Take a second to imagine this:
It’s brand photoshoot day. Your hair is laid on time, face is beat on time, clothes are all steamed and ready to go on time, you have a schedule that everyone is sticking to, you have your crew in the background coming through with the hype, you have help with your poses, and most of all, you capture every piece of content you envisioned.
If you’re thinking this is only a dream, think again, sis. At TGND Consulting, we make this your reality. Because we understand that boss ladies are busy being bosses, we know that the time you have to properly plan AND execute a worthwhile brand shoot is nearly nonexistent. This is why we not only offer brand photoshoot and creative consulting, but it’s why we sat down with our go-to photographer, Vernon with MaxRes Photography, to share a few photoshoot secrets with you.
On Instagram LIVE, the three of us talked all about brand shoots. We discussed why you need one, how to ensure you plan a smooth one, and how to be sure you get your money’s and time’s worth. Check out the replay or read the transcript below:
Donna M: So, let’s start off with talking about teams. Would you recommend someone has a creative team?
Max Res: You can delegate tasks when you have a creative team, you can focus on their strengths whether it’s styling, hair, or creative direction. It makes a big task manageable when everyone has their role.
Donna M: That’s one of the things we offer for our clients! We provide a call sheet, if you need a makeup artist or a photographer, we provide all of that for you to make sure your production is as easy on our clients as possible.
Dwayna W: Exactly! It’s hard to try to plan a photoshoot, style yourself, do your own makeup, and make sure your vision comes to life. That’s why it’s important to hire a team to take that stress away from you, so you can focus and stay present on the day of production.
Max Res: Exactly. A major aspect of brand photoshoots is being prepared and knowing what your client wants and expects of you. You have to know your what. What type of shoot is this? Personal, product, or service? That’s your what. Then you have your why. Are you looking for reach or sales? What is your why for this shoot? What’re you looking to reach and why are we doing this?
Donna M: So, that’s the first step! If you as a brand owner struggle with finding that, we offer a service to assist with that!
Donna M: So, Vernon, how do you help your clients pull out elements for the brand shoot?
Max Res: I’d start with a questionnaire for my client. For example, I have a client who’s going to New York for fashion week in two days. We hopped on a call and started planning for about 45 minutes, planning out his outfits, his locations, and what type of images he’s looking for. We made that shoot happen. He was switching out of outfits rapidly, it was freezing cold. We executed the photoshoot with all of the elements he wanted, in an hour. All because we properly planned for the shoot.
Dwayna W: Can you imagine if he had to do all that himself and properly pose?
Max Res: It’d be hard! He probably would’ve gotten sick! But we were able to make it happen in just two days, because we executed what we talked about prior.
Donna M: So, the next step is planning, know your why, but definitely plan to a T. So why do you believe someone should book a brand photoshoot, why would you recommend this?
Max Res: Well, the obvious reason is if you have a brand, you want to get a brand photoshoot. But some people are just starting out or their brand is themselves, so you want to have nice, clean photos on your page. It really depends on the scale of the client that approaches you, but all business owners/brands can have a need for a brand photo shoot.
Dwayna W: I also want to add and touch on credibility. Having a brand photoshoot helps to build your credibility as a business. For example, if you have blurry headshots and I send this to the media, they’re not going to take you seriously. Or, if I send the media to your website and it’s full of stock photos, they won’t take you seriously. If we can’t see your brand personality and see your credibility, people won’t buy from you.
Donna M: I also want to piggyback on Dwayna. It helps your consumer or potential customer want to buy with you and connect. Your audience has to connect and feel the desire to want to buy from you.
Max Res: Agreed. Like for example, someone called me out for a shoot in Vegas last month. Never met me personally. But, because they saw my brand presence and how I present myself on social media, they chose me to shoot for their brand.
Dwayna W: Yes! That’s why it’s so important to have a brand photoshoot. You are your brand. We want to see personality!
Dwayna W: Wait! I’d love to first ask you Donna, a question, what is the process of TGND Consulting conducting a brand photoshoot? What does that process look like as the coordinator and liaison?
Donna M: So, our process is similar to Max, we want to connect first. You’ll have a call with us because what we first want to do is flush through your ideas. What you have in mind, what your vision is, and your why. Then we’ll go through the steps needed for your vision to come into fruition! For example, let’s say we have a client who wants to do headshots, but they don’t have a clue on what to wear. We’ll help you curate your wardrobe. We create mood boards based on our conversation and help curate a look. We also source the pieces and assist with everything coming together.
Max Res: Yes, like Pinterest is a great tool for creating mood boards and piecing outfits together.
Donna M: Exactly, so we can use Pinterest, or we can use another digital platform to help create that mood board! Once we have everything completed, we’ll send those mood boards to the photographer so they can review, see your vision, and help you create poses. Then, we make sure we book the photographer and makeup artist, which we also help source. All the logistics is what TGND Consulting does. In addition, we provide call sheets with contacts and times everyone needs to be on set.
Max Res: That’s a very important point. You’re not always in control of your environment too, for example if you want to do a street shoot and you come across 5 o’clock traffic, and you’re trying to get shots done. So, it’s imperative to plan and stick to the call sheet.
Donna M: Yes! We completely understand things happen too, but the purpose of the call sheet is to ensure the day goes as planned.
Dwayna W: Yes, and even when it comes to poses and props! TGND Consulting provides all of that as well with our service.
Donna M: Exactly, even for myself, I’ve struggled with planning a shoot all by myself and that’s why I know personally how important it is for a brand photoshoot. That’s why we offer that service with TGND Consulting.
Dwayna W: Even me, I’ve planned shoots for myself, and I can’t pose, so I needed help and that direction that with the help of a creative team, I was able to accomplish.
Donna M: I hope I answered your question completely!
Dwayna W: Yes, that was great! Okay, Max I have a question for you. How often do you recommend brands or entrepreneurs to refresh their images?
Max Res: It’s really hard to say. Like, I’ve had clients who are still showcasing work they did in high school and they’re showcasing it as their business photos now. Like you need new pictures. Whereas, if you’re for example, a consultant, you want to keep your photos refreshed as often as possible, so your audience is staying connected to your work and what you’re doing. But, if you’re for example an author, you’ll probably only need to refresh every 2-3 years, if you already have a solid headshot.
The replay can be watched here.
Led by Donna and Dwayna–twin sisters and mompreneurs–TGND stands for The Girls Next Door. At TGND Consulting LLC, the duo provides public relations, brand imaging and brand strategy to moms with lifestyle brands. Interested in taking your brand from good to magical? Book a FREE 30-minute PR Analysis. Want more tips? Follow @tgndconsulting on Instagram.
Written by TGND Consulting, LLC
