Top tips on how to style your headshot photo shoot
It's very important to prepare and plan for your personal branding or headshot photo shoot. Your images will say a lot about you and your business and so you need to style yourself correctly to be able to attract potential clients.
I've worked with a lot of businesses this year and I've absolutely loved it. I've had shoots all over South Wales, including Cardiff, from the Bay to Central Square plus Penarth, Cowbridge and even Abergavenny.
Clients need images for a whole range reasons. It's not just a headshot for your CV anymore. You need images for your website and social media as well as a new profile picture!
Book your headshot session today!
Packages start at £249 for a 1 hour photo shoot.
Here are my top 7 tips on how to style your headshot photo shoot
1. Branding
Think about your brand. I don't mean your logo, I mean the core ethos of your business. What are you trying to portray to your clients. Are you bold, professional, reliable, traditional, quirky, warm, friendly, experienced? Once you've nailed this, you can start to think about what location might be good for your shoot. You can choose from your home workshop, or a modern cityscape. Maybe a traditional garden setting or quiet countryside views might be more suitable.
Avril wanted to showcase her fashion styling skills and chose Penarth as her location, including the pier and marina.
Cat, The Unstoppable Success Coach, wanted a friendly, professional and approachable look. We chose the stylish Rocket & Rye in Cowbridge and then used the High Street and Old Hall Gardens too.
2. Logo and brand colours
Try to incorporate your brand colours into your images. Either use a similar colour or use a complimentary colour. If your images are going to be displayed on your website, with your branding colours, then it's worthwhile planning either outfits or props that will enhance the overall look of the website.
When working with With Music In Mind, we asked everyone to wear blue so they would be co-ordinated with the logo on their website and Facebook page.
3. Outfits
Styling your outfits is super important. Not just in terms of colours, but in making sure that you are wearing clothes that are appropriate for your work. You could choose a business suit or something less formal. If you work in an office then your choice of outfit is going to be different to someone that has a home workshop. Make sure that you have a number of outfits to choose from. You'll get lots of variety from your images if you get changed a few times.
We chose a high end luxury feel for Abi's shoot. A gorgeous location and fabulous outfits.
4. Hair / make up
If you're paying for personal brand shoot then you need to prioritise what you look like. Lots of clients feel more comfortable if they have their hair and make-up done professionally before the session, whilst others are happy with a more natural look. Once again, it's all about how you'd like your clients to see you, so choose an appropriate look.
Elizabeth and Alex looked amazing for their shoot showcasing the Eliza Eliza products.
5. Think about your clients
Most personal branding shoots are done with the intention of bringing in more clients. As well as thinking about how you'd like to appear, it's important to visualise your potential clients. What will attract them? Are they looking for someone friendly and approachable or efficient and professional? What will be at the top of their list when they are researching who they want to work with?
Yasmin runs several businesses, including Healthy HR, so we used a variety of locations and outfits to cover all the things she needed from her headshot photo shoot.
6. Show your true self
Although it's important to showcase your persona in terms of your brand and your clients needs, it's also important to include some authenticity. Depending on your business, clients might want to see the real you, not a polished version. Are there aspects of your personality that you want to show? If you want your images to bring your personality to life, then make sure you include elements that will highlight the real you. You could use clothes or props to do this.
Dietician and Pilates expert Fran wanted to show her true self. No make-up, no fancy hair do and her usual exercise clothes. She looks amazing and the images are perfect for her brand.
Although Ryan wears a suit every day, that doesn't mean he can't mix things up a bit and look very stylish in his headshot photo shoot.
7. Show how you work
Clients love seeing behind the scenes or workshop images. If you have products, then they will love to see how you make them. Clients will also be interested in seeing where you work - whether you have an office or you work outside. Do you work alone or employ staff? Including extra details of your business process in your images will always be interesting.
Elizabeth wanted images to show her creating her products at home.
Glass artist Chrissie, from Glass at the Spinney, wanted to show off her working process at home.
To see more of my commercial work, follow my Business Instagram Account - Cardiff Business Photographer
Book your headshot session today!
Packages start at £249 for a 1 hour photo shoot.
Cardiff Business Photo Shoot
Well hello! It's been a while since I've blogged, due to the old global pandemic and everything, but I'm back with a bang! My first shoot back in 2021 was a Cardiff business photo shoot with the fabulous brand Eliza Eliza!
Based in Cardiff Eliza Eliza makes 'sustainable conscious bags with meaning.' She partners with charities and raises awareness of important issues. I was so excited when she contacted me for a business photo shoot as I've followed her Instagram account for ages and love her brand.
The brand shoot consisted of two sessions. The first session took place at Eliza Eliza HQ in Cardiff (also known has her kitchen). We had a fun morning creating images for her to use on her website and social media. The next session was on location in the lovely Vale of Glamorgan market town of Cowbridge. When Elizabeth and her friend Alex arrived I felt like the cat that got the cream. They looked amazing! They strutted up and down Cowbridge High Street modelling the beautiful Eliza Eliza range of bags. We had tote bags, clutch bags, purses - all with the distinctive Eliza Eliza linings. There was also scrunchies, sleep masks and yoga bags too!
