Pull out all the STOPPS!

If you've read any of my articles or seen my posts you'll know one of my favourite sayings is

It's so much more than a photograph!

Not only is it all the feels and memories captured, but the confidence they give, knowing you can show up everyday with brand images you're proud to share. Images that you know make you relatable and real as they tell your stories and show how you are the go to person. Images that attract your ideal client and grow you and your business.

To create such images, there's lots of pieces to the jigsaw puzzle that ultimately create the brand experience perfect for you. Here in this article I will take you through my STOPPS system which ensures you have considered all you need to prepare for your photo shoot. With all these aspects covered, when it comes to your session you can totally go with the flow, knowing you are capturing all of you.

The STOPPS System.

These are the 6 steps to creating your brand photo shoot experience. This results in brand images that connect with your audience and attract your ideal clients.

STORIES

The starting point is identifying the brand stories that you want to share. These are the stories which show your audience how you can guide them to the solution to their problem. They will build the all important know, like and trust with them as you are relatable and real. The best part is that it is really clear, not just how you help them, but what it would be like to work with you too. This all makes the buying decision much easier as you become their obvious choice.

For more insight into developing your own brand stories and bringing them to life, here is a recent article on the topic https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/brand-stories-attract-your-ideal-clients-kier-adair

TIMINGS

Timings are a key consideration for a number of reasons. Firstly, lighting can vary greatly through the day and will impact on the look and feel of an image. For a softer effect, early and later in the day work best when the sun is lower in the sky. Brighter more vibrant shots will need to be taken in the middle of the day. Seasonality could be important too. Is the Summer vibe key to your brand or the colours of Autumn, for example?

Finally, if you have a certain amount of time for your shoot, it's important to plan the timing to ensure you can capture all that you want to and make the best use of your session

OUTFITS

One of the first questions I get asked is what to wear for my photo shoot! My advice always starts with what makes you feel good, what's most appropriate for the story you are telling and keep it simple. For some people it may work to wear elements of your brand colours but it's not essential as these can be introduced in many different ways.

It's no surprise that one of my most popular articles is is What to Wear for your Brand Shoot with my Top 5 Tips. Read it here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/what-ear-your-brand-shoot-kier-adair

PROPS

Props are a fantastic way to inject personality into your brand images and enhance your story telling. They can also be a brilliant way of strategically introducing your brand colours to give that consistent look, feel and messaging.

There are so many different ways you can introduce props from accessories, stationery and water bottles to any tools of your trade. The best approach is to consider for each of your stories, what items would you usually need. For a work brand story for example, it could be your laptop, phone, notebook and specialist equipment like my camera. A brand story reflecting how you spend your down time could mean props such as reading or writing books, even a dog that you walk in nature!

For lots more examples and ideas to determine which props would be right to include in your brand shoot, check out this article: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/fire-up-your-brand-images-kier-adair

PLACES

Location, location, location! One of the best ways to bring your stories and brand to life is the setting. It can determine the mood and style as well as set the scene for your story. They can also be a great way to support your brand colours with creative use of the background.

The key here is to ensure the location fits with your brand values and personality. You will evoke a very different emotion from brand images in nature to those in an urban environment; so it's important to consider what is right for each story. To get more detail and examples on the different types of locations and the type of images they suit, see this article: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/location-kier-adair

SHOTS

As with all the steps, this is another key one as the end use of your images can have a huge impact on your style and format of images. If you require them for your website, for example, you will need predominantly landscape format with images you can set for your banner too. For social media you will want to have low res photographs with negative space for your marketing messages; whilst for a book publication, you will need a higher resolution, close up, profile shot.

Here in my guide to the 10 Must Have Brand Images, you will see a variety of formats and styles that you may want to consider. Click here to receive it:

You can see it's not only so much more than a photograph, but also so much more than just getting shot! If you'd like some support in putting all these jigsaw pieces together, please feel free to reach out and message me.

A great place to start is your brand stories. If you are keen to develop yours for a brand shoot, my Brand Story Consultation could be perfect for you. It's focussed 1:1 time where we deep dive into your personal brand and determine which are the brand stories for you and how to showcase them. Message me to book a consultation or If you'd like a taster, feel free to book a complimentary 30 minute call: https://calendly.com/kieradair/brand-story-taster-session

Thank you so much for reading this article. If you have enjoyed it, please subscribe or feel free to share.

Until next week!!

Kier

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