Shooting Visuals For My Agency — Snap it Social
I finally did what I’ve been putting off for far too long, and shot a branding photoshoot for myself at Cloud Nine Studio in Rockdale.
I’d been a little nervous in the lead up because I don’t love posing for photos, and much prefer to be on the other side of the camera. But for my branding, I wanted to be in the photos to give people a sense of who they’ll be working with.
It got me thinking about how my clients often feel the same, because let’s face it — if you’re not a professional model having your photo taken daily, having your picture taken (especially in high resolution) can feel unnatural and nerve-racking. Which is not what you want portrayed in your final images.
Which is why for this shoot, I put a lot of my focus on props and design, and avoiding photos of me posed or looking at the camera. If I wasn’t going to be in every photo, how else could I show off my brand?
I printed out a few of my favourite shots, and spent the weeks prior designing some graphics. I specifically loved the style of 70s and 80s style adverts, which were clean, simple, and yet a little playful. (Very on brand for Snap it Social). I found a few on pinterest that I used as my main source of inspiration, and designed similar style layouts for my own ads.
Next up was the wording. I wanted it to be relevant to my brand, while holding the clean, fun aesthetic of the 70s style adverts. I tried a few different samples first, and eventually settled on my final three.
The first ad I decided on was the ‘The goods we’re serving’ ad, which references the services offered in the causal, simple, and clean style of the brand.
Next up were my ‘Retro Futurism’ style ads. I wanted to reference the idea of the brand being future-forward as much as timeless, and the retro-futuristic style was a huge source of inspiration in capturing this.
The days before the shoot involved me printing out my materials, collecting a handful of props, organising outfit ideas, and curating a shot list.
On the day, I had my partner come with me to help with shooting photos I was going to be in, and we spent 2 hours total getting our content. The time flew, and my organisation going in was the only reason I didn’t regret not booking a longer time slot. We did not stop shooting for the entire time, but did manage to get through my entire shot list.
I made my selects and retouched them, and I’m pleased with how they turned out! I was able to get some headshots that didn’t involve me sitting and smiling, and all the final images capture the stylistic choices I envisioned for my brand. I’d certainly recommend checking out the beautiful space — it truly is the perfect place for a branding shoot.
Browse through my final images below!
