7 things to do before your brand shoot

Prepping for your brand shoot takes some thought. You need to pick out outfits that represent your brand and are comfortable. You need to figure out what props tell your brand story. You need to make sure you have those outfits and props together and with you for your brand shoot. One of my favorite parts of a brand shoot is helping my clients with every detail of their session. And, as a photographer, I’m all about detail. So, here’s 7 things to do before your brand shoot (that you may never have thought of)!

1. Take your hair elastics off

We all love having a hair elastic on standby EXCEPT when it shows up in every photo. Remember to take your hair elastics off your wrist well before your photoshoot so that you don’t have the little impression lines on your wrist.

2. Lint roll everything

Anyone else have furry animals? Everything I have that’s a dark color is likely to have the fluff from one of my kitties (Milo and/or Oats are the cute culprits). We love the floofs but we don’t love their fur showing up on our black pants for our professional brand photos. Am I right? Keep your lint roller handy during your photoshoot for those relentless pieces that show up even after you think you’ve got them all!

3. Cut hanger loops off

Okay, I don’t actually know what these things are called… They’re the loops by the shoulders of your shirts/sweaters that you’re supposed to use to hang your clothes on hangers but no one ever does. Those little loops LOVE to go rogue and show up in your photos. Do yourself (and your photographer) a favor and cut those out completely if you can. It’s a small detail but can make a huge impact!

4. Clean your laptop (both sides!)

You wouldn’t believe how much fingerprints love showing up on camera. They try to steal the photo spotlight, actually. If you’ve ever seen my laptop, it’s far from fingerprint free after hours of editing. But, I highly encourage you to take a minute and clean the outside and screen parts of your laptop before using it in your brand photos as a prop.

5. Clean your glasses

Just like fingerprints on laptops, we don’t like them on our glasses either. Even if you’re just planning on using your blue light glasses as a prop to hold and not actually planning on wearing them during the photos, still clean them! Having squeaky clean props is going to further elevate your photos.

6. Iron your outfits

Or steam – totally your preference. Again, if you’re like me, your closet is not full of perfectly wrinkle-free clothing. BUT, for your brand photoshoot, your clothes should be wrinkle free! Having a professional blazer you’re excited to wear for a professional headshot is great but if it’s scattered with creases and wrinkles then it’s a HUGE bummer. Come to your photoshoot with your clothes ironed and on hangers so they’re not getting wrinkled in transit (nobody has time to iron the same shirt twice, right!)

7. Lotion dry hands

If you live in New England, winter is the season of dry skin. If you’ve ever done a brand photoshoot before, you know that your hands are going to be in the photos. And if you haven’t, your hands are going to be in the photos. Brand photographers are always working to capture variety and so some of those detail shots are likely going to be closer up of your hands. Adding some lotion is a small step that keeps your hands not looking crusty and your photos looking top notch!

I want to know, any of these 7 things to do before your brand shoot that you never would have thought of? Share in the comments or here!

If you found this helpful, you might find my other tips for your brand shoot helpful, too:

• Why you need a brand photographer
• Why your brand shoot location matters
• My best wardrobe tips for your next brand photoshoot