Branding Photoshoots for Hairstylists (Part 1)

Hello, my friend. Welcome back to the Modern Hairstylist podcast. Today's episode is gonna be about something that people can be a little bit fearful of in their business. It's something that I find to be super fun and exciting, uh, when you can get over the fear, right, and after you've had a cou- a little bit of experience doing it.

And it's something that can be done really right, and sometimes not done in the most optimized way. And so today, we're gonna be talking about branding photo shoots for hairstylists specifically. We're gonna be talking about how to find the best photographer for you, how to choose which photos that you actually get done, talk about your wardrobe, posing, and most importantly, we're gonna be talking about your mindset and maybe your imposter syndrome, your investment, all the hard-hitting topics when it comes to branding photo shoots. Depending upon how long this episode becomes, we might split this into two parts, but I am really excited to get into it.

So, if you are ready to pop off with some branding photo shoots, then let's go. Let me guess, you are a hustling, bustling hairstylist behind the chair, working so hard to build a beautiful career for yourself, one that gives you time, freedom, and energy to spend with yourself, your family, and your friends. But you feel like you're always working in your business, even when you're not behind the chair. My name's Hunter Donia, and I help you automate your systems and implement really beautiful strategies so you can grow your business without the overwhelm, and this is the Modern Hairstylist podcast.

All right, what's up, Caitlin? How are you? What's going on? What's the tea?

Not much tea. Doing well. How are you doing? I'm doing well, thank you.

When's the last time you had a branding photo shoot? Don't you do your own photos? I do a lot of my own photos, but I do still really like to get a branding shoot done here and there. Um, I haven't had one done since I moved to the UK.

I wanna say my last one was probably in September or October of 2021, but yeah. I love it. I'm like a little bit of a branding photo shoot, uh, W-H-O-R-E, if that's an appropriate term to use. I love branding photo shoots, dude.

Like, I'm all about doing it, and here's why. Because ever since I was like, younger, like young, young, young, young, young, like, like freshman in high school, okay? I used to love feeling my fantasy and getting up in makeup and like, getting a cute outfit on, and me and my friends would just like, eff around and like, do photo shoots for like, posting on Instagram. So, I've had a lot of experience like, being in front of the camera ever since I was young, and it's like, so exciting to me to like, see, like, what the final result is, you know?

And using myself as a canvas, uh, uh, for art, I just, I just think it's so cool and I think it's so fun. And I know not everybody else has the same mindset. And so, what I'm hoping to do today is to help you get out of that comfort zone, um, and to help you overcome some of the fear that you might have around it, and take all the experience that I've had and, um, the experiences that Caitlin's had, and share with you what might help. The first thing that we're gonna be talking about with branding photo shoots is, let's talk about, like, why they're important.

Let's talk about the importance of branding photo shoots. Like, why would you want a photo shoot for you, right, like, pictures of you, if we're trying to sell the hair and the services? And why do we, they need to be professional, or do they even have to be professional? Do I have to have a branding photo shoot?

Let's answer those questions. So, branding photo shoots are really freaking cool, because they can really help to tie your brand all together, and they feel like they can really make you as a salon or a beauty professional look a lot more elevated than other salons and beauty professionals. Um, even like, full-blown salons versus like, an independent, let's say, don't have professional photos that an independent could possibly have, you know? And I think when somebody sees that you're taking your business that seriously, it really does raise the perception of authority of, of you being a trusted source, because it shows that you really are taking your, your situation very seriously and investing a lot of time and thought and quality into your business, and the work that you do, right?

And I think that's what it comes down to, is, is when people are looking for a really high-quality experience or a high-quality service, they're not just judging the work that you're doing. They're also judging everything else around it. They're judging, how are you interacting with... How are they, how is this business interacting with their customers?

