FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Just In Case You have one of these one your mind
Frequently Asked Planning Questions
Here are some of the most common asked questions I get about branding photography. If you have a question not answered here please do contact me and I shall add it right here for you and anyone else who was pondering the same thing.
The short answer is “a fair bit really”
To see the long answer I made for my show MWAH TV, take a look at this 2-Part special:
Lots of different types of people need professionally taken headshots and photography for different professional reasons. It could be a part of looking to get promoted, building your business, or further advancing your performance career.
I go into a lot more detail about this in this episode of Mwah TV:
Branding photography is so much more effective when looking to build out the messages in your business. In the majority of cases, you need to have begun developing the rest of your brand for photography informed by that brand to be classed as branded.
Here is another episode of Mwah TV where I discuss this in a lot more depth.
After seeing where a lot of people were going wrong on getting the best use out of their headshots, and therefore the highest return on their previous investment I made this episode of Mwah TV:
There are a lot of different advantages to investing in brand photography for your business. A lot of my clients come to me for some or all of the following reasons.
- They want to get more recognised in their field, they know that having a collection of standout photography of them is going to help with that.
- They want to appear more as an authority or expert in their field. They have different Public Relations projects planned and they need current and great quality photography to support with these activities.
- They want to pivot or niche down in their work. They need photography that explains this.
- They have had more standard headshots taken in the past and whilst technically they suffice, they don’t really explain much about who they are or what they do.
- They tried winging it with a selfie for a while, and now they feel ready to delegate all of the technical sides of what it takes to make a really great photograph to an expert professional.
- They need a collection of photography that shows them doing different things. They want to use them to support their content as well as make sure they look consistent across social media.
It would be unreasonable to expect a brand photographer to create exceptional brand photography for you WITHOUT key information about your brand.
I don't care how incredible the photographer is, it will always only be "cobbling together" without a real examination and then the interpretation of your brand.
A great place to begin is with some clear and well thought out Brand Guidelines. I have these episodes of Mwah TV about this key asset for your business:
If you know your brand is stuck in your head you might want to work with me first on your brand strategy. To talk about this with me, please feel free to book yourself in for a quick Cyber Cocktail chat.
That’s ok, you are normal. I like to blame this collective photography discomfort on all of those cheesy school photos we had as kids.
With 10 years working in the photography industry, trust me when I tell you that I am very skilled at getting the best from the most unwilling and uncomfortable clients. There is no one set way of making you feel comfortable, everyone is different, but with my years of skill in helping people feel at ease, I’m confident that I can help you find your inner supermodel on shoot day.
If you feel that your confidence or fear of the camera is significantly worse than the average camera-shy person, I’d like you to take a look at my #LOVEYASELFIE CHALLENGE. This is completely free, and it’s self-led. I created it to give as many people as possible a safe space, and as many practical skills to actively work on overcoming their fear before working with a professional like me.
Frequently Asked Photo shoot Questions
Here are some of the most common asked questions I get about professional photoshoots.
I work hard to make sure that my clients feel confident in expecting to be delighted on their photoshoot.
This includes giving you all of the information you need at every single step of the professional photography process from planning and research, to retouching and image delivery.
Exact expectations differ quite widely between my quickest service and my most in-depth service. I always recommend you take a look at the detailed descriptions of how I deliver each of my services here.
Or you can take a FREE copy of my latest brochure which gives you the full-service description details in one place.
I also made this episode of Mwah TV that covers 5 expectations you should have at a photo shoot.
I recommend you think about booking any photoshoot in as far advance as possible. Extending the preparation time you have on any photoshoot always results in more considered photography, and I feel that this reads in the final shots.
I give an exact breakdown of how long each of my services takes from planning to delivery on each of my service pages. These timeframes are the minimum amount of time needed to deliver great quality of work. You can get started on this here.
Some of my repeat clients book their next shoot as far ahead as over a year in advance.
As part of the planning of your particular session and service, I guide you on exactly what you need to bring to your shoot day to make sure we have everything we need.
If you opt for my more in-depth services I enlist the added support of creative suppliers to help you with this task, from a stylist bringing a selection of brand new clothes to a hair and makeup artist bringing all of the tools of their trade.
I have many different services that you can pick from, and each of these involves a different amount of shoot time to work to your needs.
You can compare the shoot length of time by visiting my services pages, or, you can download a copy of my latest collection of services which has all of this information in one place.
