Whenever I’m talking with clients to plan their brand photoshoots, many of them ask “do I need to get my hair and makeup done? I don’t normally wear makeup.” My answer is always yes! Not because I think women need to cover themselves up or hide who they are, but because you’ll be on camera with the specific goal of elevating your brand to represent your business, and that requires some additional attention to detail by people with experience.

Great personal brand photos can transform your entire business. They have the power to make your intended audience connect with you on a deeper level, trust your expertise, and want to support you with their business. So how can you make sure the photos you get from your personal brand photoshoot are the best they can possibly be? What exactly is it that makes a personal brand photo great? Overall, it comes down to three things…

I’m not gonna lie - the headshots I’m seeing that are coming out of AI image generators are nothing short of incredible. The details, the lighting, the colour - all of it seems perfect. Or, perhaps a little too perfect? And while I can admit that AI images are technically masterful, I just don’t like them. I can spot them a mile off, and to be honest, I feel a little cheated. When I visit your website or social media to find out more about working with you, I want to get to know you, not a machine’s interpretation of you. So, in the hope of ‘keeping it real’, here are all the ways I think actual headshots are better than AI generated headshots.

Having a brand photoshoot at home may sound stressful, but it doesn’t have to be, especially when it might be the most suitable option for small businesses with budget constraints. I’m here to help and to let you know how to get the best possible photos in any space. Read my top tips about having a successful brand photoshoot in your home…

Brand photos are your opportunity to convey a visual story to your audience. But there’s no point telling a story if there’s nothing unique to say. Generic photos are a dime a dozen, they fill a space but they don’t really say anything. People want to know what sets you apart and if your photos don’t do that, they may be letting you down. Here are my tips for how to get the most out of your brand photos.

What if it’s time to update your photos and you’re pregnant? You could wait until baby is born and then try and schedule in a photoshoot around a newborn. But during that year, you might need to ramp up promotions to sustain you on maternity leave and the extra content would be super valuable. Or you could do a photoshoot in the early stages of pregnancy to build up your content library but, if these photos appear on your website or marketing materials for the coming years, you probably don’t want to appear perpetually pregnant! So what do you do??