I have been having a BLAST shooting personal branding sessions for creative entrepreneurs over the last few weeks! To refresh your memory, personal branding photography is all about capturing who you are as an entrepreneur and what makes your brand unique. It’s a way to tell your story, connect with your audience and expand your brand beyond what you sell. These images can include headshots, your workspace, creative process, tools of your trade and MUCH more to display on your website, social media and other marketing efforts.

I often get questions about branding photography and one of my most frequently asked questions is, ‘How can I take my own quick photos for my business before hiring a professional?” I got you, boo! You may need some time to invest in a pro but you still want to put your best foot forward to brand your business and attract your dream clients. So read below for 5 tips for taking better photos for your business!

Define Your Brand

Before you take any photos for your business, you need to define your brand! There’s one thing in your business that sets you apart from the competition and that’s YOU. Answer these questions to make an elevator pitch for yourself!

• What does your business offer? Think literally but more importantly, what is the EXPERIENCE?
• What makes your brand unique?
• What words describe your brand?
• Who is your ideal client and how can you help them? Do you want your content to educate, inspire, or entertain them?
• What main themes come up over and over again in testimonials?
• What are your brand colors?
• What do you love to do outside of your business?

I could go on with brand-defining questions but you get the gist 🙂

Make Checklists

Make a few checklists to keep you on track so you can get a good amount of photos in one mini-shoot! A few lists you should make:

• Where you’ll use these photos (website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.)
• List of props you’ll need (laptop, tools of your trade, books you love, fun things you collect, etc.)
• Headshot needs (full body, waist up, sitting at a desk, working on a project, etc.)

You can download my Personal Branding Photography checklist below!

Capture photos that reflect your brand

The best advice I can give non-photographers without getting too techy is to have good light and remove distractions! The best light you can have is natural light so get near a window, open door or shoot outside in open shade. Simple backgrounds will let your branding items take the lead so you can use a whiteboard, floor, desk, rug or any other neutral surface! Brand photos do not have to be all stock photos and flat lays! Love nature? Take scenic photos! Into fitness? Throw on some workout gear and take a few fun headshots. Get creative and capture what works best for your brand and lifestyle! See my ukulele photo in the images below 🙂

Have Variety

Leverage the time you set aside for this project and take as many photos as possible! Diversify your images by taking shots from different angles (from above, at eye-level and with white space on either side), on different backgrounds and adding in different elements. Let your brand photos help you tell a story so make sure all of your elements make sense together haha!

Hire a Pro

The easiest tip I can give you is to invest in your business and a professional branding photographer 🙂 My Personal Branding Experience takes the guesswork out of it! The experience a game-changer and we’ll capture hundreds of personalized images to populate your website, social media feeds! Basically, we’ll uplevel your brand to the max 🙂 Shoot me an email at angie@mcphersonphotos.com if you’re interested!

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I hope these tips help you take better photos for your business! For more help, download my Personal Branding Photography Checklist so that you can start building your inventory (get your camera or iPhone ready)!

Here are a few fun brand photos of mine 🙂