How are they showing up on their social media platforms? How are they showing up on their website? And having these high-quality photos that look professionally done, and are very curated and, and intentional, I think can really set you apart as a brand and get new potential clients who are just lurking to actually really wanna do business with you, because you are the, like, one of the very few that are doing these types of things, right? And so, I think that branding photo shoots just can really elevate the brand, and I, I think that the return on your investment of branding photo shoots is really, really, really high.

I have no doubt about it, that when you have professional photos taken and done for you and you use them in your marketing funnels, that your new potential clients will skyrocket, and like, you will get more clients into your chair just from that little switch. And as long as you're taking these photos and investing into them and, and doing it all strategically, I think that you can make it really beautiful for you. So, if you're n- if you've never done a branding photo shoot before, highly recommend looking into doing one, and I hope that this episode helps you out a little bit.And even if you have done branding photo shoots before, I hope that this episode helps you with just thinking about, like, rethinking how you're, how you're going about it possibly, or just giving you some advice for the future.

So, that's my tea on, like, why branding photo shoots are so important. Do you have any other reasons why, Caitlin, that you can share? Well, uh, you touched on this a little bit, but something to consider is that, like, when people come across, like, whether it be your social media page or your website, they are so much more likely to trust you if they know what you look like. I, all too often, I go to, like, some random business's page and I'm like, "Okay.

This, this, this looks like a good business. I think I might wanna spend my time with this business, but, like, who, who am I doing business with?" Like, that's, it's such an important thing that gets overlooked so often, I feel like. I agree.

And not just, like, and like I said it earlier, like, yeah. Like, why would we wanna do this if we're just selling our services? It's like, you're not selling your services. You're selling yourself.

That's what you're doing in your marketing. You're selling yourself. And so you are a part of that, and I'm not saying that you have to plaster yourself over, all over everywhere. That's not what you have to do.

But you do have to show up in one way or another, and would you rather have a, some, like, selfie picture posted, or would you rather have, like, a very specific, curated, professionally-done photo that this new potential client is seeing when they go through that journey, right? And I think that DIY photo shoots can be done well. Do not get it twisted. I think that that's, like, a great idea as long as you can, you feel competent in doing that well and you execute it in a, in a good way.

However, you know, I, I think that the time and effort that might go into you DIYing might not be worth it, as, as worth it as you just shelling out a little bit of coin to get somebody who knows what they're doing to do it for you, right? Because not only is this photographer ... Like, I don't think people really understand, like, how, how ... Photography is a really difficult job.

Like, it's not just, uh, just taking some pretty pictures. It's really, truly not. I'm friends with a fair bit of photographers and, and it just, like, as hairstylists, how we think that, like, people don't really realize the full scope of what we do, it's the same exact thing with photographers, 100%, and a lot of other service providers. Photographers have to deal with the, the planning of the shoot, which is a whole thing within itself, um, interacting with the client.

Um, then they have to actually go on site, take the pictures. Then they have to deal with how they're gonna deliver those pictures, right? And they have to edit them, and editing can take a fair bit and it can take a lot of thought and energy. And so, like, that, all of that energy that you might be putting into your own DIY photos, the, the, all that time that you spent, right, doing that stuff, that time could equal the same amount of money that you would just spend to get it done for you, and probably done better, right?

'Cause it's with somebody who knows what they're doing. So, branding photo shoots are cool. Branding photo shoots are important in my opinion, and I think that are tot- they're totally worth it. Uh, uh, as far as investment goes, this very much varies, I feel like.

I, I, I'm not gonna sit here and tell you, like, "Oh, well you should be spending this much amount of money on your photos." You know? It's gonna depend on what your, what your photographer that you're looking to get into does. It's gonna depend, like, is this their specialty or not?

Is it the off season or not, right? Is this, like, uh, are you working with a photographer who does a lot of weddings and, and during the week they don't, uh, they are not really that booked with things and so they're down to do, like, just these cute little branding photo shoot personal photos, and that's gonna be less money? Or is this, like, somebody who specifically only works with small businesses and this is exactly what they do? They're probably gonna charge a little bit more, you know?

