A Behind the Scenes Look At My Photo Shoot

You scroll websites of other entrepreneurs and their instagram account and think to yourself "Those photos look awesome but I could never pull that off." Yep, thought so...

Well, today is your lucky day my friend because I'm going to tell you YES YOU CAN... and here's how.

I recently had a friend take some lifestyle photos of me at our local college gardens and many people have been asking about them! How I chose my outfit, poses, props, location, photographer, etc.

So here it goes! 

PHOTOGRAPHER:

My photographer was another coaches wife here at the college my husband coaches at. She has zero professional photography skills other than what I taught her that day and the snaps she's been taking of her newborn.  But she does have a strong fashion and Instagram sense which is a plus.... She understands poses, props and she knew exactly what I wanted to use these photos for going into our shoot. 

Website. Blog. Instagram. Social. Etc. 

I had a saved a Pinterest board so I knew a couple poses I wanted to try to pull off and having an image to show her at the shoot was the perfect way for her to see it thru her lens. See My Pinterest Board!

I’ve been taking her family photos for months but now it was her time to shine! So don't think you need to hire some expensive photographer if you aren't ready. Heck, I've never spent a dime on one yet. I do have a pretty nice Canon EOS 80D Camera with a kick ass lens which helps a ton... so even if you are first timer here and just want some shots, don't hesitate to have a friend capture some from their phone.

LOCATION: 

I knew that most of photos I'd want to blur out the background so wanted a pretty simple setting.  I knew I didn't want people in them besides me and needed a shady area. Direct sunlights and shadows are the worst for photos. I also had to think about the backgrounds of buildings I wanted to stand against... I wanted texture but not anything over the top... and I wanted some sort of sitting area. I didn't want to be standing in all of them.

So a friend of mine suggested the college gardens and it worked great. There were plenty of shaded areas, an old worn down wood bench and healthy plants we could use as backgrounds. The limestone buildings gave off the perfect texture and we even used one of the windows as a fun background. 

WARDROBE:

So I get a ton of questions about how I picked my wardrobe. And if you all saw me that day you’d laugh that I actually pulled this whole thing off.

Ok, first things first ... my brand palette. I wanted my clothes to reflect the same hues in my palette that I use everywhere. From my website and blog, to my instagram filter. As you can see my colors include a blush pink, grays, denim blue, and black. I love contrast and textures. So me going into a photo shoot with bright colors would make zero sense for my brand. I talk a lot about developing your brand palette inside my Intro to Branding Online Course and some tips are to look around your closet and house. What hues are you most drawn to that you purchase and wear the most? ... Start there.

So to give you a visual of my brand palette... here you go! This resembles what my clients receive with their Logo Design Portfolio purchase. 

 So back to clothes...

I had actually used Rent the Runway for our company's recent convention and still had a week left, so ordered what I thought would be the perfect lacy, fitted top in off white... however when I tried it on that morning... it wouldn't zip... plan B which I didn't have! lol So I scoured my closet. I knew I wanted black bottoms and black booties (didn't want to show my toes and made more sense for fall) ... Ya know... everyone feels more comfortable in black, right? and it matches my brand colors. 

I also knew I didn't want to be in a tank top to where my un-toned arms would have me self conscious - so no tanks! 

So I knew I wanted TWO OUTFITS... but remember, my location is a public outdoor setting so I needed to be smart about changing my tops. I wanted a more put-together look. Maybe one where I'd be dressed for an evening presentation or company meeting. The other I wanted a big more loose and resemble what I wear on a day to basis as I work from home.

TIP: Don't show up in lifestyle photos in a way you wouldn’t be seen in real life. 

I also kept in mind of fashion trends. I have no clue when I'll get another set of photos taken so I didn't want to be too fashion forward here... classic, simple, a little trendy but still on brand.

Outfit 1:

Black skinny jeans with a stretch, Black Booties, Black Cami, Black and White Striped Tank (stripes are always in), White cotton blazer, Bauble Bar necklace in Blush (on brand and texture!), Kendra Scott earrings in blush. Shop these items here.

Outfit 2:

My other outfit came together unplanned. I found a blush suede blazer on Target app that morning and was going to buy that to wear with my black cami, but when I got to Target (literally on my way to the photo shoot!)... I decided the blazer was just too clunky, heavy, and not form fitting enough for what I wanted. It wasn't going to show my neck and jawline how I'd hoped.

But luckily God was on my side and just a clothing rack away was this super soft blush button down in BLUSH. SCORE!!!! Also picked up some fancy bauble bracelets and a fun marble-textured triangle necklace.

Same Black skinny jeans, Black Booties, Black Cami... then added Blush Button down top, Target necklace in White Marble (on brand and texture!), and wore same Kendra Scott earrings in blush. Shop these items here.

About now I knew this photo shoot was going to be perfect and I wasn't even there yet!

PROPS:

My fav part. What I use in real life is what I wanted to use in the photos.

• My phone... TIP: take your phone case off!
• My laptop
• Starbucks Coffee
• Cute on brand Notebooks I picked up from Target
• Clipboard
• My large Henri Bendel Bag

Everything about my pics was all me. On my phone. Using my laptop. Carrying my purse. Drinking my pumpkin spiced latte. Yep! It was me. 

I also wanted to create some fun clipboard shots so I could use them to promo my free downloads.

POSES:

A lot of gut laughter! If you can get your photographer to just keep snapping photos even when you guys may be laughing at something so silly... those unplanned laughs are the best. Otherwise a trick is to tighten your stomach muscles and then smile real big, and give out a laughter!!! Works every time for a prefert laugh/smile... Just be sure to bring in your tongue. 

Just be comfortable and go thru Pinterest for head shot pose ideas like I did... or use some of mine! My favorite poses are when I'm not even looking at the camera. Of course you need official "head shot" photos for profiles photos but have fun with it!!

But you guys...

I drove home from this “photo shoot” so dang excited to have my own photos of me. Before this day I would just set up my tripod and camera in my office or backyard and hope for the best. These were my first “official” lifestyle shots so I was super giddy to get to editing! 

Oh and editing! I use Adobe Lightroom which I pay for but if this is above your creative talent, don't fret! Use an app like VSCO or Preview to find the PERFECT filter for your photos. Remember you use the same filter on every photo! This makes your Insta feed look professional as well. 

Happy SMILING my friends. If this info was helpful let me know!