How to Take Your own Brand Photos.

How to take your own brand photos for your business

We all know how important having great photos for our business/brand is nowadays.

Whether you’re a small business owner, personal brand, blogger, or MLM we all need branded imagery for our businesses. It’s also so important to show our faces as we are our BRAND!

The best way to do this is to hire a photographer who specializes in brand photography and can capture authentic images that best showcase the person behind the brand and branded imagery that will set your business apart.

I know hiring a photographer is not always in the budget but that doesn’t mean that you have to settle for selfies or poorly lit pictures. Having a great set of images to use for social media and your website should be a priority.

Check out below for some tips to get you started on taking your own brand photos!!

BEFORE YOU GET STARTED. It’s important to have a very clear brand identity. You need to know how and where you will be using the images. What is their purpose: what is the message you want to tell? The last thing you want is to create a bunch of random photos.

Without knowing how and where you will be using the images and the message you want to relay you are just planning for pretty images that have no real purpose or connection. 

Once you are clear on this then you can move on to the fun stuff…..

What you need: A tripod and a camera.

Before we get started CLEAN YOUR LENS! The last thing you want is to nail the perfect image and have a dirty lens that ruins the quality.

Lighting is KEY

• Natural Light is your best bet (unless you’re a pro with studio lighting then rock on with your bad self!)
  • Pay attention to the light in your home during the day and try to shoot at the same time for consistency. 
  • Try to avoid shooting when the sun is directly coming into the window to avoid harsh lighting
  • Face towards a window
  • The key is to try and find a large light source
  • Open a door if all else fails
  • If possible turn off all indoor lighting to create even lighting 
  • Avoid standing under a light as it will cause ugly shadows under your eyes
  • Back lighting, (when your light source is coming from behind you), can be fun to play with but try to have another light source in front of you or the image may not be as sharp, and often times will come out hazy. Play around with it.

Set up you tripod and set the stage

If you don’t have a tripod then stack some books or use a shelf to set your camera on. I once used my kids highchair with two large Costco sized snack boxes to create a tripod lol. You want your camera to be at eye level or slightly above. You can definitely can get creative with this but try to nail the basics first.

• Clear any clutter and aim for a simple background
• Have your props nearby
• Set down a placeholder so you know where to stand and where you camera should focus on. If you’re using a cell phone you shouldn’t have to worry about that since it will auto focus but it’s still good to put a piece of paper on the ground so you know where to stand.
• When first setting up use your forward facing camera to see where you are placed and then flip it to use the rear camera as this will give you the best quality.
• Set the timer or use a remote to take the picture 

Posing

• Practice posing in the mirror
• Play with different angles and heights. Up close and further away. 
• Smile then look away from the camera
• Add in movement 
• Play with your hair
• Use your props 
• Fake laugh your ass off until it becomes natural and you capture a genuine smile
• Leave space in some images that you may need to add text to later.

Lastly, Have FUN! Know that you’re going to have a ton of bad images at first and that’s OK!. Practice makes perfect : ) If you find that you’re just not able to capture what you need then consider hiring a photographer that can make your brand come to life! It will be money well spent.

There’s so many other things to consider when taking your own photos for your brand but this should help you get started. If you have any questions leave them in the comments below!

Happy Shooting!