It's just gonna completely depend on who you go to and who you find, and probably the area that you live in as well too. And I'll just say, like, just make sure that you understand what you're getting from your investment. Okay? And this is goes for anybody who you're gonna contract to do any work with you.

Understand what package you're paying for when you sign up for it, because the majority of the time, photographers who are organized and they have their shit together, they will have different packages for things like this, and they can guarantee you X amount of photos, so, like, 50 photos or 100 f- edited photos, you know? They can, they can tell you, like, "If you pay X amount of money, you get this many locations, this many outfit changes, and this many photos back." You know? That is a really nice, organized photographer that I would prefer to work with, because you wanna understand what the clear terms are of the, the investment that you're making, right?

And so if you're working with a photographer who might not have their ish together like that, what I want you to do is just make sure that you're asking those questions. So, like, "How many locations are we sh- gonna be shooting at within this how long time of a period," right? "Am I guaranteeing two hours with you? Am I guaranteeing three hours with you?

Um, can I change outfits," right? "Are you doing the research for a location, or do I have to do the research for location?" Like, these are all different things that you need to be thinking about when it comes to the investment. And really think about the time, right?

I always talk about your time. Like, be, think about how much time you're saving versus having to spend if you're spending money on somebody, right? My photographer that I use now, I have, like, two that I switch back and forth between. My photographer that I use now, she has very clear packages.

They all include those sa- those things. So it's, like, a one-hour shoot, two-hour shoot, three-hour shoot, um, one location, two locations. How many outfit changes normally will fit in, in those packages, right? And it's really helpful because I know exactly what I'm getting myself into and I know exactly how many photos I'm getting.

And as far as, like, how many photos you should get, if you don't have ... If you've never done a branding photo shoot before, like, I would suggest getting, like, 50 to 100 photos, in my opinion, possibly. That's just an estimate. But, like, you want, like, a nice foundation to work off of so you have a really nice diversified, um, plethora of, of images to work with.

And this is also gonna depend on how often are you doing your photo shoots as well too, 'cause some people do it quarterly. Like, I used to do mine quarterly. I realized that I ended up having way too many photos and I was like, "I need to chill." And I just finally chilled and, like, I haven't had a photo shoot in months, which is so crazy.

But I'm, uh, just about to have one as- uh, coming up soon and I'm really excited about it.But I'm so glad that I did a couple of those photo shoots, 'cause I now have so many photos in different environments and different, um, outfits. And, like, all these things. I have this massive foundation of these photos that I could be using for, I, like, years.

I could truly use these for years. I don't have to be doing this photo shoot that I have coming up, but I'm going through a little bit of a rebrand, so it's kind of, like, time for that, you know? But I could definitely keep going for, like, at least two more years without another photo shoot and be good. And so, the more photos and the more that you get done in the very beginning, the more that you invest in the very beginning, the less that you'll ever have to do this again.

So think about, if this is something that is a non-enjoyable experience for you, think about making the most out of doing it the one time, or the first couple times, versus, like, "Oh, I'll just get, like, 20 photos today, and then I'll just get 20 photos next month." And then it's, like, you're just gonna have to keep on going to have enough content to continue to reuse and to continue to, um, uh, uh, recycle and, and use in, in, in different ways. You know what I'm saying? So that's my tea on investment.

What do you think, Cailyn? Yeah, I, I'm completely in agreement. Yeah, I don't really th- I don't think I have much else to add, honestly. I think you covered it pretty beautifully.

Okay. All right, so now, let's talk about imposter syndrome. Now, like I said, I've been doing this for a while, and I'm, like, a gay little confident boy, you know? Like, I, I've had to learn from a very, very young age, you know, to just show the fuck up and, like, take myself seriously, and just be like, "Eh, you're getting what you get from me, honey.

And if I wanna do this, then I'm gonna do it, and you're gonna stay mad about it," you know? It doesn't mean that imposter syndrome doesn't come up for me in different ways. But in front of a camera, I've just learned, like, like, I'm doing this for a reason. I am doing this very intentionally and purposefully for my business, at least, right?

