How I prepped for my own Branding Session

Well, the time had come.  After losing over 120 pounds I knew that I needed to schedule a photosession for myself in pretty short order.  Not because I hated the images that I had on my social media but because I felt like they no longer represented who I was in my business.

 Losing a lot of weight has reaches far beyond the scale.  It has impacted how I carry myself, how I show up in my business, how I think about the world around me, and how people in that world treat me.  I wish it wasn't so but how we are treated and fit in the world is dramatically impacted by how we look.  I could do a masterclass on this alone but I will save that for another time.

 My get ready checklist for my branding session:

 So I did all the things that I ask my clients to do and it was a great reminder at why I respect my clients so much.  Prepping for a personal photosession is no small task.  Here are all the things I did in order to get camera ready.

1.  Get my hair done a week ahead of time.

2.  Gather items from my closet to wear, I needed three options.  I wanted something nice, something casual, and something a bit dressy.

3.  Realize that I hated everything in my closet so I started shopping a week ahead of time.  This is proving more and more problematic with more and more stores closing in my area.  This left me, a middle aged, conservative women, who wanted an upscale look, with fewer options than I had hoped.  I don't shop at Saks and Nieman's, so that left me with Nordstrom and Macy's.  (if any of you have any great local to Northern Virginia, in person stores that you love that carry a good selection of sizes, I would love the recommendations.)

4.  Get my nails done.

5.  The night before pack up all my clothes, accessories, and shoes using the same checklist I provide to my clients.

6.  Realize that I still do not LOVE all my clothing choices so pack a few extra just in case I need to switch things out.

The Day of my Branding Session:

1.  Pack the car

2.  Do my hair.  I went back and forth on getting it done by my stylist but I wanted a more relaxed look instead of perfectly styled and my natural curls do this on their own quite nicely.

3.  Do my make-up.  Now this is something that I do not recommend to my clients.  Most women do not know how to do their make up for the camera.  But with my extensive stage experience AND my basic love of make-up, I have learned over the years what looks best for me on camera so I choose to do my own make-up whenever I am going to be in front of a camera.

3.  Get dressed in something that buttons down the front and that I can use as a dressing gown at the studio if needed.  The button down feature is vital so I didn't mess up my hair or make-up.

4.  Of course, this was a school holiday so I needed to make sure my teenager was settled at home and didn't need anything with a few ideas of options to encourage her not to spend the entire day on her phone.  Luckily we were leaving to go out of town the next day so I had a few things she could help with. 

4.  Drive to the studio

5. Meet the photographer

6.  Take a TON of images

7. Drive home feeling great about what we accomplished and crossing that off my list.

The afterthoughts:

1.  Getting ready for a session takes a lot of energy.  As a photographer myself I can forget how much thought goes into the prep for these kinds of sessions.

2.  Putting myself in my clients shoes is a great reminder at how important these images are to my clients.  It may seem like another day at the office for me but for my clients who spend an incredible amount of time and money prepping for their session, it is a big deal.  I need to remember that.

3.  Waiting for my proofs seemed like an eternity.  I was so anxious to see if we were able to capture anything I could use in my marketing.  It was almost like Christmas morning.  

What I learned:

Going through this process is going to make me a better choice of photographer for my clients.  After all, it is more challenging to be empathic and understanding to the process if you have never gone through it.  Many photographers don't see why they need to hire someone when they have all the equipment and knowledge to do their own images.  But setting up your equipment and getting a friend or your spouse to take a few images is NOT the same as hiring someone else .  It just isn't. 

Keeping in touch with what my clients go through when they hire me is a key element as to why I am great at what I do.  It isn't just about you coming to the studio, it is about the prep, the aftermath, the styling, all of it.  My process allows for us to address all the issues that come up at every step.

 It was stressful prepping for my own session.  It took a lot of my mental energy to get ready.  Alleviating as much of that for my clients is something that I feel is important.  Not because I want to be nice, although that is part of it, but because the freer my clients can feel when they step in front of my camera, the better the images will be.  They will feel more comfortable knowing that we took care of all the steps so they can be their best selves.  That reflects in the images and will reflect in their marketing which is what it is all about.