I provide professional makeup and hairstyling as a built-in part of my more in-depth services. If you would like to add these services to a photography service that doesn’t include them, you can opt to add this in as an extra upgrade. Exact prices of this and more creative services are given on each of my service pages, as well as in my free collection of services download.
Sure!
Even when I work with a professional stylist on delivering a photoshoot service, we will look at how we can incorporate your own clothing to build the best looks for your shoot day.
Each of my services states how much shoot time you have and as part of this I also include how many different looks we really have time for on your shoot day.
Even on my quickest service, I will recommend ways in which we can make a layered look much more diverse to give you more photography options.
If you feel that you need to add more looks into your shoot time, let me know in your cyber cocktail and we can certainly look at the best way to achieve this.
In short, I always recommend you bring a couple of different options on any professional photoshoot. There are clever ways around this involving switching out accessories or outer layers in your single look, to make for a wider selection of photographs.
Your particular outfit and exactly what you need to wear to your shoot day will be planned out for you and your exact needs for the final photographs. We chat about this in detail as part of the planning process.
You may enjoy this episode from Mwah TV too:
Wherever you damn well, please!
In general, I prefer to pair where I am shooting with the wider aesthetic my client is looking to explain through their brand photography. So more often than not your photography is shot on a location that we plan out together. This can be indoors at a venue that matches the mood of your business, or outside.
On the rare occasion that specific lighting styles or controlled effects are needed, I use studio space hired out specifically for the duration of your session time.
As standard, my prices cover any travel for me and my Fox Force 5 Team up to a 30miles radius of NE32. I strive to have different creative suppliers in different locations to reduce additional travel costs where possible.
I work internationally, year-round.
If you don't want to pay for me and the Fox Force 5 Team to come to you, then perhaps we can meet up together on our combined travels? Check out my confirmed travel plans that you may like to sync up with. We can chat about this in more detail in our Cyber Cocktail appointment.
I shoot photography all over the world. Year-Round.
Questions About Photography Finishes & Service
Here are the questions I get asked about the most to do with finishing or the way I deliver my services.
You get a pre-determined set of images based on which service you select for your photography needs.
However with any of my services you always have the option to upgrade and add more images to your final collection.
When this happens I retouch them in line with the rest of your collection, and they are added to your licence documentation.
I take a non-refundable deposit at your time of booking. This is to cover all of the preparations work needed for your photoshoot. If I get notice of a last-minute cancellation up to 48hrs before your shoot day, then I can reschedule.
Every stage of my service involves a request for your feedback, and to check you are 100% happy with how things are progressing over our photoshoot project.
I do this to eliminate the chances of you being disappointed with the final photography you receive when the project is completed.
All of my services involve hiring additional suppliers, who need to be paid for their time and skill regardless of the outcome of the photoshoot. For this reason, I am unable to provide refunds.
I’ve never been asked for a refund because of the open communication I insist on building with every single client.
You may enjoy reading my Delight Promise which goes into this in more detail.
At the time of booking, you will be issued an invoice as part of your booking confirmation. You can choose to pay in full by bank transfer, transferwise or PayPal. If it’s our first time shooting together I am more than happy to agree to a 50% deposit at your time of booking, and the final payment is then made on the same day as your photoshoot.
My different services involve some different ways of getting your final photos. It’s really a case of finding out from you what way you prefer to work with me.
You can be involved in the selection and editing process if you want to, this takes more time than having me work on your final collection independently. I ask you how you want to proceed as part of our planning chat and again when we wrap on shoot day.
I deliver all of my work to you using my preferred internet files transfer service. In the majority of cases, images are too large to attach to an email. This is a really easy service and it’s incredibly secure. I give you step by step guidance on how to use this as part of our project too.
Once in a while, a client needs my help to turn a digital photo file into a tangible product. If you ever need technical support to work with a professional printer, I am happy to help.
I take my copyright very seriously. Copyrighting of Professional Photography is often misunderstood. You can see a full-scale rant on this on this episode of Mwah TV here:
In short, I will always own the copyright to all of my photography, but you get a commercial licence with your final images so that you can use them confidently to make money in your career or in your business.
The cost of arranging for these legal documents to be drawn up is built into all of my photography services as standard.
Got even more questions now?
You may have been unable to find an answer to your question here, or on reading a couple, you have even more questions. I'd love to help you with them. The best way to talk things through is with a Cyber Cocktail. You can book a time that fits your schedule here.