And I think that it's gonna be important that when you are walking into these photo shoots, that if, if, if this is helpful, right, if this is helpful, um, for you, don't claim this if this isn't gonna be helpful for you. But I think it's, it, it could be helpful to walk into these photo shoots remembering that you're walking in as your personal brand of your brand. You're not walking in as yourself, right? You're not, like, exposing yourself to the world.

You are walking in as your business. You are the representative of your business. I, I, I'm, I'm pretty... I've always said, like, I'm pretty...

I, I like a clear boundary of you are a representative of the brand. You are not the brand, right? Like, you are a representative of the company. You're not the company, you know?

Although you might be a single operator, try to, try to remember, like, when you're walking into this space, there's a clear goal of, "I'm getting these photos, I'm getting these photos because I want to elevate my brand and I wanna get new clients into my chair using this elevated brand," right? This isn't, like, a competition to see how beautiful and fierce and gorgeous you are, or see how confident you are in posing. Like, that's not what this is. It, it, it, it's for you to move your business forward.

So when you're walking into it, just remember, like, this isn't, this doesn't have anything to do with you, and it doesn't have anything to do with how seriously you are taking yourself or not. It has to do with how seriously you're taking your business and your goals, and how motivated are you and how uncomfortable are you willing to feel to get the goal, to, to, to, to work towards those goals and to achieve what you're looking to achieve with what you're about to invest your time into, right? So hopefully that's a little bit helpful. What I'm also gonna say is, is that the photographer, if this is an, a, a semi, even just a semi-experienced photographer, they are, they deal with this all the time.

They know that people get nervous in front of a camera. So if it's just you and the cameraman, right, the camerawoman, the cameraperson, y- you need to understand, like, this person sees nervousness and anxiety every single time they go to do this, every single time. So you're not alone. Like, everybody, everybody gets a little bit nervous before they start.

Even me, even me saying, like, I don't h- really have that much imposter syndrome around this, I still get, like, a little nervous, get, like, starting to get into the flow, right? But once you get into that flow, things just start to come naturally, and you get a little bit more comfortable, and you start to get a little bit more of a rapport with your photographer, and you feel more comfortable in front of them. And hopefully you're working with a photographer, and we'll talk a little bit more about how to find a photographer in just a second. Hopefully you'll b- you'll create a relationship with a photographer who understands the importance of helping you feel comfortable, right?

I know my one photographer that I work with, she is so good at just telling me what to do. Like, she's just like, "Okay, uh, pretend that you saw, like, a person naked, like, walking down the road." Like, she'll, like, throw those different scenarios at, out at me to make me, like, react and to, so that way I don't even have to think about the pose that I'm getting into. And it's so good because she doesn't leave for any second of, like, second-guessing myself or any awkwardness or anything like that.

And that's why I absolutely love working with her. But not all photographers are like that. I've had multiple different photographers take my pictures, and some just don't, and some just d- aren't really that, honestly, just aren't really that great at, like, getting you out of your comfort zone. What I would make sure that you do is, is do your research when you're looking for a photographer and see if they're that type of person.

Or even ask them, like, "Do you have anything, or do you, do you normally, like, when you're, when you're approaching photo shoots with people, do you have any advice or do you do anything when you're, when we're together to make sure that, um, uh, it's a little bit less of an awkward experience? 'Cause I might be an introvert and I might feel a little bit uncomfortable walking into it." Like, don't be afraid to ask those questions, because if that's truly something that you're gonna feel like you will need and you're gonna benefit for, then that's the type of photographer that you're gonna wanna hire.And in today's day and age, you know, I don't know everybody's experiences, based upon their locations and stuff like that, but in today's day and age, oh my God, there are a million photographers out there, honey.

