Guys and Style. What to Wear at Your Personal Branding Session!
What To Wear? Do I need a Professional Stylist for my Personal Branding Shoot?
Ok guys, so you’ve booked your Personal Branding session. Well done! I know the ladies’ first thought is ‘What should I wear?!’ And if this isn’t your first thought, that’s a-ok and totally understandable. But, what to wear is something you need to think about.
What Do I Wear?
Well, what you wear really depends on you and your business. Who are you? What do you do? What do you typically wear at work? These photos need to be consistent with what your clients will actually see. So, if you have a more casual business and you don’t wear a suit, you absolutely don’t want to dress up for these photos. It’s not like elementary school picture day when your mom put you in something you’d never wear and felt super uncomfortable in. We absolutely don’t want that!
If wearing a suit is your thing, then yes, plan to do that. But if you’re sometimes more casual, consider having an alternate outfit to wear during your shoot as well.
A great example of this is a client I worked with recently who while he is a lawyer, he often works on sexual harassment cases and with mostly female clients, he likes to be a bit more casual. So, what to wear?
For his shoot he wore casual pants with a nice crisp shirt and a great cardigan. It’s also a good idea to stick to a more neutral colour palette and no intense patterns. Your clients want to see you in the photos, and not be distracted by wild colour patterns in clothing.
Tip: If you are a casual person and don’t own an iron, I get it. I hate ironing too, lol. But, for your photos, I would suggest you look polished and professional, so pressing your shirt is a great idea!
Do I need a stylist?
You absolutely do not need a stylist. If you’ve never worked with one before then it’s likely not part of your world, nor your business, so no need. If you’d like to treat yourself as you feel like your personal style could use a pick me up, then by all means, go for it. Just make sure that whatever ‘looks’ you go for, truly represent you. If you’re a casual jeans and plaid shirt kinda guy, it won’t serve your purpose to do your branding photos wearing a 3 piece suit. But, if you opt to up your look to crisp and tailored jeans with a more structured shirt, that could work! Remember, it’s all about being you and truly representing the real you in your images.
How about my hair?
Again, you want to look like you and professional so getting a new hip haircut the day before your session is not a great idea. Getting a haircut is definitely a good plan, but stick to your usual style and plan to get the cut a few days before the shoot. That way, if your barber goes a bit too short, you’ll have a few days of growth.
Facial Hair
And regarding facial hair, you know what I’m going to say, right? You do you! Clean shaven, fully bearded or somewhere in between. Make sure it looks trim and professional and do your best not to knick yourself! Oh and if you’re extra blessed in the hair department (lucky you!), be sure to do some trimming, especially those nose hairs and maybe the ear ones too.
If you have any questions about your outfit choices, by all means, send me a few photos and we can discuss. Don’t let the ‘what to wear’ question stop you from doing a session and growing your business. I’m here to help! Oh and feel free to check out my previous blog on Men and Personal Branding to give you some more outfit ideas!
Michele Mateus is an award winning Vancouver area Personal Branding Photographer & Portrait Photographer.
