Non-Traditional Brand Photoshoot for Female Lawyer

SHE DIDN’T WAIT UNTIL SHE WAS READY

She didn’t wait until she had the law degree to book this shoot.

This was my third personal brand photoshoot with Diana and I absolutely adored working with her again. Our first shoot was in 2019 and comprised of images for her website promoting her as a clarity coach. We rented an apartment space for that brand shoot and used both the apartment and the community area for a beautifully aligned shoot, and similarly for her second shoot. But this shoot had a totally different angle.

This was one of our last photos. It’s almost always at the end we get the most killer shots because the client is warmed up and feeling good!

This time she emailed me saying she’d moved to New York City and was in law school - which is amazing and honestly not surprising because she’s so sharp and passionate.

And I was so honored that she wanted to fly back to Nashville because she trusted me and knew we’d get great photos, and because we genuinely enjoy each other.

But what struck me the most was that Diana didn’t do what most women do - she didn’t wait until she’d “arrived” to book her shoot. So many women wait until they lose the weight, get the new wardrobe, finish the program, or feel some kind of energetic “complete for now” vibe to show up, to be seen, to make the moves.

But Diana didn’t do that.

She didn’t even mention it. She just emailed and said, “I’m getting my law degree. I need more professional photos.” And now this gallery exists and she can use it as she studies and works and learns. It’s her visual bridge from who she is now into who she’s becoming. And most women don’t realize how powerfully photography can help bridge that gap.

THE VISION FOR HER BRAND SHOOT

As with all of my clients, we hopped on a zoom call to discuss what she was looking for. I don’t mind if a client doesn’t have a fully fleshed out vision for their brand shoot yet - that’s what I’m here for. I’ll just ask questions like, “How do you want people to feel when they see these photos?” and “What do you want to see when you look at your photos?”

She needed to be seen as someone who could handle policy and legislation and her personal edge was to help provide clarity for her client - loving how she brought all her previous experience as a clarity coach into this work.

She wanted more “business” looking photos than we’d previously done, but I knew Diana and in no way did I want to give her images that looked like every other lawyer on the internet - but I didn’t want her to look so different that people wouldn’t take her seriously.

I knew we were going to use a white background and probably grey, but I wanted to bring in another color that felt different and important. This is where the burgundy-ish background came from. It was a custom-painted background color I did for her, as I’ve done for several clients. The color reminded me of old libraries with a dash of modern vibes and I loved it. Diana wasn’t sold on it at first, but she choose several of these for her final gallery! I love when a vision comes together and my clients are happy.

WARDROBE & BACKGROUND CHOICES

I rarely pre-plan which outfits are going to go with which backgrounds. Once my client arrives at my studio or on location, we go through what she’s brought with her and we pair up background (or rooms, if we’re at her home or rented a space) simply based on what looks cool and inspiring and fits the brand bill!

This grey background in my studio hasn’t gotten a ton of use because sometimes it doesn’t look quite right with the brand vibe, but I was SO EXCITED with how good it looked with Diana in her dark green suit!! And my clients get to see their photos on a monitor as I take them, so she was on board instantly as well - and when women know it’s working, they work it, you know what I’m saying?!

But we did try the green suit on a dusty lavender background and that looked great, too!

CREATING A CUSTOM SHOOT

We had an absolute blast creating this personal brand shoot. It was a custom shoot because Diana’s needs weren’t quite what my packages offered. I don’t do traditional headshot shoots, so I first needed to make sure her needs or desires weren’t strictly “LinkedIn profile pic” because, while you’ll definitely get a few great options for a new profile photo, that’s not my sole focus with any shoot. So once we established that it was more, “non-traditional lawyer with the smarts and the skills to get thing done,” the creative edge opened up a little more and I was able to create a custom brand shoot that fit her needs and let us play.

For this Art of Being Seen shoot, I wanted Diana to see a woman ready to step into this next phase of her life boldly and confidently. I wanted her to see a lawyer who’s fair, but direct and can cut through the noise, and I wanted potential clients and connections to see the same. I think we nailed it.