We’re trying on the title of “model” to offer some advice on how to get the most out of a photo shoot or video shoot as a creative entrepreneur. We’ve done several photo shoots and video shoots lately for our own business, so we’re sharing the best ways to prepare for them and then how to use them in your business.
Kathleen Shannon 0:02
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Emily Thompson 0:29
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Kathleen Shannon 1:11
Alright, Caitlin, what are we chatting about today?
Caitlin Brehm 1:14
Well, you two have been doing quite a few photo shoots and video shoots over the years. And I would venture to call you guys photoshoot model pros at this point, so
Kathleen Shannon 1:27
Okay. Yeah, when can we When can we officially take on the title Model
Emily Thompson 1:32
Model?
Caitlin Brehm 1:34
I'm bestowing it upon you now.
Kathleen Shannon 1:36
I mean, how many photoshoots you have to do to be able to call yourself a model,
Emily Thompson 1:40
right? I think you have to be hired as a model.
Kathleen Shannon 1:44
That skit designer slash model.
Emily Thompson 1:47
No.
Kathleen Shannon 1:48
Okay. Well, you all know, I so badly want to be a model that I got my friend. I've auditioned for America's Next Top Model. Yep. And last, I mean, I even get on it, I didn't lose, I didn't get on it. Anyway, my friends that shop good hire me as a model sometimes. So model, so I'm a model, okay, myself. So I'm here to share my modeling experience and how to be how to find a shoe look good during a shoe, okay,
Caitlin Brehm 2:14
how to find a good photographer, or videographer and then maybe how to best utilize that material for your business after the fact.
Emily Thompson 2:24
So I think we can start with photographer videographer, because we always find hours by just finding photographers, videographers that we like. So Instagram, I feel these days makes this super easy, and that you can find photographers and see vast amounts of their work super easily just on your smartphone, or whatever you're
Kathleen Shannon 2:42
doing recommendations from friends. So look at photos that your friends have had taken and ask them who took your photos and then make sure that the style resonates because there's a lot of photographers and a lot of them have different styles. So you want to make sure that not only does your aesthetic match up or line up with what they're shooting, but also that there's chemistry there as well like that can go a really long way whenever it comes to making or breaking a photoshoot, we always shoot with people that we enjoy being with for a certain amount of time. Because that definitely matters. And it shows in your photos,
Emily Thompson 3:17
for sure. And I also have to say whenever it comes to traveling for photoshoots, I prefer traveling to a photographer, as opposed to one coming to me or us meeting in a third location. Because they're going to know where the best places are to go. If you're all going to a new place that none of you that neither of you have been, then finding those places that are going to make good photos is really difficult. So either finding someone local to you and staying where you are, or going to a photographer i think is better than a photographer coming to you or you both going somewhere new altogether.
Kathleen Shannon 3:52
And if you are going somewhere new altogether, make sure to scout out locations or even hire a producer that's local to the area that can take you to all the best places,
Emily Thompson 4:01
for sure. And then beyond that, whenever it comes to, I guess more of getting ready for the photo shoot, Kathleen and I are always really good about sending moodboards over to especially photographers, maybe we're not so great with this with videographers, because that's can that's such a different medium, I guess it can make that really difficult. We're really good about putting together a nice Pinterest board of some headshot styles that we like or some vibes that we like or whatever it may be some composition of photos that we that we want to bring home for our brand. So putting together a really relatively easy mood board can go a long way for you getting the look that you want.
Kathleen Shannon 4:40
Also, I think it's really important to hire a stylist so it's not really important if you have some clothes that you know that you look good and feel good and that's really great. But I recently hired a stylist just for our New Orleans vacation to dress me every single day to pick out my outfits and that way it was just one less thing I had to worry about. made packings super easy, but I think is definitely worthwhile to hire a stylist, but put together a couple of looks for your shoot, as well as a makeup artist. Like if you don't like doing your own makeup, find a makeup artist and the same way that you would find a photographer or anything else. By asking around and seeing whose makeup you like and hiring someone, you're always going to feel a little bit more overdone on a shoot versus like everyday makeup. So that's another thing that's worthwhile to get.
