How to Prepare for a Brand Session

Thinking about booking a brand session but a little nervous about what you need to do?

Let’s talk about the vision:

Seth Godin, a New York Times bestselling author and business executive, once said: “People don’t buy goods and services. They buy relations, story and magic.” 

We agree completely. This is why we are passionate about brand photography: we love working with new clients to help them effectively convey the relations, story and magic behind their product. 

With this in mind, we proudly offer brand photography as part of our services. We are committed to helping all kinds of businesses increase their brand awareness through creative flatlays, behind-the-scenes and styled shoots. Our brand sessions are ultimately customized for your business goals, and reflect your brand identity. 

How do I prepare for my brand session, you ask? 

Here’s an outline of key tips to keep in mind before we meet to celebrate and feature your brand!

1. Make time in your schedule

You are making an investment by booking a brand photographer. In order to make sure that investment is worth it, you need to understand that the most important thing about the session is the planning process. 

It is my job to guide you through each part of the process, but it is a collaborative effort. The more you are involved in the planning process, the better your session will be!

2. Get clear on your brand

Tell me about your brand identity. Determine the key attributes of your brand, and express them to me! To increase brand awareness, a company’s brand tone, voice and values must be clearly defined and identifiable. What do you want out of this session? Who is your ideal client? What does your company stand for? What visuals, textures or colours best align with your services? If your brand tone is all about freshness, femininity and vibrancy, it might be best for the session to play off heartwarming themes and light and muted tones, instead of yielding moody images, with regal or somber colours and darker lighting!  

3. Decide what to wear

Remember that what you wear totally matters! It goes without saying you will look great no matter your attire. But I’d encourage you to prioritize comfortable clothing that will allow you to fully enjoy your entire session. Although your choice of outfit is up to you, I recommend that you wear clothing that reflects your brand colours. For example, a soft colour pallet is best not paired with firetruck red. Likewise, bright and fun brand colours should be matched with bright and fun outfits! If you are hesitating, white is a safe choice. 

4. Decide on hair & makeup

Beyond clothing, determine whether you want your hair and makeup done. This is of course a personal choice, but my recommendation would be to do whatever makes you feel the most confident! 

We do

And don’t forget your nails! For most sessions, I will be photographing your hands –as you hold a business card, showcase a product, or other. You don’t need to get a fresh manicure, but make sure your hands are clean & nail polished isn’t chipped!

3. Use Props

THIRD, get those props ready! Props are a great way to add personality to your brand session. Whether it be business cards, confetti, products that contain your logo, everyday work items like your laptop or planner, or objects revealing your brand personality like flowers or food… we LOVE props. We strongly recommend that you collect them and bring to your session, and we will coach you throughout our time together on how to best reorganize them and use them. 

If you need some assistance with collecting such props, I offer prop sourcing for an additional $50. Just let me know within 1 week of your session so I can get everything we need to share your brand’s story and character. 

4. Decide if you Need Models

FOURTH, determine whether you will be needing models. There are certainly times when models are an asset. Some of my clients will ask models to take part in the session, to demonstrate services as I photograph. Examples of this would be a makeup artist having someone that she can demonstrate makeup on while I photograph. Another example would be a clothing store bringing in models of different sizes to model the variety of sizes they offer. 

I ask my clients to find their own models, which can usually be done through doing a model call on social media. Please let me know ahead of time if models will be part of our session, as the models will need to sign a model release form. Models do not have to have any previous experience in front of the camera. You can even bring in your sister or friend! If you need any assistance with finding models, feel free to send me a message. 

5. Prepare yourself for the session

FIFTH, keep in mind that you can’t mess up your session. It is completely normal for you to be nervous about getting your photos done – but note that I promise I will do everything I can to help calm your nerves. My hope is that you would have a truly enjoyable experience! 

We hope this helps! We are confident that, when these key pieces of advice are kept in mind, our brand sessions will allow clients to successfully communicate the relations, story and magic of their brand! If you are looking to book a session, click HERE to view our work & process!

xo Victoria & Levi