So you want to have amazing on-brand photography, right? Where talking about the kind of photography that stops the scroll and get’s people to notice you. All the better if that photography can be done ourselves, easy, quick, and efficient (because we know between IG, FB, blog posts, and all those other platforms we have A LOT of pictures to get out). Today I’m giving you my best DIY brand photography tips. So you can save time and energy and stand out.

Oh! But if you’re more of a visual learner check out the YouTube video where I dive into everything in more detail:

So you want amazing photography but at the same time, you’re not really in a place where you want to hire a photographer. You rather learn how to DIY but oh my gosh, it’s so intimidating, where do you start?

I’ve got you…

I’m going to share with you guys all of my dirty little secrets that have gotten tons of people in my comments and in my dms complementing my photography, asking who takes my pictures, what camera I use and how I do everything.

1st secret is that all my pictures have been DIY. Want to take a look at my pics? Check out my IG here.

The Pre-Shoot Phase

Before getting on camera we need to do a little bit of planning and understand what your specific vibe is. What is it that you are trying to relay through photography? How will your pictures show your personality? What is your aesthetic so that people like see your pictures and get the feeling of you?

It’s so common to see pictures that look stunning but don’t actually reflect the person’s real personality. For example, if you’re a super happy, peppy, bubbly person, and then all your photography is really moody because that’s what you thought would look nice, that doesn’t really help relay who you REALLY to the online world. 

If you need more clarity with understanding what your vibe is, I highly recommend that you read this post here. And download your free Brand Yourself Worksheet. Next step is to get on Pinterest so you can get some visual inspiration. You’re basically going to dump a bunch of pictures with a variety of poses, locations, outfits, and prop ideas that reflect your vibe.

1. Posing: It can be SO awkward if you’re not used to being in front of a camera. You might be feeling a little insecure or self-conscious, totally normal. But we’re going to fix that. Once you find poses you like, stand in front of a mirror and practice them. Get to feel comfortable with yourself and know what poses and how to position your body for the look you’re going for.
2. Location: This is really important because just like with poses this needs to reflect your vibe. If you are super grungy and edgy in the city kind of person taking pictures in a field might give a very different vibe.
3. Outfits + Colors: This might be a little bit easier because you have your wardrobe and it probably already reflects your aesthetic. But again, try to get some outfit inspo from Pinterest. Get an idea of a few options so when you get to the photoshoot you can have a couple outfits lined up. If you find one location and have 3-4 outfits in 1 shoot it can look like totally different days. Find outfits with layers and jackets that are easier to create outfit variations without having to strip somewhere lol

Last point here is finding who will be taking your brand photography. Obviously, you can take all your pictures yourself and use a tripod. You can buy a little click remote so you can literally flip over the screen on your camera, and take pictures when you’re at a distance without having to worry about timers and all that. Or, you can also ask a friend or family member to help you out. That’s what I did, I essentially asked my husband to help me out. We watched a couple of Skillshare and YouTube videos to learn the technical side of working a camera.

Photoshoot day

Firstly, the time of day. Crazy important because if you’re shooting in like really broad daylight at like 12:00 PM in the afternoon, you are going to get too much harsh light. Your face will look like the sun and the contrast will be insane. So instead use an app to find when golden hour is. It’s usually early in the morning or late in the afternoon when the sun is rising and there’s this nice soft glow, makes a world of a difference!

Next, don’t forget to bring props. This helps so much for posing to add variety to the photography and is super helpful if you’re feeling a bit nervous to have something to hold on to. So bring things like your bag, a hat, a blanket, your sweater, or even playing with your hair. 

Last tip, sounds a bit weird but TRUST me you’ll love it. Bring a little speaker and get some music going. Taking pictures especially if you’re new is a little awkward. So pop on your favorite music, anything that makes you like literally feel yourself and have that little Beyonce moment. It can help really boost your confidence.

Editing

This part might make you a bit nervous but trust me it’s not bad at all. All of my editing is pretty much done in Lightroom, which if you have it on your phone is free, which is pretty awesome. And I believe it’s like 10 bucks or something like that for desktop, either one of them works really, really well. 

This is where you play with exposure, lighting, contrast, etc. If you feel like you need a little more ease, there are some awesome presets that you can buy that help you with editing. After I’ve edited on Lightroom I might put on a light filter, to better help fit my aesthetic, especially if it’s for Instagram. My favorite app for this is Tezza.

My favorite tools

So last but not least I’m going to giving you a quick, quick rundown on the tools that I use and that I recommend for your brand photography. So for the taking the pictures itself, most phones work really well to get started. I have an iPhone 11 Pro and it works great.

But I did purchase a DSLR, a Canon EOS Rebel SL2 it’s super basic nothing fancy but has helped me so much. That camera with this 50mm lens is a perfect combo.

If you’re using your phone, DSLR or mirrorless camera lighting is still really important. I love using a ring light, this helps to also doc my phone so it’s super easy to use. Like I mentioned earlier a tripod can also be a huge help.

For editing I suggest Lightroom and the Tezza app. Lastly, Skillshare is another awesome resource for learning the technical side of photography. I took the Fundamentals of DSLR Photography course and the Instagram Worthy Photography course. ALSO if you’re interested you are welcome to use my link and get 2 free months of Skillshare it’s seriously my favorite educational resource for pretty much anything haha

Anyways I hope that you found this helpful. What was your favorite brand photography tip?

*Note some of these links are affiliate links, meaning that I get a little kick-back if you click and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. This helps to support this channel so I can continue creating content for you. I only ever include links to products that I personally use and would recommend with or without affiliation.