What is personal branding? A lot of use cases can fall under this. For example I receive inquiries for social media content photoshoots, dating and matrimonial profile pictures and simply photoshoots for fun to use on several mediums. Sometimes an occasional tourist visiting Dublin. All excellent reasons to book a professional photographer.
What's the Difference of Headshots and a Personal Photoshoot?
While a corporate headshot session can be done very quickly in about 15 minutes, it does not rely as heavily on location and surroundings. A professional headshot can of course be captured as a part of a longer session, but intrinsically these are two different photoshoots with different scope, objectives and time frame.
When doing personal branding the location is a story telling device on its own. In a good location we can get a collection of different types of shots that don't have to look like they were all shot at the same time. Typically a photoshoot resulting in 15-30 high quality images with multiple backdrops or outfits takes anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours.
How to Choose a Location?
Dublin has lots of great locations depending on what you want to comminucate with your pictures. The city center is a great backdrop and has lots of parks as well to get different looks and backgrounds in a single photoshoot.
I personally like locations that have a combination of a beach, city or village and parks or cliffs all nearby in a walking distance. Howth village is a great example with Claremont and Burrow Beach, Howth Village and the cliff walk all right there. Many areas in Dublin offer similar possibilities.
What to Wear? How to Pose?
All depends of course on your personal style and preference. It can be a good idea to bring a few outfits or tops when the idea is to capture a variety of photos that appear to be taken over a period time. I will of course help and direct with posing. No worries at all, we'll keep the whole shoot relaxed and fun.
What if the Weather Isn't Great for Light?
That is a common worry but perhaps surprisingly often an unnecessary one. As long as it's not raining cats and dogs clouds aren't a problem, in fact it's often great. Direct sunlight is a very harsh light source and especially at midday when the sun is at its highest it will results in what is called "raccoon eyes", dark shadows under eyes. This can of course be fixed by holding up a diffuser in front of the sun and by using reflectors. Sometimes harsh light can be the look you want. However the best time for natural light photography is usually near or at sunrise or sunset.
This is where off-camera flash quite literally steps into the picture (Well, right next to it).
See the image above and the one below. These are both lit with an off-camera flash (a flash with a light modifier on a stand). Flash allows to perfectly control the amount of ambient light hitting the camera sensor, making it possible to light the subject exactly how we want while keeping the background lit by the ambient light. Off-camera flash techniques are very different than traditional direct flash that is fixed to the camera and overpowers everything else. With separate flash units, modifiers and colour gels we can perfectly light the subject in a way you never even knew flash was involved. In the example below I've added a touch of sunset on the hair with a second light and an orange gel on the left. In reality it was a completely cloudy and grey afternoon.
What About Makeup, Do I Need It?
That is completely up to you and you can choose to style your hair and makeup any way you like. If you prefer we can arrange a makeup artist appointment right before the photoshoot. I'm in fact married to one so it's very easy to arrange with my wife and creative partner Eve Valos.
How Do I Book? What Are Your Rates?
To book your Dublin photoshoot right now, simply select one of the packages through the calendar below.
To get a tailored quote, please send me a message through the contact page with your ideas and requirements and I'll soon get back to you.
All you need to know is the date and time that'll work best for you. Let me know if you have a special location in mind or if you'd like ideas. You can also browse previously done work on the Location Photography page.