Have a scroll through this lovely lot to see what we got up to.
If you're a small creative business in South Wales, I'd love to work with you to create a set of images that you can use for your business.
Half day packages start at £399 and include loads of images that you can splash around your social media accounts and website for months if not years!
Check out my pricing page for full info and have a nosey at my business portfolio too.
Follow me on Insta to see more.
Book your Cardiff business photo shoot today!
Ballet Photo Shoots South Wales
A few years ago, I didn't know an arabesque from a jeté and then my son started ballet lessons. Now, I've fallen in love with ballet - the sheer beauty, grace and strength of it astounds me! I'm so happy to now be offering Ballet Photo Shoots in South Wales. I would LOVE to capture your love for dance and create images that you can keep forever. I've been a Cardiff family photographer for nearly 15 years and I'm very excited to be adding these sessions to my portfolio.
The images below feature the super talented Marla. She had a career as a ballet dancer and now runs her own business - The Polish Up Studio, alongside being a mum of two. We had so much fun during this session and kept shooting until it was dark when we reluctantly had to stop.
You can see images of my son taken during lockdown in my Lockdown Ballet Series over on the blog.
If you're a dancer and would like a personalised photo shoot, please get in touch! There's lots of outdoor locations to choose from - beaches, castles, town centres, gardens - the possibilities are endless!
Ballet Photo Shoots
Package:
£199
1 hour photo session
5 digital image and matching prints
Change of outfits
BOOK NOW
Ballet Photo Shoots
Package:
£199
1 hour photo session
5 digital image and matching prints
Change of outfits
BOOK NOW
Small business photo shoot
Small business photo shoot
"Thank you Gemma for taking so much care over me and my business - it has been an absolute pleasure." Chrissie.
I met Chrissie from Glass at the Spinney on Instagram last Summer. I saw her gorgeous glass wave creations and she saw my images of beaches. So, it was written in the stars that we would meet and end up doing a shoot together!
Our small business photo shoot was split into two parts. First, we shot some of her fabulous creations. She has a lovely range of glass products, from delightful little hanging birds to bespoke scenes. I love the hanging waves and the blue stripey coasters!
The next part of the shoot was to get some action shots of Chrissie working at home with all her magical tools and big sheets of glass. I shot a variety of images around her house to showcase her with her products. We also wanted to shoot images showing the artist behind the work. It's so important to be the face of your business!
Below is a small selection of the images from the session. I included some square crops for her Instagram grid and other sizes for social media use too.
I've combined some of the images together into 9 image grids - there's 3 different grids below. The first one shows Chrissie at home, working. The other two show her products.
If you run a small business and need a selection of images to post on social media, or use on a website, or even a leaflet, then have a look at my business packages.
You can see pricing details on my business pricing page and more examples of my work with other small businesses in my business portfolio.
If the packages don't fit your business, then get in touch for a bespoke quote instead. I'm happy to chat and advise over the phone.
"Working with Gemma was an absolute pleasure. She really put me at ease and gave me loads of tips about how to be in the photos themselves. The whole process was so much fun and really enjoyable." Chrissie.
"The photos Gemma created are beautiful. She really understands and plans out the whole process from set up, props and design to the light and angles themselves. She knows her stuff! Gemma has created the most stunning images that I could never have managed to do myself. My product range has never looked so beautiful!" Chrissie.
Book your small business photo shoot today. Contact Gemma.
Commercial shoot Cardiff for Cardiff Life Magazine
Commercial Shoot Cardiff
I recently visited the fabulous independent shopping arcade - The Castle Emporium - to take images for a feature in Cardiff Life Magazine.
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the business owners and taking their portraits. The Castle Emporium is on Womanby Street in Cardiff. Just a stones throw from Cardiff Castle. The quirky venue is an old converted cinema from the 1920's so it has a very unique feel. No cloned high street vibes in here. It's full of character and individual personality instead.
You'll find an eclectic mix of vendors over two floors. On the mezzanine floor upstairs, I visited the framing and gift experts at The Sho Gallery. Then I popped in to visit urban streetwear brand Faded Studios in their new store.
Downstairs, I visited the The Barber Room, run by female barber Sofia. Opposite the barber shop is the Cardiff Skateboard Club, who sell a large array of skateboards and clothing. Next, I visited the not for profit organisation, Heads Above the Waves, who sell 'merch with a message' to help raise awareness of depression and self-harm in young people.
There's lots of other vendors too including the Holistic Haven, situated upstairs. When you need a coffee and a muffin there's the super friendly Finco Coffee.
For business, personal branding and headshot shoots, please visit my business pricing page and business portfolio. Get in touch for further information.
Keep your eyes peeled for the Cardiff Life Magazine edition featuring the Castle Emporium!
Commercial Shoot Cardiff
Heads Above the Waves clothing, available in store.
Cardiff Skateboard Club
The Barber Room
Owner of The Sho Gallery.
Finco Coffee.
Urban Streetwear, Faded Studios.
Looking down at the seating area and Finco coffee from the second floor.
Sofia. Barber from The Barber Room.
Heads Above the Waves.
Look out for the upcoming edition of Cardiff Life Magazine to see more images and find out more about the vendors.