Personal Branding Photo Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Are you making these personal branding photos mistakes? Find out the common mistakes that personal brands make, and how to avoid them in the future, so you can get the most out of your next photoshoot!

Mistake #1- Not having a clear plan going into photos

In my opinion, this is the biggest mistake you can make going into a personal branding photoshoot. I encourage you to have a clear plan, to avoid having holes in your content calendar and images that don’t represent your brand. Personal branding photos should be a productive, positive, and fun experience!

To kick off the brainstorming process, there are 3 questions you can ask yourself.

What do I plan to use these photos for?
How do I want to portray my brand?
What are consistent themes in my brand?

Mistake #2- Not communicating with your photographer ahead of time

It’s incredibly helpful to chat with your photographer in advance about your plan for photos and the initial goals you have in mind. In fact, your brand photographer could help you through the planning process.

For example, I help my clients come up with ideas based on their brand’s themes, personality, and marketing plan. Communicating with your photographer ahead of time allows you to get more out of the experience as well as photos that match your vision.

Mistake #3- Your photos don’t represent you

I know it’s tempting to scroll through Pinterest and find images that you want to re-create. Although, is this the best representation of YOU?

Hear me out.

The goal of personal branding photos is to give your audience a glimpse into your personality to help them connect with YOU. It’s an awesome idea to gather inspiration for a photo shoot and I highly encourage you to! I even have a blog post dedicated to creating a mood board for your branding photoshoot.

However, scratch the surface to find ideas that are more relevant to you and your brand. What are some things about yourself that you constantly share about in your branding? For example, a favorite drink, habit, hobby, quirk, etc. Thinking about things like this are fun ways to sprinkle your personality into the photos and make them unique to your brand.

Mistake #4- Missing the opportunity to get more variety

You could be missing the opportunity to get variety in your photos. Simply planning several outfit changes and bringing props for photos can instantly expand the content at your photoshoot.

More variety = more ways to use the photos in your marketing plan

Avoid a boring Instagram feed where you are always wearing the same shirt. A quick outfit change or simply a close-up detail photo featuring your tools of the trade can add more to your gallery.

Mistake #5- Your photographer doesn’t match the overall aesthetic of your brand

When you’re looking for a photographer, make sure their style matches the aesthetic of your brand. Do you need a trendy, moody style of images? Or perhaps, bright clean images? Not one branding photographer will be right for everyone. Think about what matches your brand and what interests your ideal clients.