5 Tips for Planning a Lifestyle Photoshoot for your Clothing Brand

Marketing for clothing brands can include a variety of different visual assets: e-commerce flat-lay photos of your designs, a model wearing the clothing behind a white background, lifestyle branding photos, video content, etc.

The content used for your clothing brand can be spread across a variety of different platforms for marketing and advertising campaigns. However, in order to successfully produce a photoshoot for your clothing brand, there are some planning steps in pre-production that are necessary.

In this blog post, I’ll be sharing a few tips on what to consider before the day of the photoshoot.

Create A Mood Board

A mood board is a useful pre-production resource that allows you to properly communicate your brand identity through visual assets, as well as what you want to achieve with your photoshoot. It’s up to you what you’d like to include in your mood board, but some ideas that you might want to feature include: 

• Location: Where is the photoshoot going to take place? The city, the beach, etc.

• Model: Casting details for the model: age range, gender, height, etc.

• Branding Colors: Even though this isn’t something I always include, sometimes you might want to incorporate your branding colors in the photoshoot.

After I get on a discovery call with clients, I ask a few questions in order to gauge their interest for this marketing/advertising campaign and I try to incorporate some images into a mood board.

It’s important to share this mood board with any additional team members who will be participating in the photoshoot (the model, the makeup artist, etc.) in order to make sure that everyone is on the same page of what to expect on the day of the lifestyle photoshoot.

For fashion and clothing brand clients, I try to find a few images that will look similar to the clothes they want to feature on the shoot.

Find a Model For The Fashion Campaign

Hopefully this goes without saying, but you’ll want to hire a model that fits the photoshoot campaign for your clothing brand. There are plenty of options to find models in your own location or if you plan on having the photoshoot done in another location, you can contact the photographer and request that they find someone based on your casting details.

Freelance Models: You can find freelance models through social media apps like Instagram or create an online casting call through freelance model websites. While this option might be less expensive, you might come across models that are less experienced compared to an alternative option.

Agency Models: Models signed to reputable agencies are likely to have more credibility and possibly experience on professional photoshoots. However, clients also have to think about agency fees and licensing fees beyond the hourly/day rate that the agency charges per model.

I have had the opportunity to work with freelance models, agency-signed models, and experienced actors transitioning into modeling. I’m available to send out casting information for freelance models on the client’s behalf based on their requirements.

Erla Garcia of Bounty Models LA

Owen Rivers of Aston Models Los Angeles

Choose The Best Location

When I’m on a discovery call, this is one of the most important factors to consider. This not only plays a role in what the final images will look like, but also if we need to account for studio fees in a certain location.

If your clothing brand leans more towards a coastal style, then a location like Venice Beach here in Los Angeles will be a better choice than a metropolitan location like Downtown Los Angeles.

There is no right or wrong answer since it’s your creative vision. But it is important to think about how you want to use these photos for future marketing campaigns. Do you want the final branding photos to be used for summer campaigns only, or do you want them to be featured year-round.

One of the biggest benefits working as an outdoor photographer in Los Angeles is that there are a variety of locations to access that are all close to each other.

Bring Props and Accessories

Even though the fashion campaign is about marketing the clothes, adding props and accessories can enhance the branding photos and make the campaign look more interactive and engaging.

In the stages of producing a mood board and figuring out what the client wants, it’s important to think about the story that this campaign is going to tell.

As a lifestyle photographer, the job is not just capturing a model wearing the clothes, but showing the audience what kind of lifestyle matches the brand.

If you’re an outdoor clothing brand, then maybe you want to include a backpack in the photoshoot. If you’re a swimwear brand, then maybe you want to include a surfboard at the beach for your photoshoot. While showing off the clothes is the most important thing, being able to add an element of story to the scene can offer dynamic images that make your marketing campaign stand out.

Find A Photographer That Matches The Style

Lastly, I think it’s important for clients to find a photographer that matches the style that they’re going for. Research any photographer you might consider working with and see if their portfolio matches your style, or see if you can find information on how they go about the process of helping produce a photoshoot for your clothing brand.

If you really want to work with a photographer but their sample images don’t exactly match what you’re looking for, you can still reach out, provide examples of the type of images you’re looking to create, and see if they’re up for the job.

They might be able to pull off the job, or refer you to another photographer that might better align with what you’re looking for.

Lifestyle Photography with Los Angeles Photographer Brian Brown

I hope this blog post provides you with some helpful tips to think about when starting a new campaign for your clothing brand.

Based in Los Angeles, Brian Brown Film provides clients with professional lifestyle photography services to meet their marketing and advertising campaign needs. From working in stunning outdoor locations to directing on-camera talent, clients can avoid any heavy lifting and relax as their fashion campaigns are in good hands.

If you’re interested in reaching out for a potential brand collaboration you can fill out the contact form to get started.

Thanks for reading and until next time.

Feel free to explore my website further with behind-the-scenes photoshoots:

City Lifestyle Photoshoot in Downtown Los Angeles

Outdoor Lifestyle Photoshoot at Mount Hollywood

Santa Monica Sunset Lifestyle Beach Photoshoot

Venice Beach Watch Lifestyle Photoshoot at Sunset