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I'm a brand photographer and strawberry lover living in  Charleston, South Carolina ☀️🍓 I help business owners plan and pull off their brand shoots with confidence and strategy.

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What makes up the anatomy of a successful brand shoot? Hint: it’s more than just hiring a great photographer. Creating your ideal brand photos requires collaboration with a team of experts and strategic planning. We’re talking color schemes, props, beauty looks, wardrobe, locations, schedules, and shot lists. I know it sounds like a lot, but there’s no need to be overwhelmed! In this post, I’m breaking down what makes up the anatomy of a successful brand shoot.

To illustrate, I’m going to show you a recent Signature Brand Shoot with my client Jordan Duvall. Jordan is a coach, educator, and creative director with her company Ignite Your Soul Brand. Jordan works with business owners to nail their brands from top to bottom, including creating brand images. Admittedly, between herself and me loving to plan brand shoots, she had a huge leg up in planning her shoot! But, her shoot is the perfect example of how all the pieces of the puzzle produce long-lasting, on-brand images.

If you want your investment in brand photography to pay off in quality, usefulness, and longevity, this post is for you! As soon as you’ve booked your brand photographer (check out this post for tips on how to choose the best one for you), it’s time to get planning! A great brand photographer will help you with every step along the way, but especially if you know you need to plan these things ahead of time, you’ll know what to expect and be a step ahead (and your photographer will adore you for being so proactive!). Ready to discover alllll of the brand shoot anatomy you need to know? Let’s get to it!

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    The Anatomy of a Successful Brand Shoot

    1. A Curated Color Scheme

    The first, and perhaps most important, piece of the brand shoot puzzle is your color scheme. Luckily, this is a fairly easy one to check off the list. Head straight to your brand colors, and voila! You’ve got the color scheme for your brand shoot. 

    Jordan’s brand color scheme is royal blue, navy, black, a bright, magenta pink, and a light beige/white. She also recently added emerald green as a supplementary color. So, we added pops of green in her wardrobe and used a green wall in our Airbnb location.

    Keep your color scheme in mind as you go through all of the additional anatomical parts of your brand shoot, especially:

    • Location(s) choices
    • Wardrobe
    • Lip/nail colors
    • Props

    As you can see in Jordan’s photos, her color scheme comes through immediately. From the locations to her wardrobe, every detail is in sync.

    A woman sitting in a blue bar stool at a bar holding a glass of champagne. She is wearing a fuchsia dress, black jacket, and cobalt blue pumps. In the image, her head is not shown, to really focus on the details of the outfit.
    A woman sitting at a booth in a cafe drinking an espresso. She is wearing a fuchsia top and black jacket. She has dark brown wavy hair and is smiling.
    Woman sitting at a bar with a smile on her face. She is holding a glass of champagne and is looking off to the side. Behind her are shelves of alcohol.
    Woman lounging on a bed wearing a white t-shirt. She has pink nails and is wearing hoop earrings.
    Flat lay photo of pantone color swatches, photos, and a pair of red, heart-shaped sunglasses.

    2. Locations

    Next up, on-brand locations! Locations are so important to brand shoots because they have a huge influence on the overall vibe of your photos. The location determines the “base” of your shots. Everything from backgrounds, furniture, and accessories in a location can (or won’t!) give your photos a connective feel.

    After refining your color scheme, you’ll want to head straight for booking a location(s). Locations can be booked out months in advance, depending on where you’d like to shoot. If you already own or rent a space in which you’d like to shoot, lucky you! Just make sure that your space feels on-brand. Your photographer can help you make the determination of whether another space might be more appropriate.

    If you do decide to rent or use another space other than your own, you have several options! Check out local co-working spaces, venues, Airbnbs, or VRBO’s (just be sure to let the renter/owner know you’ll be doing a photoshoot in their space).

    While researching, look for colors, finishes, and furniture that mesh well with your brand. You can always bring in props and accessories to add to the on-brand ambiance.