Emily Thompson 5:29
Sure, or at least it can be I've actually had some feedback from friends lately who have not enjoyed having a hair stylist or makeup artists come into their photoshoots. And whether that's because no one was prepared enough to really know what was going to happen, or because they just felt like they could have done it better themselves. Like I'm definitely one of those people, I would rather do my hair and makeup myself and know that I'm going to do it exactly the way I wanted them to have someone that I haven't had that relationship with just sort of come in and do hair and makeup. Like I'm even one of those people where whenever I get my hair cut by the girl that I love, who cuts my hair, I'm usually going to go home and refix my hair just because I know I can fix it better than anyone else can or at least in the exact way that I want it. So for that it's just whether you are hiring a hairstylist or a makeup artist, or you're doing it yourself, I think totally depends on the kind of person you are if you know you can do it exactly the way you want it, do it yourself. Or if you know you want someone to help you hire someone
Kathleen Shannon 6:26
now also depends on your budget. And again, like if you can have a test run of makeup and hair. I mean, just like I don't know a lot of people hire hair stylists and makeup artists for their wedding days. I'm not one of those people, and I've been married twice did it myself. So um, I've always DIY did more so because of budget. But lately, I've been into the idea of hiring people that I trust and whose style I like to help me out with those things. Okay, so then let's talk about day of shoot, I think it's really important to have an itinerary put together. And no matter how small your shoot is, if it's anything over like an hour, I think it's a really good idea to put down locations, phone numbers, I like having a clipboard with my mood board on it, having a checklist of shots. And making sure that your photographer knows how you're going to be using your photos is huge, too. So, for example, in our most recent photo shoot, we knew that we were going to be using these photos for the book. So we had all of them shot vertically. And then we realize like, Oh, wait, we could have been using these for our website as well. But all of our photos are vertical. So it's not working as well, on our website, we're having a crop in on things. So I would say get a variety of vertical and horizontal shots that you could also crop down into a square for Instagram, whenever it comes to thinking about how you're going to use your photos and having that conversation with your photographer before the shoot, whether that's day of like just connecting in the morning and most great photographers get it like they don't need advance warning that you need horizontal and vertical photos. So I think that's a conversation to have with the person in the morning before you shoot.
Emily Thompson 8:14
For sure. And then other than itinerary is just showing up and doing it. And this can also depend greatly on your own comfort Kathleen and I show up just the two of us and we do the thing. And we're really good about just showing up and giving it our all and then leaving and crashing later. But I do know people who need someone else there with them. I imagine if I were doing a photoshoot by myself, like having someone off screen to like make sure my hair is not in my face or that I'm giggling at the right moments. Or even like when Kathleen and I are together like we have this really bad habit of one of us has serious face and the other one is laughing and we wish we could like crop different photos together to give us both the same look. But that's hard to do. Having someone off camera to sort of give you that direction. If your photographer is not going to do it for you. It's not their job, some of them do it very naturally. And that's a good thing if they do but if not having someone there who can just sort of help you implement your the styles that you want. Someone who's looking at it but who is not taking the photos because putting that on a photographer who doesn't have the capacity to do both at the same time is sometimes asking too much.
Kathleen Shannon 9:23
I also want to talk about photography photoshoot expectations. So let's say you have a one day shoot and you're shooting for six hours, you might think that you're going to get hundreds of photos. But generally I have found I get one to two photos per hour that are like showstoppers that are really really great. And on the low side of that one an hour so if you have a six hour shoot, you might get six really great photos that you love and those will carry you a really long way. And you might get up to 12 and this just is the fact of it. It doesn't matter how talented If you're a photographer is there's just only so much that you can do in one day or one photo shoot, even if you have multiple outfits. So I would think about that as well, whenever it comes to planning your photo shoot is how many photos you need, what you're going to be using them for, and planning accordingly.
Emily Thompson 10:18
Yeah, this is not so much the same, like if it's product photos, but if people are involved in people's faces and sunshine and birds flying by and all those things, you can absolutely expect to get probably significantly fewer photos then you than you imagine, which is also why it's really great to go at a photoshoot, getting face shots and head shots and those sorts of things, as well as like hands and plants or whatever sort of extra textures and things around so that you can have brand photography from your session that is not just your face you can have you can have more things to choose from than just that like weird face you made 18 times and then that one time you decide to look you.
Kathleen Shannon 11:01
I've also really learned recently to speak up for yourself when it comes to your photos and different angles, like if you know your angles and how you like yourself. Looking. That's important. And this might be for someone who's been on a few photo shoots. But even just recently, we were shooting with a guy that we really liked down in New Orleans. And I was like, You know what, I don't think that these shadows like in this light is working for us. So really getting specific about what I didn't think was working. For some people who don't have an art direction background, it might be harder for them to communicate what they don't like about the photo. But I would just say keep an open line of communication going with your photographer, every photographer I've worked with has been really great about showing me kind of what they're capturing as they're capturing it. So I can tell them what I like and don't like about it.