Like, who hasn't started their own photography freaking business on the side, you know, in the past, like, three years, right? Like, so, like, there's plenty of people to choose from. Make sure that you're choosing the person who you believe at least, or that you've seen or have told you that they will help you feel comfortable when you're walking into it, because the photographer will make all the difference. And give yourself a pep talk.

Look in the mirror and be like, "You're a bad bitch," right? Listen to some cute music before you get into it. I love to dance. Like, whenever I'm nervous about anything, I like dance, and I, like, with myself, and I just, like, like, feel all confident and fun and excited about myself, and then I walk into whatever I'm walking into.

So that way I just, like, am loosened up a little bit first, instead of just, like, being all tight and, like, you know, my body being tight, especially with pose- posing and stuff like that. You definitely wanna maybe even, like, do some stretching and, and just, like, loosen up a little bit before you get in there, and that should help you with your confidence and your mobility as far as posing as well too. Kaitlyn, do you have anything to share? Um, I'm just gonna echo what you said.

Like, I, that's my favorite thing to do, is to, like, hype myself up a little bit. Like, okay, I'm doing my hair and my makeup. I'm gonna, like, blast, like, my favorite music. I know not everybody is into, like, music and dancing and stuff like that, but, like, it's usually pretty, pretty common, I would say.

But yeah, I mean, just blast your favorite music, like something that's gonna make you feel good and, like, excited. And just, like, that, yeah, will make you happy. It makes such a difference to, like, hype yourself up a little bit. And, like Hunter said as well, like, communication with your photographer is so important.

Be upfront with them. Be like, "Hey, like, I don't do this very often. Like, what can I do to, like, loosen myself up a little bit? Like, what can we do together to, like, make this...

Like, do I need to do, like, some of those, like, stereotypical, like, silly poses for the first five pictures? Like, what's gonna make this better?" That's, that's what I would do. Yeah, I love that so much.

Yeah, just honest and open communication. You're not, again, you're not the... You're not the only person that this photographer has ever worked with that feels awkward and shy about this, so. So don't be afraid to communicate with them, for sure.

Okay, let's talk about where to find a photographer. So, I think Instagram is the best place to go, honey. I think Instagram is the best place to go. Now, in today's day and age, at the time of recording this, um, I think looking up lo- like, your local area, right?

And then f- typing in photographer is the best way to find things, and the reason why is because if you find somebody on Instagram, you're able to see all of their freaking work, right? Another way, and, and we'll talk about, like, what you should be looking for when you're looking, but let's talk about where, right? So that's number one, Instagram. What I would also do, if you have a hard time just finding those profiles, look at, find other small businesses in your area and see if they have ever gotten branding photo shoots done, especially boutiques and things like that.

Like, if you, if there's boutiques that have gotten their own photos done, you really wanna lean into those, because you know that they, that they've used a photographer that is experienced in ph- photographing people outside of a wedding environment, right? Because, you know, the majority of photographers are wedding photographers. And actually, my one, my one, who is very, uh, makes me feel very comfortable, she is actually mainly a wedding photographer, and I actually found her through Instagram. She f- I think that she found me on Instagram, and she was like, "Oh my God."

Like, "I want," like, "I want you to do my hair." And I was like, "Okay, cool, I wanna get photos done with you." And then we started to trade, which was so excellent, and we'll t- I can talk more about that in just a second. Don't, like, completely throw out the wedding photographers, okay?

Like they, they, like I said, like they can photograph well, like, they obviously can, um, and they probably can work with you for sure, if it's something that they're interested in and they're willing to offer. I'd rather you find a photographer who is a little bit more about branding or personal photo shoots or, um, even family photography. But most specifically, if you can find this, a small business, like, branding, branding photographer. Like, if you can find somebody that specific, that is who I want you to go to, because they know exactly how to work with you for the most part, right?

But it's gonna be really hard for you to find, because it's definitely not the norm. So it's gonna depend on your location, et cetera, et cetera. But if you can find a photographer who specializes in what you're looking to get done, that's fantastic. If not, give 'em a shot, and, and ask them if they've ever done anything like that before, anything that, like, like what you're looking to get done, and ask them what their enthusiasm is about doing something like that, right?

