How To Ace A Professional Photo Shoot

They say a picture tells a thousand words and this has never been truer than now: the era of smartphones and visual content on social media.

As a soloist, a great picture (or ten) can be your best weapon in the fight to increase your online visibility. This is why I always recommend that my clients pay close attention to profile photos and pictures of their business and products.

I always find it bewildering to see a person who has a fantastic looking, professionally designed website and logo, sporting a blurry, low resolution shot of themselves for a profile picture wherever they hang out on the web.

If you are serious about your business and want to be taken seriously, then to me it makes sense to get professional photographs taken of you (along with your premises, your products and anything else you want to use in your branding.) Your wedding pictures? Sorry but they just don’t cut it in business.

Yes professional photography can be expensive for the average soloist, but the long-term gains of a professional photo shoot are well worth the initial outlay.

So now that you’ve decided to get professional photos taken for your business, how can you make sure you get the most out of your professional photo shoot?

Here are the three main things I always focus on when planning and preparing:

1. Styling

Styling covers a whole range of different elements from positioning, props and clothing to hair, makeup and backgrounds. How you style your photo shoot is pretty crucial as it will determine how people will feel about you when viewing your photos.

If you’re looking to portray a highly professional image you might wear a suit and have your photo taken at your desk with your degree framed on the wall behind you. If you’re after a softer, more nurturing look you might wear ‘smart casual’ clothes and have the photo taken outside.

2. Lighting

Lighting is super-important when it comes to photography.

If you’re shooting outside, choose mornings and early evenings for softer light. And of course you need to keep an eye on the weather. If it looks like rain, I recommend having a backup plan, (which usually involves taking the shoot indoors or rescheduling.)

The other option is to book a session in a studio. Professional photographers can do just about anything with a good lighting setup and there’s no need to worry about rain on expensive equipment or the wind playing havoc with anyone’s hair.

3. Check you have permission to shoot

I’ve never had any problems shooting in public places, but if you’re on private property that you haven’t hired specifically for the shoot, always ask for permission from the owners.

And here’s a fourth bonus tip – something you can’t really plan for, but worth keeping in mind: things don’t always go according to plan on a photo shoot. Bad weather, unforseen events and technical glitches can all present significant challenges. So the best advice I can give for when those situations present themselves is: don’t panic!!

Photo-shoots can be nerve wracking – I know I still get butterflies whenever I have one coming up for my business – but if you want to make sure you are presenting yourself in the most professional and flattering light, bringing in the professionals beats trying to do it yourself.

What have I missed? Do you have any tips for getting the most out of a professional photo shoot?

See more at https://www.flyingsolo.com.au/marketing/how-to-ace-a-professional-photo-shoot 

Jo Macdermott heads up the team at Next Marketing whose ‘why’ is to help business owners punch above their weight. The Next Marketing team are really good at understanding ROI and commercial outcomes. Get in touch :)