Emily Thompson 11:52
For sure. And then otherwise, just show up and do it and have fun and do the thing. And I also want to like have fun and do the thing. Add a little asterisk to that. Because this is work, like photoshoots can be some of the most draining hard days. For a creative who's building a brand even though they look so glamorous and amazing. Like they're the most tiring. So show up and have fun, but also know that it's not just about having fun. It's about getting some work done.
Kathleen Shannon 12:21
Yeah, this is why you don't have family photos. Feels like work. Do you have family photos?
Emily Thompson 12:28
No, I know that. No.
Kathleen Shannon 12:30
I mean, I have so many friends who are so good about getting photos every season. I'm like, that sounds exhausting.
Emily Thompson 12:36
Yeah,
Kathleen Shannon 12:37
so I know how you all feel if you feel exhausted, going into a photo shoot for your work, but make it fun. It can be fun. And it has been fun for us too. So do the thing, get your photo taken,
Caitlin Brehm 12:50
I would say to all the things that you've mentioned. So the actual cost of hiring the photographer and makeup artists and stylists and everything. It can kind of seem like a lot when you're listing it all out like that. But think about it as like you are going to be using these photos moving forward to help automate your business. Even just today, Emily dropped a bunch of photos in a folder for our assistant, Sharon and said, Hey, I just put all these photos in this folder. Use this as inspiration for social media posts moving forward. And that's like a super easy way to automate your business. Obviously, use it all over your website. It goes a long way. So think of it as a way to offload work from yourself to
Emily Thompson 13:33
Yeah, one good headshot will get so much use so much use for everything that you do. I think I think photo shoots are definitely worth it. I wish I had done probably sound earlier in my business. I'm glad we've made it standard and how we do business now. And we can do a photo shoot. I mean, the photos that we got two years ago in New Orleans, we're still using them, we're still getting use out of them and will continue to for as long as Kathleen's hair station enough though, I kind of feel like it may be outgrowing them.
Kathleen Shannon 14:07
Okay, so this is actually something to consider my hair is changing a lot. And that means that we have to retake photos at least once a year and it's something that we budget for and it's not just because of my hair. I've actually done a lot of thinking around this. Like my hair is just like anyone else like I don't know maybe if you gain weight Do you necessarily need a photoshoot? If you lose weight, do you need a photo shoot if you cut your hair Do you need a photoshoot? If you change your personal style, do you need a photo shoot. And I think that hair plays into that I I used to be hesitant and shy about using old photos of like old hair. I do think it's important to stay current with your photos and to have a new headshot maybe once a year or once every other year. If your look isn't wildly changing as much as mine is, so stay current but also it's okay to change and use old photos you're still you You're still who you are
Caitlin Brehm 14:58
and don't let that stop you from like doing the thing in previous job I had, I was doing sort of website stuff. And I was talking to somebody who wanted a new website. But she said, I'm not going to do it yet because I'm about to get braces and I want to wait until after my braces are done to get pictures. And then I'll do my website.
Kathleen Shannon 15:18
So she was gonna wait like a whole is gonna wait
Caitlin Brehm 15:21
because she was gonna brace us. So if that's the case, if you do anticipate a change, just book a mini session with somebody, it doesn't have to be as expensive but like you can your business right away on headshots, right?
Emily Thompson 15:34
Basically agreed, agreed with business online these days of photos and play a huge part in that and your face is what people are buying are not really your they're not buying your face, but you in your business and your creative business is what people are buying. And having a good photo of that face can go a long way.
Kathleen Shannon 15:55
And here's where I want to speak a little bit just to insecurities like if you are waiting for those braces to come off, or you are waiting to whatever it is about how you look like your hair grow out, I remember I thought I wanted to wait until my hair grows out to shoot our book. Like that's ridiculous. So we just shoot whenever and we talk to our photographers about insecurity. So I'm or at least I am. I'm talking to my photographer about what I like and don't like and not from like a self loathing place, but just like, Hey, here's this thing that I'm kind of insecure about. Could you make sure to check for that while you're shooting like that, for example, Emily and I, we do not look good. Whenever we're speaking candidly, in a photo, like our faces are doing weird things. And we know this and it's not in a negative place. It's just an honest place. So we're honest with our photographer and every photographer. I mean, I've even had naked photos taken by a friend and I'm like, Hey, could you not get that one thing right there. So it's always fine. They're always willing to work with whatever you've got. And they're willing to work around your insecurities, too.
Kathleen Shannon 17:01
This minisode was brought to you by Twenty20. Check them out at twenty20.com/beingboss. That's t w e n t y 20 as in the number.com slash being boss.
Emily Thompson 17:16
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