Um, so that way they can guide you as well too and they can work well with you. What you should also be looking for is looking at their color scheme of how they edit pictures. So, most photographers, they use, like, a preset Lightroom filter for every single one of their photos. Like, it's kind of like their own personal style as far as how they photograph.

You have to remember that, like, just like you as a hairstylist, like, you have your own specialty, you have your own way of doing things, right, in your services? It's the exact same way that photographers are as well too with the way that they edit and with the way that they photograph. Some photographers are gonna really like minimal, clean, bright. Some photographers are gonna like a little bit of high contrast, darker, more green, um, more things going on in the photo, right?

You wanna make sure that you're looking and seeing the style of the photography, taking into consideration your own brand and your target market and seeing if the editing style that they have will match the brand that you have as well too. I think people don't realize that, like, when they're hiring a photographer, that you, you're not just, you're not just, like, hiring this photographer to do every single thing that you exactly want to happen. It's like, you guys are gonna work together to create a masterpiece. You know what I mean?

It's just like a tattoo artist. Like, tattoo artists have their own style of how they tattoo, and so you wanna find a tattoo artist that is gonna be good and normally does the style that you're looking to get done, right?So definitely make sure that you're looking for a photographer with, like, a nice editing style that would match you and your brand. What else should people look for?

The editing style is a huge one. That was something I didn't learn until, like, pretty recently actually, is, like, depending on your brand and, like, what kind of colorations you like to use, like dark and moody, whether you like it personally, might not fit your brand. So make sure that, like, your photographer, like, is going to fit well with your brand. Totally.

100%. Some bonus tips. If this is a photographer who is very local to your area, it's smart to use them because of the relationship that you'll create with them. I highly recommend that you create a relationship with the photographer that you work with.

I am so glad that I did with the one that I work with now, because the amount of referrals she sends me is insane. Like, it is crazy how much business I get from this one girl. Especially if they have, like, a fair bit of a following within your local area, make the relationship with them and try to use them and try to find somebody like that, because it can ha- be so beneficial for you in more ways than just getting good photos. It can be beneficial for you in the longevity of your business and how you market yourself.

So bonus tip there, for sure, finding somebody who's local. Another bonus tip, and, you know, I want you to be super respectful of people when you're, when you're searching for something like this, but if you can figure out a trade situation, dude, 100% offer that up, honey. If that's something that you're interested in doing, offer it up, because my trade situation was absolutely 100% worth it and beneficial for me. The only thing that I would highly suggest if you're gonna be trading services is you are both extremely clear about what the expectations are, very granularly.

Like, figure out exactly what you guys are getting in exchange, and make sure you're both extremely, fully comfortable with what you guys are getting yourself into as far as that trade goes, and then have fun and do it, because it can save you a whole lot of money. And I would rather spend a little bit of time doing some hair, right, than spending a lot of money for a branding photo shoot. I know that the services that I would have done, would have charged for, right, wouldn't be as much money as what the photographer would have charged me for the photos that she's done with me. So it was always a win for me and I enjoyed it.

So make sure that you're, like, taking all that stuff into consideration. And again, bonus points if you can start trading, because instead of having to invest, right? So we are finding that this episode is going very long. And what we're gonna do, just to make sure that we're not wasting any of your time and you don't feel like you have to listen to a l- hour-long episode, is that we're gonna cut this off here and we are going to release a part two.

So I hope as you enjoyed part one, I hope that this got you thinking about, like, all the things as far as mindset goes, as far as your investment goes, and what to look for in a photographer and where to find one. And next episode, the part two, we're gonna be talking about your wardrobe and posing and what photos you should be getting done, and maybe some props to bring and all that creative, fun stuff. So, so much love to you. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode and we'll talk to you soon.

Peace out, Girl Scout. Bye bye.

End of transcript. © 2023 Hunter Donia LLC.