? Landscape vs. vertical images? PLAN. PLAN. PLAN.

Who you are is a huge part of most small businesses brands. People are genuinely curious who you are and what your hobbies are or how you spend your free time. It is how people can relate to you.. Take into consideration your daily activities. Children, pets, hobbies, cooking, sports or your interests. Let’s try to incorporate these into your session. Again, let’s tell your story and your why. .

04. PROPS/OUTFITS/LOCATION

This is the biggest and most important step in the planning process. I mean, they are all important but this one really sets the tone for your session. So I am going to break this into categories for you to easily navigate, yay!

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Props:
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You want your props to match your brand identity. Laptops, cell phones and notebooks make for great posing tools because we all use them. Make sure you don’t have bright, colourful stickers or cases on these items. And if you do, ask yourself if they match the identity we are trying to achieve. Bring sassy coffee mugs to drink out of, cute notebooks with inspirational quotes or your favourite book you are reading.

WHAT ITEMS DO YOU USE WHILE WORKING AND CAN INCORPORATE INTO YOUR SESSION?
- Laptop
- Blue light glasses
- Notebooks or planners
- Calendar
- Pens/pencils
- Books
- iPad
- Camera
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Outfits:
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Possibly the hardest part of the whole process. Because if you are anything like me, getting ready is like a shit show in my closet every morning and I try on 92 things because I can leave the house. Plan your outfits days in advance. I recommend bringing at least 2 outfits to your session. Bring 5 if you want. The more variety, the better. You don’t want all your photos for the next few months to look like you wear the same clothes everyday. But most importantly, be yourself. Don’t dress in clothing items you wouldn’t normally wear or you don’t feel comfortable in. I recommend bringing a mix of formal vs. casual outfits too switch it up.
HERE’S A FEW TIPS TO HELP YOU PICK OUTFITS:
- Wear solid colours
- Be yourself and wear what you would normally wear
- Wear clothes that fit well and you feel comfortable in
- Accessorize your outfit (hats, jewellery, shoes)
- Wear your brand colours
- Bring wardrobe options (cardigans, blazers, layering pieces, extra tops)
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Locations: 
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We need to decide on location based on your business and what service you provide. Not every home office is as glamorous as we think. Some are in basements with no windows. But don’t stress. There are so many options for shooting branding sessions. Show homes work as great spaces to shoot versatile sessions because they are light, bright and usually flooding with natural light. My fav. Look for locations that offer variety in the space. Textures, rooms and colours. If you typically work outdoors, well than we likely wouldn’t pick an indoor location to represent our brand. .
HERE’S A FEW SPACES I LIKE TO USE FOR SESSIONS:
- Homeoffice/Workspace (provided the lighting is good)
- Photography Studios
- Coffee Shops
- Gardens/Parks
- Show Homes
- AirBNB
- Fun Wall Murals

I know this is an insane amount of information to consume, but preparation is key to a successful branding session. Are you a entrepreneur who is looking to elevate your brand? Let’s chat. I would love to work with you! Thanks for stopping by.

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