It was my turn! The great thing about being a photographer is that I have other photographer friends that I can trade sessions with on a regular basis. (Thank you to Judith of Fresh Look Photography for this awesome session!) I preach all day long to clients that they need to put their faces out there, so I know that I need to practice what I preach. I have an arsenal of favorite images that I post on a regular basis of myself, my goal is to post one per nine posts on instagram, so that if someone looks at my feed, they’ll know who the face behind my business is.

The thoughts behind my outfits

One of the biggest questions that I get as a branding photographer is ‘what do I wear?’…believe me, I stood in front of my closet for awhile trying to decide what I wanted to wear for this specific shoot. But I did know a few things about what I wanted to portray: 1. I wanted people to see me as I am in all the different aspects of my life–mom, business owner, photographer 2. I’d never had someone capture me as a photographer & business owner in a branding session, just headshots, so I wanted to get my best tools out with me 3. We were just coming out of quarantine…there were some outfits that I had bought over those last few months couldn’t wait to get out and wear!

Tips for your next shoot

1. Make sure the photographer you work with is someone that you’re comfortable being around! Judith was perfect for me, we have similar energies, so it was easy to be myself around her and chat during our sessions together.

2. Bring a bunch of different outfits & mix up your hair. Because I don’t have a photographer following me around on a daily basis, it was important for me to take advantage of this session and get a good mixture of images that I could use for months and months without feeling like I was sharing the same thing over and over again. I brought a bunch of outfits that were easily transitioned (I could put a jacket over it and change the look or I could easily change in the corner, or car, if I needed to…wear the right undergarments for this!) and I made sure to put up my hair in different ways so that I didn’t look exactly the same.

3. Bring a bunch of accessories–hats, necklaces, shoes, earrings, etc. This is a great way to finish off outfits so that you add some of your personality in there.

4. Take pictures of all your different outfits with their accessories the night before. I was organized before I left the house, but once I packed everything up and got to the shoot, I totally forgot what I had planned to wear with each outfit since all the earrings had gone into one pouch and all the shoes were tossed into one bag. Take a picture of your outfit with your phone to help you remember what goes with what. Believe me, it’ll save you a lot of stress while you’re trying to change in the corner!

5. Pick a location that has a bunch of different looks all in one small space. We did our session at Horticulture Design Co. in Norfolk which was the most perfect little shop! It had great lighting and offered many different looks depending on the corner of the store you were in and which angles we chose. This will add to the variety of images that results from your session.

Of course I have many other tips on what to wear or how to prepare for your session, so check them out in my client preparation blogs!

Take a look at more highlights from my session with Judith!