Are you having trouble deciding what to wear for a personal branding photoshoot?
What to wear for a personal branding photoshoot? The most common question I am asked before any shoot is “What should I wear?” Clothing is such a personal choice & what you wear can have a huge impact on the success of your photos. Pick the right outfits & you’ll ooze charisma & confidence both in real life & in your photos.
A bonus of a branding photoshoot over a simple headshot is the wardrobe changes. We have time for a number of different outfits to give your images several different looks & feels.
To help you choose your outfits, here are my top tips for what to wear for a personal branding photoshoot.
Prepare: what to wear for a personal branding photoshoot
Before you even open your wardrobe, think about how you want to come across in your photos. What tone do you want to project? Knowledgeable, authoritative, serious, contemporary, creative, fun, relaxed, friendly, open, welcoming…?
This will sometimes depend on the industry you work in; a lawyer will generally want to project a much different tone than a therapist. The lawyer wants to come across as knowledgeable & authoritative, whereas the therapist may consider friendly & welcoming to be more important attributes.
Consider how what you wear in your personal branding photos will influence people’s perception of you. The viewer will make a snap judgment about what they see. Would a lawyer in athleisure wear be taken as seriously as one in business attire?
As you are preparing, consider also your brand identity. It’s important that your photos complement your brand. A fun, playful colourful brand will want fun, playful & colourful photos. Here, relaxed athleisure wear may be the right choice of clothing.
Once you know the feel of your branding photos, plan what you are going to wear in advance so that you have time to wash, dry-clean & iron anything that needs it.
Colour
Colour is important in photos. You want to choose clothing colours that complement your complexion, skin tone & hair colour. Wearing the wrong colour can age & drain you whereas the right colour will make your eyes sparkle & your skin glow.
Solid, mid-tone colours – think blues, greens, & purples – flatter most complexions. Very bright hues can dominate. Select colours that won’t overpower the photo. Colourful accessories; a scarf, tie, hat, or piece of jewellery can bring a small splash of vibrancy to your photo without overpowering the whole image.
Of course, if your brand is vibrant, loud & colourful you may want to wear bright colours. This is why knowing the tone of your brand is important.
Darker shades are more slimming but black isn’t always the most flattering colour. Solid black can photograph flat & lacks detail & definition making you appear larger. Try swapping black for rich neutral colours like navy, deep purple, or forest green.
Try to stay away from colours that mimic skin tones. They make it difficult to differentiate your face from your clothing. Pastel tones can also make some people look pale, washed-out & unwell (🙋🏼♀️ puts my hand up here).
Solid colours look better than patterns as these can often confuse & distract the eye in a photo.
Think about your brand colour & choose clothing that complements it. This will help give you a cohesive visual identity across all of your marketing collateral.
Styles
As important as choosing the right colour is selecting the right style of clothing. Choose shapes that flatter your body type & ensure that your clothing fits you well. Poorly fitting clothes can spoil an otherwise great photo.
Tailored & structured clothes create a well-defined shape. Fitted clothing that enhances your figure looks better in a photograph than shapeless baggy items. And if you are self-conscious about your arms, keep the focus away from them by wearing sleeves.
The advantage of a Personal Branding Photoshoot over a simple headshot is that we can have several different outfits. I always recommend choosing a mixture of styles to create a number of different looks; something formal, something smart/casual & something relaxed. These can all be dressed up & down by adding accessories; a scarf, jacket, hat, or pair of sunglasses.
As well as considering the style, wear clothing that you are comfortable in. If you don’t usually wear a skirt, don’t feel as if you have to for your photoshoot. With personal branding, we’re emphasising the ‘personal’. It’s more important than ever that you look like YOU!
It’s also worth matching your style of clothing to the location of the photoshoot. In the same way that a lawyer would look out of place in Athleisure wear, it also may not suit the backdrop of a classy, up-market bar!
Accessories
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. A personal branding photoshoot is all about YOU. Accessories are a fantastic way to bring some of your character & personality into your photos.
A simple scarf can add a splash of colour & soften the feel of your image. (They are also useful for drawing attention away from the neckline).
Hats, jackets, sunglasses, a statement piece of jewellery, what are you known for wearing?
In the summertime, I’m rarely seen without sunglasses on top of my head & year-round I wear my black (faux) leather jacket. They’re both part of me. If I was having a personal branding shoot I would wear them because they are ME.
Consider your accessories carefully though & make sure they enhance your photo.
Wrapping up…
I hope you’ve found these tips on what to wear for a personal branding photoshoot helpful. Spending a little time in advance of your shoot preparing your clothing will ensure that your photos are not let down by poor outfit choices.
All of my branding shoots include a pre-shoot consultation either in person or via video to plan your session. During this, we will discuss clothing & what outfits would work well for the photos you want.
Choosing what to wear can be such an overwhelming decision. If you would like professional input I can recommend several personal stylists who are experts at analysing colours & body shapes & finding the right outfits.
London & Croydon Personal Branding Photography
With over 10 years of experience within the photography industry, I specialise in using photography to tell the story of your business. Capturing the essence of who you are & what you do in an authentic & creative manner.
Based in Croydon, South London, I am ideally placed for shoots across the whole of the South East.
One Reply to “What to Wear for a Personal Branding Photoshoot?”
Comments are closed.