I am a bit of a broken record when it comes to the value of professional photography.
Whether you’re a product-based business, a service provider or building a personal brand, good imagery matters. Your photos and videos tell your story, communicate something about your brand and make a first impression before someone reads a word.
I’ve had the pleasure of being photographed by Michele Mateus myself, so I can attest to her magic, and her knack for a bang-on photoshoot playlist.
Michele is an award-winning portrait and fine art photographer based in Vancouver, BC. Her AuDHD brain sees the world in vivid detail, and photography gives her a way to strip away the noise and reveal what’s underneath.
Her work is centred around connection, creative self-exploration and celebration. She works with people who want to be seen as anything but ordinary, creating images that feel like art, not just photographs.
That unique perspective carries into Michele’s new podcast too, which I’ve been binging. She has a way of looking at familiar ideas differently and sharing her musings with creative clarity.
Fall is a great time for a brand and photo refresh. Here are Michele’s tips for planning a photoshoot across seasons and creating images that can work harder for your brand all year long.
The summer isn’t over yet, but I can already feel it. The stores swapping flip-flops for all things cozy, that shift in the air, and people starting to think about fall photoshoots for their business cause the love the colours fall brings. I’ve spent over 10 years photographing Vancouver business owners in every kind of light this city throws at me, and I can tell you exactly what October looks like here: golden, lucious, gone in ten minutes. Then the rain hits, going in every direction at once.
And I have to tell you, this isn’t a weather problem. This is Vancouver. Raincouver. And it’s the same story whether you are planning a photoshoot in October, April or July. So here’s some tips to think about when planning your next photoshoot, and things I always bring up with all my clients regardless of the season.
1. Plan B isn’t a backup. It’s the plan.
Let’s use fall as an example, everyone wants the leaves, the light, the whole postcard energy, fair, it’s stunning out there. But the challenge is that Vancouver city isn’t reliable when it comes to weather, and it’s a lot of work to plan a photoshoot and it really sucks to have to depend on the sky’s mood. So always plan for an indoor option and an outdoor option, built in from the start, not scrambled together. This way you can be in your comfort and get all the shots you are dreaming of PLUS still walk away with something electric that features the seasonal changes.
2. Dress for the story, not the weekend.
A wardrobe that only reads as “fall” reads as dated by December. Having done hundreds of brand photoshoots over the years I am always reminding people that we are creating photos that don’t expire with a trend or a season. My goal is to help people get the most out of not only their financial investment but time investment so going beyond a seasonal approach is an important consideration. Bring pieces that could live in any month, and if you want to go for season looks then bring a few and work them in rather than limiting yourself to just one season. The shoot should feel like a moment, not a timestamp. That’s what makes the images work for you a year from now, not just for the ‘gram that week and never again.
3. Know what the images are for before you show up.
This is something I talk to people about all the time, because thinking about where your photos will end up is really the key to creating with intention. Let’s put on your marketing hat and think beyond social media here. If these photos are doing real work for you, as they should, then you want to be considering a website refresh, launch, LinkedIN posts, holiday campaign etc… and have some ideas of these potentials to decide before the shoot, not after. Want something that taps into holiday energy? Then make sure to plan for that! We can talk tone and mood without turning it into a prop shop. I’m not a props photographer. I’m interested in you, dressed like you mean it, in a space that says something. The key is thinking through the job the photos need to do, and the whole session gets sharper and you get the most out of out investment.
Bonus: colour and black and white are doing different jobs. Use both.
Colour is warm, immediate, easy to feel. Black and white is a different frequency entirely, and I know I am biased as I specialise in black and white photography. Black and white strips all the noise and carries that editorial edge if that works for your brand vibe. As someone who also studied design I can tell you that black and white also holds up when you drop bold text over it in your brand colours and need the message to land without competing elements.
I hope these tips help you plan for your next photoshoot, one that will give you photos that span seasons without an expiration date.
Learn more about Michele on her website and on Instagram. Listen to her podcast Noticing the Ordinary here!