    Woman standing in cafe. Cafe has leather booths, and cozy globe-shaped light fixtures. She is leaning on a table and smiling at the camera. She is wearing a fuchsia dress and a black jacket.
    Woman sitting on her kitchen counter reading a magazine. She is wearing a cobalt blue jumpsuit with a jeweled belt and nude heels. The kitchen is sleek and modern and has a navy fringe chandelier.
    Woman sitting on a navy blue sofa. She is wearing black and white check pants and a hot pink top and heels. She is holding her phone in her hand and looking at the camera. Above her are three pieces of artwork. Next to her is a rattan table with coffee table books on it.
    Woman sitting on a table on the porch. She is writing something down in a notebook. She is wearing black jeans and a bright green top. It is sunny outside and you can see trees in the background.
    Woman standing in front of a white a white house. She is smiling at the camera and wearing a black tank, white blazer, and jeans.
    Woman walking in front of a white house with black shutters and a pink door. She is wearing a black tank, white blazer, ripped jeans, and black sneakers.

    3. A Well-Thought Out Wardrobe

    When booking your brand shoot, your mind probably almost immediately goes to, “but what will I wear!?” and for good reason! Your wardrobe is key for not only the color scheme but most importantly, your confidence and what you’re projecting to your potential clients.

    My recommendation is to hire a wardrobe stylist (if that sounds totally bougie, trust me, it’s worth every penny). Wardrobe stylists are experts at fitting clothes to your body type. They can also help you pull together multiple looks for your shoot based on your locations and must-have shots. 

    If you don’t want to go the stylist route, you can pull your outfits together yourself (and maybe enlist a friend for help!). Keep your color scheme, shot list, and audience perception in mind. Here are a few helpful questions to ask while curating your wardrobe:

    • How do I want my audience to see me? What first impression of me do they need in order to want to work with me?
    • What style(s) fit well with my brand? Professional and sleek, casual, sporty, sexy, chic, glam? A mix of a few styles?
    • What styles, colors, and cuts make me feel the most confident and comfortable?
    Woman standing in front of a kitchen island in a sleek, modern kitchen. She is smiling and holding a coffee cup. She is wearing a blue jumpsuit with a jeweled belt and nude heels.
    Woman standing in front of a bar. The bar has the name Felix written at the top. She is leaning on the wooden bar next to a blue barstool. She is wearing a fuchsia dress, black jacket, and bold blue heels.
    Woman standing outside on the front steps of a house. She is wearing a blue jumpsuit, black jacket, and pink heels.
    Woman sitting on a navy sofa. She is laughing and holding a large lollipop. She is wearing a hot pink top, heart shaped sunglasses, and black and white check pants.
    Woman standing in front of a white house with a black door. She is holding up a heart eyes emoji on a stick. She is wearing a black tank, red jacket, ripped jeans, and black sneakers.
    Woman sitting on the front steps of a house with a pink door. She is resting her hand on her chin and smiling. She is wearing a black top, white blazer, ripped jeans, and black sneakers.

    4. An Expert Beauty Team

    Next up in the anatomy of a successful brand shoot is an expert beauty team. Jordan hired one of my favorite beauty gals, Dominique with Shadows and Shears for her shoot. Jordan hired Dominique for the duration of the shoot, which meant that Dominique could switch up Jordan’s look throughout the day.

    The value in being able to switch up your hair and makeup looks is variety. Especially when you’re investing your hard-earned money in brand photography, you don’t want every shot to look like it was shot on the same day. Your photos will last much longer if you enhance the variety in your shots. Dominique took just 15-20 minutes in-between shots to give Jordan an entirely new look. 

    Woman sitting at a kitchen counter looking off to the side. She is wearing a blue top and blue earrings. Scattered across the counter top is a pile of photographs.
    Woman sitting at a tan leather booth at a cafe. She is holding an espresso cup and smiling. She is wearing a fuchsia dress and black jacket.
    Woman lounging on the sofa reading a magazine. She is looking at the camera and smiling. She is wearing pink hoop earrings and a bright pink top.
    Woman sitting at a table on her porch on her laptop. She is holding her phone and looking at the camera and smiling. She is wearing a bright green top and bright green earrings.

