Two weeks ago, I had my first photo shoot! For someone who just cannot seem to take a great picture and never knows what to do with her body in pictures, I had about 587 pictures taken of me. Of me! That is so insane to think about. It was definitely a lesson in self-love, I can tell you that. TRYING to be comfortable in front of the camera was work, work, work, work, work. “Look sexy!” “ Give me seductive.” “Smile big.. bigger.. bigger!” It was exhausting! Haha. Trying to keep it right and tight with this non-summer body proved even more difficult. Thank goodness for post-production editing 😉
I was the stylist, make-up artist (which was a struggle, let me tell you), and hairstylist. That was a great money saver. First tip: Do whatever you can yourself. Of course, I took direction from my photographer as to what would look best, but came up with all the options for clothing and accessories. I was blessed to have a close friend shoot me for free 99; but if you don’t have a professional photog in your crew, (#2) ask one of your friends. Someone you know has a great Instagram feed. Haha. Ask someone you trust who will make the process fun, less uncomfortable, and will be able to give you pointers. Come up with a pose vision board if you must. Look online and see what kind of pictures you’d like to recreate or emulate. Practice poses in the mirror to get more comfortable. My photographer did that for me. It helped me come up with a game plan. You really don’t even need a professional camera. Our phones have such wonderful cameras nowadays. They are perfect alternatives.
I did not try to do some elaborate make-up look. That isn’t me. I’m a simple girl when it comes to that. So, I used some BB cream, mascara and gave different looks through lip color. I wanted to represent who I am normally on a day-to-day through these photos. I think we achieved that through my minimalistic make-up look and clothing selections. Tip #3: Shop your own closet. I saved a TON of money shopping my closet. Start there if you’re thinking of doing a photo shoot for your brand. That way, you can see what you really need to complete a look. We photographed 6 looks. All the equipment was crammed into my kitchen and office. Tip #4: No need to go to a studio or have a fancy set up. We used my office gallery wall, $3 flowers, and some décor pieces from around my house in some of the shots. We had basic back drops. You can set up vignettes inside or even use cool places around your house as backdrops. The focus was me and my personality for this shoot. So simple backgrounds were perfect for the overall look we were going for.
I have seen just a few of the raw pictures. The final result? Whoa! Some of them are pretty darn good! I’m impressed. I can’t wait to reveal some of the pictures here. I’m excited to ramp up my visuals across all platforms. I think I’m most excited about brand, spanking new business cards! Nothing like handing over something that represents you in such a small package. I’m excited to have done this for my brand, and really for myself. I am growing more comfortable in my own skin and I pray that translated over into the things I do for my brand. Can’t wait to share!
xoxo, Panda
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