PLANNING YOUR BRAND & SHOOT AESTHETICS | SAN FRANCISCO LIFESTYLE & BRAND PHOTOGRAPHER

Gathering inspiration and creating a mood board is an essential element of a photography session. A visual mood board is the backbone of a successful branding session. It is essential to plan your photoshoot in advance and also create a shot list. The five steps involved in planning your branding photoshoot are depicted as:

1. BRAND GUIDE - If you already have a brand guide, GREAT! If not, no worries! Create a mood board instead!

2. FINALISING THE MOOD BOARD - This does not need to be exact "shots" - but can also be elements, and textures creating an overall feel of your brand.

3. OUTFIT IDEAS - Please add to the mood board, and make a list. It's crucial your look aligns with who you are, and your overall brand and that you feel comfortable and at ease.

4. ACCESSORIES AND DETAILS - Example: If red lipstick is your signature, jot that down here! Other examples are: "felt hat for outdoor images, technology for action shots, fresh flowers, candles, scarf for outside, etc.

5. LOCATION AND BACKDROPS - Example: Office environment, yoga studio & redwoods.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Now that you have worked on the photoshoot planning, it’s time to work on your lists. Please come up with at least 5-10 must-haves below. Note that if you are not doing a shoot right now, these will become great content ideas + concepts for your content calendar. Please create an in-depth shot list followed by a coinciding prop list. Remember to specify the locations for each.

I would love to summarize the content for you with an amazing example of a branding shoot for a yoga instructor or a yoga studio! An ideal in-depth shot list required for planning the shoot would be as follows:

1. CHIA GRANOLA BOWL WITH COFFEE FOR MORNING ROUTINE (props: food, spoon, coffee + mug | Kitchen)

2. JOURNAL + CANDLE FOR BEHIND THE SCENES FOR SELF-CARE (props: yoga mat, journal, candle, pen, lemon water | home studio)

3. STACK OF INSPIRATIONAL BOOKS TO THUMB THROUGH (yoga books, cookbooks, ram das, drinking a smoothie in a living room setting)

4. LIVE YOGA CLASS FOR ZOOM MEETING WITH CLIENT (computer, yoga may, athletic gear, bolster, water bottle outside on porch).

Whooo! You are getting places, it's all coming together!!

These planning sessions help you to create variety and maintain precision. They assure an extremely positive client experience and deliver high-quality photographs that surely capture the essence of your brand!!