Dressing for Success: What to Wear for Your Brand Photos
It’s a question as old as time: WHAT DO I WEAR??? It’s scary to put ourselves in front of the camera and so we all want to look our best and feel confident. But getting dressed for a commercial photo shoot is very different than choosing an outfit for personal portraits. You need to create a first impression that communicates what your business is all about and makes you look amazing at the same time. So let’s go through a few (loose) rules that will help you choose your best looks for your personal branding photos.
Start with Keywords
What do you want your clients to think about you and your business at a glance? People automatically categorize people based on their style, words they choose, etc. It’s not that you can’t change people’s minds but it’s much easier to start out being as clear as you can about the type of business owner you are.
For example, if a lawyer shows up in ripped jeans, a pink T-shirt, and sparkly flip-flops, that wouldn’t give you confidence in their professionalism and that they would take your case seriously. It’s not to say that they couldn’t, but that first impression would be hard to change. On the flip side, if an abstract, colorful fine artist comes for their photo session in a boring gray suit, black pumps, no makeup, and severe hairstyle, it wouldn’t make prospective clients think that they’re an outside-the-box, creative thinker.
You don’t have to stick to preconceived notions of what people in your industry are ‘supposed’ to look like. Still, it’s really important to think about those words you want to pop into your audience’s mind when they see your photos. Be strategic!
Coordinate with Your Brand
If you have set colors for your brand and website, then it’s always a good idea to think about that when choosing the colors for your outfits. The trick is to make sure to pick colors that look good on you and not just your site. If your brand colors are hot pink and orange but they don’t do you any favors, then you could pick a color that compliments them, like a soft blue or lilac, or a neutral like black or gray. And if the colors of your brand are muted and earthy, then it’s best to stay away from super bright, saturated colors in your clothes.
Dress to Feel Your Best
Some people think that their clothes don’t matter or that putting time into planning them is vain. But your clothes not only can give a great first impression, but they also make you feel more confident and comfortable. This is why I usually advise my clients not to experiment too much with their outfits, especially in the first brand session, because that discomfort will come across in their pictures. So no matter the trends or your brand colors, make sure you choose outfits that you feel great in. That relaxation and confidence will translate beautifully in your photos.
Keep it Natural (but Your Version)
When you’re having a portrait taken, whether it’s a headshot or more lifestyle branding, you want to be the main focus. If your makeup, clothes, or nails are too loud they can distract from you. Even in the case of a bolder brand, you still want to be the center of attention, rather than the styling overpowering you.
So if you usually don’t wear any makeup and more casual clothing, wearing a red sequin dress and a full face of makeup and false lashes would be unnatural and out of character for you. On the flip side, if you usually wear colorful clothes, and sparkly eye makeup, showing up to your session in very little makeup and a beige pantsuit would be bizarre. So keep things natural— but natural to you.
Skip the Experiments
Brand photo sessions, especially your first one, are not the time to experiment with your outfits. Instagram and social media can be a great place to test new looks out but doing that in a large session can be disastrous. And I know because I had just such a disaster.
Once I saw a super cool, rainbow fringe jacket and thought it looked amazing on the woman wearing it. She exuded the confidence and fun that I wanted to have so I bought it and wore it to my own brand session. When I got the photos back, I HATED them. The jacket colors didn’t work with my complexion and it was so loud that my face was just an afterthought. I didn’t strategically think of the impression I wanted to give to my clients and what would look good on me. So learn from my experience and test out your outfits before your session.
Here is the infamous jacket, an experiment gone wrong as nothing here was working for me. I even wore a graphic t-shirt! Learn from my mistakes. Lol
This was a later, MUCH better option. The color and style made me stand out but the print was still creative and interesting.
Testing, Testing
Speaking of testing your outfits, taking a picture in natural light with your phone is a great way to do that (and then text it to me if you want feedback). Outfits that look great and fun in person sometimes don’t translate well to a still image. Things we overlook in real life are more noticeable in a still image.
You can also make a Pinterest board to gather outfit and styling ideas and test them alongside your shoot inspiration. I always collaborate on a Pinterest board with my brand photography clients to make sure the location, outfits, props, and styling all blend together perfectly. Sometimes just seeing everything at once is a huge help to weed out outfits and styling that don’t fit the vibe of your session.
Beware of Distractions
Even though brand photos have a very different goal than general portraits, you still want to be the focus of the images you’re in. So avoid distracting prints and words on your clothes, as people’s eyes will go right to that instead of your face. We want people to notice your face first and then your cool styling after.
Sometimes a graphic shirt may add to the brand story you’re telling, but I usually recommend that all my clients to avoid them as much as possible. We can still bring playful, clever vibes in other ways like fun textures, colors and even props in your session. Leave the words for your site copy and social media captions, and let your face do the talking in your photos.
More Outfits = More Variety
Even though you have to strategize more with commercial photos than family portraits, one very big perk is that you get to wear multiple outfits. So instead of deciding between the casual Sunday brunch outfit and your girl boss pantsuit, you can wear both! In fact the more outfits the better, though how many will depend on the length of your photo session.
If you only wear one outfit, it’s a lot harder to create variety in your social media and website. But when you have photos with say three different outfits, you can easily rotate between all of them instead of looking like you only have one uniform. That will let your brand photos last much longer (though if you get bangs, then you’re on your own).
Rules are Meant To Be Broken, but on Purpose.
As helpful as it is to have some guidelines for choosing your outfits, sometimes they may not serve the goal for YOUR brand photos. I’m a big fan of thinking outside the box and breaking rules when I need to but I have one word of caution. If you do break a rule, make sure you know WHY. Are you going to wear a graphic t-shirt with ‘Girl Boss’ on it because it will communicate the impression you want to get across or are you wearing it because you should be able to wear whatever you want? I’ve always hated being told what to do so sometimes I have to slow down and think about why I don’t want to follow a rule — because sometimes following it may just be the key to my success.
