I had my own brand shoot last weekend. Here's what I'm still thinking about....
People come to brand shoots from very different places. Some can’t wait. Others, myself included last weekend, feel it rather more than they expected to.
I’ve spent a lot of time on the other side of the camera. I know what it takes to make someone feel at ease, to coax out the version of them they actually want the world to see. But last weekend, it was my turn and I felt it.
The nerves. The second-guessing. The ‘morning of’ moment where you stand in front of the mirror and wonder if you’ve picked entirely the wrong dress.
Spoiler: I had. One of them, anyway.
Why I put myself through it?
My last brand shoot was two years ago. Those images have served me well but images date, and more to the point, people date. Not in a bad way. Just in the honest, inevitable way that life moves on. My hair’s different. I have new clothes! My face is different. I’m a few chapters further along than I was then.
There’s a photo a lot of us have, from a holiday, a milestone birthday, some afternoon when everything aligned. Where we felt and looked brilliant and we hold onto it for years. I understand the impulse entirely. But when clients meet you in person or on Zoom and the person looking back at them is noticeably different from the one who appears online it creates a tiny, unnecessary confusion. A flicker of is this the right person? Causing an element of mistrust.
I’d rather they recognise me immediately.
The planning bit (which I actually loved)
This is where I’ll admit something: planning my own shoot was genuinely exciting. Thinking about what gaps I had, what situations and moods I couldn’t currently represent in my imagery. It gave me real focus. I wasn’t just refreshing for the sake of it. I was being intentional (my favourite word of 2026!).
That said, the pressure to look exactly how you want to be perceived, to somehow hide the things you pick apart about yourself and lead with your best self, is very real. I know this because my clients tell me, and I know it because I felt every bit of it on the day.
What you actually come away with.
Not every image will be a favourite. Some of the shots I don’t like and that’s fine. My hair wasn’t quite right in a few of them. My hair straighteners were playing up, largely due to being dropped on a hard floor the day before and they’re 23 years old!!
A shoot isn’t about producing a hundred perfect images. It’s about producing enough really good ones that you have genuine choice.
I came away with a proper bank of images. Ones I can use on social, in newsletters, on my website, without reaching for the same handful of photos I’ve been recycling. That alone feels exciting.
The shots I love are full of laughter, happiness and genuine emotions which truly represent me.
Why I think this matters for us both.
As a photographer, I ask my clients to be vulnerable. To show up, not knowing quite how they’ll look, trusting that I’ll handle it well. I think the least I can do is understand what that actually feels like. Not in theory, but in practice.
Last weekend reminded me. The mild dread in the days before. The way you suddenly notice every imperfection you’d otherwise ignore. The relief when you see the first few frames on the back of the camera and think: oh, that’s actually alright.
Whether the idea of a shoot fills you with dread or you’re the sort of person who genuinely enjoys being in front of a camera, the result is the same: images that look like you, work hard for your business, and mean you’re not scrabbling around for something half-decent every time you need to post.
If you’ve been putting off a brand shoot for whatever reason, I’d just say: most of what you’re dreading is the anticipation. The day itself is usually far more manageable and enjoyable than the version you’ve been imagining.
And the images? Worth it. Every time.