    5. A Plethora of Props

    One of the most overlooked elements of a brand shoot is props! I think the word props puts people off because it sounds inauthentic, but trust me when I say that props are your friend! Without props, you risk narrowing the impact and versatility of your brand photos.

    Jordan brought a group of props that helped describe her offers and what she does for her clients. For example, printed out mood boards, magazines, and Pantone cards visually describe her creative process. Cover images of Jordan’s Magnetic Brand program on an iPhone and laptop help clients visualize what they’ll receive when working with her. Affirmation cards and a crystal water bottle are props that her ideal clients relate to.

    Got your gears turning? Good! When selecting your own props, be sure to consider your color scheme and upcoming offerings and launches.

    Woman sitting at a kitchen counter wearing a blue top and blue earrings. She is flipping through a magazine.
    Photo of a woman holding her phone up to the camera. Her phone has a collage of photos on it. She is a bit out of focus so that the focus in on the images on the phone.
    Ariel photo of a stack of magazines with a phone sitting on top. To the right there is a hand holding a cup of espresso.
    Two hands holding cards that have inspirational phases on them. One says "surrender it all."
    Flat lay photo of pantone color swatches and photographs in complementary tan and gold colors.
    Two hands typing on a laptop. There is a glass of champagne next to the laptop.

    6. Precise shot planning

    One thing that your brand photographer can’t know unless you tell them is the photos you need for specific placements on your website, digital products, etc. For example, you might need a simple, vertical image with space at the top for the title of your e-book. It’s okay if you don’t know exactly what this image looks like yet (that’s where the creativity of the shoot comes into play!). But as long as your photographer knows you need a shot in this orientation, you’ll ensure you have every shot you need.

    Jordan made sure to let me know she needed lots of horizontal shots with her placed in the middle, to the left, and to the right so that she had plenty of room for text overlays in her sales graphics. Unless I knew what Jordan was planning to use her images for specifically, I may not have gotten every shot she needed for her upcoming launch. A good photographer will always ask what orientations you need, but it’s ultimately up to you to comb through exactly what you need images for and communicate that to your photographer. 

    7. A strategic (and realistic) schedule

    Another key element of a successful brand shoot is the shoot day schedule. I not only love schedules because I’m totally type-A, but they’re critical to a successful brand shoot. Your photographer should be in charge of creating the schedule, including communicating with all team members on their needs for the day.

    Make sure your photographer has allotted at least 30 minutes at the beginning of the shoot so everyone can get settled and set up. If you’re getting hair and makeup done, you’ll easily want an hour and a half before the first shot even happens. Every shoot schedule is different, but generally I like to give each section of the shoot at least an hour with breaks in-between for switching up hair and makeup looks and setting up for the next shot. Also, don’t forget the most important part of the shoot day schedule: lunch!

    The schedule will always change a bit throughout the shoot, but it’s important to make sure your schedule is realistic. If you’re worried you won’t get to all of your dream shots, prioritize and make these shots known to your photographer. There’s nothing worse than rushing around trying to fit the impossible into a shoot day. My rule of thumb is to always add at least 20-30 minutes extra to each section of my first draft of the schedule. I sometimes even put a timer on so that we keep moving and don’t miss any shots!

    Photo of woman sitting on her kitchen countertop. She is smiling and wearing a blue jumpsuit with a jeweled belt. She is holding a pink coffee cup with eyelashes on it.
    Two hands holding a phone. They are scrolling through an instagram feed. In the background there is a pen and notebook on the table.
    Woman standing in front of a grey wall. In front of her is a burst of colorful confetti that is flying through the air. She has her arms spread wide and has a huge smile on her face. She is wearing a black tank top, red jacket, and jeans.

    There you have it! The anatomy of a successful brand shoot

    Are you ready to go forth in your brand shoot planning journey and kick some butt?! I hope these tips help as you make your dream brand photos a reality. Any questions for me? Drop them into the comments below!

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    Brand Photoshoot Checklist: From Prep to Post-Shoot

    Plan your brand photoshoot using this clear, step-by-step checklist and timeline. No more guessing, stressing, or wondering what you missed!


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